Moviestuff Q & A, Part II
Farrell/Minoff Productions and other credits

During the days of MASH you started to also produce films and a documentary. What attracts you so much in this producing business and which do you prefer? Directing, acting or producing?

I like them all. I realized a long time ago that the final decisions, creatively, were often in the hands of the producers, so I wanted to try that. I'm not sorry. While I like to act and enjoy directing, there are some projects I want to be part of making where there aren't any parts for me to play and where there are better, more experienced or more appropriate directors than I, so this way I can still be involved creatively.

You decided to start a production company with Marvin Minoff. When was this partnership with Minoff launched and how did it begin? What were the motives for starting an own production office?

Marvin is married to the actress Bonnie Franklin, with whom Shelley was working on a show called "One Day At A Time" when we started dating. Shelley and Bonnie are close friends, so Marvin and I had a chance to get to know each other. He was an independent producer at the time, and as we got to know each other we discovered we had similar tastes and interests, so tried to put together a couple of projects. In 1985 we formally began Farrell/Minoff Productions. We had a development deal with Disney for a year, which amounted to nothing much. Our first successful production was the feature film "Dominick and Eugene" for Orion Pictures.

Besides Farrell/Minoff you also have another production company, Family Motion Pictures, that produces films for the whole family and encourages parents to take their kids to the movies. With huge corporations such as e.g. Disney, Dreamworks, etc., is there really a chance for such a company to survive?

That remains to be seen. FMP is still in the idea form. We've not produced anything, but have a wonderful script that we're trying to put together the funds to produce.

What are the future projects of Farrell/Minoff?

We have a number of motion picture and television projects in development. Anne Heche is committed to one. Tom Hanks' company has expressed interest in another. I don't know what the next one to come to fruition will be.

Why did the following films/projects appeal so much to you that you decided to produce them?

"Playing JFK was a long-held ambition. I wanted to be part of it as a producer as well as an actor just so I'd have more to say about how it was done."

"Al was a friend who impressed me greatly with his belief in the possibilities inherent in people's willingness to get involved. I think we probably didn't agree on everything, but he was an enormously energetic man who daily demonstrated his thesis that anyone who cares can make a difference. It was a tragedy that he was murdered. We lost a force of nature. I wanted people to know more about him and what he believed and accomplished, so felt the documentary was an appropriate tribute."

I heard that there were plans of making a film about the life of Lowenstein, and that there were already several things being set up for it. I think you were to play Lowenstein in that film. Why was this project stopped?

"There have been a couple of attempts. I was involved with one of them (but not as an actor). It's hard to say why things fall apart in our business, but they do."

"Script written by a friend. I've always felt that Jamie Farr was a more versatile actor than he had had a chance to demonstrate, so wanted to do it with him. I directed the picture as well and had the pleasure to work with the lovely Shelley Fabares.

"I had the idea that we had not understood the emotional dilemma associated with being a returned Vietnam vet and wanted to do a picture that explored that. We did it well, I think. This was before "Post-Traumatic Stress Syndrome" was as well understood as it is today."

The story came to me from an aspiring writer who couldn't get anyone to read his material. He appealed, based upon our common status as ex-marines, to me to read something he had written and I agreed. It wasn't Dominick and Eugene and wasn't right for me, but I encouraged him to write more, suggesting that I thought he had talent.

Six months later he sent me what was essentially the basic story of Dominick and Eugene. I optioned it from him and - a mere nine years later - was able to get it made.

An interesting script came to us from an untried writer. A television network liked it but wanted us to flip the story so the protagonist was a woman. An interesting challenge.

Came out of an article Marvin had read years before about a woman in a project for sexual deviates. A fascinating case. Marvin followed it, met the woman and her parents and said he'd like to try to make a film of it. Again, it took years to get the right combination of ingredients together and finally we did it.

He's an old friend. A crazy, wonderful, free-thinker who Shelley and I met on a peace mission to the Soviet Union in 1985. We thought about trying to put together a story about him early on, but it didn't work. About five years ago he wrote a book and got some attention from some people in the industry, but he wasn't comfortable with them and didn't know who to trust so called me for advice. My partner suggested we try it. The rest is history. "Patch Adams" opens here on Christmas Day starring Robin Williams.

It was a job. I wasn't known as a writer and was asked to partner with a friend. An utterly forgettable experience.

Same friend. Worked together to write a story for a potential series based on a pre-school where my daughter went. It was unique because the staff was largely men and the idea was that caring for toddlers shouldn't be thought of as only women's work. Unfortunately, the network that hired us to write the pilot script decided not to go forward with the production.

I went to the producers one day and suggested a story based on the idea of a kind of wizard of Oz journey for Hawkeye and BJ. Lost in a strange land, they make their way home and meet interesting characters on the way. They said: "Great! Why don't you write it?" That became "Yalu Brick Road". They helped, of course, but that's the kind of place it was. A creative community in which they encouraged us to do more.

"Run For The Money" was the same kind of experience. I wanted to give Bill Christopher, who played Father Mulcahy, a story to do, so thought of doing a kind of 'tortoise and hare' story. They said write it.

"Death Takes a Holiday" came out of the research the producers did. Something like that actually happened.

"War Co-Respondent" came from a question I raised. Hawkeye was the womanizer, as was well known. I said, what would happen if a good looking woman came to the MASH and Hawkeye came on to her in his inimitable style and instead of going for it she looked over his shoulder and asked, "who's the quiet guy?"