Anthony Higgins in 1980s

1983

Gossip

Right after Peter Greenaway's "The Draughtsman's Contract" in 1982 Anthony Higgins got a new role in Don Boyd's project "Gossip". The story of the movie is sad, but interesting. That is what Stephen Fry, a scriptwriter of the movie told about it:

"Don Boyd, who produced John Schlesinger's most disastrous film, Honky Tonk Freeway, hired me right out of university to do a rewrite of a script written by two Americans©the Tolkin brothers, one of whom went on to write The Player, Robert Altman's film. It was about a gossip columnist in New York, and Boyd wanted it changed to London, so I did that for him. It was cast with Anthony Higgins and Simon Callow and various other figures, and shooting started. Then, suddenly, it turned out Don Boyd had absolutely no money at all, and the entire film collapsed. No one had gotten paid but me."

So having been deceived by a fraudulent funding source, Boyd was forced to shut down the shooting after just three weeks, leaving the film forever unfinished. Beside Simon Callow with whom Anthony Higgins would be working with again in "Trial and Retribution" in 1999 and in "Lewis: Counter Culture Club" in 2009, in the "Gossip" cast list was Anne-Louise Lambert with whom Higgins worked in "The Draughtsman's Contract" in 1981.

I want to thank The Don Boyd Archive at 'The Bill Douglas Centre for the History of Cinema and Popular Culture' and Mr. Phil Wickham for materials granted for the site.