Filmmaker Bruce David Klein on How Liza Became Liza (With a Little Help from her Friends)

EDGE: How did you come up with the title?

Bruce David Klein: In the end, I felt very strongly that the title should come from her. And in the film, she talks about working with Fred Ebb, who wrote the patter for her in "Liza With A Z," and she says, "I have a truly terrific, absolutely true story for you." So it kind of all worked. And I always, for some reason, seemed to be partial to longer titles. That's probably stupid, but I just I like ones that are full of meat.

EDGE: When I saw the film in Provincetown, you said you chose to include a lot of footage of Liza in the 1970s when she is an electrifying performer to counter the image of her as the woman in the wheelchair at the Oscars in 2022. Why was that important for you?

Bruce David Klein: Well, the film came about after we were alerted by Liza's people that there were hours and hours of 1970s footage in Liza's vault. That footage is one of the reasons we – my co-producer and myself – wanted to make the film. Watching it, our jaws just dropped. It reminded us of the explosive talent she was in the 70s. So it was a no-brainer that if you're doing something on Liza, you need to dive in to the 70s. But we felt we needed a perspective. The "Cabaret" story had been told; the "Liza With a Z" story had been told; the "New York, New York" story had been told; which is how we came up with this counter narrative about her mentors.

EDGE: Yes. You tell the stories of how many of these artists – Kay Thompson, Fred Ebb, Bob Fosse (amongst others) – were instrumental in shaping Liza's career after the death of her mother, Judy Garland, in 1969. Where did that concept come from?

Bruce David Klein: I must give credit where credit is due. In part from Liza herself. One of the things I often say in the Q&A sessions I have at screenings is that she is one of the most generous celebrities I have ever met. She constantly says of these mentors, "he invented me" or "she invented me." I remember asking her about Fred Ebb, and she stopped my question. "Oh, Fred invented me!," she said. And it all clicked for me. That is the way she sees herself. She was lucky enough to find and nurture these relationships with geniuses who fueled her unique take on performing. It was after the death of her mother that she was able to spread her own wings, but that came through the help of these geniuses. And their stories are an important part of how Liza became Liza.