Why was Robert Redford chronically late to the set of The Sting?
Paul Newman and Robert Redford in The Sting
Everett
The second and final duet between screen legend Paul Newman and Robert Redford, in the 1970s stingproved to be more popular at the box office than his first film in 1969 Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid. The film — about a group of overconfident men plotting cons in the Great Depression — was a dream shoot on a global set, except for one persistent annoyance: Redford was always late.
To celebrate the 50th anniversary of its seven Academy Award wins, Behind the Team sting — Producers Michael Phillips and Tony Bell (the third producer, Julia Phillips, is Michael’s ex-wife and author of the book You will never eat lunch in this city againdied in 2002) and was joined by screenwriter David S. Ward Hollywood Reporter‘s It happened in Hollywood A podcast for fun conversation about film production.
“He always felt incompetent, that he was hired because of his blue eyes,” Phillips says of working with his hero, Newman, who was 48 during filming. “He was just a very humble guy, very humble. The first day he showed up on the set. And he was a giant, you know, a hero to me. And I was completely blown away. And he came up and said, ‘Hi, I’m Paul.’ Great text I got here. I hope not Spoil it.
“He was a happy presence in the group,” Phillips continued. He always made popcorn, always told jokes, was always professional, always on time, and made fun of his mistakes. So it was a privilege.”
Redford, who was 37 at the time, was happy to work with him on set, too — that is, once he got on set. “Redford was chronically late,” Phillips reveals. “That was it, and it never ended either.” The star usually arrives 40 minutes late each day. Eventually, the constant delay led to a confrontation with his co-star.
“One day, Newman tore him apart over it,” Phillips recalls. “Paul was the biggest star. He said something like: ‘Who are you – a movie star?'” Redford shrank from him. The reprimand led to a slight improvement, as Redford began showing up only 20 minutes late instead of 40. Bell describes the tardiness as a “psychological flaw.” …and being forced to not show up on time.” Comes with the mantle of being a star. I did a movie with Steve McQueen. Same thing.”
The delay did not improve with age. Ward worked again with Redford in the 1980s Milagro Penfield WarWhich Redford starred in and directed. “You’re supposed to start filming at 7:00 a.m.,” Ward says. “And it must be 9:30. And we still haven’t seen him – and suddenly, we see this rider and the horse riding across the mesa in the distance. The AD had some binoculars: ‘Yes, there’s Redford.’ … Then he came to get ready and didn’t say anything about being late.” As for the rest of the matters, they were normal and professional, and he did not play the role of God, and he was not offensive to anyone.
“I don’t know what it is,” Ward continues. “Maybe he had some sort of superstition about showing up on time. He made Cheech Marin wait two days at Sundance to audition (for Milagro). He brought it to the audition on Tuesday and it didn’t get to him until Thursday. “He put it at Sundance in a nice booth and everything, but Sheesh was losing his mind.”
the scorpion With a total of $156 million (equivalent to $1.1 billion in 2023), while Butch It earned $102 million ($889 million today). Both films were elegantly directed by George Roy Hill and were very popular with the Academy: Butch It was nominated for seven Academy Awards and won four (including Best Original Screenplay), but the scorpion The film won seven out of 10 nominations, including Best Picture, Best Original Screenplay, and Best Director for Hill.
