Jack Nicholson Prank that annoyed Stanley Kubrick

There are many moments from the movie that have found their place in the Hollywood Hall of Fame, whether it’s Jack’s crazy madness when hacking away at the door, Wendy’s discovery of her husband’s so -called ‘novel’ or the disturbing tracking shots like Danny Pedaler around the deserted hotel. However, there is a scene that is continuously studied and picked apart that is found as a master class in acting and arguably the most disturbing monologue from the whole film.

After his showdown with Wendy, Jack leads to the bar and sits down to a drink with a bartender who is only visible to him. He mocks his wife’s parenting tactics and describes loosely an incident that once took place between him and his son, with the implication that Jack was intoxicated and his alcoholism led him to hurt Danny, despite trying to tone down the violence or effect of the event. It is a cool moment that reflects his full descent into complete delusions and denial that covers his own mental instability by diverting and moving the blame on everyone except himself.

Understandably, this would be a pretty test scene for movies, especially considering Kubrick’s reputation for several roofs. But one of Nicholson’s co -stars, Joe Turkel, described Nicholson’s own way of infusing gun at the moment and said, “Halfway by shooting one of our roofs, Jack leaned to me, at the bar and said ‘Joe, we ‘Has shot this thing for three weeks. Here’s what to do. I get crazy – I start four feet in the air and then go up into the stratosphere. ‘The opening line should have been,’ Hi Lloyd, it’s good to see you. ‘ But he said, ‘Lloyd, how the hell are you? I haven’t seen you in a month of fucking Sundays. ‘I said,’ Splendid, Mr. Torrance ‘when he got wilder and wilder’.

While this added an element of surprise to a scene that had been killed, Kubrick was originally less valued by Nicholson’s deviation from the manuscript. Turkel continued and said, “I could see Stanley getting angry. After we finished, Stanley went on and said, ‘Gee Jack, which opens a brand new can of corn.’ I broke up, Jack fell on the floor and laughed, and Stanley knew he was having. And he roared ”.

Sometimes improvisation is the best tool for keeping a scene fresh and preventing your ideas from coming across as predictable, and despite being known for his careful attention to detail, this might add something new to the scene, like Kubrick even couldn’t conjure up.

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