Monday, November 12, 2018

A LITTLE MORE STAN...

I have friends in the business who knew Stan Lee well and spent lots of time with him, but I only encountered him face to face on a couple of occasions.  In 1980, when I’d just started working for Marvel, Stan was still occasionally in the office.  One day I was making copies of some Gil Kane Conan art when Stan ambled up with some papers he needed to copy.  Like a loyal courtier I allowed the king to use the machine first—and I wouldn’t be surprised if I bowed as I humbly backed away!    

Years later—I think it was 1997—when I was working with producer Chris Columbus and director Carlo Carlei on an early incarnation of the Daredevil movie, I came home to find a message from Stan, telling me, with great enthusiasm, that he’d read my treatment and thought it was the best filmic interpretation of a Marvel character he’d ever seen.  I was, as the British say, gobsmacked and quickly called him back.  I’d like to say I was more confident than I’d been all those years before, but I was still intimidated by this man I’d adored since I was twelve years old and barely grunted out my words of thanks.  But when I was in Los Angeles a few months later, I called Stan and he invited me to have lunch with him at the fabled Friar’s Club.  This time I was able to actually form coherent, reasonably intelligent sentences and we had a lovely meal.  But the whole time there was a star-struck kid in my head screaming:  "Holy crap!  It’s Stan Lee!  I’m having lunch with Stan Lee!!


That star-struck kid is incredibly sad today. 

And so am I.

8 comments:

  1. There is no such thing as too much Stan on a GOOD day. Certainly a dark day like this deserves even more:

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1N9TIvIEnpA

    look up him in the movie Jugular Wine (alongside Frank Miller) sometime. It is weird.

    Jack

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  2. What a GREAT clip. I've never seen it. Thanks so much for that, Jack. And Joan Lee as Madame Web? Perfect!

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  3. That's a great story, JMD. Thanks for sharing.

    I saw Stan once, at a comic convention, and though I didn't have any close personal interaction with him he struck me as a warm, generous soul with infectious enthusiasm. You could tell he genuinely loved people and building positive connections with them.

    --David

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    Replies
    1. He maintained a passion for people, for creativity, for the joys of life, into his nineties. A great example and reminder for all of us that, although we inevitably get chronologically older, we can remain young.

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  4. I wonder if it would be appropriate to tell my story of meeting Stan Lee.


    Jack

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  5. Replies
    1. Well, it does have multiple parts, for starters.

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    2. Feel free to share. And if you think it's too long...condense!

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