Back stage at the Oscars with Alan Arkin: The press interview

Movies News

By Scott Rosenberg Mar 6, 2007, 6:48 GMT

At the Academy Awards every year, after the winners receive their Oscar, they are herded into a photograph room for their official photos and then into the press room where international press have an opportunity to "talk" with the winners. Following is the official Academy transcript for Alan Arkin:
A. Good evening. What? Are we auctioning something? I'm not an auctioneer. I have a thing. What? What am I supposed to do here?Q. Mr. Arkin, over here. Mr. Arkin, when you saw the billboards for ‘Norbid’ around town, did you think your Oscar shot was going up?A. Look. I don't keep score. It's not about furlongs. I feel in a sense like a hypocrite because I don't believe in competitions between art activities. I think it's insane. This is a fun kind of insanity but who is to say who is better? I mean, who has the authority to say who is better? Just -- I felt for a long time that if 100 people say one person is a better actor and 50 people say somebody else is a better actor, why do the 100 people have the vote? The 50 people may have been more deeply moved by another performance. What's the criteria? The criteria is very shadowy. I don't keep score. I mean, I'm happy to have this. It's very nice, but I don't keep score, yeah.Q. Mr. Arkin, hello. Over here on your right. Chris Stanley with KNX Radio. At the time that you won the award at the SAG ensemble, you made a very moving and persuasive speech about ensemble acting, and you talked about it as a ball and keeps rolling and no part should stick out. So whether you like it or not, you stuck out on this ensemble. And one wonders, are you willing to revise your thinking about that?A. Not at all. I think it's because of my age. Everyone thinks I'm going to keel over in a year or two, give me a little bonus.Q. Why do you think the Academy gave you this award then?A. I haven't got a clue. I have no idea. Anything I say would be conjecture. This is no way of knowing. I don't really know.Q. Haven't you given it any thought at all?A. None.Q. Are you going to now?A. No.Q. Mr. Arkin.A. Hi.Q. You had a very tender relationship with the little girl. I wanted to find out what it was like working with her and also how often you had to practice to get -- jump into the van when it was moving?A. How long do I practice?Q. Yeah. How did you do that?A. It was a little hairy. We started at a very, very slow speed and kept increasing it till we reached the point when we knew that was it. If we went any faster, we'd have to have a stunt man or a whole bunch of stunt people, and we couldn't afford that. They couldn't afford to lose us. That was the criteria. And working with Abigail was a sheer delight. She is a lovely, delightful, charming child. And her parents are with her all the time. It was like working with a -- with a woman of 40 year's experience. We were locked in the van for hours and it was 95 degrees out, no air conditioning. And she was just one of the group. She demanded no special attention. She busied herself with her music and writing things and was talking to us. I'm crazy about her.Q. Hi, Alan Arkin. Congratulations.A. Thank you.Q. From what I understand, you have now tied Helen Hayes record in Academy Awards history, 38 years between your last nomination and this, this win.A. Sure.Q. What was it like 38 years ago at your last nomination and did you ever think it would come around again?A. In God's truth, I don't spend a lot of time thinking about it. I do my work. My main concern is being in projects where I can be excited about something. I don't -- most of the actors I know don't spend a lot of time projecting into the Awards, blah, blah, blah. Most of the actors are doing it because they want to work in something they feel is substantial, something they can have fun with, something they can be excited about for one reason or another.Q. Was having a nomination back in, what was it, 1969?A. I'm sorry. Say that again.Q. Was the nomination back then were the Academy Awards a whole different beast than they are now?A. I think so. I don't remember. I'm 72. I don't remember anything anymore, and I'm proud of it, both.Q. Hello. I have seen you in so many wonderful independent films these past several years, just wonderful. How do you choose the films that you do and is that a priority to you to do smaller ensemble films?A. Yes. My preference is to do small films where I make absolutely no money whatsoever. It's mostly of concern to me what -- what the Anthony is going to be like. The part is very important to me, but I also want to know what the film is about, who the other actors are going to be, whether they are going to be a joy to work with, who the director is. I care about the entity. That's my deepest concern. I consider myself very much a team player and I want to be with something that has some kind of integrity as a group effort. That's the real joy I get out of my work.Q. I think back to some of the portions that move me, and I remember very clearly ‘Wait until Dark’ and climbing into my parent's bed every night for two weeks after that. Here we are all the years later and another bag of heroin undoes you again? You talk about the ensemble. You really were a believable family. I think everyone of us who sat around Thanksgiving and fought with our relatives relate to this. Talk about creating that chemistry, the bonding created in this picture.A. Well, I think it mainly had to do with Jonathan and Valerie's brilliant casting. They casted very carefully, and I think either unconscious or subliminally on that part they had a sense the people they were casting were going to be team players, number one. And, number two, we had a week beforehand getting together riding around in the van having lunch together, playing tag. We played all kinds of games for days and days. We went bowling. I won. I did very well. And that, I think, did something to create some of the atmosphere. And I think it was mainly the fact that they hired a bunch of actors who were team players that weren't elbowing each other out of the way. And that's it. Thank you.Q. Thank you very much and congratulations.