CHANGE OF MIND

“A tough, authentic script,� said Newsweek’s David Ansen of Neil Jimenez’s work on the controversial Island Pictures release “River’s Edge.� But wasn’t this the same David Ansen who, as a jury member at the 1983 Samuel Goldwyn Writing Awards, announced that “none of the scripts was up to Goldwyn standards.� And wasn’t Jimenez’s script--then called simply “The River�-- one of the nine student finalists submitted to the blue-ribbon panel?

Ansen, just a wee embarrassed, told us from his NYC office that he and fellow jurors (producer Lawrence Turman and director Franklin Schaffner) “wanted to make a statement about the poor overall quality of the submitted scripts. At the time, I felt the best script was Jimenez’s, but the others clearly didn’t share that opinion. The three of us could not reach a consensus and it was decided at a lunch we had with Sam Goldwyn Jr. not to give any official awards (that year).�

He added that as one of five judges at this year’s Park City (Utah) Film Festival, where the completed film of “Edge� was in competition, he was again outvoted when he suggested it be given the event’s top prize (which was shared by “Waiting for the Moon� and “The Trouble With Dick�).

In 19 days of release, “Edge� has taken in $570,010, playing at only 32 theaters.