Chess Zen

“Of Chess it has been said that life is not long enough for it. But that is the fault of life, not Chess.”

-- William Ewart Napier

( Memorable game against Lasker )

The Devil's Candy

We’re back to that book that chronicles the cinematic debacle that was Tom Hanks’s “Bonfire of the Vanities”, Julie Salamon’s “The Devil’s Candy: The Anatomy of a Hollywood Fiasco”. This excerpt is what gave us the title for the book. They are talking about casting for the Maria character, Hanks’s extramarital lover, which Melanie Griffith ultimately landed.

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“This woman, Maria, she’s the devil’s candy. … When the guys in the audience see her, the guys have gotta go, ‘Unnnnnh!’” He made a gesture that approximated the yanking of a gear shift. “‘I think I might risk my career, my business to get into that!’ … The girl, whoever she is, she’s a good actress, that’s all important, great, great, great. But … it’s just gotta operate on a visceral sexual level. This is the Eve’s apple. If you don’t see that, you don’t see the picture. … We could have gone with an unknown girl if she had that quality. I wouldn’t have gone with, for example, Meryl Streep. No way! She’s attractive, she’s attractive … but would you want to … No way! You wouldn’t! She doesn’t have that Rita Hayworth thing … It’s gotta be, she’s gotta be the devil’s candy!”

-- Peter Guber, the movie’s original producer

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