American screenwriter, novelist, and sports writer (1914–2009) who wrote the Academy Award-winning screenplay for On the Waterfront. TLS signed “Budd,” two pages, 7.25 x 10.5, September 10, 1966. Lengthy letter to Ben, in full: “Sorry not to answer your note of Aug. 26 sooner. I've been hiding out on an island off the West Coast of Florida, escaping the pressures of Watts for a spell and concentrating on my novel.
Here's the scoop on the Beachboy piece Chiz Schultz queries: It appeared in Los Angeles Magazine, I think the July issue. Collier Young got all excited about it and thought It had the basis of an excellent movie. He is a close personal friend of mine and since it was not a short story but an article on the Beachboy phenomena (in Puerto Vallarta, Acapulco etc.) I gave him a free option on it, with the friendly understanding that we would work out something practical if it should develop. Collie sent it to Harry Brown, the writer, in Mexico. Harry loved the piece and Callie gave him some money to develop it. Collie and I read his first outline together and had a number of constructive ideas on how to improve it. Harry Brown has just sent his revised story outline incorporating those ideas. It is coming along well, but still needs work and I was poised to write Collie my reactions.
Now I don't want to scare Collie at all as I would like to help him get back into feature film production. I don't want to put a financial pressure on him at this moment that he is unable to meet. At the same time I think you should make him aware of the interest from CBS. I think perhaps the time has come if we must withhold this from CBS to set up some practical arrangement with Collie. Perhaps a small sum down as a token option and a larger sum when it is closer to reality and perhaps a percentage or some sharing of producership with Collie. I'm groping for the right approach. It is true that I find myself involved each time I read it in trying to improve the story and I am sure this will follow right through the screenplay, as this is based on a life I have observed the characters and situations stem quite directly from the scenes suggested in the article. Though I must confess I did not think of it as the basis for a movie that was Collier's idea. So handle it with discretion. I don't want to hurt or impede Collie. At the same a free, open option on a rather novel kind of material is foolish Ad had already mentioned that to me as she too thought it could be sold as a film. Because of my long-standing friendship with Collie I hope you won't mind making yourself the "heavy" or you can say that both you and Ad feel that something a little more definite should now be arrived at in the light of Network interest. I don't know Col's arrangement but if it doesn't work out as a feature, maybe it could even be done through Schults with Collie producing it. I believe he has had a relationship with CRS before.
Schultz was also going to consider several of my Hollywood stories that are in Some Faces In The Crowd — ‘My Christmas Carol’ was one he seemed interested in. And I am also sending you the outline, which I did rather quickly for Jo, of ‘Welcome Home, Uncle Nick,’ in which a kind of Rip-Van-Winkle gangster of the old gangster-ridden waterfront days gets out of jail and returned to a changed and reformed waterfront to which he can no longer adjust. It is drawn fairly faithfully on the changing conditions of the New York waterfront, which I check into whenever I go to New York as my old waterfriend priest friends and their longshore followers are still involved.
Those are the only ideas I seem to have for Chiz at the moment. I must say I was impressed with his attitude and enthusiasm and the spirit of freedom to create that he was offering. Perhaps we can get together again when I return.
Sally Bowman tells me that "The Barracudas" is still alive at Chrysler and Revue. I still think it might make an excellent small feature made directly for TV involving flashbacks from the tropical fishing scene. I even had the casting for it Van Heflin or E.G. Marshal for the harassed bookish husband Vince Edwards for the tough, all-physical skipper and Geraldine for the wife temporarily torn between the two. In fact, I didn't want to sell it unless Geraldine could play that part. In this case it isn't nepotism. I can't think of anyone who could play it better.
On this happy professional-domestic note I close — Until the end of September you can reach me directly at: 6916 Pt. O’Rocks, Siesta Key, Sarasota, Florida.” In fine condition, with a light paperclip impression to the top edge.
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