Only later, interviewing wilder, did i learn i could have saved a lot of money and. Billy wilders important role in the shaping of post war american cinema and in the birth of new hollywood. Billy wilders work is among my favorites of cinema some like it hot is possibly up on my top five list which ive never actually made and im charmed by this collection of interviews with him, ranging from his very early work as a writerdirector to postcareer. Turner classic movies presents the greatest motion pictures of all time from one of the largest film libraries in the world. A fascinating early script draft for sunset boulevard, billy wilder s classic 1950 film noir with gloria swanson and william holden. Billy wilder was at the peak of his directing powers negotiating the tricky mix of melancholy and humour. Diamond once aptly described wilders style as a blend of the sweet and the sour. Behind lemmon, the desks get smaller and smaller and so do the actors. Wilder, this is meant more as a brief introduction to the man. A fascinating early script draft for sunset boulevard, billy wilders classic 1950 film noir with gloria swanson and william holden. Wilder is known primarily for comedies which display a dark side of humor and human nature.
I thought it would be a great way to kick off 20 by digging into it to see what. In conversations with wilder, fellow filmmaker cameron crowe summarized wilder s body of work. Billy wilder, still less than meets the eye john patterson. Billy wilder on the front page roger ebert may 26, 1974. Billy wilders the apartment continues to hold a special place in our. At the very back of the office, the coworkers are played by midgets. Many filmmakers still look to billy wilder as an example of how to make. Billy wilder 19062002 died at his home in beverly hills, california on march 27, 2002. In the intervening 95 years, an impressive life story unfolded, a life that was to have a lasting impact on hollywood and world cinema. One of the books highlights is a list of ten screenwriting tips by wilder. Oct 03, 2014 billy wilder talks about choosing story in a rare 1961 interview.
Billy wilder interviews, university of mississippi press, jackson. Wilder, born in 1906, fled from nazi germany and established himself in america. French film critic michel ciment interviews billy wilder about his life and filmmaking. Sometimes criticized for tempering the harshness of his vision in deference to commercial needs, wilder operated with assurance across all genres, compiling an impressive body. One of the most accomplished writers and directors of classic hollywood, billy.
Billy wilder wilder created one of the most brilliant and eclectic canons of work in u. Billy wilders top ten screenwriting tips no film school. Apr 23, 2010 my hero billy wilder, by david nicholls. Interviews conversations with filmmakers paperback horton, robert on. Oral history interview with billy wilder, 1995 february 14. Freeman tells how wilder had to interview one exnazi ss officer who had played jesus christ in a prewar play and wanted to do so again. Samuel billy wilder was born june 22, 1906 in vienna, in the austrohungarian empire. Billy wilder celebrity profile check out the latest billy wilder photo gallery, biography, pics, pictures, interviews, news, forums and blogs at rotten tomatoes.
Billy wilder s work is a treasure trove of fleshandblood individuals, all wonderfully alive. Jackson reciprocated, thrilled that the celebrated billy wilder wanted to direct his dark, autobiographical. Twelve years together, but the split had been coming. What screenwriter wouldnt want a little advice from him. Billy wilder 1906 born samuel wilder austrianborn american director and screenwriter. Wilder himself shot the scenes on a very small stage, utilising the tricks of visual perspective. From the late 1930s to the early 1960s, billy wilder dominated hollywoods golden age. A simply typed warning from wilder and screenwriter charles brackett graces the cover page. Publication date 20120305 topics archer lodge, north carolina, peg media partners, public access tv, community media, peg. Posted on january 11, 2017 january 11, 2017 by truman hopper. With the apartment, wilder became the first person to win academy. He is regarded as one of the most brilliant and versatile filmmakers of hollywoods golden age. Mar 23, 2020 billy wilder, austrianborn american motionpicture director and producer known for films that humorously treat subjects of controversy and offer biting indictments of hypocrisy in american life.
In his canon of work are falldownlaughing comedies, stinging character studies, social satire, true suspense, aching romance, the best in life, the sad. Billy wilder, still less than meets the eye film the. He broke into films as a screenwriter in 1929 and wrote scripts for many german films until adolf hitler came to power in. With the apartment, wilder became the first person to win academy awards as. Interviews conversations with filmmakers paperback. Billy wilder was an austrianborn american film director and screenwriter whose career spanned more than five decades. Wilder reportedly said that the actor could play the role only if real nails were used during the crucifixion. Find video, photos, forums, blogs and shop for some of the best movies ever made only at tcm.
Billy wilder june 22, 1906 march 27, 2002 was an austrianborn american journalist, film director, screenwriter, and producer, whose career spanned more than 50 years and 60 films. Billy wilder on the front page interviews roger ebert. The following oral history transcript is the result of a recorded interview with billy wilder on february 14, 1995. Charles and ray eamess steelandglass concept for the director. Cast billy wilder himself michel ciment himself interviewer jack lemmon himself walter matthau himself i. Maybe im crazy entirely possible but this seems to me to be identical to billy wilder, wie haben sies gemacht. Very few researchers have dealt with diegetic music in billy wilders cinema. Billy wilder is responsible for some of the most legendary movies and quotes that exist. Jun 21, 2012 billy wilder speaks is a fascinating look at one of cinemas greatest directors. Charles jacksons the lost weekend became billy wilders acclaimed 1945 moviebut its autobiographical strains foreshadowed a sad end for the author. In conversations with wilder, hollywoods legendary and famously elusive director billy wilder agrees for the first time to talk extensively about his life and work. Books by billy wilder author of conversations with wilder. Hollywood went wild over charles jackson and his 1944 bestseller, the lost weekend. My hero billy wilder, by david nicholls books the guardian.
It is, at times, obviously formulaic and predictable, but such is the nature of most romantic comedies. Cameron crowe, director of jerry maguire, loves billy wilders films so much hes written a book about them. City at night a hearse of late twenties vintage is proceeding at a dignified pace along a halfdeserted wintry street. With over fifty films and six academy awards to his credit, he is one of hollywoods alltime greatest. Billy wilder, austrianborn american motionpicture director and producer known for films that humorously treat subjects of controversy and offer biting indictments of hypocrisy in american life. Billy wilder was one of the greatest writerdirectors in film history, having cowritten and directed such classics as sunset boulevard, some like it hot, the apartment, and double indemnity. Romantic comedy, farce, film noir, drama, war film, satire. Imagine for a moment a party, a somewhat elegant affair, populated solely by characters from the films of billy wilder. Billy wilder was born as samuel wilder to max and eugenia wilder. Jun 22, 2006 maybe im crazy entirely possible but this seems to me to be identical to billy wilder, wie haben sies gemacht. When you started in film, there was a kind of an angst pervading central europe after world war i. Sunset boulevard preliminary draft with original opening scenes and montgomery clift listed on cast sheet, 1948. Hes made some classics and is seen as the godfather of modern hollywood but the world is. Over there at the piano, swirling a drink, is the doomed walter neff from.
Among his most notable films are double indemnity, the lost weekend, sunset boulevard, the apartment, and some like it hot. Billy wilder talks about choosing story in a rare 1961 interview. The film was written by billy wilder and directed by robert siodmak. Lost weekend, sunset boulevard some like it hot, the apartment billy wilder in 1961 with his oscars, three of which hed just won the night before for the apartment. Billy wilder talks about choosing story in a rare 1961. Im sure a lot of you can go into greater detail than i regarding mr. Originally planning to become a lawyer, billy wilder abandoned that career in favor of working as a reporter for a viennese newspaper, using this experience to move to berlin, where he worked for the citys largest tabloid. His work is far too diverse and complicated to sum up in a few paragraphs. His parents ran a cake shop at the sucha beskidzkas train station which turned out to be a profitable venture. If you have the time, you should watch his full interview with the wga. Due to the peculiar nature of the project, we ask all our coworkers to. Sep 25, 2001 conversations with wilder cameron crowe on. In the late 70s i stayed up to watch it and became an immediate fan of billy wilder.
Wilder initially pursued a career in journalism after being inspired by an american newsreel. The difference, im afraid, is that billy is chewing to stop smoking, and i am chewing between cigarettes. Based on samuel taylors stage play, the movie suffers occasionally from feelings of staginess and windiness. City at night a hearse of late twenties vintage is proceeding at a. Billy wilders sabrina has an explicit fairytale quality it begins with the words once upon a time that betrays its cinderella roots.
Publication date 20120305 topics archer lodge, north carolina, peg media partners, public access tv, community media, peg, youtube, billy wilder show, 2012 language english. Billy wilder biography childhood, life achievements. Billy wilder has 19 books on goodreads with 5286 ratings. After years as a reporterhighlighted by a single day during which he interviewed richard straus, arthur schnitzler, alfred adler, and sigmund freud wilder gravitated to berlin. When felkers reporter, jon bradshaw, showed up for the interview, he seemed pleasantly surprised that wilders spirit. Unusually, perhaps, for a director so associated with comedy, wilder consistently pushed the limits of u. And, you know, theres no better film school really than listening to what billy wilder says. In 1930 with lee tracy as the reporter and adolphe menjou as his managing editor, and again in 1940, when director howard hawks got the bright idea of making the reporter a girl the new title was his girl. Diamond part 7 is published by scott myers in go into the story. Oct 18, 20 billy wilder, auteur october 18, 20 by sb in analysis 3 comments the term auteurism, coined in the cahiers du cinema in 1951, details the change of cinema from simple entertainment into an art form and a mode of selfexpression. Yet no other major filmmaker slipped so easily into so. Billy wilder speaks is a fascinating look at one of cinemas greatest directors.
It is mesmerizing for fans to listen to the stories wilder tells about the making of his films, filmmaking in general and tidbits about the hollywood stars he worked with. He is regarded as one of the most brilliant and versatile filmmakers of the hollywood golden age of cinema. Always daring hollywood censors limits on content, billy wilder directed greats such as marilyn monroe, jack lemmon, ginger rogers, marlene dietrich, kirk douglas, audrey hepburn, and gary cooper. Billy wilder 19062002 was an austrianborn american filmmaker. The interview took place in beverly hills and was conducted by paul karlstrom for the archives of american art, smithsonian institution. Billy wilder, a journalist and then a filmmaker in germany, migrated to hollywood in the the. Interviews follows the filmmaking career of one of hollywoods most honored and successful writerdirectors and spans over fifty years. After sunset boulevard, charles brackett and i parted friends.
Taken together, the interviews form an unofficial memoir of a sophisticated artist once described by a colleague as the most unusual and amusing man in. Did your background, being jewish in a culture that was becoming rabidly antisemitic, create a. It was 1949, and the oscarwinning director and acidic. I know a lot of people that have already xeroxed that list and put it by their typewriter, crowe said in a 1999 npr interview.
Inside the hearse, there are four somber men in black and. Taken together, the interviews form an unofficial memoir of a sophisticated artist once described by a colleague as the most unusual and amusing man in hollywood. Billy wilder s work is among my favorites of cinema some like it hot is possibly up on my top five list which ive never actually made and im charmed by this collection of interviews with him, ranging from his very early work as a writerdirector to postcareer. Diamond said their film version would restore chicago for the first time to its rightful status as the locale of the action. The perfect discords of billy wilders comedy films sfu. June 22, 1906 march 27, 2002 was an austrianamerican filmmaker, screenwriter, producer, artist, and journalist whose career spanned more than five decades. Billy wilder 19062002 almost all the 25 films billy wilder made as a writerdirector displayed his slashing wit and stinging social satire. First and foremost a writer, billy wilder became, by his own admission, a director in an effort to protect his scripts from directors who he felt misinterpreted his work. Im not saying its not edited differently or whatever i dont know the material that well but the interview with wilder seemed the same. Here, exclusively for the guardian, he explains how he got the inside track on the apartment, his favourite of them all wilders celebrated collaborator i. Aug 10, 20 one of the books highlights is a list of ten screenwriting tips by wilder. In his frequent interviews, some of which can be found. The following interview focuses on these three films as billy wilder provides his insights and observations regarding film noir.
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