Giant by Don Graham

Author:Don Graham
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: St. Martin's Press

9

Being and Nothingness in L.A.

Once back in L.A. and the familiar confines of the studio in Burbank, everybody was presumably happy to be home, but much of the joy would dissipate in days to come. Flare-ups due to temperament and stressful moments began to escalate as the pressure to finish the film intensified. Perhaps the wide-open spaces of Texas had helped dissolve some of those tensions. Down there, the players at least had had physical distance from family distractions and worries, and virtually all of the scenes had been shot in the great outdoors. Warner Bros. might offer more comfortable amenities, but the studio could also feel claustrophobic, and studio watchdogs were everywhere. With every day over budget, the urgency to get the film finished increased.

Restored to home and hearth, Stevens, cast, and crew could sleep in their own beds, eat at their favorite restaurants, go to the beach, enjoy their family and friends—or not. There was a lot of emotional capital expended that July, August, September, and into the fall. In real time, the three stars would enact a cycle of adult life—marriage, divorce, death.

In early July, the second unit shot a series of pans of oil derricks in operation at Lost Hills, California, forty-two miles northwest of Bakersfield. The Lost Hills Oil Field was huge, and shots of its densely populated derricks would appear in a brief sequence in the film illustrating the growth of Jett Rink’s oil business, with his trucks carrying his oil, and Jett himself driving past a field of closely concentrated derricks.

James Dean did not return until July 13, having stayed behind in Texas for some second-unit photography of Jett Rink’s discovery of oil, overseen by Fred Guiol. In a Warner Bros. press release, Dean commented on his sojourn in Texas: “It took me a while to accustom myself to the Texas way of life, but I regard the weeks as particularly well spent. In my desire to learn more about the character of Jett Rink, I learned much about Texas and Texans. I’ve gotten to like the state and the people so much I’m apt to talk like a proud Texan even after Giant is completed.” When he wanted to, Jimmy knew exactly what to say.

According to Walter S. Ross, a publicity man at Warner Bros. who later wrote a novel about Jimmy, “Dean could behave intelligently when it suited him. If there was something important he wanted to talk to you about, he expressed himself clearly, but after he told you what he wanted, all you would get from him was mumbles. It made you wonder.”

Filming in Burbank at the Warner studio resumed on Monday, July 11, the day after the arrival from Texas—no rest for the weary. The scene that day was the newlyweds’ arrival at the ranch house where they will take up their married life. Once again, Leslie irritates Bick by thanking the Mexicans for carrying their luggage into the house. She is very kind and makes no distinction

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