The Nashville Chronicles: The Making of Robert Altman's Masterpiece

by Jan Stuart

The Nashville Chronicles is a fascinating journalistic tour de force of the movie that legendary film critic Pauline Kael called "The funniest epic vision of America ever to reach the screen." In writing this book, Jan Stuart enjoyed the benefit of full cooperation from Altman, who sat for many hours of interviews, as well as most of the motley crew of cast and characters. Illustrated throughout with behind-the-scenes photos.

Genres: Film, History, Nonfiction

366 pages, Hardcover

First published November 6, 2000

Reviews

[David · Rating 4 out of 5]

Closer to 4.5

"We were all in a daze most of the time," says Alan Rudolph. "It's as if you didn't worry about who was driving the bus. You knew it was a stormy, twisting road and the headlights were out, but you knew you were going to get there. The key to it was that Bob recognized that this thing was alive, that he was guiding it, and that it was going to reach its conclusion."

Next year, Robert Altman's 'Nashville' will be 50 years... young. When journalist Jan Stuart published this chronicle volume in 2000, the film had been a cultural landmark for 25 years. Stuart set out to capture the fullness of the film's creation not only through personal insight into how the entire project was constructed and birthed but also by interviewing just about everyone who was involved in the making of the film in any way.

While there may be a few slight longueurs in the resulting text - when Stuart riffs on certain incidentals - 'TNC' is an invaluable source for fans of one of the best films of the '70s. 

Not that the film was a smash hit; it wasn't. It was a critics' darling and it apparently played well in large cities but, in America in general, 'Nashville' was not a moneymaker. (It's possible that the only Altman film that ever did great box office business was 'M*A*S*H*'.) 

In America, 'Nashville' was largely a misunderstood / misperceived movie. Overall, Nashville natives hated it because they thought the film was laughing at their hometown - when it wasn't and that was never the intention. Quotes by locals - esp. Nashville artists - re: the film are generally dismissive. It's like they weren't able to get beyond what they *thought* the film was, so they focused on what it wasn't. In particular, the film's country-western score is seen as insulting and far removed from the genuine c-w style; a too-sensitive sentiment that is simply wrong. (How can you quarrel with the soundtrack's tone when it holds such memorable homages as 'It Don't Worry Me', 'My Idaho Home', 'For the Sake of the Children', 'Memphis', 'Bluebird', 'Tapedeck in His Tractor', 'Dues', '200 Years', 'Keep A-Goin'' and the Oscar-winning 'I'm Easy'?)

Interestingly, Stuart includes a sampling of the European POV, revealing how foreigners could appreciate Altman's perspective in a way that his fellow countrymen quite often couldn't. 

It's pointed out that a fictional take like 'Nashville' has aged more gracefully than other music-drenched films of the period - as one example, it

"... looks much truer than 'Woodstock', much more real. ... [F]iction has this advantage over fact, that it can eliminate the boring and emphasize the believable." ... The rococo slang and period mannerisms that fix 'Woodstock' so immovably, and incredibly, in its time are the very sort of thing that Altman minimized, if not eliminated, in his film. As a result, 'Nashville' gains a certain timelessness that 'Woodstock' lacks.

Altman's ever-pleasing, groundbreaking epic was guerrilla filmmaking at its finest. When you watch it, it's almost impossible to conceive how it could have been made on a budget just over 2 million (with its main cast of 24 receiving about $1,000 each a week for participation). Granted, there are no real special effects and the look of the film is almost that of a documentary. Still... what is pulled off visually is a stunning achievement. 

Stuart goes into more-than-sufficient detail re: the cast - and how Altman was able to corral such a spectrum of diverse personality. Cast members like Lily Tomlin, Barbara Harris and Keith Carradine (and a number of others) look back on the experience with refreshing candor. There's perhaps a less-than-bittersweet quality when Stuart enters his 'where are they now' section. 

A major plus here is when Stuart zooms in on the filming of specific major sequences - none more revelatory than a breakdown of the climactic (with hundreds-of-extras) assassination scene. Rain didn't hold off until, in the midst of intense frustration, Altman simply yelled (to the universe), "Stop!"... and it did.:

Says Jim Webb, "Bob Altman must have paid his dues to the man upstairs, because it rained in the A.M., stopped for two hours, we shot like bandits, and the minute we finished the last shot, it closed in on us again. It was amazing. We got out of there five minutes ahead of the posse."

 

[Joey Shapiro · Rating 4 out of 5]

Exclusively a "for freaks obsessed with this three-hour-long movie with 24 main characters" affair, but I really enjoyed it and learned a lot! This kind of thing certainly didn't need as much background info on the life story of all 24 actors, but there's a lot of neat insight into the production and techniques and ideas behind the movie that I had fun with + made me very excited to rewatch soon. Maybe I gotta read more film books?!

[Mitchell · Rating 4 out of 5]

In August 1975 I came back to NYC after backpacking around Europe for the first time. I was still swimming in all things European. A very good friend at the time told me 'There's a new movie called Nashville. When you see that movie, you see truth'.

Was she ever right. I saw it a few days after my return and it was an experience that I never recovered from. The sheer hugeness of that American world it depicted stunned me. It almost wiped my European trip from my brain. That entire summer I followed that movie all over NYC and have since seen it at least 30 times.

Over the years I have made sure that everyone I care about not only sees this movie but understands why it is probably the great film of the 1970s - probably one of the greatest American film of all times, sharing that pride of place with its equally audacious older brother Citizen Kane.

This book was written on the occasion of the 25th anniversary of the film. I never knew it existed until I happened to see the author's by-line in a review in the New York Sunday Times Book Section a few weeks ago.

This is essential reading for anyone else obsessed with the movie. Stuart interviewed almost everyone involved with the making of Nashville and has woven together a chatty, gossipy but never cheap backstage story. The thorough explanation of how Altman's improvisational style gave the film its unique form is probably what led my friend to declare it as 'Truth' so many years ago.

See the movie, please, at least 25 times. Then luxuriate in this tasty book!

[Bob Wake · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Watergate hearings and Nixon’s resignation all occurred while the movie was being made and it absolutely infuses the film’s countercultural middle-finger aimed at the right-wing pieties of the country music establishment. Ironically, Jan Stuart’s solid account feels more “dated” than Robert Altman’s still-vital satire. Published to coincide with the film’s 25th anniversary circa 2000, a vapid era in which political discourse was reduced to Monicagate.

[Sally · Rating 4 out of 5]

I became hooked on Altman once I realized he directed conversations the way I believe people actually talk -- by interruption. But how he ever got this movie made is one interesting, convoluted conversation.

[Ayun Halliday · Rating 5 out of 5]

Seeing this unwieldy masterpiece on the big screen at MoMA left me thirsty for more! This book takes you from casting to early screenings, in first person reminiscences from cast and crew. Dishy as hell!! Scratched that itch! Like the best sort of long form magazine article, writ really large.

[Sammy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Nashville is my favourite film of all time BUT if anything, that gave me even lower expectations for this book, since generally I find that mass-published writings never do justice to the thoughts brimming in my head (or, more accurately, the intelligent thoughts I hope other people can have, so I can read them!). "Nashville Chronicles", however, was absolutely smashing. Jan Stuart describes in great detail the process of making Altman's film from conception to its legacy. She speaks about the problems that developed (personal and professional) during filming; discusses the film's middling reception; and talks at length about production. Of course, like any film buff, there are areas of interest that weren't included, but I can safely say this book is a true favourite, and worthwhile for any Altman fan. In fact, much like the theatre equivalent "Everything Was Possible: The Making of Follies", this is a great backstage read for any film fan.

[Joseph · Rating 5 out of 5]

Read this book immediately after watching the film.

It’s all the juicy details from the people who were there. I’m not one of those who believes every nanosecond of my favorite films is worth mining for evidence of minute congruity... but this is the exception. When 24 actors are asked to become their characters regardless to whether the camera directly faces them, you will LOVE the minutiae.

‘Nashville’ is my all-time favorite film and this book, published nearly 25 years after the movie and based on personal interviews/recollections from nearly everyone involved, is a perfect complement.

[Dusty · Rating 3 out of 5]

Tribute to a stellar movie. I happened to finish this exactly the day before Altman's death. Worth a read if you're a fan of the film or, more importantly, a fan of behind-scenes drama between actors and writers and financiers and country-western musicians and ...

[Chrisailor · Rating 4 out of 5]

A great re-telling of the making of this classic film that nonetheless could have dug just a bit deeper - it's chronicle of the production rarely skims the surface.

[Martin · Rating 5 out of 5]

Terrific book, I read it in 3 days. Ten times more informative than Altman's audio commentary on the DVD. It's told chronologically, of course, and because the film seems to have been shot mostly in sequential order we are also going through the behind-the-scenes in the same order as our experience of the movie. There were so many things I didn't know...

Louise Fletcher was originally to play Linnea. Her parents are deaf and she famously signed when accepting her Oscar, so that is why Linnea has deaf children. When she parted ways with Altman due to either wanting more money or a job for her manager husband, she jumped onto "Cuckoo's Nest" and won an Oscar.

Keith Carradine dated Christina Raines on and off for most of the 1970s! And his two big songs, "It Don't Worry Me" and "I'm Easy" were written years before. Existing well before the production, I understand how "It Don't Worry Me" became part of the film's structure, whether it's the gospel version playing on Tommy Brown's bus, fans singing it AT Bill, Mary and Tom, or the finale. And "I'm Easy" was written when Carradine was in "Hair" which explains it's late 60s otherworldly quality.

Everyone was apparently in awe of Lily Tomlin, which is interesting because this was her first movie! She'd done "Laugh-In" and guested on variety shows, and lots of cabaret and small theatre, but she did not have the stature we associate with her today. There was just something intimidating about her intellect and unique humor and beauty.

Charlie Chaplin really loved the film both for it's skewering of the America which ousted him in the Red Scare, and for the courage to make such a satire. He said that he wouldn't have had the nerve to do what his daughter Geraldine had done in the film. (And this book confirms that Opal is not actually supposed to be from the BBC, she's supposed to be an impostor, like everyone else in the film jockeying for position to grab the brass ring.)

The film should have gotten a special Oscar for achievement in sound, wiring everybody to their own track, or the complicated setup when Tom is talking to Linnea on the phone, or all that was involved when playing to an audience and live musicians.

Loved reading about the film premiere in Nashville complete with the Tennessee Twirlers and newscaster Bill Jenkins greeting Ronee Blakely et al, just like at the beginning of the movie.

GREAT QUOTES:

Molly Haskell called it "a Chaucerian musical pilgrimage whose Canterbury is Nashville."

Pauline Kael wrote "Country stars are symbolic ordinary figures. In this, they're more like political demagogues than artists. The singer bears the burden of what he has become and he keeps saying, 'I may be driving an expensive car, but that doesn't mean I'm happier than you are.' Neither he nor the politician dares to come right out and confess to the audience that what he's got is what he's set out for from the beginning. Instead, he says, 'It's only an accident that puts me here and you there--don't we talk the same language?' ... 'Nashville' is about the insanity of a fundamentalist culture in which practically the whole population has been turned into groupies."

And my favorite is Loretta Lynn, upon whom Barbara Jean is partially based, who was invited but did not go to the premiere, saying "I don't care if they have me kinda crazy, because I am. I don't care if they have me goin' in and out of hospitals, because I do. But when I hear they're cartin' my dead body off and havin' an unknown take my place--that I don't like!"

[Michael Del Guercio · Rating 5 out of 5]

I had heard about the film, Nashville and Robert Altman way before reading this book and early in September I watched it for the first time on the Criterion Channel and thought it was pretty good, though I was a little confused at points and didn't know where the story was going. When I found out that someone wrote a book about the making of Nashville I wanted to read it. The book gave a lot of incite into the creation of this film and how the characters and plot came to together. I am really glad I read this book because now I want to rewatch from what I know now about the making of the film and see if I have a different impression. Highly recommend watching the film first if you never have and then reading this book because it obviously tells you spoilers about the film.

[Stephen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really cool to read such a comprehensive account of the making of ‘Nashville’!

[prettygirlfriedrice · Rating 5 out of 5]

Geraldine Chaplin FOUND DEAD in Miami Beach omg noooooo

[Stop]

Read the STOP SMILING interview with filmmaker Robert Altman

It's Okay With Me: Robert Altman
By James Hughes

(This interview originally appeared in STOP SMILING The Auteur Issue)

Midway through Robert Altman’s 1975 film Nashville, a bemused BBC reporter played by Geraldine Chaplin infiltrates the house party of Haven Hamilton, the crown jewel of Nashville’s music royalty. Regarding her majestic surroundings — a lush, tree-lined estate that looks more like a roadside stop from Wild Strawberries than the backwoods of Tennessee — Chaplin flatters her host by comparing the scene to a slice of Sweden’s premier auteur. “Bergman,” she cries. “Pure, unadulterated Bergman!” Taking one final glance at the locals — a honky-tonk group already tipsy on Jack Daniels — she revises her statement. “Of course the people are all wrong for Bergman, aren’t they?”

This small exchange, typically buried in a sound track dense with overlapping dialogue, encapsulates the essence of Robert Altman. His films have a European sensibility that echoes both the grandeur and the interior anguish of Ingmar Bergman and Federico Fellini. But the characters Altman chooses to occupy these arenas are quintessentially American. Faithful to his ever expanding stable of actors (Shelly Duvall, Michael Murphy, Lily Tomlin and Elliott Gould among them) Altman explores the lives of real people living in the forgotten recesses of a country often misrepresented by an overexposure of the two coasts. For over 50 years, Altman has created a cinematic landscape that stems from the heartland and branches out to every corner of the map: from the hazy Southwestern sprawl of California Split and 3 Women, through the clutter of Texas (Brewster McCloud and Dr. T and the Women) and quaintness of Kansas City, all the way up the bustling eastern seaboard, where the fictional presidential candidate Jack Tanner shamelessly canvassed for votes in ’88.

Robert Altman was born in Kansas City in 1925. After serving overseas in World War II, he returned to the Midwest and worked on industrial films for the Calvin Co. of Kansas City, eventually landing in the director’s chair for television series as diverse as “Alfred Hitchcock Presents” and “Bonanza.” With the success of MASH in 1970, Altman was tossed the keys to Hollywood’s most coveted projects, but chose instead to champion more personal films. Despite his continuous critical acclaim, he remains in the distinguished company of Alfred Hitchcock, Martin Scorsese and King Vidor — all Best Director nominees shut out five times by the Academy. But Altman seems unaffected by the allure of awards, and even more so by the demands and labels of the press. As Philip Marlowe would mumble in Altman’s exquisite adaptation of Raymond Chandler’s The Long Goodbye, “It’s okay with me.”

Fresh off a rebirth from Gosford Park in 2002, which catapulted him back into the public eye with the same force as The Player in 1991, Altman has recently seen some of his greatest unreleased works preserved on DVD, and he now embraces digital technology. His last two features — The Company and the just-wrapped A Prairie Home Companion — were shot on high-definition video. And, as Altman reveals from his well-equipped production office in Midtown Manhattan, he’s not surprised to see film become a thing of the past.

Read the complete interview...

[Kevin · Rating 3 out of 5]

Rightly considered both a critical and popular masterpiece, director Altman's 1975 film, Nashville, is a sprawling, audacious and brilliant mixture of political analysis and soap opera that features 23 major characters, all on a collision course with the American dream.

This love letter to the film, the director and the cast is based on Newsweek movie critic Stuart's interviews with all of the cast and crew members who are still alive. He ably evokes the artistic excitement that galvanized the set amid the chaos of the filming (Altman, a great believer in improvisation, told his actors to ignore the script on the first day of filming), as well as the tensions that surfaced when the exacting, often cranky director clashed with many of his stars.

Highlights are the insights of performers like Lily Tomlin, who relates how feminism and lesbianism shaped her wonderfully tender sex scenes with Keith Carradine (who claims to have "just wanted to get laid" during the filming"), and Barbara Harris, whose insistence on relying on her improvisational training at the Second City put her at odds with Altman. Stuart is at his best detailing the strained and often painful relationships between the starsAparticularly Ronee Blakley, who played the film's central characterAand the director.

More an overview of the film and its principal players than a sustained critical analysis or a day-by-day account of the filming, this amiable journalistic account will please the film's legion of fans more than it will film critics or historians.

[Drew Raley · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent anecdotal account of the making of an excellent anecdotal American classic. It is the great American movie, with enormous empathy sitting comfortably beside excoriating satire. Stuart's history pinpoints those elements of accident and purpose that make the film a living document of the State of the Union 1975. Portraits of the actors and filmmakers are compassionate, rowdy, and thorough, especially in its last sections where we catch up with all of their later careers, life events, and in some cases deaths. Valuable and essential. The act of making the film is often compared to giving birth; the act of reviewing, critiquing, and tracing the making of films is often compared to performing an autopsy. Stuart gifts us a humane and evocative background to a certified masterpiece that keeps the film alive, and in fact renews its messy liveliness.

[D.A. · Rating 5 out of 5]

Thank you to Greg Gerke for recommending this book, which is filled with more factoids--both crucial and tangential--than one might ever hope to know about a single film, much less a film that dares the American psyche as much as Nashville. The author takes you through the development of the initial script, Altman's radical reinvention of the screenwriter's vision, the editing process, the varied critical responses....all the way to the epilogue of "where are they now?" If you weren't convinced of Nashville's greatness before, this book should make a believer out of you.

[Michael · Rating 5 out of 5]

An outstanding start-to-finish telling of the making of one of Altman's best films. Stuart has compiled old stories and new interviews and created what might be the best behind the scenes book about making a movie that I've ever read. You'll learn quite a bit about Altman's directorial process and how different actors reacted to it. If you're a fan of Altman in general, or Nashville in particular, there's no reason not to read this book. It's fantastic.

[Meagan · Rating 4 out of 5]

I wish I could request a book like this to be written about all my favorite movies.

[Jesse · Rating 3 out of 5]

Proof that what was going on behind the camera was just as complicated and wonderfully riotous as what was taking place in front of it.

[Kasa Cotugno · Rating 4 out of 5]

In depth account of the filming of Nashville, the indelible effect it had on participants, the author's obvious love of this film and reverence for Altman, plus plenty of dish equal enjoyable read.

[Karl Miller · Rating 5 out of 5]

A great behind the scenes look at my all time favorite movie. Loved reading the insights of the cast as they worked on this.

[Brian McCann · Rating 4 out of 5]

Nashville the movie becomes more profound after each viewing. This chronicle ably complements its production journey.

[Hugh Ruppersburg · Rating 3 out of 5]

See http://oldsmiley.blogspot.com/2008/06... for my review.