Robert Redford Part 11

After Tootsie, Tootsie, says Redford, he believed that, if anything, their relations.h.i.+p might improve. "Till then, all his successes were movies in which I starred. I felt good that he'd got some important individual success. I thought our friends.h.i.+p would be the better for it. But it wasn't. He seemed to want more control than ever, and I wanted to be controlled less." says Redford, he believed that, if anything, their relations.h.i.+p might improve. "Till then, all his successes were movies in which I starred. I felt good that he'd got some important individual success. I thought our friends.h.i.+p would be the better for it. But it wasn't. He seemed to want more control than ever, and I wanted to be controlled less."

Pollack denied that. He claimed instead that the logistics of this, the most unwieldy production he'd ever attempted, diverted him from his usual close collaboration with Redford. "It was $31 million of pure h.e.l.l," Pollack recalled. "We were very far from home, very reliant on the good offices of people we didn't know. We were importing animals, importing fake bone-stretched ears for the natives, marshaling giraffes, buffaloes, you name it." Peace Corps volunteers, expat students and tourists beefed up the legions of extras. "We had so many people problems, because the white extras were harder to find in big numbers. But it was worse than that. There was also a lot of local misunderstanding, that we were shooting a colonial story about two people who, today, would be judged as racist. With all those nuisances, I gave Bob my best."

Still, some cast members observed Redford retract. He avoided social contact, buried himself in books and newspapers, disappeared for days on end. "I was making this romantic movie, which required the most delicate emotions," says Redford, "and at the same time I was on the phone negotiating a divorce settlement and the dissolution of my former life with lawyers."

He was also beginning to have serious second thoughts about how Sydney wanted Finch Hatton portrayed. A number of memorable scenes, paramount among them the famous hair was.h.i.+ng beside the hippo watering hole, conveyed the best of Hollywood magic. "As an actor inside that moment, there is an awareness of specialness," says Redford. "But there were issues. Sydney, I always felt, was afraid to express s.e.x in an open, liberal way. He wanted to stay inside the safety boundary. But I always wanted to push it. I felt that a great electrical s.e.xuality can be achieved in touch, in looks, in the caress. Meryl, of course, got that. She was nervous of the hippos, because they're territorial and we were in their s.p.a.ce. But she gave a h.e.l.l of a sensuality to that scene, and the movie gave me great joy in those times."

As Redford strove to project apt Englishness of manner opposite Streep's sharply Danish Blixen, Pollack pushed him to "reduce, reduce, reduce." Redford interpreted this as Pollack falling back on the easy option, subst.i.tuting Redford the romantic icon for a properly realized characterization. In his view, Streep was "encouraged to fly," while he was restrained: "I felt I was a symbol, not a character." By the time the filming ended, Redford and Pollack were hardly talking.

In truth, Redford's iconography was the director's best a.s.set. In what would end up to be a long, digressive two-and-a-half-hour movie, it is Redford's quixotic Finch Hatton-not Streep's virtuosity-that dominates. Once Finch Hatton begins courting Blixen, insistently inviting her to join him as he scouts for a camp base in the Mara for his soon-to-be safari tourists, a dull drama becomes engaging.

The southwestern premiere benefit for the Sundance Inst.i.tute was staged at Redford's behest in Provo a week before Christmas 1985. Already there was talk of awards. The box office boomed, grossing $250 million-surpa.s.sing Redford's best earner to date, The Sting The Sting-and, duly, the Academy Award nominations came in copious measure, equaling those for Steven Spielberg's contender, The Color Purple. The Color Purple. Pollack went on to win best director, and the movie won best film and five other awards. Pollack went on to win best director, and the movie won best film and five other awards.

The movie's one casualty was Redford. Not only was he overlooked on the awards circuit, but the critics were unkind. Pauline Kael once again singled him out: "He seems adrift, lost in another movie, and Pollack treats him with unseemly reverence." David Denby was harsh, too: "He is so far out of his league that at first one feels sorry for him. But only at first. Whether he can't do it, or won't do it, we're disgusted with him by the end." Vincent Canby in The New York Times The New York Times understood the heart of the problem: "It's not Mr. Redford's fault. There is no role for him to act." understood the heart of the problem: "It's not Mr. Redford's fault. There is no role for him to act."

Mike Ovitz felt he had a radical recipe for recovery. The package Ovitz put together with his clients, director Ivan Reitman and Top Gun Top Gun writers Jim Cash and Jack Epps Jr., was a fluffy thriller called writers Jim Cash and Jack Epps Jr., was a fluffy thriller called Legal Eagles, Legal Eagles, which he urgently pressed on Redford. Alan Pakula, when he heard it, cringed: "It was light entertainment. I think Mike believed Bob should get back to which he urgently pressed on Redford. Alan Pakula, when he heard it, cringed: "It was light entertainment. I think Mike believed Bob should get back to Barefoot in the Park, Barefoot in the Park, which, given how Bob had strived to evolve, was ridiculous." Reitman, a Czech-born Canadian and an alumnus of the which, given how Bob had strived to evolve, was ridiculous." Reitman, a Czech-born Canadian and an alumnus of the Sat.u.r.day Night Live Sat.u.r.day Night Live comedy coterie, had produced the crossover comedy comedy coterie, had produced the crossover comedy Animal House Animal House in 1978. His directorial successes with in 1978. His directorial successes with Meatb.a.l.l.s Meatb.a.l.l.s and and Stripes Stripes should have served fair warning: they defined the coa.r.s.e comedy Redford hated. "When I thought movie comedy, I thought Capra, Wilder, Cary Grant, Tracy and Hepburn," says Redford. "And when I wanted alternative comedy, I went for George Carlin. But I hated where 'hip' comedy went in the seventies. It was a terrible cycle. When I took on should have served fair warning: they defined the coa.r.s.e comedy Redford hated. "When I thought movie comedy, I thought Capra, Wilder, Cary Grant, Tracy and Hepburn," says Redford. "And when I wanted alternative comedy, I went for George Carlin. But I hated where 'hip' comedy went in the seventies. It was a terrible cycle. When I took on Legal Eagles, Legal Eagles, I didn't look into the people or the style closely enough. I just felt I should be open to Mike's advice." I didn't look into the people or the style closely enough. I just felt I should be open to Mike's advice."

Reitman's original choices for his Legal Eagles Legal Eagles leads were Bill Murray, whom he'd discovered for leads were Bill Murray, whom he'd discovered for SNL, SNL, and Dustin Hoffman. But their unavailability, said Ovitz, was Redford's opportunity. This was also Ovitz's golden moment. "Mike needed name players and neon lights to lift his own career and I walked into it. And it kind of made sense at the time. Reitman had just had a major success with and Dustin Hoffman. But their unavailability, said Ovitz, was Redford's opportunity. This was also Ovitz's golden moment. "Mike needed name players and neon lights to lift his own career and I walked into it. And it kind of made sense at the time. Reitman had just had a major success with Ghostbusters, Ghostbusters, so he was hot. And...it had to be something I could chill out with." so he was hot. And...it had to be something I could chill out with."

The script had started life as a doc.u.mentary project about the battle over the estate of the artist Mark Rothko. What it had become was jokey fiction about rising district attorney Tom Logan's romantic attachment to a defense lawyer whose s.e.xy client is accused of stealing a famous work of art by her father. The best part of the project for Redford was the financial deal Ovitz made: $8 million up front-most of which, one way or the other, went right into the inst.i.tute projects. "But the script was the worry," says Redford. "It was a patchwork of cliches from any number of TV legal dramas and caper movies, and I should have been wiser." Debra Winger became his love interest, with Daryl Hannah, Terence Stamp and Brian Dennehy supporting.

Despite Redford's obvious marquee value, Reitman worried about his appropriateness for the role of Logan. As soon as they started, though, he says, he was won over. "I had very little sense of who Redford is. He is known as a fine, upstanding man who has a strong social conscience, which was great for the part of an a.s.sistant district attorney. But I was wondering where the comedy would come from. In time, he started telling me stories about himself, about his sense of humor, about his now-and-then bemus.e.m.e.nt, about his clumsiness." The redrafted version of Logan was a divorced man with a teenage daughter who skips lightly through life's trials. In Reitman's eyes, he would be "a kind of Spencer Tracy sparking off Debra's tough, sa.s.sy Kate Hepburn." Redford embraced this with open arms "because it gave me something concrete to hook up to, something to shape these very unreal lives."

But it was plot, not character, that drove Legal Eagles, Legal Eagles, and no amount of redrafting could salvage it. When the s.e.xy client, played by Hannah, comes to Logan's apartment in the middle of the night and gives a silly performance-art recital to a cacophony of cracking fire, bells and whistles, then asks him rather aimlessly how he feels, Logan responds, "Uncomfortable." That, says Redford, encapsulates his escalating emotion during what he increasingly saw as a no-hope production. and no amount of redrafting could salvage it. When the s.e.xy client, played by Hannah, comes to Logan's apartment in the middle of the night and gives a silly performance-art recital to a cacophony of cracking fire, bells and whistles, then asks him rather aimlessly how he feels, Logan responds, "Uncomfortable." That, says Redford, encapsulates his escalating emotion during what he increasingly saw as a no-hope production.

Legal Eagles offended Debra Winger, a CAA client like Redford, because she felt Ovitz's "packaging" mania removed all integrity and opportunity. After filming, Winger split with CAA, vowing never to work with Ovitz again. The movie opened with the usual summer vacation razzle-dazzle in June 1986, was slaughtered by critics, made its money back and faded away. offended Debra Winger, a CAA client like Redford, because she felt Ovitz's "packaging" mania removed all integrity and opportunity. After filming, Winger split with CAA, vowing never to work with Ovitz again. The movie opened with the usual summer vacation razzle-dazzle in June 1986, was slaughtered by critics, made its money back and faded away.

19.

One America?

In the disarray of failures-of marriage, friends.h.i.+ps and films-one constant remained for Redford: Sundance. Here the ground stayed beneath his feet and the frontier air unfailingly reminded him that all was still possible, that endurance was what mattered most.

When he was away making movies, he was dependent on his sidemen at Sundance. Sterling Van Wagenen proved the most reliably staunch, and his job was to manage an ent.i.ty in constant flux. There seemed no end to the inflow of youthful talent, and Sundance grew, aided by benefactors like Irene Diamond, whose foundation injected an annual $150,000 for the first couple of years. When Sundance began, Redford's alleged vision was simply for an arts retreat in the mountains where novice filmmakers could be tutored toward making new movies. By the mid-eighties, Sundance had expanded beyond the two-week June lab to encompa.s.s a producers' program, a screenwriters' lab, and a dance and theater workshop styled by Merce Cunningham, Michael Kidd and Twyla Tharp. Van Wagenen helped mold these labs but maintained a close focus on the showcasing of films in the shape of the U.S. Film and Video Festival, which had s.h.i.+fted from Salt Lake City to Park City in 1981, then surrendered its operation entirely to Sundance management in 1985. Both Redford and Van Wagenen recognized in the film festival the shopwindow to the world that might elevate the canyon-based arts experiment to something of wider significance. Both collaborated on refining it, and Redford came up with the notion of moving it from September to January ski season, the more to signify its uniqueness.

Redford's declared aim with Sundance was independence for the artist and the avoidance of commercialism. And yet there were painful, obvious paradoxes at play. Sundance, the mother s.h.i.+p resort, was a commercial ent.i.ty on whose survival the inst.i.tute depended. Also, the survival and viability of the experimenting artists depended on finding recognition beyond the idyllic glades of the canyon. Wasn't the composition of the infrastructure itself, embodying as it now did an established festival forum, the ideal route for widening the lab artists' audience? Sterling Van Wagenen thought so and felt many of Sundance's woes-a lack of media support, the constant cash flow crises-were curable by the simple expedient of entering into all-out production.

"It was an issue of linearity," says Van Wagenen. "We were coaching independent-thinking young filmmakers to make films, and at the same time we had a presentation forum up the road at Park City. There was no contradiction, in my mind, for anyone in the Sundance fraternity to get involved in actually making films." Redford's absence while preparing for Out of Africa Out of Africa and Van Wagenen's impatience would cause the first serious philosophical rift to unhinge Sundance, the effects of which are still felt today. and Van Wagenen's impatience would cause the first serious philosophical rift to unhinge Sundance, the effects of which are still felt today.

Under pressure from Van Wagenen, Redford agreed to commit to Desert Bloom, Desert Bloom, a first feature by a newcomer, Eugene Corr, honed in script at the labs, then coproduced by Sundance with funding from Columbia and launched at the festival. Redford knew nothing about Corr, other than that he had directed some long-forgotten PBS drama. a first feature by a newcomer, Eugene Corr, honed in script at the labs, then coproduced by Sundance with funding from Columbia and launched at the festival. Redford knew nothing about Corr, other than that he had directed some long-forgotten PBS drama. Desert Bloom Desert Bloom was an extremely ambitious film in that it strung a woman's emotional life story together from a series of vignettes, but it also reached beyond, searching for some parallel symbolism between the woman's blooming in a coming-of-age fated romance and the blooming of mushroom clouds in the fifties at Las Vegas bomb test sites, the locale of the story. was an extremely ambitious film in that it strung a woman's emotional life story together from a series of vignettes, but it also reached beyond, searching for some parallel symbolism between the woman's blooming in a coming-of-age fated romance and the blooming of mushroom clouds in the fifties at Las Vegas bomb test sites, the locale of the story.

All this new development came courtesy of the Production Fund, an executive innovation funded to the tune of $1 million by the NEA, about which Redford maintained the highest suspicions. "There was a philosophical tension," admits Van Wagenen, "between the radicals and the conventionally minded. Bob was a rebel. But the NEA and the Ford Foundation wanted a conventional board, with logical strategies. Gary Beer, acting as business 'brain,' felt the same. To us, the Sundance Production Fund made perfect sense. But Bob was ambivalent, so from my perspective he was green-lighting things and at the same time undermining them with equivocality."

Redford thought Corr's movie was awful. "Corr had talent," he says. "He wrote a very nice script, but he had no experience to make a full-blown feature. After the first two days he handed the movie over to his a.s.sistant director. He couldn't watch the dailies." Redford prepared himself for confrontation with Van Wagenen and Beer. "I felt we were overextending at a cost to the filmmakers, and ourselves," he says. "The central principle of Sundance was to give the aspirant filmmakers room to explore and develop their ideas. It was not supposed to be about generating box office. I called up Sterling and told him, 'I have concerns. The inst.i.tute is a lab, not a preproduction office.' But he was thinking differently."

Van Wagenen was also shepherding a second feature for Sundance, The Trip to Bountiful, The Trip to Bountiful, which was to be directed by Pete Masterson. This was an immaculate Horton Foote script about an elderly woman's determined scheme to escape senile immobility and return to the homeland of her youthful bliss in Bountiful, Texas. It moved forward nimbly with Van Wagenen producing. Both movies would premiere at the 1986 Sundance Film Festival. They faced polar fates. which was to be directed by Pete Masterson. This was an immaculate Horton Foote script about an elderly woman's determined scheme to escape senile immobility and return to the homeland of her youthful bliss in Bountiful, Texas. It moved forward nimbly with Van Wagenen producing. Both movies would premiere at the 1986 Sundance Film Festival. They faced polar fates. Desert Bloom Desert Bloom was recut and lambasted. was recut and lambasted. Bountiful Bountiful went on to win a best actress Academy Award for its star, Geraldine Page. That, however, did not please Redford. Resurfacing after went on to win a best actress Academy Award for its star, Geraldine Page. That, however, did not please Redford. Resurfacing after Legal Eagles, Legal Eagles, he found a Sundance that felt disembodied and dangerously off-kilter. Recently, the programs had been run by Susan Lacey, of whom he was wary and who supported Van Wagenen's view of Sundance as a production ent.i.ty. In one Sundance staffer's view, "Bob came back from Africa to discover that Sundance under Sterling, Lacey and Beer was a different business altogether. The accent was not on the students and the debates in the meadows. The accent was on Hollywood production, and the speed with which Lacey and Van Wagenen were pus.h.i.+ng this forward." he found a Sundance that felt disembodied and dangerously off-kilter. Recently, the programs had been run by Susan Lacey, of whom he was wary and who supported Van Wagenen's view of Sundance as a production ent.i.ty. In one Sundance staffer's view, "Bob came back from Africa to discover that Sundance under Sterling, Lacey and Beer was a different business altogether. The accent was not on the students and the debates in the meadows. The accent was on Hollywood production, and the speed with which Lacey and Van Wagenen were pus.h.i.+ng this forward."

Yet another Sundance production was already in progress, this time Van Wagenen's version of The Giant Joshua, The Giant Joshua, a fictional story based on a dissertation about Mormon polygamy by Maurine Whipple originally published in 1941 and developed by John and Denise Earle. Van Wagenen's initial idea was to produce the movie, with Redford directing. It was clear the dynamic had changed between Van Wagenen and Redford, though, at first, few words were spoken. "I was trying to build a new ethos in those June labs," says Redford. "But we were in danger of becoming an a.s.sembly line." a fictional story based on a dissertation about Mormon polygamy by Maurine Whipple originally published in 1941 and developed by John and Denise Earle. Van Wagenen's initial idea was to produce the movie, with Redford directing. It was clear the dynamic had changed between Van Wagenen and Redford, though, at first, few words were spoken. "I was trying to build a new ethos in those June labs," says Redford. "But we were in danger of becoming an a.s.sembly line."

Briefly, Redford went along with the board, endorsing the founding of a new company poised between Wildwood and the Sundance Production Fund, called North Fork Productions, specifically designed to make small-budget movies with Garth Drabinsky, chairman of Cineplex Odeon, an exhibitor with fifteen hundred screens at his disposal. Van Wagenen then announced his plan to direct The Giant Joshua The Giant Joshua himself. The entire process slammed to a dead stop. Van Wagenen felt he had been hijacked. "Bob took the reins from me, without any apology. I was all set, and then suddenly I found myself doing other a.s.signed work." himself. The entire process slammed to a dead stop. Van Wagenen felt he had been hijacked. "Bob took the reins from me, without any apology. I was all set, and then suddenly I found myself doing other a.s.signed work."

There were certain things Redford could not compromise on. "He didn't set up the inst.i.tute to make money," said Hume Cronyn. "I asked him one day, 'How would you like people to remember Sundance in a hundred years?' And he told me, 'Like Walden Pond. A place where some kid, some student, came up with a great idea that changed some lives.'"

Redford used his boardroom-majority prerogative and canceled the Production Fund. Preserving Sundance, he decided, meant doing it his way.

Within Redford's grasp was a project that corralled many of his interests. The Milagro Beanfield War The Milagro Beanfield War was a magic realist novel, the first part of John Nichols's New Mexico trilogy about Hispanic life, myth and history, that exemplified the sanct.i.ty of place and the importance of avoiding the machinations of big business. Redford had first encountered it in the seventies, at the time of its publication. Ever since, it had haunted him. Before was a magic realist novel, the first part of John Nichols's New Mexico trilogy about Hispanic life, myth and history, that exemplified the sanct.i.ty of place and the importance of avoiding the machinations of big business. Redford had first encountered it in the seventies, at the time of its publication. Ever since, it had haunted him. Before Out of Africa, Out of Africa, he had driven impulsively to Taos, where Nichols lived, and discovered that Mocte Esparza, one of the Sundance labs' greatest supporters, owned the rights. Redford approached Esparza and they made a handshake deal to coproduce the film. he had driven impulsively to Taos, where Nichols lived, and discovered that Mocte Esparza, one of the Sundance labs' greatest supporters, owned the rights. Redford approached Esparza and they made a handshake deal to coproduce the film.

Redford admired all the distinctive oddities of Milagro Milagro (Spanish for "miracle"). Here was a David and Goliath story, where a humble farmer poaches a big developer's lands to access life-sustaining water and, in doing so, stirs an entire community to resist the behemoths. Here, too, was a yarn of ecological wisdom that rang loudly for Redford in the din of Reagan's trickle-down economics, which nudged free enterprise toward an unlegislated free-for-all. Here also was a story of cultural uniqueness, populated with poets and ghosts, all in service of the mythic themes of right and wrong. It seemed like a sparkling expression of Sundance-like ambition. (Spanish for "miracle"). Here was a David and Goliath story, where a humble farmer poaches a big developer's lands to access life-sustaining water and, in doing so, stirs an entire community to resist the behemoths. Here, too, was a yarn of ecological wisdom that rang loudly for Redford in the din of Reagan's trickle-down economics, which nudged free enterprise toward an unlegislated free-for-all. Here also was a story of cultural uniqueness, populated with poets and ghosts, all in service of the mythic themes of right and wrong. It seemed like a sparkling expression of Sundance-like ambition.

For Berkeley-born Nichols, the journey to Milagro Milagro began when he experienced "a conversion to humanist values" during a hiking trip in Guatemala in the sixties. The result was an evangelistic belief that national redemption lay in "securing the integrity of southwestern culture as a foundation for common ethics." Out of this epiphany, the New Mexico trilogy and began when he experienced "a conversion to humanist values" during a hiking trip in Guatemala in the sixties. The result was an evangelistic belief that national redemption lay in "securing the integrity of southwestern culture as a foundation for common ethics." Out of this epiphany, the New Mexico trilogy and Milagro Milagro were born. Nichols and Redford had much in common, including being inspired by the Sangre de Cristo Mountains, where the trilogy was set. Redford felt "an anthropological contact" with them, and a feeling of rightness. "That landscape brought me back to the long, long ago and all those lost wisdoms. You cannot be there and not feel the need to reevaluate. Nichols felt it. I felt it." were born. Nichols and Redford had much in common, including being inspired by the Sangre de Cristo Mountains, where the trilogy was set. Redford felt "an anthropological contact" with them, and a feeling of rightness. "That landscape brought me back to the long, long ago and all those lost wisdoms. You cannot be there and not feel the need to reevaluate. Nichols felt it. I felt it."

Nichols's experience with film was a staggered one. In 1966, at the age of twenty-five, he published a college romance, The Sterile Cuckoo, The Sterile Cuckoo, which was made into a movie by Alan Pakula. By the late sixties, he says, he had run dry, his writing suffused with political rage. He exiled himself to New Mexico "because [it] seemed to resemble a colonial country where political struggle could be as clearly focused as it was in four-fifths of the rest of the world." The five hundred pages of which was made into a movie by Alan Pakula. By the late sixties, he says, he had run dry, his writing suffused with political rage. He exiled himself to New Mexico "because [it] seemed to resemble a colonial country where political struggle could be as clearly focused as it was in four-fifths of the rest of the world." The five hundred pages of The Milagro Beanfield War, The Milagro Beanfield War, written over the winter of 1972, was a manifesto that said inst.i.tutional power begets misery. Over the next five years, a number of players, including CBS, Tony Bill, Dustin Hoffman and Al Pacino, were attached, but the movie failed to take off. The trip wire, says Redford, was its panoramic scope, since the novel had two hundred characters. "But Mocte and I saw it more simply. It could never have been the huge production with the multicharacter viewpoints that John tried. It had to be a reduced ensemble piece cast with Hispanics. Mocte was wary about giving it to me, but when I showed him written over the winter of 1972, was a manifesto that said inst.i.tutional power begets misery. Over the next five years, a number of players, including CBS, Tony Bill, Dustin Hoffman and Al Pacino, were attached, but the movie failed to take off. The trip wire, says Redford, was its panoramic scope, since the novel had two hundred characters. "But Mocte and I saw it more simply. It could never have been the huge production with the multicharacter viewpoints that John tried. It had to be a reduced ensemble piece cast with Hispanics. Mocte was wary about giving it to me, but when I showed him Ordinary People, Ordinary People, he said, 'Fine, it's yours.'" he said, 'Fine, it's yours.'"

Esparza started the auditions, interviewing two thousand Hispanic actors and videotaping the best one hundred. Nichols's seventh draft of the script, reworked from the single viewpoint of the central character, the impoverished, agitating farmer Joe Mondragon, still did not please Redford. To hone it, he called David Ward, The Sting' The Sting's writer, whose career had progressed into directing and producing. Ward fas.h.i.+oned a Capraesque story of the homespun hero who takes on the fat cats; Mr. Smith here became a Chicano. "But there was also," says Ward, "the magical realism of the angel Coyote counseling Amarante, the village elder. Amarante says, 'People have forgotten how to speak to angels,' and that summed up the second strand, that greater forces were at work here than small farmers, big developers, lawyers and sheriffs. That's what I took hold of: the double strand. And that's how, finally, the Milagro Milagro movie began to work." Ten years down the line Ward found Redford more committed than ever. "I was intrigued to see how he had changed, because ten years at the top is ten years in a madhouse. But he was the same, even more so. He was the perfectionist. Social life, family life, everything came second. He was there 200 percent." movie began to work." Ten years down the line Ward found Redford more committed than ever. "I was intrigued to see how he had changed, because ten years at the top is ten years in a madhouse. But he was the same, even more so. He was the perfectionist. Social life, family life, everything came second. He was there 200 percent."

Just before his final business separation from Redford, Gary Hendler negotiated a last great deal with Universal for The Milagro Beanfield War, The Milagro Beanfield War, delivering a $10 million budget, which was negotiable upward should Redford agree to star in the movie. Redford demurred, insisting that nothing should detract from Hispanic heroes and the integrity of a provincial fable. To appease the studio, he offered compensatory bankable costars in the non-Hispanic roles. But his first choice, Melanie Griffith, whom he thought ideal for Flossie Devine, the seductress wife of Mondragon's land developer bete noire, refused even to audition. "I made an approach but lines got tangled and she probably thought, Who needs that arrogant b.a.s.t.a.r.d?" says Redford. Griffith, to her credit, rethought the invitation and agreed to meet at Wildwood's new Rockefeller Center suite, not to audition, she says, but for a one-on-one get-together. Recovering from a bout of drug dependency, she was unsure of herself but, says Redford, disarmingly honest. "We clicked. She was kooky and wild but very full of originality." delivering a $10 million budget, which was negotiable upward should Redford agree to star in the movie. Redford demurred, insisting that nothing should detract from Hispanic heroes and the integrity of a provincial fable. To appease the studio, he offered compensatory bankable costars in the non-Hispanic roles. But his first choice, Melanie Griffith, whom he thought ideal for Flossie Devine, the seductress wife of Mondragon's land developer bete noire, refused even to audition. "I made an approach but lines got tangled and she probably thought, Who needs that arrogant b.a.s.t.a.r.d?" says Redford. Griffith, to her credit, rethought the invitation and agreed to meet at Wildwood's new Rockefeller Center suite, not to audition, she says, but for a one-on-one get-together. Recovering from a bout of drug dependency, she was unsure of herself but, says Redford, disarmingly honest. "We clicked. She was kooky and wild but very full of originality."

Original, too, was the idea to cast Christopher Walken as Kyril Montana, the agent a.s.signed to end the bean field dispute. Redford's thinking was that "this would be a great chance for him to play against type. Because, if you take away the zany haircuts and the weirdness he likes to portray, he's quite WASPish. I wrote to him, explaining, and he responded. So we had casting that pleased Universal over one layer of the movie, and that gave us time to tackle the trickier Hispanic casting."

As Esparza screened his audition tapes, Redford was aware of "subcultural aspects one needed to be careful of. The Hollywood style of generalized ethnicity often destroys movies, but compromises are essential. What I wanted to do was minimize compromise. The challenge was that the pool of talent is so small and diffuse." Seventy-four-year-old Mexican Carlos Riquelme was cast as the oracle Amarante, and Brazilian Sonia Braga ideally fit the role of Chicana activist Ruby. Ruben Blades, the Panamanian salsa songwriter and actor, who wasn't summoned, took the initiative: "The word was out. I knew Redford was having trouble casting the movie. So I went up to him unannounced and said, 'Hey, compadre, how is the lay of the land? You want to do this movie right? Then you want me.'" Blades was cast as Sheriff Bernabe Montoya, the bridge between the warring factions.

The main role of Joe Mondragon remained elusive. Redford considered comedian Cheech Marin, then Edward James Olmos, a relative unknown, and rejected him because of age. Neither seemed fresh or young enough. Finally Chick Vennera, a Broadway actor hungry for a movie break, arrived at Wildwood's Los Angeles office, recommended by producer Chuck Mulvehill. "Chuck's reasoning," says Vennera, "was that they'd looked everywhere else, so why not me? I wasn't Chicano, but I had Argentinean family and a definite Spanish affinity." Vennera read for Esparza, then went back to his motel. Four hours later he was called back to meet Redford. He read from the Ward script and knew instantly he had cracked it. "I'd done my homework, hanging out in border bars with a tape recorder to get the idiom and the accent. I was confident, fluid."

Filming commenced on what was scheduled as a ten-week shoot in August 1986. Originally, Redford wanted to shoot at Plaza del Cerro, a neighborhood of the town of Chimayo and the location of what is reputed to be the last surviving fortified Spanish plaza in North America. Ironically, the local folk resisted, objecting to any suggestion of commercialization. So the production moved to Truchas, New Mexico, forty miles from the unit base at Santa Fe, and higher in the Sangre de Cristo Mountains. "We had to rewrite the entire production schedule," says Redford. "We were forced to forget Chimayo and shoot it all in the mountains, but that ended up an advantage because all along I'd visualized a bleak, vivid horizon throughout the movie and that was available at the higher elevation."

Casting and location delays put pressure on Redford's schedule. Unlike on Ordinary People, Ordinary People, he conducted no formal rehearsals. In Vennera's view, Redford "modeled" the movie, frame by frame, with cinematographer Robbie Greenberg. "It was the most extraordinary experience. I had a voice coach, Julie Adams, to keep the Chicano dialect straight, but beyond that artificiality Bob had us work like an improv exercise. We just did what we did as he moved the cameras around us and strategically placed this incredible natural light. A lot of directors will shoot five or six takes to cover themselves. Bob shot a very high ratio for entirely different reasons. He would say, 'Hey, Chick, try this scene that way.' And when I did it, he'd say, 'D'you want to try it your own way now?' That's a luxury actors don't often get. What it did was pump up the actors' esteem. It loaded the whole thing with a new level of emotion. And confidence. I suddenly understood why he conducted no formal rehearsals. In Vennera's view, Redford "modeled" the movie, frame by frame, with cinematographer Robbie Greenberg. "It was the most extraordinary experience. I had a voice coach, Julie Adams, to keep the Chicano dialect straight, but beyond that artificiality Bob had us work like an improv exercise. We just did what we did as he moved the cameras around us and strategically placed this incredible natural light. A lot of directors will shoot five or six takes to cover themselves. Bob shot a very high ratio for entirely different reasons. He would say, 'Hey, Chick, try this scene that way.' And when I did it, he'd say, 'D'you want to try it your own way now?' That's a luxury actors don't often get. What it did was pump up the actors' esteem. It loaded the whole thing with a new level of emotion. And confidence. I suddenly understood why Ordinary People Ordinary People won an Academy Award. I saw that Bob had won an Academy Award. I saw that Bob had a vision, a vision, but within that he was so at ease as to allow everybody to contribute theirs." but within that he was so at ease as to allow everybody to contribute theirs."

The many start-up delays had pushed the shoot into December, a time of heavy seasonal snows in the mountains. The fact that many interiors scheduled for Chimayo had to be replaced with outdoor scenes intensified the problems. "Journalists started writing that there were wasteful delays," says Redford, "that I was doing my usual late shows, all those h.o.a.ry cliches. But it was garbage. We were going well until the snows stopped us. We couldn't get continuity, we couldn't replace some of the interiors, so we put a nine-month hold on production to wait for the weather."

Redford planned to use the hiatus to spend time in Utah rea.s.serting control over and streamlining Sundance. In Van Wagenen's eyes, Redford "resumed the tiller and let us know he was driving the boat." All production discussion was swept aside in favor of building expansion. New meeting rooms for lab students were already under way, as was a screening theater, partially funded by Hume Cronyn and his wife, Jessica Tandy, and named by them for Cronyn's friend and idol, Joe Mankiewicz. Alongside these was added a state-of-the-art film-editing suite, complete with Sony BVP-330s and broadcast-quality tape decks, equipment comparable with the best Hollywood had to offer and on which Redford would edit The Milagro Beanfield War. The Milagro Beanfield War. The other major expansion was the commissioning of thirty-seven new cottages along the aspen-clad southern flank of the central resort base, a critical rental revenue generator, in Brent Beck's opinion, since the rival Park City was draining away vacationers "and in that way undermining the solidity Bob needed for his Sundance vision to take hold." The other major expansion was the commissioning of thirty-seven new cottages along the aspen-clad southern flank of the central resort base, a critical rental revenue generator, in Brent Beck's opinion, since the rival Park City was draining away vacationers "and in that way undermining the solidity Bob needed for his Sundance vision to take hold."

Redford's greatest ally in this redesign was an old friend, local artist Mary Whitesides. Recently separated from her husband, she became his partner in the creation of a unified style for the new workshops and cottages. Whitesides had already established the Sundance interiors, working with her design partner, Nancy Maynard. Shortly after, Architectural Digest Architectural Digest would commend their perspicacity: "Everything is natural. Nothing is precious, although a sense of fragility comes from the bouquets of dried wildflowers, the antique quilts and wicker and the Indian artifacts." Redford says, "What we wanted was to express a curatorial sensibility. It was a celebration of tradition. The tables we used were made by craftspeople in Santa Fe. The rawhide-and-iron table lamps were made by local blacksmiths. The plan was to extend this idea so that the resort would become a showcase for western artisans.h.i.+p and tribal folklore." would commend their perspicacity: "Everything is natural. Nothing is precious, although a sense of fragility comes from the bouquets of dried wildflowers, the antique quilts and wicker and the Indian artifacts." Redford says, "What we wanted was to express a curatorial sensibility. It was a celebration of tradition. The tables we used were made by craftspeople in Santa Fe. The rawhide-and-iron table lamps were made by local blacksmiths. The plan was to extend this idea so that the resort would become a showcase for western artisans.h.i.+p and tribal folklore."

"[Mary] was the rock," says Brent Beck. "She understood Bob's pa.s.sion, and she was there to encourage him. They worked very closely. Both Mary's and Bob's fingerprints were in every sheltered porch, every fabric, every fireplace, every bar of soap. He was conceptual; she was in the detail. For example, even though he was southwestern, he wanted to be different. He wanted a European style. He claimed the Europeans understood use of s.p.a.ce in a way Americans didn't. She converted that into an un-American spatial design, with wide, pitched ceilings, cozy nook firesides and intimate bedrooms with the biggest, softest beds. What they both produced was totally original, and it helped him pull back together a feeling of Sundance rooted in his heart."

Jamie sees Whitesides as a savior, no less: "She was among the most sensitive people I've ever met, and her protective affection for him changed him. It was as significant as that. Till then, since the marriage breakdown, his female relations.h.i.+ps were fickle. She was a solid friend, and her presence at that time boosted Sundance to the next level."

In the fall of 1987 Redford returned eagerly to Truchas and resumed Milagro. Milagro. The pressure was renewed. Members of the crew dropped out. He wasn't getting the performances he'd hoped for. "A couple of loose performances can throw a movie off," says Redford, "and here I failed. I saw more in characters like Mondragon than I was able to realize on-screen, to my great regret." He began a romance with Sonia Braga. She was thirty-six, tagged in the tabloids as the queen of Brazilian soaps but, in fact, a distinguished actress with quality roles behind her in Manuel Puig's arcane The pressure was renewed. Members of the crew dropped out. He wasn't getting the performances he'd hoped for. "A couple of loose performances can throw a movie off," says Redford, "and here I failed. I saw more in characters like Mondragon than I was able to realize on-screen, to my great regret." He began a romance with Sonia Braga. She was thirty-six, tagged in the tabloids as the queen of Brazilian soaps but, in fact, a distinguished actress with quality roles behind her in Manuel Puig's arcane Kiss of the Spider Woman Kiss of the Spider Woman and Bruno Barreto's and Bruno Barreto's Dona Flor and Her Two Husbands. Dona Flor and Her Two Husbands. "Some magic obviously happened," says Vennera, for whose child Braga babysat, "and I think it came because of Bob's isolation. He had very few friends on location. Tom Brokaw joined us for a few days, and he was a jogging companion. Bernie [Pollack] and Gary [Liddiard] took lunches with him. But he was basically a loner, a sensitive soul, and my wife and I saw that he needed a woman's company." "Some magic obviously happened," says Vennera, for whose child Braga babysat, "and I think it came because of Bob's isolation. He had very few friends on location. Tom Brokaw joined us for a few days, and he was a jogging companion. Bernie [Pollack] and Gary [Liddiard] took lunches with him. But he was basically a loner, a sensitive soul, and my wife and I saw that he needed a woman's company."

The romance hit the headlines in May 1988 when, returning from a film festival trip to the Soviet Union, Redford met with Braga at Cannes, where his movie featured out of compet.i.tion at the annual festival. By August they were in Newsweek Newsweek and and People, People, pictured at the Nostros Awards for Hispanic Achievement, where Redford conceded, "So, the secret's out?" pictured at the Nostros Awards for Hispanic Achievement, where Redford conceded, "So, the secret's out?"

Milagro premiered in the United States in March. It barely covered its costs and suffered the loud disdain of critics like David Denby, who derided its muddled story line about "picturesque Chicanos." Roger Ebert's review diagnosed some of the problems. The movie, said Ebert, was a wonderful fable, "but the problem is, some of the people in the story know it's a fable and others do not. This causes an uncertainty that runs all through the film, making it hard to weigh some scenes against others. There are characters who seem to belong in an angry doc.u.mentary...and then there are characters who seem to come from a more fanciful time." premiered in the United States in March. It barely covered its costs and suffered the loud disdain of critics like David Denby, who derided its muddled story line about "picturesque Chicanos." Roger Ebert's review diagnosed some of the problems. The movie, said Ebert, was a wonderful fable, "but the problem is, some of the people in the story know it's a fable and others do not. This causes an uncertainty that runs all through the film, making it hard to weigh some scenes against others. There are characters who seem to belong in an angry doc.u.mentary...and then there are characters who seem to come from a more fanciful time."

Redford consoled himself in the activism that was ever present but never fully integrated. Ted Wilson had been wrong in his belief that politics would swallow him up. But Redford never let up, staying in touch politically, investigating PACs and keeping a hand in EDF and NRDC initiatives. "It was hard to hang in there politically or spiritually [in the time of Reagan], but it was harder to quit," he says. "The realities spat in your face. Yes, Reaganomics created a boom. But the poor suffered. After Reagan crushed PATCO [the air traffic controllers' union], labor rights fell apart. The old industrial infrastructure gave way to the growing service sector, but there was no proper labor protection movement left. There were no safety nets for the poor, for the environment, for anyone. Anyone with a heart watched all this tragedy play out against the backdrop of ballyhoo about the Soviet 'evil empire,' and just went crazy. More than a hundred people in the Reagan administration eventually stood trial for corruption. But the media dumbed down to meet the sleaze. I felt the national fault lines were wider than ever, and I wanted to do my bit to bridge them."

"I knew he would get more involved," says former senator Bill Bradley, a close friend since his days with the New York Knickerbockers basketball team, "because he was outraged by national policy. Apart from the budget deficit and the racial and poverty bias, there was a terrible acceptance of environmental abuse. As a senator, obviously, it was my job to address this mess. But Bob was every bit as responsive. It got to the point where he said enough is enough. He took off the gloves and got back in the ring."

The Inst.i.tute for Resource Management (IRM) was Redford's instrument of attack. Entirely of his own design, he convened a series of eco-conferences coordinated with NRDC's Citizen National Enforcement Program. At first Was.h.i.+ngton and the media shrugged them off. But the 1984 program that became known as the Bering Sea Accord changed that. Redford and his a.s.sociate Paul Parker brought together representatives of nineteen oil companies, among them Standard Oil, Conoco and Texaco, along with conservation representatives from Alaska, for four sessions over a ten-month period to resolve a twenty-year debate over offsh.o.r.e oil drilling. The conservationists wanted to maintain the world's richest salmon grounds, which were also home to endangered species of whales, walrus and seals. The oil companies wanted to mine what is regarded as America's greatest untapped reserve. In the session staged on a boat in Morro Bay in late summer, the energy industry in effect stood down-temporarily-agreeing to conduct further research. Terry Minger, whom Redford had met on the Outlaw Trail Outlaw Trail ride, now an IRM executive, believed a miracle had been accomplished: "And the achievement was Redford's. IRM's function was to come to these conferences as a neutral body, which erred, if it erred, on the side of the environmentalists. Bob had learned from Kaiparowits, and he earned the trust of the industrialists by showing himself to be a rationalist first of all. He accepted that jobs and the economy were of supreme importance. He knew it was counterproductive to insult the other side. So instead he promoted exchange of information, education, understanding." The stand-down might not last forever, but the new research studies each side agreed on appeased everyone. Max Pitcher, vice president of exploration for Conoco, was effusive in his praise for Redford's ingenious moderation: "His message to both sides was, 'Don't be intractable. We have problems we must resolve as partners.' He lit the way for shared decision making." ride, now an IRM executive, believed a miracle had been accomplished: "And the achievement was Redford's. IRM's function was to come to these conferences as a neutral body, which erred, if it erred, on the side of the environmentalists. Bob had learned from Kaiparowits, and he earned the trust of the industrialists by showing himself to be a rationalist first of all. He accepted that jobs and the economy were of supreme importance. He knew it was counterproductive to insult the other side. So instead he promoted exchange of information, education, understanding." The stand-down might not last forever, but the new research studies each side agreed on appeased everyone. Max Pitcher, vice president of exploration for Conoco, was effusive in his praise for Redford's ingenious moderation: "His message to both sides was, 'Don't be intractable. We have problems we must resolve as partners.' He lit the way for shared decision making."

At the following Canyon de Ch.e.l.ly conference, representatives of the Navajo Nation and the energy companies argued the development of the Southwest. Once again, the combatants were at first mutually unsympathetic. Redford took center stage, said Minger, doubly pa.s.sionate because of his kins.h.i.+p with Native Americans. In his opening speech he pleaded for "balance in the inevitable land exploitation of a development-orientated society." Peterson Zah, the Navajo chairman and an IRM board member, responded with an angry recital of the damage already done: there were fifty million acres of Indian land in America; in the West, most were already scarred, with no less than three major generating stations and a dozen coal mines in the Canyon de Ch.e.l.ly reservation alone. "Labor benefits apart," said Zah, "there is a dilemma for us Indians if we continue to think this way about ourselves." According to Navajo legend, said Zah, humanity rose from the land and air around it: "Their skin from the red earth, their teeth from the white corn, their hair from the black thundercloud." Redford found Zah's speech "emotionally moving and intellectually motivating." Some weeks before, he'd met Wallace Stegner, his favorite western author, at an Ansel Adams exhibition in San Francisco. Stegner and Adams and Zah were calling attention to the same thing: that our nature, and our destiny, are defined by the environment that bred us and how we maintain it. "Occupying the planet seemed to me to be about stewards.h.i.+p," says Redford. "More and more I felt education was the tool to bring a workable peace to the rival factions. And roundtable talk in a depoliticized atmosphere was the place to start."

The notion for a major global warming summit to crown the IRM's work came in November 1987, during the last phase of making Milagro, Milagro, while Redford was attending the Denver Symposium on Clean Air. Redford was riveted by a slide show about the buildup of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere presented by John Firor of the National Center for Atmospheric Research. The point was made that global warming was second only to nuclear holocaust as an imminent annihilatory threat. "I hadn't registered the phrase 'greenhouse effect' before," says Redford. "It suddenly struck me that while Redford was attending the Denver Symposium on Clean Air. Redford was riveted by a slide show about the buildup of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere presented by John Firor of the National Center for Atmospheric Research. The point was made that global warming was second only to nuclear holocaust as an imminent annihilatory threat. "I hadn't registered the phrase 'greenhouse effect' before," says Redford. "It suddenly struck me that no one no one was getting this message. The planet was in trouble, and we were arguing Republican versus Democratic policies. Someone needed to say, 'Hey, pay attention!'" Minger, newly elected president of the IRM, sat with Redford at the symposium. "He was keen to raise our international profile," said Minger. "Human survival seemed a good place to start." was getting this message. The planet was in trouble, and we were arguing Republican versus Democratic policies. Someone needed to say, 'Hey, pay attention!'" Minger, newly elected president of the IRM, sat with Redford at the symposium. "He was keen to raise our international profile," said Minger. "Human survival seemed a good place to start."

Redford had recently accepted an invitation from the Moscow U.S. Information Agency for a movie retrospective to be hosted by the Tashkent Film Festival. In advance of the trip he took the opportunity to write to the U.S.S.R. Academy of Sciences in his role as IRM chairman, requesting an international conference on environmental change. Global warming was, of course, of concern for some scientists in Moscow. The national policy of uskorenie, uskorenie, or accelerated industrialization, paralleled America's thirst for corporate mergers and industrial expansion through the eighties and created the same kinds of pollution problems. Since the days of Benjamin Franklin, the Russian Academy of Sciences had exchanged information with American scientists, but the cold war put an end to that. Still, for more than twenty years, a sector of the Soviet scientific community had continued to research pollutants. In 1968 the n.o.bel laureate Andrei Sakharov appealed for a "law of geohygiene" to save the planet from "the poison of industrial pollutants produced in the United States and the U.S.S.R." Early in 1987 a minisummit in the form of a teleconference initiated by Roald Sagdeev of the Russian s.p.a.ce Research Inst.i.tute, together with or accelerated industrialization, paralleled America's thirst for corporate mergers and industrial expansion through the eighties and created the same kinds of pollution problems. Since the days of Benjamin Franklin, the Russian Academy of Sciences had exchanged information with American scientists, but the cold war put an end to that. Still, for more than twenty years, a sector of the Soviet scientific community had continued to research pollutants. In 1968 the n.o.bel laureate Andrei Sakharov appealed for a "law of geohygiene" to save the planet from "the poison of industrial pollutants produced in the United States and the U.S.S.R." Early in 1987 a minisummit in the form of a teleconference initiated by Roald Sagdeev of the Russian s.p.a.ce Research Inst.i.tute, together with Apollo 9 Apollo 9 astronaut Rusty Schweickart and Walter Orr Roberts, the founder of the Colorado-based National Center for Atmospheric Research, opened the door for a new channel of bilateral exchange, which created an opportunity for Sundance. "To my surprise," says Redford, "the cooperation was immediate. This was the eve of the collapse of the Soviet bloc. Gorbachev was in power, but we had no way then of knowing how compliant he would be. We knew whispers about Russian democracy in the making, but that was all. Reagan still viewed the Soviets as the evil empire. But Gorbachev was lowering the drawbridge. It was he who facilitated ease of pa.s.sage for us. Once we had the nod, the walls came down." astronaut Rusty Schweickart and Walter Orr Roberts, the founder of the Colorado-based National Center for Atmospheric Research, opened the door for a new channel of bilateral exchange, which created an opportunity for Sundance. "To my surprise," says Redford, "the cooperation was immediate. This was the eve of the collapse of the Soviet bloc. Gorbachev was in power, but we had no way then of knowing how compliant he would be. We knew whispers about Russian democracy in the making, but that was all. Reagan still viewed the Soviets as the evil empire. But Gorbachev was lowering the drawbridge. It was he who facilitated ease of pa.s.sage for us. Once we had the nod, the walls came down."

Redford was invited to cochair a workshop on global warming with the academy, which he did en route to Cannes for the festival showing of Milagro. Milagro. Terry Minger, accompanying him, was astonished by the Soviets' openness. "It wasn't a hard sell at all," said Minger. "There was a great willingness to reverse the damage of Terry Minger, accompanying him, was astonished by the Soviets' openness. "It wasn't a hard sell at all," said Minger. "There was a great willingness to reverse the damage of uskorenie. uskorenie. We found friends there." During the Moscow workshop an agreement was signed for Sundance to host the first major climate change summit, christened Greenhouse Glasnost, the following summer. The speed of events, from perestroika to the Sundance symposium, said Minger, was extraordinary. We found friends there." During the Moscow workshop an agreement was signed for Sundance to host the first major climate change summit, christened Greenhouse Glasnost, the following summer. The speed of events, from perestroika to the Sundance symposium, said Minger, was extraordinary.

Back in New York, Redford employed what NRDC founding director John Adams calls "that old riverboat charisma" to draw together luminaries from all the relevant political, industrial and scientific fields for the symposium. Sagdeev, Schweickart and Roberts, the pioneers, were joined by Cecil Andrus, Howard Allen, astronomer Carl Sagan, U.S.S.R. consul general Valentin Kamenev, U.N. World Federation president Maurice Strong, Frederic Krupp and Michael Oppenheimer of the EDF and Richard Morgenstern of the EPA. Also among the seventy-member discussion panel were Susan Eisenhower, Bill Bradley, Stewart Udall, Rhode Island congresswoman Claudine Schneider and Adams. "It was an amazing feat of diplomacy," says Adams, "in which Bob applied every trick of his iconography and every social and political skill to bring so many different people to the same table. He had boundless energy and marvelous ideas. I still shake my head in admiration at the memory of Carl Sagan strolling in the woods with Garry Trudeau and a gaggle of Soviet scientists and arguing world survival. What a rainbow of talents, and exactly the right cross section of power brokers to redress the situation."

The coordination of the event absorbed three months of Sundance time, nudging aside film labs and tourist hikes. But the summit itself, says Bill Bradley, proved "the sort of democratic powerhouse that D.C. would be jealous of, probably was." There were lectures, debates, science shows, one-on-one lunches and suppers with translators running late into the nights. Out of it all came an open letter to Gorbachev-now, seemingly overnight, the leader of a neodemocracy-and George H. W. Bush, Reagan's successor as president. The heart of the letter was an appeal to both nations to formulate a shared global warming policy: "The U.S.A. and the U.S.S.R. are the two largest producers of greenhouse gases. The U.S.S.R. and the U.S.A. are also the two princ.i.p.al sources of the world's scientific knowledge which can be employed to restrain emissions." Both nations were asked to commit to "(1) the promotion of nonpolluting technologies, (2) the phasing out of chlorofluorocarbon emissions before 2000, (3) the reduction of worldwide deforestation, and (4) the initiation of a series of joint national educational programs."

The Sundance symposium foreshadowed the premier U.N. Earth Summit, held in Rio de Janeiro in June 1992. Major partic.i.p.ants like Bradley and Adams imagined a breakthrough. "After all," says Bradley, "we as a community had time to look at the research and check the statistics. We had the evidence by then of how the planet was suffering." But when the time came, under Bush administration policy, the United States joined the Rio summit and, says Bradley, "sat on its hands." Ironically-inexcusably, says Adams-the Sundance debaters had virtually no representation. "No one in the current administration was too much interested, so we were elbowed out of position." For Al Gore, an ambitious senator not yet embarked upon a career in conservation, the Rio summit was "a disaster for America, and for the planet." Global pollution control, whether the United States liked it or not, was was in the offing. But, though Sundance and the Rio summit requested legislated a.s.surances of reduction in carbon dioxide emissions from all the leading nations, the United States' refusal to commit was a backward step, said Gore, in which America was setting a dangerous precedent of renewed isolation. in the offing. But, though Sundance and the Rio summit requested legislated a.s.surances of reduction in carbon dioxide emissions from all the leading nations, the United States' refusal to commit was a backward step, said Gore, in which America was setting a dangerous precedent of renewed isolation.

"I was exhilarated by the symposium and shattered by the play-out," says Redford. "You could say we achieved everything, and nothing. Rio proved that people everywhere were concerned. The old nonsense about it coming down to a battle of clean environment versus jobs no longer stood. There were economic statistics that showed no substantial conflict. What was needed was new thinking. We presented a new forum at the symposium and people listened. The science community wanted it. The diplomats wanted it. But government let us down."

"I was upset for Bob," says Adams, "because he shone a light and the politicians didn't care. He had spent a decade trying to bring academics, government officials and environmentalists together. In a wise world the IRM would have evolved into the president's permanent counsel. That never happened. Instead, it was ignored, squeezed, forgotten."

The IRM's demise became an issue of debate among the Sundance staffers and beyond. Many felt relieved that Redford was freeing himself from inst.i.tutional politics and moving back toward film. Van Wagenen believed "it was best, because he lived, breathed and ate movies. He was a film artist before he was anything, and when he wasn't making films, he was uptight, a fish out of water." Indeed, Adams recognized as much and saw the cause of the IRM's failure in Redford himself: "The greatest a.s.set of the IRM was his mind, and his intuition for deal making. But a part of his psyche was elsewhere, and he handed the power over to Minger and others. What the IRM needed as a fixture was a political tactician who could work both sides to fuse the middle. I believed Bob was that man. He had years of experience in the tough arena of show business, and he was masterly at resolving disputes. I finally thought, Politics' loss is the movie world's gain."

20.

Beyond Hurricane Country The students still came, the programs were ongoing, but Sundance was for most of the country largely invisible.

The entire operation, Redford came to believe, needed better, more effective, more widespread branding; with that, the indispensable media exposure would follow. A new approach was called for. "I knew I was scattered," says Redford. "I knew I was fair game for those who accused me of being a dabbler or stretching too far. But I was never offended by failure. In fact, risk was the lodestar."

The Production Fund may have failed and political forums may not have raised awareness enough, but in 1989 a modestly budgeted movie made by a twenty-five-year-old southerner would accomplish what Redford hoped for, electrifying the January film festival and propelling Sundance to the media center stage. At the beginning of the eighties, according to lab student and NYU film school graduate Tom DiCillo, New Yorkers viewed Sundance, labs and festival, as the home of the granolafest. "Before I first came there," says DiCillo, who was a cameraman for Jim Jarmusch, another lab attendee, "we laughed about Sundance. We a.s.sociated it with boring pastorals about 'going home' and 'returning to the land.'" But there was far more to Sundance "product" than Utahan ideals or the mild, bucolic movies Van Wagenen had pursued. Redford saw this problem of recognition as deep-rooted. For many, it was hard to distinguish the labs, where the works in progress were nurtured with advisers, from the festival, where a committee selected new movies from far and wide to reflect the Sundance aspiration of diversity. Sometimes the lab projects grew into finished features with no help from Sundance be