s6s r i w°/Ia ym ICsa ui S" cs . .. ....................... ....... Dear Colleagues, Writers and directors, working in the kind of collaboration that dignifies both of our profes- sions, stand together once again in our official identities as the Writers Guild of America, west and the Directors Guild of America, to present the Preston Sturges Award in recognition of a career achievement in filmmaking. Our honoree is Blake Edwards, the third artist to be so selected, preceded by Richard Brooks and Billy Wilder. How proud we are to have been in their presence and to be working at the same crafts! Somewhere, Preston Sturges is smiling; surely Blake Edwards is a talent after his own heart. Consider Blake's body of work, outlined in detail elsewhere in this publication. It is the journey of an instinctive artist learning his craft. A journey through the latter days of the legendary Hollywood studio system, writing low-budget westerns and romantic comedies, then directing his own scripts. Then the gradual development of a personal style, a "touch." Then, in 1963, his script (with Maurice Richlin) and his direction of The Pink Panther,and film buffs throughout the world knew that they had another stylist to enjoy. (Remember the spinning globe of the earth, and Inspector Clouseau inadvertently touching it, and spinning himself right to the floor?) After that, Blake's work, unaffected by the storytelling fads of the moment, showed the maturing of a master. He developed into one of those rare creative minds who holds true to his unique talent and to the cinematic tradition of the great era of visual comedy of Chaplin, Keaton and Harold Lloyd, and later, Preston Sturges himself. Still in mid-career, he has been a writer and director for a few years short of five decades. It is a great pleasure for us, as Presidents, to salute Blake Edwards now, a distinguished member of both of our Guilds. We honor Blake with the Preston Sturges Award, the only joint award we give. Blake honors us with the quality of his work. Sincerely, Del Reisman Gene Reynolds President, WGAW K President, DGA Y film was made under the subsidiary Allied Artists banner. Edwards' career as a film writer and producer was underway. In the late 40s he started writing for radio after an episode similar to the one that started him out as a screen- writer. His girlfriend, who worked in BlakeEdwards, Audrey Hepburn, George Peppardonthe setof BREAKFASTATTIFFANY'S. radio, showed him a script that he criti- cized: "She said, 'All you do is sit format and I said, 'Here' and gave it to important radio work. The program around and criticize. Do you think you her and she took it to the man who had was noted for its originality and can do better?' And I said, Yeah.' So I produced her radio show. He said, 'I groundbreaking style. The first genera- took her script to my father's and sat want to sign you.'" Edwards' script tion of radio detectives were those down and wrote a radio show using that introduced Jack Webb as a radio per- adapted from literature. Richard sonality. Diamond was one of the first major Although he has come to be recog- detectives created specifically for the nized as a consummate visual stylist, medium of radio. He was also the first and although he is an accomplished of three detectives created by Edwards painter and sculptor, radio was the who would seize the public imagina- medium that held the most fascination tion: in the late 50s he created the a for Edwards in his formative years: highly successful Peter Gunn television "You were living in the hearing world show and in the mid-60s the character and not in the seeing world. But I lived of Inspector Clouseau who would so much in the hearing world anyway. I appear in the hit Pink Panther Series. grew up on all of those wonderful Aside from directing some shows. It was so great because you episodes of 'Richard Diamond,' imagined these things. You weren't Edwards' directing career really began limited strictly to what you could see in television: "The very first directing I out there. You had a starting point, a did was The Chase. It was a pilot and it focal point, but you could imagine these never sold. I had done some second things and that dimension was the unit directing on Drive a CrookedRoad, greatest. It was just wonderful to lie a film starring Mickey Rooney that there as a kid and imagine. And it Dick Quine directed. After The Chase, could be any way you wanted." the next thing I did was another pilot Edwards created and wrote many that was, I believe, sponsored by Four episodes for Richard Diamond, Private Star Playhouse. Then I did a couple BlakeEdwards with children, Jennifer andGeoffrey. Detective, today considered his most more things for Four Star, one with David Niven and one or two with Dick Powell. Those were (Top photo): BlakeEdwards and Cary Grant discuss a scene onlocation for OPER- my beginning directorial chores." Edwards' work as a film ATIONPETTICOAT, (Bottomphoto): Jack Lemmonand Lee Remick confer with BlakeEdwards before a scene for Warner Bros.'DAYS OFWINE AND ROSES dur- director began with a studio assignment at Columbia when he inglocation atSan Francisco's Place Pigalle restaurant. wrote and directed two films for Frankie Laine. Edwards had coauthored a number of scripts with his friend Richard Quine who directed "B" features for Columbia. When Quine was elevated to bigger projects, Edwards moved into his position. It was, however, in the late 50s and early 60s that Edwards cemented his reputation as a director with a series of hits with big name stars: Operation Petticoatstarring Cary Grant and Tony Curtis, Breakfast at Tifany's starring Audrey Hepburn; and Days of Wine and Roses starring Jack Lemmon. He did not write or originate those projects though they showed his stylistic versatility and his ability to direct actors. After the success of those films, Edwards made the tran- sition to being writer/director of major films starting with The Pink Pantherand A Shot in the Dark in 1964. At this point in his career he collaborated as a writer on all his films. Although Edwards speaks of his earlier writing collaboration with Richard Quine as the "truest" collaboration he was involved in because the two of them would sit in the same room "and kick The Pink Pantherand he didn't under- the credited screenwriter or story writer, stand it at all but he said, 'I made a deal he did significant rewriting of the origi- with you and if this is what you want to nal scripts: "To become an accredited do, go do it.' Even while we were mak- writer, a director has to change at least ing it there was a lot of concern on the 50% of the screenplay. So it's almost Mitisch's part about what kind of a impossible if you want to do something product was coming out. Nobody and you've got a script that's already seemed to be able to really relate to it as written, to change it 50%, but you can far as feeling that it was commercially change it substantially." Indeed, viable, that it was a good product for Edwards frequently changes scripts so them. At the preview of The Pink substantially that, in retrospect, he Panther, Harold rushed up to me. I've thinks that it is usually best for him to never seen anyone so happy. It was like DavidNiven and Blake Edwards ona'Panther' location. write his own screenplays: "I inevitably he had just won the lottery. And in a end up making enemies because I usual- it back and forth," his later writing style way he had." And in a way, Edwards ly rewrite everything and they end up was different: "With other collabora- had too since the Pink Panther Series feeling that I've corrupted their material. tors, because I would find it was conve- would repeatedly prove of great impor- It would be better if I just tackled the nient, I would have the story, give it to tance to his career. whole project myself. You always hope them, have them do a lot of the writing Since the mid-60s, nearly all of that someone is going to come in with as I supervised, and then I would totally Edwards' films have involved him in the some genius writing and then you don't rewrite from beginning to end. I did roles of a "hyphenate": writer-producer- have to do it." that a lot." director. On the few on which he is not Between 1975 and 1984, Edwards Based upon his previous successes, he entered into a favorable production agreement with the Mirisch Brothers. It was a happy period in Edwards' career because they respected his creative judg- ment and gave him the promised cre- ative control he needed: "Harold Mirisch was good to his word. He said, You come with us and you don't have to worry about the studio. That's our job, that's where we make our money, partly. You deal with me. You want to do something, you come to me and you and I will agree upon it.' And he proved right from the beginning that he was as good as his word. I went to him with Herbert Lom and Blake Edwards onthe set of a 'Panther' film. produced or co-produced all of his films.