Alex Simon:How were the producers able to get this amazing cast (McDowell, Helen Mirren, John Gielgud, Peter O'Toole) for what turned out to be an epic hardcore porn flick?
Malcom McDowell: What attracted us all to it was a script by Gore Vidal. What happened was, when Bob Guccione, the Penthouse magazine founder who produced the film, shot all this hardcore footage two years after the film had been completed and then spliced it in. I mean, it was absurd, because the footage didn’t even match much of the time. There would be a shot of me smiling, looking at what as supposed to be my horse or something, and then suddenly they’d cut to two lesbians making out! It was just awful! Vidal had his name removed from the film, but of course none of the cast could do that, because there we were, up on the screen. But on the positive side, I got to work with Peter O’Toole, John Gielgud, and Helen Mirren again. But needless to say, we were all pretty appalled by the final product.
I remember seeing Malcom on a late night show where he told a funny story about the first screening of the film attended by himself, Gielgud, O'Toole at al, and afterwards they were all stunned in the lobby and Gielgud was saying..." I can't believe I'm in a porno. They were all pretty much in shock until O'Toole suggested they all get drunk. LOL
Probably more than you wanted to know.
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