Nashville Robert Altman

Screenplay

"[Connie White and Barbara Jean] are the personification of Nashville rivalries...  the prototype of what Nashville music wanted its women to look like. Tammy Wynette. Dolly [Parton]. These women are tough, but my God they believe in religion. Dolly is up at four in the morning writing her songs and saying her prayers and she is not bullshitting you about that. There is great heart to these women."

—Screenwriter Tewkesbury on the basis of Connie White and Barbara Jean[19]

In the 1970s, United Artists attempted to hire Robert Altman to direct a screenplay about country-western music titled The Great Southern Amusement Company. Altman declined but became interested in directing a film on the subject after reading William Price Fox's novel Ruby Red, and agreed to make an original film for UA.[20] The original screenplay for Nashville was written by Joan Tewkesbury, who had collaborated with Altman on several of his films, including McCabe & Mrs. Miller (1971) and Thieves Like Us (1974).[21] She had proposed a Nashville-set film to Altman prior to his filming of McCabe & Mrs. Miller; he became interested in the setting and sent Tewkesbury to Nashville in the fall of 1973 to observe the area and its citizenry.[22] Tewkesbury's diary of her trip provided the basis for the screenplay, with many observations making it into the finished film, such as the highway pileup.[23] However, as with most Altman projects, much of the dialogue was improvised with the script acting as a "blueprint" dictating the actions of the characters and the plot.[24]

Tewkesbury, who was working as an instructor at the University of Southern California, rewrote her screenplay several times.[25] In the original draft, the film opened with a scene featuring Tom on the street in New York City prior to his arrival in Nashville.[26] Tewkesbury had been partly inspired to write the film based on her observations of the music industry being geographically "pulled apart. The country-western thing had suddenly exploded in Nashville, but [musicians] still had to come to New York for getting paid, and business deals."[19] None of Tewkesbury's incarnations of the screenplay featured any death scenes, but Altman, who had a "penchant for the tragic denouement", proposed the idea that Barbara Jean would be assassinated in the finale.[27] Altman also conceived the political subplot about the presidential candidate Hal Philip Walker. The political speeches and dialogue for this subplot were written by Altman's colleague Thomas Hal Phillips, whose brother Rubel Phillips had ran as the Republican Party candidate in the 1963 and 1967 Mississippi gubernatorial elections.[20]

Numerous characters in Nashville are based on real country music figures: Henry Gibson's Haven Hamilton is a composite of Roy Acuff, Hank Snow, and Porter Wagoner; Ronee Blakley's Barbara Jean is based on Loretta Lynn;[19] the black country singer Tommy Brown (played by Timothy Brown) is based on Charley Pride;[19] and the feuding folk trio is based on Peter, Paul and Mary; within the trio, the married couple of Bill and Mary were inspired by Bill Danoff and Taffy Nivert, who later became Starland Vocal Band.[28] Keith Carradine's character is believed to be inspired by Kris Kristofferson, and Karen Black's Connie White was conceived as a composite of Lynn Anderson (who spoke unfavorably of the film after its release[29]), Tammy Wynette, and Dolly Parton.[19] Other characters were based on or inspired by real persons: Linnea was inspired by Louise Fletcher, who had appeared in Altman's Thieves Like Us (1973), and who had two deaf parents.[30] The black choir singing with Linnea early in the film is based on the Fisk Jubilee Singers, though it's disputed whether the performers in the film were actually Fisk University students or members of the B. C. & M. (Baptist, Catholic, and Methodist) Choir, a black interdenominational gospel choir based in Nashville.[31] Altman also hired television reporter Howard K. Smith to deliver a commentary on Hal Philip Walker, for which he instructed him to say anything he wanted either for or against his fictional candidacy.[20]

Although UA had originally agreed to produce the script, the studio reneged because it was unsatisfied with the financial performance of Altman's previous films The Long Goodbye (1973) and Thieves Like Us (1974). After unsuccessfully pitching the film to other studios, producer Jerry Weintraub secured a $2.7 million budget from ABC Records, which wanted to promote a record company it had interest in.[20]

Casting

As with most of Altman's feature films, he cast the roles using unorthodox methods, forgoing standard auditions and instead basing his decisions off meetings with individual actors.[32] Geraldine Chaplin, daughter of Charlie Chaplin and Oona O'Neill, was the first to be cast, appearing in the role of Opal, the chatty journalist who has arrived from out of town to cover the gala.[33] Screenwriter Tewkesbury, who had based the character of Opal on herself, selected Chaplin for the role long before the production had even secured funding.[34] Altman flew Chaplin from her residence in Switzerland to Nashville, and she toured the city with Tewkesbury in preparation for the role.[35]

Several Altman regulars were cast in the film, among them Keith Carradine as Tom, the dashing folk singer who woos several of the female characters,[36] and Shelley Duvall as Martha, the young groupie.[14] Both Carradine and Duvall had had minor roles in McCabe & Mrs. Miller, and had co-starred in Thieves Like Us.[37] Through Carradine, Altman met Allan Nicholls, Carradine's co-star from a Broadway production of Hair.[36] After a meeting, Altman offered Nicholls the role of Bill.[36] Cristina Raines, Carradine's real-life girlfriend at the time, was given the role of Mary, the female counterpart in Bill and Tom's folk trio.[38] Gwen Welles, who had a major part in Altman's previous film, California Split, was cast as Sueleen, a waitress who longs to be a singer.[39]

Karen Black was cast in the role of glamorous singer Connie White after having approached Altman to appear in a prior film, the psychological thriller Images (1972).[40] Black, who had been writing and singing songs in the interim, was cast in Nashville after performing several original songs for Altman.[41] The role of Barbara Jean had not been filled when filming was about to commence. Ronee Blakley, a singer-songwriter from Idaho with no acting experience,[42] was in Nashville at the time and took on the role at the last minute, having been hired to write several songs for the film.[43] Barbara Harris, primarily a stage actress, was given the role of fledgling singer Winifred.[44]

In the role of Linnea Reese, the gospel singer and dedicated mother, Altman cast Lily Tomlin, who at the time had no prior film experience, having worked exclusively in television.[45] Altman had originally cast Louise Fletcher in the role, but Tomlin was hired after Fletcher replaced her as Nurse Ratched in One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest (1975).[46] "When I got the script, I didn't even know what part I was being considered for," Tomlin recalled. "But I thought, I could play any one of these parts. Even the boys."[45] Ned Beatty was cast as Del, Linnea's lawyer husband.[47] Robert Duvall was initially sought for the role of Haven Hamilton, the country superstar, but he declined the role based on Altman's low salary offer.[48] Instead, Altman cast Henry Gibson in the part.[48] Altman struggled finding an actor to portray Bud Hamilton, the Harvard-graduate son of country superstar Haven.[49] While preparing for his role as Haven, Gibson began taking guitar lessons in Santa Monica, and met David Peel, a guitar instructor, who bore a significant resemblance to him.[49] After meeting with Peel, Altman cast him as Bud.[50]

Filming

The film was shot on location in Nashville in the summer of 1974 on a budget of $2.2 million.[51] In late June, the cast began arriving in Nashville; Carradine and Raines traveled together from Los Angeles, while Beatty arrived and hitched a camper where he resided along with his wife through the duration of the shoot.[52] Beatty recalled an early meeting in which Altman had the cast convene prior to filming: "Bob gets us together in this room. We're all ready to start the movie. And he said, 'Look, I want you to have fun with this. There is only one thing we have to remember. Every character in this movie loves one character. Every one of these characters loves Barbara Jean.' Well, within a short time Ronee Blakley was the only actor in the film who was universally disliked."[42] Throughout the shoot, Altman and Blakley had several disputes regarding her character, and Blakley sometimes rewrote her scenes to Altman's dismay.[42]

Locations featured in the film include the Nashville International Airport,[53] and the Exit/In, a Nashville club which screenwriter Tewkesbury had frequented during her trips there.[54] The scene in which Carradine's character performs "I'm Easy" was shot at this club.[54] Altman's log cabin-style house on the outskirts of Nashville was used as the home of Haven and Lady Pearl.[55] The film's climactic assassination sequence, which takes places at the Parthenon, was originally intended to take place at the Ryman Auditorium.[56] However, Altman was forced to change the locale when he was unable to secure access to the then-recently shuttered Ryman Auditorium.[56] Walker, the climactic assassination, the political theme and various associated characters (such as Haven Hamilton) do not appear in the earliest versions of the script, and were integrated into the screenplay throughout filming.[57]

All of the musical scenes featured in the film are actual live concert footage.[58]

The hospital scenes centered on Barbara Jean were filmed in a local hospital that had been closed; one floor of it was refurbished for use in filming.

Nearly all of the extras in the film were Nashville locals. Many of them were not actively participating in the film but simply happened to be at the location where the cast and crew were filming at the time. Recording session legend Lloyd Green ("Mr. Nashville Sound") can be seen playing pedal steel guitar in the opening studio scene. Jeff Newman, known for the pedal steel, is sitting next to him playing a banjo.

Post-production

Nashville's opening title sequence was designed by the film title designer Dan Perri, who had recently enjoyed his big break with his work on The Exorcist (1973). Under Altman's direction, Perri based the film's unusual, kitschy title sequence on low-budget K-Tel Records television commercials, and brought in Johnny Grant to provide the loud, brash voiceover. Perri later went on to design titles for a number of other major Hollywood pictures, including Taxi Driver (1976), Star Wars (1977), and Raging Bull (1980).[59]

Altman had enough footage to produce a four-hour film, and assistant director Alan Rudolph suggested he create an expanded version of Nashville to be shown in two parts, "Nashville Red" and "Nashville Blue", but the film ultimately remained intact.[60] After a rush of critical acclaim, ABC expressed interest in a proposal for a 10-hour miniseries of Nashville, based on the footage not used in the final cut, but plans for the project were scrapped.[60] The additional footage has not been made available on DVD releases.

However, in a 2000 interview with The A.V. Club, Altman disputed the claim that he had several hours worth of deleted scenes to cut another feature-length film (or two) out of. Altman claimed that there "were no deleted scenes" and that "almost everything we shot is in that film". Altman further stated the unseen, extra footage that wasn't used in the final cut of the film was mainly music and not much else.

Music

Many of the actors and actresses in the film composed the songs they performed in the film. Blakley wrote several tracks, including "Bluebird", performed by Timothy Brown, and "Tapedeck in His Tractor" and "My Idaho Home", performed by Blakley.[61] Karen Black wrote "Memphis" and "Rolling Stone", the two songs she performed in the character of Connie White.[62] Carradine wrote and performed "I'm Easy", which won an Academy Award for Best Original Song[63] and a Golden Globe for Best Original Song - Motion Picture.[64] Additionally, Carradine wrote "It Don't Worry Me", which is heard on the soundtrack throughout the film, and is the closing number performed by Barbara Harris onstage at the Parthenon.[65]

Composer Richard Baskin composed songs for Henry Gibson to sing in character as Haven Hamilton.[39] Several Nashville session musicians took part in the music recording and in the film, including violinist Vassar Clements[66] and guitarist Harold Bradley. "Keep a Goin" was based on a poem Gibson recited on The Dick Van Dyke Show "Talk to the Snail" Season 5 Episode 24.

While the music featured in the film was viewed in the Nashville music industry as mean-spirited satire,[67] the songs have achieved a cult-status among alternative country musicians. In 2002, the album, A Tribute to Robert Altman's Nashville was released, featuring interpretations of the film's songs by Canadian alt-country figures, including Carolyn Mark, Kelly Hogan and Neko Case.

ABC Records issued a motion picture soundtrack to the film in 1975, featuring the various original musical numbers.[68] It was reissued by MCA Nashville in 2015.[69]

Non-album tracks

• "Yes, I Do", composed by Richard Baskin and Lily Tomlin; performed by Lily Tomlin
• "Down to the River", written and performed by Ronee Blakley
• "Let Me Be the One", written by Richard Baskin; performed by Gwen Welles
• "Sing a Song", written by Joe Raposo
• "The Heart of a Gentle Woman", written and performed by Dave Peel
• "The Day I Looked Jesus in the Eye", written by Richard Baskin and Robert Altman
• "I Don't Know If I Found It in You", written and performed by Karen Black
• "Swing Low, Sweet Chariot", traditional
• "Honey", written and performed by Keith Carradine
• "I Never Get Enough", written by Richard Baskin and Ben Raleigh; performed by Gwen Welles
• "Rose's Cafe", written and performed by Allan F. Nicholls
• "Old Man Mississippi", written by Juan Grizzle
• "My Baby's Cookin' in Another Man's Pan", written and performed by Jonnie Barnett
• "Since You've Gone", written by Gary Busey, performed by Allan F. Nicholls, Cristina Raines and Keith Carradine
• "Trouble in the U.S.A.", written by Arlene Barnett
• "In the Garden", written by C. Austin Miles, performed by Ronee Blakley