Podtalk: Filmmaker Amy Scott Revitalizes Director Hal Ashby in Her New Documentary ‘Hal’

CHICAGO – The name Hal Ashby might not be as familiar to today’s film watchers, but the movies he made in the 1970s are considered classics… like “Harold and Maude,” “The Last Detail,” “Shampoo,” “Coming Home” and “Being There.” The short spark of his creative energy is profiled in a documentary by Amy Scott simply called “Hal.” The film opens at the Gene Siskel Film Center on November 9th, 2018. For details and ticket info, click here. [20]

Director Hal Ashby is Revived in Amy Scott’s ‘Hal’
Photo credit: Oscilloscope

The doc is an overview of Ashby’s career – he was a film editor turned director – and while his name is overshadowed by the showier filmmakers of “New Hollywood” of the 1970s (Steven Spielberg, George Lucas, Martin Scorsese and the like), his cinema works live on as essential, and reflectively human. Director Amy Scott presents a meticulous overview of his rise and fall in his later career, culminating in his death in 1988.

In PART ONE of a Podtalk with Patrick McDonald of HollywoodChicago.com, “Hal” creator Amy Scott talks about the building her documentary, Hal Ashby’s filmography and the enduring legacy of his classic “Harold and Maude.”

In PART TWO, Scott reflects on Ashby’s “Rock Docs” and why he may be the most American director of the New Hollywood era.

[22]	By PATRICK McDONALD [23] Editor and Film Writer HollywoodChicago.com pat@hollywoodchicago.com [22]