:17:03
Between Peter and myself, we went
through dozens of scripts, maybe hundreds.
:17:08
Nothing clicked. It all felt tired.
There was nothing fresh about it.
:17:13
And we were looking
for the unexpected.
:17:15
Something that sounded new and
what we were gonna be about.
:17:21
Then one day, Bill Castle,
the veteran producer...
:17:24
...walked into my office with a manuscript
he had optioned, tucked under his arm.
:17:29
It was Rosemary's Baby. And I loved it.
:17:33
There was one problem:
Castle insisted on directing it.
:17:36
I only had one director in mind for it.
I saw brilliance in his little films.
:17:41
It was the little Polack himself,
Roman Polanski.
:17:45
Not a little Polack. The biggest Polack
and one of the biggest men I've ever met.
:17:50
The films I saw were Knife in the Water,
Repulsion, Cul-de-sac, all offbeat thrillers.
:17:56
Roman was a big cinema star over
in Europe, as well as director...
:18:00
...and he'd just finished his first
Hollywood film. Get this title:
:18:05
The Fearless Vampire Killers...
:18:07
... or: Pardon Me, But Your
Teeth Are in My Neck.
:18:11
Though no one wanted him in America,
he didn't care. He was a star in Europe.
:18:16
Where do I get him? How do
I get to him? He's an avid skier.
:18:19
I lured him to America, thinking
he was gonna direct Downhill Racer.
:18:26
Polanski walks in.
This is some character!
:18:29
Within five minutes, this Polack's
acting out crazy stories.
:18:33
They're somewhere between
Shakespeare and theater of the absurd.
:18:36
Maybe that's why we clicked so well.
:18:38
We both come out of the same
school of drama, the drama of life.
:18:42
I didn't wanna bullshit him.
Roman, will you read this?
:18:47
I shoved the galleys of Rosemary's
Baby across the desk at him.
:18:51
"Is this about skiing?"
Read it, Polack.
:18:55
If you don't like it, your next ski trip is on
me, anywhere you wanna go in the world.