Hey folks, Harry here... A film I saw a looooong time ago, back last summer during the joy that was the Cine-Vegas Film Festival called POOLHALL JUNKIES is set to begin platforming across the country beginning this February 28th. This is one of those films that sticks with you. The Review I wrote back then stands, this is a helluva great lil movie. The writer/director/star Mars Callahan comes out of the starting blocks like a human dynamo with this film, his first that he had control over! Check out this interview with Lex... um, Michael Rosenbaum and get ready to check this one out!
Ahoy, squirts! Quint, the crustiest seaman known to mankind, here with an interview I did with Mr. Michael Rosenbaum, known best for portraying Lex Luthor on the WB show SMALLVILLE. I don't watch WB, but I'm told that of the WB shows, SMALLVILLE is one of the best. However, I did get a chance to talk to Mr. Rosenbaum after I saw the fantastic flick POOLHALL JUNKIES where he co-stars along with writer/direct Mars Callahan.
This interview took place a helluva long time ago at the CineVegas film festival, so forgive me if the any of the SMALLVILLE related stuff we talk about is old news. I was just swamped at that festival and decided to hold the interviews I did with Mr. Rosenbaum and Mars Callahan until I found out if POOLHALL JUNKIES was getting any sort of release.
Found out that Samuel Goldwyn Films picked up POOLHALL JUNKIES and is platform releasing it. Starting February 28th you can see it in LA, New York, Chicago, Salt Lake City, Las Vegas and San Diego. On March 21st it opens wider to Austin, Denver, Phoenix, St. Louis, Columbus, Louisville, Milwaukee, Baltimore, Washington D.C., Boston, Seattle, Philadelphia, Miami, Providence, Dallas and San Francisco. Whew... From there, I don't know, but it's a great flick (hell it made my top 10 fun flicks of 2002 list). If you live in any of the above cities, I strongly recommend seeking this film out.
The film stars Mars Callahan, Christopher Walken, Chazz Palminteri, Rod Steiger, Michael Rosenbaum, Ricky Schroeder (as a hard-ass and he pulls it off) and Alison Eastwood. Rosenbaum goes into a lot of Walken stories below. Classic stuff. Don't miss it!
Without any further adieu, here's the interview!
QUINT: How'd you get involved with POOLHALL JUNKIES?
MICHAEL ROSENBAUM: It's a long journey, you know? I met Mars (Callahan, writer/director/star of POOLHALL JUNKIES) a couple years ago at a bar at this place called Dublin's on Sunset Blvd. It's like this private club, kinda late night and Mars stuck out like sore thumb. He was wearing this sorta wacky 1950s suit. He looked like a gangster. I looked at him and I was like, "That guy has got style." He was shooting balls like they were nuthin', like he was just born to shoot pool.
I said to my friend, "See that guy over there?" He said, "What're you lookin' at guys for?" I said, "No, no. It's not like that. That guy's got style. I like his style. He's doin' somethin' that no one else is doing. I like it." I went up to him and said, "Hey, I like your style. You got a good style." He said, "I know. Thanks."
It was a little later that we saw each other again and he was like, "Hey, you told me I had style or something. Remember me?" I remembered him. He was like, "I'm doing this movie that I've been writin'." I thought, "How cool is this pool movie?" About a month later I meet with him.
Then I got an offer to play "Chris," my character, Danny's, best friend. The nerdy rich kid. He asked me to play Chris and I said I'd love to, especially with the stellar cast that he had. I was just like, great script... The script sold me. Chris (Corso, co-screenwriter) and Mars wrote a great script.
The night before... Actually, I was supposed to shoot a week later. I'm in LA, I'm on my computer, I get a call about 10 o'clock at night. "Hey, it's Jeff, your manager. What's goin' on? Hey listen, they want you to play the lead, Danny, (Mars') younger brother." OK. I said, "Hey, that's great. That's a better part. That's a huge part." He says, "Yeah, but the only problem is you gotta fly 6 o'clock tomorrow morning, land and go shoot the first scene." It's one of these things, when opportunity comes knockin' on your door you better answer it 'cause it may not knock again.
So, I answered the door. I flew in and I started shooting the first day and we just hit it off, Mars and I. He's like my big brother in real life. It's kinda uncanny how we kinda look like brothers in the movie, I think. That's a long story to a short question.
QUINT: CHRISTOPHER WALKEN is in the movie. Everyone who has ever been in contact with that man has a great Walken story. Tell me a Walken story.
MICHAEL ROSENBAUM: The first day of shooting I walk up to Christopher Walken and Mars is standing there and I said, "Should I call you Mr. Walken or should I call you Chris?" He looks at me and goes (drops to a great Walken impersonation), "Call me Flash." Don't ask me why.
So the next conversation I look up and I say, "You know what? We all have the same hair. It's good hair. We have nice hair." He goes (again with Walken voice), "I think that should be one of my first lines in the movie. I think I'm gonna say (pause) Nice hair." And he did! He used it! I said, "Mars, I want a writing credit." It excited me. I said that to him and he said he was gonna use it and he did! To me it's cool.
QUINT: It's more than cool. Walken is a god amongst men. I saw him in the flesh once. I was in New York and saw him in the play The Seagull in Central Park. To be honest, he scared the hell out of me. I think that's the only time I've been seriously star-struck.
MICHAEL ROSENBAUM: He seems kinda unapproachable. He's a very focused man when it comes to his work. I guess that's what sets him apart from a lot of actors. He's an intense man, but he's also got a great sense of humor. He makes a lot of jokes. He'll say something... he'll just crack a joke completely out of nowhere, completely irrelevant of anything anybody's talking about, you know?
Like the "Flash" thing. I said, "Chris... Uh... Mr. Walken." He said, "Flash... Call me Flash," then smiled. The next day I go, "Hey Flash!" He looks at me like "Who the hell are you?" I say, "Don't you remember? Flash..." He goes, "Flash?" I say, "You said 'Call me Fla... oh, fuck off!"
I remember I got him to sign my KING OF NEW YORK DVD at the end of the movie and he goes, "Sure. What would you like me to say?" I said, "Put To Michael..." and he repeated everything I said. He said, "To Michael..." and I go "With Love..." He looks at me like, "What!" I go, "Or not..." He goes, "No. It's OK. With Love..." I go, "Christopher Walken." He goes, "Christopher Walken." I go, "OK." And he looks at me... and for some strange reason he writes "2000" at the bottom, circles it and looks at me and goes, "Two thousand!!!!" I go, "Awesome!"
They cut a scene in the movie... I was supposed to have a scene at the end with him. We didn't get to do it, but just having him onset... It was interesting to see a lot of the young actors like Anson Mount, Phillip Glasser, Ernie Reyes or myself coming on the set early, when we're not even shooting that day, just watch Walken and (Chazz) Palminteri and (Rod) Steiger. Watching those three guys work was an education. It was like acting class all over again, but the best acting class... without paying. We didn't get paid much for that movie, obviously the budget was low, but watching those guys work while working with them was my pay, if you ask me.
QUINT: Which do you prefer, acting in TV or Film?
MICHAEL ROSENBAUM: I have to say film. As much as I love playing Lex Luthor, it's... ah... Playing him 9 months a year... I can imagine that getting... It can grow tiresome. At the same time it's like I'm playing a character that everyone is responding to and embracing. If I was playing a character where everybody was like, "Oh, you're that guy..." or not even knowing who I was or the character... then it'd be miserable.
But Film... I like to jump into a character. I like to play a pool shark and a musician. I like to play a transvestite. I like to play a college frat boy. I like to play... ah...
QUINT: A transvestite college frat boy? (laughs)
MICHAEL ROSENBAUM: (laughs) Yeah! Exactly! Put it all together for the next movie! It's fun doin' that. I just did a movie with Steve Martin I just wrapped. The working title is IN THE HOUSE (now titled BRINGING DOWN THE HOUSE). They put another wig on me and I got to play this cocky young little heir who's kinda flashy... and all my scenes were with Steve Martin. I can't ask for anything better.
QUINT: You mentioned your playing Lex Luthor on SMALLVILLE. You're following in Gene Hackman's footsteps...
MICHAEL ROSENBAUM: Actually, Gene followed in mine. When you think about it. It takes a lot of pressure off me. People say, "How do you compare your role?" I don't. I'm playing it before he... I'm the young Lex Luthor. I'm not evil yet. There are little moments... But you can't compare yourself... It's Gene Hackman! You can't even put me in the same sentence as him.
QUINT: Did you look at the comics at all to prepare for the role?
MICHAEL ROSENBAUM: I can't say I did. I guess I became more educated through the writer's knowledge of the mythology of the whole Superman history. They know everything. Al Gough and Miles Millar know everything.
QUINT: What's next?
MICHAEL ROSENBAUM: Let's see... Finished that movie with Steve Martin... Promoting POOLHALL JUNKIES... Goin' back to SMALLVILLE. I'm The Flash in THE JUSTICE LEAGUE. I've been recording that every week or so. I've gotten a few offers for a couple movies, but I'm not going to have time to do them 'cause I'm going back to SMALLVILLE. I'm writing a film called GREEN RIVER ROAD that I want to direct. I'm writing it with my buddy John.
QUINT: What's your favorite dirty joke?
MICHAEL ROSENBAUM: Can you print it?
QUINT: Oh, yeah. My reviews and interviews are littered with fucks and shits.
MICHAEL ROSENBAUM: So, this guy... he's 95 years old. His name's Harry. He's got bad hearing. He wakes up for his annual physical. His wife takes him. He's there, the doctor says, "OK, sir. I'm gonna take some tests. I'm gonna need a stool sample, a urine sample and a seaman sample." The 95 year old man looks at the doctor and says, "What?" He says (louder), "Sir! I'm gonna need a stool sample, a urine sample and a seaman sample!" The old man says, "WHAT?" Finally his wife looks at him and says, "Give him your pants, Harry!" (laughs)
QUINT: Now tell me it as Christopher Walken!
Mr. Rosenbaum then does the joke as Walken... beautiful, but needs to be heard to be fully appreciated.
There you have it, squirts. I'll be hitting you guys with an interview I did around this same time with POOLHALL JUNKIES director/writer/star Mars Callahan. Keep your eyes opened for that on! I'll also be tooling around LA for the next 10 days or so. Drop me an email below if you want to say hi. 'Til then this is Quint bidding you all a fond farewell and adieu.
-Quint
