ROBERT MULLIGAN - AUTOGRAPH LETTER SIGNED 07/18/1992 - HFSID 287521

ROBERT MULLIGAN
Remarkably candid, 4-page letter from Mulligan, happily though involuntarily retired from film directing, to Rex McGee, who had just scored his first big film success. The letter is scathingly critical of the new generation of Hollywood executives who "have no real idea what movies are all about. Not a clue."
Autograph Letter signed: "Bob", 4 pages, 7¼x10½. No place, but probably Lyme, Connecticut, 1992 July 18. On personal letterhead to Rex McGee, in full: "It was good to hear from you, and better still, to learn about your first movie. Congratulations - and all good wishes on getting it done! I can imagine how exciting and rewarding it must have been for you to be on that set. I hope you enjoyed it to the fullest. You worked damned hard to get there. You've more than paid your dues - and you deserve to have a good time with your work. I'm glad your move back home has turned out so well for you - and I trust it will continue that way with your writing as well. All is well here. Sandy and I do love our life more than ever and hate to leave here for any reason. Our only regret is that did not do this sooner. We recently had to go out to L.A. on family business and to visit my kids and it served as a sharp reminder why we left that city. We couldn't wait to get back to the peace and quiet - and fresh air. The hills all around us are lush and green and we're enjoying a real New England summer. It's hot - and sometimes humid, but there are frogs in our ponds and fireflies and thunderstorms - and cool breezes off the ocean and the big river nearby. It's a good life. No complaints. I've just about decided that like it or not I've retired from making movies - by decree of the boys out in Hollywood. I don't like it but I've been looking to get behind the camera for close to 3 years now and nothing's happened. The only scripts I get are either about kids (which I won't do) or flat out dreadful, mindless trash. I have been out to meetings with some of those young 'suits' and it's clear they have no real idea what movies are all about. Not a clue. They don't read. Don't really thing about anything except how to hold onto their desks. And I'm convinced they don't like movies. No surprises in any of the above - right? I had a brief meeting with my agent and realized how sad and boring - and frightened he was about the 'business'. All of this makes this house and our 15 acres of rocky hills covered in maple and oak and chestnut and hemlock and wild mountain laurel a haven for the body and soul. And the air is incredibly fresh and sweet and cleansing. We have good neighbors and there is much to do here. I'm constantly working to keep mother nature under some gentle control - and I do enjoy it. I read constantly - and am doing some playing around with water color and oil painting. That's something I did in my youth and have always wanted to get back to. I may even enroll at the Lyme Academy this fall for some formal training. This is - and has been - an art colony. This area was the center and the birthplace of the American Impressionist School and has a long history of welcoming artists of all kinds. Anyway - I'm busy and in good health. It is good to know that you are doing well. Keep writing. Thanks for your kind words about 'Man in the Moon'. Best always" ROBERT MULLIGAN (1925-2008) was a director with credits on almost 30 movies and TV shows, though he'll probably be best remembered for directing To Kill a Mockingbird (1962), an effort that earned him an Oscar nomination for Best Director. Mulligan got his start as a copywriter with The New York Times before moving to television in 1951, with directing credits on Suspense (1952-1954), The Philco Television Playhouse (1955) and The DuPont Show of the Month (1958-59), among others. Mulligan moved to the silver screen in 1957 with Fear Strikes Out, his first movie with future partner Alan J. Pakula, who produced To Kill a Mockingbird. Mulligan was known for getting Oscar-caliber performances out of his actors. Gregory Peck, the lead in To Kill a Mockingbird, won an Oscar for his performance in that movie. He also got Oscar-nominated performances out of Mary Badham (To Kill a Mockingbird, 1962), Natalie Wood (Love with the Proper Stranger, 1963), Ruth Gordon (Inside Daisy Clover, 1965) and Ellen Burstyn (Same Time, Next Year, 1978). The Man in the Moon (1991) proved to be, as he anticipates in this letter, his last film. Time magazine's obituary notes the trend Mulligan discusses in this letter. His aura dimmed, it said, as "Hollywood jettisoned sentiment and subtlety for sharks and light sabers." REX McGEE (b. 1936) assisted famed director Billy Wilder on his later films and wrote freelance articles, and screenplays which were optioned but not produced. McGee found greater success after moving back to his native Texas. When he received this letter, McGee was basking in his first big success, the screenplay for Pure Country, starring George Strait (1992), now being made into a stage musical. He scripted a documentary film about Texas, and also the TV movie Where There's a Will (2006). He co-wrote Brokeback Mountain (2005). This letter is from McGee's personal collection. Normal mailing folds. Lightly creased at top left corner. The four pages are stapled together at top left corner. Otherwise, fine condition.