Anne Marie here in Hollywood, reporting the way it crumbles. TCMFF-wise, that is.
Shirley MacLaine knows how to command a room. TCM Classic Film Festival honored the Oscar winner's 6 decade career with a screening of The Apartment last night, but when MacLaine made her entrance to a standing ovation at the TCL Chinese stage, it was clear that the honor was all ours. Dressed in red & black sequins (reminiscent of Doris Mann), MacLaine sparkled with charm. But it's not just her incredible charisma. When a sound glitch caused feedback, she turned with a mischievous gleam in her eye and called out,
"Whoever's in charge of that: Fix it!"
Much of that no-nonsense professionalism Shirley MacLaine attributed to her friend, legendary director of The Apartment, Billy Wilder...
MacLaine started the interview by explaining that as a man, Wilder was warm (if sarcastic), but as a director he was precise, occasionally brittle, and scientific. Shirley MacLaine overflowed with on-set anecdotes. For instance: while it's well-known that Wilder used a complaint MacLaine made in passing as inspiration for her "Why do people have to love people anyway," many other scenes were written from Wilder's observations of his leading actors as well. Her favorite example: the gin game was written when Wilder learned that MacLaine's friends in the Rat Pack had taught her how to cheat.
But once a scene was written, Wilder was a stickler for words. MacLaine related a self-conscious story about a time during filming the Chinese restaurant scene when her inability to well up on cue, and her substitution of the word "off" instead of "out" caused Wilder to demand a reshoot. She was rattled, but when the time came to film, Wilder trusted her enough to walk away while she acted out the scene. She nailed it "He taught me how to accept criticism," said MacLaine.
MacLaine also discussed her affection towards - and awe of - the collaboration between Jack Lemmon and Billy Wilder. "Jack needed to be wrangled, so I kinda helped with the rope," MacLaine joked about her costar, before adding, seriously: "Jack was in love with Billy's genius... Billy was in love with Jack's talent." The talent of all three - Jack, Shirley, and Billy - earned The Apartment five Academy Awards, including Best Picture.
The result of that partnership was a movie as heartbreaking when it screened last night as it was 55 years ago. Even on the large IMAX screen of the TCL Chinese Theater, The Apartment remains an intimate, warm, and deeply melancholy film. When the lights came up after the screening, there were lots tears in the audience, but just as many smiles. After all, it's not every day you see Shirley MacLaine correct a sound technician.
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