Ismail Merchant passes away...

Harry here... In the blistering Austin summer on 1990 - Ismail Merchant helped to change my life. I was a Pre-Law student with Radio-Television-Film leanings... My hair was cut short and off the collar and I did my best to avoid run on sentences and incomplete incomprehensible thoughts. I was hanging out at a college bud's room named Jess Roberts - when our crazy "actor" friend, Scott Payne, came barging in like Kramer to announce that he had an audition for a Merchant-Ivory film that was going to shoot outside Austin. He wanted company for the audition and convinced me to skip class to join him. Being an amateur Austin Slacker, it really did take convincing, but admittedly - I was curious. So I went.

Beware that crazy college friend - change your life they will. At the audition I landed a part in the film and met Ismail Merchant, Rod Steiger, Vanessa Redgrave, Keith Carradine, Cork Hubbert and Simon Callow... tons of other folks - and it literally changed the direction of my life. I was serious about Law, was fascinated and captivated by politics. I loved film, but didn't see any way to ever work in it - till Ismail Merchant hired me... signed checks... and my eyes went big as saucers... film... a set... movies - this was it... that guy over there was in the rocking chair beside the road in CLOSE ENCOUNTERS OF THE THIRD KIND!!! Oh yes, I was hooked. I'll never forget his lavish wrap party, the musicians and cooks from India he flew in -- I was charmed. College classes started to skew more towards film, acting, creative writing, public speaking, journalism... I would audition for everything I heard about - landed a couple other small parts... then paralysis - and the site.

I'm relatively sure that Ismail Merchant never knew that by choosing Austin for the physical location for his filmed adaptation of Edward Albee's play adaptation of Carson McCullers' novel got me started good and proper on the path of life drenched in film... it was probably the least of his influences... to me, the collaborations he made with James Ivory were spectacular. Films like THE BOSTONIANS, A ROOM WITH A VIEW, HOWARDS END, THE REMAINS OF THE DAY and SURVIVING PICASSO... elegant films as if plucked from a more innocent time and textured with the emotional depth of modern productions. Exquisite filmmaking. And in particular what makes this death all the more tragic is that he was producing 4 new films. So we'll at least have 4 more films that'll carry his magnificent name and I hope they live up to his wonderful standards. Ismail lived a large life and was uncommonly kind and sweet. When I was 19, he unleashed story after story upon my eager ears. I also love the character name his production named me... Fat Boy. Even then... critics... heh.