Got up today, holiday festivities looming in a few hours, and found some exciting news in the inbox.
Remember the guy in France working on a documentary on the first shoot Wim Wenders did for the neo-noir movie Hammett? Guy’s name is Damien Bertrand, if you know him — I only mention this angle because every recent email I’ve sent his way comes back instantly as Mailer-Demon Undeliverable.
How are you supposed to help a guy you can’t reach, anyway?
The news comes from Joe Goodrich, obviously an inhabitant of the Mean Streets — he tells me “I reread your Hammett guidebook every time I reread his novels.” No more solid a credential.
Joe says, “I was intrigued to learn of the French documentary in-the-works on Hammett.
“Michael Hacker, an old friend of mine from my stint in Los Angeles, was Wenders’ assistant on the film and was there — to quote Mr. Bernstein in Citizen Kane ‘from before the beginning’ to ‘after the end.’ (Michael also worked on One from the Heart and Apocalypse Now.)
“I think he’s someone the filmmakers might like to speak with. Michael’s up for it. How best to put the two together I don’t know, but I thought it worth mentioning.”
So, pass on the word.
Help hookup Talking Head with Documentarian.
I think we’d all like to see more info on the Wenders San Francisco shoot come out.
