by Dov Kornits
When we speak about the New Hollywood of the ‘70s, the conversation is always about Scorsese, Coppola, Altman, Lucas even, but rarely Hal Ashby, an editor turned director who made some of the most humanistic and socially conscious films of the era. Unfortunately, his star didn’t shine beyond the ‘70s, but now Amy Scott’s documentary corrects things with the documentary, Hal.
“His directing felt personal to me because I come from the edit bay,” says Amy Scott, who makes her directorial debut with Hal after a decade of editing documentaries. “It’s such a weird place, like being in a darkroom all the time. It’s a personality type that I am. I understand when I see that in other people. When I really started reading about how committed he was to the craft, you strip away the films and then just learn more about his background. Not the Mormon background, but just coming from a small town, and all the things he went through.”
Inspired by Nick Dawson’s exhaustive 2009 biography Being Hal Ashby: Life of a Hollywood Rebel, Amy Scott’s six years in the making film focuses on Ashby’s filmography, interviewing various people who worked with him (Jane Fonda, Jeff Bridges, Haskell Wexler) and his many fans (Judd Apatow, Lisa Cholodenko), interspersed with footage from the films. Hal premiered at the Sundance Film Festival and is releasing in cinemas, reigniting interest in this important filmmaker.
When did you discover Hal Ashby?
When I was a kid, my dad wanted me to watch Being There, and I thought it was very funny. I thought Peter Sellers was entertaining, but I didn’t understand the greater context and the nuances and what the film was really about. But I discovered the films of Hal Ashby when I was in college. When I was a freshman in college, I saw Harold and Maude, which I think is a story that many people have, at least in my generation. I had some older friends that showed me Harold and Maude and I was actually studying film in school as an undergrad at the time. I was taken aback by this whole genre of filmmaking that I wasn’t really aware of. We were studying the new Hollywood, but I think it was confined mostly to Scorsese and Kubrick… At the time, we never covered Ashby, and I think after Harold and Maude, I binged on him, and this was before the internet. It was the golden era of the video rental store. It was really a thing that I had to seek out on VHS. I remember, it was really difficult to find a copy of The Last Detail. When I finally saw that, I was blown away. And then The Landlord took a long time, I think it was like a friend of a friend had a fourth generation copy of The Landlord. I just fed myself a steady diet of that in college, but I never really dove into the man behind the films until I started making this film about six or seven years ago.
He also strove for a reality in his cinema, which must appeal to the documentarian in you?
I think it was the naturalism in the way that he directed and the way he directed his actors and the dialogue was very natural and the shots were not fancy. For an example, that opening scene of Coming Home. I love the work of Haskell Wexler. Medium Cool was one of my favourite films, and Haskell does that same thing. Such an eye for nonfiction storytelling and taking aspects of that world and just seamlessly blending it into the narrative.
Do you have a favourite Hal Ashby film, and do you think that he was an auteur?
I don’t have a favourite. I think that they’re all really kind of brilliant and unique in their own ways. There are certain things that I see in each of the films. When I watch The Landlord now, I see how inventive the editing is, and I really appreciate that. I don’t think that his films are branded with the stylistic. Beyond music and human touch in each of the stories, I don’t think that there is a recurring stylistic motif. I think he took risks and he was able to tackle lots of different kinds of films. None of those are the same films. I think that certainly has something to do with [him not being remembered as a New Hollywood auteur]. I also feel like he wasn’t the guy in front of the camera. I don’t think from doing all of my research that he was really into the film business. He would not put himself out there. He wasn’t good with advertising and PR essentially. He wasn’t a joiner in a way that a lot of those guys were.
What do you think Hal Ashby would make of the current state of cinema?
I think about this a lot, because I do feel like there are these highly artistic, independent films being made again. The same way that they were made in his era; that take risks. I do feel like he would be really excited by Roma or The Favourite. Any of the films taking risks right now. And beyond that, just the fact that, we funded so much of this. Honestly democratic class form of where you’re asking people for money.
Ultimately, he was trying to get to that point, and that was something that I did include in my film in the very last lines, where he said, ‘I wish I could have my own studio where the filmmakers can control everything’. I just feel like we are getting to a place where he would explore digital technology, and all of the tools that enable him to make films separate from the tentacles of the studio system. He could have self-funded. But I think he would be excited by all of that, by all the craft, funding opportunities, and creative ways you can shoot films.
Are you working on something else yourself as a follow-up?
I’m writing a scripted film right now. There’s another film that I’m developing that is a hybrid documentary, so I’m leaning more in that direction. It’s exciting and terrifying.
Hal is screening now.
Photo credit: Amy Scott by Brian Morrow
