Welles to Heston - Don't cooperate with the Suits

Dearest Chuck:

The way I hear it, you and Janet are growing more cooperative by the minute. The fact that the dialogue you are speaking is not absolute hogwash—the fact that your director is not, after all, a certifiable incompetent and above everything else, the fact that all this added work is involving a great quantity of close footage on both of you bums—I suppose makes this cheeriness inevitable.

This is to remind you that what is happening over there is still the ruination of our picture. The spoiling process may be a bit less obvious than we expected, but the essential fact remains, and I beg you not to permit the merry stimulation of work to interfere with that air of reticence you had sworn to maintain.

There's this character—(known an loved by all)—he might be called "Cooperative Chuck"… he is not merely well disciplined in his work, but positively eager—even wildly eager—to make things easy for his fellows on the set and for all the executives in their offices… In a word, he's the Eagle Scout of the Screen Actors Guild.

The purpose of the communiqué to beg him to leave his uniform and flag in the dressing room…

There's nothing I can do about meeting the excitations of the close-up lens, but I can implore you to curb your peace-making instincts and to maintain an aloof and non-committal silence. That goes for Janet, too, damn it.

In a word, keep your yap shut.

Much love,
Orson