THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SATURDAY, June 11, 1994 TAG: 9406100073
SECTION: DAILY BREAK PAGE: B1 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY MAL VINCENT, ENTERTAINMENT WRITER
DATELINE: 940611 LENGTH: Long
``Hey, I was right up there with Bogart and Gable,'' Crystal said. ``It's a strange feeling. I grew up from afar, hearing about George Burns and Bob Hope. Suddenly, now, it's David Letterman, Steve Martin, Robin Williams, Whoppi Goldberg and me. We ARE show business now.''
{REST} Looking sleek and tanned from all that horseback riding for his new film, Crystal bounded into the Sony Office Building in New York City. Clad in Levis, a colorful sport shirt, tennis shoes, and a baseball cap with ``Seinfeld'' plastered across the front, he looks and acts much younger than 46.
On the eve of the opening of the most eagerly awaited sequel of the summer, ``City Slickers II: The Legend of Curly's Gold,'' he's bursting with energy, and hope. ``City Slickers'' was made in 1991 for $25 million, and took in $125 million in the United States alone. Everyone loved it. It made Norman, the newborn calf, a star, and won an Oscar for Jack Palance.
But Crystal resisted studio urgings for a sequel. ``Everywhere I went, people asked me `Where will they go next?' They talked about the guys in `City Slickers' as if they were members of the family they wanted to visit again. They suggested the Amazon, the Pryamids or the Rain Forest.''
Crystal's preference: Send the guys back out West, where they find a treasure map left by the deceased Curly, the weathered veteran played by Palance in the first film.
``For the first film, I thought of `Deliverance' with laughs,'' Crystal said. ``For this one, I thought of `Treasure of the Sierra Madre' with laughs.''
``Mitch Robbins, the guy I play, is a great character in that he is a member of the audience. The audience can do most of the things he can do. They can be in his place,'' Crystal said. ``In the first film, I had to be a poor rider. This time I could show that I could ride. I learned to ride for the first movie but now I have a ranch of my own, and lots of experience.''
Bruno Kirby, who played his sidekick in the first film, refused to return for the second. Reportedly, the two former friends argued on the set. Crystal will only say, ``I offered Bruno the part and he said `No.' That's all I know."
The newcomer to the cast is comedian Jon Lovitz, who plays Mitch's sponging brother, who borrows everything and has no job.
``At one time, we considered writing in a sister for Mitch, but we abandoned that,'' Crystal said. ``I wanted Jon.'' Lovitz scored heavily in ``A League of Their Own'' and received two Emmy nominations for his range of characters on ``Saturday Night Live.''
Crystal was determined, though, that Palance should return, even though his character died in the first movie.
``It simply wouldn't be `City Slickers' without Jack,'' he said. ``He HAD to die in the first film because the guys had to prove themselves by bringing in the herd alone. The two obvious solutions to bring him back were to have either a ghost or a twin brother. I didn't much like `Arthur 2' so we went with the twin brother.''
Palance, who was in a nearby office, said, ``I don't care if they called it `Slick City' or what they did, as long as they paid well - and they did.''
Crystal has a lot riding on ``City Slickers II.'' It is his first film after the dismal failure of ``Mr. Saturday Night,'' a film he starred in, co-produced, wrote and directed. ``It hurt. It still hurts,'' he said. ``If people had seen it and didn't like it, that would be OK. But they just didn't go. They just ignored it. I think the problem was that it was perceived as `a comedy about an old, bitter, Jewish comedian.' They didn't want to see me old. They kept asking if I was going to die. They thought it might not be funny. They asked, `Where is the calf?'
"The thing that hurt me the most was that I went out on a limb and tried something different and they simply didn't trust me. They wanted `City Slickers' again, even then. Personally, I still think `Mr. Saturday Night' is the best thing I ever made.''
Crystal grew up in New York City where his family owned and operated the Commodore Records store and label. He'd get up and do impersonations after dinner for the family. If they liked him, they'd give him dimes.
For 20 years, he knocked about comedy clubs. ``I'm a 20 year `overnight' success,'' he explained. ``My mom came to the screening of `City Slickers II' last night and she stole all the Sweet-'n-Lows at the party afterward. She said she liked it, though.''
For the first time in five years, he didn't emcee the Academy Awards show this year.
``I was at home, like everyone else, asking why it had to be that long,'' he said. ``I simply had lost the excitement for it. It had become like the only thing I did. People would say to me `You are on the Oscar show,' like I didn't do anything else.
I grew up looking at the Oscars. I'd take my toothbrush and accept it like I was accepting an Oscar, practicing my speech. My mother would make a list of the people who won after I fell asleep. When I took the job to emcee it, I took it seriously. I prepared for it for months.''
He said he called his good friend Whoopi Goldberg several times about taking the job. ``I had a great idea for the opening. I would have Whoopi say, `First, we have some unfinished business.' The camera would pan over to Frank Sinatra standing on the sidelines, with a Grammy Award in his hand.
"Of course, he'd get a standing ovation and then he'd say something like, `I just wanted to finish by saying `Thank you.'' Then, Whoopi would say, `Now, we can go on with this show.' I guess they didn't want to give a nod to the Grammys.''
His greatest pride, he claims, is in his family. He and his wife, Janice, have been married for 24 years. He has two daughters - one graduating from college this year and another in high school. ``I remember the first date I ever had with Janice,'' he said. ``It was at a Mets game on July 30, 1966. It was Casey Stengel's birthday. During the comedy club years, I was always known as `the married one.' I'd go right home after my gig, because I might have to run the car pool the next morning.''
Next, he will direct ``Forget Paris'' about five years of a marriage, and what it takes to make a marriage last.
``Most romantic movies, including `When Harry Met Sally. . . ' end when the couple gets together. My film begins with them getting together and then goes for five years. It's a more interesting story.''
Crystal wants to continue to direct, but only occasionally. ``I'm much more comfortable with acting than I used to be,'' he said. ``I'll do that until the face falls. After that, I'll probably spend more time writing.''
But will there be a ``City Slickers III?''
``I don't think so,'' he said. ``If there is, we'll call it `Beating a Dead Horse.' ''
by CNB