{"id":121319,"date":"2016-09-01T06:17:47","date_gmt":"2016-09-01T10:17:47","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.sheilaomalley.com\/?p=121319"},"modified":"2016-09-01T09:09:06","modified_gmt":"2016-09-01T13:09:06","slug":"to-match-the-shoes-with-the-jacket-is-fey-to-match-the-shoes-with-the-hat-is-taste-gene-wilder","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.sheilaomalley.com\/?p=121319","title":{"rendered":"“To match the shoes with the jacket is fey. To match the shoes with the hat is taste.” – Gene Wilder on the Willy Wonka costume sketches"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"gene-wilder-435\"<\/p>\n

\nIn Gene Wilder’s book Kiss Me Like a Stranger<\/a><\/i>, he describes his first meeting with the director Mel Stuart, before he had decided to do it. He had reservations. He had an idea for what would dispel those reservations. Listen, and learn. This is how specific he was. This is how much IN the dream-space he was of the character, before he had even agreed to do it. This is how smart he was about script and character analysis. Those who think actors just do what the director tells them … well, they can’t have ever been involved in a creative process, ever. But this? Gene Wilder here? <\/p>\n

This is a unique level of engagement with a script, make no mistake.<\/p>\n

Although I liked Roald Dahl\u2019s book Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, I wasn\u2019t sure if I wanted to play Willy Wonka. The script was good, but there was something that was bothering me. Mel Stuart, the man who was going to direct the movie, came to my home to talk about it.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat\u2019s bothering you?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen I make my first entrance, I\u2019d like to come out of the door carrying a cane and then walk towards the crowd with a limp. After the crowd sees that Willy Wonka is a cripple, they all whisper to themselves and then become deathly quiet. As I walk towards them, my cane sinks into one of the cobblestones I\u2019m walking on and stands straight up, by itself \u2026 but I keep on walking, until I realize that I no longer have my cane. I start to fall forward, and just before I hit the ground, I do a beautiful forward somersault and bounce back up, to great applause.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201d \u2026 Why do you want to do that?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cBecause from that time on, no one will know if I\u2019m lying or telling the truth.\u201d<\/p>\n

Mel Stuart looked a little puzzled. I knew he wanted to please me, but he wasn\u2019t quite sure about this change.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou mean \u2013 if you can\u2019t do what you just said, you won\u2019t do the part?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThat\u2019s right,\u201d I answered.<\/p>\n

Mel mumbled to himself, \u201d \u2026 comes out of the door, has a cane, cane gets stuck in a cobblestone, falls forward, does a somersault, and bounces back up \u2026\u201d He shrugged his shoulders. \u201cOkay!\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Imagine Willy Wonka without that trip. Imagine Willy Wonka without that disturbing first entrance. Impossible. Best of all: Mel Stuart filmed it exactly as Gene Wilder told him to. Shot for shot. <\/p>\n

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