| In the interest of speed and timeliness, this story is fed directly from the Associated Press newswire and may contain spelling or grammatical errors. |
Bruce Dern recalls Spielberg, Hitchcock
Friday August 15, 2003LOS ANGELES (AP) A young director kept bugging Bruce Dern on the Universal lot as the actor was making director Alfred Hitchcock's final film ``Family Plot'' in 1976.
Steven Spielberg, who had made the blockbuster ``Jaws'' the year before, would stand at the back of the soundstage and beg Dern to help him get a 10-minute audience with Hitchcock.
Dern went to the formidable Hitchcock, who asked, ``Bruce, is that the boy who made the fish movie?''
Dern replied, ``Yeah, and he just wants 10 minutes with you, Hitch. He just wants to kind of let you know what a fan he is, and a devotee he is.''
Hitchcock started shaking and Dern asked why.
``I could never speak to him because I feel like such a whore,'' Hitchcock said.
``Why is that?'' Dern asked.
``I'm the voice of a 'Jaws' commercial,''' Hitchcock said.
Dern told the anecdote in Los Angeles recently while promoting ``A Decade Under the Influence,'' which premiered at this year's Sundance Film Festival.
The documentary about the 1970s generation of filmmakers who revolutionized the movies with their personal visions airs in three parts Aug. 20-23 on the Independent Film Channel.
(