The Kid Stays in the Picture

Rating:
Summary: Evans comes out hitting a homerun
Review: Robert Evans was behind a bunch of hollywood masterpieces such as Chinatown, The Marathon Man, Rosemary's Baby and The Godfather (just to name a few) and why he was involved with Popeye I have no clue. He must of been looney. Evans had a wife and child but he was divorced. He did drugs, got into the wrong things, lots of sex and he payed the price for the after math. He was friends with some of the greatest actors, directors and actresses of our time: Jack Nicholson, Mia Farrow, Roman Polanski, James Cagney, Dustin Hoffman and many more I honestly thought this was a good documentary about life in the hollywood eye. My favorite part is during the credits when Dustin Hoffman does the impersonation of Evans, that's a classic right there. If your interested, watch it and if your not, watch it once and then dont.

Rating:
Summary: Credit where credit is due
Review: Robert Evans, if nothing else besides his impressive list of film credits, deserves recognition for being a survivor. His narration of The Kid Stays In The Picture, based on his own autobiography, is a very well-constructed piece of first-person history.

Although the book is substantially better simply because it contains more in the way of details and gossip, the film makes great use of Evans's personal effects and archives to create a seamless timeline of his rise, fall, and subsequent rebirth. The man has to be admired for the sheer drive and force of his personality that he was able to sustain even though he himself admits that in many instances he has acted very stupidly.

The best parts, of course, center around his ascension to the top of the Paramount food chain at a time when everyone thought it was suicide for the company to put him at its head. His descriptions of what was going through his mind at that point of time is illuminating. He is also just old enough to have touched both the "golden age" of Hollywood and the modern era, which makes him somewhat unique.

I would highly recommend seeking out the book if you enjoy this film as it will only serve to supplement the juicy details here. With the release of the film, Evans has gone back and added a postscript that is both poignant and inspiring, if that word can be used for such an individual.

Rating:
Summary: Excellent!
Review: So I've read the book and heard the audio, and yes, this movie is just a short synopsis of the whole story of Robert Evans, but I have never seen a biography done with such panache. The style, the soundtrack, the stories, were fascinating. I highly recommend this movie.

Rating:
Summary: CAN HE TELL A TALE!
Review: The casual viewer of the life of Bob Evans, a man who spent most of his working life as a successful Paramount Pictures executive and creative producer would say that he was the kind of man who could accidentally fall into a cesspool and emerge with two fistfuls of cash.

That casual observer would be correct. Evans was born connected, good looking and charismatic. What the casual observer might not know, however, is that Evans is also visionary, intelligent, hard working and committed. His sharp dress and looks belie his New York City vulgar idiom, something that shaped his overall persona.

This beautifully realized memoir is a must- see for any Hollywood aficionado. Evans narrates it in a natural, unaffected way, one can imagine, the way he would tell you across an intimate dinner table, making you wince and chuckle along the way. His few miscalculations in life, notably marrying a working female actor (something we are warned not to do) and getting into the drug scene, albeit briefly, when it was in vogue and thus falling prey to the voracious media monster, can easily be forgiven. The man, after all, gave us much more than we could possibly have given back to him, many years of top-flight entertainment. We leave this Kid in his picture saluting him and wishing him well, especially those of us who are ebb-tide filmmakers some miles outside of the inner circle. He lived the life we could only have dreamed.

Rating:
Summary: REEL TO REAL
Review: THE KID STAYS IN THE PICTURE (Warner Home Video) is producer Robert Evans' popular autobiography (and more popular audio version) cleverly visualized. The producer of Godfather and Chinatown narrates his own unexpected, eccentric and eclectic life. The incredible highs and deep lows, are all here in a sometimes funny and profane record of one man's life, loves and losses behind the beguiling shadows of the silver screen. Check the end credits for Dustin Hoffman's a savage impression of Evans (for a birthday gag). Recommended.

Rating:
Summary: Facinating documentary...
Review: The Kid Stays in the Picture is a glitzy peek into Hollywood in the 70's as seen through the eyes of one of its prime movers: Robert Evans. You may not have heard the name Robert Evans, but you've definitely seen movies he's produced: Rosemary's Baby, The Godfather and Chinatown are just the tip of the iceberg as far as his career goes.

The documentary has a unique, but somewhat flawed, style. The directors put up many of Mr. Evans' personal photographs (enhanced with 3D effects), TV and movie footage and have Evans himself narrate the entire movie (his narration is taken from book-on-tape version of his biography). The period of his life covered from his discovery in a Beverly Hills swimming pool to his meteoric rise to fame to becoming persona non grata in Hollywood and back to acceptance in Tinseltown. Evans' cool self-assesment provides a facinating look into one of the most volatile and creative decades in Hollywood history. The only problem is that because Evans is the only person narrarating, the perspective, although very interesting, is somewhat limited. Evans himself does not bore for a second in the film though. His warbly barritone is almost hypnotic.

I caught this movie by accident on HBO one afternoon, and I was thoroughly pleased with what I saw. It was more compelling than most documentaries that are out on the market. I would recommend it to those who want to learn about fame and the movie industry in America.

Rating:
Summary: Facinating documentary...
Review: The Kid Stays in the Picture is a glitzy peek into Hollywood in the 70's as seen through the eyes of one of its prime movers: Robert Evans. You may not have heard the name Robert Evans, but you've definitely seen movies he's produced: Rosemary's Baby, The Godfather and Chinatown are just the tip of the iceberg as far as his career goes.

The documentary has a unique, but somewhat flawed, style. The directors put up many of Mr. Evans' personal photographs (enhanced with 3D effects), TV and movie footage and have Evans himself narrate the entire movie (his narration is taken from book-on-tape version of his biography). The period of his life covered from his discovery in a Beverly Hills swimming pool to his meteoric rise to fame to becoming persona non grata in Hollywood and back to acceptance in Tinseltown. Evans' cool self-assesment provides a facinating look into one of the most volatile and creative decades in Hollywood history. The only problem is that because Evans is the only person narrarating, the perspective, although very interesting, is somewhat limited. Evans himself does not bore for a second in the film though. His warbly barritone is almost hypnotic.

I caught this movie by accident on HBO one afternoon, and I was thoroughly pleased with what I saw. It was more compelling than most documentaries that are out on the market. I would recommend it to those who want to learn about fame and the movie industry in America.

Rating:
Summary: "..fortune and fame, since that day he ain't been the same"
Review: The Kid Stays In the Picture
The ultimate insider's look at Hollywood, delivered autobiographically by the ultimate insider, Robert Evans. Plus, it's the classic Hollywood story of rags-to-riches, (perhaps with a few iterations?).

The first quarter of the film, describing how he got the keys to the kingdom, are the slowest. However this section is essential, as it emphasizes how one needs both luck and preparation to get a big break. Evans' early ambition is palpable, even 40 years later in the retelling.
For me the movie really took off around the time Evans' started calling the shots at Paramount. His depiction of a Hollywood in the doldrums of an identity crisis really resonated. Enter Rosemary's Baby, and a fascinating description of Polanski, Farrow, and Sinatra. From there we follow a string of hits that typify the movie Renaissance of the 1970's: The Godfather, The Marathon Man, Serpico, Three Days of the Condor (?), Chinatown, and the Parallax View (to name a few) all have a certain gritty realism about them, while simultaneously being highly stylized artistically. The combination invariably leaves the viewer with an ominous sense of foreboding, pessimistic about the prospects of finding truth in a complex and duplicitous world.
Several hits lay ahead in the second half of the 1970's, but we sense Evans was losing his edge, no doubt in part due to drugs. But he parries away discussion of his post McGraw-carousing, let alone his descent into drugs. Also abridged are the backroom politics and hardball which must have helped him succeed. And while we're on the subject of omissions, just how did he AFFORD to repurchase his Shangri-La?
These are minor criticisms though; like the introduction says, there are three sides to every story. And with such a larger than life personality, we learn more from hearing his one side than we would from having a variety of voices chime in. But the central questions this movie inevitably leaves unanswered are, "Just what enabled him to see which stories, in an evolving landscape, would blossom on screen?" "What did he see?" Perhaps these questions are unanswerable. One thing is certain; he's entirely believable when he looks into the camera and says it was all worth it, for the very good reason that he loves what he does.

Rating:
Summary: Why Robert Evans Matters
Review: There is a scene in the middle of Brett Morgan and Nanelle Burnstein's documentary, "The Kid Stays In The Picture" which illustrates why its fascinating subject, film producer Robert Evans, has earned his notorious reputation in Hollywood and has been able to survive there for decades.The year is 1969. The United States is not only fighting a war overseas but is in the middle of a major culture war at home. The movie business is a state of disarray. Evans, in charge of film production at Paramount Studios, is called by the company chiefs to fly to New York for a meeting. Rumor has it that not only will Evans and others lose their jobs but Paramount Studios may shut down altogether. Prior to the meeting, Evans has an idea. He hires director Mike Nichols("The Graduate")to film a five minute "advertisment". The ad simply consists of Evans talking to the camera and expounding, as only Evans can, why the future of Paramount should not only continue but why it will it return as a powerhouse in Hollywood. Deceptively straighforward and simple, Evans sways the executives to keep Paramount's gates open and the rest, as they say, is show business history.

"The Kid Stays In The Picture" is a documentary based on Evans' book of the same title. The film is narrated by Evans in a voice that can only be described as undescribable. Evans tells his story, for the most part, chronologically beginning in New York where Evans and his brother, as young adults, were involved in the production of women's clothing. Having childhood ties to the movie business, Evans was discovered(or some would say rediscovered)while swimming in a pool in Beverly Hills. From there, he got a role opposite James Cagney in "The Man With 1,000 Faces." He appeared in two more feature films before it became clear that he didn't have a promising acting career ahead of him. Having always a desire to be behind the camera, Evans moved ahead, made some very smart moves, and ended up being picked by Paramount head Charles Bludhorn to be the top film producer for the studio.

It becomes clear that Evans' rise to the top of the industry is not only due to his take charge and gutsy personality but also his uncanny future vision. At the same time Evans was beginning his career at Paramount in the the mid to late 60's, the youth movement across the country was in full bloom. There was clearly a "new guard" vs "old guard" mentality in Hollywood that
was emerging. Unlike a lot of producers at the time, Evans was smart enough to find and attract the young writers, directors and actors who began to make up the "New Hollywood" in the late 60's and early 70's. With movies like "The Godfather", "Love Story"(he ended up marrying star Ali McGraw), "The Odd Couple", and "Chinatown", Evans moved Paramount from last to first in annual ticket sales.

If Evans' story had stopped in 1975, he would have already been a legend in Hollywood. Unfortunately, in Hollywood, what goes up always comes down, and Evans was no exception. Admitting that prior to the 70's, he rarely drank, Evans tells his story of how he became one of many cocaine victims during the decade and was, ultimately, shunned by Hollwood for years. To make matters worse, by the time the mid- 80's rolled around, Evans' name was being conected to a drug related murder in which he was never a suspect.

All these details are told with fascinating intensity by Evan as he narrates his life story over a surreal montage of still vintage photos and videos. One of things I love about this movie is how honest Evans is with himself. Yes, he may seem cocky or pompous, however, there is a very clear self-depreciating attitude thought out the film as well. He is also not afraid to have some of his contempt(justified or not)spill forward. His famous conflicts with director Francis Ford Coppola are now Hollywood folklore and are documented here(when receiving his Academy Award at the Oscars for "The Godfather", Coppola "forgot" to thank the producer).

After viewing the "The Kid Stays In The Picture", I began to wonder why I loved it so much. I grew up in the 80's and 90's and I didn't really know much about Evans until I read Peter Biskind's masterpiece, "Easy Riders, Raging Bulls". That book, along with this film, records an incredible age in Hollywood that exisited in the late 60's and 70's. An age where the films that were produced were films bursting energy and creativity which we have not seen since that time. Producers, directors, actors and other involved wanted to make money but they also wanted to make smart, cutting edge films that didn't always conform. Today, with marketing at the center of the creative element in today's films, conforming is now the desired result. "The Kid Stays In The Picture" recalls a brief period of time in Hollywood when that wasn't so.

Note: Watch the credits of this movie. Dustin Hoffman does an amusing Robert Evans bit.

Rating:
Summary: ...but what of the frame?
Review: There was a time, still basking in the innocence of childhood, when I tended to see film stars as possessing a perfection that we mortals lacked. But that was also a time when we didn't know much about the stars other than what was on the screen. Movie fans had to rely on the puff pieces in Photoplay that had more in common with press agentry than journalism.

Now, in an age when celebrities are covered around the clock by a "news" media desperate to hang on to a dwindling audience, every rock is upturned and the snakes beneath them are crawling out, hissing uncontrollably as we watch in horror. When I think of Hollywood now, I remember the scene in "The Shining" when Jack Nicholson enters a bathroom to see a stunningly beautiful woman emerge from the tub. He embraces her only to be shocked that the woman is actually a withered old hag, and a dead one at that.

The movies are make-believe, but more and more it looks like the people who make them are make-believe, too. The starstruck audience has let withered old hags, dead in all but the literal sense, con us into believing they are great beauties. The biggest star and the devoted fan seem to be kindred spirits, both of them living vicariously through a carefully constructed image to give meaning to an otherwise empty life.

Robert Evans seems like a combination of both the star and the starstruck fan. Never a "star" in the traditional sense, Evans toiled behind-the-scenes, but like a ventriloquist who's jealous that the dummy gets all the laughs, he could never keep his permanently tanned mug out of the spotlight. On the surface, this fallen Hollywood kingpin's life looks like one to envy, but it's all so lacking substance that it might as well be the gateway to hell. Evans strikes me as the epitome of the man who had everything that money can buy, but desperately needed more to fill a void that only seemed to grow with success. I find his story, as told in this one-sided documentary, more depressing than entertaining, although I admit it's the latter, as well.

If everything you know about the period covered in this film comes from Evans, you'd wonder why the Hollywood sign hasn't been replaced with a statue in his image. Inexplicably chosen to head Paramount Pictures in the late Sixties, after bombing out as an actor in "The Sun Also Rises" and such drek as "The Fiend Who Walked the West," he takes credit for saving the studio with box-office hits like "Love Story" and "The Godfather." No doubt Evans played a role in the studio's resurgance, but he takes more credit than he seems to deserve, claiming he convinced Francis Ford Coppola to add "texture" to the gangster movie that Evans insists the director saw as little more than a shoot-em-up B movie. But if Coppola thought so little of "The Godfather" and its potential, why would he work so hard to cast Marlon Brando against Paramount's objections at a time when Brando's reputation as the world's greatest actor meant nothing next to the string of bombs he starred in throughout the Sixites?

For that matter, can Evans rightfully claim he "produced" any of the films made under his reign as Paramount's top gun? The producer's credit for "The Godfather" went to Al Ruddy, who accepted the Oscar when the film was named Best Picture. In his book, Evans claims Ruddy was merely "appointed," but it's hard to imagine a man of Evans's monumental ego not seizing credit especially if it rightfully belonged to him. As for the other hits that saved the magic mountain, "Rosemary's Baby" was produced by William Castle, "The Odd Couple" was produced by Howard Koch, "Love Story" was produced by Howard Minsky, and on and on and on with Evans never earning an on-screen credit for anything until "Chinatown."

But Evans wasn't content to be the head of a studio with the power to greenlight a project. He wanted to be a star! Hence his weird biography (in which every conversation sounds like it came from a 30's gangster movie) and this so-called documentary.

This "documentary," like the book it's based on, is fascinating for all the wrong reasons. It's meant to be some kind of tribute to Evans and his success, but it simply exposes him as the vainest of empty shells. The Kid stays in the picture all right, but only by vandalizing the true portrait with ego, half-truths, and lies.