Hey folks, Harry here... Beaks got to sit in the presence of Julianne Moore. Beaks... I hate him. I loathe him. He is nothing to me anymore. He is not pond scum, as that rises to the top for my gaze to notice, instead he is sod on the very bottom of the murkiest impenetrable stagnant pool of shite. And even still, I envy him, for he has been in the presence of Julianne Moore and I have not. Oh to be that lucky sod.
Julianne Moore and Pierce Brosnan enjoy reputations for being as charming offscreen as they are on. Having sat down with both actors a month ago as they junketed their latest film, LAWS OF ATTRACTION (opening today), I can safely confirm that these reputations are well-earned. It should be no surprise, then, that they also strike up a pretty easy and ingratiating chemistry in Peter Howitt’s comedy about two legendary divorce attorneys who wind up married after a night of heavy drinking.
Below are transcripts from the roundtable interviews (meaning that I’m not always asking the questions) I attended at the Four Seasons in Beverly Hills. Let’s start with Julianne, who’s a joy to talk to, but a chore to transcribe…
You have to tell us what you thought when Peter told you about how he dreamed he was going to do a movie with you. Did you believe it?
No! I thought it was a *line*. (Laughs.) I’m like, “Yeah, right!” He’s such a great guy, Peter, he really is. And it was really cool. That was sort of a nice story. I always love those little psychic… whatever, you know? Like, “I had a dream, and it came true.” But it was great, and it was a great pleasure to do this movie, too. So, I was glad. In fact, it was nice to be wanted. I’m like, “You had a dream about me in a movie!?!? That’s fantastic!” Someone was dreaming about giving me a job. (Laughs.)
Pierce apparently requested you, too. I’m wondering what your reaction to that was.
I was like, “What? Me?” I called up my agent, and said, “This is a romantic comedy, and it’s really funny. Why are they giving it to me?” I mean, I was frankly shocked and flattered and thrilled, and really, really happy to do it, because I thought it was really good and really funny. And I’d kind of really never done anything like it before.
Well, this is your first romantic comedy.
Mmm, yeah. Well, NINE MONTHS, but, you know… (literally shrugs it off.)
But it’s definitely been a long time.
Yeah.
So any surprises?
About doing it? You know, in drama you need emotional truth, and you’re fine. In comedy, you need the truth and you need technique on top of it. So, it’s very, very specific. It’s really challenging, but it’s also exhilarating. You get really excited, like, “Oooh, that works!” Or, “Ehhh, that didn’t.” You just don’t know. Scale is really difficult to judge in a film like this because it’s not slapstick. It’s not huge, and yet it has physical moments. It’s interesting to do.
Francis and Pierce have both pointed out that you talk a lot.
Constantly.
(Laughter.) Is that your way to work through the anxiety?
It’s very relaxing to me. I talk in a drama, I talk in a comedy, I talk in the car, I talk here. My kids are big talkers, too. But I talk all the way up *and* through “Action!” If “Action” happens when I’m in the middle of the sentence, I’ll finish the sentence and then go, which is not great for my fellow actors. (Laughs.) Sometimes they’re trying to *concentrate*.
Has anyone every told you to shut up?
Pierce did. He said, (imitating Pierce) “Be quiet! Be quiet! Please!!! I’m trying to concentrate!” And I’m like, “Yeah… Ralph Fiennes can take it, why can’t you?” (The room laughs.)
How did that go over?
He laughed. But that’s what’s sort of funny. Whereas he’s a bit more (focused) when he’s working, I’m a little bit more all over the place. But it was fun.
Is that your way of playing? To keep things fresh?
It keeps me relaxed. When Pierce and I had to present at the Oscars… I hate to present. I hate all of those public things. I just *freeze*. It’s really terrible, and… you just stand there. You know, you have to take this long walk, and then we’re standing back there forever. We’re waiting and waiting, and then Pierce goes, (whispering) “Oh, my god. This is the quietest I’ve ever seen you.” (Laughs.) And it was really true.
What’s it like at home? I’ve interviewed your husband, and he doesn’t seem like a really big talker.
Oh, he is. He’s pretty garrulous. We’re chatty. I’m probably chattier than he is, you know? And the kids… oh, my son talks nonstop about DRAGONBALL Z. Does anyone have a six year-old? If you ever see anyone walking along with a six year-old, and the kid is talking animatedly, and the mother or father is listening, and you’re thinking, “Oh, that’s nice. He must be talking about what he did in school today.” It’s like, “Mommy! Mommy! If Goshu and Gecko had a fight, then who do you think would win? Because this one can fit inside the other guy, and the Dragonball…,” and you’re like, “Mm-hm.” Then, you go, “Goshu”. “Wrong, mommy, wrong! Goshu is not as strong. He doesn’t have as many points.” It’s really funny, and really adorable.
When you got married, were you as cautious in relationships as your character, or did you just jump in?
Gosh, I don’t know. I mean, I had a lot of relationships that were like, “Whatever! I’ll date him!” But then they don’t go anywhere. It’s interesting. That’s why I always think it’s interesting to see what proceeds and what doesn’t, and this relationship with Bart (Freundlich) just proceeded. It started off as a very kind of casual thing, and it just kept going. It was clear that we both had an interest… in maintaining it. There was never this moment where… “Oh, I’ve gotta get rid of this guy.” It didn’t happen.
Julianne, I’ve interviewed him, too. I did it on the phone, and I didn’t realize how handsome he was.
Oh, he’s so handsome, isn’t he? (Laughs.) “You be the movie star! Let me realax!”
You guys were together a long time before you got married. When you got married, did anything change?
Yeah. I think that it offers a kind of container for you – a box – for you and your family. It’s a way of saying, “Okay, we are sure about this. We want to be in this.” It’s a proclamation to the world about who you are, who you want to be, and how hard you’re going to work on it. Whereas it is easy to get married, divorce, although we say it’s easy, divorce is *hard*. It’s really hard, so you have to think about it. You have to really know. It’s good for the kids. That’s why the whole gay marriage movement, I think, is very positive. I think it’s very important. People in the heterosexual world are saying, “Marriage is an *option* for us, so we are *opting* to do it.” That’s what gay marriage is, too. They’re saying, “We don’t have this option, but we want it. We want to say, ‘We are a family. We are committed to each other. We are a unit.’” It’s very pro-marriage for everybody. It really is. It’s just saying, “This is a way for us to take care of our children, to take care of each other, and to say that it’s not every man for himself, it’s ‘No, I am a member of… a family’”.
Well, having seen Bart, I don’t know why you waited so long.
I know. (Laughs.)
Why did you wait so long?
I’d been married before. I got married too young. I had a terrible divorce, and I didn’t want that to happen again. Once we decided to get married, I didn’t have a moment of unease about it. It was what I wanted to do. It was a really happy, nice day. Our kids were happy, our parents were happy, our grandparents were happy.
Did he get down on one knee, and all of that?
I don’t want to talk about it, but he did surprise me, and it was great.
Do you bring your family with you when you’re shooting a film? Like when you were in Dublin, did you bring the whole clan?
Everybody was there.
For Peter, though, was that kind of intimidating that you were bringing another director?
(Laughing.) I don’t think so. I think people mind. It’s sort of nice. That’s the great thing about the film community, is that… people are generally supportive of each other.
So would you maybe like to make more comedies now that you’ve done this?
I would! I really, really would! I really enjoyed it. The thing about romantic comedies is that we’re dealing with subject matter that is realistic. Although they are somewhat fantastical, all of us in our lives will probably fall in love with someone, and attempt to have a relationship; more so than, say, being caught in ship that turns upside down, or burrowing inside of the earth. Those things don’t happen to us, but this does. So, it’s kind of interesting to play with that, because it is the most exciting thing that happens to most of us. It is quite an adventure, and fun to watch.
You and Francis Fisher together are great.
Oh, she’s lovely! She was so funny and did such a great job. We had a very, very nice time together.
Did you have a say in who would be cast as your mom in this?
Um, yeah! People always ask, you know. Generally, people are pretty good about that. So, you kinda do, but it’s also the director’s choice.
She was saying that she had to fight for the role, that they didn’t even want to interview her.
Really? That I didn’t know. I remember Francis… Francis was on GUIDING LIGHT around the same time I was on AS THE WORLD TURNS, and I remember watching her, actually. I was in my makeup room seeing her do a scene, and she was fantastic. I’ve always known her as an actress, and admired her.
This being your first foray into the romantic comedy arena, did you go back and look at any great performances, like… I don’t know, Rosalind Russell?
No. I was too afraid. (Laughs.) I really was! The other thing I thought was… “How does Sandy Bullock do it?” How *does* she do it? It’s hard! It’s really, really hard! So, rather than kind of look at a lot of stuff, I just thought, “Well, I’ll just try to find it organically.” I’m hoping that this movie… I think that this is a nice time for this movie to come out. It’s been sort of a dark season, and I know that sometimes if I want to go to the movies, I think, like, “What am I going to see?” You know, sometimes my world view is not as grim as what’s out there in the movie theater, and I want to feel good. I want to see something that’s positive. I want to enjoy my one Saturday night out with my husband.
You want to see something that’s not as grim as the movies you tend to make sometimes.
Some of them are the *last* ones I want to see. (Laughs.) I don’t mean it that way. I think it’s nice to have all options. I think it’s great to have things that are challenging and interesting, and it’s great to have things that are light. We need it all. A steady diet of anything becomes (tiring).
What are you working on right now?
Nothing. I just wrapped a movie about a month ago.
What movie?
It’s called THE FORGOTTEN.
Is it supernatural?
It’s a thriller.
What’s it about?
I’ll talk about it in September when I see you then. (Laughs.)
Are you a workaholic?
I’m tired! You know what happened? After the Oscars last year, I came home and I moved, which was stupid. Then, I finished this movie, this little independent thing I wanted to do… and then, right after that, I left to go to Ireland to do this movie. Then I came home and got married, and then I started THE FORGOTTEN. It just kind of went all the way up to the end of January, and now I’m starting to do press again. It’s been a busy year.
But you’re not really like your character?
No!
What about the junk food? (Julianne’s character craves Sno-Balls.)
That’s like me. (Laughs.)
Does doing big commercial movies like this allow you to do the smaller ones?
Uh-huh.
How do choose?
Basically, everything I do is about being attracted to certain kinds of material, and being interested in it. And if you do have a big movie that does well, they will finance a small movie that wouldn’t ordinarily get financing. There’s something that we’re trying to get financed right now, and I can, on the basis of my box office, raise a certain amount of money. You do that kind of stuff. Then, like anyone else, you have monetary considerations: you do a commercial movie, and you can pay your mortgage; you do a smaller movie, and you don’t get any money. It’s just like anything. But I am material driven, and I was really excited to get this.
Are you good at that kind of strategizing?
You can’t strategize. No one can really strategize that way.
I mean financially.
Oh, financially, you have to. I’m renovating a house right now. You know, I had a year where I did two commercial movies, and so we have this house and we’re renovating it. I’m sitting here holding my breath… and I have to figure out, you know, how much money I can spend on this house, and then when I’m going to do my next commercial job, because I don’t know that my next job is going to be a commercial movie. You just try to figure it out.
How do you strike a balance with your husband to make sure that you’re not both working constantly?
It’s hard. He has a movie he wants to do, and I probably won’t be in it because for him to be working as a director all the time, he’s really gone. I can’t be in the movie, and be gone, too, because then the kids are just… you need someone to anchor the family. So, you kind of trade-off. And as the children get older, it gets harder and harder. But it’s this way for every family in America, too, figuring out how to balance this stuff. There’s a really interesting article in THE NEW YORKER about this book about women who work, and stuff like that. All of these books are criticizing Betty Friedan, and what this woman basically says is this notion of should women work or not work… you’re talking about a very select group of women: women who actually can have a choice. (The women in the room mumble their assent. A dog barks. Smilin’ Jack Ruby is punched in the face.) In the world today, most of us do not. It’s kind of an interesting thing to me. Even Betty Friedan is talking about, in the last chapter of the book, women who were brave and managed to find people to take care of their children while they went off to work. What about the people who don’t have that option? That’s always an interesting thing to me, because we’re all working. Everybody’s working. Everybody’s kind of juggling their families and professional lives and kids, but it’s just what we do.
And, now, here’s Pierce…
What’s with the mustache?
It’s for a movie called THE MATADOR, which we’re going to start shooting next month. It’s Greg Kinnear, Hope Davis and myself. Written and directed by a fellow called Richard Shepard. Eight weeks in Mexico City…. light a candle for me, say a prayer, whatever. (Laughter.)
So, this was a fun role for you?
This was very much a fun role. This was a film that’s already a fond memory for me, because I had the greatest summer in Ireland with Julianne Moore and Peter Howitt. I think we pulled something off which is rather good and appealing hopefully for a Friday night at the movies. It’s a movie made for adults, by adults, about romance, love and hanging tough with your heart for someone that moves you, etcetera, etcetera. I haven’t done a romantic comedy for some time. A long, long time. This is what we found. David Friendly and Deep River Productions came to Irish Dreamtime with the picture, and we liked it, and we worked on it. Then we said, “Let’s set sail with it.” We found Peter Howitt. At that point, it was a rather prickly piece; it was more cynical. My character just moaned an awful lot, and Peter Howitt brought so much heart as an actor, a writer and a director. I had the good fortune to have him taking care of the role.
How much of you is in that role? Howitt said he had to warm it up for you.
He was just too cynical. I wanted him to have more heart. I wanted to have someone who was more accessible. I didn’t want to play Mr. Cool or Mr. Know-It-All; I wanted to play a guy who didn’t go to the gym, who had a hard working life, who went from city to city, who probably got close to getting married himself a number of times, and was rather leery of the whole game of divorce law. He had heard about this rather charismatic redhead in New York, and then finds himself across the table from her. Wakes up one morning, and there she is.
What about the guy’s eccentricities? They’re sort of endearing, too, what with the stained necktie, and so on.
That because, for the obvious reasons, I’ve painted myself into a corner with sort of suave, sophisticated, clean-cut… the Bond mystique. I just wanted to play a guy who was like an unmade bed, like it says in the script. I wanted to *not* have to be cool.
Does it get boring playing that character?
Yeah. It has been rather boring.
That’s why you went after your character in TAILOR OF PANAMA, which was one of my favorite performances of yours.
That was a shot in the arm. Boorman was, and is, one of the finest directors who works and walks to the sound of his own drumbeat. Just that it was in the world of espionage I thought was a kind of left hook to the Bond role.
Your character is very sloppy in this, but he’s also very patient when he sees something he wants. Are you like that in real life, or would you just give up?
No, no, I’m patient. You have to have patience. I’ve been an actor now for many years, and you have to just keep showing up. You have to have patience and believe in yourself that you have something to offer. So, perseverance, patience… nothing comes from nothing. You just have to work hard. Going back to this film, this is something that I’m very proud of: that we accomplished it and made it in Ireland. I wanted to make the movie in New York, but financially we wouldn’t have been able to do it – didn’t have the bucks for it. On a creative level, I think that’s a fine accomplishment.
Was Dreamtime always tied into this, or were you hired as an actor first?
They came to our company to co-produce.
How is it when you go back to Ireland? Do they just roll out the green carpet?
Oh! (Mock appreciates of the bad pun.) I feel very comfortable going back to Ireland. It’s my place of birth, it’s the essence of who I am in many respects – as an actor *and* a man. There’s an ease with being there and working there.
What was it like to work with Brett Ratner on AFTER THE SUNSET?
Oh, it’s a party the whole time. He’s got his girls, the phone is ringing, you’re out there doing some of your finest work and he’s not looking at it… (the room roars with laughter) He’s in the trailer with models galore. Salma called him on it one day. “Brett, *pay attention*!” But I’m very, very, very fond of the guy. I had the greatest time with him because he has heart and passion for film. He lives, breathes, and works film. He’ll shoot and shoot and shoot until the cows come home – shoot every angle, every goddamn lens that’s in his bag of tricks because he just loves playing. Well, I’m a married man, I have children, and I like to finish work at a certain time and go home – put it all in a suitcase and lug it away until the next day. Once we kind of *sorted* ourselves out on that issue, we (got along).
Did you like shooting in the Bahamas?
I love shooting in the Bahamas. But, you know, all of these locations which have an element of paradise attached to them really, after two weeks, you’re craving your own bed. It’s a resort.
Do you have a place in Ireland? Do you own a castle ?
I don’t *own* a castle!
You’ve never wanted to?
No. I’ve never had any desires to own castles. No, just humble abodes. We have a low-slung, Malibu ranch-style house. A couple of places here and there. Studio homes.
Peter had mentioned that you suggested Julianne Moore for the role. Why did you want to work with her?
Because I think she’s a wonderful actress, a beautiful woman, and someone who has a head on her shoulders and knows exactly who she is in life, and what she’s about. I thought it would be easy to work together, and easy to fall in love with her. I love watching her onscreen. She hadn’t done a romantic comedy, and I hadn’t done a romantic comedy on such a big canvas as this. I mean, REMINGTON STEELE, many years ago, was of the same cloth, but I hadn’t done one in a motion picture. So, when I was told that she read the script and loved it, that was music to my ears. Then, that she wanted to work with me, that was even more orchestral and brilliant. I was thrilled, because she’s just so smart. She’s so darn smart, it’s infuriating really. So good.
How was the chemistry between you two?
As long as she’d shut up before the take. She’s such a chatty Cathy. I always get nervous and have to remember my lines, but she just plays with such ease.
Have you had any crazy drunken nights like the one in the movie?
There’s been a few, but I don’t think I’d want to speak of them here.
Are there any other types of roles that you’re itching to do?
I would really love to do more drama – on-the-nose drama. There’s this black comedy, MATADOR, and there’s another piece called MEXICALI, which is action-adventure, which I’ve done, but it’s good.
You’ve still got one more dance with Bond. What more do you have to do with the character? Is there anything left with the character that you need to do?
Well, the dance… we seem to be taking a break here at the moment. The producers have reached an impasse as far as I can tell. They don’t know what to do; they don’t know how to move on. A sense of paralysis has set in. For me, it’s business as usual, and I shall just carry on with creating work for myself. I certainly would love to do a fifth Bond, and then bow out, but if this last one is to be the last one, then so be it.
Michael Wilson’s timidity in making a Bond movie in the vein of FROM RUSSIA WITH LOVE is, I think, a real problem. I know you butted heads with him on the last one.
It's frustrating, really, because they feel they have to top themselves in a genre which is just spectacle and huge bang for your buck. For me, I think you can have your cake and eat it. You can have real character work and character storylines and a thriller aspect and all the kind of quips and asides and explosions and the women.
You’re fond of FROM RUSSIA yourself.
I love FROM RUSSIA WITH LOVE. It's one of the finest pieces.
So with the next one, would you want to cut back to a more FOR YOUR EYES ONLY situation: a simpler, less effects-driven piece?
Yes. Certainly more of a character-driven piece, and what is going to happen next in the story, because now we’re just saturated with… well, you know, it’s wonderful the spectacle that they create. I love the last one, and where we were going until we got to HONG KONG and I was into suit. Then, I was into the old straightjacket of playing him.
The stuff in prison was absolutely fantastic.
Yeah, that was like, “Huh? This is a Bond movie? This has happened to this man?” But they broke out of it too soon into the formulaic, safe side, and… they're too scared.
Are you saying if they changed it, you'd do more than one more?
My contract is up. They can do it or not do it.
If you’re saying there's a paralysis… are they talking to someone else?
They say they're not talking to anyone else?
But they wouldn’t tell you if they were, would they? (Pierce smiles. The room laughs.)
What a game! “I thought you were my friend! I thought we were friends!” (Retrieves a fake knife from his back.) This belongs to you, I think!
So, if they changed it to more like From Russia With Love, more character, would you be more inclined to carry on?
I'd be inclined to carry on if it were From Russia With Love, or anything. Just, the fifth was there. We started talking about the fifth, and so this paralysis that set in is rather surprising.
They finally got back the rights of Casino Royale, but (Wilson) said he wouldn't dare film any of the story. So, he just wants to scrap the novel and use the title.
Well, that's ludicrous. That's *absolutely* sheer lunacy because Casino Royale is somewhat the blueprint for the Bond character anyway. If you go to that book, you find out more about James Bond in that book than in any of the other books. They’re a wonderful family that has done it their own way for many years, and they're at a point now where they've suffered a great loss in the passing of their mother. They're an Italian family, an American family. And they have the unique position that no one else in this community called Hollywood stands in: they have full control of this franchise. So, I don't know what's going to happen. I have no idea.
What about a Thomas Crown sequel?
It's daunting. We showed Thomas Crown the other night at the Archlight, and it holds up well after five years and that is an eternity in the land of movies in some respects. For it to hold an audience still is impressive. I don't know. We're talking about it, trying to find an angle, but we haven't come up with anything.
LAWS OF ATTRACTION opens today all over the dad-gum country.
Faithfully submitted,
