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Kinda Hot: The Making of Saint Jack in Singapore
"The book is a revelation...because I never knew all the details, all the people and the strategies that went into the making of the movie Saint Jack...I have discovered how this excellent movie was created. And what I had thought was a lost world is still accessible – I enjoyed revisiting it in this book (Kinda The Making of Saint Jack in Singapore).” - Paul Theroux , author of Saint Jack
Kinda The Making of Saint Jack in Singapore reveals, for the first time, the extraordinary story behind the making of Saint Jack (1979), the only American film to be entirely shot on location in Singapore. Filmed in secret, it was subsequently banned by the authorities.
Adapting Paul Theroux’s celebrated novel about pimps and prostitutes in the Lion City, a local, amateur cast and crew worked right alongside brilliant film-making talents gathered from all over the world.
The director was Peter Bogdanovich, one-time Hollywood golden-boy whose career was in decline. The star was Ben Gazzara, a charismatic method actor. They immersed themselves into the world of brothels in the name of ‘research’.
The film was made on the run, with the cast and crew improvising wildly, chaotically capturing the last vestiges of Singapore’s famous colonial and seedy past, all the time telling the authorities they were shooting a romance called Jack Of Hearts .
Author Ben Slater has tracked down everyone from chief crew members and lead actors to the humblest extras, in order to tell the gripping, funny and poignant tale of what happened when Saint Jack came to Singapore for six months in 1978.
Kinda The Making of Saint Jack in Singapore reveals, for the first time, the extraordinary story behind the making of Saint Jack (1979), the only American film to be entirely shot on location in Singapore. Filmed in secret, it was subsequently banned by the authorities.
Adapting Paul Theroux’s celebrated novel about pimps and prostitutes in the Lion City, a local, amateur cast and crew worked right alongside brilliant film-making talents gathered from all over the world.
The director was Peter Bogdanovich, one-time Hollywood golden-boy whose career was in decline. The star was Ben Gazzara, a charismatic method actor. They immersed themselves into the world of brothels in the name of ‘research’.
The film was made on the run, with the cast and crew improvising wildly, chaotically capturing the last vestiges of Singapore’s famous colonial and seedy past, all the time telling the authorities they were shooting a romance called Jack Of Hearts .
Author Ben Slater has tracked down everyone from chief crew members and lead actors to the humblest extras, in order to tell the gripping, funny and poignant tale of what happened when Saint Jack came to Singapore for six months in 1978.
240 pages, Paperback
First published March 1, 2006
33 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
February 8, 2022
A great book on a hidden gem of a movie
December 15, 2017
An interesting read on a niche topic. A must read for fans of Singapore local cinema and students of contemporary cinematic history. It supplements very well the extra material found on the Bluray release of "Saint Jack".
March 15, 2008
About the history of the movie Saint Jack, based on the novel by Paul Theroux.
The movie, directed by Peter Bogdanovich and financed in part by Cybil Shepard and Playboy. The book talks about the only US feature film to have been made entirely in Singapore, filmed in secret and later banned in Singapore. Read the original book, see the movie and follow up with this great behind the scenes story.
The movie, directed by Peter Bogdanovich and financed in part by Cybil Shepard and Playboy. The book talks about the only US feature film to have been made entirely in Singapore, filmed in secret and later banned in Singapore. Read the original book, see the movie and follow up with this great behind the scenes story.
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews