Original-Cin Q&A: Director of Liza Minnelli Documentary Discusses Her Many Mentors
The singer. The performer. The legend. Writer, producer and director Bruce David Klein gives us an up-close-and-personal look at the life of Liza Minnelli in his new documentary, Liza: A Truly Terrific Absolutely True Story.
In the film, Minnelli confronts a range of personal and professional challenges following the tragic death of her mother, Judy Garland, in 1969.
Bonnie Laufer spoke with Klein about getting unlimited access to Liza and never before seen footage to produce this eye-opening and very personal documentary.
CLICK HERE to read Liam Lacey’s review of Liza': A Truly Terrific Absolutely True Story which opens January 31.
O-C: This was such a detailed and interesting documentary about Liza Minnelli. How on earth did you get this started and gain her trust?
BRUCE DAVID KLEIN: Part of it, I like to think, had to do with my credibility and past projects. I like to think in terms of my history with Liza, which was that I was too young to see Cabaret when it came out, but I saw the poster, and the poster was in my eyes as a young kid, very naughty. It kind of drew me in and I wanted to see it.
Liza at home.
Then I saw Arthur in 1980 and I said, ‘My God, what a funny comedic actress,’ not realizing that it was the same woman in Cabaret. So I went back and started watching her early stuff, The Sterile Cuckoo and Cabaret.
And in 2008, I had this very powerful experience with her that I think informed me in a way, that when we finally did talk to Liza, it was, oh, okay, we're going to trust this guy.
O-C: What was that profound experience?
KLEIN: In 2008, she appeared on the Broadway stage in Liza at the Palace, and I went and saw it. There were a lot of questions at that time about her health and personal life. She had just had hip surgery. She had just gone through a crazy marriage. There were a lot of questions whether she could still sing.
But, I will never forget, the audience was hushed, and the spotlight came on Liza, she came out, and everybody sort of held their breath in anticipation.
Director Bruce David Klein
Then she literally did one of her signature hand movements, and the audience lost its mind in a way I had never seen in my life. It was an incredible thing to see because people were not only giving her a standing ovation, they were standing on Broadway seats with tears running down their cheeks, grown men, grown women, applauding.
It was at that moment I realized, my God, this woman has a real profound connection with her audience in a way that wasn't just, “We like her songs,” or, “We liked her in Cabaret.” The connection went deep.
So when we first started talking to Liza and her team about making this documentary, I like to feel that I had some credibility and I did tell them that story.
O-C: It’s always great when you can connect to a subject that you really want to tell their ‘real’ story.
KLEIN: The real game changer was when they said Liza had just found 25 hours of footage from the 1970s that had never been seen before. And of course, our jaws dropped.
Her team gave us all the footage to go through, and when we brought it to the office and we started watching it, we watched it with people from different generations, we were just blown away by the explosive talent.
This was the “It” girl at the height of her power. She was on the cover of Time and Newsweek the same week, which I don't know if people today realize what that meant. I mean, that honour traditionally went to presidents and popes, not performers.
So when we saw that, we realized that this world of the ‘70s had to be the Liza story. The Liza story was about how Liza became Liza. And she became Liza after her mother's death in the early ‘70s. So, once we pitched that to Liza and her team we were off to the races.
O-C: What a gift getting all of that footage, such a treasure trove. I have to say that I always felt bad for her mainly because she was always going to be seen as Judy Garland and Vincente Minnelli’s daughter. As we see in the documentary there was so much insensitivity from many journalists and the ridiculous questions she had to endure.
KLEIN: We were blown away when we looked at some of the footage from the ‘70s, not just ours, but all the ‘70s footage, particularly the interviews with journalists. We couldn't believe the questions they were asking her. Things like, ‘You're never going to be as talented a singer as your mother’ or ‘You don't really have movie star looks.’
In the film, there's one horrific scene where a journalist actually asked her, ‘What does it feel like to be ugly?’ Just mind-blowing you would not believe it. And yet, what I think that does, what I hope that does, is show that although Liza was born on third base, how difficult her road was.
We all talk about, somebody's privilege I think in Liza's case, her privilege was actually a double-edged sword. There were a lot of really bad things about being the daughter of not only Judy Garland, but also Vincent Minnelli, who was literally a visionary of huge musicals, at MGM, that whole Golden Age. And to have them as your parents, is extraordinary.
Think of how many celebrity children of legends who have become legends on their own? Hard to find any, right? So I think the fact that she did become a legend on her own, becoming an EGOT winner, and so much more is extraordinary. She made it on her own and that must be a good feeling.
O-C: I also think that she has really surrounded herself with some pretty good people who genuinely love her and wanted to help her, who weren't out for profit, from what I could see anyway.
KLEIN: What's amazing is how open she is, giving some of these people the credit for her success and support, which is really unheard of for somebody of legendary status.
One of the things you do when you're making a film, you try to incorporate themes that are important. The most fun thing is always finding themes that you didn't put in but came out anyway, and one of them that made me so happy, which was not really planned, was that the film became a great celebration of the power of mentors who transform us.
Many people keep people at arm's length and don't really give what is available to be taken. Liza was the exact opposite. She sought out mentors. She very consciously and very aggressively sought out people who would make her better.
Of course, it helps that her mentors were all geniuses. (Laughs) Who wouldn’t want Halston by their side? Liza herself says in the film, which is one of my favorite things, she says, ‘I think I was really good at picking people. I think that's my talent.’ I think it's true, and I think the results speak for themselves,
O-C: Okay, but having said that, maybe not so much with her choice of husbands.
KLEIN: (Laughs) Good point!
O-C: There’s quite a long list, men who include one of my all-time favourites, Peter Allen who also came out as gay. Who do you think ultimately was the love of her life?
KLEIN: People we interviewed said the love of her life was Peter Allen. She always appreciated his genius and loyalty. Talking from a close relationship and mentor standpoint, the loves of her life were probably Halston, Fred Ebb and Charles Aznavour. I think Halston, for a longer period of time, certainly in her crucial years, and the amount of time they spent together.
And Fred Ebb was way beyond a friend. He was not just a shoulder to cry on, he was there for her night and day if she needed anything. Her very close friend and collaborator Michael Feinstein says everything she said on stage was written and crafted by Fred Ebb.
From a husband perspective, I think Peter Allen was her true love. They loved each other until the day he died, sadly and tragically of AIDS. When Liza talks about Peter Allen, she really does focus on the talent. She loved him as a person, and he was very funny but she was in awe of his talent.
O-C: When you finished the doc, and having spent so much time with her, what ultimately surprised or impressed you most about her?
KLEIN: There were several things, but the one thing that really stood out was her ability, as I said earlier, to open her heart to mentors and let people in.
Number two, I was actually going to take it out of the film, the whole section on her and her friends, because it seemed so cliche. “Oh, we're going to do a thing about a celebrity and friends are so important to her.”
But I quickly learned that friends are insanely important to her. I think the experience of meeting Liza is the most eye-opening thing, in that you know you're going to be spending time with and learning so much about an icon, and a legend. And your natural instinct is, “I loved you in Cabaret. I love all your albums,” and that's all great.
But the unnerving thing about Liza is, after you do that, shower her with praise and admiration. She turns it right around and says, “Tell me about you.” She leans in, and asks for a follow-up. ‘Tell me about your aunt. Where does she live?’
You realize very quickly she actually cares. And it is, as I say, very unnerving, especially for a celebrity to care so much about you. And she certainly feeds off that.
She feeds off the love of an audience, and she needs the friendship and these really strong relationships. Even if she's just met you for a minute or two, you feel like you could call her the next week and ask her what she ate for dinner. She's just so open and so friendly, and that was a really eye opening experience.
OC: I loved seeing how feisty she still is, directing the camera to shoot her from a certain angle, caring so much how she looks and comes across.
KLEIN: She's so wise. Classic, Liza right?
O-C: Lastly, what was her reaction to watching the documentary?
KLEIN: I think one of the things that she liked was that it wasn't even just about her life, but it was about celebrating her mentors.
And I think that is something really important to Liza, to get that out, that these certain people invented her. I think she was very pleased that we ended up kind of crafting the film around those stories.