CineVegas Chats Theron, Hopkins, Kingsley, Etc

Sir Anthony Hopkins

Regular visitors to zboneman are surely familiar with our good friend and colleague Judy Thorburn and her charming Husband Stephen a first class photographer and webmaster. Judy is an entertainment reporter with old-school chops and I was so impressed with her nearly verbatim job of covering the Award conversations that I want as many people as possible to enjoy them. Check out their dazzling entertainment site complete with hundreds of photos of the event at http://theflickchicks.com/

Charlize Theron – 2007 Half Life Award

Getting to see and listen to A-list movie stars and top filmmakers discuss their craft in person is a highlight for most fans who attend CineVegas. This year actress Charlize Theron was honored as the recipient of 2007's CineVegas Half Life Award, which is given to an actor in the prime of their career with an already impressive body of work.

At 3pm on Friday, June 15, Charlize sat down in front of a packed theatre for an informal discussion with Pete Hammond of Maxim magazine to talk about her career and to show clips from several of her upcoming movies. Charlize first said that when Dennis Hopper called her to say she was going to be honored with this award she "couldn't believe it and that it really means a lot" to her. She reflected on her early years in South Africa where was born, and how she got started as an actress. "I was a ballerina. It was my life. At 16, my friends entered me in a modeling contest, which I won and then went on to Europe and then New York. At 18, my knees said no more. My career was over. I went to Hollywood and here I am today. I didn't speak English. I had this thick Africanz accent, but was thrown into the deep end. I had to either swim or drown. I met a guy in a bank who sent me on auditions which was great, but I needed to speak English. My roommate, who was from Bosnia but came to America at the age of six, helped me learn English. I also picked it up from watching American TV shows like Dynasty and Dallas, nothing but the best", she said jokingly. Charlize recollected on her first film, "Children of the Corn", either 3 or 4, can't remember which one, but I thought this is it. I called my Mom and said I made it, although I had no knowledge of the film industry and was raised with the philosophy that I was ready to pay my dues".

Charlize went on to say that "I feel blessed to work with people I consider a mentor, who keep feeding my thirst for knowledge". She mentioned working with Woody Allen and Dennis Hopper as examples. But, Hopper was taken by surprise and blushed when she looked at him and stated, "He is more yummy than ever."

Regarding her Oscar winning role of real life serial killer Aileen Wournos in Monster, Charlize said, "I had an instant connection with Patty Jenkins who wrote the script. Her drive and intelligence came from a place so hard to find. Who are we? What is our nature? There is a lot of ugliness in us that we don't want to look at. I wanted to make this film so someone can look in the mirror and understand who this woman is. Funny thing, I had a vivid dream during the shooting of the film where Patty said I was being replaced by another actress. I had paranoid moments. There is nothing subtle about this character. She was in your face."

Dennis Hopper added, "I don't think a man could have made this movie with all its sexual encounters and rape. Charlize responded with "Patty said never think of yourself as a victim. A man would have said pucker up and stop your whining."

When questioned about the possibility of directing, Charlize said "I don't think I want to direct". But, producing is something else with two projects under her belt. She is very proud of the documentary she produced called East of Havana and was eager to show a clip and discuss the film's subject, an underground youth movement in Cuba that consists of rappers who express their views as a fight against censorship.

I was surprised that Monster or any of her other movies wasn't screened at the festival. Instead she brought along clips from three of her upcoming films, In The Valley of Elah which co-stars Tommy Lee Jones, Sleepwalking (formerly titled Ferris Wheel) in which she co-produced and co-stars with Dennis Hopper (who joined her on the couch) as her father, and Nick Stahl as her brother (who was in the audience but was called down to sit with them), and Battle In Seattle written and director by her boyfriend actor Stuart Townsend. "People will think I am biased because I sleep with him (referring to Townsend). But I was blown away by how well he wrote the script. He was incredibly passionate about it. I am glad I kind of cast myself in the film. It is incredible and very powerful film. He (Townsend) would have been here with me, but he is busy in the editing room." I was very impressed by how smart, down to earth, sweet, and genuinely humbled Charlize Theron appeared to be. This, plus beauty and talent, she seems to have it all.

Anthony Hopkins – 2007 Marquee Award

Later in the day 2007 Marquee Award recipient Anthony Hopkins, who is considered to be one of the best living actors today, sat before a packed house to give some insight into his background that entails almost 50 years as an actor. Hopkins revealed that 40 years ago Peter O'Toole asked him to do a screen test. He went on, "It was a unique experience having never made a movie". Not many people are aware that Hopkins was Lawrence Olivier's understudy. He does such a good impression of Olivier's voice (which he gave us a sample of) that when Spartacus was re released years later director Stanley Kubrick asked him to dub in Olivier's voice on the soundtrack in a scene with Tony Curtis because due to sound problems in the old soundtrack, Olivier's dialogue was lost.
In Magic, Hopkins played a ventriloquist driven mad by his dummy. The actor said he was not thrilled about working with a dummy. "I had to learn to throw my voice and did the basics. But I got so involved (in this role) that I said "cut" to the camera as Fats (the dummy). It was very difficult to co-ordinate the stuff."

In the late 80's and early 90's Hopkins career was not going great. But being cast in Silence of the Lambs changed everything. "I thought Nick Nolte would get the Oscar. It was a great honor for me to win the award. There is no way of mapping out your career. Things take you by surprise. Funny thing, I originally thought the movie was a children's story. I was finishing off a contract in the theatre. Sometimes, you disappear for a few years and come back again. You get to a certain stage in life and I think, just go with the flow. Nowadays, I also like to paint and write music."

When asked what role seemed effortless, Hopkins said, "Hannibal Lector. Villains are easier to slip into. I knew this guy. I don't know why, but I am drawn to morbid interests. I felt the tone in my muscles. I was very specific how I wanted him to look. The villain in Fracture was very much like someone I knew". Would he come back and play Hannibal in another sequel? Hopkins responded, "Having the character locked in a glass booth is more powerful; walking the streets not so."

Regarding is role as President Nixon, Oliver Stone "Wanted me because he thought I was an outsider, thought I didn't belong. I thought I would make a complete ass of myself, or stay in theatre in wrinkled tights for the rest of my life. I thought after reading with some of the great American actors Stone would make fun of me. But after putting on the clothes in wardrobe, I felt a breakthrough and went with my intuition. As far as wearing prosthetics, you can either work from the outside or the inside."

The worst theatre experience he ever had was when he was appearing with Judi Dench on stage in Anthony and Cleopatra. "It was three weeks into the run and a voice went off in my head. It said you THINK you are really good. I felt naked, vulnerable and really open."

After the conversation, Hopkins' film Slipstream was screened. Before closing he discussed how the film, in which he wrote directed and stars in, came to be. "Three to four years ago, I sat down at the computer to see if I could write. The story is very personal from my own life. Three times it has happened to me, a strange stream of consciousness; it comes during a crisis, that I lost contact with my immediate memory and all sense of time. It was the worst feeling I ever had – most frightening. I get carried away and tend to get a bit manic when the brain gets overloaded. In this film it is like eight seconds of your life that you go through in an hour and a half. Relax and let it happen. I wanted to see the breakdown, how it comes in strobes. I wanted the film to bring real terror and anxiety. I am proud that it was accepted at Sundance and played there."

Mike Newell – 2007 Vanguard Director

On Saturday afternoon, 2007 Vanguard Award winner, Mike Newell, the British director of Enchanted April, Four Wedding and a Funeral, Donnie Brasco, Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, just to name a few of his critically acclaimed box office hits, had his turn on the couch. After showing short clips from some of his best films, Newell took part in an insightful discussion about the wide range of films, from nice romantic comedy to a mafia film that he has directed. ‘It is simply the stuff I get interested in. There is no master plan. I am interested in the characters; the notion of a fading mafia man, a commitment phobe, or even Harry Potter, a classical thriller. In talking about the difference between British and Hollywood movies he sees British filmmaking as a "cottage industry. In England the mindset is what does the audience know that I don't? Does it (the film) please me and more, does it please my friends. In Hollywood it is all about discovering what the audience wants. We think the audience doesn't matter. It's the same delusion. If I can inject pleasing myself into the Hollywood way and put that trick over, that is an interesting process."
Newell then talked about "needing an antidote after Harry Potter. I lobbied shamelessly for the film adaptation of the classic novel by Gabriel Garcia Marquez, Love in the Time of Cholera. I went to screenwriter Ron Harwood. Yes, it was frightening to put such pressure on myself, but you are compelled by the material or not. This was the most humane piece of work I had seen in a long time. I had to go a dangerous route and cast incredible actresses Americans were not familiar with. It doesn't have a hook like Angelina Jolie to hang a hat on. The movie becomes the star. The buzz starts here (at the festival) before the film is released. It has great actors but not commanding world stars. The novel itself is a series of intricate flashbacks. Ron Harwood had to make the story comprehensible and tell it as a compelling forward moving narrative. The intricate stitchwork comes through the narrative with help from the editor and camera work so that it forms a texture, patina.

What I could tell from the extended clip that was shown, Love in the Name of Cholera starring Javier Bodem looks to be an engrossing and beautiful love story that should satisfy both the director and his audience.

Ben Kingsley - Vanguard Actor

Another British actor, Sir Ben Kingsley was honored with the Vanguard Actor Award. Dennis Hopper introduced Kingsley as one of the greatest living actors and said it was a privilege working with him. The audience was surprised to find out that he had music aspirations as a young man back in England. In the 60's he wrote songs for a play, was asked to sing a chorus and The Beatles manager, Brian Epstein who was also a theatre impresario asked him to come along as part of the show. One night John Lennon was in the audience and I got to meet him. The story got exaggerated as years went by to the extent that word spread that he was almost signed to be a rock star. "I wanted to pursue and acting career. The Royal Shakespeare Company provided me with a career craft. I would have fallen off the rails a rock star", he laughed.
You could tell that music is still much a part of his soul as he described acting in musical terms. He said, "Tea Leoni is this generation's Katherine Hepburn and that working with her in his new movie "You Kill Me" (that was going to be screened shortly after this tribute/conversation) was like two instruments in a duet. Another great actress I have worked with is Lauren Becall, a strong, archetypal woman."

The actor gave some insight into his acting technique and how he sets the tone for his character. "The first scene is very important. You have to look, speak and set a form for the rest of the film. It's a device that you use judiciously and not to wear out. My first experience was with director Lord Attenborough. My character expands over 50 years. I had to identify what would sustain me throughout. Anger and indignation was my spine for the character. As Ghandi, I was first introduced as an angry man being thrown from a train. I connected every gesture to that moment, its cause and affect. If the cause is racist violence, the affect manifests as resilience of the man thrown off the train. The effect is residual. All the characters do what they had to do. Each man finds their own place in destiny doing what they had to do. In House of Sand and Fog, as Anne Franks dad, and as Meyer Lansky I approached them as patriarchs that had to do deals to survive. In Oliver Twist, I used a memory of an old man in an antique shop that I knew as a young child as a model for portraying Fagan. He hunched down to be at the same level as me when he spoke to me, and I used that posture with Fagan and the kids. Hopefully, there is redemption in all the characters I portray, with maybe a few exceptions. Actors have to show vulnerability, to be able to love and be loved."

He also wanted to make it clear that the camera has to be in the right place or actors are wasting their time.

I certainly did not waste any time listening to one of my favorite actors. I have always admired Ben Kingsley's acting ability, but I now am also impressed by his intelligence and eloquence. I stayed afterwards to see his flick, the closing night film, "You Kill Me".