puppets/dolls
is this the film where Dennis Hopper goes crazy on some dolls/puppets?
if not, doea anyone know the name of that movie?
The Keeper. Dennis Hopper. Asia Argento. Both at their best.
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MovieChat Forums > The Keeper (2004) Discussion > puppets/dolls
Oh, the film is so much more that that, although the puppets do play a part in understanding Hopper's character.
It matters more what's in a woman's face than what's on it. -Claudette Colbert
Right on! A very important part. He was both the puppet and the puppet master. gs
sharesanwords, you know Dennis Hopper. We all know he is ill, what with those pictures and video that came out when he finally received his star on the Hollywood walk of fame, it's obvious he is a very sick man and it seems what he is suffering from is quite agressive. Can you make any comment on how the film community should remember one of it's finest? Please share a story about the fine Mr. Hopper. It would do us all well.
shareSeems I told this just recently, but it's worth repeating. I came close to meeting Dennis in 1956 when I was 22, and while waiting to be discharged from the Navy had several of my one-act plays staged at the Puppet Theatre in San Diego. Dennis, only 18 at the time, was a Stage Hand next door at the Globe Theatre when Faye Emerson, an actress and TV personality, who had come to see a rehearsal of my plays, told me there was this kid at the Globe that I just had to meet, because some day he was going to be a big star. The kid was Dennis Hopper, but when she took me over to meet him, Dennis had long split the scene, and I never got another chance until he was doing my movie, 'THE KEEPER' some 48 years later, and giving me a hug said, "Sanford, you write more f'n words than any writer I've ever worked with... Fortunately, they're good words." And that's Dennis, he likes words, and what more can a writer ask? Oh, yes, of all those on the set -- Other actors, producers, those doing this and that -- Dennis was the only one to take time out and come over for a laugh. And what a laugh he has! gs
shareWhat a story I will treasure! Thank you for sharing sanwords! I just knew you had a good story to tell about Dennis!
share'THE KEEPER'. And it was about a little more than 'Dennis Hopper going crazy on some dolls/puppets'. I know. I wrote it. But nice try. gs
shareGerry, I remember you telling me about the puppet shows from your youth...I wonder if that wandered into the story somehow subconsciously. Was Dennis perfect for the role or what? You couldn't ask for better casting.I wasn't happy with the production values ,I felt that you and the actors deserved better BTW. Anyway, my old friend, give my regards to Guy and may you have another script within you! Remember what I told you vampires...fangs and blood sell these days!
shareFunny, I don't remember any puppet shows from my youth. I didn't live in a world of puppets, but in a real world of darkness, and violence not terribly unlike that of 'THE KEEPER'. Wait a second, I might've mentioned how I put on little plays I wrote then, using little kids around the neighborhood, and paying them with things I stole from Woolworths, and the likes. It's funny, but years later the heir to the Woolworth fortune gave me a writing grant to her theatre in Scottsdale, Arizona. gs
shareWait a second! "Puppet shows from your youth..." No, what I remember saying was I put on little plays that I wrote when I was a kid, and got little kids from the neighborhood to play the parts, and payed them with little toys I'd swipe from WOOLWORTH DIME STORES. It's funny because when I was 22, and going to the American Theatre Wing, I won a grant from a very nice woman who was the heir to the WOOLWORTH fortune. Which proves there is a God. gs
shareAh yes Woolworth's, we had 'em here in NYC as well. I never stole anything from there BUT maybe I should have! Very strange about how the business works though. You almost crossed paths with hopper in the old days only to meet him(and write for him) so many years later! So Asia was a bitch? She has an edge and is kinda hot actually. Too bad you didn't get along. Shaver was a nemesis as well? She's a really good actress too bad.
shareI lived in NYC a good part of my life. Moved there in '56, and didn't vacate permantly until '89. Started out in Cooney Island, ended up in the Plaza 400 building on 56th and 1st. Would go back tomorrow if I could. I can't say Asia was a "bitch", really. She just wasn't fond of me. Unfortunately, she's not alone...by a large margin. And I'm such a pleasant man, too. Fortunately, I've got Guy and Sofie the Dobie who even now lies with her head resting on my feet. Sofie not Guy. gs
shareThanks for making that clear. The last French girl I had used to date act like a dog! HAHAHA! She looked like a goddess BUT had a canine way about her. Well the French love their doggies so that's no surprise.
What kind of attitude did Shaver give you? Canadians are usually so polite. Laird had said something interesting during NG: "some actor asked me a real question not some actory BS"! Very telling about that part of stage craft so to speak.
Shaver gave me no "attitude", nor even a "hello", she just seemed totally uninterested. I did a TV series with Canadians in South Africa -- 'AFRICAN SKIES'. In fact, I'm a "Landed Canadian" myself. Good Peeps. gs
shareI see you are quite chatty so tell us more about Dennis!!
shareAll that need be known about Dennis Hopper is in his work. gs
shareMost definitely, I agree! I would love to hear more about what he was like when you worked with him. I have no interest in his personal life. He owns that and and no one else should ever attempt to explore. I am such an admirer of his work, I wonder what he did to prepare for a lot of the roles he had. I also wonder what went on the set. Funny stories. His sense of humor, which I would imagine, although he could be the most serious actor, he probably has a funny side to him.
I just wish he wasn't going through what he is going through right now, but talking about his work is something I think he would approve of. Even when he was blasted by the critics, I always have looked at him as one who was a true master of acting and of art itself. He had such an eye early on with some of those photographs he produced. He is such a talent, that IMO has not received the attention that he should have.
Even in Cool Hand Luke and in True Grit, small parts, he stood out among the other fabulous actors in the movie. OK, well, Wayne, Newman and Kennedy were supreme, but Dennis also caught my eye even then. And his The Last Movie, and the making of it, he was great! I never understood why he was so misunderstood.
I wish Dennis well, and be assured, I am not looking to dive into his personal life. That actually would be very inappropriate for anyone to do on a forum like this.
Dennis is a great actor, and as is the case with many truly great actors he won't be fully appreciated for years to come. He's unique, he loves words, feelings, the complexity of the human character; the twists and turns of the being. He's also a great story teller, especially when recalling his days in Taos; and, most of all, he loves the written word. Even some of the 4-lettered ones, maybe even all of them. They, too, have their place. But most of all I remember one particular incident that occured long before I ever got the opportunity to work with him.
It was shortly after the great success of "EASY RIDER', and I was in a meeting with Paul Mason at Universal when this beat-up, yellow convertible, lumbered onto the lot, and two young men got out and headed for the sacred Executive Towers. Both wore beaten-up jeans, scruffed, tired, fringed jackets, sandals, needed a shave and haircut, and hardly nodded to the guard who quickly opened the doors, welcoming Hopper and Fonda; while Dylan put it all together with a single line: "TIMES THEY ARE A'CHANGIN'". Dennis helped change them...and for the better. gs