Last night James B. Harris came to speak about his role as producer of the 1962 Kubrick adaptation of Lolita. At the time, all films had to get a stamp of approval from the Catholic church’s “Legion of Decency,” so Harris had to go and screen Lolita for the group. At one point, one of the decency guys said, offended, “It seems that Humbert is staring at the photo of Lolita on the dresser and using it as an aphrodisiac so he can make love to Charlotte.” Harris gave the guy a sidelong glance and was like, “Whoa, I don’t know where you’re getting that from,” with the implication like, Man, are you one sick bastard. The guy, embarrassed, let it drop. But of course, that’s exactly what was going on. Harris says, “I should’ve gotten the Oscar for Best Actor for that.”
He also talked a bit about Dr. Strangelove. He and Kubrick had worked out the story as a straight suspense/thriller. Then Harris left to direct his own projects. Kubrick called him up one night and was like, “I had an idea. I want to do it as a comedy.” Harris thought he was crazy. The financiers thought Kubrick was crazy too, and pulled out. But Kubrick was adamant, and got it made as a comedy.
Harris also talked about getting started as a producer. The most important thing, he said, is to make sure you and your friends have rich parents.
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