Having originally met when they worked together on the 1968 caper The One and Only, Genuine, Original Family Band, Russell and Goldie Hawn reunited and reconnected almost two decades later when they were cast in Jonathan Demme’s romantic dramedy Swing Shift, where their characters strike up a romance after the latter’s Kay Walsh falls for the former’s Lucky Lockhart when her husband heads off to serve in World War II.

It shouldn’t have been a movie that caused friction between the cast and the filmmaker, but it was. As the lead and executive producer of the picture, Hawn had plenty of input on Swing Shift. She drafted in legendary Chinatown scribe Robert Towne to write new scenes to bump up her screentime at the expense of co-star Christine Lahiti, who ended up on the Oscars shortlist for ‘Best Supporting Actress’ anyway.

That caused Swing Shift‘s budget to swell and its release date to be pushed back by months, leaving Demme enraged. He didn’t want anything to do with the reshoots because he believed it compromised his creative vision. He lobbied to have the listing of ‘A Jonathan Demme Film’ removed from the credits, and original writer Nancy Dowd disowned the project in favour of the pseudonym Rob Morton.

“There was a portion of the footage that I didn’t care for and didn’t want to shoot, but I did it anyway,” he said at the time. “I’m not the kind of person who goes around saying, ‘They destroyed my work!’ and I’m not telling you that the original version was better; I’m just saying that I liked it, and that’s the version I would have liked to stand behind.”

Russell and Hawn’s romance blossomed during the shooting of Swing Shift, putting him in the unfortunate scenario of making a movie that was partially disowned by its director for reasons that were caused largely by his newfound paramour. When asked to reflect on the experience by Entertainment Weekly, all he could offer was a succinct “Didn’t like it,” which says more than three words normally would.

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Having originally met when they worked together on the 1968 caper The One and Only, Genuine, Original Family Band, Russell and Goldie Hawn reunited and reconnected almost two decades later when they were cast in Jonathan Demme’s romantic dramedy Swing Shift, where their characters strike up a romance after the latter’s Kay Walsh falls for the former’s Lucky Lockhart when her husband heads off to serve in World War II.

It shouldn’t have been a movie that caused friction between the cast and the filmmaker, but it was. As the lead and executive producer of the picture, Hawn had plenty of input on Swing Shift. She drafted in legendary Chinatown scribe Robert Towne to write new scenes to bump up her screentime at the expense of co-star Christine Lahiti, who ended up on the Oscars shortlist for ‘Best Supporting Actress’ anyway.

That caused Swing Shift‘s budget to swell and its release date to be pushed back by months, leaving Demme enraged. He didn’t want anything to do with the reshoots because he believed it compromised his creative vision. He lobbied to have the listing of ‘A Jonathan Demme Film’ removed from the credits, and original writer Nancy Dowd disowned the project in favour of the pseudonym Rob Morton.

“There was a portion of the footage that I didn’t care for and didn’t want to shoot, but I did it anyway,” he said at the time. “I’m not the kind of person who goes around saying, ‘They destroyed my work!’ and I’m not telling you that the original version was better; I’m just saying that I liked it, and that’s the version I would have liked to stand behind.”

Russell and Hawn’s romance blossomed during the shooting of Swing Shift, putting him in the unfortunate scenario of making a movie that was partially disowned by its director for reasons that were caused largely by his newfound paramour. When asked to reflect on the experience by Entertainment Weekly, all he could offer was a succinct “Didn’t like it,” which says more than three words normally would.

Related Topics

Having originally met when they worked together on the 1968 caper The One and Only, Genuine, Original Family Band, Russell and Goldie Hawn reunited and reconnected almost two decades later when they were cast in Jonathan Demme’s romantic dramedy Swing Shift, where their characters strike up a romance after the latter’s Kay Walsh falls for the former’s Lucky Lockhart when her husband heads off to serve in World War II.

It shouldn’t have been a movie that caused friction between the cast and the filmmaker, but it was. As the lead and executive producer of the picture, Hawn had plenty of input on Swing Shift. She drafted in legendary Chinatown scribe Robert Towne to write new scenes to bump up her screentime at the expense of co-star Christine Lahiti, who ended up on the Oscars shortlist for ‘Best Supporting Actress’ anyway.

That caused Swing Shift‘s budget to swell and its release date to be pushed back by months, leaving Demme enraged. He didn’t want anything to do with the reshoots because he believed it compromised his creative vision. He lobbied to have the listing of ‘A Jonathan Demme Film’ removed from the credits, and original writer Nancy Dowd disowned the project in favour of the pseudonym Rob Morton.

“There was a portion of the footage that I didn’t care for and didn’t want to shoot, but I did it anyway,” he said at the time. “I’m not the kind of person who goes around saying, ‘They destroyed my work!’ and I’m not telling you that the original version was better; I’m just saying that I liked it, and that’s the version I would have liked to stand behind.”

Russell and Hawn’s romance blossomed during the shooting of Swing Shift, putting him in the unfortunate scenario of making a movie that was partially disowned by its director for reasons that were caused largely by his newfound paramour. When asked to reflect on the experience by Entertainment Weekly, all he could offer was a succinct “Didn’t like it,” which says more than three words normally would.

Related Topics

Having originally met when they worked together on the 1968 caper The One and Only, Genuine, Original Family Band, Russell and Goldie Hawn reunited and reconnected almost two decades later when they were cast in Jonathan Demme’s romantic dramedy Swing Shift, where their characters strike up a romance after the latter’s Kay Walsh falls for the former’s Lucky Lockhart when her husband heads off to serve in World War II.

It shouldn’t have been a movie that caused friction between the cast and the filmmaker, but it was. As the lead and executive producer of the picture, Hawn had plenty of input on Swing Shift. She drafted in legendary Chinatown scribe Robert Towne to write new scenes to bump up her screentime at the expense of co-star Christine Lahiti, who ended up on the Oscars shortlist for ‘Best Supporting Actress’ anyway.

That caused Swing Shift‘s budget to swell and its release date to be pushed back by months, leaving Demme enraged. He didn’t want anything to do with the reshoots because he believed it compromised his creative vision. He lobbied to have the listing of ‘A Jonathan Demme Film’ removed from the credits, and original writer Nancy Dowd disowned the project in favour of the pseudonym Rob Morton.

“There was a portion of the footage that I didn’t care for and didn’t want to shoot, but I did it anyway,” he said at the time. “I’m not the kind of person who goes around saying, ‘They destroyed my work!’ and I’m not telling you that the original version was better; I’m just saying that I liked it, and that’s the version I would have liked to stand behind.”

Russell and Hawn’s romance blossomed during the shooting of Swing Shift, putting him in the unfortunate scenario of making a movie that was partially disowned by its director for reasons that were caused largely by his newfound paramour. When asked to reflect on the experience by Entertainment Weekly, all he could offer was a succinct “Didn’t like it,” which says more than three words normally would.

Related Topics