This is the text from a 40 minute video introduction/Seminar for Beyond the Bay virtual film series in conjunction with The Bay Theatre in Suttons Bay, MI
Here is the link to the shorter version on You Tube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5nwunt31cKk&feature=youtu.be
Today, I will be giving an introduction on Chinatown, one of my favorite films. Every time I watch it I think there’s something new to discover & I hope this introduction will help give more color to your enjoyment of the film. As part of this introduction I've made a conscious effort not to directly discuss the plot because the program was set up to watch/read this, then go out & watch the film for a discussion/Q&A later.
Chinatown, which was released in 1974 by Paramount Pictures, is primarily the product of 4 key contributors, screenwriter Robert Towne, Star Jack Nicholson, Producer Robert Evans & finally, director Roman Polanski. Screenwriter Robert Towne had the original story concept, spent months researching the Los Angeles water scam of the early 1900’s that is the event that propels the story & more than 2 years writing the 380-page first draft of a film he was calling Don’t Get Lost in Chinatown, Lost in the Sun, Deal Me Out, Last Chance or Jake’s Limit. (A script page is generally considered to last 1 minute on screen, so Towne’s initial version was more than 6 hours long) .Towne was a hot commodity around Hollywood for a lot of uncredited work he did on Bonnie & Clyde (1967), Drive, He Said (1971-which was Jack Nicholson’s directorial debut, and the scene that brought him to the attention of Paramount Pictures, the final scene between Michael Corleone & Vito Corleone in The Godfather (1972). Towne was so proficient at knocking out reworks of existing scripts that he wrote the pivotal scene in 1 night & it was shot pretty much as he wrote it. Brando was so happy with the scene that he told Towne “for once Vito is articulate.”
Today, I will be giving an introduction on Chinatown, one of my favorite films. Every time I watch it I think there’s something new to discover & I hope this introduction will help give more color to your enjoyment of the film.
Towne & Nicholson had been friends for 15 years, having met in an acting class, & Towne approached Nicholson with the broadest concept he could manage which was a story about a private eye in 1930’s Los Angeles. Nicholson agreed to be a part of the film, based also on his friend’s promise to write him his first leading man role. With Nicholson on board, Towne approached Robert Evans, then the hottest Studio head in Hollywood, for a lunch meeting to pitch his concept. In what may go down as one of the most ridiculous pitch meetings in Hollywood history, Towne began. “It’s a love story. It’s called Chinatown. That’s all I have.” A perplexed Evans waited for more, but all Towne could offer, was a little detail about the water scheme, a private detective who falls in love with the daughter of an important man and most importantly he sputtered “…and I have Nicholson.” Then Evans began asking questions. “So it’s set in Chinatown?” he asked. “No, Chinatown is a state of mind.” “A love state of mind?” Evans pressed. “No, the detective’s state of mind,” Towne went on. Evans, who was completely confused, muttered, “I see,” but kept asking questions, which gave him no greater clarity, so he changed the subject. “Would you like to take a crack at Gatsby?” which was then in pre-production at Paramount. Evans even offered Towne $175,000 for a script of Gatsby, but Towne turned him down remaining focused on Chinatown. (Evans was perplexed by the turndown, but Towne knew re-writing F Scott Fitzgerald’s classic would only bring pale comparisons to the original). Evans did, however, offer Towne a $25,000 option on the unwritten script, against $210,000 if the film was ever made, which was a tremendous amount. (an option is essential taking ownership of the idea, if anything comes of it. Thousands of options are taken on books that never get made into movies). Evans, however, was fairly confident nothing would come of the script, but in the meantime, he would have kept a rising star screenwriter in the Paramount family.
Here is the link to the shorter version on You Tube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5nwunt31cKk&feature=youtu.be
Today, I will be giving an introduction on Chinatown, one of my favorite films. Every time I watch it I think there’s something new to discover & I hope this introduction will help give more color to your enjoyment of the film. As part of this introduction I've made a conscious effort not to directly discuss the plot because the program was set up to watch/read this, then go out & watch the film for a discussion/Q&A later.
Chinatown, which was released in 1974 by Paramount Pictures, is primarily the product of 4 key contributors, screenwriter Robert Towne, Star Jack Nicholson, Producer Robert Evans & finally, director Roman Polanski. Screenwriter Robert Towne had the original story concept, spent months researching the Los Angeles water scam of the early 1900’s that is the event that propels the story & more than 2 years writing the 380-page first draft of a film he was calling Don’t Get Lost in Chinatown, Lost in the Sun, Deal Me Out, Last Chance or Jake’s Limit. (A script page is generally considered to last 1 minute on screen, so Towne’s initial version was more than 6 hours long) .Towne was a hot commodity around Hollywood for a lot of uncredited work he did on Bonnie & Clyde (1967), Drive, He Said (1971-which was Jack Nicholson’s directorial debut, and the scene that brought him to the attention of Paramount Pictures, the final scene between Michael Corleone & Vito Corleone in The Godfather (1972). Towne was so proficient at knocking out reworks of existing scripts that he wrote the pivotal scene in 1 night & it was shot pretty much as he wrote it. Brando was so happy with the scene that he told Towne “for once Vito is articulate.”
Today, I will be giving an introduction on Chinatown, one of my favorite films. Every time I watch it I think there’s something new to discover & I hope this introduction will help give more color to your enjoyment of the film.
Towne & Nicholson had been friends for 15 years, having met in an acting class, & Towne approached Nicholson with the broadest concept he could manage which was a story about a private eye in 1930’s Los Angeles. Nicholson agreed to be a part of the film, based also on his friend’s promise to write him his first leading man role. With Nicholson on board, Towne approached Robert Evans, then the hottest Studio head in Hollywood, for a lunch meeting to pitch his concept. In what may go down as one of the most ridiculous pitch meetings in Hollywood history, Towne began. “It’s a love story. It’s called Chinatown. That’s all I have.” A perplexed Evans waited for more, but all Towne could offer, was a little detail about the water scheme, a private detective who falls in love with the daughter of an important man and most importantly he sputtered “…and I have Nicholson.” Then Evans began asking questions. “So it’s set in Chinatown?” he asked. “No, Chinatown is a state of mind.” “A love state of mind?” Evans pressed. “No, the detective’s state of mind,” Towne went on. Evans, who was completely confused, muttered, “I see,” but kept asking questions, which gave him no greater clarity, so he changed the subject. “Would you like to take a crack at Gatsby?” which was then in pre-production at Paramount. Evans even offered Towne $175,000 for a script of Gatsby, but Towne turned him down remaining focused on Chinatown. (Evans was perplexed by the turndown, but Towne knew re-writing F Scott Fitzgerald’s classic would only bring pale comparisons to the original). Evans did, however, offer Towne a $25,000 option on the unwritten script, against $210,000 if the film was ever made, which was a tremendous amount. (an option is essential taking ownership of the idea, if anything comes of it. Thousands of options are taken on books that never get made into movies). Evans, however, was fairly confident nothing would come of the script, but in the meantime, he would have kept a rising star screenwriter in the Paramount family.
At the time Evans could afford to throw around a little cash to keep his friends happy & a stable of artists in the Paramount fold. 5 years earlier he had been plucked from relative obscurity to take over the struggling Paramount Pictures studio by Gulf+Western CEO Charlie Bludron. A move viewed in Hollywood as having as much to do with his matinee idol good looks as anything else. Paramount was the #9 studio at the time of his takeover & Evans was a washed up actor and small time producer. As it turned out, however, Evans had a keen ability to broker deals, attract young talent & produce high quality movies. By 1971, Paramount was riding high on receipts from Rosemary’s Baby (1968)-Polanski’s first Hollywood studio movie, The Italian Job (1969) & Love Story (1970), which took in more than $100 million dollars in its initial release & was at the time the 6th highest grossing film of all-time. As head of Paramount Evans would go on to oversee such classics as Harold & Maude (1970), The Godfather (1972), The Last Picture Show (1971), & in 1974 alone The Conversation, Chinatown & Godfather 2, which helped Paramount garner an unheard of 35 Oscar nominations. For Chinatown, however, Evans would exploit his growing power by renegotiating his contract to allow him to directly produce up to 2 films per year, the first of which would be Chinatown.
When Towne had approached him, Nicholson had had a string of big parts in small movies & small parts in big movies. His memorable supporting role as a southern attorney in Easy Rider (1969) had put him on the mainstream map and nabbed him his first Oscar nomination, after he had spent the ‘60’s working mainly in television & in small independent movies, most notably for Roger Corman. By the time Chinatown went into production in 1973, Nicholson had added an additional Oscar Nomination (for Five Easy Pieces-1970) and major parts in Carnal Knowledge (1971), The King of Marvin Gardens (1972) & The Last Detail (1973)-in an Oscar nominated script written by Robert Towne.
As Towne began to flesh out the plot of Chinatown he imagined Jane Fonda starring opposite Nicholson, but Evans was more interested in finding his new wife & star of Love Story, Ali McGraw, a new part. By the time Chinatown would go into production, he had already lost McGraw to Steve McQueen & their famous affair while shooting The Getaway (1972). Evans offered Arthur Penn (Bonnie & Clyde) the job, but he couldn’t understand the script. & for a fleeting moment Warren Beatty was interested. After having worked with Polanski on Rosemary’s Baby, Evans then turned to Polanski to direct Chinatown. The only problem was that Polanski was in self-exile in Europe & wanted no part in returning to Hollywood. In August of 1969 Polanski’s wife Sharon Tate & their unborn child along with 7 others, were murdered by the Manson family in a 2-night killing spree. At the time, Polanski was in Europe working on the script for his upcoming production of Day of the Dolphin & had been scheduled to return to LA just 2 days after the murders. While in exile he had made 2 flops (MacBeth & What?) and nobody in Hollywood expected him to recover from the murders, let alone successfully direct another good film. The only thing going in Evans favor was that Polanski had always wanted to direct a detective movie, having grown up watching & admiring classic Hollywood moviemaking. Evans sent him the now 180 page script that Towne had labored on for 2 years, still didn’t have an ending & annoyed everyone because of it confusing plotline. Polanski took the bait & agreed to fly to LA for a meeting to discuss the film.
When Towne had approached him, Nicholson had had a string of big parts in small movies & small parts in big movies. His memorable supporting role as a southern attorney in Easy Rider (1969) had put him on the mainstream map and nabbed him his first Oscar nomination, after he had spent the ‘60’s working mainly in television & in small independent movies, most notably for Roger Corman. By the time Chinatown went into production in 1973, Nicholson had added an additional Oscar Nomination (for Five Easy Pieces-1970) and major parts in Carnal Knowledge (1971), The King of Marvin Gardens (1972) & The Last Detail (1973)-in an Oscar nominated script written by Robert Towne.
As Towne began to flesh out the plot of Chinatown he imagined Jane Fonda starring opposite Nicholson, but Evans was more interested in finding his new wife & star of Love Story, Ali McGraw, a new part. By the time Chinatown would go into production, he had already lost McGraw to Steve McQueen & their famous affair while shooting The Getaway (1972). Evans offered Arthur Penn (Bonnie & Clyde) the job, but he couldn’t understand the script. & for a fleeting moment Warren Beatty was interested. After having worked with Polanski on Rosemary’s Baby, Evans then turned to Polanski to direct Chinatown. The only problem was that Polanski was in self-exile in Europe & wanted no part in returning to Hollywood. In August of 1969 Polanski’s wife Sharon Tate & their unborn child along with 7 others, were murdered by the Manson family in a 2-night killing spree. At the time, Polanski was in Europe working on the script for his upcoming production of Day of the Dolphin & had been scheduled to return to LA just 2 days after the murders. While in exile he had made 2 flops (MacBeth & What?) and nobody in Hollywood expected him to recover from the murders, let alone successfully direct another good film. The only thing going in Evans favor was that Polanski had always wanted to direct a detective movie, having grown up watching & admiring classic Hollywood moviemaking. Evans sent him the now 180 page script that Towne had labored on for 2 years, still didn’t have an ending & annoyed everyone because of it confusing plotline. Polanski took the bait & agreed to fly to LA for a meeting to discuss the film.
Polanski wouldn’t sugar coat his views of the script, but agreed to work with Towne on revisions to boil down the plot, lose many of the confusing subplots & minor characters and change what existed of Towne’s original ending. Polanski also needed to be made to understand the title, since at this point there were still no scenes that actual took place in Chinatown. Once again, Towne tried to explain the title as a state of mind, but Polanski wouldn’t have it, until either being consistent with its meaning in the script or moving some part of the script to the actual location. During the summer of ’73 the 2 toiled on the script, breaking down into a regular grind of Towne working to save as much of original script as possible & Polanski trying to distill it down into its filmable essence. What they ended up doing was breaking the whole story down & rebuilding it from scratch. After 2 months, they were no longer talking, but the script was starting to take shape. The constancy that both men were aware of was the setting & how much 1930’s Los Angeles would matter to the story.
With the script finally in close to what was to be shot condition, with the mystery unfolding simultaneously for Gittes as it does for the audience, Evans set about building out the cast, particularly Evelyn Mulray & her father Noah Cross. Nicholson was all in for Faye Dunaway, but Evans wanted to get the notoriously difficult actress at a bargain. She hadn’t had a notable hit since Bonnie & Clyde 7 years earlier and Evans used the threat of hiring Jane Fonda to get Dunaway’s price down. It worked and Dunaway was cast. Polanski, a big fan of The Maltese Falcon, among other films, suggested director John Huston to play Noah Cross, with Nicholson’s blessing. Nicholson, who was dating Huston’s daughter Angelica, worshipped the Hollywood legend, later saying “when John Huston dies, I will cry for the rest of my life.” Huston’s larger than life personae cast the perfect shadow over his entire performance.
The production design & period costumes were done by the husband & wife team of Richard & Anthea Sylbert. Richard was a 6 time Oscar nominee, including for Chinatown, & won for Who’s Afraid of Virginia Wolf? In 1967. He had worked with Polanski on Rosemary’s Baby, also designed The Manchurian Candidate (’62), The Graduate (’68) & Catch-22. Anthea was also nominated for Chinatown and had designed the costumes for Carnal Knowledge, among other films. Both designers approached the film like each shot were a painting, everything has a reason, but nothing stands out. The simple color pallet of off-whites, grays & muted darker colors gave the film a period feel, without resorting to stereotypes and redundancy. Sylbert made a point of finding unique locations in and around LA that hadn’t been featured in prior films.
With the script finally in close to what was to be shot condition, with the mystery unfolding simultaneously for Gittes as it does for the audience, Evans set about building out the cast, particularly Evelyn Mulray & her father Noah Cross. Nicholson was all in for Faye Dunaway, but Evans wanted to get the notoriously difficult actress at a bargain. She hadn’t had a notable hit since Bonnie & Clyde 7 years earlier and Evans used the threat of hiring Jane Fonda to get Dunaway’s price down. It worked and Dunaway was cast. Polanski, a big fan of The Maltese Falcon, among other films, suggested director John Huston to play Noah Cross, with Nicholson’s blessing. Nicholson, who was dating Huston’s daughter Angelica, worshipped the Hollywood legend, later saying “when John Huston dies, I will cry for the rest of my life.” Huston’s larger than life personae cast the perfect shadow over his entire performance.
The production design & period costumes were done by the husband & wife team of Richard & Anthea Sylbert. Richard was a 6 time Oscar nominee, including for Chinatown, & won for Who’s Afraid of Virginia Wolf? In 1967. He had worked with Polanski on Rosemary’s Baby, also designed The Manchurian Candidate (’62), The Graduate (’68) & Catch-22. Anthea was also nominated for Chinatown and had designed the costumes for Carnal Knowledge, among other films. Both designers approached the film like each shot were a painting, everything has a reason, but nothing stands out. The simple color pallet of off-whites, grays & muted darker colors gave the film a period feel, without resorting to stereotypes and redundancy. Sylbert made a point of finding unique locations in and around LA that hadn’t been featured in prior films.
Filming began on October 15, 1973 & the first location was in the Orange groves north of Los Angeles. Polanski arrived at the set nervous & promptly threw up. Nicholson had come directly from the set of The Passenger (Antonionni) & had little time to prepare his interpretation for Gittes. Hollywood veteran cinematographer Stanley Cortez, who had shot The Magnificent Ambersons (1942) for Orson Welles & The Night of the Hunter (1955) for first time director Charles Laughton, was steeped in the studio way of shooting a film, with highly planned camera movements & as much artificial light as possible. Polanski, on the other hand, was used to the European, down & dirty, shooting style, but he respected Cortez and was willing to work at a slower pace for the veteran. Evans, however, was not interested in adhering to Cortez’s rules & instead wanted The Godfather’s prince of Darkness Cinematographer Gordon Willis to shoot the film. Within days, both producer & director were upset with what was being shot. Evans didn’t like that Polanski had scorched the colors to make LA look like a desert, while Polanski didn’t like Cortez’s use of lighting, which made everything look old fashioned, not real. The answer was simple; Evans colored the dailies to make them look like what he wanted & Polanski fired Cortez & brought in John Alonzo. Alonzo had come from shooting documentaries with Jacques Cousteau, so he was used to setting up quickly & using natural light, just what the director wanted. Alonzo would be nominated for his only Oscar for Chinatown.
The shots coming out of the camera were not the only issues plaguing Polanski. Dunaway was reaching full on diva mode; often overly concerned with every aspect of her makeup, insisting on lengthy touchups between every take, trying the patience of everyone on set. More importantly, she had developed a stammer once she got in front of the camera that made her delivery sound halting & disjointed. In retrospect her character looks naïve & often confused, but it may have been just an affect of her line readings. Evans had given Polanski 68 days to shoot Chinatown & even with the issues on set Polanski remained on schedule, even though there still wasn’t a working finale.
The shots coming out of the camera were not the only issues plaguing Polanski. Dunaway was reaching full on diva mode; often overly concerned with every aspect of her makeup, insisting on lengthy touchups between every take, trying the patience of everyone on set. More importantly, she had developed a stammer once she got in front of the camera that made her delivery sound halting & disjointed. In retrospect her character looks naïve & often confused, but it may have been just an affect of her line readings. Evans had given Polanski 68 days to shoot Chinatown & even with the issues on set Polanski remained on schedule, even though there still wasn’t a working finale.
Principal photography ended on January 18th & Polanski turned the film over to his editor, Sam Osteen, who had edited Rosemary’s Baby, for a rough cut. O’Steen subscribed to the belief that once a film had been assembled in a rough cut, it must be allowed to heal, that is to sit a couple of weeks to ingest what it has become. “After all, it has been cut. If you pick at a scab it never heals.” While the rough cut was prepared Evans went about searching for the score. Having played a big part in Love Story’s success, in Evan’s mind the score was the “beating heart” of the picture. With the preview scheduled for May 3rd & with a release date of June 20th, and Polanski in Europe directing an opera, time was short so Polanski turned to novice film composer Phillip Lambro. What he created delighted Polanski, but Evans wanted more, so he went behind Polanski’s back & had the composer create 10 more minutes of music, which recast the entire score. When a private screening of the rough cut with the score was set up at Evans’ house a week before the May 3rd preview, all in attendance agreed that the score was harsh and an assault on the nerves. Towne was offended by the entire film, but felt particular disdain for the music & shared his thoughts with Evans. Polanski sided with the young composer, but battle lines had been drawn.
When the preview screening turned in a disaster the following week, everyone agreed that drastic changes needed to be made before the June release. The preview audience blamed the music & all those associated with the film agreed. (Studios used to utilize blind preview screenings outside of Los Angeles to gage the potential success of a film. Audiences wouldn’t know what they were going to see in advance & then were asked to fill out response cards about the film. Studios would then use the cards to make changes to the film, either in the story or editing, the sound, the music & sometimes as dramatically as changing one of the actors. Chinatown’s preview was held in San Luis Obispo, California). After the preview Polanski had to return to Europe to direct the Opera, so he wouldn’t be able to assist further on the mixing of the soundtrack, which left the film in Evans prying hands. Throughout the production & post-production Evans had been a constant annoyance to Polanski, suggesting different looks for the film, commenting on pacing & finally in the editing room requesting changes that the director simply ignored. What Evans was good at, however, was making deals & bringing folks together. As he had done with the score for A Love Story which was very different just before its release, Evans looked for a savior. In the case of Chinatown he found one in Jerry Goldsmith, a veteran who already had 5 Oscar nominations for best score. In films like A Patch of Blue w/ Sydney Poitier to Patton & The Planet of the Apes, Goldsmith created impactful scores that created mood across many types of film. Evans screened the film for Goldsmith, who immediately saw the Los Angeles of his youth. He knew right away how he would fill in the silences & underscore the emotion of what he saw. He wrote the entire score in 8 days & it was recorded in another 2 days. Goldsmith would be nominated for an Oscar, one of an additional 13 that he would earn after scoring Chinatown in 10 days.
When the preview screening turned in a disaster the following week, everyone agreed that drastic changes needed to be made before the June release. The preview audience blamed the music & all those associated with the film agreed. (Studios used to utilize blind preview screenings outside of Los Angeles to gage the potential success of a film. Audiences wouldn’t know what they were going to see in advance & then were asked to fill out response cards about the film. Studios would then use the cards to make changes to the film, either in the story or editing, the sound, the music & sometimes as dramatically as changing one of the actors. Chinatown’s preview was held in San Luis Obispo, California). After the preview Polanski had to return to Europe to direct the Opera, so he wouldn’t be able to assist further on the mixing of the soundtrack, which left the film in Evans prying hands. Throughout the production & post-production Evans had been a constant annoyance to Polanski, suggesting different looks for the film, commenting on pacing & finally in the editing room requesting changes that the director simply ignored. What Evans was good at, however, was making deals & bringing folks together. As he had done with the score for A Love Story which was very different just before its release, Evans looked for a savior. In the case of Chinatown he found one in Jerry Goldsmith, a veteran who already had 5 Oscar nominations for best score. In films like A Patch of Blue w/ Sydney Poitier to Patton & The Planet of the Apes, Goldsmith created impactful scores that created mood across many types of film. Evans screened the film for Goldsmith, who immediately saw the Los Angeles of his youth. He knew right away how he would fill in the silences & underscore the emotion of what he saw. He wrote the entire score in 8 days & it was recorded in another 2 days. Goldsmith would be nominated for an Oscar, one of an additional 13 that he would earn after scoring Chinatown in 10 days.
The film was almost ready, so the key players, minus Polanski, who was still in Europe, sat down to a private screening on the studio lot. In the absence of Polanski Evans had brightened the colors in the print, which infuriated Nicholson, who disavowed the film if the bright print was to be released. Evans relented without admitting guilt. He then scheduled 1 final showing to industry insiders & important critics. Most of the insiders hated it, concerned a pivotal plot point had gone too far. The critics, most notably to LA Times & Chicago’s Roger Ebert, loved it. New York critic Pauline Kael, was one of the few dissenting voices (P. 264)
As the studio era died in the late 50’s & after the studios had been divested of their own theater chains, films were divided into certain classes that would determine their release plan. There were epic road show pictures, like Lawrence of Arabia or Dr Zvago, that would play the movie palaces across the country over the course of a year, with extravagant promotions. These were the event releases. Then there were the A pictures, that would debut in 1 or 2 theatres in major cities & could play for up to 4 months, before moving to second run theaters in smaller towns. Finally, there were B pictures or programmers that would be the second feature in a double bill & would typically only last a couple of weeks in any theater.
By the time Chinatown was released, however, there were cracks in the traditional release plans for the Hollywood studios. The Godfather had opened 2 years earlier in what was considered wide at the time, on 316 screens. Paramount had also demanded upfront money from the theaters for the right to play the film & took 90% of the ticket sales for the first 12 weeks. The era of the blockbuster had begun.
Chinatown wasn’t that kind of movie, however, but it did open to sold out shows on 3 screens in LA and slowly throughout the country, gaining word of mouth as it went along. In what now would be considered a platform release for an arthouse movie with Oscar aspirations, Chinatown earned $23 million dollars in ticket sales in 1974, during its initial release. (#19 for the year).
As the studio era died in the late 50’s & after the studios had been divested of their own theater chains, films were divided into certain classes that would determine their release plan. There were epic road show pictures, like Lawrence of Arabia or Dr Zvago, that would play the movie palaces across the country over the course of a year, with extravagant promotions. These were the event releases. Then there were the A pictures, that would debut in 1 or 2 theatres in major cities & could play for up to 4 months, before moving to second run theaters in smaller towns. Finally, there were B pictures or programmers that would be the second feature in a double bill & would typically only last a couple of weeks in any theater.
By the time Chinatown was released, however, there were cracks in the traditional release plans for the Hollywood studios. The Godfather had opened 2 years earlier in what was considered wide at the time, on 316 screens. Paramount had also demanded upfront money from the theaters for the right to play the film & took 90% of the ticket sales for the first 12 weeks. The era of the blockbuster had begun.
Chinatown wasn’t that kind of movie, however, but it did open to sold out shows on 3 screens in LA and slowly throughout the country, gaining word of mouth as it went along. In what now would be considered a platform release for an arthouse movie with Oscar aspirations, Chinatown earned $23 million dollars in ticket sales in 1974, during its initial release. (#19 for the year).
Chinatown went on to be nominated for 11 Oscars, including 1 each for Nicholson, Evans & Polanski. Robert Towne won the only Oscar for the film.
Since Chinatown, Polanski has had an up & down career, largely overshadowed by his conviction for sex with a minor. (As part of a plea-bargin he spent 42 days in a psychiatric hospital, but due to public pressure a judge reconsidered & threaten to put him in jail for 50 years, so he fled to France). He did win a best director Oscar for The Pianist in 2002.
Nicholson became a Hollywood mainstay & has been nominated for 11 acting Oscars, winning 3 times. His last film How Do You Know in 2010.
Aside from Shampoo, which was released in 1975, Towne never achieved anywhere near the acclaim for his writing. He was nominated for an Oscar for Greystoke: The Legend of Tarzan (1984), but because of his disgust with the production, he insisted writing credit for assigned to P H Vazek, Towne’s dog.
By September of 1974, Evans was pushed aside at Paramount by an executive from its TV division, which was emerging as the cash cow for the company. 1974, however, was the most profitable year in Paramount Pictures history, so Evans was rewarded with a production deal. His career largely went downhill, however, a mix of drugs, risk taking & bad choices. He died just last year at the age of 89.
What remains of Chinatown’s legacy is that it can be pointed to as the last of its kind: A studio produced film that was complicated, smart, elegantly crafted, but with controversial content & a disquieting ending. It’s often said that it’s better to be lucky than good & perhaps Chinatown caught lightening in a bottle for many of its participants, but it’s also a testament that to create great art there must be struggle, whether real, imaged or self inflicted.
Since Chinatown, Polanski has had an up & down career, largely overshadowed by his conviction for sex with a minor. (As part of a plea-bargin he spent 42 days in a psychiatric hospital, but due to public pressure a judge reconsidered & threaten to put him in jail for 50 years, so he fled to France). He did win a best director Oscar for The Pianist in 2002.
Nicholson became a Hollywood mainstay & has been nominated for 11 acting Oscars, winning 3 times. His last film How Do You Know in 2010.
Aside from Shampoo, which was released in 1975, Towne never achieved anywhere near the acclaim for his writing. He was nominated for an Oscar for Greystoke: The Legend of Tarzan (1984), but because of his disgust with the production, he insisted writing credit for assigned to P H Vazek, Towne’s dog.
By September of 1974, Evans was pushed aside at Paramount by an executive from its TV division, which was emerging as the cash cow for the company. 1974, however, was the most profitable year in Paramount Pictures history, so Evans was rewarded with a production deal. His career largely went downhill, however, a mix of drugs, risk taking & bad choices. He died just last year at the age of 89.
What remains of Chinatown’s legacy is that it can be pointed to as the last of its kind: A studio produced film that was complicated, smart, elegantly crafted, but with controversial content & a disquieting ending. It’s often said that it’s better to be lucky than good & perhaps Chinatown caught lightening in a bottle for many of its participants, but it’s also a testament that to create great art there must be struggle, whether real, imaged or self inflicted.