Elliott Kastner
Encyclopedia
Early life and education
Kastner was born in New York CityNew York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
. He got his education at the University of Miami
University of Miami
The University of Miami is a private, non-sectarian university founded in 1925 with its main campus in Coral Gables, Florida, a medical campus in Miami city proper at Civic Center, and an oceanographic research facility on Virginia Key., the university currently enrolls 15,629 students in 12...
and Columbia University
Columbia University
Columbia University in the City of New York is a private, Ivy League university in Manhattan, New York City. Columbia is the oldest institution of higher learning in the state of New York, the fifth oldest in the United States, and one of the country's nine Colonial Colleges founded before the...
. During the fifties he was stationed with U.S. Eucom (United States European Command
United States European Command
The United States European Command is one of ten Unified Combatant Commands of the United States military, headquartered in Stuttgart, Germany. Its area of focus covers and 51 countries and territories, including Europe, Russia, Iceland, Greenland, and Israel...
), in Frankfurt
Frankfurt
Frankfurt am Main , commonly known simply as Frankfurt, is the largest city in the German state of Hesse and the fifth-largest city in Germany, with a 2010 population of 688,249. The urban area had an estimated population of 2,300,000 in 2010...
, Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
and Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
, France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
.
Family
He was the second husband of the interior designer Tessa KennedyTessa Kennedy
Tessa Georgina Kennedy , better known as Tessa Kennedy, is a British interior designer, whose clients include multi-national corporations, royalty, celebrities and many European hotels, restaurants and clubs...
with whom he had two children, a son, Dillon and a daughter, Milica. He was also a stepfather to Kennedy's three sons from a previous marriage: film producer Cassian Elwes
Cassian Elwes
Cassian Elwes is an independent film producer and agent, and is widely regarded as one of the most influential people in the independent film industry.-Biography:...
, artist Damian Elwes
Damian Elwes
Damian Elwes is an English-born, American-based artist. He is known for his series of paintings depicting the studios of 20th century masters and for paintings of the natural world that venture beyond the usual boundaries of landscape painting. His work focuses on human creativity and creation in...
and actor
Actor
An actor is a person who acts in a dramatic production and who works in film, television, theatre, or radio in that capacity...
Cary Elwes
Cary Elwes
Ivan Simon Cary Elwes , known professionally as Cary Elwes, is an English actor. The son of Dominick Elwes and Tessa Georgina Kennedy, Elwes acted in off-Broadway plays during college and moved to the United States in the early 1980s. He is known for his role as Westley in the cult classic The...
.
Career
Kastner started his career as a talent agent at the Music Corporation of AmericaMusic Corporation of America
MCA, Inc. was an American talent agency. Initially starting in the music business, they would next become a dominant force in the film business, and later expanded into the television business...
(MCA). When that agency was dissolved his first assignment as producer came in 1965, with Bus Riley's Back in Town
Bus Riley's Back in Town
Bus Riley's Back in Town is a movie written by William Inge, directed by Harvey Hart, and starring Ann-Margret and Michael Parks.The intense drama depicts a man returning home from three years in the Navy only to find that his girlfriend has married an older man...
. He then temporarily switched his base of operations to England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
where he formed Winkast Film Productions Ltd. with producer Jerry Gershwin based at Pinewood Studios
Pinewood Studios
Pinewood Studios is a major British film studio situated in Iver Heath, Buckinghamshire, approximately west of central London. The studios have played host to many productions over the years from huge blockbuster films to television shows to commercials to pop promos.The purchase of Shepperton...
. Together Gershwin and Kastner would produce several motion pictures including Harper
Harper (film)
Harper is a 1966 film written by William Goldman from a novel by Ross Macdonald. The movie starred Paul Newman as the eponymous Lew Harper . The original music score was composed by Johnny Mandel. Goldman received a 1967 Edgar Award for Best Motion Picture Screenplay...
(1966) from a novel by Ross Macdonald
Ross Macdonald
Not to be confused with John D. MacDonaldRoss Macdonald is the pseudonym of the American-Canadian writer of crime fiction Kenneth Millar...
, and three films based on Alistair MacLean
Alistair MacLean
Alistair Stuart MacLean was a Scottish novelist who wrote popular thrillers or adventure stories, the best known of which are perhaps The Guns of Navarone, Ice Station Zebra and Where Eagles Dare, all three having been made into successful films...
novels: Where Eagles Dare
Where Eagles Dare
Where Eagles Dare is a 1968 World War II action-adventure spy film starring Richard Burton, Clint Eastwood and Mary Ure. It was directed by Brian G. Hutton and shot on location in Upper Austria and Bavaria....
(1968), When Eight Bells Toll
When Eight Bells Toll (1971 film)
When Eight Bells Toll is a 1971 action film set in Scotland, based upon Scottish author Alistair MacLean's 1965 novel of the same name. Producer Elliott Kastner planned to produce a string of realistic gritty espionage thrillers to rival the James Bond series, but the film's poor box office...
(1971) and Breakheart Pass
Breakheart Pass (1975 film)
Breakheart Pass is an American 1975 western adventure film that stars Charles Bronson, Ben Johnson, Richard Crenna, and Jill Ireland. The movie was based on the novel by Alistair MacLean of the same title, and was filmed in north central Idaho.-Plot:...
(1975). He also partnered up with noted producers Alan Ladd, Jr.
Alan Ladd, Jr.
Alan Ladd, Jr. is an American film industry executive and producer. He is famous for giving George Lucas the go-ahead to make Star Wars and remained as Lucas' only support at times when the Board of Directors wished to shut down production...
and Jay Kanter and together they produced the films Villain
Villain (1971 film)
Villain is a 1971 gangster film directed by Michael Tuchner and starring Richard Burton, Ian McShane, T. P. McKenna and Donald Sinden.-Plot:...
(1971), The Nightcomers
The Nightcomers
The Nightcomers is a 1971 British horror film directed by Michael Winner and starring Marlon Brando, Stephanie Beacham, Thora Hird, Harry Andrews and Anna Palk. It is a prequel to The Turn of the Screw.- Plot :...
(1972), Zee and Co. (1972) and Fear Is the Key
Fear is the Key
Fear Is the Key is a 1961 thriller novel by Scottish author Alistair MacLean, and a 1972 British film based upon it.-Plot introduction:In the prologue, set in May 1958, Talbot, owner of "Trans Carib Air Charter Co" was in radio contact with one of his planes en route to Tampa, Florida, as it is...
(1972) also based on an Alistair MacLean novel.
Kastner is also famous for his film adaptations of three Raymond Chandler
Raymond Chandler
Raymond Thornton Chandler was an American novelist and screenwriter.In 1932, at age forty-five, Raymond Chandler decided to become a detective fiction writer after losing his job as an oil company executive during the Depression. His first short story, "Blackmailers Don't Shoot", was published in...
's novels based on the exploits of one of Chandler's most famous creations, Philip Marlowe
Philip Marlowe
Philip Marlowe is a fictional character created by Raymond Chandler in a series of novels including The Big Sleep and The Long Goodbye. Marlowe first appeared under that name in The Big Sleep published in 1939...
: The Long Goodbye
The Long Goodbye (film)
The Long Goodbye is a 1973 neo noir, directed by Robert Altman and based on Raymond Chandler's 1953 novel of the same name. The screenplay was written by Leigh Brackett, who co-wrote the screenplay for The Big Sleep in 1946...
(1973), Farewell, My Lovely
Farewell, My Lovely (1975 film)
Farewell, My Lovely is a neo-noir film directed by Dick Richards and featuring Robert Mitchum and Charlotte Rampling. The picture is based on the novel Farewell, My Lovely by Raymond Chandler.-Plot:...
(1975) and The Big Sleep
The Big Sleep (1978 film)
The Big Sleep was the second film version of Raymond Chandler's 1939 novel of the same name. The film was directed by Michael Winner and stars Robert Mitchum in his second feature film portrayal of the detective Philip Marlowe. The cast includes Sarah Miles, Candy Clark, Joan Collins, and...
(1978) the latter two both starring Robert Mitchum
Robert Mitchum
Robert Charles Durman Mitchum was an American film actor, author, composer and singer and is #23 on the American Film Institute's list of the greatest male American screen legends of all time...
as Marlowe.
Death
Elliott Kastner died of cancer on June 30, 2010 in LondonLondon
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
. He was 80 years old.
Producer
- Bus Riley's Back in TownBus Riley's Back in TownBus Riley's Back in Town is a movie written by William Inge, directed by Harvey Hart, and starring Ann-Margret and Michael Parks.The intense drama depicts a man returning home from three years in the Navy only to find that his girlfriend has married an older man...
(1965) - HarperHarper (film)Harper is a 1966 film written by William Goldman from a novel by Ross Macdonald. The movie starred Paul Newman as the eponymous Lew Harper . The original music score was composed by Johnny Mandel. Goldman received a 1967 Edgar Award for Best Motion Picture Screenplay...
(1966) - KaleidoscopeKaleidoscope (film)Kaleidoscope is a 1966 British crime film starring Warren Beatty and Susannah York. Though not credited as such, the film is an adaptation of Ian Fleming's novel Casino Royale, albeit with the James Bond character removed.-Plot:...
(1966) - The BoboThe BoboThe Bobo is a 1967 British comedy film starring Peter Sellers and co-starring his then-wife Britt Ekland. Based on the 1959 novel Olimpia by Burt Cole, also known as Thomas Dixon, Sellers is featured as the would-be singing matador, Juan Bautista...
(1967) - Sweet NovemberSweet November (1968 film)Sweet November is a 1968 romantic drama film written by Herman Raucher and starring Sandy Dennis, Anthony Newley and Theodore Bikel. The film had originally been written as a stage play by Raucher, but before it was even performed, Universal Pictures got wind of the project and paid Raucher...
(1968) - Where Eagles DareWhere Eagles DareWhere Eagles Dare is a 1968 World War II action-adventure spy film starring Richard Burton, Clint Eastwood and Mary Ure. It was directed by Brian G. Hutton and shot on location in Upper Austria and Bavaria....
(1968) - The Night of the Following DayThe Night of the Following DayThe Night of the Following Day is a 1968 film starring Marlon Brando, Pamela Franklin, Richard Boone and Rita Moreno. Filmed in France, around Le Touquet it tells a simple story: a kidnapped heiress is held hostage in a remote beachhouse on the coast of France.The film starts with Dupont's...
(1968) - Laughter in the DarkLaughter in the Dark (film)Laughter in the Dark is a 1969 French-British drama film directed by Tony Richardson and starring Nicol Williamson and Anna Karina. It is based on the novel of the same name. Nicol Williamson was brought in as a very late replacement for Richard Burton, who had already shot several scenes...
(1969) - The Walking StickThe Walking StickThe Walking Stick is a 1970 film directed by Eric Till and starring David Hemmings and Samantha Eggar. It is based on the novel of the same name written by Winston Graham...
(1970) - A Severed HeadA Severed Head (film)A Severed Head is a 1970 British drama film starring Claire Bloom, Lee Remick, Richard Attenborough and Ian Holm based on a novel of the same name by Iris Murdoch.-Plot:...
(1970) - When Eight Bells TollWhen Eight Bells Toll (1971 film)When Eight Bells Toll is a 1971 action film set in Scotland, based upon Scottish author Alistair MacLean's 1965 novel of the same name. Producer Elliott Kastner planned to produce a string of realistic gritty espionage thrillers to rival the James Bond series, but the film's poor box office...
(1971) - VillainVillain (1971 film)Villain is a 1971 gangster film directed by Michael Tuchner and starring Richard Burton, Ian McShane, T. P. McKenna and Donald Sinden.-Plot:...
(1971) - The NightcomersThe NightcomersThe Nightcomers is a 1971 British horror film directed by Michael Winner and starring Marlon Brando, Stephanie Beacham, Thora Hird, Harry Andrews and Anna Palk. It is a prequel to The Turn of the Screw.- Plot :...
(1971) - Fear Is the KeyFear is the KeyFear Is the Key is a 1961 thriller novel by Scottish author Alistair MacLean, and a 1972 British film based upon it.-Plot introduction:In the prologue, set in May 1958, Talbot, owner of "Trans Carib Air Charter Co" was in radio contact with one of his planes en route to Tampa, Florida, as it is...
(1972) - Zee and Co. (1972)
- The Long GoodbyeThe Long Goodbye (film)The Long Goodbye is a 1973 neo noir, directed by Robert Altman and based on Raymond Chandler's 1953 novel of the same name. The screenplay was written by Leigh Brackett, who co-wrote the screenplay for The Big Sleep in 1946...
(1973) - JeremyJeremy (film)Jeremy is a 1973 film directed by Arthur Barron and starring Robby Benson and Glynnis O'Connor. In 1974, it was nominated for a Golden Globe Award...
(1973) - Cops and Robbers (1973)
- 11 Harrowhouse11 Harrowhouse11 Harrowhouse is a 1974 British film directed by Aram Avakian. It was adapted by Charles Grodin based upon the novel by Gerald A. Browne with the screenplay by Jeffrey Bloom...
(1974) - Rancho DeluxeRancho DeluxeRancho Deluxe is a comedy western film that was directed by Frank Perry and released in 1975. Jeff Bridges and Sam Waterston star as two cattle rustlers in modern-day Montana who plague a wealthy ranch owner, played by Clifton James....
(1975) - Farewell, My LovelyFarewell, My Lovely (1975 film)Farewell, My Lovely is a neo-noir film directed by Dick Richards and featuring Robert Mitchum and Charlotte Rampling. The picture is based on the novel Farewell, My Lovely by Raymond Chandler.-Plot:...
(1975) - Russian RouletteRussian Roulette (1975 film)Russian Roulette is a 1975 film, directed by Lou Lombardo, and based on Tom Ardies' novel Kosygin Is Coming. The story centres on a Canadian Mountie who finds himself engulfed in a KGB conspiracy to kill the renegade Soviet Premier, Alexei Kosygin, during his visit to Vancouver in...
(1975) - 92 In The Shade92 in the Shade (film)92 in the Shade is a 1975 film based on the 1973 novel of the same name by Thomas McGuane.-Plot:The story centers on Tom Skelton, a young man who opens a charter fishing business in Key West, Florida. He enters into a rivalry with a local sea captain named Dance and his partner Carter, who steal...
(1975) - Breakheart PassBreakheart Pass (1975 film)Breakheart Pass is an American 1975 western adventure film that stars Charles Bronson, Ben Johnson, Richard Crenna, and Jill Ireland. The movie was based on the novel by Alistair MacLean of the same title, and was filmed in north central Idaho.-Plot:...
(1975) - The Missouri BreaksThe Missouri BreaksThe Missouri Breaks is a 1976 American western film starring Marlon Brando and Jack Nicholson. The film was directed by Arthur Penn, with supporting performances by Randy Quaid, Harry Dean Stanton, Frederic Forrest, John McLiam and Kathleen Lloyd...
(1976) - SwashbucklerSwashbuckler (film)Swashbuckler is a romantic adventure film produced in the U.S. by Universal Studios and released in 1976. It is a story that takes place in Jamaica in 1718 about a band of buccaneer pirates, led by Captain “Red” Ned Lynch, pitted against a greedy overlord, evil Lord Durant...
(1976) - Black JoyBlack Joy (1977 film)Black Joy is a British film released in 1977, directed by Anthony Simmons. The story of an immigrant country boy in Brixton, London, it has been described as the UK's only example of a "Blaxploitation" movie, a genre more familiar in the United States. It was entered into the 1977 Cannes Film...
(1977) - EquusEquus (film)Equus is a 1977 British-American drama film directed by Sidney Lumet and starring Richard Burton. Peter Shaffer wrote the screenplay based on his play Equus...
(1977) - A Little Night MusicA Little Night Music (1978 film)A Little Night Music is the 1977 film adaptation of the musical A Little Night Music, starring Elizabeth Taylor, Diana Rigg, and Lesley-Anne Down, with Len Cariou, Hermione Gingold, and Laurence Guittard reprising their Broadway roles....
(1977) - The Big SleepThe Big Sleep (1978 film)The Big Sleep was the second film version of Raymond Chandler's 1939 novel of the same name. The film was directed by Michael Winner and stars Robert Mitchum in his second feature film portrayal of the detective Philip Marlowe. The cast includes Sarah Miles, Candy Clark, Joan Collins, and...
(1978) - Absolution (1978)
- The First Deadly SinThe First Deadly SinThe First Deadly Sin is a 1980 American film produced by and starring Frank Sinatra, along with Faye Dunaway, David Dukes, Brenda Vaccaro, James Whitmore, Martin Gabel in his final acting role, and Bruce Willis in his film debut...
(1980) - Man, Woman and ChildMan, Woman and ChildMan, Woman and Child is a novel by Erich Segal. It details the lives of Robert and Sheila Beckwith and their daughters Jessica and Paula.- Synopsis :...
(1983) - Oxford BluesOxford BluesOxford Blues is a 1984 film written and directed by Robert Boris and starred Rob Lowe, Ally Sheedy and Amanda Pays. It is a remake of the 1938 MGM film A Yank at Oxford.-Plot:...
(1984) - Garbo TalksGarbo TalksGarbo Talks is a 1984 American comedy-drama film directed by Sidney Lumet and starring Anne Bancroft, Ron Silver, Carrie Fisher, and Betty Comden as Greta Garbo.The movie was written by Larry Grusin and also stars Catherine Hicks and Steven Hill...
(1984) - NomadsNomads (1986 film)Nomads is a 1986 horror film which was written and directed by John McTiernan and stars Pierce Brosnan and Lesley-Anne Down.The story involves a French anthropologist who is an expert on nomads...
(1986) - Angel HeartAngel HeartAngel Heart is a 1987 North American/British mystery-thriller film written and directed by Alan Parker, and starring Mickey Rourke, Robert De Niro, and Lisa Bonet...
(1987) - White of the EyeWhite of the Eye (film)White of the Eye is a 1987 British thriller film directed by Donald Cammell and starring David Keith and Cathy Moriarty. It was adapted in film by Donald Cammell and his wife China Kong from the novel Mrs. White, written by Laurence and Andrew Klavan....
(1987) - A Chorus of DisapprovalA Chorus of DisapprovalA Chorus of Disapproval is a 1988 British film adapted from the Alan Ayckbourn play of the same title, directed by Michael Winner. Among the movie's cast are Anthony Hopkins, Jeremy Irons, Richard Briers, and Alexandra Pigg....
(1988) - HomeboyHomeboy (film)Homeboy is a 1988 drama film, directed by Michael Seresin. It was written by and stars Mickey Rourke in the role of self-destructive cowboy/boxer Johnny Walker...
(1988) - The Last PartyThe Last Party (film)The Last Party is a documentary film co-written by and starring Robert Downey, Jr. Interviews and commentary cover moments of history during the 1992 presidential campaigns and investigate the issues of the day with Downey's particular brand of off-beat humor and satire...
(1993) - Frank & Jesse (1994)
- Love Is All There IsLove Is All There IsLove Is All There Is is a 1996 romantic comedy film directed by Joseph Bologna and Renee Taylor, who also both star in the movie.- Plot :...
(1996) - Sweet NovemberSweet November (2001 film)-Box office:The film opened at #4 at the North American Box office making $11,015,226 USD in its opening weekend, behind Recess: School's Out, Down To Earth and Hannibal. It would ultimately gross only $25.2 million domestically with an additional $40.4 million overseas to a total of $65.7 million...
(2001) - Opa! (2005)