Screen legends Paul Newman and Robert Redford‘s second and final screen pairing, in 1973’s The Sting, proved even more popular at the box office than their first, 1969’s Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid. The film — about a syndicate of confidence men planning cons in the Great Depression — was a dream shoot on the Universal backlot set, save for one persistent annoyance: Redford was always late.
To celebrate the 50th anniversary of its seven Oscar wins, the team behind The Sting — producers Michael Phillips and Tony Bill (the third producer, Julia Phillips, ex-wife of Michael and author of You’ll Never Eat Lunch in This Town Again, died in 2002) and screenwriter David S. Ward — joined The Hollywood Reporter‘s It Happened in Hollywood podcast for a rollicking conversation about getting the film made.
“He always felt inadequate, and that he was hired for his blue eyes,” says Phillips of working with his hero, Newman, who was 48 during the shoot. “He was just a very humble, very humble man. The first day he showed up on the set. And he was a giant, you know, hero to me. And I was totally starstruck. And he came over and he said, ‘Hi, I’m Paul. Great script you got here. I hope I don’t fuck it up.’”
Phillips continued, “He was a happy presence on the set. He would bring popcorn, always make jokes, always professional, on time, mock his own mistakes. So it was a privilege.”
Redford, 37 at the time, was a joy to work with on set as well — that is, once he got to the set. “Redford was chronically late,” Phillips reveals. “That was the thing — and it never ended, either.” The star would typically arrive 40 minutes late every day. Eventually, the perpetual tardiness led to a confrontation with his co-star.
“One day, Newman tore him apart for it,” Phillips recalls. “Paul was the bigger star. And he said something like, ‘What are you — a movie star?’ Redford…
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