“Searching for Mr. Rugoff” Outtake #8: Sarah Kernochan talks about Don Rugoff’s importance.

Sarah Kernochan is a screenwriter, director, author, songwriter, performer and two-time Oscar winning documentarian, and a friend. I saw her first doc “Marjoe” as a young cinephile, not realizing that years later, I would end up producing her first fiction feature as director, “All I Wanna Do.” In this outtake clip Sarah talks about why she thinks Don Rugoff, who distributed “Marjoe,” is a significant figure in the history of independent film.

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Capt. Spaulding RIP (1997-2004)

Film Comment sends out a weekly newsletter about what’s going on in the world of serious cinephilia, and this week’s issue contained a nice surprise for me. In conjunction with the release of my film and a podcast that I did with them, they exhumed a piece that I wrote for them in 2005, in which I revealed myself as the author of seven years worth of columns that I wrote under a pseudonym. You can read the newsletter here and if you are serious about film, I highly advise that you subscribe to the newsletter.

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“Searching for Mr. Rugoff” Outtake #7: Lina Wertmuller Tells It Like It Is

Interviewing Lina Wertmuller in her apartment in Rome was one of the highlights of my life. But it was hardly an easy interview. First off, I don’t speak any Italian and she speaks very little English. We had an interpreter, but that only interrupted the flow of the conversation. And when I brought up subjects that I thought would be interesting or provocative, she would just blow me off. This clip is a perfect example of her contrarian spirit.

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Film Comment Podcast

The folks at Film Comment asked me to do a podcast with special guest host Eugene Hernandez, Publisher of the publication and also Co-Executive Director of Film at Lincoln Center. We covered a lot of ground that takes off from the themes in my film “Searching for Mr. Rugoff” and the past and future of the independent film landscape. Listen in…

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“Searching for Mr. Rugoff” Outtake #6: John Goldstone, Producer of “Monty Python & the Holy Grail”

“Monty Python & the Holy Grail” was the biggest hit that Don Rugoff ever distributed. In this outtake from “Searching for Mr. Rugoff,” Producer John Goldstone talks about the origins of the film and the large role that rock and roll played in getting it financed.

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“Searching for Mr. Rugoff” Outtake #5: Bob Shaye, Founder of New Line Cinema

Bob Shaye was in the early stages of starting up what became New Line Cinema when Don Rugoff was at the height of his success, and he refers to Rugoff in the film as his nemesis. This outtake clip has Bob telling the story of how he got into the business, which started with his realization that film distribution was not that different from his father’s business–wholesale groceries.

For those of you who don’t know, Bob was my boss when I founded Fine Line Features as a division of New Line.

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“Searching for Mr. Rugoff” Outtake #4: Joanne Koch of Film at Lincoln Center

The “Searching for Mr. Rugoff” project began and hopefully will evolve as an oral history of art film history in the U.S. in the ’60s and ’70s. Interviews with many of the key people from that period were meant to serve two purposes–for possible use in the film, but also to capture the personal histories. The interview with Joanne Koch didn’t make it into the final cut of the film, but it contains many great stories of the period and most importantly captures one of the key figures in New York film history. This clip is just a taste.

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“Searching for Mr. Rugoff” – In Theaters Starting August 13

After the long hiatus caused by the pandemic, my film “Searching for Mr. Rugoff” is opening in theaters across the country, as a benefit for the re-opening of art houses, starting on August 13.

For full information,
visit http://mrrugoff.com.

“Searching for Mr. Rugoff” Outtake #3: Costa-Gavras

Meeting Costa-Gavras was one of the real treats that came out of the making of “Searching for Mr. Rugoff.” The interview was arranged through Unifrance (thank you!) and was done in his apartment in Paris. I could tell that he was a bit suspicious of my intent at first, but when I explained what the film was about, he immediately brightened up. Don Rugoff was clearly a huge influence in his life and he told me wonderful stories, only a small portion of which made it into the film.

This particular outtake is about how after the success of “Z” he was offered to direct “The Godfather.” Instead, he ended up working with Rugoff again on “State of Siege,” another masterpiece.

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“Searching for Mr. Rugoff” Outtake #2: Robert Downey (RIP)

With news of the passing of Robert Downey today, it seemed appropriate to share a bit of the interview I did with him for “Searching for Mr. Rugoff.” There are lots of great moments with him in the film, but this particular one didn’t make it to the final cut. It’s a great example of how affable he was and what a great storyteller! I’m glad I had the chance to spend time with him.

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