The Last Picture Show

Background:

Film historian, director, writer, actor, and critic Peter Bogdanovich began acting in his teens before directing several off-Broadway plays and later films. He also wrote film criticism for “The New York Times,” “Esquire” and “Film Culture” and produced books on Lillian Gish, Orson Welles, Allan Dwan, John Ford, Alfred Hitchcock and Howard Hawks.

Bogdanovich was shot to fame in the early 1970s when he directed a film adaptation of the small-town drama “The Last Picture Show” (1971), which earned eight Oscar nominations, including two for Best Director and Best Writing, Screenplay Based on Material from Another Medium (shared the latter with Larry McMurtry). He followed it up directing the hit films “What's Up, Doc?” (1972; starring Barbra Streisand) and “Paper Moon” (1973; starring real life father-daughter Ryan and Tatum O'Neal).

The next decade saw Bogdanovich's career following a string of flops and financial disasters. He only made one successful film, “Mask” (1985; starring Cher and Eric Stoltz), which received a Golden Palm nomination at the Cannes Film Festival. Later films he directed include "Texasville" (1990), "Noises Off..." (1992), "The Thing Called Love" (1993) and "The Cat's Meow" (2001). He is currently directing his upcoming film project, "The Broken Code," which was inspired by Anne Sayre's book.

As an actor, Bogdanovich could be seen in the films "Mr. Jealousy" (1997), "54" (1998), "Infamous" (2006) and "Broken English" (2007), as well as the upcoming films "Humboldt County" and "The Doorman." TV viewers could catch him in the HBO critically acclaimed drama series "The Sopranos."

5' 10" Peter was married to film producer, production designer, and screenwriter Polly Platt from 1966 to 1970 and has two daughters with her. After they divorced, he had a relationship with his "The Last Picture Show" (1970) star Cybill Shepherd from 1971 to 1978. He then dated “Playboy Playmate” Dorothy Stratten, who was murdered in 1980 at the age of 20 by her estranged jealous husband after he discovered her relationship with Bogdanovich. Bogdanovich was later married to Dorothy Stratten's sister Louise (born in 1968) from 1988-2001.

New Yorker

Childhood and Family:

Son of immigrants fleeing the Nazis (his father Borislav Bogdanovich was a Serbian painter and pianist and his mother Herma Bogdanovich was from a rich Jewish Austrian family), Peter Bogdanovich was conceived in Europe but born in Kingston, New York, on July 30, 1939. He has a brother named Antony Bogdanovich who died in 1938 from burns sustained when his mother accidentally spilled scalding soup on him.

Bogdanovich was educated at the Collegiate School, in New York, New York. From 1966 to 1970, he was married to film producer, production designer and screenwriter Polly Platt (born on January 29, 1939) and they have two daughters, Antonia Bogdanovich (born in 1967) and Alexandra Welles Bogdanovich (born in 1970).

After divorcing Platt, Bogdanovich was in a relationship with actress, singer and former fashion model Cybill Shepherd (born on February 18, 1950), who starred in his film "The Last Picture Show" (1970). They were together for eight years, from 1971 to 1978.

Following his break up with Shepherd, Bogdanovich dated “Playboy Playmate” of the year (1980) Dorothy Stratten (born on February 28, 1960). She was murdered on August 14, 1980, at the age of 20 by her estranged jealous husband. Bogdanovich wrote a book about Stratten and was married to her sister Louise (born in 1968) from 1988-2001.

Paper Moon

Career:

“It's a misconception about acting that it's a practice in pretending to be someone else. It's actually a practice in finding the character within yourself.” Peter Bogdanovich

At age 15, Peter Bogdanovich began studying acting with Stella Adler and spent his teen years acting on N.Y.C. stages. He also performed with the American Shakespeare Festival in Stratford, Connecticut, and the New York Shakespeare Festival. He directed and co-produced an Off-Broadway production of Clifford Odets' "The Big Knife" at age 20 and began writing film criticism for publications and wrote for the Museum of Modern Art in the early 1960s.

Moving to California in 1964, Bogdanovich, credited as Derek Thomas, had his first feature film credit as an additional sequence director in "Voyage to the Planet of Prehistoric Women" (1968), an adapted version of Curtis Harrington's 1965 Sci-Fi film of the same name. He was then employed as a second unit director by Roger Corman for the drama "The Wild Angels" (1966; starring Peter Fonda, Nancy Sinatra, Bruce Dern and Diane Ladd). In 1968, he wrote, produced and directed "Targets," which was executive-produced by Corman and starred Boris Karloff.

In 1971, Bogdanovich released his first documentary, "Directed by John Ford" and earned praise for directing "The Last Picture Show," which he adapted from a 1966 novel by Larry McMurtry. The film earned Bogdanovich Oscar nominations for Best Director and Best Writing, Screenplay Based on Material from Another Medium (shared the latter with Larry McMurtry), as well as a Golden Globe nomination for Best Director - Motion Picture. The film won Academy Awards, including awards for supporting actors Ben Johnson and Cloris Leachman. Meanwhile, Bogdanovich scooped up awards at the BAFTAs (for Best Screenplay), São Paulo Association of Art Critics Awards (for Best Foreign Film) and New York Film Critics Circle (for Best Screenplay).

When asked why he picked Larry McMurtry's novel "The Last Picture Show" as subject matter, Bogdanovich explained, “I liked the idea of doing a period piece because I like anything better in the past than in the present. I'm not moved by things that happen in the present, only when I think about them later. Life is too real when it's actually happening.”

Peter next produced and directed the comedy "What's Up, Doc?" (1972; starring Ryan O'Neal and Barbra Streisand). The film was a huge hit at the box office and became the third highest grossing film of 1972. It won the Writers Guild of America 1973 "Best Comedy Written Directly for the Screen" award for writers Buck Henry, David Newman, and Robert Benton.

The following year, Bogdanovich produced and directed the comedy "Paper Moon" (1973), which was adapted from the novel "Addie Pray" by Joe David Brown. The film that stars real life father and daughter Ryan and Tatum O'Neal helped 10-year-old Tatum O'Neal pick up a Best Supporting Actress Oscar.

After turning down the chance to direct the movie “Chinatown” (1974), Bogdanovich provided companion Cybill Shepherd a starring role in his film adaptation of Henry James' 1878 novella, "Daisy Miller" (1974), which received an Academy Award nomination for Best Costume Design. He also wrote and directed the comedy film "Nickelodeon" (1976; starring Burt Reynolds, as well as Ryan and Tatum O'Neal), which is loosely based on the career of Cecil B. DeMille. The film received a Golden Berlin Bear nomination at the Berlin International Film Festival. Additionally, he made a movie version of Paul Theroux's 1973 novel about the life of Jack Flowers, a pimp in Singapore, called "Saint Jack" (1979; starring Ben Gazzara). The film won the Italian Film Journalists Award for Best Film at the Venice Film Festival.

Entering the 1980s, after the murder of girlfriend Dorothy Stratten, Bogdanovich released the romantic comedy "They All Laughed" (1981; featuring Audrey Hepburn, Ben Gazzara, Patti Hansen, John Ritter, and Stratten), which he wrote the screenplay for and contributed music to. He also directed and distributed the movie and was a member of the jury at the Venice Film Festival in 1981. He next directed the commercially successful drama "Mask" (1985; starring Cher and Eric Stoltz), which received a Golden Palm nomination at the Cannes Film Festival. He filed for bankruptcy in November that year and founded Crescent Moon Productions, Inc., in 1986.

1990 saw Bogdanovich return to "Last Picture Show" territory with the sequel "Texasville" (starring Jeff Bridges and Cybill Shepherd), which he produced, directed, and wrote the screenplay. Two years later, he executive-produced and directed a film adaptation of Michael Frayn's 1982 play, "Noises Off..." (1992; starring Michael Caine and Carol Burnett), which won an Audience Award at the Peñíscola Comedy Film Festival.

After directing "The Thing Called Love" (1993), a movie about a country singer-songwriter who wants to make it big in Nashville, Bogdanovich helmed the "Song of Songs" segment of "Picture Windows" and the "A Dime a Dance" segment of "Fallen Angels.” He then directed "To Sir, with Love II" (1996; CBS), a sequel to the 1967 British feature film "To Sir With Love," with Sidney Poitier reprising his role, and directed the novel-based "Rescuers: Stories of Courage: Two Women" (1997; Showtime), which was executive-produced by Barbra Streisand and starred Elizabeth Perkins and Sela Ward.

Bogdanovich filed Chapter 7 bankruptcy in 1997 and went on to helm another CBS movie, the novel-based "The Price of Heaven" (1997; featuring Grant Show, Cicely Tyson, and Lori Loughlin). He also appeared in Noah Baumbach's romantic comedy "Mr. Jealousy" (1998), co-starring and produced by Eric Stoltz, and made a cameo appearance in Mark Christopher's historical drama feature "54" (1998; with Ryan Phillippe, Salma Hayek, Neve Campbell, Mike Myers, Sela Ward, and Breckin Meyer).

Hitting the new millennium, Bogdanovich played the recurring role of Dr. Jennifer Melfi's (played by Lorraine Bracco) psychiatrist/therapist and colleague Dr. Elliot Kupferberg (2000-2007) in the HBO critically-acclaimed drama series "The Sopranos." He returned to film-making with the film adaptation of Steven Peros' play, "The Cat's Meow" (2001; released theatrically in 2002; starred Kirsten Dunst, Edward Herrmann, and Eddie Izzard), a fact-based drama that examined the mysterious death of film mogul Thomas H. Ince. During this time, Bogdanovich received a Lifetime Achievement Award from the Denver International Film Festival and the FIPRESCI Prize from the Locarno International Film Festival. Bogdanovich then played a supporting role in the Showtime comedy miniseries "Out of Order" (2003; starring Eric Stoltz and Felicity Huffman), and signed on to direct ESPN's movie "Hustle" (2004).

Recently, Bogdanovich was cast alongside Sigourney Weaver, Toby Jones, and Gwyneth Paltrow in the Truman Capote biopic "Infamous" (2006), Parker Posey in Zoe R. Cassavetes' romantic comedy "Broken English" (2007), opposite Tom Wilkinson, Billy Crudup and Christine Taylor in Justin Theroux's comedy "Dedication" (2007), alongside Chazz Palminteri and Robert Davi in "The Dukes" (2007) and opposite Nick Chinlund in Amir Mann's dramatic thriller "The Fifth Patient" (2007).

“The actors are in control, getting outrageous amounts of money. The reason they're getting this kind of money is because the studios don't know what else to do. They don't have a clue about what to do except to pay an actor a lot of money.” Peter Bogdanovich

He will soon be seen alongside Fairuza Balk, Frances Conroy and Brad Dourif in Darren Grodsky and Danny Jacobs' upcoming film "Humboldt County" and with Lucas Akoskin in Wayne Price's comedy "The Doorman." Bogdanovich will also direct a biographical drama film set in the world of competitive science, "The Broken Code," which is inspired by Anne Sayre's book. As an author, Bogdanovich has produced books on Lillian Gish, Orson Welles, Allan Dwan, John Ford, Alfred Hitchcock, and Howard Hawks.

“The end of the studio system signaled the end of the great screen stars. They were the sort of actors who brought their own charismatic personas to each role they played. Audiences felt as if they knew them immediately every time they watched one of their movies.” Peter Bogdanovich

Awards:

• Denver International Film Festival: Lifetime Achievement Award, 2001

• Locarno International Film Festival: FIPRESCI Prize, 2001

• Los Angeles Film Critics Association: Special Citation, "Who the Devil Made It," 1997

• Peñíscola Comedy Film Festival: Audience Award, "Noises Off...," 1994

• Venice Film Festival: Italian Film Journalists Award -- Best Film, "Saint Jack," 1979

• San Sebastián International Film Festival: Silver Seashell, "Paper Moon," 1973

• San Sebastián International Film Festival: Special Prize of the Jury, "Paper Moon," 1973

• BAFTA: Best Screenplay, "The Last Picture Show," 1973

• Kinema Junpo: Best Foreign Language Film, "The Last Picture Show," 1973

• São Paulo Association of Art Critics: Best Foreign Film, "The Last Picture Show," 1973

• New York Film Critics Circle: Best Screenplay, "The Last Picture Show," 1971