Alpi Klein, the power agent, has a Superman complex that is both heroic and his downfall. Being the thinker of the group, he is the eyes and ears of Hollywood, the silent conquistador who discovers the new world for those to claim. Alpi thrives on intellect and the general profundity of pragmatic logic versus the notion of being the dream maker, the entertainer, the voyeur, and the fantasy. The compass is optimistic that he can help cultivate a semblance of reality through his nurturing abilities but he is just a man. He knows from the past that this a cruel place. He has seen from firsthand that some stars come to this medium lost and confused and he watches the silver screen darlings before this new batch reach the point of no return. He’s of the old world, a purveyor of the past. He was present during the last days of Gable and Monroe. He saw himself, post Vietnam, in a world where we no longer needed Cary Grant and Jimmy Stewart. Instead, he saw the studios welcome a new breed, post Brando. Now Nicholson, DeNiro, Pacino, and Hoffman were the kings of pride rock. In his old age, he never lost his critical judgements of his surroundings, his pessimism for change, and his overly analytical forecast for the only world he knows.
Character: Alpi Finney Klein
Creation: Alpi Klein has had the most interesting life. He is the adopted son of Chicago’s most notorious mobster Sam Giancana. He has seen just about every scandal from the past 50 years. Life has yet to slow down for the industry’s most powerful talent agent. He has signed and discovered some of the biggest stars in the world. He has also been known around as the “Hollywood Fixer,” a title he has always hated but cannot change. When the stars get out of line, he sets them back in tune. If they cannot be tamed, he fixed them permanently. He is whoever you want him to be. The literal realization of a white devil or a saving Angel of Mercy and Death. In the 70’s, he began his partnership with Caldwell Studios under the leadership of Raymond Caldwell and later in the decade under the reign of his best friend and Vietnam comrade Douglas. His love for his godson Easton is tested at times. Easton’s penchant for mayhem tests him to no end but he is the calm cool and reliant mentor who is the voice of wisdom. When the world turns pitch back at those he loves, he is the comforter to them. Essentially, Alpi is both Easton and Patrick’s all seeing eyes and coach, and the hero and the villain are his highly talented but undisciplined students. He has power to help them avoid problems and pitfalls along the way, but in Easton’s case, he won’t listen. Patrick, on the other hand, meets with the darkest bouts of Alpi’s wisdom, sometimes envisioning him as the Devil incarnate. Alpi sees the greater wisdom in allowing them to figure things out on their own.
DUSTIN HOFFMAN AS THE ROLE OF THE POWER AGENT, ALPI KLEIN:
The only actor I presently want to pursue for the role of the duplicitous Hollywood agent is the magnificent Dustin Hoffman. He has all the sensitive in the world to play that fatherly figure but that stark command that can put the fear in you.
Obscura 