Letter from James Ivory, New York, New York, to Ruth Prawer Jhabvala, Delhi, India, 1969 February 12 : typescript signed.

Describing the activities of a recent trip to Los Angeles: re-recording the boat song for "The Guru" with Michael York, remixing the reel that includes the song, being treated "royally" by Fox; describing meeting Michael and Pat York again, a day trip to Santa Barbara with them "just like any three old friends," how George Cukor banned Pat from the set of "Justine," and an odd dinner with them and Sterling Silliphant and his wife, during which they were told that the Silliphant's house had burned down; describing the difficulties of getting "The Guru" into a theater in New York, with the venue they had chosen being lost at the last minute to the much-anticipated erotic Swedish film "I Am Curous, Yellow"; saying that Hollywood films are making so much money for exhibitors at present that they aren't interested in booking independent films; outlining a proposal to open the film in San Francisco instead, and the horrified reaction from Merchant and David Brown; venting his disgust with the publicity campaign for the film, and in particular for the work of Ira Teller; saying that Merchant "didn't like my treatment" for "Bombay Talkie," and describing what Merchant wants changed; asking for Jhabvala's help with the story; saying Jennifer isn't going to work as a lead in "Passion" because the American studios will not see her as bankable; suggesting alternatives such as Lynn Redgrave, Judi Dench, or Maggie Smith; saying he will look for the books she requested [see MA 23840.702]; telling her, "You must [underlined] get a new publisher," and suggesting Simon & Schuster; saying her new book "A Stronger Climate" is out and has been reviewed by Orville Prescott; telling her he has seen the film "Faces," and last night saw Andy Warhol's "Flesh"; describing "Flesh" in detail, and comparing it to "Chelsea Girls."