Dan Ireland offers his rememberance of “Uncle Ken.”
A benefit of having such an eclectic stable of gurus is that our well of experience and stories about working in the business — often with and for giants — is increasingly deep. A number of our gurus, then, have Ken Russell (who died this past weekend) stories. Bernard Rose shared such a story in 2008. And Dan Ireland remembers the man just below.
One of the great joys of my life was my wonderful association with the great, the brilliant, the bad boy of British Cinema himself, Uncle Ken Russell.
Being an early devotee of Women In Love, The Music Lovers, The Devils, The Boyfriend, Savage Messiah, Mahler, Tommy, Altered States, Crimes of Passion and just about anything he did, I once tried in vain to get him to attend a tribute that I, along with my partner Darryl Macdonald, organized at the Seattle International Film Festival (where we were the co-founders, co-directors) back in 1980. At the very last moment (after we sold 1500 tickets), he bailed… which I came to find out was pretty typical of him. Ken was very shy about being public at any of his screenings. For someone who made a career of controversy, you might think otherwise, but he loathed being on stage and answering questions by a moderator, or audience. If any of you were present at the recent Academy Tribute to him and the restoration of Tommy, you’ll know exactly what I’m talking about.
Cut to 1986, after I leave the festival, and become the head of Feature Film Acquisitions for Vestron Pictures in Los Angeles. I’m not there for more than a week when Ken Russell’s Gothic gets rejected by its American distributor after they see it finished. So, I hop on a plane, fly to London, screen the film, and in a heartbeat, I buy it.
The film opens a few months later, to over $100,000 at the Cinema One in NYC and goes on to ship over 125,000 units on Video and Laser Disc. So, now that Gothic’s a hit, and Ken loves Vestron, and Vestron loves Ken, I get to offer him a three picture deal, that I get to supervise and executive produce for Vestron. The trio of films, Salome’s Last Dance, The Lair of The White Worm and The Rainbow were among Ken’s best work in years, and a truly a happy association for everyone involved. Vestron couldn’t have been more pleased, it gave them instant credibility and attention to be working with directors the likes of Ken Russell and John Huston (The Dead).
And I couldn’t have been introduced into the world of filmmaking by anyone better than Ken. I loved watching him in command, pulling more life from a scene than I ever thought possible. Ken always gave it his everything. All that ‘mad doctor’ pent-up energy combined with style and craftsmanship that went into every frame he shot. And the results were usually electric. Actors loved working with him, Glenda Jackson, Vanessa Redgrave, his beloved Oliver Reed, Ann-Margret, William Hurt, Kathleen Turner, and on and on. He gave them the breath to explore and create with their characters, as long as it didn’t interfere with the story.
Ken always collaborated with his key people, and if he respected and trusted you, he not only listened to your opinion, he valued it. If not, you knew it instantly. That’s one of the things about Ken that I admired most, you always knew where you stood, there was no room for misunderstanding.
Over the years, Ken encouraged me to find a story I wanted to tell, and when I did, to tell it with passion. That’s the common thread of all of his films, passion. Whether they were about it, or not, they were all infused with it. And a genius that will be appreciated for decades, and hopefully generations to come.
Me, Theresa Russell, Deborah Dalton (screenwriter, with Ken), and Unkle Ken.
All of us on the set of Whore. A pretty classic shot. It was Ken’s message to the critics even before they saw the film. It was spontaneous, and funny.
-Dan Ireland
PS: Ken finally did manage a belated appearance at The Seattle International Film Festival for the World Premiere of Salome’s Last Dance. But not without some ‘friendly persuasion’. Once again, he was trying to ‘bail’ at the last moment… however, this time I had something I didn’t have back in Seattle, negotiating power. Vestron hadn’t given Ken the official green light on ‘The Rainbow’, and I suggested that perhaps coming to Seattle might help ‘inspire’ me to do battle with the green light committee to get it approved. He was on the next plane over, and, yes, he did get to make The Rainbow, which turned out to be his favorite film. And he actually loved showing Seattle Salome. And for once in his life, he talked on the stage for close to an hour. A rarity, indeed!
