How Melanie Griffith Prepared for "Working Girl"
When Melanie Griffith was cast in Working Girl, she moved to New York and rented a townhouse in the West Village. For three months, she researched the role. "I do a lot of work on my characters, then I pretend I'm that person, throw all of that work away, and just be what I put into it," Griffith said. "Then, no matter what happens, it works like a computer. You've already put the information in, so you just have to push a button and it comes up."
To help Griffith study for her part, screenwriter Kevin Wade took her to the Wall Street firm Bear, Stearns & Co., where Griffith met a couple of female executives and secretaries. The actress concentrated on three secretaries who worked for the firm's then-vice-president Liam Dalton, an industry whiz kid who Charlie Sheen would model his character after for Wall Street.
Dalton recalled, "Melanie sat with my girls and just got to understand their mindset—what they talked about during the day, their wardrobe, their makeup, everything. She'd have a cigarette with them, go to the ladies' room with them, walk from the ferry to the office with them and watch them file or type."
Although Griffith "didn't do the Method thing and get a job" on Wall Street, she admitted to having one other inside source: She dated Dalton himself.
"She knew zero about business, but in a short time you could have put her in front of a monitor and she would have made money," Dalton said. He recalled finding her curled up watching the CNN financial news when he arrived home from a long day at the office. "She picked it up really fast. I'd come home and she'd tell me what happened in the market that day."
Those insights led Griffith to collaborate with screenwriter Kevin Wade and director Mike Nichols to make the part of Tess more sympathetic. She was concerned that audiences would find her character's ambition too self-serving and her methods unethical. Griffith's suggestions and contributions were valued by Wade. "I wrote Working Girl about an underdog, not about a woman," he said. "Her lines are boys' talk. Melanie chose to play against it with that breathy Judy Holliday voice. And that's not her, that's smart acting."
A DVD TV enhanced version of Working Girl will screen tomorrow, January 4 at 8 p.m. EST | 7C.
Sources:
Nikki Finke, "A Working Girl Makes Good," Los Angeles Times, 12/17/88
Alison Leigh Cowan, "How Three Plum Movie Roles Took Shape,"New York Times, 12/18/88
Bob Strauss, "Working Partners: Melanie Griffith & Harrison Ford," Chicago Sun-Times, 12/18/88
Jay Carr, "Melanie Griffith Poised for Stardom," Boston Globe, 12/22/88
Guy Trebay, "Working Girl," Premiere, 12/88
Jesse Kornbluth, "Melanie's Place in the Sun," Vanity Fair, 4/89
See also "The Staten Island Look of Working Girl."
See also "How NYC Commuters Inspired the Working Girl Screenwriter."
PLEASE DITCH THE COMMENTS ON THE BOTTOM OF THE SCREEN!!!!!!
Enjoying the broadcast however I have one problem: the note said that the wearing of white tennis shoes became more popular after 9/11. SO not true! The truth of Melanie's character wearing tennis shoes (uh, many years before 9/11) actually stemmed from the Transit Strike of 1980. It lasted for 11 days and THAT is when New YOrkers started wearing tennis shoes with their suits.
Frankly, its a much better fact than, once again, relating something to 9/11. Please, don't rewrite history and let those terrible events take away a really GOOD and unique thing about new york.
Now, each transit strike, we don our walking shoes again! :)
I'm trying to watch the movie Working Girl but getting distracted from your caption comments at the bottom of the screen. I'm not interested in your comments. Please remove it else I will not watch AMC anymore. Thank you.
I would have watched the movie if it had not been for the irritating grey bar across the bottom of the screen (with colored vertical stripes on the left). Along with that flowed ridiculous comments non-stop. I couldn't watch the movie. It was crazy to say the least. Good Luck with that idea!
We stopped watching because comments were irritating AND closed captions, which we rely on,were not shown (except during commercials).
"Working Girl" is terrific - and one I've never seen before. Thank you. The relentless text commentary is sure aggravating. I want to enjoy a good movie, not take in a boatload of trivia.
Watching Working Girl
I kept waiting for the idiotic gray bar with the endless drivel of minutia about this film to end but I see it is not going to. I suppose if I watch long enough I will know what the script writer's had in his sandwich the day in 1986 when he first thought about this story, how interesting. What kind of mentality could dream up this POOP is beyond me. I wish I could fire them all…. Oh yes I decided to watch another movie channel that has yet to reach AMC’s level of refinement.
I enjoy watching the movie everytime it is broadcasted, although the bar on the bottom of the screen is quite distracting. My 11 year old daughter is even complaining. I would like to add that Melanie visited the department that I was working in, the Mergers & Acquisitions Group at Salomon Brothers Inc, just across from the Whitehall Ferry Terminal back in 1987. I have her autograph to prove it. It was great meeting her!
I've always liked watching this movie, but not so tonight. Maybe somebody else thinks it's interesting to know who's apartment a scene was filmed in, but if I were that person I'd go out and buy the DVD. Speaking for myself, I'd rather see the movie uncropped and without a competing story narrative sharing the screen. Thanks but no thanks.
TURN OFF THE COMMENTS AT THE BOTTOM OF THE SCREEN!!!!!!!!!!!!! HOW CAN A PERSON ENJOY THE MOVIE???
Um...the whole point is that we've all seen this movie dozens of times and pretty much know it all by heart - hence the commentary, which many of us quite enjoy, thank you.
It's like Pop-Up Video from VH1's earlier days, and it's a very good idea, brings a breath of fresh air into stale movies that weren't all that great to begin with.
"A New Yorker," I was almost yelling at the screen when they said the walking shoe thing - (not tennis shoes like they said) stemmed from 9/11 - uh, what??! I was an 80s working girl (my hair is perfectly suited for the 80s "do" which I still hope will come back someday) and you bet, as they did finally mention, that there were thousands of women walking to work in their walking shoes (or aerobic shoes in my case) and carrying their heels with them. Magazines in the early 80s actually advised it for us women. I'm actually glad that the business atmosphere in many places is a lot more relaxed now, and I can wear more comfortable clothes and keep my walking shoes on. Down with Blahnik! Heh. No reason we have to ruin our legs and backs with those horrid high heels, and be slaves to fancy dress just to be gainfully employed.
My advice to AMC - get the trends straight, and employ a bit more edgy commentary, make it funnier, and keep it up. It makes these movies we all know so well fun again.
I love the comments/trivia at the bottom of the screen and I love DVDtv on AMC.
It's a classic movie and since I've seen it many times, it's nice to have the commentary.
Stop complaining about the text at the bottom of the screen... that's why it's called "DVD Tv". I happen to like the additional information. I have seen this movie a dozen times, and I think it is cool to get some background information. But then again, I am a huge movie buff and I love watching my DVDs with the commentary option turned on. By the way, AMC has been doing this for years, so obviously others have enjoyed the show. I doubt they would change this now. Love your channel... AMC!
love the commentary. all you people that don't like the gray bar at the bottom on the screen, go buy the dvd and watch the regular version and stop complaining. true fans of this movie like the extras we cant normally get otherwise. play the WG Backstory show again!!
I saw this movie as a Midwestern college woman & am trying to enjoy it after 14 years as an East Coast professional woman. The comments at the bottom of the screen are annoying & distracting, please ditch them!
Love the trivia!! Enhances a great movie I've always liked. And the information is actually really interesting.
We looked forward to watching this movie tonight... but were aggravated by the constant caption across the bottom. We were waiting for it to finally go off the screen but no relief. If this is a permanent addition, we will view other channels where we can enjoy the movies and not be annoyed the entire time. PLEASE REMOVE THIS AND DO NOT RUIN YOUR CHANNEL BY DRIVING AWAY VIEWERS.
I liked reading facts about this film. Did you ever do Bram Stoker's Dracula? I have a ring just like the one given to Lucy for her engagement. I would like to know where it came from.
I am so glad the people who like this mindless drivel that takes up a quarter of the screen finally showed up. I almost forgot that it is possible to type with the toes. Also am so delighted to know who said what to whom in some restaurant about 20 years ago about something they ate or didn't, so interesting. This should have a great future I predict. Never underestimate the American publics appetite for trash.
keep the grey bar... seen the movie before and this adds to the experience seeing it again...factoids like Melanie dating the "technical advisor Liam Dalton" and Alec Baldwin saying that his ex wife Kim Basinger was "mentallly ill" are classic.
If these DVD formats continue on the AMC movies I will stop watching. It's all gossip and I just want to watch the movie without the distraction.
I am so glad the people who like this mindless drivel that takes up a quarter of the screen finally showed up. I almost forgot that it is possible to type with the toes. Also am so delighted to know who said what to whom in some restaurant about 20 years ago about something they ate or didn’t, so interesting. This should have a great future I predict. Never underestimate the American publics appetite for trash.
I LOVE THE NOTES AT THE BOTTOM OF THE SCREEN!
Hey, all you people who think the commentary at the bottom is permanent, PAY ATTENTION! This is the DVD version. They said they were going to do this! They don't always do that! Just goes to show that people can't pay attention to detail. If you had watched the commercials for it you would be able to realize you wouldn't enjoy this version and stop making whining posts.
I appreciate the information in the gray bar. Although it may be distracting for first time viewers, it is interesting and fun information for those us who have seen this film once or several times before. I am amazed by the wealth of detail provided by AMC.
In short, the gray bar info is good stuff, and I want more of it.
Thanks.
I love the DVD comments, but would like to the comments quicker with less pauses.
The inside info about the film and the actors is very interesting and insightful. It is easy to read the comments or watch the movie or both. More films should be done in this format.
I have always enjoyed watching Working Girl ... this must be my umteenth time ... and I'd watch it again if it ran back to back!!!
hey, I really enjoy the comments at the bottom, adds something that I never knew about one of my fave movies.
Great movie. In so many ways, the poltics of the workplace portrayed in this movie are common, even to this day.
While I like knowing the details in the screen crawl, like many others I'd like to see the movie without the crawl as well.
have seen this movie many times before, one of my favs. the gray bar at the bottom was awesome, as it gives a new perspective to the movie. those who don't like it should get their boney ass off this comment page.
Not to be contrarian to all these "focused folks"...but I loved the comments on the bottom of the screen (even those that were clearly editorial and not factual). Multitasking is what most of us do these days (or haven't y'all read that classic: FUTURE SHOCK?). And I have seen this movie multiple times, and the comments made it much more interesting. As an ex-New Yorker, I have never thought of the Status of Liberty as the symbol of OZ; and all the other allusions that were lost on me during the movie are so much clearer now. Nice job. Keep it up.
I love this movie -I have seen it many time and I like the trival at the bottom of the screen. I like knowing how things happen while making movies.
It is very interesting. Keep it up.
Thanks, mjp
I was an extra on this movie and also worked on wall st. WIthout an ivy degree it was impossible to advance beyond secy and Sigor got it just right. And bosses in that overly competitive time RARELY gave credit to the underling esp if she was not Harvard. The acting is terrif. I enjoyed the comments as I've seen the movie tons of times but they might use them for the commercials. Thank god Melanie got the job and guy and it was about the job competition AND man, not just for taking the guy. That was the 80's.
This is NOT about the commentary. I enjoyed the music in this film and am glad AMC saw fit to let the credits run without tromping on the music with a promo for what's coming up next. Thanks for leaving the film mostly intact.
I agree with you Crockett. I love the ending music... and it was nice to hear it without editing. I really hate it when the "non-premimum" channels edit films and run the credits at mach speed.
i love this movie and enjoy seeing it through another set of eyes with the info at the bottom. quite of few of your audience don't seem to understand that every movie doesn't have shown the same way (without the movie details). amc keep dvd tv!
Typing with the toes? Heh. Let me say this - if I want to see a truly classic movie, I'm not going to watch it on AMC. I go to TCM or FMC for that, or buy DVDs or watch a movie channel, where they aren't chopped up for *content* and interrupted by commercials. (Case in point - Blue Lagoon is on now - with all the sex scenes cut out - wow, there's a great way to enjoy the MOVIE. Not.) When I see a movie that I can recite all the lines to (minus the sex scenes or bad language, just like on network, and interrupted by commercials) it's a lot more fun to see it with some commentary. I DO think they could do a better job with the commentary/trivia - it could be funnier and more interesting. For a great example of commentary just watch Reefer Madness with Mike from MST3K's commentary turned on - absolutely brilliant. No, you don't watch a movie you've never seen with commentary turned on, but neither do you watch a movie for the first time chopped up, not if you actually want to see the movie. This is all pretty self-explanatory and obvious. So to see Working Girl, watch it a dozen times or so over the next 20 years, uncut, and then tell me how you feel about seeing it with some witty and interesting trivia attached. It's not rocket science to multitask - especially with something that is now rote for you.
Kathleen - I didn't think of the Statue of Liberty as Oz, but the "New Jerusalem" line from the song always stood out to me. And I think the effect the very end has on me was unintended by the filmmakers (actually I gathered this from the commentary I just saw tonight). By that I mean that when they pan back from her in her new fabulous office in her new fabulous position, to me it always emphasized that really this struggle fades into meaninglessness when you pit it against the reality - that she's one tiny dot within a galaxy of tiny dots in one building in a huge universe of tiny dots - the entire rat race, and her just really one tiny person in it. But I guess what they were really going for was the reverse - that they had started off seeing thousands of women on their way to work and each one had a story, and they told one of the stories. Except that would have made more sense, then, if they'd *started* with the giant scene and gradually faded *in*, ending focused on Tess in her secretarial job. To me it really just made a punchline to the movie - sort of like saying, "All that for this. Pretty inconsequential, wasn't it?"
This is one of my all time favorite movies. I don't care what the critics say (they must be MEN). To me, this movie championed the "working girl" who has brains and drive and ambition. Someone who knew her potential took the intiative to prove it to the people who could make a difference in her career. I wish I had the guts. Go Tess!
I like having the extra info available on screen, but I have two suggestions. First, broadcastit in letterbox format so that none of the picture is lost, and those who wish can cover comments with cardboard. Second, can I access all of those comments online? Sometimes the scene is so good that you don't want to take your eyes off the actors for a second, so I miss some of the info. Please consider this. Thanks
Get rid of those annoying comments at the bottom of the screen. Whose brilliant idea is that?
PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE, TURN OFF THE COMMENTS AT THE BOTTOM OF THE SCREEN!!!!!
I disagree with those who don't like the bits of illumination at the bottom of the screen. I found -- and find -- them to be very interesting, adding texture and perspective to the film
The Movie is my all-time favorite..Did not mind the notes and trivia at the bottom of the screen...found it interesting...have seen the movie at least 30 times and it never gets old.
I absolutely love the movie, and watch it each time it is aired. Unlike many of the others, I did enjoy the comments, and learned a few things. However, to make it fair, I think you should re-air the movie, this weekend,without the comments.
Your trivia captions at the bottom of the movie were at first distracting and then infuriating. I switched channels.
Very irrating comments at bottom of screen.
Might have been a good movie but we turned it off as I was ready to throw my shoe at the TV. I will never watch AMC again if this is your new policy.
I don't really get it. Didn't they specifically advertise that the movie was going to be shown with commentary on the bottom? In fact, I'm quite sure they did; it's DVD-TV. Why are so many people completely perplexed and flabbergasted by this? New policy? Um, no it's not their "new policy" it's part of the specific show. Ohhh boy.
My husband and I settled in for the night to watch a good movie. "Working Girl" certainly fit the bill until we started to watch it. At first we thought that the trivia at the bottom of the screen, would disappear after a few minutes. But it dind't ! It made itself a real annoyance and we couldn't "get into the movie" due to such a huge distraction. In addition to the annoying banner, there was that fact that the trivia took up so much of the screen. I would suggest that if you wish to advise viewers of the trivia, PUT IT AT THE END OF THE MOVIE!!! Thank you.
How can somebody complain about AMC TV's great "DVD TV" programs? I love the subtitled comments on classic - or very interesting - films. I tape the shows and use "pause" and "replay" to make sure to get each tidbit. The extra stuff on this web page is fun, too.
It's hard to believe some people groused about one show a month. Don't you often follow the "DVD TV" version of each film with an unedited version for those wishing to see the film without the subtitled comments?
Please don't quit making and showing "DVD TV". You should make more of them and show them more often!
Thanks a lot for the enhanced programs.
THANK YOU AMC for "DVD TV".
The whole point of "DVD TV" is to learn what happened behind the scenes, historical facts or motivations of writers, cast, and director of the film you are watching. If you have seen the movie many times before and know the lines by heart, then reading why the movie was made the way it was and how it came about is fascinating. And to hear what the film meant to the actors, as Melanie Griffith said about "Tess", overcoming those obstacles. She got it! If haven't seen the movie before and the bottom comments bother you, train your eyes to watch the movie. YOU CAN DO IT! But to do away with the comments is missing the whole point of "DVD TV".
So AMC please continue with "DVD TV" for those of us who "get" it.
The grey bar is distracting and quite annoying. I understand those who enjoy. The point is that it should be tied into the closed caption settings so the viewer can turn on / off. Otherwise, it's a bad idea whenever you take control away from the viewer.