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The Kid Stays in the PictureDirected by Brett Morgan & Nanette Burstein By Sari These titled words are taken from the 1994 tell-all autobiography of one Robert Evans: clothing entrepreneur, not-quite-actor, big-time Paramount producer, and Hollywood survivor of the heady 70s. They refer to an episode in his ephemeral stint as actor, playing a matador in The Sun Also Rises (1957). Despite protestations from Ernest Hemingway (et al) about Evans talents, movie mogul Darryl Zanuck bellowed the phrase over a bullhorn. Those few words were to become an anthem for the turbulent rise and fall of Robert Evans life as a longstanding creative force in the fickle fast lane of Hollywood: from small-time actor (in the late 50s), to head of Paramount Pictures-- producing such maverick films as Rosemarys Baby (1968), Love Story (1970), The Godfather (Parts I and II), Chinatown (1974), The Conversation (1974), and Marathon Man (1976). He bottomed out in the 1980s, fuelled by a wicked cocaine addiction and subsequent drug bust, in addition to some bad press linking him to a murder scandal (during the production of the The Cotton Club). He made a comeback in the 90s with his bestselling book, The Kid Stays in the Picture, and movie The Saint (1997). In between he was married 5 times (once to 70s superstar Ali MacGraw, mother of his son), and befriended (Jack Nicholson, Warren Beatty, Al Pacino, Henry Kissinger) or bedded (Ava Gardner, Lana Turner) many of Tinseltowns elite. What makes the documentary utterly watchable for all 90 minutes is Evans larger-than-life, seductively charismatic, and thoroughly entertaining narration of events. Recounted entirely from Evans perspective, there are no opposing views from any of his colleagues, but that aint the point. To coin Sinatras mantra: he did it his way. |
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