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May 1, 2008

Too good to be noticed

When you go to a big movie press gathering, it is standard operating procedure for reporters to be offered T-shirts or soundtrack CDs or even backpacks promoting the film in question.
Usually, I say thanks but no thanks.
Last Sunday at the press conference for “Iron Man,” some reporters grumbled about the absence of the usual movie promo booty, but I was thrilled when a publicist handed me an oblong paperback book, “Making Iron Man,” consisting of photos taken on the set by Jeff Bridges who gets third billing under Robert Downey Jr.
Bridges has been one of my favorite actors for more than 30 years, but I also love the gritty, behind-the-scenes photos he has been taking on sets since “Starman” in 1984.
On the movies he’s made since then, the actor has made gift books of his production pictures and given them to the cast and crew.
Five years ago, powerHouse books published a collection of the actor’s photos — “Pictures” — and it has become one of my most treasured Hollywood books because of the way Bridges shows us the nuts and bolts of making movies.
I was surprised by the number of reporters at the Sunday event who didn’t know about this remarkable book. Critic David Thomson has called Bridges “the taker of some of the best on-set still photographs I have ever seen.”
The actor uses a Widelux camera which produces an extraordinarily wide image. In the foreword to “Pictures” director Peter Bogdanovich writes that “Jeff’s choice of…camera is emblematic of his own vision, which generously includes as much as possible of the ragtag world in which he has spent so much of his life.”
The actor’s respect for the crew — and his understanding of the important role they play on any film — is illustrated by shot after shot that includes make-up people, lighting men, costume fitters.
“Jeff is America’s best actor,” director Terry Gilliam told Bogdanovich. “He’s a Zen actor — he knows the frame, the plane of the film he’s acting in — which is very useful and pretty spooky for the crew because he really knows how films are made. It’s rare for an actor to be so incredibly technical yet real at the same time. He never cheats.”
In the book and in his acting, Bridges makes what he does look entirely natural. The actor-photographer includes several shots of his “Texasville” and “The Last Picture Show” co-star Timothy Bottoms in his book and writes in a caption, “I have always felt that Tim’s performance in ‘The Last Picture Show’ should have won him an Academy Award. He disappeared into his character, Sonny, so completely that his acting was invisible, which is probably why he wasn’t nominated. His acting was too good to be noticed.”
What Bridges said about the acting of Timothy Bottoms is the way I feel about “Pictures.”

Posted by Joe on May 1, 2008 6:20 PM

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Posted by: joe provey at May 3, 2008 8:46 PM

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