25th Louis Vuitton Hawaii International Film Festival to unveil Hepburn's "lost" last film. LVHIFF offers a rare opportunity to see critically acclaimed but virtually unseen "Writer's Cut" of THE ULTIMATE SOLUTION OF GRACE QUIGLEY starring NICK NOLTE and KATHARINE HEPBURN, in what was her last leading role in a feature motion picture.
When writer-director, A. Martin Zweiback, flung a 35-page treatment over the garden gate of the house where Hepburn was recovering from hip surgery, Hepburn read the treatment and liked it well enough to write a check, no strings attached, for Zweiback to write the script for "THE ULTIMATE SOLUTION OF GRACE QUIGLEY ".
Over the course of the next twelve years, the film would ultimately emerge in two versions — The widely-panned theatrical release version, titled simply "GRACE QUIGLEY", overseen by the film's director, Anthony Harvey (who had directed Hepburn in "The Lion in Winter"); and the rarely-seen but more critically lauded "writer's cut" titled "THE ULTIMATE SOLUTION OF GRACE QUIGLEY." Leonard Maltin's Movie & Video Guide" called GRACE QUIGLEY an "abysmal misfire"; while praising THE ULTIMATE SOLUTION... "put together by its scriptwriter" as "a touching, funny, surreal comedy." Many other critics weighed in heavily in favor of Zweiback's version yet it was never released to the general public.
LVHIFF is proud to be screening "The Writer's Cut" (a first in Hollywood history) with a special in-depth post Q & A with screenwriter A. Martin Zweiback.
THE ULTIMATE SOLUTION OF GRACE QUIGLEY will be screening October 24, 2005 at the Louis Vuitton Hawaii International Film Festival, approximately 20 years after the screenings that earned it enthusiastic critical praise, but could not prevent it from becoming "Hepburn's Hidden Finale".
24.10.2005 | Editor's blog
Cat. : A. Martin Zweiback Anthony Harvey CDATA Cinema of the United States Entertainment Films Grace Quigley GRACE QUIGLEY Hawaii International Film Festival Human Interest Human Interest Katharine Hepburn Katharine Hepburn Leonard Maltin Louis Vuitton Hawaii Nick Nolte The Lion in Winter The Lion in Winter The Writer's Cut Writer's Cut