The man who fell to Madrid On David Bowie’s New Mexico movie

Ever wonder why t he 1976 movie The Man Who Fell to Earth opens with the space alien, played by David Bowie, l anding on a hill outside Madrid, New Mexico? The original 1963 sci- f i novel by Walter Stone Tevis was set in the Appalachian coal country of Kentucky. All along, Tevis envisioned a film version that took place in that state, where his parents moved the family when he was a child. The Man Who Fell to Earth wound up in New Mexico instead because Gov. Jerry Apodaca’s film commissioner, Howard Rubin, successfully pitched the state as an alternative shooting location. Gov. Apodaca even volunteered his official state plane so film crews could find locations to replace the Kentucky settings mentioned in the book.

Only through Rubin’s substantial Hollywood connections and some forward-thinking assistance from the governor was New Mexico able to pull off a coup: bringing the first British production company to shoot a feature film here. The London-based director, Nicolas Roeg, had previously worked primarily in Britain and it s former territories — completing

Performance and much of Don’t Look Back at home and Walkabout in Australia.

Now, more than 40 years later, a new book has appeared that offers a behind-the-scenes look at the making of the film, one of the most enduring cult classics. Earthbound: David Bowie and The Man Who Fell to Earth is the name of the book, and its author, Susan Compo, will do a book signing at Bookworks in Albuquerque on Friday, Jan. 5.

Ahead of the signing, the Los Angeles-area resident discussed the book and her passion for the film. She has seen it 24 times and was planning her 25th screening at the University of Southern California, where she was invited to speak about the movie. She said the first dozen or so screenings happened long ago, back when she was a teenager harboring a big crush on the mysterious pop idol from England.

Compo, unfortunately, never got to meet Bowie, who is alternately known by the string of glam personas he adopted during his career, including Ziggy Stardust, the Thin White Duke, Major Tom, and Aladdin Sane. “Elusive” is the word she used to describe him. “He was literate, educated, self- educated, actually.” She said he brought more than 400 books with him to read in New Mexico. But he didn’t entirely lock himself away in a dressing room. He especially enjoyed fishing here. While she didn’t interview Bowie, Compo met with scores of individuals involved in the production of the film, ranging from Bowie’s co-star Candy Clark to the film’s editor, Graeme Clifford, who penned the foreword for Compo’s book.

“About five years ago, I came up with t he idea for t he book,” said Compo, who has also written a biography of actor Warren Oates, as well as three works of fiction. “But none of the publishers I approached made a commitment to get behind t he project.” She continued her research sporadically, while making additional, unsuccessful pitches, i ncluding an approach to t he University of New Mexico Press. The ice finally broke with the surprise news that Bowie had died from liver cancer on Jan. 10, 2016. “It’s odd how t hat goes, but Bowie’s death made it more appealing to t he publishers.” She chose London’s Jawbone Press, which specializes in books about music.

With the film having been shot in New Mexico, Compo found little information about it in the archives of the British Film Institute or the Hollywood- based Motion Picture Association of America. She had to rely on participants in the production, like Clark, Clifford, and Rubin, to share their personal memories. She also found a wealth of articles from New Mexico newspapers, as location shooting for The Man Who

Fell to Earth took place in nearly a dozen towns, stretching from Artesia and Roswell in the south, north to Santa Fe and Los Alamos, as well as in the Jemez Mountains, particularly at Fenton Lake.

Further complicating matters, the version of the movie released in U.S. theaters lopped 36 minutes off the original running time of 140 minutes. The distributor, Cinema 5, thought the cuts produced a more concise and action- packed t ale, but critics responded with “mixed reviews,” Compo said, with many confused by the truncated narrative. Only when the original version was belatedly restored in 2011 did most critics begin raving about The Man Who Fell to Earth — although a few detractors never relented.

One of Campo’s most fascinating anecdotes follows Bowie’s longstanding efforts to revive t he movie. More than once, following the completion of The Man Who Fell to Earth, he secured film rights to Tevis’ story. He was not the only one — in 1987, ABC released a TV movie- of-the-week remake starring Lewis Smith as the alien, with Wil Wheaton, Beverly D’Angelo, and former Santa Fean Annie Potts in supporting roles. Bowie’s follow-up eventually came to l i fe in t he form of Lazarus, a musical stage production shown in London and New York. Bowie appeared in the video for his song by the same name, which depicts him on his deathbed, and finally leaving this world for a better one through a wardrobe.