European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - September 17, 1980, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Wednesday september 17, 1980 the stars and stripes Page 19 this director can t walk away from movies s by Bob Thomas associated pres some directors can make a movie an walk away from it. Not James  the nationwide release of Urban cow boy he spent Long hours watching the completed film Over and Over. Nothing narcissistic about i have to Check All the prints for the major cities Bridges explains. You d be surprised How often the sound or the color can be off. It s my obligation to Sec As Many prints As i . Thai s 15 to 20 naturally i can t see them All. There Art 1,1 10 prints of Urban  that number demonstrates Paramount s belief that the John Travolta him will be a summer Winner at the Box offices. Bridges himself has Confidence despite a few Early reviews that were uncomplimentary. Being an Arkansas boy. James Bridges has always liked country and Western music it s slower you can in Urban Cowboy Debra Winger and John Travolta visit Gilley a a Texas Saloon. Hear the lyrics it tells a Story and it has a  that was an Early attraction to the script that is entered at Gilley a the huge modern Day Texas Saloon that is a shrine for country and Western music. In late 1978, Bridges was dubbing the China syn drome and starting to write a script of the world according to Carp for Warner Brothers. Me was approached by producers Irving  and Robert Evans about a subject that had originated As an eight Page article in inquire. Let me go to Gilley a said Bridge. He was immediately taken by he raw Energy of the place. A first draft script had been written a Aaron Latham author of the Magazine article. Bridges wrote his own draft and both were discarded. The pair collaborated on a new one. A major concern was the casting of Bud. The ranch boy who comes to Houston to work in an Oil refinery and discovers the Joys of Gilley s. Bridges had narrowed his Choice to Dennis Quad and Sam Bottoms when the fateful Telephone Call came would you consider John Travolta Bridges first reaction was what a terrible idea but then he wondered can he do it beset by personal troubles and the failure of moment by moment Travolta had dropped out of american Gigolo a Wise decision Bridges believes. He and Travolta flew to Houston last february for a look at Gilley s. With heavy Beard the actor managed to escape recognition until he started watching the mechanical Bull which plays an important part in the movie. Hying in his own plane Back to California tra Volta told Bridges i want to be in your  filming began last june. It was Travolta s dream to arrive Texas style. He hired a Railroad car once owned by Howard Hughes and the major figures of the film trav eled eastward with elegance. Their arrival in Houston was spoiled by derailment of another train. The travellers had to Detrain at Elpaso and Fly the rest of the Way. Much has been written about the filming of Urban Cowboy most of it negative. A no press edict was issued causing would be reporters to try to crash with the extras. Bridges denies there were any major problems involving the filming except for the hottest wettest sum Mer in recent Houston  about the Cost i was Given a budget of $ 11.2 million. I said it would Cost $12.5 million because time was needed to integrate the music. The final Cost was under si3 million which makes Urban Cowboy the cheapest major film of the  Bridges was pleased with Travolta s conversion from new Jersey boy to Texas Cowboy John visited with a lot of texans says the director. He listened to them talk watched How they walked and then simulated them. He had help from Dwight Adair of Austin who recorded All the dialogue As it would be spoken by texans. John is a first class actor he knows How to adapt styles and mannerisms to new  pretenders Don t pretend raise interest in new Rock band by John Rockwell new York times he pretenders have aroused .1 consider Able amount of interest for a new Rock band. There would seem to be two Basic reasons for that apart from Rock s constant need to renew itself with trendy novelties. First there is still a disturbing Gulf Between the Rock intelligentsia s favourites and the commercial mainstream in the United states. Acts like Blondie talking Heads Elvis costello and the clash have begun to close that Gulf by winning radio air play and sales. But there is still plenty of room for new bands that Combine the hip and the marketable. With the Success of their single. Brass in pocket and the warm audience response and reviews they be been winning around the country the pretenders seem to have got the Knack too so to speak. Second there is the figure of Chrissie Hynde whose band this is in other words she founded it writes its songs is the Lead Singer and plays guitar. On this tour she has been winning reviews that suggest that she is this year s Rock female archetype supplanting Deborah Harry of Blondie last year s. Rock critics keep searching for Ever stronger female Rock performers the Days of vulnerable suffering As something to be exploited Are fading. The Public seems cautious about accepting this process Izeyll buy Harry who combines dream girl Good looks with Punk flip Oess but they never quite accepted Palti Smith or Bonnie rail. People who have seen Hynde perform Are saying she represents a further step along the Road to the assertive female Rock Star. On record she strikes a note of Preda tory sexuality a Long Way removed from say Olivia Newton John. It s not that she wants us to forget that she s a woman. Rather she does t want to pretend to be passive about her femininity. The Way i feel about myself is that i m miss that s miss not is Normal Hync remarked the other Day by Telephone from St. Louis. Like any sex cocktail waitress who used to Model. I m not particularly Butch. In Britain i have this image of being a Loudmouth Tough yank but i can sit around and talk perfume with the rest of the  Hync who is 28 years old comes from Akron Ohio. She left for London in Early 1973, after three years at Kent state University and has been based in London Ever since except for a Brief Middle West sojourn in 1975. I wanted to go where the musical possibilities were the  she says. I had had enough of the Amer ican Way of life. I could t stay Here without a car and i did t want to get into the trap of buying a car to get to work to pay for the car. Americans have so Many posses Sions their cars and their Flats and their plants and their boyfriends and their pets they can t get out. I always wanted to be a  Hynde lived happily through the height of the London Punk scene in 1977-78 but Only formed the pretenders a year and a half ago. The band has what she Calls a Bright accessible pop sound especially in Iti singles. But the lyrics suggest a tougher More Complex sensibility right now Hynde is facing the hurdle of Many successful Rock Debutante the second album. A Rock com Poser s first album often contains the fruit of Many years work if it s a Success time is eaten up touring and expectations make for added pressure when it comes to writing and recording the follow up album. The minute any pressure is put on me 1 Back off Hynde said. At Kent state if i had to read a Book i d paint and if 1 had to paint i d drink. It takes me Ages to write a song. I have five or six notebooks full of disjointed ideas but 1 m touring All the time and i have to be alone to do this kind of stuff. I won t put out a record that s not As Good As i can do. It s really frustrating All the time for me. Every Day somebody asks me about the second Al bum and my heart sinks a  the pretenders