A real friend understands that sometimes you have to bail on him. So it is with Robert Towne and Tom Cruise.
Towne has been Cruise's writer of choice since Days Of Thunder. He's been there for both Mission Impossible movies and was onboard for the third when Towne finally put the pieces together to direct Ask The Dust and begged off.
So what's his impression of the tabloid-beleaguered Cruise and his jump-the-couch Oprah exploits?
"The idea (that he's cracking up) is bullshit," Towne says. "Privately, Tom is prone to express extreme enthusiasm, and it's part of the fun of working with him. In this case, he did it publicly."
Towne reckons Cruise is the most underappreciated actor of his generation. "God, he's in great performance after great performance and when he impresses it's 'At long last he's come of age as an actor.' But it's a Teflon thing. It never sticks to him. It's the most goddamnest thing I've ever seen."
Other friendships have been tested over the years. Chinatown pals Towne, producer Robert Evans and Jack Nicholson were estranged for awhile after the sequel The Two Jakes, which Towne was to direct and walked away from (he says he's never seen the movie).
Nicholson ended up directing the legendary disaster himself.
"Jack ended up directing it with the best will in the world. I mean, it was tough for him and us. I didn't really know what to do at that point with the script. It's such a muddle, and we all get along now. It's something I prefer not to think about."
"I don't see too much of Bob or Jack these days, it's just the way it's worked out. The last time we got together was a retrospective screening of Chinatown a little over a year ago. It was great."
The old friend he's seen the most of, he says, is Warren Beatty. He's even commiserated with him after Beatty was encouraged by the Democrats to enter politics.
"I see Warren all the time. I think we still harbour hope of doing something together.
"But I'll tell you he will not enter politics. He's got a life of his own, four kids and a wife. He will always be interested in politics. And personally I wish there was somebody more like him as our governor or as our president."
