With the loud declaration 'I'm walkin' here,' a gritty, explicit film about a male prostitute (Jon Voight) and a consumptive…
struggled to get financing and upset preview audiences. “When we started having screenings, people would get up and leave. They were so offended,” Hoffman recalls. The actor tells EW that audiences and financiers alike bristled at the explicit sexual content, as well as the film’s gay overtones.
Yet Hoffman was overseas during the ceremony, certain that an ailing John Wayne would win Best Actor . Not that he places much stock in awards. “There’s good work and there’s great work and there’s work that’s less than good — it’s more of a symbolic award,” Hoffman says. He persuaded Schlesinger to meet him at the automat Horn & Hardart, on 42nd Street, late at night. “A lot of actors [ate there], but late at night the clientele changed because it was 42nd Street in those days. That was hookers and hustlers and drugs — that was 42nd Street. Very disreputable,” Hoffman remembers. “I wanted him to see that I [could] mix in with those people. He was talked into it, and he met me there.
The point has since been disputed, with some of the production team claiming it was scripted, but Hoffman says that’s simply not true. “The ‘I’m walkin’ here’ came out — it was not written. It was not scripted,” he insists.
Canada Latest News, Canada Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
How I learned to stop worrying and ... ahem ... love the Oscars' best picture choiceWe can't control what wins best picture at the Academy Awards. Can we control our emotions when our favorite movie doesn't win?
Read more »
Twitter Might Light on Fire If 'Joker' Wins Best PictureTodd Phillips and Joaquin Phoenix's 'Joker' is in the running for the Best Picture Oscar. Here's why people will probably be mad if it wins.
Read more »
Why 'Once Upon a Time in Hollywood' Should (And Shouldn't) Win Best PictureQuentin Tarantino's 'Once Upon a Time in Hollywood' is in the running for the Best Picture Oscar. Here's why it should and shouldn't win.
Read more »
1917 Star Dean-Charles Chapman on the Rings He Wore to Get Into CharacterDean-Charles Chapman stars alongside George MacKay in the award-winning film, 1917, which is up for Best Picture at Sunday’s Oscars
Read more »
The 39 Best Oscars Red Carpet Dresses of All TimeThe 39 best Oscars red carpet dresses of all time, picked by Vogue editors.
Read more »
Box Office Milestone: 'Little Women' Strolls Past $100M in U.S.The movie is nominated for six awards at Sunday's Oscar ceremony, including best picture.
Read more »