Ty Ambrose
The idea to alter the novel to fit the script was most likely from Jackie Goldman; Ty Ambrose was as much of a fan as a producer could be. Legend has it that when Ambrose read Orenda’s first draft—a thing he was notorious for never doing—that he sobbed openly in his office, loud enough for his longtime assistant, Stacy Sutherland, to hear. Ambrose immediately signed off on a budget they could not afford, convinced it would make untold millions.
When Jackie Goldman hired Pete Alan to trim the script to an affordable size and broaden the audience by taking out the mature elements, Ambrose would then hire Smith to direct and give him cart blanche, indirectly undoing the attempts to reign in the picture.
Shortly after having sold half his studio to Jackie Goldman, Ambrose’s wife of twenty years would file for divorce. When I spoke to Goldman, he said:
Keep reading with a 7-day free trial
Subscribe to A Visitor's Guide to The Realm to keep reading this post and get 7 days of free access to the full post archives.