Line #12 Creator/JohnCassavetes


1	[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/cassavetes.jpg]]
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3	John Nicholas Cassavetes (December 9, 1929 – February 3, 1989) is regarded as the [[ThePioneer "father of the American Independent Film"]].
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5	In 1959, Cassavetes shot a low-budget film about the lives of African-American siblings in New York, which moreover featured an interracial relationship. This film was made outside the Studio System with little-known actors, featured extensive location shooting, and contained a score by jazz genius Music/CharlesMingus. The name of the film was ''Film/{{Shadows}}'', and after playing at film festivals worldwide, it won the admiration of experimental filmmakers and arthouse directors, and Cassavetes, previously seen as a rising theatre and television star who appeared in some movies, was regarded as a great talent in American cinema. [[{{Irony}} Funnily enough]], the movie was also ''liked'' by the Hollywood studio, who asked Cassavetes to work with them. This resulted in him directing a Creator/JudyGarland vehicle, ''Film/AChildIsWaiting'', produced by Creator/StanleyKramer of ''Film/GuessWhosComingToDinner'' fame. The ExecutiveMeddling Cassavetes dealt with on the film led him to vow never make a movie in Hollywood studios again. [[note]]This was a stance that ultimately became a FlipFlopOfGod, as later films such as ''Husbands'', ''Minnie and Moskowitz'' and ''Film/{{Gloria}}'' were distributed by major Hollywood studios, and he took over the 1986 studio film ''Big Trouble'' as a favor to its co-star Peter Falk.[[/note]]
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7	He made all his films after that outside the system, many of them funded by his acting fees in several famous Hollywood films like ''Film/TheDirtyDozen'', ''Film/RosemarysBaby'', ''Film/TheFury'' and Creator/DonSiegel's ''Film/TheKillers1964'' (which featured future President UsefulNotes/RonaldReagan as the villain). He was also TheMentor for several young filmmakers who worked as assistants on his films. Creator/MartinScorsese was a lifelong friend and worked as assistant director on ''Minnie and Moskowitz'', and a young Creator/StevenSpielberg snuck onto one of his sets, with Cassavetes noting his already-precocious skills even then.
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9	Cassavetes' films featured a regular ProductionPosse of Creator/PeterFalk, Creator/SeymourCassel, Creator/BenGazzara, and above all his wife Creator/GenaRowlands (he had his son Creator/NickCassavetes with her). His films are renowned for their performances and unique style, as well as their "difficulty", as Cassavetes believed and practiced the philosophy that TrueArtIsAngsty. Famously, he re-edited ''Opening Night'' when previews showed the audience taking it "too well" and made it even harder to sit through in the final version. The great irony is despite how American his subjects and films were, they were better regarded in Europe and Asia more most of his lifetime. After his death, [[PosthumousPopularityPotential his fame has increased]] as more and more directors recognized his idiosyncratic style and influence on the medium.
10	----
11	!!Partial filmography:
12	[[foldercontrol]]
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14	[[folder:Film roles]]
15	* ''Film/EdgeOfTheCity'' (1957): Axel Nordmann
16	* ''Film/{{The Killers\|1964}}'' (1964): Johnny North
17	* ''Film/TheDirtyDozen'' (1967): Viktor Franco
18	* ''Film/RosemarysBaby'' (1968): Guy Woodhouse
19	* ''Film/IfItsTuesdayThisMustBeBelgium'' (1969): Steve
20	* ''Film/TwoMinuteWarning'' (1976): Sgt. Button
21	* ''Film/MikeyAndNicky'' (1976): Nicky Godalin
22	* ''Film/TheFury'' (1978): Ben Childress
23	* ''Film/BrassTarget'' (1978): Maj. Joe De Lucca
24	[[/folder]]
25
26	[[folder:Television roles]]
27	* ''Series/AlfredHitchcockPresents'' (3 episodes, 1956–64): Sam Cobbett[=/=]Rusty Connors[=/=]Lee Griffin
28	* ''Series/Playhouse90'' (1 episode, 1957): Dexter Green
29	* ''Series/{{Rawhide}}'' (1 episode, 1961): Cal Fletcher
30	* ''Series/DrKildare'' (1 episode, 1962): Makin Saund
31	* ''Series/BurkesLaw'' (4 episodes, 1964–65):
32	* ''Series/KraftSuspenseTheatre'' (1 episode, 1965): Peter Chandler
33	* ''[[Series/Combat1962 Combat!]]'' (1 episode, 1965): Kalb
34	* ''Series/VoyageToTheBottomOfTheSea'' (1 episode, 1965): Everett Lang
35	* ''Series/TheVirginian'' (1 episode, 1966): Jonah [=MacIntosh=]
36	* ''Series/{{Columbo}}'' ([[Recap/ColumboS02E01 1 episode]], 1972): Alex Benedict
37	[[/folder]]
38
39	[[folder:Director]]
40	[[index]]
41	* ''Film/{{Shadows}}'' (1959)
42	* ''Film/TooLateBlues'' (1961)
43	* ''Film/AChildIsWaiting'' (1963)
44	* ''Film/{{Faces}}'' (1968)
45	* ''Film/{{Husbands}}'' (1970)
46	* ''Film/MinnieAndMoskowitz'' (1971)
47	* ''Film/AWomanUnderTheInfluence'' (1974)
48	* ''Film/TheKillingOfAChineseBookie'' (1976)
49	* ''Film/OpeningNight'' (1977)
50	* ''Film/{{Gloria}}'' (1980)
51	* ''Film/LoveStreams'' (1984)
52	* ''Film/{{Big Trouble\|1986}}'' (1986)
53	[[/index]]
54	[[/folder]]

Context Creator / JohnCassavetes