If it succeeds, Selznick takes the credit; if it fails, Selznick shoulders the blame. Hecht just cashes his check and moves on to the next assignment. In fact, he was not even named in the original writing credits for Gone with the Wind. Victor Fleming is the man in the middle. She was holding up the action; preventing him from getting the job done.
And in the play he winds up slapping Hecht, just as he did little Judy. Art was to be a strong medicine, as red as cherries, though not perhaps as sweet.
This dogma was also followed outside the Soviet Union by left-wing artists who wanted to nudge the revolution along in their own countries. At the same time, artists such as Picasso, Joyce, Kafka, and Cocteau were experimenting with non-realistic ways of representing the world in words and images, the better to astonish and delight their audiences. Needless to say, Marxist critics deplored this work, dismissing it as decadent bourgeois formalism, overripe fruit totally lacking in revolutionary value.
In Moonlight and Magnolias we see these opposed forces confront each other in the clash between Hecht on the one hand, and Fleming and Selznick on the other.
Hecht is a medicine man—in principle, at least. Fleming and Selznick are cherry-pickers. They desire that Gone with the Wind be a huge popular hit, delighting millions, and advancing their careers. Which is what it turned out to be. In subsequent years, Hollywood has been dispensing medicine more liberally than Selznick did. As we saw, Hecht votes for the writer; Fleming for the director; and Selznick for the producer.
Nobody nominates the actors—the film artists who make the most vivid impression on the public. Do you have to be familiar with Gone with the Wind to appreciate Moonlight and Magnolias? If so, why? If not, why not? Which character do you sympathize with the most? For which character do you have the least sympathy? Do you think works of art such as plays, movies, novels, and paintings have an obligation to teach moral lessons? Why not? Have you thought about the relative importance of directors, writers, and producers in the making of a film?
Which character do you agree with about this issue? What does the producer of a film actually do? There were writers for silent movies even though there was no dialogue the audience could hear. Why do you think this was so? How important to the meaning of the play are the physical changes in the set? Mayer and Irving Thalberg, Hollywood legends; failure will mean financial and professional ruin, humiliation in public, and shame in the eyes of his family: I need this, guys.
You have no idea how badly I need it. Give me a hit fellas. However, Nelson delivers his comedic lines to perfection, and his banana peel eating scene is one of the best sight-gags in the show. Ichniowski in the supporting role of Miss Poppenghul is also a superior performance. She brings insight to this sometimes abused, sometimes well treated underling.
She, too, is forced to stay at the office for five days. We pity her as she physically shows her plight without the financial compensation that Hecht and Fleming will receive. Ichniowski makes the role more than just a walk-on. Her character is funny, sweet and very patient with her, sometimes, dense boss. The set is designed by Chalmers and Sascha Nelson. Sascha Nelson is also listed as the costume designer and for Hair and Make-up.
Both compliment the direction and set. We are all glad she brought it to Laurel Mill Playhouse. It is a production you need to put on your to-do list. For tickets, call the box office at , or purchase them online.
The allies prevail in World War II. Instead, what Moonlight and Magnolias offers audiences is a fascinating, imaginative peak behind the curtain to see just how the cinematic sausage gets made and what some of the brightest minds in Hollywood thought about their craft while it was still in process. Frankly, my dears, Arts Writer Ryah Cooley doesn't give a damn. Contact her at rcooley newtimesslo. On Nov. More Arts ». Visit the archives…. Switch to the mobile version of this page.
Got a News Tip? Is it okay to leave the scene where Scarlett slaps Prissy in the movie? Does it make her come off as unlikable or too violent? America wants to see the way it thinks it looks. And the pushback from the mainstream against art with a message is palpable. Jeremy O.
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