This interview transcript originally appears in my book Interviews With the Rauschmonstrum
The Rauschmonstrum appeared on The Tonight Show with Johnny Carson in October of 1979 to discuss the release of his new movie ‘False Clock.’
Carson: The guy who’s about to come out here; it’s fair to say I’m not gonna see him out in the bars too much.
[The audience laughs]
Carson: He’s got a new movie out which he’s written and produced called False Clock. I’m sure he can’t wait to tell us all about it. Please welcome the Rauschmonstrum.
[The audience applauds and the Rauschmonstrum comes out]
Carson: Now, we’ve never actually met before.
Rausch: No, though I’ve seen you on the golf course on occasion. I should have said hi.
Carson: That’s right, I remember now. You were there with Sinatra and Dean Martin.
Rausch: I didn’t want to drop their names, but yes.
Carson: Now this is an extraordinary movie you’ve got here; I mean you’ve got Marlon Brando, Jack Nicholson, Warren Beatty, Julie Christie, Faye Dunaway, and Katherine Hepburn as the main cast; Orson Welles directed the picture. You wrote the script with Orson, didn’t you?
Rausch: We wrote it together, yes. I can’t tell you how proud I am of this movie. Pauline Kael in one of the earliest reviews called it the best movie of the decade.
Carson: That’s really some praise coming from somebody like her. So how did this project get started? For a while we kept hearing that a Jesus & Me movie was in the works, and it hasn’t happened.
Rausch: Well Jesus & Me was being negotiated. I was having meetings with all the studio executives, and ultimately I was dissatisfied with what they offered.
Carson: You mean they didn’t write you a big enough check?
[The audience laughs]
Rausch: Well-
Carson: Come on now Mr. Rauschmonstrum. With the dough you’re pulling, you make me look like a pauper.
Rausch: No, it wasn’t because of reasons of money. After some time of negotiations, I was offered more money than anyone else ever had for their book’s movie rights. The reason I haven’t accepted a movie deal is because I haven’t liked the scripts I’ve seen. There’s limited imagination from the studios in regards to what to do with the story.
Carson: That’s too bad.
Rausch: Since I wasn’t going to take any of these deals, I decided to put to use the contacts I’d made in Hollywood during the process and get an original story of mine made.
Carson: Fascinating. And once you made that decision, did it take much time to get this original project off the ground?
Rausch: This being Hollywood it definitely took me longer to assemble the pieces than I would have liked. By that I mean the actors and the unionized crew. The money for the budget took no time at all to get together because it was mostly mine, and the rest of it came from some wealthy businessmen I know.
Carson: Next time you do something like this, please let me in on it, you seem like a guy who can get a fella a good return on an investment.
Rausch: Will do.
Carson: Was Orson jumping with joy to get started?
Rausch: Actually no. He’d been spending his time gallivanting around Europe and he wasn’t eager to leave all that behind.
Carson: I’ve seen him over there. He really likes to avoid work.
Rausch: He had also lived a life which has made him skeptical of people who promise him complete freedom on film projects. He’s been lied to too many times. I had to bring him a suitcase full of cash to get him to change his mind.
Carson: Suitcases full of cash have a way of doing that.
Rausch: Indeed they do.
Carson: And you’ve got plenty cash.
Rausch: Enough of it.
Carson: So what’s this movie about?
Rausch: It’s about some men who have done something really bad, and are looking back on the circumstances that lead to their really bad deed, and they’re wondering if they can overcome it, in terms of how their future will go.
Carson: That’s a pretty vague plotline, but it does its job, I’m certainly interested in seeing it. How about you folks?
[The audience applauds in approval. Some people whistle as well]
Carson: Did you enjoy the process of producing?
Rausch: Very much so. I hope to do more of it.
Carson: And will Jesus & Me still be made into a movie eventually?
Rausch: Definitely.
Carson: Sooner rather than later?
Rausch: I hope so.
Carson: Tell us a little bit about your computer company. And while you’re at it, tell us a bit about what your computers do. I’m still getting a hang of the concept that regular people can own computers.
Rausch: Yes. My company is called RauschSoft, and our computers will aim to make everyday tasks easier, such as doing calculations and making lists. We will keep making updated versions of them in the coming years which are smaller, and cheaper, and able to perform more and more functions. I think you’ll be amazed by what we come up with soon.
Carson: What do you see on the horizon in the field?
Rausch: The ability for people to send messages to folks on the other side of the world in a matter of seconds.
Carson: That’s wild stuff. Good luck with that. We’re glad you could join us, and hopefully you can join us again sometime.
Rausch: My pleasure Johnny.
Carson: We’ll be right back with Burt Reynolds.
[The audience applauds]
You can read more of my work on my portfolio site at latorrestory.com