'Harvey scissor hands': Palm Springs director shares career-altering Weinstein encounter

Making a movie, under the best of circumstances, is hard. No one knows that better than Mark Christopher, yet his experience hasn't soured him on the process.

You hear the joy in his voice when he speaks of Ralph Waite (Papa Walton) coming into an audition and blowing him away, or when he talks about the time Cloris Leachman jumped into his arms when he saw her for a part.

You may not be familiar with Christopher's name, but odds are that sometime in the last 25 years, you've seen his feature film writing/directorial debut. But you haven't gotten to see the film he set out to make.

Until now.

The early years

In the early 1990s, Christopher, who now splits his time between Palm Springs and Rio De Janeiro, Brazil, was in his final year of graduate school at Columbia University. He had planned to study film writing, but because of the reception to his first two short films, he ended up in the directors' program.

"For my final-year film, I wanted to do what I called a 'disco American Graffiti,'" Christopher said.

Through a conversation with famed writer Paul Schrader ("Taxi Driver," "Raging Bull"), who Christopher had met through his first short, "The Dead Boys Club," he got the idea to set the film at Studio 54. Schrader suggested the film be seen through the prospective of a young bartender at the club.

"I wanted it [to be] about the young kids ... not the rich and famous," Christopher said. "I wanted to make it about the kids who worked there, to bring you in through the back door, because most of us are not rich and famous and fabulous and beautiful. I wanted to show the club through the eyes of these kids."

As Christopher worked on drafts of the script, Schrader read them and gave feedback. At the time, Christopher's second short film, "Alkali, Iowa" was doing the festival circuit and winning many awards. It was during this period of success that he finished a new draft of "54."

"You did good," Schrader said after finishing it.

Christopher knew it was time to get the screenplay out into the world. Due to the success of "Alkali, Iowa," Christopher was introduced to Jonathan King, who worked at Miramax. King and Miramax loved the script and wanted to bring it to the silver screen.

An unexpected pivot

During the next two years, several rewrites and casting took place. Once those key steps were completed, "54" finally went into production.

While filming, the cast, mostly unknowns when hired, took off. But that's also where their problems began. Christopher had written a gritty drama about a bisexual bartender drawn into a world of vices to which he willingly succumbs. The character of Shane O'Shea, played by rising star Ryan Phillippe, was not written as a particularly nice guy. He does several opportunistic things to get what he wants. The film was a realistic depiction of the hedonistic disco era, filled with sex, drugs and backstabbing.

But when Harvey Weinstein, the head of Miramax at the time, laid eyes on the gritty $8 million film, he saw it as a potential cash cow due to the new, unexpected star power of the cast.

First, Weinstein demanded that 40 minutes of the initial 100 minutes be cut.

"He was known as Harvey scissor hands," Christopher said. "We had all been warned about working with that man. Man, woman, child, we were all warned — unless maybe if you had bad representation — about what a nightmare it was working with him, but I was young and ambitious and thought everything would be fine ... [but] he's a monster as everyone now knows."

Scenes depicting the central characters' bisexuality, unlikeability, and his seedier side were excised. The film's budget ballooned to $13 million to cover reshoots. Contractually, Christopher was forced to film 30 minutes of additional material which reframed the main character by giving him a heterosexual love interest, thus heavily impacting the plot.

Neve Campbell, who had a relatively minor role in the original cut, became a much larger part of the movie as Phillippes' love interest, while Breckin Meyer and Salma Hayek, the other two leads, lost some screen time and had to reshoot updated scenes. Weinstein also took a hatchet to Sherry Stringfield's role.

The most devastating part for Christopher was the excision of a kiss between Meyer and Phillippe's characters. The kiss was key to the plot and spoke to the lead's identification as bisexual.

"Literally the day he (Weinstein) told me he was cutting that, he was going downstairs to jump in a car and go uptown to win a GLAAD award," Christopher recalled. "I told GLAAD what was going on and they still gave him the award."

Weinstein's version of "54" premiered on Aug. 28, 1998, to a critical beating. Stephen Holden of the New York Times noted, " The movie might have worked ... it feels like a crudely patched-together collection of notes for a project that got lost on the cutting-room floor."

Holden had hit on the movie's central problem: Most of the original film was on the cutting room floor. To add insult to injury, Christopher was contractually obligated to keep quiet. He could not tell the press that they were not seeing the film he had written and directed, they were seeing what Weinstein had done to it.

Christopher had sold a realistic, gritty, unabashed portrayal of the hedonistic ’70s, told through the eyes of a character whose need for acceptance and fame gave him an excuse to be truly unlikeable, and watched as it was gutted and turned into a generic love story set against the background of glitter that was Studio 54. This version of the film sits at a 15% out of 100 on the film aggregate site Rotten Tomatoes, with a 29% audience approval rating.

One positive that most critics agreed upon was the outstanding performance of Mike Myers as Steve Rubell, the nightclub's shady owner. Christopher had fought to get Myers, mostly known as a broad comedian at the time.

"That character is written as comic/tragic," he said. He knew Myers could handle the comedy. He also had faith that Myers could tap into the character's tragic aspects.

Finding redemption

In December 1997, Christopher screened the original cut of the film.

"Somehow, don't ask me how, the New York Critic's Circle got ahold of my cut and were set to nominate Mike and more of us for awards," Christopher said. The association pulled the nominations when Weinstein's cut hit theaters.

Opportunities that had been offered Christopher were rescinded, and he was put in "director jail" as he puts it.

Flash forward 25 years. Weinstein is a convicted rapist being held at Twin Towers Correctional Facility in Los Angeles. Miramax, having been sold by Disney in 2010, has new leadership, and you can rent "54: The Director's Cut" on VOD.

"Jonathan King and I had pretty much been trying to get a director's cut made since Weinstein sold the company," Christopher said. "I put together a director's cut that made it into Outfest in 2008. Don't ask me how they got it, but they got a copy."

Christopher said tickets sold out faster to that screening than any other in Outfest history.

While Rotten Tomatoes does not have a separate review site for the director's cut, 1398 watchers on Amazon Prime have given the director's cut 4.5 out of 5 stars.

When Christopher and King told this to the new regime at Miramax, the official director's cut became a thing. Zanne Devine, then head of Miramax, knew the story of the Weinstein cut and wanted to get a director's cut out. Christopher was given a budget and told not to go one penny over.

"Thanks to the wonderful Nancy Valley, my post-production manager, and David Kittridge, my editor of the director's cut, and Jonathan King, of course ... we brought it in."

The film screened at The Berlin International Film Festival in 2015 and was a massive hit.

While Cristopher notes there was footage that could not be found, this version represents about 92% of his original vision.

"Hey, 92% is better than 10%," he said, letting out a hearty chuckle. The original footage that was restored to make the director's cut was located just before it was set to be destroyed.

Apparently, there are also several unofficial cuts that were released in various countries. Christopher found out that when Weinstein realized what a mess he had made, he began slowly, and without Christopher's knowledge, putting chunks of the original footage back in the film and sending those cuts out.

Persistence pays

Despite all of this, Christopher still loves directing.

"Directing comes easily to me. It's very natural for me. I love camera work. I was a photographer and an actor before I became a writer, and directing brings it all together."

These days, Christopher's focus is an original musical. "Mid-Century Moderns," which he created with producing partner Dan Gelfand, that debuted April 20 at The Desert Rose Playhouse.

"That process was really helpful to me as a writer and director. It taught me a lot about the script," Christopher said. He ended up recording one of these readings, and then sent the tape to The Desert Rose's artistic director, Robbie Wayne. He loved it.

After years of rewriting and workshopping, the first production was ready for desert dwellers to enjoy.

But why a musical? Christopher said he wanted to fill a perceived void — there had never been a quintessential "Palm Springs musical." Not a musical about Palm Springs itself, but the feel of Palm Springs. He based the lead on his cousin in Milwaukee, now in her 80s, his mom and his sisters.

Set in 1966, right before the big wave of women's liberation movements, the musical is a fun, joyful piece that has something to say.

"Woman in the Midwest were so held down by men," he said of that time period. "They had to break through."

The show follows Marian Popecky (Christine Tringali Nunes) and her journey from frump to fabulous. And the set design will reflect this transformation, because The Desert Rose is giving the small show a big, beautiful production. Of the six actors, four are cast in multiple roles, which the show jokingly acknowledges.

"It's a show that speaks to a lot of people," Christopher said. "Above all, it entertains. It's an incredibly fun show to come to when you're in Palm Springs, because it is in love with Palm Springs, but it's not about Palm Springs."

Originally scheduled to premiere before COVID-19 hit, the show was postponed until February 2022. During the Omicron surge, it was delayed yet again.

"It was crushing when we got pushed because of Omicron, but I'm just really happy with the April dates," he said.

Written and directed by Christopher, The show is a homegrown affair using local crew and actors. Along with the above mentioned Tringali Nunes, the show stars Robbie Wayne, Dana Adkins, Gary Powers, James Owens, Carlos Garcia.

"My hope is the show will have a long run ... I'm looking for a 'The Fantastics,'" he said with a laugh. "That ran in a small theater in my neighborhood in New York for 25 years. That would be ideal."

Giving back to his community

In addition to stage directing, these days, Christopher's other focus is teaching.

His first higher education job, teaching a creative producing class at Carnegie Mellon University Los Angeles, was a fluke. But he ran with it, and went on to teach at Columbia University, Drexel University and Chapman College.

"After Martha Coolidge (director of "Valley Girl" and "Real Genius") was injured in a horse riding accident, Chapman College gave me some of her directing classes," Christopher said. After teaching at several institutions, Christopher decided he wanted to teach in his own community.

Now, he teaches on-camera acting at College of the Desert. The class is a hybrid directing/acting class where you not only learn the process of building an engaging on-camera performance, you also learn how to direct actors for on-camera work. Having taught the class virtually the past couple years, he is pleased to be back with his students, in person, this semester.

"There is an exterior aspect to acting for the stage. What your body does on the stage is incredibly important," he said. "In film, it's an inside job. It has to all be internal so that it comes out in your eyes and on your face."

No matter your age, Christopher said, if you're interested in acting, it's never too late.

"Cloris Leachman was originally cast as 'Disco Dottie' in '54.' Due to scheduling issues, she could not film the part and Ellen Albertini Dow stepped in," Christopher recalled. "She was an amazing force and an incredible inspiration. She started acting in her late 70s and had an amazing 20-year career. She is the ultimate 'it's never too late.'"

A lesson learned

The experience Christopher had making "54" and watching as it was taken from him is still a painful one. It seriously affected the trajectory of his career. But he went through it, learned from it, and, as few of us get to do, rectified the problem with his director's cut, which you can now watch from the comfort of your home.

"Actors have to be willing to make mistakes, or they will never find the truth of what the are trying to do. The camera will not allow you to mask the truth. You have to tell the truth" Christopher said.

Substitute the word "people" for the word "actor" and that statement is something we can all learn from.

Kevin Mann is a Desert Sun intern who writes about arts and entertainment. Email him at kmann1@palmspri.gannett.com.

This article originally appeared on Palm Springs Desert Sun: Palm Springs director gets redemption after Weinstein tanked his film