July 6, 1999
Web posted at: 1:00 p.m. EDT

(CNN) -- Following is an edited transcript of a chat with filmmaker Paul Mazursky, actor, director, writer, producer and author of "Show Me the Magic," held Tuesday, July 6, 1999.

Chat Moderator: Welcome, everyone!

Chat Moderator: Thank you for joining us this evening, Paul, and welcome to the chat room!

Chat Participant: Hi, Paul, nice to meet you.

Paul Mazursky: I'm happy to be here, and I'll try to show you some magic!

Chat Moderator: Why don't you tell us a little bit about your background?

Paul Mazursky: I was born in Brooklyn, New York, in 1930, lived in Brooklyn till 1951 and then moved to Greenwich Village. I became an actor, then a nightclub comic, a writer, and eventually a film director/writer. Now, I'm the author of a book, and I love the experience.

Chat Moderator: How is writing a book different from writing a screenplay?

Paul Mazursky: First of all, there is almost no interference. You work with an editor (I had a great one, Michael Korda), and he mostly gives you good advice. In movies, there are often many executives who know very little and who can be a pain in the ass.

Chat Participant: Mr. Mazursky, I've been a fan of yours since I saw "Last Stop, Greenwich Village," er, "Next Stop, Greenwich Village" at the movies. Was that your first film?

Paul Mazursky: No. My first film was "Bob and Carol and Ted and Alice."

Chat Participant: I saw that.

Paul Mazursky: "Bob and Carol" was a big hit. It was about the so-called sexual revolution. Two couples, who are great friends, eventually try to have an orgy, Natalie Wood, Bob Culp, Dyan Cannon and Elliott Gould. It was funny.

Chat Participant: Mr. Mazursky, what was your most challenging film as a director, and why?

Paul Mazursky: "Moon Over Parador" was quite challenging physically, because there were at times 7.000 extras in Brazil. Also, the actress who was supposed to play Richard Dreyfuss's mother did not show up in Brazil, and I ended up playing the part.

Chat Participant: Paul, today's filmmakers seem to have it all down in terms of technical expertise, but they're missing a valuable component of "life experience," the same component your films possess in abundance. What do you think of today's directors?

Paul Mazursky: There have always been great directors, less great, medium and rotten. Nothing changes. But I do think today is more of a technical time, special effects, etc., and they don't much interest me personally. But there's Marty Scorsese, Jonathan Demme and quite a few other fine directors.

Chat Participant: Who belongs in the rotten category?

Paul Mazursky: Too many rotten to answer. Besides, they know who they are.

Chat Participant: Who was your favorite person to work with?

Paul Mazursky: I've made 16 films, so there are many favorites. Fellini. I loved Elliot Gould and Natalie Wood, George Segal, Art Carney, Shelley Winters, Lena Olin, Angelica Huston, Bette Midler, Nick Nolte and Richard Dreyfuss. Some of them were at times tough, but wonderful.

Chat Participant: I think my favorite film of all time is "Tempest" with John Cassavetes. What was it like to work with him?

Paul Mazursky: Cassavetes was also a great favorite of mine. We were good friends, and he was a terrific energy force. He was wild, passionate and could be very funny. Sort of like me.

Chat Participant: Mr. Mazursky, which directors have inspired your work and helped you create and hone your style?

Paul Mazursky: Among my favorites in terms of inspiration are Fellini, DeSica, Jean Renoir, Preston Sturges, Billy Wilder, George Cukor and Sir Carol Reed. Stylistically I don't really know. I've never tried to imitate.

Chat Participant: Mr. Mazursky, do you find novels a good source of inspiration for feature films?

Paul Mazursky: Novels can be a good source. I've done it twice. "Enemies, A Love Story," by Isaac Singer, and "Pictures of Fidelman," by Bernard Malamud. "Enemies" turned out very well. I never got the money to make "Fidelman."

Chat Participant: What drew you to "Enemies"? I, myself, love the book and the film but wouldn't say it was a well-known novel.

Paul Mazursky: I didn't pick the novel because it was well known. I picked it because I was deeply moved by it. I thought about it for almost 20 years.

Chat Participant: You have a long list of awards; which one means the most to you?

Paul Mazursky: I won the New York Film Critics Award as Best Director for "Enemies, A Love Story." That meant a lot.

Chat Participant: Mr. Mazursky, as an aspiring novelist, would you recommend submission of a novel to a studio for review?

Paul Mazursky: Yes, I would, but don't hold your breath.

Chat Participant: Mr. Mazursky, how would you describe your style of filmmaking?

Paul Mazursky: I wish I knew. But here's a go at it. There is always some humor (I see life in many ways as one cosmic joke). I like stories about real people in crisis, and I don't mean the cops are after them. They're in emotional crisis. And hopefully by the end of the film someone has learned something.

Chat Participant: What do you look for in a story to write a script or make a film from?

Paul Mazursky: I want to get excited, thrilled, turned on. It almost never happens.

Chat Participant: Was there someone special in your family who inspired your efforts?

Paul Mazursky: As my book tells you, I got a lot of inspiration from my mother. She was very possessive but also loved the arts.

Chat Moderator: Tell us about your book and what prompted you to write it.

Paul Mazursky: My book is a series of memoirs, mostly with some of the great people I've known. And it's all interwoven with very personal memories about my mother, my grandparents, my wife and my children and my friends. I wrote it because I had the time and the inspiration.

Chat Participant: Are your most enjoyable conflicts down-to-earth, or do they contain a more fantastical element?

Paul Mazursky: I've done films with fantasy elements ("Moon Over Parador"), but mostly my films are more down-to-earth like "An Unmarried Woman," "Blume in Love," "Down and Out in Beverly Hills," etc.

Chat Participant: Did you enjoy being the voice for the psychologist in "Antz"?

Paul Mazursky: I enjoyed it very much for two reasons. It was fun to be Woody Allen's shrink, and I was well paid.

Chat Moderator: As an actor, what has been your favorite role?

Paul Mazursky: My favorite roles as an actor were in "Two Days In the Valley," a film directed by John Hertzfeld, and my role as Tortshiner in "Enemies."

Chat Participant: How about controversial films? Do you find stories, film or written, written specifically to antagonize the audience entertaining?

Paul Mazursky: I'm always entertained by good films. I'm almost never entertained by exploitation films. It's all a matter of taste. And I admit that sometimes, I break my own rules.

Chat Participant: What advice would you give to an aspiring young screenwriter?

Paul Mazursky: Write. Write. Write. The great thing about writing is that there is always a chance the right person will read it, and that's not true for acting or directing. So write.

Chat Participant: How do you break your own rules?

Paul Mazursky: It's like junk food. I know it's not good for me, but I love candy! And sometimes there's a candy movie ... too broad, too violent, too sleazy ... a guilty pleasure. But I love them once in a while, like "Titanic." I love it. Yes, it was very melodramatic, and I knew the ship was going to sink, and the lovers were in the ice water forever, it seemed, but I loved the ride.

Chat Moderator: Are you working on any projects now?

Paul Mazursky: I am. But I don't like to talk about new things until the day I say "action." It's too easy for things to fall apart. I'm also thinking about a new book.

Chat Participant: Paul, were I an aspiring screenwriter, what do you think would be the best way to start getting my work read as a Hollywood outsider? Do you think the contest circuit is worth it, or is there a better way?

Paul Mazursky: I don't truly think there is an easy answer. But my advice would be to attack on all fronts. Submit your script, for example, to the Sundance Film Festival. Submit to agents. The only thing you have to lose is postage.

Chat Participant Was it fun working with Robin Williams? I really like him, but I think with all his clowning, I might get a little nutso. :)

Paul Mazursky: "Moscow on the Hudson" was Robin's second film. He was a pleasure to work with, very little clowning, and a lot of inspiration acting.

Chat Participant: Is there a story out there you are dying to tell? If you had it all your way, what story would you tell?

Paul Mazursky: A script I mentioned before called "Pictures of Fidelman." It's about a New York painter who is failing and goes to Italy for inspiration. It's funny and powerful and sexy and nutty. Please give me the money.

Chat Participant: How do you feel about the new film trend toward the death or martyrdom of the hero?

Paul Mazursky: This is what I call a bottom-line era. People seem more interested in possessions, greed, results, less so in process. But it's not all black and white. Heroes always change, and so will the movies.

Chat Moderator: What is your favorite non-Mazursky film?

Paul Mazursky: It's impossible to have just one favorite film. It's apples and oranges. You know I love Fellini, and he made many I love: "I Vitelloni," "8 1/2," "Amarcord." "Grand Illusion" by Renoir." "The Third Man," "The Treasure of the Sierra Madre," "Sunset Boulevard" and many others. By the way, Fellini loved pizza and might have loved Atlanta.

Chat Participant: Is it more competitive in the film industry now?

Paul Mazursky: I don't think it's more competitive. But it may be more difficult. They're making fewer movies but more expensive ones. Everybody is kind of nervous about making final decisions. Yes, it's tough. But it's always been a matter of sticking with it. Lots of ups and downs. Otherwise, be a doctor.

Chat Participant: What would you say is the essence of good writing?

Paul Mazursky: There is no such thing as the essence of good writing. Having said that, good writing is writing that thrills you on the page. And movie writing has to thrill you in a way that helps you visualize.

Chat Participant: Aren't today's films just too concerned with the bottom line as opposed to, say, filmmaking in the '70s, where the artist took priority?

Paul Mazursky: I totally agree with the question and the answer is, yes. But there is hope out there in the independent film area. Lots of interesting work is still going on.

Chat Participant: Why are movies so popular today? There are at least 10 new theaters opening in my city, and they are huge 24-screen cineplexes. I thought video was supposed to be the death of the movie theater.

Paul Mazursky: I don't foresee the going-to-the-theater experience going away. It's still more fun with a crowd. You laugh, you shriek, you cry ... you go on dates, and you eat a lot of junk. Of course, you can do that at home, too. But I prefer seeing most films in a theater.

Chat Participant: In your 30 years in Hollywood, how do you feel you have changed. And what is the "magic" there, besides the big bucks, should one happen to make it?

Paul Mazursky: I'm still hopeful that I can make a great, great film. So that's the same, thank God. But I'm also warier about the whole routine. There are so many lies and near misses. The "magic" is the power to transform the audience into a state of exhilaration, different than their normal lives. Magic makes one feel.

Chat Participant: Mr. Mazursky, do you think filmmakers are trying so hard to have "the" blockbuster movie that they have forgotten the basics of good storytelling?

Paul Mazursky: I think there is a tendency to go for fast, loud and violent. But that's only about 75 percent.

Chat Participant: Who are your favorite actors and actresses to watch as a moviegoer?

Paul Mazursky: I loved Mastroianni, Trevor Howard, Groucho Marx, Bette Davis and Errol Flynn. (I know these are old-timers, but they were the ones I grew up with.) Today, I like Jack Nicholson, Warren Beatty, Mel Brooks, Nick Nolte, Richard Dreyfuss, and especially, me.

Chat Participant: Who would you like to work with that you haven't?

Paul Mazursky: There are many. Billy Bob Thornton, William J. Macy, Jeff Bridges, Judy Davis, Kevin Spacey, Annette Bening, Judi Dench and on and on.

Chat Moderator: Any final thoughts?

Paul Mazursky: I like chatting, but I wish I could SEE you all. Bye, for now, and keep reading books and going to the movies.

Chat Moderator: Thank you very much for joining us this evening!

Chat Moderator: Thanks for joining book chat.