Lookin' To Get Out" Has Been Lookin' To Get Out for a Long Time

The 1982 version of the film "Lookin' To Get Out" which was released was not the version Jon Voight and Hal Ashby intended. At Friday night's World Premiere of the Director's Cut, Voight indicated that there were tensions with others which prevented Ashby from originally following the film to culmination. Voight was notified by Ashby's biographer Nick Dawson of his discovery of a director's cut of the film which was bequeathed to UCLA. Voight was elated to learn that the movie he had always wanted, in fact, lived. He told the crowd "This film got a second chance for all of us."

Voight co-wrote the film with Al Schwartz in which Voight starred along with Burt Young and Ann-Margaret. Voight, Young, and Ashby's biographer Nick Dawson were in attendance for the Premiere. Emotions were high as Voight saw his beloved film embraced by the crowd. This hilarious film about two self-sabotaging gamblers trying to recoup their lost money also featured Angelina Jolie's first screen performance. Young said Jolie was a natural even at the age of six.

Voight compared finding this film to "finding a message in the bottle." And he believes the message was found "by the right people, at the right time." Voight shared that there were wounds around this film and his belief that Ashby hid the film "from people he thought might hurt it."

During a Q&A with the audience following the premiere, Voight was extremely generous with his time -- as if he never wanted this long-awaited moment to end.

Following the Premiere, Voight attended Night of a Thousand Stars at Michael's On East where walkways were bottlenecked as party-goers attempted to glimpse the star. Surely, there were times during the night when Voight was also lookin' to get out, but not without savoring this dream come true.

0 members like this