Robert Altman

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Birthday:

20 February 1925, Kansas City, Missouri, USA

Birth Name:

Robert Bernard Altman

Height:

183 cm

Robert Altman was born on February 20th, 1925 in Kansas City, Missouri, to B.C. (an insurance salesman) and Helen Altman. He entered St. Peters Catholic school at the age six, and spent a short time at a Catholic high school. From there, he went to Rockhurst High School. It was then that he started exploring the art of exploring sound with the cheap tape recorders available at the time. He was then sent to Wentworth Military Academy in Lexington, Missouri where he attended through Junior College. In 1945, he enlisted in the Air Force and became a copilot of a B-24. After his discharge from the military, he became fascinated by movies and he and his first wife, LaVonne Elmer, moved to Hollywood, where Altman tried acting (appearing in the film The Secret Life of Walter Mitty (1947)), songwriting (he wrote a musical intended for Broadway, "The Rumors are Flying"), and screen-writing (he co-wrote the screenplay for the film Bodyguard (1948) and wrote the story (uncredited) for Christmas Eve (1947)), but he could not get a foot hold in Tinseltown. After a brief fling as publicity director with a company in the business of tattooing dogs, Altman finally gave up and returned to his hometown of Kansas City, where he decided he wanted to do some serious work in filmmaking. An old friend of his recommended him to a film production company in Kansas City, the Calvin Co., who hired him in 1950. After a few months of work in writing scripts and editing films, Altman began directing films at Calvin. It was here (while working on documentaries, employee training films, industrial and educational films and advertisements) that he learned much about film making. All in all, Altman pieced together sixty to sixty-five short films for Calvin on every subject imaginable, from football to car crashes, but he kept grasping for more challenging projects. He wrote the screenplay for the Kansas City-produced feature film Corn's-A-Poppin' (1955), he produced and directed several television commercials including one with the Eileen Ford Agency, he co-created and directed the TV series The Pulse of the City (1953) which ran for one season on the independent Dumont network, and he even had a formative crack at directing local community theater. His big-screen directorial debut came while still at Calvin with The Delinquents (1957) and, by 1956, he left the Calvin Co., and went to Hollywood to direct Alfred Hitchcock's TV show. From here, he went on to direct a large number of television shows, until he was offered the script for MASH (1970) in 1969. He was hardly the producer's first choice - more than fifteen other directors had already turned it down. This wasn't his first movie, but it was his first success. After that, he had his share of hits and misses, but The Player (1992) and, more recently, Gosford Park (2001) were particularly well-received. Show less «

What is a cult? It just means not enough people to make a minority.

I fiddle in the corner where they throw the coins. Where I can get my work done.

I've about had it - the agencies, the winking, the networks, the ratings. Anyone who thinks TV is an art medium is crazy - it's an advertisi...Show more »

I've about had it - the agencies, the winking, the networks, the ratings. Anyone who thinks TV is an art medium is crazy - it's an advertising medium. Show less «

[interview in the London Times, 1/22/02] When I see an American flag flying, it's a joke.

[about his relationship with mainstream Hollywood] We're not against each other. They sell shoes and I make gloves.

Retirement? You're talking about death, right?

Filmmaking is a chance to live many lifetimes.

Wisdom and love have nothing to do with one another. Wisdom is staying alive, survival. You're wise if you don't stick your finger in the li...Show more »

Wisdom and love have nothing to do with one another. Wisdom is staying alive, survival. You're wise if you don't stick your finger in the light plug. Love - you'll stick your finger in anything. Show less «

Every ad for every film is exactly the same.

Jazz has endured because it doesn't have a beginning or an ending. It's a moment.

Mr. and Mrs. Smith get married, they have problems, they get back together and they live happily ever after. End of the movie. Two weeks lat...Show more »

Mr. and Mrs. Smith get married, they have problems, they get back together and they live happily ever after. End of the movie. Two weeks later, he kills her, grinds her body up, feeds it to his girlfriend who dies of ptomaine poisoning, and her husband is prosecuted and sent to the electric chair for it--but here's our own little story with the happy ending. What is an ending? There's no such thing. Death is the only ending. Show less «

This [MASH (1970)] didn't get released by Fox, it escaped.

[La règle du jeu (1939)] taught me the rules of the game.

What I'm looking for is occurrence, truthful human behavior. We've got a kind of road map, and we're making it up as we travel along.

The business is run by accountants who, as long as a film makes $40 billion, don't care if it kills the industry. Everything can also be sho...Show more »

The business is run by accountants who, as long as a film makes $40 billion, don't care if it kills the industry. Everything can also be shown so quickly in the home - which means that the people who go to movie theaters are teenagers who just want to get away from home. The audience has changed and the content has changed to suit that audience. But, even if I'll be an outdated item very shortly, I intend to carry on as long as I can. Show less «

And when I look around America today I feel we're oversaturated with goods. Like most of western Christian civilization, we feel it's fine i...Show more »

And when I look around America today I feel we're oversaturated with goods. Like most of western Christian civilization, we feel it's fine if we're comfortable and, if the rest of the world isn't, then that's their problem. We're not generous. And the idea of paying some chief executive $40 million a year is just obscene. I don't deny it's nice to have silk sheets or whatever, but we live in a deeply unequal society and our luxury is both excessive and wasteful. Show less «

I don't storyboard anything. I go on a set in the morning and, unless a scene requires a lot of props, I won't even tell the crew what I'm g...Show more »

I don't storyboard anything. I go on a set in the morning and, unless a scene requires a lot of props, I won't even tell the crew what I'm going to shoot first. I know what the setup is and which actors are required. But I have to see what occurs and like to shoot in sequence if possible. It makes for a lot of editing but I like to go on a journey with the actors. I also love working on ensemble movies like Nashville (1975), Short Cuts (1993) and Gosford Park (2001). Having multiple narratives makes my job a lot easier: if something doesn't work, it means I can cut away to something else. I also like the audience to use their necks to take in everything happening in the frame. I'd hate to do something like Two for the Seesaw (1962) where there were just two close-up faces to look at. Show less «

People talk about my signature. But I ask them if they ever saw Howard Hawks' films. They're filled with overlapping dialog. Everything I've...Show more »

People talk about my signature. But I ask them if they ever saw Howard Hawks' films. They're filled with overlapping dialog. Everything I've learned has come from watching other directors: Bergman [Ingmar Bergman, Fellini [Federico Fellini], Kurosawa [Akira Kurosawa], Huston [John Huston] and Renoir [Jean Renoir]. Show less «

The actors have to know the play because they have to memorize the words. The technicians have to know the play because they have to organiz...Show more »

The actors have to know the play because they have to memorize the words. The technicians have to know the play because they have to organize the sound and light cues. But I want to keep myself as virginal as I can. I say, "Tell me what this play is about." I'll find out as I do it and I'm really looking forward to seeing it. I don't advise young directors that this is what they should do. This is simply my method. Show less «

[on his Lifetime Achivement Oscar, awarded in 2006] I can't think of a better award - to me it's better for all of my work than for just a c...Show more »

[on his Lifetime Achivement Oscar, awarded in 2006] I can't think of a better award - to me it's better for all of my work than for just a couple of things. Show less «

[at the Coolidge Award ceremony in 2006 for Meryl Streep] I was redundant! Meryl Streep doesn't need a director. She's kind to them; she's r...Show more »

[at the Coolidge Award ceremony in 2006 for Meryl Streep] I was redundant! Meryl Streep doesn't need a director. She's kind to them; she's really nice. She'll compliment you, and say, "That was good - what you did." I was so happy the next day to get on the stage with a lot of other actors. I didn't have to be just . . . whelmed by Miss Streep. Anyway, Meryl - I'll get over this. In spite of the personal sadness I got from working with you, I'm glad I did. Show less «

I learned a lot about losing from my father. That losing is an identity; that you can be a good loser and a bad winner; that none of it - ga...Show more »

I learned a lot about losing from my father. That losing is an identity; that you can be a good loser and a bad winner; that none of it - gambling, money, winning, or losing - has any real value. Show less «

I look at film as closer to a painting or a piece of music; it's an impression . . . an impression of character and total atmosphere . . . T...Show more »

I look at film as closer to a painting or a piece of music; it's an impression . . . an impression of character and total atmosphere . . . The attempt is to enlist an audience emotionally, not intellectually. Show less «

[on his film The Gingerbread Man (1998)] Well, it's criminal, their treatment of that film. There was a vindictive order from the guy who wa...Show more »

[on his film The Gingerbread Man (1998)] Well, it's criminal, their treatment of that film. There was a vindictive order from the guy who was running [Polygram Films], he was so pissed off with me, he literally told them, "I want that movie killed". We're talking to lawyers, but it's almost impossible to win a lawsuit. You can't prove what a film could have done. They were just pissed off because it didn't test the way they wanted it to with the teenagers, y'know, in those malls. Show less «

[on Elliott Gould] He knows exactly what he wants and how to get it.

[on Julie Christie] Julie doesn't like being a movie star. All she wants is to act. If she had her way, she'd like a nice role to play in a ...Show more »

[on Julie Christie] Julie doesn't like being a movie star. All she wants is to act. If she had her way, she'd like a nice role to play in a film that doesn't require a lot of recognition. Show less «

[on Sissy Spacek] She's remarkable, one of the top actresses I've worked with. Her resources are like a deep well.

I probably am a lazy artist and probably don't control things as much as some people would like- but that's my business. And if my style is ...Show more »

I probably am a lazy artist and probably don't control things as much as some people would like- but that's my business. And if my style is too loose or improvised for some people's taste, that's their problem- totally. The fact is, I'm not the greatest Hollywood director and that bullshit, but I'm not the opposite either. And I am not careless. I may be irresponsible, I may strive for things and not always succeed. but that's never the result of sloppiness. Maybe it's lack of judgment. Show less «

All of my films deal with the same thing: striving, socially and culturally, to stay alive. And once any system succeeds, it becomes its own...Show more »

All of my films deal with the same thing: striving, socially and culturally, to stay alive. And once any system succeeds, it becomes its own worst enemy. The good things we create soon create bad things. So nothing is ever going to be Utopian, and when I make films like Nashville (1975) and [Buffalo Bill and the Indians, or Sitting Bull's History Lesson (1976)], it's not to say we're the worst country in the world, or God, what awful people these are. I'm just saying we're at this point and it's sad. Show less «

The worst trap you can fall in is to start imitating yourself.

I'll give you the same advice I give my children: Never take advice from anybody.

We make too much of the good and too much of the bad.

Anybody who gives you advice is giving you what they think is correct for them if they were in your position. But they're not you! And you'r...Show more »

Anybody who gives you advice is giving you what they think is correct for them if they were in your position. But they're not you! And you're not them. You can listen to these things, but I advise that you don't take advice from anybody. Show less «

I didn't mind military school; I kind of liked it. I thought it was a nice little adventure.

[observation, 1986] It's very hard to find anyone with any decency in the business. They all hide behind the corporate structure. They're li...Show more »

[observation, 1986] It's very hard to find anyone with any decency in the business. They all hide behind the corporate structure. They're like landlords who kick people out of tenement buildings. There's no compassion and there's certainly no interest in the arts. Show less «

We're in a position in our culture right now, where most of the things we learn are from films and television. And maybe I'm trying to say, ...Show more »

We're in a position in our culture right now, where most of the things we learn are from films and television. And maybe I'm trying to say, 'Wait a minute, that's not necessarily true, there's another side to it...' Show less «

[on working with Warren Beatty on McCabe & Mrs. Miller (1971)] Warren and I don't like each other very much. I think he's certainly a go...Show more »

[on working with Warren Beatty on McCabe & Mrs. Miller (1971)] Warren and I don't like each other very much. I think he's certainly a good actor. He was great in the movie. But I wouldn't go through that again. It's no fun. Show less «

[on Titanic (1997)] The most dreadful piece of work I've ever seen in my entire life.

When John Lennon got assassinated, I get a call immediately from the Washington Post and they said, "Do you feel responsible for this?" and ...Show more »

When John Lennon got assassinated, I get a call immediately from the Washington Post and they said, "Do you feel responsible for this?" and I said "What do you mean, responsible?" "Well, I mean you're the one that predicted there would be a political assassination of a star." And I said "Well, I don't feel responsible," but I said, "but don't you feel responsible for not heeding my warning?" The statement here is, these people are not assassinated because of their ideas or what they do. They're assassinated to draw attention to the assassin. And in political assassinations, in their sort of warped minds, they know that they are going to have a certain amount of people who said "that son of a bitch [the politician] should have been shot," because there's such heat about it. But actually what they are doing is killing somebody who's in the public eye and is some sort of an icon. Because this feeling that by, doing that, committing that assassination they draw the attention to them self, and they make themselves consequently important. Ah, and it's no surprise to me, the Lennon assassination, because this is what all that is, and I don't think we have seen the end of it either. Show less «

[on American Beauty (1999)] So badly acted and directed.