Cameron hosted a special (almost) 4oth anniversary screening of Harold and Maude this past Sunday at the Aero Theatre in Santa Monica. He was there to praise the film he cherishes so much, but even more importantly, to honor former Paramount VP Peter Bart. Mr. Bart was instrumental in Harold and Maude being made (along with many other films including another of my favorites, Paper Moon). Bart, who was the editor of Variety from 1989-2009, recently authored Infamous Players: A Tale of Movies, The Mob (and Sex), which recalls his time at Paramount in the early 70s.
Unreleased Still from the Film
Cameron and Peter talked about the challenges of getting an unconventional romance like Harold and Maude made. When Bart was asked if this kind of film could be made today he said “probably not, unless it starred Betty White and Justin Bieber”. Cameron also read an excerpt from a Variety review that wasn’t very kind. Based on the reactions I’ve seen on Twitter, a good time was had by all. If for some reason you haven’t seen the film, please do yourself a favor and check it out. Here’s the trailer:
