Letter from James Ivory, Lake-of-the-Woods, Oregon, to Ruth Prawer Jhabvala, New York, New York, 1977 July 28 : typescript signed.

Telling her that Merchant has informed him that "Roseland" has been chosen for the New York Film Festival; imagining "all those dinner-jacketed, evening-gowned, paté and champagne gorged sensation seekers" being confronted by "Teresa Wright, with her little neck"; describing a sense of shock at coming to Lake-of-the-Woods for the first time "with a just-completed film under my belt that everybody seems to like"; recalling his oldfriends Bruce Anawalt and Dick Yates and Anawalt's reaction to "Bombay Talkie," and his surprise and pleasure at seeing them again now; relating a story of Tony's [probably Tony Korner] arrival-- and subsequent storming off-- at Lake-of-the-Woods; discussing the theoretical "Indian project" starring Foo [Felicity Kendal]; discussing possible parts and characters for their friends and associates like Madhur, Drew, Jennifer, Shashi, the Kendals, Sajid Khan, Praveen Paul; saying it's now her turn to comment on the project; telling her about an invitation they have to stay with the Swopes on Nantucket; thinking about "an American subject" for a film, inspired by Altman's "A Wedding"-- "My last three films have been so dark and murky, people locked up in some hell. I've got togo outdoors now, see trees and sunlit lawns and fields, the sky. Well, The Europeans will do that if it ever gets finances, but anyway, for now, no more closed-in films."