Director Robert Altman remembered in new book, documentary

Robert Altman liked to call the shots. He was a rebel who did not let studio heads tell him how to make his movies. Now nearly eight years after his death, his widow Kathryn, alongside film critic Giulia D'Agnolo Vallan, co-authored a new biography about the maverick filmmaker. He's also the focus of a documentary and a retrospective at New York's Museum of Modern Art, reports CBS News correspondent Ben Tracy.

In 1970's "M*A*S*H" he insisted on bloody realism. In 1967's "Countdown" it was the innovation of overlapping dialogue that was before its time.

It bothered studio head Jack Warner so much that he banned Altman from the Warner Brothers lot.

"He says, 'That fool,' meaning me, 'has actors talking at the same time,'" Robert said in the documentary "Altman."

Many of Altman's 39 films are considered among Hollywood's best and now his work is back in the spotlight.

Kathryn Altman was married to the dynamic director for 47 years. They met on a movie set. She'd been a swimmer in Esther Williams films.

"He said, 'How are your morals?' and I said, 'A little shaky. How are yours?' And kept walking. And he followed me until the end of his life," Katheryn said.

But Kathryn also followed him to all of his movie locations around the world, with their six children in tow. She took thousands of pictures of their adventures filling 32 photo albums. They are now part of a new coffee table book simply titled "Altman."

A new documentary film by the same name has never-before-seen footage. It explores Altman's unique approach, something those close to him call "Altmanesque."

The director formed lifelong friendships with most of his actors, including Lily Tomlin.

"Most actors were really crazy about Bob Altman," she said. "I mean they were kind of in love with him."

What they loved was his creativity. Altman considered a script a blueprint from which his actors should build their performance.

"Actors would say things to him like, you know, 'What do you want in this scene?' And he say, 'I don't know, why don't you surprise me?'" Tomlin said.

Oscar winner Tim Robbins starred in three of Altman's films including "The Player," which skewered Hollywood.

"When I first met him he was one of my heroes," Robbins said, "So many of his films reinvented the way stories were told."

When "M*A*S*H" became Altman's first smash, it took top honors at the Cannes Film Festival. It also earned Altman his first of five Oscar nominations. Although he never won, Altman did receive an honorary Oscar in 2006, shortly before he died of complications from leukemia.

Kathryn said there are several things people can learn from her late husband's life.

"Courage of your own conviction. Stick with it. Don't give up. Fight the system," she said.