by Iain Blair

Had lunch with old friend Rocky Lang, the producer-writer- director son of famous producer Jennings Lang (“Earthquake”) who gave Clint Eastwood his big directing break with “Play Misty For Me.” First met Rocky back in the late ‘80s in Paris on the set of “Race For Glory” which he directed (it starred a hot young actor, Peter Berg, now a big-shot director himself). Rocky’s a fascinating guy – he went on to produce “White Squall” directed by Ridley Scott – and has great Hollywood stories. As both a writer and producer, Rocky has a foot in both camps in the strike, but his sympathies ultimately lie with the writers. “I was mentored and trained by Sydney Pollack for a whole year on “Tootsie,” and he taught me that “The idea is king – there’s nothing without an idea and script, no movie, no studio,” he says. “So writers need to be honored and respected. Studios need to be profitable, so they can hire writers, but the idea will always be king.”

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