J L Seagull film (1973)

[Mark M]

Machine translation from German:

SEPTEMBER 28, 1972

(The following people were present: Jane Roberts, Robert Butts, Eleanor Friede and Richard Bach.

After dictating several paragraphs of for his book, Seth said the following:)


Give us a moment.

(To Dick Bach) You didn't ask me for advice, and I won't give you any. However, given the information available at this point, I wouldn't get too involved with the California scene, especially for your film. It's too cult-like for you and will only annoy you.

...

[Mark M]

Turning the page revealed a little more:

Machine translation:

AN EVENING WITH SETH

SEPTEMBER 28, 1972

(To Dick Bach) You didn't ask me for advice, and I won't give you any. However, given the information available at this point, I wouldn't get too involved with the California scene, except for your film. It's too cult-like for you and will only annoy you.

Everything you fear about being a celebrity becomes strengthened there, and within the cult barriers and boundaries will fall. You will have to struggle to maintain your sense of integrity; there will be too many dragons for you to fight, and smoke will come out of your nostrils, and you will go out to fight them like St. George.

[Mark M]

Lawsuits

The film was the subject of three lawsuits that were filed around the time of the film's release. Author Richard Bach sued Paramount Pictures before the film's release for having too many discrepancies between the film and Bach's adapted screenplay. Director Bartlett had allegedly violated a term in his contract with Bach which stated that no changes could be made to the film's adaptation without Bach's approval. Associate Producer Leslie Parrish was appointed to be a mediator between Bach and Bartlett, but the mediation failed. Bach eventually had his name removed from the screenwriting credits.[6]

The judge ordered the studio to make some re-edits before it was released.[7] Bach's attorney claimed, "It took tremendous courage to say this motion picture had to come out of theaters unless it was changed. Paramount was stunned."[8]

Neil Diamond sued Bartlett for cutting much of his music from the film....

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jonathan_Livingston_Seagull_(film)#Lawsuits

[Mark M]

(Timothy Foote, senior editor in charge of the book review department for Time Magazine, interviewed Jane and me today in connection with a cover story he is to write about Richard Bach and Jonathan Livingston Seagull.

[... 1 paragraph ...]

(As it was, Seth spoke very briefly to Timothy Foote at about 3:00 PM, discussing some remarks all of us had been making about Freudian psychology. It wasn't recorded or noted. At the time I thought the brief appearance a little odd, but when it developed that Timothy Foote wouldn't be staying for supper, as we had planned, Seth's appearance made good sense.

(Some time later Jane told me she picked up that when Seth spoke Timothy was suspicious—"Seth would speak now, you see, in order to make an impression," etc.

(Timothy Foote told Jane he would review Seth Speaks for the magazine. We didn't ask him to do this. He told us his review for Richard Bach wouldn't "be hostile;" he didn't particularly like the book. Jane, liking Timothy Foote, told me later that had he stayed for the evening she would have had a session for him; yet we feel there were reasons he didn't stay, and that things worked out for the best all around.

[... 6 paragraphs ...]

For he is a kind, well-intentioned, intelligent man, searching to make sense of the nature of reality by using the yardstick of available beliefs. His kindly inner skepticism is the same as that that is within many of the magazine's readers. They will (in quotes) "want to believe" Seagull and its story, for example, but they will not come from any homogenous background of acceptance, necessarily. Do you follow me?

[... 41 paragraphs ...]

(A copy of Seth's answer to Timothy's daughter will be sent to Timothy, probably after his article about Dick Bach has appeared in Time Magazine. [Copy sent to Timothy Foote October 21, Saturday.]

(Added Note: Timothy Foote also told Jane and me that he'd like to do a feature story on Jane, Seth and me for Time Magazine, but that it probably wouldn't ever be done—the magazine being "too secular"—Timothy Foote's words. I don't know whether he meant cover story, a la Dick Bach.

--Seth, TPS2, Deleted Session, October 13, 1972