Gene Hackman and Monica Bellucci in Under Suspicion. WAITING FOR GENE:
A Visit to the set of Under Suspicion
By
Alex Simon
Editor's Note: This article orginally appeared in the July 1998 issue of Venice Magazine.
Sometimes when I see old episodes of 1950's pop history such as Leave it to Beaver, Ozzie & Harriet, or even Gary Ross' overlooked masterpiece Pleasantville, I think that their creators used my hometown of Tempe, Arizona as a model. It was the sort of place where all growing boys covered their walls with pennants of their favorite sports teams and life-sized posters of their favorite 20th century gladiators in action. There was Pete Rose and his Big Red Machine, Jim McMahon and William "the Refrigerator" Perry, Larry Bird and Dr. J, and yes, even a guy called O.J. back when he carried a pigskin instead of a hunting knife. All were posed in stop-motion glory, frozen forever in young boy's minds as invincible Gods that they themselves would dream of one day being. I had my own Gods tacked on the wall. Only instead of Pete and O.J., there was Jack Nicholson looking dreamily at Faye Dunaway, Robert de Niro glaring down menacingly with a gun to his head, Gene Hackman stopping Marcel Bozzuffi dead in his tracks with a well-aimed shot to the back.
These were my heroes, who spilled blood and defied the odds on celluloid instead of on the gridiron. Time and age seems to do little in the way of diluting one's adolescent hero worship. What, for example, would most 30 year-old guys think about flying to a Caribbean island to hang out with boyhood idols like Magic Johnson or Joe Namath, watching them practice their craft and work their magic? "Awe-struck" comes to mind. Perhaps even "reverent." The following is the story of one such pilgrimage, the story of a pilgrim who learned that Gods are people, too.
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FADE IN:
"THERE WAS A GUY LYING THERE ON THE SIDE OF THE ROAD. I THOUGHT HE WAS ASLEEP..."
"Puerto Rico?! Next week? Uh, sure..." The other end of the conversation went something like this: "Morgan Freeman and Gene Hackman are shooting a movie in Puerto Rico. Do you want to hang out on the set for a few days and cover it?" Seeing how my feet hadn't left North America in the past 15 years, the two men in question were both on my "Deity" list going way back, and the fact that I wouldn't have to pay a dime, my answer was passionately in the affirmative.
My adventure almost ended before it started, however, beginning when my girlfriend dropped me at the airport at 5:30 AM. I was promptly informed that my flight to Dallas, where I was to make my connection to San Juan, Puerto Rico, had been canceled. After the appropriately tedious line-standing and flight attendant-haggling, I was re-routed through Miami and sent on my way, hoping this wasn't a sign of things to come, and praying that I wouldn't awaken from a deep sleep, only to see a gremlin tearing the wing apart outside my window. Gremlins aside, what was I going to say to these guys without sounding like a complete schlub? Here I was, a bantamweight on a good day, about to step into the ring with Sugar Ray Robinson and Jake LaMotta. One sign of weakness, one iota of apprehension or sloppy footwork, and it was a one-way ticket to Palookaville for yours truly. I shut my eyes and fell into a deep sleep, dreaming that I wing-walked, slayed the gremlin and saved the plane. Hell, that's what Morgan and Gene would've done.
I arrived in San Juan three hours later than originally planned, close to 10 PM. Morgan Freeman's driver, Robert Gaskill, stands outside the airport doors waiting for me, holding a sign reading Under Suspicion, the title of the movie being shot. Robert's a big boy, 6'4, 220 lbs. His easy Texas drawl makes everything sound like it's no problemo, amigo. (Imaginary conversation with Robert: "See that thing in the sky?" "Sure, Robert. What is it?" "It's a giant asteroid, headed straight for us. We're all doomed for sure." "Wow, that sucks." "Don't it, though? Want a beer?") The tropical air opens my pores as we take the freeway to my hotel, Puerto Rico style. Robert navigates the obstacles of the Puerto Rican roads with a skill that would have made Popeye Doyle from The French Connection proud. As I give him a nervous look when a driver goes by us in reverse doing at least 65 mph, Robert shrugs it off. "Hell, that's nothin'," he says. "Week or so back, we were drivin' home, and there was this guy lying there on the side of the road. I thought he was asleep. The guy next to me, who lives here, says 'He ain't asleep, man. He's dead.' Just like he's sayin' it's gonna be cloudy tomorrow. Somethin' else..."
After I arrive at the San Juan Grand Hotel and Casino, Robert sees to it that I'm checked in and bids me good night. I promptly collapse into another deep sleep.
More dreams. This time it's just me and Gene Hackman in a bar. All by our lonesomes. He's wearing his pork pie hat from The French Connection movies. I amble up to him, give him a friendly pat on the back and...
INT. SEEDY BAR - NIGHT
ME
Mr. Hackman, I'm Alex Simon, from
Venice Magazine. Could I ask you a
few questions?
Hackman looks up at me, fire burning in his eyes.
HACKMAN
Been pickin' your toes in Poughkipsie
again, haven't you punk?
As his fist connects with my jaw, I snap awake, drenched in sweat.
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"MOTHER NATURE DOESN'T ALWAYS COOPERATE."
The next day I'm picked up at 9 AM sharp by Robert and Quentin Pierre (aka "Q"), Morgan Freeman's right-hand man. Q's sturdy build belies his former profession of stunt man, and his clipped British accent punctuates every syllable of his sentences. During the ride over, both men ask if there's anything I need, desire or wish for that will make my stay and interview experience more pleasurable. They also assure me that both Mr. Freeman and Mr. Hackman are anxious to speak with me and should have some time in between takes today to do so. We drive from the Las Vegas-like Isla Verde section of the city, into Old San Juan, which resembles New Orleans' French Quarter. The minute we hit Old San Juan, the first colonial-style building I see has a familiar sign on its front: "Hooters," and I realize I haven't traveled as far as I thought.
"Under Suspicion" is a remake of Claude Miller's classic French film Garde A Vue (1981), reset in Puerto Rico, telling the story of an intrepid police inspector (Freeman) interrogating the leading citizen of the island (Hackman) regarding the murders of two young girls. The original was a classic of claustrophobic suspense and everybody having dark secrets buried in their respective closets. Stephen Hopkins (Lost in Space, The Ghost and the Darkness) is helming with Thomas Jane (Boogie Nights, The Last Time I Committed Suicide) and newcomer Monica Bellucci (L'Apartement) in support. W. Peter Iliff (Varsity Blues, Patriot Games) penned the screenplay. The independently-financed production is being produced by Freeman's Revelations Entertainment with Freeman and Hackman sharing the exec producer card.
The "Under Suspicion" set is on the grounds of a former military barracks that lies directly across from the landmark El Morro fortress (most recently used in Steven Spielberg's Amistad). A lush garden on the edge of the grounds serves as the location for the discovery of one of the murder victim's bodies. Presently, the weather in this tropical climate makes me realize what the inside of my humidor feels like. I remember drying my hair earlier in the morning, but my shower seems to have miraculously reappeared in my hair and over the rest of my body. Upon reaching the set, I am introduced to producer Lori McCreary, who ensures me that Mr. Freeman and Mr. Hackman are anxious to talk to me, but that they are currently busy rehearsing and can't be disturbed. I decide to get the skinny on the movie from the delightful Ms. M. in the meantime.
Lori McCreary has the blonde, natural, all-American good looks native to California especially and the northern part of the state in particular. You can picture McCreary being equally at home going to the theater, or dressing in a tie-dye shirt and dancing her heart out at a Grateful Dead show. A computer science major at UCLA, McCreary balanced her love of technology with a love of the arts, getting involved with her school's theater department when she wasn't fiddling with databases. After acquiring the rights to the play Bopha! McCreary approached then-recent Oscar-nominee Morgan Freeman to star in the film version. Freeman elected to direct rather than star and a partnership was thus born, with McCreary and Freeman forming Revelations Entertainment.
"Gene Hackman came to Morgan with the idea of doing Under Suspicion," McCreary explained. "They had wanted to work together again since doing Unforgiven and Gene had wanted to do this film for quite a while, since seeing the original back in '82." McCreary also explained that getting the rights to a French film was very complicated. "The original film was based on a novel. Unlike in the States where you just get the rights from one entity, usually the producer or original author, in France, everyone involved in the original project has to sign off: the director, the screenwriter, the producers, the novelist. It took a long time," she says with a weary laugh.
McCreary and the rest of the production crew have been in Puerto Rico full time since March. Aside from the odd weekend when she can take a plane back to L.A. to recuperate, this tropical paradise will be home until the end of June. "It's pretty arduous work," she says. "Since we're a low budget production, we've only got 38 shooting days and we have to pack as much as we can into each day. Unfortunately, mother nature doesn't always cooperate," she says, gesturing to the rain that is coming down sideways around us.
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"ASK GOOD QUESTIONS..."
The tropical rain continues, so I take refuge in a 16th century guard house on the grounds, reading W. Peter Iliff's nail-biter of a script while I wait for the storm to pass. A group of men covered by umbrellas pass me. One of them looks up, and makes eye contact. It's Hackman! I nod at him. He smiles, nods back. I start to move out of the guardhouse to approach Hackman, but am promptly intercepted by Jane, a cheerfully intrepid 2nd, 2nd Assistant Director whose Mississippi accent sweetly cloaks the fact that she can most likely chew nails and spit bullets. I tell her who I am, why I'm there, and show her my credentials. "Mr. Hackman is really busy today. I don't think he'll have time to talk. Sorry." I watch as Gene Hackman disappears down the walkway. Buck Barrow, Popeye Doyle, Harry Moseby, and Little Bill Daggett follow close behind him.
Out of the corner of my eye, I see a figure pass by me on my right. I turn. It's Morgan Freeman. No AD's in sight, either. I leap to the other side of him, blocking his path with a good-natured handshake, and introduce myself. Freeman gives me a warm smile and shakes my hand in return. "Ask good questions," he intones. "Write a good story." And he walks away. I call after him "We'll have time to talk ourselves, right?" He smiles, "Find me tomorrow." I watch him leave as I stand in the pouring rain. I wait for a dog to come piss up my leg, but one never materializes.
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Thomas Jane in Under Suspicion."MY GUT WOULD CLENCH UP EVERYTIME SOMEBODY WOULD SAY THEIR NAMES."
"Let's go outside. We can smoke there." Thomas Jane is tired. The 30 year-old actor has done five movies in the past year, Under Suspicion being the fifth. As he settles onto a bench outside the set for Gene Hackman's house, he pulls the cigarette smoke deep into his lungs, giving me a shy grin that speaks of nothing but relief. In his role as Detective Felix Owens, Thomas must play bad cop to Morgan Freeman's not-so-bad cop. Born and raised in Maryland, Thomas' soft-spoken, almost Zen-like calm in person is a sharp contrast to his over-the-top characters in films such as Boogie Nights and The Last Time I Committed Suicide. Thomas says he's always been drawn to rebellious characters. "My character in (this film) is kind of a rogue cop, kind of a rebel," Thomas explained. "I'm not sure why I'm always drawn to the rebellious characters. They're just...exciting, I guess. In the end, it's all about what you get hired for," he laughed. Thomas initially dreamt of being a comic book artist, using his love of art to build and paint sets for high school plays. The smell of the greasepaint and the roar of the crowd soon beckoned, and Thomas found himself hopelessly bitten by the bug of acting. After turning 18, Thomas made the trek out to Los Angeles, where culture shock waited for him with open arms. "It was like a different world, L.A. Like living in a desert," Thomas remembered.
When offered the opportunity to work with cinema icons like Freeman and Hackman, Thomas jumped at the chance. "(Morgan and Gene) are masters of their craft. And it's very important for someone like me, who's relatively new to this still, to watch people like that work." Thomas takes a deep drag on his cigarette, his eyes getting a faraway look for an instant, then that shy grin comes back as he laughs softly. "It's funny, they make it look so easy at first glance, but then I realized, they're the hardest working actors I've yet come across. To get to work in the same room with them and actually trade a few punches with them is...priceless." Another cigarette is lit when Thomas is asked if the prospect of working with the two masters intimidated him. "I was...nervous," again the grin. "My gut would clench up everytime someone would say their names, you know? Like walking into the lion's den of truth...Gene Hackman is a very instinctual actor, working from his gut, with a sense of logic. Morgan comes off very focused, very centered, very relaxed and just very...easy. He's got a wonderful ease about him that's extremely charming." Another pause and another drag. The slow grin. "It's been really amazing."
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"IT'S TOMORROW, AND I'VE FOUND YOU!"
Everyone on the set is busy filming a particularly claustrophobic scene, so I decide to get out of the way, and take myself on a walking tour of Old San Juan, getting familiar with the charming colonial architecture, sampling a local cigar brand, and staring with wonder at the names of exotic shops and boutiques like Polo Ralph Lauren and Tommy Hilfiger. Feeling like I'm stuck on a really humid version of Rodeo Drive, I wander over to El Morro, the imposing fort that lies on the tip of the island. I make my way along its outer walls and battlements, trying to picture myself as a 17th century warrior, keeping bloodthirsty pirates and brigands at bay with my trusty musket. Then I look at my watch. It's lunch time. I head back to the set and see Gene Hackman walking to his trailer. I make a B-line for Mr. H., nearly burning the rubber off my Timberlands as Jane screeches to a halt in a golf cart, nimbly blocking my path. "Sorry," she smiles sweetly (I'm beginning to think she means it by now) "Mr. Hackman is really tired now and just wants to eat lunch and take a nap." I offer to feed him myself and even to sing a soothing lullaby, guaranteed to put him into a deep sleep that will replenish his creative well. No dice, says Jane. Having lost the battle, but still holding out hope for the war, I turn to see Morgan Freeman heading into his trailer. "Mr. Freeman!" I call out. "It's tomorrow and I've found you!" Freeman gives me that warm smile again, and a wink to grow on. "It is and you have," he says. And he disappears inside his trailer, closing the door firmly behind him. It's not raining this time, and there's still no dog pissing up my leg. One of Old San Juan's many stray cats is looking in my direction with dubious intentions in his eyes, however. I shoot the kitty a look back, telling him not to go there. He grants me a reprieve.
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Morgan Freeman in Under Suspicion."HEY! THAT'S EASY READER PLAYING THE PIMP!"
I have just sat down to a lunch of seared ahi tuna, sesame noodles and a garden salad, telling Robert about my interviews thus far, my adventures exploring Old San Juan, and my less-than-good fortune in speaking with the film's stars. Robert ensures me that both men are anxious to speak with me, and that my wish will be granted before departing for the mainland tomorrow afternoon. Satisfied with this, I start to take a bite of my savory-looking tuna when I feel a friendly hand on my shoulder, it's owner being Quentin. He smiles "Mr. Freeman is waiting for you in his trailer." I take the straw out of my water glass and inhale the contents of my plate through it. By the time the food hits my stomach, I'm knocking on Freeman's trailer door. Before my knuckles hit the sheet metal a second time, I flashback...
It's 1987 and I'm in my first year at USC Film School. I've taken a date to see this new movie called Street Smart that everyone is buzzing about. Christopher Reeve plays an ambitious TV reporter who fictionalizes a story about a street pimp and hustler than too-closely resembles the real thing, a bad dude named Fast Black. From the minute this dynamic actor playing Fast Black hits the screen, my eyes are riveted and my mind is drifting back, but why is it drifting back to the Children's Television Workshop and The Electric Company, of all things?! And why is it remembering my favorite character on EC, a cool kat named Easy Reader, decked out in bell bottoms and an afro circa '71. Easy Reader made learning groovy, daddy-O! I would sit with my mayonnaise sandwich every morning and wait for Easy to make my four year-old mind a little smarter and a little cooler. It suddenly hit me all at once. I turned to my date and exclaimed in a voice that had to be too loud for a movie theater: "Hey! That's Easy Reader playing the pimp!"
Born in Memphis, Tennessee in 1937, Morgan Freeman has earned his place in the pantheon of American acting greats after paying lots of dues. He joined the Air Force at 18 and after five years in the service, took up acting at Los Angeles City College. He made his Broadway debut in an all-black revival of Hello Dolly!, starring Pearl Bailey in 1968, then gained wider exposure as Easy Reader on The Electric Company from 1971-76. Freeman followed this with a string of solid supporting roles in TV (The Atlanta Child Murders (1985)) and film (Eyewitness (1981), Teachers (1984)), but didn't achieve star status until age 50 with Street Smart in 1987, for which he was awarded the New York. Los Angeles, and National Society of Film Critics award for Best Supporting Actor. Freeman carries himself with the quiet dignity and strength of a man who has reached the top after a long journey. Long journeys tend to give one perspective.
"Come in," the familiar voice says. I enter the trailer. Freeman eyes me, really sizing me up for the first time. He smiles. "Plant yourself," he invites. I sit opposite him, and the conversation begins...
I understand that this project was Gene Hackman's baby and he brought it to you?
Morgan Freeman: Yeah, some years ago when we were working (on Unforgiven) we decided that we wanted to do something together. Gene told me that he had this project based on Garde A Vue, and it took off from there.
I admire the way you've re-imagined the story as opposed to re-making it, opening it up.
The amazing thing about the story is it shows how with a little perseverance from an outside force, we'll give it all up. Whether it's real or not. One of the thing about French films that I've always liked is how they explore psychology. I remember the first French film I saw, it was with Brigitte Bardot, and told the story of a woman who was in prison, on death row for murder. According to French law, if you kill someone in the heat of passion, it's almost like an insanity plea, and you don't go to jail for that, unless they can prove premeditation. She took a gun to confront her husband, who was cheating on her, planning on killing herself in front of him, but wound up using it on him instead...finally she does kill herself and after the fact, her lawyer is able to prove that the firing pin in the gun hit several of the bullets two and three times. She just kept pulling the trigger, so it was in fact a crime of passion, and she would have gotten away with it, but by then it was too late. It was such a great story. In the U.S. we've become saturated with happy endings in all our films.
You've also managed to keep the darkness of the original intact. It reads much more like a European film, or a 70's American film.
Yeah, it's a really terrific script. Peter Iliff did it, bless his heart, in record time, too. He's a great talent. There's not enough of it. Everyone is looking for the writer now. The writer is busy. (laughs)
You've always played authority figures well. What was your time like in the Air Force, and how has it helped you in portraying powerful men?
Well, I went into the service out of high school, hoping to become a pilot. By the time I got around to qualifying for flight school, and got near an airplane, I realized that my romantic notion about war was just that. All those WW II and Korean war movies I grew up with...Spielberg hadn't come along yet and shown what it was really like. (laughs) Acting is what I really wanted, so I set out for Hollywood.
Tell us about Easy Reader and The Electric Company.
I auditioned for Easy Reader in 1971. He was a wild man then, and I toned him down over the years. By the fifth year, he was grown up. (laughs) I enjoyed the first two years, thinking that I'd move on after that. But it became basic prostitution, I guess. Get a job, get security, get working steady for a couple years, go into debt in a couple areas...move up into a nicer apartment. Kids were in private schools. 'The time has come to leave this job now.' 'Well, they really want you back.' 'I don't want to come back.' 'They're offering you more money.' Hmm. So it was a favored nations kind of thing. Kept doing that every year, and kept getting angrier and angrier at my self for not having the courage to walk away. Then they canceled the show in 1976, and what a letdown! No more job. But at the same time, I was happy. Otherwise, I would've been Fred Rogers! I would've been Captain Kangaroo! You ever see Sesame Street, there's friends of mine who've been on that show nearly 30 years. I had this discussion with myself the other night about 'what will be, will be.' People say 'It's the Lord's will.' Well, the Lord's will is what? (laughs) It's 'what will be, will be.'
How did you choose Stephen Hopkins as your director?
You don't really choose a director, the director chooses you. You want a director, you send out a notice that you have this project. You have a list you use. Stephen had the script for quite a while, finally read it. He was tired of doing all the big stuff he'd been doing, wanted to go back to his roots.
It was interesting watching you and Hackman working together, because you both come from the minimalist acting school.
That's one reason I was so excited to be working with Gene again. I guess we do come from similar schools in that sense, but I have so much respect for Gene's work. Gene is minimalist, but he brings such depth to his work at the same time.
Still waters run deep.
And murky. (laughs) Depends upon the waters. (laughs) But this is a real highlight for me, being able to work with him. And to do this script. It's a real story, about real people.
Where did you train in acting?
'Train'?! I don't like the word 'train,' but I'd say I was trained in the movies. Acting training is nothing I've actually had. I went to a workshop in New York for a while, never did get good parts. We did scene work when I was in school at LACC, but I always felt like I was 'acting.' (laughs) I don't feel like I began to learn craft until I got a professional job with professional actors. I feel that I have a natural leaning to pretend. When I get with others who have that, there's a freedom, there's less of a tension. So that's how I learned. Number one, when I was growing up, just watching people and things. And number two, from being on stage and working with really fine people and opening myself to the experience. It's really about safety nets. I've been in some situations with certain actors where they really don't offer you any protection. They're not really there.
Do you depend on the director to be your safety net sometimes?
No, you can't depend on the director. The director's not up there with you. The director is primarily a traffic director, a seminar leader, a discussion leader. The whole rehearsal process on stage is learning the lines, blocking the scene, and discussing those moments when all hell breaks loose and just understanding those moments. Oftentimes, we don't know where some of this stuff comes from. 'Why am I saying it this way?' For all practical purposes, I like to be left alone when I work. I want to work out the acting with the actors. The ones that I call 'the best directors' are the ones that leave you alone. Clint Eastwood is notorious for that. He just sets the camera and does the blocking, says nothing to you, the actor. He talks to the cinematographer and the 1st A.D. That's why most of the people who've worked with him love him so much. He trusts. That's the bottom line in all of it, trust.
As if on cue, Quentin enters and indicates that it's time for Mr. Freeman to go home for the day. Freeman rises and grips my hand warmly, squeezing my shoulder with his other hand, he gives me a wink "We'll talk again before you leave."
I exit Freeman's trailer. Gene Hackman is walking straight at me. He sees me, smiles and nods, as if he's about to initiate a conversation! Thanks be to God! Suddenly, a statuesque blonde beauty steps in my path, Kate Garwood, director Stephen Hopkins' assistant. "Stephen has some time now, if you'd like to talk." I look around her frantically, but Hackman has disappeared. I turn around to see his trailer door closing shut behind him. Now convinced that I'm never going to get an audience with the wizard, I head down the yellow brick road with Kate's Dorothy, feeling part Cowardly Lion, part Tin Man and part Josef K. from Kafka's The Trial, awaiting my sentence for a crime that I'm almost positive I haven't committed.
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Director Stephen Hopkins."AS STRAIGHT AS WE MAY THINK WE SEE THINGS, WE RARELY DO."
Stephen Hopkins is a boyishly-handsome 40 year-old who has been a movie fanatic since he was a boy. Raised in Great Britain and Jamaica, Hopkins originally intended to be a comic book artist, going to art school to pursue his passion, then realized that instead of drawing comics, he was actually drawing storyboards for movies! Hopkins got his start directing rock videos and commercials (including many of Billy Idol and the Rolling Stones' classic videos in the 80's) the got his start in features as an assistant director on the cult classic Highlander (1986), making his feature helming debut with A Nightmare on Elm Street 5: The Dream Child (1989). Other credits include Predator 2 (1990), Judgment Night(1993), Blown Away (1994), The Ghost and the Darkness (1996), and most recently Lost In Space (1998). Hopkins took a break to talk on the set of Gene Hackman's house, flopping down on a couch and sipping from a bottle of water, obviously relishing a break after a tough day behind the camera.
I understand you were drawn to this script partially because it reminded you of Sidney Lumet's overlooked masterpiece The Offence (1972).
Stephen Hopkins: Yes, exactly. I'm a huge fan of that of that film. Saw it when I was a kid, and it freaked me out. Most of the films I've done before are huge, slam-bang, action sort of things, which were great fun to do, but I've been wanting to change direction for a while, something more character-driven. I loved the original Garde A Vue, and when I got the original script, it was a literal translation of the French script, so it read rather strange, rather awkward. But I jumped at the chance to work with Morgan and Gene. Then Peter Iliff came on board, re-wrote the script and...here we are. (laughs)
Tell us about some of the changes you've made in this version.
Well, the things that seemed groundbreaking twenty years ago quite frankly seem a bit dated now, so I felt it was important that we open the script up a bit. Garde A Vue was almost entirely an interrogation, on one set, more like a stage play, really. It was a style of super-realism. I had an idea of how we could translate it and open it up, how we could explore the thing that all human psychology shares: that we all have something that we're ashamed of, that we want to hide about ourselves. I mean, if you sit in a railway carriage with three complete strangers, all of them are going to have events in their lives that they want to hide. What's interesting is why.
How long did it take for Peter Iliff to finish the script?
We started on Christmas eve of last year, and the final draft was done in April, so it was very fast. Peter did an amazing job. I liked the idea of the actors walking into each other's imaginations, so you're seeing things how they remember them, as opposed to how they really were. The Boston Strangler (1968) utilized this technique and I thought it was just brilliant, really effective and exciting. Waterland (1992) used it as well, quite brilliantly. That idea sort of sung to both Peter and myself, also the fact that this film is very much about being a bloke, and about having the sort of secrets and insecurities that a lot of men have. And also...(laughs) about the sort of women, some of whom I've been lucky, or unlucky, enough to go out with, who are very interesting and very beautiful, but by some twist of fate are also the most jealous and the most insecure.
What's it been like working with Gene Hackman and Morgan Freeman?
A bit intimidating at first, because I'm such a fan of both of them. I've been lucky enough to work with a lot of experienced actors, and people I really admire like Jeff Bridges, Gary Oldman, Tommy Lee Jones, William Hurt, all great people who've taught me a lot and could've been intimidating if they'd wanted to be. One of the reasons Gene and Morgan are such great actors is that they're also great filmmakers, so they make it look really easy. This is a low budget film ($13 million), so it helps having the best people working on it.
How does your directorial approach differ from Claude Miller's in the original?
Well, his was that cinema-verite style of being super-realistic. One of the things I was hired to do was to open the film out. The other films we discussed were able to take material that would have seemed very stagy and made it very cinematic by using those techniques. Again, The Boston Strangler is such a great, underrated film. It was one of the first films to split-screen, to use mixed media. Since then, everyone's copied it. Richard Fleischer is a very underrated director.
Are you maintaining that feel of claustrophobia from the original?
Not really. I think claustrophobia in films can be a real intellectual conceit if you're not careful. You just have to make it a film. Instead of feeling claustrophobic, you just feel confined, and that's it. There are elements in this that are claustrophobic, but if the entire thing were claustrophobic, it would sort of deaden that sense. If you want to feel claustrophobia, you have to show the alternative, don't you? We added this device, too, where there's this one-way mirror between the inspector's room and the interrogation room so they're watching one another very voyeuristically.
I'm also glad that you maintained the darkness of the original and didn't tack on a happy ending.
Well, our ending is different from the original. I always felt that the ending to Garde A Vue was a little too...French. (laughs) It was a bit too esoteric, and again, a product of the time in which it was made. The important thing to us in this film is that every character was understandable, even if it meant that they weren't 'nice' or even likable. And the fact that all of us, whether we know it or not, see things from a totally biased point of view. As straight as we may think we see things, we rarely do.
Any advice for first-time directors?
Work on the script in the greatest detail you can until you absolutely know it backwards and forwards. And when you're in the script, put in every detail that you want to shoot, right down to the words, the color of things. It makes you really think about what you want. Also, surround yourself with people that you really like, who can make you laugh. Without that, it can be a really sad, grueling experience.
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"PEOPLE HERE DON'T RESPOND TOO WELL TO BULLSHIT..."
Luis Jurardo is a Puerto Rican native, and a retired Sergeant from the United States Army. Whenever a movie is being shot in his native land, Luis works as a driver in the transportation department. "This is something I just do for fun," Luis explains. "It's great meeting all the people who come to work on a movie. Everyone's from different backgrounds. Everyone has different stories. Kind of like the army," he adds with a laugh. A veteran of Operation Desert Storm, Luis drives me to the other side of San Juan, which is a mix of palatial, century-old plantation houses, industrial zones, and lush, untouched green hills. The set for the police station is located inside a huge warehouse and is one of the more remarkable edifices I've seen. Raised 15 feet off the ground, the inside is a perfect replica of a grubby cop den, one that Sidney Lumet would no doubt give his stamp of approval for. The back of the set opens into a room being used for Gene Hackman's study in the film. Beyond that is a balcony beyond which hangs a lifesize blow-up of San Juan at night. It's as perfect a set as any Hollywood production I've seen. Right down to the graffiti on the walls of the interrogation rooms.
Luis guides me through the area, introducing me to all the construction workers, all of whom seem to be his friends. Like all the people on this Caribbean island, they are warm-hearted and completely straight-forward. They treat you how you treat them. "People here don't respond too well to bullshit," Luis explains. "Pretty much everyone I've met on movies here have been great, but there was this one guy a while back...man, he was such a prima donna. He punched a hole in my friend's trailer that we rented him. When I went to talk to him about it, let's just say he became verbally abusive." Luis, who commanded a platoon of troops during Desert Storm, is something of an expert in the handling of bad attitudes. "All I'll say is, I asked everyone to leave the trailer and 'Mr. Star' and I had a little talk." And the result? "I don't know if he'll ever come back to Puerto Rico, and if he does, I'd better not run into him," Luis says with a grin.
On the drive back, I ask Luis if he considers himself a Puerto Rican, or an American. "I'm an American," he says proudly. "I'll always be a Puerto Rican, and proud of it, but I'm an American first." On the island, which has been an American commonwealth since 1952, Luis says the people are pretty evenly split down the middle between those who consider themselves Puerto Ricans, and those who consider themselves Americans. "There's not too much conflict about it. Pretty much everyone here loves America. And we sure do love American movies."
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Morgan Freeman and Monica Bellucci in Under Suspicion. "IT ALL HAPPENED SO FAST..."
Monica Bellucci is a newcomer to American audiences, having been a major star in Europe for most of the 1990's. Bellucci hit the big time with the French hit L'Apartement (1996), for which she was nominated for a Cesar (French Oscar) award, as best newcomer. Born in Italy, Bellucci has the sultry beauty of her country's reigning screen diva, Sophia Loren, crossed with the delicacy of Juliette Binoche. In Under Suspicion, Bellucci plays Chantal, Gene Hackman's much younger trophy wife, a beautiful woman whose seemingly-perfect life masks a well of jealousy and fear that rears its ugly head when her protected existence is threatened.
"It all happened so fast," Bellucci says in her energetic, almost breathless voice. "Stephen (Hopkins) saw me in L'Apartement, flew me to L.A. to do a screen-test with Morgan and now I'm working with two of the greatest actors in the world!" Belucci, who is very film literate, experienced the initial intimidation that seems to be native to most of the people involved in the film. "I was so nervous at first, but as soon as I met Morgan and Gene, they made me feel so comfortable."
In spite of the largely American cast and crew, Monica felt some familiarity with the film's spirit. "In many ways this is like a European movie, partially because it's a remake of a French film, but also because Stephen Hopkins has created a really intimate atmosphere for this film. No special effects, just actors and really beautiful dialogue, which is very strange for an American movie."
Bellucci says she relished the chance to play a complicated character like Chantal. "She seems so glamorous and perfect, but then reveals herself to be very weak and insecure. She puts her husband in a great deal of danger because of it. She has a lot of wonderful nuances."
Bellucci longs for the heyday of her native Italian cinema when masters like Fellini, DeSica, Rossellini, and Visconti were running the show. "Now it is very different," she explained. "We don't give young directors the chance to make movies anymore. Italy is full of talent, the problem is really economic and political. For young people like me who want to make films, we have to move out. I went to Paris, others go to London, to New York. It's very difficult to work internationally if you just do Italian films, because our films don't seem to work internationally anymore, not counting Roberto Begnini," she adds with a laugh.
L'Apartement is being released in the U.S. sometime during 1999, which Bellucci finds ironic, since Joel Schumacher is already planning an American remake of it. "Before anyone in America has seen it, the remake will probably be out," Bellucci muses. "Things seem to move so fast in the American film world. There are so many great directors there who are able to work. In Italy we're still waiting for our next Fellini, our next De Sica." And until those souls are reborn? "I'm very lucky to be working with Gene, Morgan and Stephen," she says with a smile.
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"IT WAS FATE, I GUESS..."
I'm staking him out now. Not stalking, staking. He's filming a particularly intimate, quiet scene with Bellucci, standing before a bedroom mirror. He knows I'm there. Waiting. Waiting for just a word. Or two. He walks toward me, looking up. "Mr. Hackman?" I query. "Do you have a minute?" I raise my mini-tape recorder for emphasis. "Not just now," he says. I feel a hand at my elbow. The ever-intrepid Jane pulls me away gently. She whispers conspiratorially in my ear: "Wait 'til Stephen says they're checking the camera gate. Then move in for the kill!" She puts her finger to her lips, sealing the top secret nature of this revelation. I nod in agreement. And I wait...
Gene Hackman was born in 1930 in San Bernardino, CA. The product of a broken home, Hackman lied about his age and joined the Marines at 16, serving a three year stint, then moved to New York, where he worked in a variety of odd jobs. He used the G.I. Bill to study commercial drawing, then journalism and TV production at the University of Illinois. Hackman didn't turn to acting until he was in his early 30's, enrolling at the Pasadena Playhouse. Legend has it that Hackman and another kid in his class were voted "least likely to succeed" by their classmates. The other kid's name was Dustin Hoffman. Hackman moved back to New York, landing a few bits in TV and movies, finally getting his big break in 1964 when he was cast in the lead of Any Wednesday opposite Sandy Dennis. This led to a scene in Robert Rossen's Lilith (1964) and a friendship with the film's star, Warren Beatty, that would land Hackman the role of Clyde's big-hearted brother Buck Barrow in the classic Bonnie & Clyde in 1967. Now established as a solid character actor, Hackman would be 41 before reaching star status with his Oscar-winning role in The French Connection in 1971. Hackman hasn't stopped working since, averaging 3-4 movies a year. Under Suspicion is his 74th film, and a labor of love, having wanted to make it since seeing Garde A Vue in 1981.
So goes the legend of Hackman. And for the legend I wait on a very comfortable couch, the heat and humidity of the day being cooled by a much-appreciated fan. Sleep rushes over me and the dream comes...
EXT. MIDDLE OF THE OCEAN - DAY
I stand on a putting green in the middle of the ocean. I line up my putt with precision, am about to tap it with expertise that would make Tiger Woods green with envy. A VOICE breaks my focus:
VOICE
(off-screen)
Mind if we play through?
Morgan Freeman and Gene Hackman appear, dressed as golf pros, each executing perfect swings, knocking their balls onto the next fairway. They walk over the water between the fairways and continue their game.
I look at them hopefully. Hackman nudges Freeman, who sees me and motions me over. I look at the water, which is suddenly teeming with sharks. I hesitate. Hackman calls out:
HACKMAN
You need your three iron if you
want to play with us.
I have only my putter.
Freeman holds up a club.
FREEMAN
Here, use mine.
I look at them, then at the sharks, which seem to be multiplying. I decide to test my faith and step into the water.
A Great White breaks the water and swallows me whole before my foot is even wet.
Gene Hackman in Under Suspicion.I wake up and Hackman is sitting down directly across from me, looking amused as I snap awake. He smiles, shakes my hand. "Thanks for being patient with me. Do you mind if I sit down? My back's killing me." Of course I don't mind (!), I say. "So," Hackman says. "What would you like to know?"
I understand this project has been a labor of love for you.
Gene Hackman: Yeah. I had seen the original, Garde A Vue years ago, when it first came out. I stumbled upon it by accident, actually. My daughter and I went to see a movie, I don't remember what, that turned out to be terrible, so we walked into the next theater and saw Garde A Vue, knowing nothing about it. (laughs) Fate, I guess.
What was it about the original that drew you to it so strongly?
I liked the idea of the tension between the three main characters. There was a lot of high theater there. It's a story about perceptions, misperceptions, prejudices in some way. Prejudices against people who have money, people who are poor, people who are in various positions in life. It had a lot to say in those terms. Then there was the tension of the mystery also, which was fascinating.
I miss seeing this kind of film in the age of blockbusters that we live in now.
Yeah, we wanted to keep it small, about the characters. I doubt that the French will ever really like this film because the original was such a huge success there. Here we are, Americanizing it in some way, but I don't know how else we'd do it, especially in this day and age. I don't think we would've gotten the money to do it if we hadn't opened it up a little bit. The original was all interior. Maybe five minutes of it was outside. We haven't changed it a great deal. I feel we're still very true to the original in most ways.
Tell us about working with Morgan.
I gave the script to Morgan and said 'Look, I've been doodling around with this thing for years, and can't seem to do anything with it.' I love Morgan as an actor and also as a human being. I've had great fun working with him in this. It's also an opportunity to do a film with a black actor and a white actor where there's no racial overtones at all. Everybody is kind of equal in those terms. For me, that was one of the prime things that was fascinating, to work this way.
Do you think audiences are hungry for this kind of character-driven thriller, one with no explosions or space ships in sight?
I don't know, one would like to think so. They're made from time to time. If there's a special something about them, people will go. If there isn't, they won't. I mean, who knew in terms of Shakespeare in Love and that kind of thing? That certainly wasn't a film you would have thought was going to be that successful. So, we'll see. We'd like to think that will always be the case, but then there's pictures like The Matrix and The Mummy that come out and prove that there's still an audience for that kind of thing. They do market research and all that sort of thing for those films. I don't know if anyone did any research for things like this among...the old folks. (laughs)
Most of the films you've done recently have been more character-driven as opposed to big studio epics.
Yeah, it's more satisfying as an actor to do things that have to do with character where you can kind of expound on what you know as an actor. You become a slave in some ways to the mechanical end of movie making in some films that are so highly technical that you just find yourself bored to tears, waiting for something to happen. Whereas in this film, every scene has some kind of tension to it.
Thomas Jane remarked that in watching you and Mr. Freeman work, he's never seen two actors work harder on their craft.
Concentration is so important. There's so much distraction. You have all this activity going on, yet you have to keep yourself in a place where, when you're called upon to do it, you're ready to go. It's not like the theater where, once the curtain goes up it's really all about you. It's your medium when you go out on the stage. You have two hours to make your statement.
This is your 74th film. Do you have a favorite of all the films that you've done?
Not really. When I think back on the films I've done, I think about the people that I worked with as opposed to a favorite film. The group that I was with, that sort of thing. Many times the film wasn't successful, but you had a great time on it because the acting was so good.
Jane approaches and informs Hackman that they are ready for his next shot. Hackman thanks Jane, then turns back to me, asking how much longer I'll be around. I tell him I'm going home tomorrow afternoon. "Will you be around tomorrow morning?" he asks. When I say 'yes,' he nods "Good, then we'll have time for one more talk." He shakes my hand and steps onto the set. Later, I spend a final night in San Juan, treating myself to a fine meal, great cigar and savory glass of Puerto Rican rum, looking forward to waiting for Gene one final night.
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"TO SAY GOOD-BYE IS TO DIE A LITTLE."
I arrive on the set the next morning at 9 AM, sharp. They're shooting in the garden again, and I make my way between the crew members hustling equipment, PA's bringing thirsty actors drinks, and the actors waiting for their scene to begin. Thomas Jane taps my shoulder. "Hey man, I watched Das Boot: The Director's Cut last night. Have you seen that?! What a movie!" Thomas and I discuss German U-boat fundamentals and the genius of Wolfgang Petersen before I feel another tap on my other shoulder. I turn, Gene Hackman motions for me to follow him down to where the director's monitor sits. I bid Thomas farewell and follow. Hackman and I start talking about the value of paying ones dues before hitting paydirt.
You paid your dues for a long time before you really hit it big. Do you have any words of advice for other artists who are still struggling?
Gene Hackman: I would say concentrate, and try to work at your craft as much as possible. I know that's not always possible, especially for an actor, to find a place to work. But even if it's a workshop, or off-off Broadway, the more experience you get, the more poise you seem to attain in the business. Any sense of relaxation in the arts seems to come after a period of experience in your craft. Concentration, and perseverance.
I know that you, Dustin Hoffman and Robert Duvall were all buddies in the old days. Do you have any stories?
(laughs) Dusty had a job at Macy's selling toys during Christmas time, he had for several years. He had this big table and a loudspeaker and would try to sell these toys. I came in one day with my son, who was about a year old at the time, Dusty gave me a wink, took my son and put him on the table with all the rest of these toys and tried to sell him! (laughs) He got him to sit real still. This woman came up and pinching him and poking him, wanting to know how much he cost. My son decided he had enough, and let out a yell. The lady jumped back and went "Ahhh!!" (laughs) We did all sorts of improvisations at Macy's during lunch hours, crazy things. We had great times in those days...Dusty always had a lot of girlfriends in those days. Women really found him attractive. He had that sort of 'Lost Boy' look about him. Still does in some ways. (laughs) He's a terrific guy. I really love him.
Are you still tight with Hoffman and Duvall?
I rarely see them anymore. We run into each other once in a while. Last time I saw Duvall was when we did Geronimo (1993) together. Dusty and I have never worked together, except in stock early on. But hopefully we'll get to do something together one day.
With that, I thank Hackman for his time and tell him what a pleasure it was to meet him. He asks if I'm flying back today. I tell him 'yes,' and he wishes me 'bon voyage,' saying it was a pleasure to meet me as well. As I walk away, Morgan Freeman stops me and thanks me for visiting the set. Lori McCreary, Thomas Jane, Monica Bellucci and Stephen Hopkins quickly follow suit. As I make my way up the stone steps away from the garden set, I look back to see Hackman leading the cast and crew in an impromptu version of Petula Clark's "Downtown." I look back at them and wave a final good-bye, which they return. I think back to Raymond Chandler's line that "to say good-bye is to die a little."
On the long flight home, I felt a mixture of emotions. The old saying goes that you should never meet your idols, because you'll be disappointed. I always wondered about the truth in that statement, and now I think I understand it. Before Puerto Rico, Gene Hackman was always the badass New York cop who plugged that scumbag hitman in the back, or the melancholy private eye who discovers too late that his code of ethics has no place in the post-Watergate 70's. Morgan Freeman was always the heroic freed slave fighting in the Civil War, or the wise and kindly driver of Miss Daisy. Not anymore. Now when I see Gene Hackman in photos or on film, I'll see the man who greeted me with a soft smile and warm handshake in spite of the fact that his back was killing him after nearly 12 hours straight on his feet. When I look at Morgan Freeman I'll see the cultured, intelligent man who sat with me for an hour and talked about philosophy and the beauty of his Mississippi home in the summertime. Raymond Chandler was right when he said to say good-bye is to die a little. During those two and a half days in San Juan, I said good-bye to my boyhood idols and all the imagery that they carried. And I met two very cool guys. No more, no less. Just cool guys. What more can you say to that?
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Since returning home, the dream is always the same...
INT. DIMLY LIT ROOM - NIGHT
Gene Hackman and Morgan Freeman, dressed as themselves this time, sit at a card table as the DEALER (Luis) throws them their hands. I enter the room, unafraid. The Dealer looks up.
DEALER
Room for one more, gentlemen?
Freeman and Hackman look up, appraise me with amused eyes and warm smiles.
FREEMAN
I don't see why not. Just one thing...
ME
What's that?
HACKMAN
That ace you think you have up your
sleeve, lose it.
I have to laugh as I pull the card out, tossing it to the floor where it magically bursts into flames. The men nod, making room between them for me to sit.
Hackman nods to the Dealer.
HACKMAN
Deal the kid in.
I get my cards. I look to see what my hand is. And it's here I wake up. Every time.
FADE TO BLACK
