Quote of the Day

The closest definition of [star quality] was one I heard from David Lean…He told me, “When you are cutting a scene with an excellent actor, you can cut as he finishes the line; but with a star, you can hold the shot for at least another four frames, because that is when the magic happens.”

—Michael Caine, What’s It All About?

Quote of the Day

In the master shot (or long shot) you can afford to be broad; in the medium shot, cut the size of the action to half; and in the close shot, cut the size to half again.

—Michael Caine, Acting in Film

Quote of the Day

If you see some actor doing a piece of business that you admire—steal it. Steal it! Because they did.

—Attributed to Michael Caine

Klaus Kinski with an ax

A few years back, Roger Ebert shared this story, which is one of my favorite Hollywood anecdotes of all time:

Jack Lemmon told me that he was in line at Ace Hardware in Beverly Hills, and the sales clerk kept looking past him. “I may not be the biggest star in the world,” he said, “but, jeez, usually when I stand in line, the clerk will notice me. I turned around, and there was Klaus Kinski with an ax.”

However, in Michael Caine’s new autobiography, The Elephant to Hollywood, which came out in October, we read:

It was in that [hardware store on Beverly Drive] that I had what still ranks as my most terrifying experience in America: I was browsing through the power tool display when I popped my head round the corner and there in the next aisle was Klaus Kinski buying an ax. Never has a shop full of DIY aficionados cleared so quickly….

Conclusion: either Klaus Kinski bought an ax on more than one occasion (which, frankly, is more plausible than it sounds); Lemmon, Caine, and Kinski were all at the hardware store at the same time; or someone is mistaken or confused. Any theories?