Gene Hackman’s bizarre definition of what makes a great movie scene: “I wondered if it was true”
As one of American cinema’s greatest-ever actors, it would be foolish for anyone to completely dismiss any thoughts on the filmmaking process that came directly from the mind of Gene Hackman, even if there’s plenty of evidence to the contrary to suggest he wasn’t entirely accurate.
The two-time Academy Award winner never dreamed of becoming a movie star, but he was so good that it happened anyway. Hackman despised the trappings that come with fame, fortune, and celebrity, but thanks to his habit of delivering knockout performances almost every time he appeared onscreen, he effortlessly bridged the gap between character actor and leading man.
He trained hard to master his craft, and even when he was commanding millions of dollars per picture and was established enough that he could have easily taken his foot off the gas, he didn’t. For Hackman, the worst thing about living his dream was that he had to talk to people about it, although working with directors he didn’t necessarily trust, admire, or even like was another bugbear.
For someone so laser-focused on what they wanted to do, how they wanted to do it, and why they were doing it like that, it was almost inevitable that he’d have his run-ins. The Royal Tenenbaums‘ Wes Anderson, Get Shorty‘s Barry Sonnenfeld, Hoosiers‘ David Anspaugh, and Welcome to Mooseport‘s Donald Petrie were just four of them, but he got along famously with Heist‘s David Mamet.
That might have had something to do with the playwright and filmmaker’s reputation preceding him. After all, by the time they collaborated on the 2001 crime drama, Mamet was a Pulitzer Prize-winning and Oscar, Golden Globe, and Tony-nominated creative, which instantly commanded respect.
However, that doesn’t mean Hackman would simply cede to his wishes without putting up a fight, and one major alteration to an exchange opposite Delroy Lindo in Heist saw Mamet discover the veteran’s unusual definition of what separates a decent scene from a great one.
“It was a goodbye scene,” Mamet explained to Filmmaker Magazine. “The two great partners are parting, and I’ve got it all planned out outside, and Gene says, ‘I don’t want to shoot it outside’. I said, ‘Well, OK. Why?’ He says, ‘No great scene was ever shot outside’. I said, ‘I don’t know if that’s true or not, but I ain’t got time to figure it out today. So, we’re going to shoot the fucking scene inside.'”
Mamet acquiesced to Hackman’s demand, and it made a lasting impression: “I’ve always thought about that,” he pondered. “I wondered if it was true. I still wonder if it’s true. And other than panoramas, I don’t know that great scenes are shot outside.” It’s an interesting point, but is it correct?
As it relates to Hackman, no. One of the most memorable and iconic scenes of his career was the seminal car chase from William Friedkin’s The French Connection, which takes place outside. Then again, his best moments from Unforgiven, The Conversation, Mississippi Burning, and Crimson Tide are all indoors.
It’s enough to send a cinephile down a rabbit hole: Robert De Niro talking to himself in Taxi Driver, Citizen Kane‘s ‘Rosebud’, Psycho‘s shower attack, and Marlon Brando’s introduction in The Godfather are among the most iconic scenes ever filmed, and they all happen inside. On the other hand, the climax of Jaws, The Matrix‘s bullet time, and Rocky Balboa’s run up the steps of the Philadelphia Art Museum are in the same boat, and they’re all outdoors. Maybe he has a point, but it’s certainly worth considering.
