35 (no make that 36) Years of "Nashville"

As a self-styled film historian and film buff, I tend to know many trivial facts about films, so imagine my surprise and embarrassment when I completed writing this piece and discovered that the premise was all wrong. Let me first explain the raison d'etre of my post.

People often ask me my opinions on the best films ever. I cite many of the usual suspects, such as Citizen Kane (top of the list), It's a Wonderful Life, Chaplin's Modern Times and The Gold Rush, and not too many other surprises. However, when I was asked to name my Top Five, I raised many eyebrows when I included Robert Altman's Nashville.
Yes, that's right, Nashville! Want to make something of it? I think this is a groundbreaking film whose influences have spread far and wide, yet few people acknowledge them. Or, more significant, are not aware of them.
I wrote this thinking that I was honoring the 35th anniversary of the premiere of the film. However, I discovered that it opened on June 11, 1975. So I'm a year late. Still, I'd like to explain why I love this film so much and still consider it one of the best ever.
Let's begin with the setting. Altman was way ahead of the curve in picking the country music capital as the focal point of his film. You would be hard pressed to think of any significant films that were similarly centered. We see people in the recording studios, in clubs, at outdoor performances. It was as though he was clairvoyant in seeing what a cultural force country music would become, and he took us right to its epicenter.
This was no whitewash. An older woman I knew bristled at the portrayal, complaining "That's not what country music is about." Sorry, Ma'am, but these characters are Americans, capable of being as venal, petty, shallow and competitive as the rest of us. If the New York theater could have the vipers of All About Eve and early television could portray the Andy Griffith's ascendant evil in A Face in the Crowd, then country music was entitled to its Nashville.
Altman was also a master at pulling great performances out of a. huge casts and, b. previously unheralded actors. Look at the people in this film! Keith Carradine, Geraldine Chaplin, Barbara Harris, Ned Beatty, Scott Glenn, Jeff Goldblum, Keenan Wynn... I could go on. Altman took a popular TV-sketch comedienne named Lily Tomlin (heard of her?) and guided her to an Oscar nomination. Same for Ronee Blakely, who came out of nowhere to channel Loretta Lynn in her fictional character, Barbara Jean. Comic Henry Gibson was known mostly as a member of the cast of Laugh-In, the seminal NBC variety show, but he was brilliant as the duplicitous Haven Hamilton under Altman's direction. A native of Philadelphia, of all places, Gibson was entirely believable as the corn-pone crank and hypocrite. (Altman, et al, even knew to take a little-known bit that Gibson had performed years earlier on The Dick Van Dyke Show and turn it into Hamilton's so-called "signature" song, "Keep A-Goin'.")
Do you like parallel plots, kept straight by canny editing and the power of narrative? Altman pioneered this style in Nashville, and the technique was used brilliantly in much '80s television, notably Hill Street Blues and St. Elsewhere. It is amazing how these nearly 30 characters wander the landscape of this movies, seemingly disconnected in a head-scratching way, and yet they come together in the climactic scene set at Nashville's Parthenon. All the characters fulfill their destinies in this one dramatic moment, whether it was Barbara Jean's tragic end, Haven Hamilton's unmasking of sorts (best use of a toupee ever), but best exemplified by Barbara Harris seizing the occasion to make her long-awaited start turn.
I saw Bridesmaids recently (very funny, entertaining movie, by the way), and I howled at the use of overlapping dialogue in scenes, such as when Kristen Wiig's character stumbles through the plane under the influence of a sedative. But I also remembered that Altman pioneered the use of such speechifying with his multi-track sound on Nashville and his subsequent films.
It is bewildering to me that the film is so widely forgotten today, as it generated much discussion, disdain and appreciation in its day. It was nominated for five Oscars (picture, director, Tomlin and Blakely for supporting actress) but took home just one for Keith Caradine's song, "I'm Easy." It was the New Film Critics' Best Film of the year, as well as winning best director, and the National Board of Review and the National Society of Film Critics also honored it as the best. Yet I hear very few people mention Nashville today, and when I mention it as one of my all-time favorites, the usual responses range from mild surprise to recriminations from someone who tells me that their audience booed the film
If you get a chance, I suggest you revisit this gem. Tell me what you think, even if you don't like it. I won't agree with you, but that's okay; it don't worry me. :-)

PS. For a fine retrospective of this film, I refer you to a piece by Ray Sawhill of Salon.com, titled A Movie Called Nashville.

My interview with Danek S. Kaus

Danek Kaus, screenwriter and author of "You Can be Famous," was kind to interview me on his BlogTalkRadio show about my book, "The Six P's of Change." I hope you enjoy it. http://tinyurl.com/DanBlogTalk

The Tenth Month of Publishing Pregnancy

This is simultaneously an exciting time and a trying time for me. I seem to be moving constantly to the goal line of my book, "The Six P's of Change," but only half the distance at a time. Writing the book was tough enough -- a year of turning my vacation time into three-day weekends devoted to pounding out tens of thousands of words over time. But once written, bringing it to fruition has been both an education and a frustration. First, there was relinquishing my baby for editing. Now my dear editor, Karen, was never the problem in this. I first planned that I would get it to her by mid-January. But the holidays held that up more than I would have guessed. So the time it took Karen to give my manuscript a thorough edit began later than we both thought.
After HER initial edit, there was MY final review. Boy, it's amazing to see things that looked perfectly sensible the first time around. With fresh eyes, I often heard myself saying:
"What the hell was I thinking when I wrote THAT!"
So, I sent it back to Karen for one more once over, the final one. Then she could see all my little misplaced commas, inconsistencies in headings, key repeating phrases and themes, and more. So that added more time. Finally I sent it off to my designers, and the layout when swimmingly (thanks largely, of course, to Karen's attention to detail, as well as their own professionalism.) Now, it was time to review the layouts.
Hm, how did I manage to misspell the word "measurable" so often? It wasn't spelled "measureable" in any of my dictionaries!
So now THAT had to be fixed. And when I got the proof back from the printer, I saw a misrepresentation of a Jonathan Swift quotation. What should have read “Vision is the art of seeing things invisible,” I had transcribed as:

“Vision is the art of seeing the art of things invisible.”

So now, we have to change that! Luckily, the printer advised me that since the cover was approved and all other copy was approved, we would go right into the printing phase.

My new website is trumpeting the book, announcing that it's for sale at a special prepublication price, as it is now complete and ready to be shipped. But the printer is in Utah, and I am in Philadelphia, requiring five business days to deliver the books to me! That means instead of arriving late this week, they will arrive early next week. My "prepublication" period is beginning to look like The Hundred Years War. I just tell myself that the book will be here soon, and I will forget all of this agita. But as more people ask me when the book will be here, I begin to realize:

"THIS is what a long pregnancy feels like!"

Speaking Lessons (and life lessons) from Tony Bennett

As I write my book, I am researching the resurgent career of Tony Bennett, as I find the man to be a sterling example of someone who adapts successfully to change. Through a variety of sources on the Web and in print, I've learned some basic facts about Mr. Bennett's life and career: He was successful as a recording artist and performer in the 1950s and '60s, but his music fell out of favor by the 1970s. By 1979, his possessions included a broken marriage, a huge debt to the IRS, and a drug habit. But his son, Danny Bennett, took over as his manager, helped him solve his problems, and then set him on the course that revitalized his career: He let his father be himself, a classic singer and a classy individual. Even though he sings songs that are decades old, he is accepted by a young audience for his cool and his skills.

In coaching speakers, I have advised them of the same principles -- that they should be themselves and lead with their strengths. If you are a warm person, let it show because it exhibits accessibility. If you are scholarly, speak that way, as it adds dignity to your presentation. And if you are an expert in your subject, state it to add credibility to whatever you say.

See the list below, and keep this in mind as you communicate. Shakespeare said, "To thine own self be true." Mr. Bennett did that, and he's still kicking.

Tony Bennett’s Keys to Success
1. He was good at what he did.
2. He went after a market in which he would stand out.
3. He got himself into the right showcases for that market.
4. He put his personal life in order.
5. He got good professional advice and support from people who had an up-to-date understanding of the business and were devoted to him.
6. He didn't give up when he was down.
7. He was willing to take less money now for future gains.