AMADEUS - Professional Triumph

One evening when Forman was in London casting his film Ragtime, when his agent, Robert Lantz, who also represented playwright Peter Shaffer, called and asked him if he wanted to see a new play. Forman agreed to see the play, but was so busy with casting that he didn’t even ask what they were going to see. When he found out that they were going to see a new play about a composer, he was prepared for the most boring evening ever.  As he was waiting to fall asleep in the theater, the performance started and he was surprised to find a wonderful drama unfold. He believed that it would make a wonderful film - Amadeus.  After the show, he met the playwright, Peter Shaffer, and he agreed to work with Forman on developing the screenplay. Filmed almost entirely on location in Forman's native homeland, Amadeus was his first film made in Czechoslovakia since his emigration in 1968 to the United States. Although Miloš Forman has made numerous award-winning films, one of his most triumphant successes was Amadeus. The film was nominated for 54 awards and won 41, including 8 academy awards.
Photo courtesy of Jaromír Komárek