Second Tuesday Presents: Robert Hofler in conversation with Michael Musto
Second Tuesday Presents:
Robert Hofler in conversation with Michael Musto
Join theater critic and acclaimed biographer Robert Hofler in conversation with entertainment journalist Michael Musto for a discussion on Hofler’s latest release, “The Way They Were” (Kensington Publishing 2023), the first book on the making of one of the world’s most beloved—and puzzling—romances.
To request an accommodation for this event, please contact Richard Morales at rmorales@gaycenter.org or 646.502.6370 by June 8, 2023.
ABOUT “THE WAY THEY WERE”
Coinciding with the 50th anniversary of “The Way We Were,” this intriguing and impeccably researched book is the first ever account of the making of the classic film starring Barbara Streisand and Robert Redford, revealing the full story behind its genesis and continued controversies, its many deleted scenes, its much-anticipated but never-filmed sequel, and the real-life romance that inspired this groundbreaking love story.
Screenwriter Arthur Laurents wrote the role of Katie with Streisand in mind. Casting Hubble was another matter. Already a superstar, Redford was reluctant to play what he perceived as the “Ken doll” to Streisand’s lead, demanding his role be changed and expanded. Laurents resisted, telling director Sydney Pollack, “You’ll ruin the movie if it ends up being about two people. It’s Katie’s story, not Hubbell’s.” Despite his protests, ten writers—including Francis Ford Coppola—were brought on to rework the script.
Laurents’s fears were well founded, and the first preview was disastrous. With Redford’s approval, producer Ray Stark and Pollack cut several scenes, upsetting Streisand and Laurents. Yet the edits worked. Such was the movie’s success that Redford was open to making a sequel, though Laurents’s script was never greenlit. Some of those “lost” scenes are now being restored to the film for its 50th anniversary.
The deep, surprising love story at the heart of The Way They Were is what makes it so memorable, and Robert Hofler explores its inspiration—the relationship between Laurents, a Jewish Brooklyn-born college leftist, and his longtime partner, Tom Hatcher. Drawing on a vast trove of Laurents’ and Pollack’s unpublished writings and interviews with Streisand, Redford, and other key players, the book is the definitive account of a film that changed the rules of moviemaking and defined romance ever since..
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Robert Hofler is the lead theater critic at TheWrap and author of bestselling, critically acclaimed biographies such as “Money, Murder,” and “Dominick Dunne: A Life in Several Acts,” “The Man Who Invented Rock Hudson,” “Party Animals,” and the Lambda Literary Award-nominated “Sexplosion: From Andy Warhol to A Clockwork Orange, How a Generation of Pop Rebels Broke All the Taboos.” The recipient of the 2020 Los Angeles Press Club Award for Best Theater Reviews, he has previously been an editor and writer for Life, Us Weekly, and Variety.
ABOUT THE MODERATOR
Michael Musto is best known as the long running “La Dolce Musto” entertainment and nightlife columnist for the Village Voice, which he still writes for. Musto’s bylines have also appeared everywhere from the New York Times to Vanity Fair to the Daily Beast and beyond. He has written four books—the nonfiction guide “Downtown”, the novel “Manhattan on the Rocks”, and the collections “La Dolce Musto: Writings By The World’s Most Outrageous Columnist” and “Fork on the Left, Knife in the Back”. Musto regularly appears in TV and streaming documentaries, chronicling pop cultural history. He has won nine Glam awards for Best Nightlife Writer and has appeared as a singer and actor on stage and in indie films.
DETAILS
Tuesday, June 13, 2023
6:30-8:30 p.m.
$10 Suggested Donation