I Blame Dennis Hopper: And Other Stories from a Life Lived In and Out of the Movies
Illeana Douglas
Language: English
Pages: 304
ISBN: 1250055628
Format: PDF / Kindle (mobi) / ePub
From award-winning actress Illeana Douglas comes a memoir about learning to survive in Hollywood while staying true to her quirky vision of the world.
In 1969 Illeana Douglas' parents saw the film "Easy Rider "and were transformed. Taking Dennis Hopper's words, "That's what it's all about man" to heart, they abandoned their comfortable upper middle class life and gave Illeana a childhood filled with hippies, goats, free spirits, and free love. Illeana writes, "Since it was all out of my control, I began to think of my life as a movie, with a Dennis Hopper-like father at the center of it."
"I Blame Dennis Hopper" is a testament to the power of art and the tenacity of passion. It is a rollicking, funny, at times tender exploration of the way movies can change our lives. With crackling humor and a full heart, Douglas describes how a good Liza Minnelli impression helped her land her first gig and how Rudy Valley taught her the meaning of being a show biz trouper. From her first experience being on set with her grandfather and mentor-two-time Academy Award-winning actor Melvyn Douglas-to the moment she was discovered by Martin Scorsese for her blood-curdling scream and cast in her first film, to starring in movies alongside Robert DeNiro, Nicole Kidman, and Ethan Hawke, to becoming an award winning writer, director and producer in her own right, "I Blame Dennis Hopper" is an irresistible love letter to movies and filmmaking. Writing from the perspective of the ultimate show business fan, Douglas packs each page with hilarious anecdotes, bizarre coincidences, and fateful meetings that seem, well, right out of a plot of a movie.
"I Blame Dennis Hopper" is the story of one woman's experience in show business, but it is also a genuine reminder of why we all love the movies: for the glitz, the glamor, the sweat, passion, humor, and escape they offer us all.
I Blame Dennis Hopper: And Other Stories from a Life Lived In and Out of the Movies
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moment, I fell instantly and hopelessly in love. I could actually feel my heart ache when Jean Seberg chose Clint Eastwood over him. It was the first time that I remember feeling an emotion, and that emotion was love. Now, maybe a psychiatrist could explain why I chose Lee Marvin as the object of my desire, and not young and handsome Clint Eastwood. But those first movie images of Lee Marvin became implanted in my brain and were interwoven with romantic notions I carried for years to come. We
Marty wanted me to dub an entire character’s part. He needed to replace the character’s voice because she had a thick New York accent. It did not fit well with Willem Dafoe’s lower register, and he thought my voice would match better. It would be about ten lines spread over three scenes. Down I went to the third floor again. I was under strict orders from Marty’s assistant not to tell anyone that I was doing this, so I never told Peggy Siegal that I was moonlighting with Marty and Jesus. That’s
I was referring to Montgomery Clift’s car accident during the shooting of Raintree County. I had certainly read enough celebrity biographies to know that Roddy had been there the night it happened. After Clift left a party at Elizabeth Taylor’s house in Benedict Canyon, his car had gone off the road in the fog and hit a telephone pole. The accident left him permanently disfigured and addicted to pain pills and eventually booze. Out of respect, I had never asked Roddy about it, but I thought it
shaking in the bathroom of the Beverly Wilshire Hotel. Marty just laughed. He couldn’t understand why I was so nervous. He repeated, “You’ll be fine. Don’t talk about acting.” I rolled my eyes. Yeah, don’t mention that I audited classes with Stella Adler in the ’80s and that all she had done was talk about her most famous student—Marlon Brando. It was time to go, and I grabbed my autograph book. “Marty,” I said as we were walking out the door. “Do you think Marlon Brando will sign my autograph
Bogdanovich, Marlon Brando, Albert Brooks, Glenn Gordon Caron, Robert De Niro, Brian De Palma, Matt Dillon, Richard Dreyfuss, John Frankenheimer, Jeff Goldblum, David Greene, Ethan Hawke, Buck Henry, Dennis Hopper, Olivia Hussey, Nastassja Kinski, Jerry Lewis, Joseph L. Mankiewicz, Frank Marshall, Lee Marvin, Elaine May, Paul Mazursky, Liza Minnelli, Roddy McDowall, Mike Nichols, Richard Pinter, Vanessa Redgrave, Steven Rogers, Martin Scorsese, Peter Sellers, Garry Shandling, John Patrick