Peter Bogdanovich
About
Biography
Filmography
Family & Companions
Bibliography
Notes
"I always looked at them [Bogdanovich and Polly Platt] like a replay of the old saying about Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers: 'He gave her class, she gave him sex.' With Peter and Polly, it was: 'He gave her the nerve, she gave him all her best ideas.'" --an unidentified former friend of the couple, quoted in Movieline, c. 1995.
"I think [Fritz] Lang said he was advised don't have an affair with an actress. And Lang said, 'I didn't listen.' And I thought when I was doing the interview, I didn't know what was in store. That was five years before "The Last Picture Show" (and the affair with Cybill Shepherd). Well, it's an occupational hazard--you're creating somebody in a way." --Peter Bogdanovich to the Los Angeles Times, May 15, 1997.
Biography
The Peter Bogdanovich story is a Hollywood tale through and through, replete with memorable associations and fantastic success, along with various ups and downs. Bogdanovich was a teenage actor in NYC and directed and produced an Off-Broadway production of Clifford Odets' "The Big Knife" at age 20. He worked as a film critic for such magazines as Film Culture, Movie and Esquire and began interviewing directors in the early '60s, writing monographs for the Metropolitan Museum of Art on Howard Hawks, Orson Welles and Alfred Hitchcock and publishing elsewhere the results of his talks with other luminaries like John Ford, Fritz Lang and Allan Dwan. Critics compared his breakout movie, "The Last Picture Show" (1971), to "Citizen Kane." "What's Up, Doc?" (1972) was his tribute to the screwball comedies of Howard Hawks. Starring Barbra Streisand and Ryan O'Neal, "What's Up, Doc?" was a huge success, just the prescription for a country weary of the Vietnam War. Bogdanovich followed with the Depression-era comedy-drama "Paper Moon" (1973), which marked the peak of his filmmaking fame. "Nickelodeon" (1976), recreating the early days of motion pictures, was also a success, but personal tragedy sidelined him for a time following the murder of companion Dorothy Stratten. He returned in 1985 with "Mask," which opened to good reviews, and was followed by "Texasville" (1990), a sequel to "The Last Picture Show," and "Noises Off" (1992), adapted from the hit stage play. Bogdanovich continued to care about and seek out directors from the early days of Hollywood, compiling a storehouse of anecdotal information about the pioneering days of Hollywood which found its way into "Who the Devil Made It?," a huge and valuable collection of his interviews with 16 great Hollywood directors that was published in 1997.
Filmography
Director (Feature Film)
Cast (Feature Film)
Writer (Feature Film)
Producer (Feature Film)
Editing (Feature Film)
Music (Feature Film)
Film Production - Main (Feature Film)
Special Thanks (Feature Film)
Misc. Crew (Feature Film)
Director (Special)
Cast (Special)
Writer (Special)
Special Thanks (Special)
Misc. Crew (Special)
Cast (Short)
Director (TV Mini-Series)
Cast (TV Mini-Series)
Life Events
1956
Performed with American Shakespeare Festival in Stratford, Connecticut
1958
Acted with New York Shakespeare Festival
1958
Began writing film criticism for publications including <i>The New York Times</i>, <i>Esquire</i> and <i>Film Culture</i>
1959
Directed and co-produced the Off-Broadway staging of "The Big Knife"
1961
Wrote monographs for the Museum of Modern Art Film Library on Orson Welles, Alfred Hitchcock and Howard Hawks
1964
Moved to California
1966
Hired as second unit director by Roger Corman for "Wild Angels"; claims to have done rewrites (uncredited), location scouting and editing; was hired after Corman read some of his film criticism
1966
First feature film credit (as additional sequence director and narrator), "Voyage to the Planet of Prehistoric Women" (credited as Derek Thomas)
1968
Feature directing and producing debut, "Targets," starring Boris Karloff and executive produced by Corman (also wrote and acted)
1971
Release of first documentary, "Directed by John Ford" (commissioned by the American Film Institute)
1971
Won acclaim for directing "The Last Picture Show"; received Oscar nominations for Best Director and Best Screenplay (shared with Larry McMurtry)
1972
Produced and directed "What's Up, Doc?" co-starring Ryan O'Neal and Barbra Streisand
1973
Again collaborated with O'Neal for "Paper Moon" (produced and directed), also co-starred a 10-year-old Tatum O'Neal who picked up a Supporting Actress Oscar; was the Directors Company's first offering
1974
Provided companion Cybil Shepard with a starring vehicle, "Daisy Miller"; film received lackluster critical reception
1976
Wrote and directed the heartfelt valentine to early days of moviemaking, "Nickelodeon"; third film with Ryan O'Neal; second with Tatum O'Neal
1979
Made a movie version of Paul Theroux's novel "Saint Jack"
1981
Released "They All Laughed"after Dorothy Stratten's murder; wrote screenplay and contributed music, in addition to directing; distributed film himself after failing to find a distributor due to the negative publicity surrounding the Stratten murder
1984
Published the memoir, <i>The Killing of the Unicorn: Dorothy Stratten</i>
1985
Directed the well received drama "Mask" co-starring Cher and Eric Stoltz
1986
Founded Crescent Moon Productions, Inc.
1990
Returned to "Last Picture Show" territory with the sequel "Texasville" (produced, directed and scripted), was a critical and box office failure
1992
Translated the door-slamming British sex farce from the stage to the screen as director of "Noises Off"
1993
Directed "The Thing Called Love," about a country singer-songwriter who wants to make it big in Nashville; one of River Phoenix's last roles
1995
Helmed segments of the Showtime anthology series' "Picture Windows" and "Fallen Angels"
1996
Directed a television sequel to 1967 feature film "To Sir With Love" (CBS) with Sidney Poitier reprising his role
1997
Helmed another CBS movie, "The Price of Heaven"
1998
Appeared as the leader of therapy group in "Mr. Jealousy"; co-starred and produced by Eric Stoltz
1998
Had a cameo appearance in the feature "54"
2000
Returned to acting, playing the recurring role of Dr. Melfi's (Lorraine Bracco) psychotherapist in the HBO series "The Sopranos"; also directed a fifth season episode of the series
2001
Returned to directing features with "The Cat's Meow" (released theatrically in 2002)
2003
Had a supporting role as a fictional version of himself in the Showtime comedy series "Out of Order"
2006
Cast in the Truman Capote biopic "Infamous"
2007
Appeared in Zoe Cassavetes' directorial debut, "Broken English"
Photo Collections
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Promo
Family
Companions
Bibliography
Notes
"I always looked at them [Bogdanovich and Polly Platt] like a replay of the old saying about Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers: 'He gave her class, she gave him sex.' With Peter and Polly, it was: 'He gave her the nerve, she gave him all her best ideas.'" --an unidentified former friend of the couple, quoted in Movieline, c. 1995.
"I think [Fritz] Lang said he was advised don't have an affair with an actress. And Lang said, 'I didn't listen.' And I thought when I was doing the interview, I didn't know what was in store. That was five years before "The Last Picture Show" (and the affair with Cybill Shepherd). Well, it's an occupational hazard--you're creating somebody in a way." --Peter Bogdanovich to the Los Angeles Times, May 15, 1997.
" ... The generation that we're dealing with in my book, which covers 16 directors who were born between 1885 and 1924, grew up either with no films or silent films. Silent film was a medium in which the goal was to convey everything visually without dialogue and without titles."When sound came in, the whole question of 'how do you convey this fleeting thought, this plot point, this nuance of character visually' became, 'What kind of dialogue can we write?' There's the difference right there. It's only because the great veterans of the silent era--most of them--continued well into the talking era that the talkies from '29 to '61 or '62 had as much visual power and impact as they did. Despite the fact that sound or dialogue came to dominate, the most effective moments in all their films are still silent moments, and they knew that." --Bogdanovich in Moviemaker, January 1998.
