Monday, April 28, 2008

A New Film About The Life Of Ernie Kovacs?

Good afternoon my fellow Kovacsians.

I just found a very interesting article I wanted to share with you entitled "Edie Adams' Memories Of 'The Apartment'." It was written by Ruthe Stein for the San Francisco Chronicle's Sunday, April 6, 2008 edition.

The writer interviews Edie about the making of the Billy Wilder film in which she played the vindictive Miss Olsen, nosy secretary to a high-level boss at a large Manhattan insurance company. The boss was played by Fred MacMurray.

I enjoyed this interview and know my fellow Kovacs Fans will too. But this is the question and answer I found the most intriguing and it has to do with another film entirely:

Q: I understand you are hoping to get another movie made about your late husband. (There was a 1984 TV movie, "Ernie Kovacs: Between the Laughter," starring Jeff Goldblum.)

A:
That's true, but I'm not supposed to talk about it. We're trying to get George Clooney to play him.
Wow. Wouldn't that be something? I've seen the Goldblum film and have always admired his performance. My problem with that film, however, was that the storyline mainly dealt with the kidnapping of Ernie's daughters by their mother, Ernie's first wife Bette Wilcox. It did not spend nearly enough time on all the great things Ernie pioneered in television which were treated almost as a side note. That's what happens when something is "made for TV"; you get all the sensationalism and none of the substance. Its not that the kidnappings weren't a major or important part of Ernie's story; its just that they're not the only part and audiences learned very little of the man from watching this film.

Therefore its high time that a movie be made about Ernie that really explores his life and legacy and of course it ought to be a major theatrical release and not just TV fare. And who better than George Clooney to play the lead? That would be a great box office draw and would introduce Ernie and his work to an entirely new generation that might not be familiar with him.

I think Clooney would make a great Kovacs; he's an excellent actor and has already proven he can do a great job with these projects about TV's bygone days as both director and actor; just take a look at "Good Night, And Good Luck" and "Confessions Of A Dangerous Mind".

So let's keep our fingers crossed my fellow Kovacsians. And while we're doing that let's all wish a happy belated birthday to Edie who was born on April 16th.

The Ernie Kovacs My Space Fan Page is up to 715 friends, an increase of 35 since our last post. As always we thank everyone who requested an add or accepted a request from us.

Until next time my fellow Kovacsians, "Its Been Real!"

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

Wow, come to think of it, Clooney would make an excellent Kovacs! Hope this happens - and also hope some renewed interest in Kovacs will allow more of his unreleased shows to be released on DVD :-)

Al Quagliata said...

I agree! Thanks for reading and posting.