Director a cut above
By SHELLY DECKER -- Express Writer
In a notoriously ruthless
business, director Michael Anderson has been reeling in the action for more than
four decades.
And the Canadian's illustrious feature film career shows no sign of waning, as
evidenced by yesterday's release of Summer of the Monkeys.
In his long history of filmmaking, he's made notable friendships, including the
late Frank Sinatra. Legendary Gary Cooper was a friend for more than 30 years
and Anderson directed his last two movies.
"He was a friend till he passed away, a very good friend,'' the amiable
British-born man fondly recalls. "Cooper was the most interesting. He was a
man who was totally self-effacing off the screen.''
The list of actors he's directed reads like a who's who of Hollywood nostalgia:
James Cagney. Marlene Dietrich. Alec Guiness. Charleton Heston. Anthony Quinn.
"It's wonderful to have worked with them,'' says Anderson, who lived in Los
Angeles before moving to Canada, where he became a citizen in 1980.
"But you know, when you're on the set you don't think of them as Frank
Sinatra or Dietrich. You think of them as the part they're playing. If you
stopped to think of them as the star they are, you'd never make a picture. You'd
be intimidated.''
Beyond working with established forces, Anderson has a proven knack for casting
the unknown in his more than 40 feature and TV movies. He's directed the first
films for several successful stars including Richard Burton, Farrah Fawcett and
Shirley MacLaine.
Unlike some major studio executives, Anderson doesn't feel the need to cast a
big name to flog a film.
"I think time has proven you can have a lousy picture with stars or a great
picture with nobody,'' he said citing the animal film Babe and Leonardo DiCaprio
in Titanic.
Such a long work history reveals his mounting years.
"Don't mention my age or I'll kill you,'' quips the 78-year-old, who gave
us such films as Around the World in 80 Days in 1956 and Logan's Run in 1976.
"I don't want to talk about that. I'm as young as I feel . . . in my
teens.''
At home on the idyllic Sunshine Coast for the past two years, the father of six
wants to focus on family movies.
"I love the idea of a family being able to go and see a movie without
obscenities, without unnecessary sex scenes, without violence ... and the kids
aren't used to seeing it. They're used to violence on television.''
When he read the script for Summer of the Monkeys he was immediately sold on its
merits.
"It's family values revisited,'' he says of the film, based on Wilson
Rawls' book, Where the Red Fern Grows.
Summer of the Monkeys centres around a rambunctious 14-year-old farm boy and his
Christian family. The warm and fuzzy story features four circus monkeys who are
discovered living in the woods following a train crash.
He's hoping audiences will realize the need and benefits of communication after
watching this traditional tale, shot in Calgary and Saskatchewan last year.
Next up for Anderson is The Adventures of Pinocchio II.
He also hopes to film a family story written by his son, called Set the Wild
Heart Free, in Saskatchewan.