Times Square Press Material folder (post 3 of 5)

14 May, 2015 Sean 0 Comments 1 category

“… in one of those inexplicable chance occasions, out of the blue, Robin Johnson appeared…”

Four more stills from the Times Square U.S. press kit.

Publicity still of Trini Alvarado and Peter Coffield from the "Times Square" US Press Materials folder. Text: (on image) TS-117-13/15 (on border) TIMES SQUARE AFD ©1980 Associated Film Distribution — TS-117-13
Trini Alvarado stars as the troubled daughter of an ambitious New York politician, played by Peter Coffield, and his lack of attention turns her into a rebellious runaway in “Times Square.”

Publicity still of Robin Johnson and Trini Alvarado in the "hideout" in Pier 56 from the "Times Square" US Press Materials folder. Text: TS-94-10A/13 TIMES SQUARE AFD ©1980 Associated Film Distribution — TS-94-10A
Robin Johnson and Trini Alvarado co-star as two runaway teenagers in New York who create their own bohemian life style in a revolt against authority in Times Square.

Publicity still of Robin Johnson and Trini Alvarado on the northwest corner of 50th Street and 8th Avenue, from the "Times Square" US Press Materials folder. Text: TS-61-14/10 TIMES SQUARE AFD ©1980 Associated Film Distribution — TS-61-14
Trini Alvarado as Pamela Pearl and Robin Johnson as Nicky Marotta become minor media celebrities when their bizarre runaway escapades are reported on radio by an all-night disc jockey in “Times Square.”

Publicity still of Robin Johnson, Trini Alvarado, and Miguel Pinero in the Cleo Club, from the "Times Square" US Press Materials folder. Text: (on image) TS-104-17A/7 (on border) TIMES SQUARE AFD ©1980 Associated Film Distribution — TS-104-17A
Trini Alvarado is a novice dancer on the runway of a sleazy Times Square nitery but keeps the job as a teenage attraction with the encouragement of her fellow runaway, played by Robin Johnson (lower left), in “Times Square.”

I don’t really have anything to say about these, but when have I let that stop me.

It means nothing, but I notice in the first pic, Pammy’s dad is on the right, looking down at her, and in the rest, Nicky is to the left and is looking up at Pammy (or would be if her head was turned; her eye level is below Pam’s). This is just an artifact of the four pictures I happened to post here, but, still…

The second pic: Robin sure rocked that Union suit, huh?

The third pic: this is another shot from the girls’ escape from the plainclothes cop in the Adonis Theater, as they’re about to descend into the subway at 50th Street and 8th Avenue. There’s a screengrab of this shot towards the bottom of this post and another photo from this scene is the third image in the gallery of close-ups in this post, in a collage with images of Times Square (the street).

The fourth pic of Pammy’s dancing debut is from the session that produced this. There’s yet another shot that will be used on a UK lobby card.

As usual, none of these are the actual shots from the film.

To punch up the Robin content in this post, here are the first five pages of the eight-page “Production Information” text packet. (Robin isn’t mentioned on the last three pages.)

Production Information p. 1, from the "Times Square" Press Materials folder Text: TIMES SQUARE PRODUCTION INFORMATION About The Motion Picture... "Times Square" bursts on the screen with the earthy exuberance of the famed New York City crossroads, itself, and depicts the energy and antics of adolescents imbibing the heady rush of rebellion. It is set to the sound of today's most outstanding rock music and showcases the excitement of three vividly strong performances--the transformation of an inhibited, awkward teener, done to perfection by Trini Alvarado; the radiance and effervescence of a new discovery in 16-year-old Robin Johnson, and an image-breaking character study of a disc-jockey on-the-edge by Tim Curry. "Times Square" first began to take shape early in 1979 when film director Alan Movie invited screenwriter Jacob Brackman and singer-actor Tim Curry to the 42nd Street loft in New York City which he shared with writer Leanne Unger above a sleazy movie house on "The Deuce," the infamous strip of theaters and porno attractions between 7th and 8th Avenues. Moyle's latest project had whisked him from his native Montreal to 42nd Street, where he was entranced by its vitality and people. Brackman agreed to flesh out a screenplay from an original story by Moyle and Unger, and Curry made a commitment to enact the key role of a disc jockey who would figure prominently in the story of two teenage runaways in Times Square. Moyle's original intention—making a "little independent film"— evolved into a major screen event, complete with the closing off of 42nd Street's "Deuce" for a never-before-attempted sequence, courtesy of Robert Stigwood. The Australian entrepreneur, whose RSO entertainment (more}

From the US "Times Square" Press Materials folder. Text: ADD "TIMES SQUARE" Production information...-2- empire includes hit theatrical productions, recordings, television programs and feature films, decided to make the film the very day he first read Brackman's finished screenplay. Stigwood not only gave Moyle a $5-million budget, but the opportunity to film all over New York, climaxed by a frenetic sequence using 500 teenage girls as extras for a 42nd Street rock concert. A contemporary drama that focuses on two teenage girls from opposite sides of the economic scale, "Times Square" needed two strong, young talents to work effectively as a film. Director Moyle was convinced that his leads would have to be found outside the normal casting pools and talent stables. "I wanted two girls who were those characters," he affirmed. "We sent out flyers, took ads in the Village Voice, Soho News, Aquarian, and contacted record stores and half-way homes. We scouted every rock dive, every disco, every club we could find." The final result of the massive search saw professionally trained Trini Alvarado cast as Pamela, the shy and inhibited only child of a successful politician, a widower who forgets his daughter amid the demands of his career. Trini had just won rave reviews for a stunning performance in her first film, Robert Altman's "Rich Kids." For the demanding central role of Nicky an abandoned youngster reared in foster homes and the school of tough times, Moyle intended to cast an established, slightly older actress. But, in one of those inexplicable chance occasions, out of the blue, Robin Johnson appeared. She had been given the casting director's number while standing on the steps of her high school in Brooklyn. An exceptionally bright, well-adjusted student, Robin certainly didn't fit Moyle's preconceived notions of what his Nicky was going to be. But with her raspy, husky Brooklyn style of vocalizing, a quick-witted sense of humor and a total lack of pretense, she stunned and

From the US "Times Square" Press Materials folder. Text: ADD TIMES SQUARE Production Information...-3- charmed not only the director but producer Robert Stigwood as well. "Robin brought a great deal of warmth and an incredible amount of native humor to Nicky," Moyle says admiringly. Filming on "Times Square" began in October 1979 with the company in a race against winter weather. Tim Curry arrived from England for his scenes as Johnny LaGuardia, the disc jockey who befriends the two runaways and turns them into minor media celebrities. Curry, a respected classical actor as well as a cult favorite for his role in "The Rocky Horror Picture Show" and a successful recording artist, was pleased to be returning to New York for film work. With invaluable assistance from the Mayor's Office for Motion Picture Development, the "Times Square" company covered the town and filmed on such diverse locations as the lower East Side, Washington Square, abandoned waterfront piers, a porno theater on Eighth Avenue, the Bowery, and, of course, on the streets of Times Square. Traffic was re-routed for the filming of the particularly complex climactic sequence which required a barrage of press, the electronic media, and 500 teenage extras. Complementing the heroine's rock music ambitions and befitting a film for the Eighties that resounds with the throbbing pulses of city life, "Times Square" has one of the most exciting rock soundtracks ever developed, featuring music by some of today's most popular singers and songwriters. A two-record soundtrack album has been released by RSO Records. "Once again, a script has offered a unique opportunity to marry film and music," producer Stigwood said. "Even more exciting, 'Times Square' is the perfect venue to bring all these brilliant new talents on the contemporary music scene to the commercial film marketplace." About The Story... * "Times Square" depicts the adventures of two teenage runaways, New York girls from different social backgrounds, and the all-night Times Square radio personality who befriends them and gives a boost to their dream of rock stardom.

Page 4 of the "Times Square" Production Information pages from the TIMES SQUARE Press Materials folder. Text: ADD "TIMES SQUARE" Production Information...-4- Pamela Pearl (TRINI ALVARADO) is the 13-year-old daughter of a young New York City politician who has been given the job of cleaning up the seedy Times Squa.ro area. Nicky Marotta (ROBIN JOHNSON), age 16, is a street delinquent who dreams of becoming a rock and roll star. Pamela is shy, awkward, inhibited. Nicky is rebellious, with a streak of explosive energy and dark humor. They meet while both are undergoing tests at a psychiatric hospital and escape by commandeering an ambulance. Johnny LaGuardia (TIM CURRY), who broadcasts from a studio high atop the Allied Chemical Building, considers Times Square his personal domain. Pamela had written to him anonymously. Intrigued, he promotes the story of the runaways, urging the girls on, and turns them into minor media celebrities. It also makes things uncomfortable for Pamela's father. The girls hide out in an abandoned warehouse overlooking the Hudson River. Calling themselves "The Sleaze Sisters," they dress in versions of down-and-outers, spray-paint their sleaze slogans around the town, and inspire others to reject the smooth superficiality of the plastic culture and "go sleaze." They make a second home on "The Deuce"--the stretch of 42nd Street between Seventh and Eighth Avenues--and are adopted by the locals who protect them from potential danger. Events conspire to bring their adventure to a close, but Nicky insists they "go down flaming." When Johnny publicizes their planned illegal, midnight concert in Times Square, hundreds of teenage girls arrive in "Sleez (sic) Sisters" wardrobe, and the scene is set for a bizarre climactic close. About The Cast... ROBIN JOHNSON, who makes her film debut as the explosive Nicky Marotta, was discovered outside her high school, Brooklyn Tech. That chance happening concluded a five-month nationwide talent hunt to

Page 5 of the "Times Square" Production Information pages from the TIMES SQUARE Press Materials folder. Text: ADD "TIMES SQUARE" Production Information...-5- find the dynamic, young singing actress for the demanding role. Robin had never acted previously. The 16-year-old New Yorker lives at home with her mother and a sister, Cindy. Her audition, both singing and reading script, overwhelmed everyone within hearing. Robin Johnson was Nicky Marotta. TRINI ALVARADO, who portrays Nicky's friend Pamela, is thirteen years old and the daughter of professional performers. Trini has been in showbusiness since she was seven. On Broadway, she was featured in the hit musical, "Runaways," and performed the play's theme song on the 1978 Tony Awards television show. She made her film debut to sensational reviews in the Robert Altman production of "Rich Kids." TIM CURRY, who plays disc jockey Johnny LaGuardia, has been acclaimed internationally for his starring role in "The Rocky Horror Picture Show." He is a classically trained British actor who has performed with the Royal Court Theatre, the Royal Shakespeare Company, and was seen on Broadway in Tom Stoppard's "Travesties." Curry also has appeared on several major British television productions, and in the Jerry Skolimowski film, "The Shout." He has recorded two rock albums and performed on a concert tour of the U.S. and his next project is the role of Mozart in the Broadway production of "Amadeus." About The Filmmakers... * ALAN MOYLE, the director of "Times Square," is a native of Quebec. As both actor and director, Moyle has emerged as a major discovery in Canadian cinema. Following portrayals in the critically-acclaimed films, "Outrageous" and "Montreal Main," Moyle directed and starred in "The Rubber Gun," a perceptive, unsentimental study of the disintegration of a Montreal communal family. His research often takes him into the environments where he films and imparts to the fictional content a sense of the semi-documentary. For the year prior to filming "Times Square," for instance, Moyle and Leanne Unger (with whom he developed the original story) lived in a loft on 42nd Street's famed "Deuce."

The Robin stuff reads as follows. For the rest, you’re on your own, unless I get requests from the audience. (That’s you.)

TIMES
SQUARE

PRODUCTION INFORMATION

About The Motion Picture…

“Times Square” bursts on the screen with the earthy exuberance of the famed New York City crossroads, itself, and depicts the energy and antics of adolescents imbibing the heady rush of rebellion. It is set to the sound of today’s most outstanding rock music and showcases the excitement of three vividly strong performances–the transformation of an inhibited, awkward teener, done to perfection by Trini Alvarado; the radiance and effervescence of a new discovery in 16-year-old Robin Johnson, and an image-breaking character study of a disc-jockey on-the-edge by Tim Curry.

…

A contemporary drama that focuses on two teenage girls from opposite sides of the economic scale, “Times Square” needed two strong, young talents to work effectively as a film. Director Moyle was convinced that his leads would have to be found outside the normal casting pools and talent stables.

“I wanted two girls who were those characters,” he affirmed. “We sent out flyers, took ads in the Village Voice, Soho News, Aquarian, and contacted record stores and half-way homes. We scouted every rock dive, every disco, every club we could find.”

The final result of the massive search saw professionally trained Trini Alvarado cast as Pamela, the shy and inhibited only child of a successful politician, a widower who forgets his daughter amid the demands of his career. Trini had just won rave reviews for a stunning performance in her first film, Robert Altman’s “Rich Kids.”

For the demanding central role of Nicky an abandoned youngster reared in foster homes and the school of tough times, Moyle intended to cast an established, slightly older actress. But, in one of those inexplicable chance occasions, out of the blue, Robin Johnson appeared. She had been given the casting director’s number while standing on the steps of her high school in Brooklyn. An exceptionally bright, well-adjusted student, Robin certainly didn’t fit Moyle’s preconceived notions of what his Nicky was going to be. But with her raspy, husky Brooklyn style of vocalizing, a quick-witted sense of humor and a total lack of pretense, she stunned and charmed not only the director but producer Robert Stigwood as well. “Robin brought a great deal of warmth and an incredible amount of native humor to Nicky,” Moyle says admiringly.

…

About The Cast…

ROBIN JOHNSON, who makes her film debut as the explosive Nicky Marotta, was discovered outside her high school, Brooklyn Tech. That chance happening concluded a five-month nationwide talent hunt to find the dynamic, young singing actress for the demanding role. Robin had never acted previously. The 16-year-old New Yorker lives at home with her mother and a sister, Cindy. Her audition, both singing and reading script, overwhelmed everyone within hearing. Robin Johnson was Nicky Marotta.

I believe this is the first time the story of Robin’s “discovery” is told. It will quickly become one of the major selling points for the film.

TS-117-13/15
1080 px (W) x 868 px (H), 96 dpi, 277 kb (image)
TS-94-10A/13
1080 px (H) x 855 px (W), 96 dpi, 328 kb (image)
TS-61-14/10
1080 px (W) x 859 px (H), 96 dpi, 323 kb (image)
TS-104-17A/7
1080 px (W) x 862 px (H), 96 dpi, 310 kb (image)
black and white photographic prints, 8 in (H) x 10 in (W) (works);
1980
inscriptions: [on photos] TS-117-13/15; TS-94-10A/13; TS-61-14/10; TS-104-17A/7;
(on borders) TIMES SQUARE
AFD
©1980 Associated
Film Distribution

TIMES SQUARE PRODUCTION INFORMATION, pp. 1-5
8.5 in (W) x 11 in (H) (works);
1080 px (H) x 838 px (W), 96 dpi, 271 kb (image)
1080 px (H) x 838 px (W), 96 dpi, 376 kb (image)
1080 px (H) x 835 px (W), 96 dpi, 482 kb (image)
1080 px (H) x 835 px (W), 96 dpi, 354 kb (image)
1080 px (H) x 836 px (W), 96 dpi, 356 kb (image)

Category: "Times Square"

Robin Johnson