MAX’S STORY

MAX’S STORY Initially invited to supply the wardrobe (gratis) for a small, low budget film called David and Lisa which was shooting in Philadelphia in the early 60’s, Max agreed… with a catch: he wanted to hang around and watch the film being made.  After three months observing filmmaking firsthand, Max was intrigued by the process.  Soon after, in the first of a series of smart hunches, Max acquired the film rights to John Barth’s novel End of the Road.  With the help of director Aram Avakian and writer Terry Southern, Max put together a team to produce a film of the book which when released in 1971, featured the screen debuts of Stacy Keech and James Earl Jones.  Max then purchased the rights to Anthony Burgess’ controversial novel A Clockwork Orange.  Initially, not only did all of the major studios turn it down because of its touchy subject matter but so did the Beatles (Max’s original casting choice).  When the Beatles manager unfortunately died suddenly, so too did discussions about the film – who knows what could have been.  Finally, when Stanley Kubrick showed interest in the story, Warner Brothers called Max and he dealt his way to an executive producer credit on the groundbreaking film.  Walkabout, the critically acclaimed Cannes Golden Palm nominated directorial debut of Nicolas Roeg, was next and is the one that Max was proudest of from his time in Hollywood. So, including a few other smaller films, roughly five years and roughly five films in Hollywood and Max’s film career was complete… for the moment. PREVIOUS CONTINUED