Peter and Connie begin the interview talking about how Peter “captured the opening of the gates” that would become the “New Hollywood” in the 1970s and early 1980s, as the pioneers gave way to a new guard more in tune with the era, “Easy Rider proved you could smoke dope and make a successful movie at the same time.” Peter discusses a number of influential actors, writers, directors, and producers of the New Hollywood era, from Dennis Hopper and Peter Fonda to Francis Ford Coppola and George Lucas. In particular, Peter highlights the important role of Bob Rafelson and Bert Schneider in producing some of the most significant New Hollywood films of the 1970s, Easy Rider, 5 Easy Pieces, the Last Picture Show, and Hearts and Minds, a documentary about the Vietnam War, which served as a sub-text, Peter argues, to most of the New Hollywood films. Peter and Connie also discuss the three ends to the New Hollywood era: The Last Movie (1971), which revealed excessive “sex-drugs-and-rock-n-roll” nature of the era; Heaven’s Gate (1980), which typified the financial excess of the era, and Jaws (1975), which foreshadowed the emergence of the “Hollywood Block-Buster” era during the 1980s. Finally, Peter discusses his research methods as well as the gendered implications of the New Hollywood era and roll of women in the New Hollywood era, which Peter describes as sexist, which relegated women to the background rather than the foreground as directors.
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