A complex career

“Stormy Monday” (1988): It was a film I did as a treatment for David Puttnam, who I had met when I tried to get into the National Film School [in London], and we got on really badly. I did not get into the film school. When I did my first television film, “The House,” he got in contact with me like we had never met before and said, “We would love to be in business with you.” I put forward the idea for “Stormy Monday.” I don’t think he ever read the treatment, and after a year, I took the treatment away from his company.

I got it refinanced through Atlantic Releasing, and for pretty much a low budget, it finally got made. I ended up with a great cast -- Melanie Griffith, Tommy Lee Jones, Sting, Sean Bean. Then the film came out and got really negative reviews in the U.K. but very appreciative reviews in the New York Times and the Los Angeles Times. On the basis of that I had some kind of clout in Hollywood.

“Internal Affairs” (1990): I read the script and went in and fought tooth and nail, I think, for about nine months at Paramount. Andy Garcia was pushing for me. I had met Andy some years before and Frank Mancuso Jr., the producer, pushed for me.

I got green lit at Paramount and then cast Richard Gere in the movie. I saw it on cable yesterday, and I was really impressed.

“Liebestraum” (1991): I had written this waiting for “Stormy Monday” to get made. It is probably the most gothic and complex film I had ever done. It got butchered here. They took out the most important scene in the film because MGM thought it was too sexual. But it held all the key information to the film.

It was really upsetting, but not as upsetting to discover that MGM/UA has rereleased the film without consulting me on DVD. It is probably the most complicated film I ever made and having finally made it to discover there is not a DVD version of the actual director’s cut.

I remember when the movie came out [star] Kim Novak wrote to Premiere and MGM suggesting that I be fired because she was more famous than I was and I had taken out one of her best scenes. I hadn’t. MGM had taken it out.

“Mr. Jones” (1993): For 2 1/4 years I struggled with [producer] Ray Stark and finally they replaced me with Jon Amiel, I think, and they re-shot some scenes and reedited the film. I never saw the film.

“The Browning Version” (1994): Which I love and which I did the score and where I was fired as composer. A lot of the music ended up in “Leaving Las Vegas.” It also got dumped. It got only a two-theater release.

“Leaving Las Vegas” (1995): I was so fatigued with the struggle trying to make a good movie and constantly coming up against what I thought was nonconstructive interference. I decided to make a film that was “unreleaseable” because it was so hard core.

I had final cut, including score. So I had control of the film, which I made for virtually nothing. I still haven’t been paid for the film. Interesting, isn’t it?

I don’t care because the film did well and got four Academy nominations and won an Academy Award. The soundtrack is still around.

I still feel if you actually do something you believe in and stick to your convictions you can sometimes get there. It’s great to prove to everybody, if you just let me make a film the way I want to, it can work.

“One Night Stand” (1997): It’s one of my favorite films. I remember thinking as I was making the film, “It’s going to be successful because it addresses the issue of divorce and family and it’s a love story.” Then it got the worst reviews, especially from your paper. I was shocked at how maliciously treated the film was, but the fact is people still come up to this day and say, “I really loved it.” It did well in Europe.

“The Loss of Sexual Innocence” (1999): I love it. I did “One Night Stand” because the success of “Leaving Las Vegas” allowed me to actually get paid to do a studio film. So having done that, I literally ran to Europe to go back to Super 16.

“Miss Julie” (1999): It was something I originally wanted to do with Juliette Binoche and Nic Cage and set it in the Midwest in America as an adaptation. For various reasons, it didn’t happen and the window of opportunity was closing. It was in my schedule of things I really wanted to do and so I said, “OK, let’s do it very quickly.” I got the financing together. It was a tiny budget, and we shot it in 14 days in one studio.

“Time Code” (2000): That was a hit, but it could have been a bigger hit if Sony actually had the [conviction] to stay with it. I think they dropped the ball, but God bless them for making it in the first place.

“Cold Creek Manor” (2003): Disney was like a dream. It was the most respectful experience I have ever had with a studio. They let me do the score. I recorded it at Capitol with 100 musicians. It was great. It’s a really nice film. It’s really tight.