PBS documentary delves into love story of Julie Andrews and filmmaker Blake Edwards: How to watch

Even more than a dozen years after his death, Blake Edwards remains an influential Hollywood icon, revered for directing movies like "Breakfast at Tiffany's," "Days of Wine and Roses" and the "Pink Panther" comedies.

Born in Tulsa and raised primarily in Los Angeles, Edwards, who died in 2010 at age 88, was married for more than 40 years to stage and screen legend Julie Andrews, collaborating with her on seven films, including the gender-bending movie musical "Victor/Victoria," the bawdy comedy "10" and the scathing Tinseltown takedown "S.O.B."

The four-decade romance between Edwards (1922-2010) and Andrews is at the heart of new documentary "Blake Edwards: A Love Story in 24 Frames," premiering nationwide at 8 p.m. Tuesday, Aug. 27 on PBS as part of the long-running series "American Masters."

The new film about the Oscar-honored writer, director and producer features interviews with Andrews; other actors who worked with Edwards, including Lesley Ann Warren (“Victor/Victoria"), Bo Derek (“10") and Robert Wagner ("The Pink Panther"); comedian Patton Oswalt; movie critic Leonard Maltin; Edwards’ children, Jennifer and Geoffrey Edwards; and well-known filmmakers Rob Marshall ("Chicago"), Rian Johnson (the "Knives Out" movies), Paul Feig ("Bridesmaids") and Jay Chandrasekhar ("Super Troopers").

Ahead of the documentary's debut on PBS (OETA in Oklahoma City), Danny Gold, the film's producer, co-writer and director, and Michael Kantor, executive producer for "American Masters," spoke with The Oklahoman, part of The USA TODAY Network, about Edwards' origins, Hollywood love story with Andrews, continued cinematic influence and more.

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Interview has been edited and condensed for clarity.

Q: What made you want to make a documentary about Blake Edwards?

Gold: When I was 12 years old, I went to the Cinerama Dome in Hollywood, here in Los Angeles, and saw a movie called 'Return of the Pink Panther.' And that just opened the door for me to Blake Edwards. That was my gateway. Then, I started exploring his earlier work, and I just tracked his career and became a big fan of his movies in general. So, I always had an interest in him. I was a huge Peter Sellers fan. I was fascinated by that relationship — director and star — so that was sort of the impetus to start the whole process.

Q: Can you talk a little bit about Blake Edwards' Oklahoma background and how it loomed large throughout his life and creative process?

Gold: Blake was born in Oklahoma in 1922, and his parents divorced when he was very young. Then, his mom married Jack McEdward, and then they moved to Los Angeles. ... Interestingly, a lot of celebrities and filmmakers have intersected with Oklahoma, either being born there or raised there. When I was doing research on this movie, I noticed that. ... One of his films called 'Wild Rovers,' a Western, was, according to Julie and according to his own words also, semi-autobiographical. I think we all take part of where we come from, and it becomes part of our DNA, in a sense.

Kantor: His first two films were Westerns that he wrote, 'Panhandle' and 'Stampede.' So, A. It was probably within the time of the Western, and Westerns were more interesting then. But B. Was he channeling something from his earliest days? It's hard to know.

Q: What were your impressions of his relationship with Julie Andrews when you interviewed her?

Gold: They were entwined for 43 years, professionally and personally, and he's very important to her, based on my interview. In fact, one of the themes that came out of it was a love story: That she still loves him. ... Julie spoke with high regard about Blake. It was a real love story, and professionally, they were very important to each other's careers. ... And I think it's on the screen: You really get a sense of their relationship.

Q: Was it difficult to coalesce his whole life and creative work down to an hour and a half for the film?

Gold: Yes, very difficult, because he directed 53 films, and ... there's no way to cover 53 films in 90 minutes or less — and it wouldn't do justice, I think, to the story. So, we tried to use the films thematically connected to technique or influences, or the influence he had on others, which I think is a big part of the story: the filmmakers we talked to, where they're discussing the influence that Blake Edwards had on their careers and continues to have in terms of their comedy or their storytelling or the way they film things.

Q: Can you talk about incorporating animation into the documentary?

Gold: Well, it started out first as an opening title sequence. I wanted to do an homage to what Blake did: Blake's opening title sequences were important to him, in 'The Pink Panther,' especially. The animators that he used for that, DePatie and Freleng, ... I wanted to do an homage to that.

Then, the relationship with the animator was going so well, there were moments in the movie where we just didn't have coverage. There were no photos, there was no footage, and to break (up) just the talking heads, we wanted to illustrate. So, we had fun with it ... and we were able to tell the story that way.

Kantor: Danny and his team were afforded rare access to archival materials. Two years into their relationship — I think it's (in) 1971 — Blake makes a film called 'Julie,' in which he looks at their life together. ... Bits of that are interspersed into this film, and that's a very rare and unusual film to be excerpting and creating clips from. So, the Blake Edwards estate, and Julie, his longtime spouse and now widow, really were behind it in a way that you can feel in the film. You can feel like you're getting special material.

Q: Even though he died in 2010, did you find that Blake Edwards' influence is still strong?

Gold: I heard about the 'Days of Wine and Roses' Broadway show. ... I think there's even talk, maybe more than talk, about another 'Pink Panther' film being developed right now. But most importantly, as far as influence, is talking to Rian Johnson or Paul Feig or Jay Chandrasekhar or even Rob Marshall. ... Rian Johnson was talking about how the 'Knives Out' films have elements of Blake. So, to me, that's the ultimate in compliment and influence, that these current top filmmakers are definitely explaining the influence that he has and continues to have on their careers.

Q: What do you hope people get out of watching this documentary?

Kantor: Our audience, and I think Americans in general, have an insatiable appetite for behind the scenes in Hollywood stories — and that's what this is. This is a behind-the-scenes a love story in Hollywood of two icons — a filmmaker and an actress or performer — who worked together on seven movies and raised a family together. ...

I think people are, hopefully, going to be excited about being behind the scenes in Hollywood and rediscovering how a collaboration between Blake Edwards and Henry Mancini produces the 'Peter Gunn' theme and 'Moon River' from from 'Breakfast at Tiffany's.' These are eternal, iconic pieces of music. ... It's opening the curtain, taking somebody into the creative process. That's what 'American Masters' is interested in: What makes this person a great artist? And I think this film does that, in large measure, because Julie is so forthright in talking about details of Blake's career, along with these other filmmakers.

Gold: I'm really glad that you know Michael and 'American Masters' gave that opportunity for this wonderful filmmaker to be discovered or rediscovered again, because he definitely belongs in the pantheon of great filmmakers.

HOW TO WATCH

The new documentary "Blake Edwards: A Love Story in 24 Frames" premieres nationwide at 8 p.m. Tuesday, Aug. 27, on PBS, which is OETA in Oklahoma City. It then will be available to stream for a limited time at https://www.pbs.org.