It was warmer than usual Sunday, March 21st and the traffic into New York City was still light. Walking to the Waldorf Astoria on Park Avenue was a pleasant change from the gritty streets of Times Square and the well-used screening rooms on Broadway.
The city was breathing a sigh of relief that winter might finally be over and that the first day of Spring was at hand.
In spite of the bright sun outside the lobby of the Waldorf was its usual thickly carpeted and richly grained self. There is a transition that is made from the world outside when one steps in and takes the elevator up to the myriad meeting rooms on the 18th floor.
A transition from the ordinary to the extraordinary. This was the press conference for Paul Weitz’s new ‘American Dreamz’ starring Hugh Grant and Dennis Quaid.
Dennis Quaid wasn’t there, but Hugh certainly was.The first question probed the issue of Grant’s semi-retirement from the screen for some 18 months and inquired if he was, indeed, back.
Good naturedly enough, Grant confirmed that he was back after taking some time off and eventually “…getting bored, and bored of being bored.” What is an actor to do?
But he is back and working on his new film with Drew Barrymore as we speak. The working title is “Music and Lyrics by” and is due out in late 2006.
Hugh singing and dancing? You’ll get to see it soon, stay tuned...
In ‘American Dreamz’, Grant plays the self-loathing, egotistical and somewhat sadistic host of a satirized ‘American Idol’ reality TV series. The show’s ratings are skyrocketing as Americans throng to the talent lottery where some make it, but most don’t.
Grant’s first selection is Mandy Moore who gets to explore her “dark side” as a grasping singer.
Did Moore like the part? Yes, she appreciated the challenge at least, she said, if not the character. But this is where the heart of the show lies, this is Director/Writer Weitz’s vision--the film is all about dreams and reality and the way we see ourselves and others.
Weitz is well aware of the potentially controversial nature of the characters. It includes a fairly scathing depiction of the president as a dim-witted puppet living in a world of fantasy and controlled by his chief of staff, played by Willem Dafoe. That alone is enough to get a laugh out of most people.
But Weitz disclosed a secret of his own during the interview: his love of the old Preston Sturges movies, especially, ‘Hail the Conquering Hero’ with Eddie Bracken.
In a way these films drive much of what he is doing today.They represent his stated goal of, “making mainstream movies that make political statements.”
‘American Dreamz’ does, on several levels. His main hope is that both the right and left will be annoyed equally, but he confirms he is no Michael Moore.
When the inevitable question arose about how Mandy felt about TV-manufactured pop stars, she was remarkable in her acceptance. Although many might think pop stars are born overnight, there is often hard work behind the seemingly sudden rise to fame.
When Paul and Chris Klein were surveyed as to the potential fallout from the foolish war veteran character played by Klein, Paul pointed out that like the Eddie Bracken character in ‘Conquering Hero,’ the hero was a public fantasy. It was all a dream.
“Besides,” said Paul, “the character became a soldier for all the wrong reasons, running away actually”.
Grant worked with the Weitz brothers, Chris and Paul, on ‘About a Boy’ (2002), and Chris worked with the duo on ‘American Pie’ (1999).
When asked what it was like to work with two directors, Klein’s reply was that, “It was great, they have a clear-cut and seamless vision of how the scene should go.”
Grant, still living his part from “Dreamz” added, “There were rumors for years they were actually Siamese twins joined at the head.”
Sam Golzari, playing the hapless terrorist who finds himself the inexplicable star (more Eddie Bracken) was asked if he was nervous about playing a terrorist.
This is the kind of part that some might not find funny, especially when the terrorist turned-performer seems to be so capable compared to the addled President and the feckless war veteran.
His response? “There is something releasing and positive about the film in spite of his terrorist part.”
Willem Dafoe was the master performer of the group. In response to the assertion that modern society is satire-proof because it satirizes itself every day, he deferred the politics. “I mostly just concentrate on telling the story and doing my part. Sure, society eats itself all the time. There are no political revelations to me in this film, but it does use humor to approach life from a different angle.”
Weitz’s take on the “American Idol” was as scary as it was funny. “The strange thing about AI is that it is getting more and more popular. It seems to be tapping into an obsessive need. Most people believe they are one step away from being a star themselves and it is this ability to see themselves on the stage that makes it work.”
Grant couldn’t resist the on-going joke, “I loved my part, but the show doesn’t go far enough. I would like to see the losers tortured. It’s like a return to ancient Rome...burning Christians alive and all.”
He confesses to having a secret desire to be on TV and mentioned a proposed celebrity wrestling match with Colin Firth. Firth declined for reasons that will be left unsaid.
Tony Yalda replied that it was easy for him to achieve a chemistry with Sam Golzari, his imagined rival in the film because, “Sam had more lines than me anyway...so it was easy to create the feeling of jealousy and loathing. We bonded.”
With regard to Mandy Moore getting into her part, he reported “...she came around my trailer and slapped me around just to get the feel of it....” Yalda probably put more real humor into the interview than the rest of the group combined.
Weitz’ directing style is definitely on the democratic side of the spectrum. His general method is to let the actors make their own statement and then work within that.
With regard to Willem Dafoe:“We did a computer morph of Willem’s head and that was kind of funny. I knew Willem was not going to do a straight-on parody of somebody...but was going to put something into it.’ And sure enough, he did.
About Grant: “I was developing Hugh’s character as I was writing the script. But if the actor is not bringing more to it than the writer, it is never going to happen.”
In closing the actors were all very complementary about Weitz’ style and the respect he showed to even the newcomers. He appears to have vision and is developing these relationships for the long term. He always has his eye on the next film and wants to make sure he has a receptive set of actors.
Weitz’ believes in quality and has great respect for the time in film making where acting was still more important than special effects.
He couldn’t resist one last final plug: the original ‘American Pie’ had many of the “hotter’ parts left on the cutting room floor. But the new DVD, soon to be released, apparently has many of them back in.
“So you’ll have to buy the DVD to see them.” Check it out...
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