Hi, everyone. Moriarty here with some Rumblings From The Lab...
As the last film was playing tonight at QT Fest, my phone started buzzing in my pocket. I waited until the film ended to check to see who it was, and was surprised to see it was my wife. I called her back immediately, afraid something was going on with Toshi. Instead, she told me that people had been calling the house to say that Robert Wise was dead. She wasn’t sure who they were talking about and was afraid it was someone we knew. When I told her he was the director of THE SOUND OF MUSIC, that’s when it hit her. Wise was 91 years old, so I can’t say this is a shock, but it is indeed a terribly sad milestone, another of Hollywood’s legends lost.
I’m sure everyone has at least one Robert Wise film they love. For many of you, STAR TREK: THE MOTION PICTURE may be the one. For me, it will always be THE DAY THE EARTH STOOD STILL. I know Harry’s got a deep fondness for ODDS AGAINST TOMORROW, which we showed at BNAT a few years ago complete with a special birthday message that Wise taped just for Harry. I had several opportunities to meet Wise over the years and speak with him, and each time, I got the sense that this guy was one of the key players in Hollywood history. After all, he was the editor of CITIZEN KANE. He served as both President of the Director’s Guild and President of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. He directed nine different actors to Oscar nominations. He was a consummate craftsman, and according to everyone who worked with him, one of Hollywood’s great gentlemen.
Everyone at AICN sends our deepest condolences to his friends and family and fans around the world tonight. There are too few like him in this business, and he will be sorely missed.
Moriarty out.
