pturman Posted March 3, 2012 Share Posted March 3, 2012 Any Timothy Bottoms fans out there? When I was a kid back in the 70's, my grandfather owned a movie theatre. Every Friday & Saturday night I would be babysat by him at the theatre while my parents were out partying. For some reason Timothy Bottoms' movies made a big impression on me. I remember seeing LAST PICTURE SHOW, PAPER CHASE, and LOVE AND PAIN AND THE WHOLE DAMN THING. This youtube clip is an informal Q & A he gave to an audience at a film festival last year who had just watched LAST PICTURE SHOW. He talks about Peter Bogdanovich, John Ford, Ben Johnson, & why his career got derailed after such a promising start. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tikisoo Posted March 3, 2012 Share Posted March 3, 2012 Another big fan, especially of TLPS & Bogdanovich! I love this movie, need to revisit it, but it takes so much out of me. The lobby card (from TLPS) of Bottoms & Bridges sitting in the diner booth is framed in my kitchen and people often comment on how young Jeff Bridges is. Very sad Bottoms kind of dropped out while Bridges fell into crazy superstardom. I can't view YouTube, what is the jist of his story? I've always wondered. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sepiatone Posted March 3, 2012 Share Posted March 3, 2012 Tiki, it's long been one of my favorites. Around the turn of the decades('79-'80) the old State theater in Detroit attempted to restore and become one of those old theaters that show old movies. While still undergoing restoration, they showed this movie. It wasn't the first time I saw it, but it was the first time on big screen for me. I always loved how Bogdonovich used lesser known Hank Williams tunes as ambient radio sound instead of heading for more overused songs. Timothy Bottoms popped up in the early 2000's on TV in a send-up of GW, but after 9/11, the show quickly disappeared. I'll have to view putnam's YouTube link to find out more of what happened to this very talented man's career. Sepiatone Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sfpcc1 Posted March 3, 2012 Share Posted March 3, 2012 The show was called That's My Bush. It was on Comedy Central. I think he was also on the FX show Dirt. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pturman Posted March 3, 2012 Author Share Posted March 3, 2012 He basically had an aversion to the Hollywood publicity machine, Tiki. He didn't like big crowds or giving interviews (you can tell he's even uncomfortable in this one) & as he puts it, would go & hide out at his ranch when he should've been promoting his latest movie or his career. He says something along the lines (and I'm paraphrasing) "If you're not willing to prostitue yourself for the almighty dollar then you're out. They kick you out." He looked good considering he's, what, 70ish? So I'm guessing (although I don't know) substance abuse didn't derail his career like it did so many other promising young actors of his generation. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tikisoo Posted March 4, 2012 Share Posted March 4, 2012 Thanks for the info PT, glad it wasn't the "usual" substance abuse. He seems way too serious an actor for that anyway. I'm an artist too and I realized early on "selling" myself was part of the game, although not nearly as encompassing as acting, I can still pump my own gas without recognition (yeah boy!) People are buying MY product and the least I can do is be interested & gracious when they talk to me. There is an element of celebrity, that people want MY product because they like ME, so I have to go out of my way to be "likable". I need to show up at all trade shows, smile a lot & make eye contact. Small price to pay for making a living. And definitely worth putting the effort towards, if you have the talent to back it up. If you believe in yourself & your art, would you rather do the job or have them hire your competitor? A tragedy Bottoms opted out, he deprived us of enjoying his talent. Kind of reminds me of Carly Simon who could not overcome her fear of performing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Calamity Posted March 7, 2012 Share Posted March 7, 2012 This is one of the movies I've only seen part of because TCM was airing it very late. I start watching but then get too sleepy to see it through. The same thing happened with David and Lisa, Juliet of the Spirits, the French movie I thought might be Juliet of the Spirits until I started watching the latter & realized it wasn't French, and several more that are even foggier memories. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
danjw Posted March 8, 2012 Share Posted March 8, 2012 Last film my mom and I watched before she died. Have not seen it since (March '94). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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