CANNES 87 : CANNES TAKES FRIEDMAN’S SIDE

CANNES, France —  For about 10 minutes early Saturday morning, American film director Ken Friedman was the toast of Cannes.

When Friedman’s film, “Made In USA” ended its special midnight screening, the spotlight found the first-time director in the balcony and the mostly French audience treated him to a five-minute standing ovation.

Minutes later, Friedman emerged in the lobby of the venerated Old Palais, the central landmark of the Cannes Film Festival, and the audience gave him another round of applause.

“No matter what happens now,” said Friedman the next day, “I have that.”

Not much of anything is likely to happen now. Friedman’s film--at least the version for which he got the standing ovation--may never be seen again. Hemdale Film Corp., the owner, has edited another version of “Made In USA” and that is the one, says Hemdale chief John Daly, that the world will see.

“Our (foreign) customers are very happy with our version,” Daly said Sunday, after expressing dismay that Friedman had come all the way to France to campaign for his rejected cut of the film. “Both versions are strong, but ours has the edge. It is more professional.”

Confused? Welcome to Cannes, where events and opportunities move by so swiftly, it’s easy to overlook an occasional scandal.

Yes, there are two versions of “Made In USA” being shown here. Hemdale has shown its version several times in back-street theaters rented for sales screenings. Friedman showed his version Saturday to moviegoers recruited off the streets for a “film surprise,” an event hosted by the French Directors Society.

According to Friedman, his film had been selected for the prestigious Directors Fortnight series, but the offer was withdrawn when the organizers learned that Hemdale was doing further editing without the director’s cooperation.

Three weeks ago, the French Directors Society invited Friedman to bring his version of the film to Cannes for the midnight sneak.

“It is called the Directors Fortnight,” Friedman said. “They (the organizers) didn’t want to show a film that the director hadn’t approved.”

In France, directors are guaranteed--by law--the final cut on films. So anytime the French hear of an American film being taken away from a director--even a novice like Friedman--they are on the director’s side.

At the midnight preview of “Made In USA,” the audience applauded Friedman even before the film was shown, when it was explained to them why he was here. And all but a handful--remarkable for an early morning screening--stayed to the end to honor Friedman again.

“Audiences are very polite in the Directors Fortnight,” said Daly, when told of the response to Friedman’s film. “You could show them ‘The Johnny Carson Show’ and they’d applaud.”

Friedman and Daly disagree on where their breakdown occurred. Friedman said that he was told one day last November that Hemdale would continue editing the film without him. Daly said Friedman voluntarily abandoned the editing process.

Both agreed, however, that the film Friedman first delivered in September didn’t work. Friedman said the movie was screened for a recruited audience in Hollywood and that “it did not go very well at all.”

“To call it a disaster would be generous,” is how Daly characterized the preview. “I’ve never seen audiences leave in waves like that before.”

“Made In USA” is a harsh teen drama about two Pennsylvania kids (Chris Penn and Adrian Pasdar) who go on a cross-country car stealing binge, vaguely headed for the beaches of Southern California.

Along the way, they pick up two girls--one a frisky Missouri stewardess (Lori Singer) with even wilder ambitions than theirs, the other a runaway Navajo Indian who helps reshape their attitudes.

The common denominator of the foursome is that each is from a place being sacked by environmental polluters. The theme: That a reckless environment breeds reckless people, that America is poisoning its youth.

Friedman admits that he had wildly miscalculated the ability of audiences to be sympathetic to his thieving, wayward characters. For six weeks, he whittled away the offending scenes and tried to reorder the film to hold the audience’s sympathy.

He showed his edited version to students and other groups and said he felt he had succeeded. He showed it to representatives of the Directors Fortnight and they wanted to show it here.

But, he said, Hemdale continued to edit.

For anyone seeing the two versions back-to-back, and without an emotional stake in the outcome of the battle, the Hemdale and Friedman cuts are not dramatically different.

Friedman’s version puts more emphasis on the environmental disease and overall has a greater social urgency. Hemdale’s version emphasizes the film’s comedic elements.

Neither cut rates a standing ovation from this viewer, but pressed to make a choice (and with the benefit of having been told what the movie’s aims are), Friedman’s is the more effective film.

“Made In USA,” which carried the title “USA Today” until the newspaper of that name threatened to sue, will be released by De Laurentiis Entertainment Group in America--probably this summer, according to Daly.

Friedman said he had no idea whether his appearance in Cannes, with an authorized print of his film, would hurt his career or whether there’s a remote chance that Hemdale will reconsider which version to release.

“You can’t avoid fighting for something because you’re worried about your next job,” he said.

Daly said Hemdale will not reconsider. Friedman’s film has had its one and only public showing and the director will have to be content with having had his day in the sun here.

“We backed Ken Friedman, who is basically a writer, and gave him a great opportunity to become a director,” said the angered Daly. “I think the version we have is terrific. It shows the best of his work.

“If he feels differently, what he should do is show his version around when he applies for a job and hope that he gets more work.”

Will Hemdale ever hire Friedman again?

“Not based on that film,” Daly said.