TV Talk: Lesley Ann Warren on Blake Edwards, making ‘Clue’; August Wilson’s ‘Piano Lesson’ slated

PBS’s latest “American Masters” film, “Blake Edwards: A Love Story in 24 Frames” (9 p.m. Aug. 27, WQED-TV), proves entertaining and easily watchable regardless of a viewer’s familiarity with Edwards’ films.

Directed, produced and co-written by Danny Gold (“Killing Me Softly with His Songs”), Edwards’ widow, Julie Andrews, leads viewers through “A Love Story in 24 Frames,” which includes interviews with Pittsburgh native director/choreographer Rob Marshall and performers Bo Derek (“10”) and Lesley Ann Warren (“Victor/Victoria,” “Clue”).

“Rob Marshall was an easy pick, because he worked with Blake as a choreographer on the Broadway version of ‘Victor/Victoria,’ and was very close with him,” Gold said during PBS’s portion of the Television Critics Association summer 2024 press tour last month in Pasadena, Calif. “They were fans of each other as Rob began his film career.”

Warren appeared in Edwards’ 1982 film that starred Andrews as a female soprano in 1934 Paris who lands a job when she poses as a female impersonator, confusing a Chicago gangster who thinks he’s attracted to a male performer.

“(Edwards) was taking on the gender-fluidity issue in a visionary way, way before it was a mainstream conversation,” Warren said. “People come up to me with a lot of respect and admiration and excitement about what he chose to do in that regard.”

Warren described working for Edwards as a uniquely positive experience.

“I’ve actually never experienced the kind of civility and grace and comfortability on a set,” she said. “He believed that people couldn’t be funny after 10 hours of shooting. You get tired. He would bring us in at 8, and we’d be out of makeup by 10, 10:30 a.m., and we would stop shooting at 5 p.m. … Never again have I experienced that kind of understanding of what it takes to do the work from a director and the higher-ups because I’ve shot 19-hour days and more.”

In her long career, Warren recalled working in Pittsburgh, including when she filmed the low-budget 2006 movie “10th and Wolf” locally.

“It had a very gritty, Mafia-esque, kind of characterization,” she said. “So the places that we were shooting lent themselves to that overall feeling and ambiance, which always helps an actor to be in a situation that informs the actor of the sensibility of the characters, so it was great to shoot there.”

Warren said when she’s recognized in public it doesn’t vary by the demographics of the people she encounters.

“‘Clue’ goes from 9-year-olds to 75-year-olds,” said Warren, who played Miss Scarlet in the 1985 cult comedy classic based on the board game. “It’s so beloved. And people recite the lines to me.”

As a “Clue” fan from the film’s opening weekend in theaters, I was shocked at the time when it turned out to be a box office bomb. Warren said making the film was as much fun as it looked.

“We were impossible to rein in,” she said. “I’m not kidding, because we would be falling down at each other’s work. So when Madeline (Kahn) would start doing her, ‘Flames!,’ we would die. It was such a gathering of some of the great comic actors of cinematic history in one room. And we all got along, which is rare.”

Evidence of that good time made it into film, though only Warren knows where to spot it (it’s just after the film’s 48-minute mark).

“We’re trying to get through a small opening in the bar, Martin (Mull) and I,” Warren said. “We’re shoving each other, and I can see myself laughing. Nobody else can. But I can see myself laughing so hard.”

‘Piano Lesson’ slated

Netflix’s adaptation of Pittsburgh native August Wilson’s “The Piano Lesson” will play in limited, select theaters on Nov. 8 (it’s too soon to know if any will be in Pittsburgh) and will stream on Netflix on Nov. 22. The film will have its international premiere at the Toronto Film Festival next month.

Malcolm Washington, son of the film’s executive producer, Denzel Washington, directs “The Piano Lesson,” which tells the story of a family fighting over the disposition of an heirloom piano.

“The Piano Lesson” filmed in Atlanta rather than Pittsburgh, where it’s set and where Netflix’s adaptation of Wilson’s “Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom” filmed. A 1995 made-for-TV version of “Piano Lesson” was filmed in Pittsburgh.

‘Lie to Fly’

FX’s latest documentary film, “The New York Times Presents: Lie to Fly” (10 p.m. Aug. 23, FX; next day on Hulu), chronicles the case of off-duty Alaska Airlines pilot Joseph Emerson, who’s accused of trying to crash a commercial flight in 2023 while riding as a passenger in the flight deck’s jump seat.

The one-hour film walks through not only Emerson’s experience but the broader question: Is it safer to treat pilots with mental health issues or to not treat them, which is what happened in Emerson’s case because of FAA rules that can ground pilots if they seek medical and/or mental health care.

Despite sensational cable news coverage claiming Emerson staged a “domestic kamikaze attack,” in actuality he was depressed over the death of a friend, had gone on a retreat with mutual friends, drank alcohol and consumed psilocybin, which led him to think he was trapped in a nightmare when riding in the Alaska Airlines cockpit on his way home from the retreat when he disengaged the engines.

Well made and thoroughly reported, “Lie to Fly” ends with some potential good news for pilots and the flying public.

Kept/canceled

Apple TV+ renewed “Dark Matter” for a second season.

Disney+ canceled “Star Wars” series “The Acolyte” after a single season.

Channel surfing

KDKA-TV and the Steelers announced a new deal to keep Channel 2 the exclusive home of Steelers preseason games and supplementary programming (e.g. “Steelers Kickoff Pregame Show,” “Mike Tomlin Press Conference,” etc.) through the 2027 season. … Kevin Costner’s flop theatrical western, “Horizon: An American Saga — Chapter 1” streams on Max beginning Aug. 23. … “Schitt’s Creek” stars Eugene Levy and Dan Levy will host the “76th Emmy Awards” (8-11 p.m. Sept. 15, ABC). … Pittsburgh-based Fred Rogers Productions’ “Alma’s Way” will air a special episode during Hispanic Heritage Month on PBS Sept. 23 featuring the return of series executive producer Sonia Manzano as Granny Isa.