The Kid Stays in the Picture
Release Date:
July 26, 2002
Limited release
"There are three sides to every story: my side, your side and the truth. And no one is lying. Memories shared serve each one differently."
Thus begins this documentary on the life of famed producer Robert Evans. Based on his 1994 autobiography by the same name, The Kid Stays in the Picture - reputedly what Daryl Zanuck said during a dispute over whether Evans should appear in The Sun Also Rises - covers Evans' Hollywood career. Kid traces his rise from lowly clothing executive to actor to the powerful Paramount Studios executive who oversaw such legendary films as Rosemary's Baby and The Godfather to producer of equally-legendary films as Chinatown and Marathon Man, the inevitable fall from grace due to cocaine addiction, and his quintessential Hollywood redemption when, having beaten his habit, he returned to glory in the '90s, producing The Two Jakes, Sliver and The Saint.
There are no actors in the film, as such, but the documentary does make extensive use of stills and film and archival footage to illustrate various phases of Evans' career, including his marriage to Ali McGraw. But the main presence in the film is Robert Evans himself; he is not only the subject of the documentary but serves as narrator as well.
Featuring appearances by a variety of Hollywood luminaries makes this something other than your run-of-the-mill documentary. Historically, though, there is usually not a large audience for documentaries, and The Kid Stays in the Picture looks to follow the usual route of a limited release on the art-house circuit, although good reviews and word-of-mouth could result in a tidy little sum, relatively speaking, at the box office. (Stephanie Star Smith/BOP)
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