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Elliott Kastner

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Elliott Kastner
Born(1930-01-07)January 7, 1930
New York City, U.S.
DiedJune 30, 2010(2010-06-30) (aged 80)
London, England, UK
EducationUniversity of Miami
Columbia University
OccupationFilm producer
Years active1965–2010
Spouse(s)Carolyn Hughes
(m. 1960; div. 197?)
Tessa Kennedy
(m. 1971; div. 199?)
Children2

Elliott Kastner (January 7, 1930 – June 30, 2010)[1] was an American film producer, whose best known credits include Where Eagles Dare (1968), The Long Goodbye (1973), The Missouri Breaks (1976), and Angel Heart (1987).

Early life and career

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Kastner was born to a Jewish family[2] in New York City. His father died when he was young, and he was raised by his mother in Harlem.[3]

He attended the University of Miami and Columbia University. During the 1950s, he was stationed with United States European Command in Frankfurt and Paris.

Agent

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Kastner worked in the mail room at the William Morris Agency in New York, becoming a literary agent. He moved to Los Angeles and became a talent agent at the Music Corporation of America (MCA). When that agency merged with Decca Records, which owned Universal Pictures, Lew Wasserman, the president of MCA, made Kastner vice president of production at Universal. He worked there for two years before becoming an independent producer.

Producer

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Kastner's first film as producer was Bus Riley's Back in Town (1965) based on a script by William Inge and starring Ann-Margret and Michael Parks. Inge was so unhappy with the final result he requested his name be taken off the credits and the film was not a commercial or critical success.

Jerry Gershwin

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Kastner then teamed up with producer Jerry Gershwin to form Winkast Film Productions, based at Pinewood Studios in Buckinghamshire. They wound up making eleven movies together, the first of which was the highly popular Harper (1966) from a novel by Ross Macdonald and directed by Jack Smight. The screenplay was written by William Goldman who had been talking to Kastner about a film of Goldman's novel Boys and Girls Together; Goldman suggested that the Ross MacDonald Lew Archer series would make a good movie, and Kastner bought the rights.[4] Kastner then got Goldman to write a sequel The Chill, but it was never made.[5]

Kastner's third film was Kaleidescope (1966), made in England, directed by Smight with Warren Beatty and Susannah York. Kastner and Gershwin raised the finance independently, and sold it to a studio, Warner Bros. "That was the beginning of producers taking control creatively by self financing", said his stepson Cassian Elwes, who later became a producer himself.[1]

Winkast then made The Bobo (1968), starring Peter Sellers and his then-wife Britt Ekland, and Sweet November (1968), with Sandy Dennis. Both were released through Warners, but Sol Madrid (1968) was released through MGM.

Sol Madrid was directed by Brian G. Hutton who helmed Kastner and Gershwin's next film, Where Eagles Dare (1968). The producer had managed to persuade Alistair MacLean to write an original screenplay as a vehicle for Richard Burton (it was later turned into a novel).[6] The movie was a big hit and led to Kastner adapting several other MacLean stories and working with Burton a number of other times. Other MacLean adaptations included When Eight Bells Toll (1971), Fear is the Key and Breakheart Pass (1975).

Less popular was The Night of the Following Day (1969) with Marlon Brando.

Burton was meant to star in Laughter in the Dark (1969) but was fired during filming and replaced by Nicol Williamson. Kastner had involvement in Man on Horseback (1969).

In the late 1960s Kastner wanted rock star Jim Morrison to play Billy the Kid in a movie adaption of Michael McClure's The Beard.

Kastner also partnered up with noted producers Alan Ladd, Jr. and Jay Kanter and together they produced the films The Walking Stick, The Severed Head, Tam Lin, Villain (1971), The Nightcomers (1972) (directed by Michael Winner, with Marlon Brando), X Y & Zee (1972) (with Burton's then-wife Elizbaeth Taylor) and Fear Is the Key (1972) (from a novel by Alistair MacLean).

Kastner is also famous for his film adaptations of three Raymond Chandler's novels based on the exploits of one of Chandler's most famous creations, Philip Marlowe: The Long Goodbye (1973), Farewell, My Lovely (1975) and The Big Sleep (1978). The first starred Elliot Gould and was directed by Robert Altman, with finance from United Artists. The latter two both starred Robert Mitchum as Marlowe and were financed by Lew Grade's ITC; The Big Sleep was shot un Britain under the direction of Michael Winner.

As part of the ITC deal, Kastner produced Dogpound Shuffle.

Kastner admired Altman's work on The Long Goodbye and wanted to collaborate with him in a production of 92 in the Shade by Tom McGuane, however the two men had a disagreement and the film was directed by McGuane himself. It was one of three McGuane projects produced by Kastner, the others being Ranchlo Deluxe and The Missouri Breaks. The latter starred Marlon Brando and Jack Nicholson. Kastner famously got each star to commit by lying and telling them the other one had already signed.[5]

Around this time he also produced A Little Night Music which was a huge flop.

In a 1977 article Mario Puzo wrote about the Cannes Film Festival said that a group of producers regarded Kastner as "the greatest genius in the movie business... [he] has put together very big films, nearly all of which are flops. And yet he can get the money and stars to produce any movie he decides to. He does it with a phone, irresistible charm, and shameless chutzpah."[7]

Colleague Jay Kanter said Kastner's reputation in Hollywood was "Some good, some bad. He was relentless in pursuing what he wanted. I mean dogged in his pursuit."[5] He added "If Elliott believed in some material, he'd never hesitate to put his own money into buying it and hiring writers to develop a screenplay. He was passionate about what he did, and he was a terrific salesman as well."[8]

His obituary in the Guardian stated that "Kastner was relentless in his pursuit of getting what he wanted. Mostly he wanted to entice well-known playwrights and novelists to write screenplays, or gain the rights of those works whose authors were no longer around to cajole."[3]

Later years

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Kastner planned to make Nightwork from a novel by Irwin Shaw directed by Frank Perry but the film was not made.

He made Absolutioin.

Kastner independently financed Oxford Blues which he sold to MGM. Peter Bart, an executive at MGM at the time, called Katner "a maverick filmmaker... a stooped, rumpled, wizened little man" who "had a reputation in the industry for coming up with deals that were far more intriguing than his movies. Though over the years he’d produced a couple of highprofile films... he’d also proven remarkably adept at funding obscure films that failed to find audiences."[9] Bart claims the film was made for $1.8 million but Kastner sold it to MGM for $6 million, including his $1 million fee.[10]

In the mid-1980s Kastner frequently worked with his step son, Cassian Elwes. In the 1970s he had mentored Arnon Milchan.

Kastner produced Heat from a novel by William Goldman starring Burt Reynolds. Robert Altman was going to direct but he and Kastner clashed and Altman left the project. Kastner replaced him with Dick Richards, who had directed Farewell My Lovely for Kastner, but Richards clashed with Reynolds and left the project during filming.

In 1987 Kastner and Andre Blay bought 70% of Cinema Group Home video.[11] In the late 1980s he was going to make Jericho with Marlon Brando. Instead he made Angel Heart with Alan Parker. Parker called Kastner " an irascible gadfly in the film industry, having been involved with more films than Technicolor and outlived fifty studio heads and as many lawsuits. Many was the time I’ve seen him ‘work’ the tables in the Pinewood Studios restaurant on the way to the men's room. He usually stayed just long enough to blow his nose in your napkin, dispense some wickedly cynical aphorism about the movies and move on. There is an oft-told story that Marlon Brando finally said yes to doing Missouri Breaks because he could not face the prospect of Elliott Kastner, on his knees, crying in front of him one more time."[12]

In 1988 he declared bankruptcy.[citation needed]

In the late 1990s he bought Roger Corman's Concorde New Horizons for $100 million.[13][14]

Kastner had a financial interest in A Chorus of Disapproval directed by Michael Winner.

Kastner's career was marked by a number of lawsuits, including with Mickey Rourke[15] and David McClintick,[16] and over the film Frank and Jesse.[17]

Kastner was sued by Marlon Brando over a proposed musical film version of Treasure Island.

Family

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He was married and divorced twice. In 1960 he first married actor Carolyn Hughes. He was the second husband of the interior designer Tessa Kennedy (m 1971), with whom he had two children, a son, Dillon and a daughter, Milica. He had been introduced to Kennedy by Warren Beatty.

"The marriage worked very well", says Kennedy. "For eight years we'd only spend three or four days a month together. It wouldn't have lasted more than a year if we'd been together because we're very different and volatile." Kennedy and Kastner separated in 1995.

He was also a stepfather to Kennedy's three sons from a previous marriage: film producer Cassian Elwes, artist Damian Elwes and actor Cary Elwes.

Death

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Elliott Kastner died of cancer on June 30, 2010, in London at the age of 80.[18][19][20]

Towards the end of his life he had approached David Thomson to see if he was interested in writing Kastner's biography.[21] Thomson recalled:

He was the way producers were once supposed to be—showily cynical yet deeply attached to his projects; absolutely aware that a producer had to make a lot of pictures before the trash and the triumphs got sorted out; belligerent but sensitive, tough-mouthed sometimes; arrogant and Cagneyesque, but very well read; devoted to writers and alert to children... He admitted he had been a scoundrel sometimes—you had to be—but he knew there was good work to show for it.[21]

According to one obituary he: "Was noted for his skill in bringing together writers, directors and stars for generally commercial (though sometimes surprisingly cerebral) films. He excelled in literary adaptations, from popular works such as those of Raymond Chandler and Alistair MacLean to the more esoteric output of such writers as Iris Murdoch, Vladimir Nabokov and Edna O'Brien. He also favoured tales with strong, single-minded heroes and produced films featuring such actors as Marlon Brando, Paul Newman, Jack Nicholson, Robert Mitchum, Burt Reynolds and Richard Burton."[8]

In 2014 it was announced a deal had been struck to release all of his films on DVD.[22]

Filmography

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He was a producer in all films unless otherwise noted.

Film

[edit]
Year Film Credit Notes Ref.
1965 Bus Riley's Back in Town
1966 Harper
Kaleidoscope
1967 The Bobo
1968 Sol Madrid
Sweet November
Where Eagles Dare
1969 The Night of the Following Day Executive producer
Man on Horseback Executive producer
Laughter in the Dark
1970 The Walking Stick Executive producer
Tam-Lin Executive producer
A Severed Head
1971 When Eight Bells Toll
Villain Executive producer
The Nightcomers Executive producer
Uncredited
1972 X Y & Zee Executive producer
Cry for Me, Billy Executive producer
Fear Is the Key Executive producer
1973 The Long Goodbye Executive producer
Jeremy
Cops and Robbers
1974 11 Harrowhouse
1975 Rancho Deluxe
Farewell, My Lovely Executive producer
Russian Roulette Executive producer
92 in the Shade Executive producer
Breakheart Pass Executive producer
Dogpound Shuffle
1976 The Missouri Breaks
Swashbuckler Executive producer
1977 Black Joy
A Little Night Music
Equus
The Stick Up
Uncredited
1978 The Big Sleep
Absolution
1979 Goldengirl
Yesterday's Hero Executive producer
1980 Saturn 3 Executive producer
Uncredited
North Sea Hijack
The First Deadly Sin Executive producer
1982 Death Valley
1983 Man, Woman and Child Executive producer
1984 Oxford Blues
[23]
Garbo Talks
Big Truck and Sister Clare Executive producer
1986 Nomads
Heat
Uncredited
1987 Angel Heart
White of the Eye
Zombie High
1988 Jack's Back
Uncredited
The Blob
Homeboy
Zits
1989 Never on Tuesday
1994 Frank and Jesse
1996 Love Is All There Is
2001 Sweet November
2005 Opa! Final film as a producer
Miscellaneous crew
Year Film Role
1973 Cops and Robbers Presenter
1975 Rancho Deluxe
Russian Roulette
92 in the Shade
1976 The Missouri Breaks
1977 Black Joy
The Stick Up
1978 The Medusa Touch In association with
Absolution Presenter
1979 Yesterday's Hero
1980 Saturn 3 Presents in association with
North Sea Hijack Presenter
The First Deadly Sin
1986 Heat
1988 The Blob
1989 A Chorus of Disapproval
Thanks
Year Film Role
1965 Wild Seed Special thanks
1979 Natural Enemies
1989 Warm Summer Rain The producers wish to thank
1991 The Dark Backward Grateful acknowledgment
2011 A Thousand Kisses Deep Special thanks
2012 Papadopoulos & Sons Dedicated to the memory of

Unmade films

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Television

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Year Title Notes
1969 Michael Kohlhaas
Phantom India Documentary
1979 Mr. Horn Television film

Theatre credits

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  • Two Weeks Somewhere Else by Herman Raucher (1966)[43]
  • Marilyn! The Musical (1983)[44]

References

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  1. ^ a b Obituary at Variety
  2. ^ Erens, Patricia. The Jew in American Cinema. ISBN 9780253204936 | ISBN 0253204933 | Publisher: Indiana University Press | Publish Date: August 1988. p. 392.
  3. ^ a b Ronald Bergan, Elliott Kastner obituary, The Guardian 29 July 2010
  4. ^ PETER BART (Aug 7, 1966). "'I Like It. I Want It. Let's Sew It Up.'". The New York Times. p. 95.
  5. ^ a b c New York Times obituary
  6. ^ Aba, Marika (21 July 1968). "The Burtons... 'Just Another Working Couple". Los Angeles Times. p. c18.
  7. ^ MARIO PUZO (June 5, 1977). "How I Went To the Festival But Missed All the Movies: How I Missed All The Festival Movies". The New York Times. p. D1.
  8. ^ a b Tom Vallance, "Elliott Kastner obituary" The Independent, 17 July 2010
  9. ^ Bart, Peter (1991). Fade out : the calamitous final days of MGM. p. 219.
  10. ^ Bart p 221-223
  11. ^ Harris, Kathryn (10 June 1987). "Blay and Kastner Acquire Cinema Group Home Video". Los Angeles Times. p. A2.
  12. ^ Parker, Alan. "The Making of Angel Heart". Alan Parker.
  13. ^ GERALDINE FABRIKANT (Feb 10, 1997). "A Lion of B Movies To Sell Company To an Independent". The New York Times. p. D9.
  14. ^ Bates, James (February 10, 1997). "B-Movie King Corman to Sell Company". Los Angeles Times.
  15. ^ "Rourke in Dispute Over 'Homeboy'". Los Angeles Times. May 27, 1989.
  16. ^ "TIME, INC. v. KASTNER | 972 F.Supp. 236 (1997) | upp23611182". Leagle.com. 1997-07-31. Retrieved 2022-08-12.
  17. ^ Galbraith, Jane (March 15, 1994). "Ark. Town Gunning for James Gang : Movies: The citizens of Van Buren claim that the producers of 'Frank and Jesse' stiffed them. 'Nobody is going to be shabbily treated,' its co-producer says". Los Angeles Times.
  18. ^ Kastner Obituary Archived 2010-07-05 at the Wayback Machine; accessed May 5, 2014.
  19. ^ Elliott Kastner obituary, nytimes.com, July 2, 2010; accessed May 5, 2014.
  20. ^ Variety obituary, variety.com; accessed May 5, 2014.
  21. ^ a b https://newrepublic.com/article/books-and-arts/76147/elliott-kastner-1930–2010 [dead link]
  22. ^ "HOLLYWOOD CLASSICS TO DISTRIBUTE FILMS FROM ELLIOT KASTNER LIBRARY - Cinema Retro".
  23. ^ "Meet independent film's go-to 'fixer' | Fortune".
  24. ^ HOWARD THOMPSON (Mar 17, 1962). "TEAM SET TO FILM OSCAR LEWIS BOOK: Vittorio de Sica Will Direct 'Children of Sanchez' Will Have International Cast Boccaccio 70" Selected Russian Movie to Open". The New York Times. p. 17.
  25. ^ "Bruce Yarnell Joins 'Irma La Douce' Cast". Los Angeles Times. June 28, 1962. p. C7.
  26. ^ "Jane Fonda Heads 'Hanno's Doll' Cast". Los Angeles Times. June 19, 1962. p. C7.
  27. ^ A.H. WEILER (May 29, 1966). "Loads of Culture On the Horizon: More on Movie Matters". The New York Times. p. D9.
  28. ^ a b c d e f Kinematograph Weekly 24 Feb 1966 p 12 Archived 2015-12-24 at the Wayback Machine
  29. ^ Warga, Wayne. (July 28, 1968). "Cinema by, but Not Necessarily for, Television". Los Angeles Times. p. c14.
  30. ^ a b c d e f g Martin, Betty (Nov 30, 1966). "MOVIE CALL SHEET: Team to Produce 14 Films". Los Angeles Times. p. D16.
  31. ^ a b Adler, Dick. (Jan 31, 1971). "TOP PIX DEALS GOPOOF: "Say, what ever happened with that script I read you had all set up to shoot in Swaziland with Paul Newman, Raquel Welch, the Spanish Air Force, Godzilla and the June Taylor Dancers?" he asked, folding his copy of the Hollywood Reporter. "Don't ask", the man answered". Los Angeles Times. p. u14.
  32. ^ Manners, Dorothy. (Sep 19, 1968). "Gore Vidal Sought to Pen Film Story of Late W. C. Fields' Life". The Washington Post. p. B7.
  33. ^ "Gershwin, Kastner Will Film 'The Forty Days'". Los Angeles Times. Apr 11, 1969. p. g28.
  34. ^ A.H. WEILER (July 26, 1970). "The Many-Movied Malamud: Many-Movied Malamud". The New York Times. p. 71.
  35. ^ A. H. WEILER (Feb 6, 1972). "Drive, Gene Hackman Said: Drive, Gene Hackman Said". The New York Times. p. D15.
  36. ^ Scheuer, Lucie K. (June 2, 1973). "MOVIE CALL SHEET: Team to Film 'Jailbreak'". Los Angeles Times. p. a6.
  37. ^ Kilday, Gregg. (May 7, 1977). "FILM CLIPS: Stardom--Science or Fiction?". Los Angeles Times. p. b6.
  38. ^ ALJEAN HARMETZ (Nov 15, 1979). "'Serpentine' Book Sold To Films for $1 Million: 'Strictly Cash and Carry' 'Omnibus' to Return to TV 'Modigliani' Bought for Pacino Warner Offers Prize". The New York Times. p. C16.
  39. ^ Beck, Marllyn. (Aug 27, 1987). "Rampage' on again, off again, late again: Celebrities". Chicago Tribune. p. D8.
  40. ^ Clark TaylorNikki FinkePatrick GoldsteinCraig ModdernoLeonard KladyPat BroeskeChris WillmanLeonard KladyLeonard KladyLeonard KladyBelma Johnson. (Oct 25, 1987). "OUTTAKES: SCANDALOUS". Los Angeles Times. p. K18.
  41. ^ "Final Exposure".
  42. ^ Beck, Marilyn. (Apr 14, 1988). "Stones to be together separately: Celebrities". Chicago Tribune. p. D13C.
  43. ^ LEWIS FUNKEFriedman-Abeles (Nov 27, 1966). "The Rialto: A Secret's Out: News of the Rialto Secret Is Out WHY ALBEE? STRATFORD SEASON ROUNDUP". The New York Times. p. D1.
  44. ^ Oliver, Myrna (November 7, 2000). "Stephanie Lawrence; London Musical Actress Starred in 'Evita,' 'Marilyn!'". Los Angeles Times.
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