Word: scripting
(lookup in dictionary)
(lookup stats)
Dates: during 1980-1989
Sort By: most recent first
(reverse)
...toast of the evening is Anita Houch, who plays Dr. Henrietta Reilly. In the original script, the doctor and Alex, another guest, were men, but in this production women play the roles. The sex changes do not seem to matter very much, and they certainly work well...
...golden age of Hollywood, or so the story goes, the studios used to come up with the title first, and then write the script later--the idea being that it's the title that catches the pros-time they get to the plotline they've already laid their money down...
February 3, 1982: The setting was the same, but the script--a bit cliche by this time perhaps--had been changed dramatically, the Cinderella story left on a shelf to gather dust until the time again was right...
Unlike Judith Hearne, High Tide is not whiny and overexplained. And under the direction of Gillian Armstrong (My Brilliant Career, Mrs. Soffel), the lead actresses have an honest naturalism that almost makes us forget the coincidences and arthritic manipulations of Laura Jones' script. But instead of calming our suspicions, Armstrong's camera work -- all zip pans, fast tracking and erratic boom shots -- reinforces them. Maybe she should take phlegmatic lessons from Jack Clayton...
...such a perfect vehicle for Williams is that a sizable portion of the film is taken up by his on-air improvisational monologues. It is said, in fact, that once the Williams magic was set to work in front of the camera, he was virtually unstoppable: of the original script for the Cronauer broadcast-booth sequences, only one line eventually made it onto the screen...