EXTRA! Richard Dreyfuss

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Let's partner for all of it. Learn more@edwardjones.com hi Jane Pauley and this is our Sunday morning abstract this weekend. Turner classic movie host Ben Mankiewicz Richard Dreyfus from American graffiti to close encounters of the third kind, and of course jaws. He won an Oscar in 1978 for the goodbye. 72. He's still keeping busy while looking back on more than 50 years in Hollywood.

Here's their conversation before getting the big movies just totally remind us how you light your way. It's the results you deserve is you do what ever it is they ask you to do music for I was raised on a ranch outside Las Vegas course arrived and just to be clear raised in New York in Brooklyn and I've never seen a horse and an but as I walked in the door.

The director of the segment was Paul already really from just like you betcha. And I said it's an honor to meet you Mr. and he said and I read and then he said, do you know how to ride and I said oh yeah, no problem. I was I was literally raised on a ranch outside Las Vegas no problem reinforcing the original so we get to the ranch and I go over to the head Wrangler and I said honey goes all you said this is harder than just writing said driver buckboard with two little children guys like this is this is taller, they take it seriously, you can't win this right and they take its dangers seriously, but they also take actors for doing what they are silly. So there. He's cursing me but he's with a good humor, and then Peter Brack, one of the regulars on the show, walked over to me while he was putting on his black gloves and he said to me, never forget that this animal has a brain this big and then he clenched his fist and he hit that horse right in the mouth really and I mean as hard as he could and the horse went in and he walked away.

Peter and I knew that the horse said to all the other horses he hit me because of the kid was totally terrified for you to go yourself.

I got two kids moment they said action.

They said that because they could see I was out of control like wow and then the two kids were the problem.

No they only went action, and before you could take a breath the whole crew was yelling and always said delusional why you got this far and I said I gave a good reading and he said no it is because you said it is an honor to meet you Mr. on a leg. I work for Bergman and Bogart doesn't like a nice got some lying Jew from New York another short run through so I will ask you start with the graduate or point out that that my daughter is currently on season four of the witch and that part of you will be by far the most exciting thing like I jaws should know from jaws right but for which serious business. Yeah, what a start. Well, when I'm Samantha. When I finished the big Valley Barbara Stanwyck walked up to me and I knew everything there was to know about purpose.

She walked up to me and she said you're the best actor who's ever guessed start on the show. She walked away and I of course believed so I invited all my friends and all my family to watch the show with me, which I have never done and will never ever do again because, as the show unfolded. I backed up unconsciously against the far wall of the room with my mouth like because I was terrible and I knew why Barbara Stanwyck had said that she said to herself.

If someone doesn't say something nice to this kid he's gonna blow his brains out and so she said I was the best actor in the fact and I can explain this. I was, not a good actor. I was visited and I was and I was energetic, energetic, and like that, but if you watch the performances I gave over 11 years. None of them are even close to being acceptable and then I got my first job in a in a real future and I was good. From that moment on, so that great line though you have the gradually growing line so I get the cops out of the cops below that line the biblical that knows all the time so you were hoping to be cast as Benjamin right now. No, no, every kid in New York and LA wanted that role of courts, but I knew number one I was an old rhymes still in school but I just wanted to get to Mike right there were lots of casting levels and I wanted to get to Mike like and Mike and on and and I have to say this I had been driving through Hollywood. One day I drove past the Greyhound station and I picked up a guy who needed a ride. He was a dwarf and he was both his bags were his arms and he just needed a place to stay a night. I drove and we talked and he said I said what you doing here in LA and he said like you I'm trying to make it now. I said well good luck and when I went on the casting for he was the first level casting he was casting director for which for graduate for graduate. He got a job and he was doing and I walked in and he went and I went awry. The great guy got part so I went up to the second level. Then I went up to the third level and then I was told next Tuesday night to see Mike and that's what I wanted right and on that Tuesday I was told Mike had to fly to New York because he seeing an actor named Dustin Hoffman and at the name Dustin Hoffman.

I swear to God this is true. I felt the wind of inevitability go right up the back of my neck even though you did not. I didn't know him. I didn't say I never knew what he looked like. I just heard the name and like Dustin himself, he knew Dustin Farnum and he chose it and I heard his name, and I knew and within a week. Everyone else knew. But Mike is was a guy of such class for real that he gave everyone who had reached a certain level in the casting process a job in the film somewhere so he he I was told I was in the movie and I went to Smita many says you prepared and I said I was studying with Stella all week long and he said okay. Whenever you're ready and I went summary tricolor cops. I'll call the cops. We got to see why you were so confident you will we go six years later, Greg is five years later.

Forecasting starts and all of a sudden did you know at the time, like a man this is Francis Ford Coppola producing George Lucas directing did you sense because you couldn't know that these were these were guys with vision know I is a matter of fact was the only member of the cast who did not know that we were shooting a classic. I just thought we were shooting on a little teenage movies or American graffiti, Rod Harrison Ford, Cindy Williams. They have some sense that this is some special Aliya. Everyone did. Everyone and I because people don't remember and why should they that there had been a little wavelet of nostalgia for the 50s and 60s already already been one and I thought we were overdue in the late where the boys are letter remember what they know no, it was not as well known is that it was just little cultural thing that time was surpassed right right right so we shot this movie and had a blast and George misled me on many ways.

One of the ways was that he is the only director I've ever met who doesn't like directing and and he would we be doing a scene.

Me and Ron some and he come up and say that when I do it and I said I would say that was your George Lucas inversely, and he would say okay cancel that and then lit and he was wearing a fur parka because it was freezing cold at night in San Francisco and we left the store Fresno were both we were shooting it in in San Francisco and we may have shots in Petaluma to I think, and the its books and then and II really did get the feeling that George George doesn't like directing and I will tell you what what I think is a coincidence, and I've yet even now I've totally forgotten to ask him after 50 years I had done my conscientious objector alternative service working at the LA County Hospital in the basement. Then I saw PHX 1138 is that you and I I recognized some of the locations as being in the basement of LA County Hospital and I I didn't get it from George other people. I seem to gotten it in my head that that's where he had shot as a student project and but I never really confirmed it and I saw it I liked it and then I was asked to audition for graffiti audition for graffiti, like everybody else. Oh yeah, there was no like nobody thought. I've seen this guy on stage in our cinnamon bewitched or big Valley and we want this. I want no new new new new as the French say actually I had made a breakthrough in two plays both local and the second one was at the taper and who saw me were the writers of graffiti and they had to pass the word along. But I had made a big splash in this play, and was the first in my career. What about it some where that Spielberg what you saw something in him. Stephen is Stephen. He called me and said I want to meet you about yours, don't read the book. To this day I've never read the book. That's how good an actor I am with directors and we met in what you have any preconceived notions about how the character should and for a very good reason.

He said I want to make a bullet. He wanted to make a one movie about one thing with tremendous philosophy and momentum, and there was Google's apparently of subplots in book he didn't want any of that.

So I didn't and he told me the story was citing. He said you want to do it twice with no he said why and I said because I'd rather watch this movie than shoot it because I because I'm an idiot. There's really no other explanation. I pretty stupid when it comes to certain things and I didn't know enough about the moviemaking process. So when it was over, I actually went on some talkshow New York and I said oh it's gonna be at failure. I settle these things that I then went back and apologized for saying the did you as you are making it did. The three of you are Scheider and Shawn, you did you guys shark work for you guys to just get over me.

I know it didn't literally work did you buy it is your should know.

Seems like no first they knew from the beginning.

What happened was they had forgotten to ask themselves one question which was as any other film ever been attempted on the real ocean. I wonder why. Now we know why.

And so the shark which had no grounding would come up and go and fall sick so we knew and the radio mics were so ubiquitous on the island you could follow the plot of making the movie just by walking down the street and hearing from all sides. They are the shark is not working is not a part of this article and you could just hear.

So one day my you heard the shark is working. The shark is what the boat is sinking. The boat is sinking and I was on that boat and we were sinking in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean. We had ripped the anchor out and Freddie's end are the head of the stunt people had jumped to the wheel and was trying to power the boat onto the beach at Chappaquiddick Island screaming all the time. This is that wireless. They say that words and Stephen with his megaphone is going get the actors off above close to the authors of the book and safety. Both are coming and it's a 6 foot swell and you know guys running the safety patrol local kids and I'm trying to help a 70-year-old soundman get his leg over the side of the boat holding his $50,000 nagger tape recorder and Stephen goes get the doctors off the bar please.

I said Stephen is 70 years old actors off the buck so you can use other so we lost the Negra a week is a right we on the very first day of shooting were in a boat a little boat and it was just doing this and then water went and the guy goes that's a wrap for sound so you don't have any feel that you made something great, but you do have faith in Spielberg right if you went and looked and said, pick out the person of authority on this step never picks on the first on Joe's after that, no problem. You know he was crowned and anointed so you know they considered some pretty big actors, including John Voight and Jeff Bridges for your part that still make you feel good that in the George Lucas was like them, you should look at Richard Dreyfus. Actually I didn't know that until just this minute that Lucas know that those two actors that you mentioned were being were mentioned they were a bit of they were emerging as very big stars right around and I had told Stephen some years later, about an experience I had of being deal broke out of Phil and when I was describing to him what they had said and done to get me to quit the movie Stephen said yes just we had to do to get you into jaws and but they had mentioned to Mickey bottoms right he was among them. He was the only one I knew and I never knew about George's endorsement. Will George's endorsement definitely happened and the burger. Stephen didn't want a giant established star you know Heston wanted to play Scheider's part for Brody and tested in 1975 still big deal about Spielberg thought his screen presence would overpower the other actors he really was. Second, to an actor whose name I don't know, but I knew his work and unfortunately this guy will never know that he was in first place for this part, but he was busy and that Roy was second and then Lee Marvin and Sterling Hayden and then Robert and and Robert and Roy had this thing about billing. There are always arguing about billing and I said to Roy one day we differences it make you that shoots and Roy turned to me and said wait a minute I don't understand why you're not bothered. We all have the same billing I went. We do know I should. Robert shows that Africa thought it was a and Richard Dreyfus either as blood. That's what they said on big Valley.

So after jaws, you will immediately start lobbying Spielberg for for in the middle of John the middle because they came to the island, Mike Phillips and develops the British and they start talking start talking about the film and when I understood what the film was originally it was to star Gina Heckman in a life or in the military 30 year man and an old down-home guy and then in the middle of jaws in talking to me about the film.

He said that he was thinking of changing that character and I said to what and he went well to someone more. Forget it and I went by I just focus and I decided that I would badmouth every actor ever born that could possibly play that role and I did those actors were. They were Janeiro Pacino everywhere who you name it, or save out to their ugly like I said I sit near and I would say fishing is great. I just walked by desperado.

You and then I said one day I said Stephen you need child and he looked up and said you got the part and that was not only smart of Richard. It was a perfectly encapsulated our relationship because I knew that that character had to have a childlike quality and I knew also that I had and I was in them. In a sense, I knew that I was being hired at that time for having that quality and also the quality of all and I knew it and that's why I got it also suggests to me that that Spielberg was seeing what jaws was. And I think probably sent us because about the big Starkey you might not know it yet, but he knew well, I think what it started to happen is that once we got back to Los Angeles shooting in the tank for just about week I read in the night and I would go with him to his office and work on the film with just throwing out ideas or like that and I would park without realizing it in the wrong parking place because one day in the morning they called and Stephen looked at me and said you're under arrest. I said really why pieces you parked in Alfred Hitchcock's fix. So I ran out the garden but by that time I knew I I if I didn't have an inside track for that role I should and I made no bones about it because I have the qualities that they need real. They didn't have to guess and he didn't.

He wasn't going to have this character have any affairs just going to be this also struck grown up kid. Awestruck grown-ups seriously committed right right and and also you knew that Stephen could see the story through this character's eyes. And if you see when you see the film you know that every actor in the third act has the same quality as face all children all the technicians over governors although everyone in that last sequence has have got this great quality of childlike wonder and he needed it and I knew it and when when I see the film. Now I'll watch that last sequence and I'm still amazed at how many of those technicians had that quality is that the richer driver's movie you watch most only new, it is the movie that is asked about more than any other really. And so when I've done autograph convention plans. I would say to the audience. I know more about jaws than anyone else in the world and if you ask me a question. Here's the deal if you ask me a question that I cannot answer about jaws all give you 10 bucks. If, however, you ask me a question that I can answer you give me 10 bucks and I am way ahead on this of people they they rise to the shell. Elia, you take there… I certainly do you know why you do. It's about a year and I made it clear in the first one who ever beat me 10-year-old girl, what was the question I have used. Remember looking at her ongoing Richard Ike great soloist great. One of the few people I know who has a job that's great. Well you have a job. I am expecting horrible progress and crazy time returns once final season is the point is we need. There are bad people in the world.

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