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HOLLYWOOD actor Christian Slater was at Stansted Airport to launch
American Airlines new route between the west Essex airport and New
York's JFK Airport.

The route is the only transatlantic service from Stansted to New York
to offer both business and economy class seats.

http://www.harlowcitizen.co.uk/mostpopular.var.1797420.mostviewed.hollyw
ood_actor_launches_new_stanstednew_york_route.php

Life's Illusions He Recalls
Anthony Hopkins makes his first film, and it's a dream.
October 17, 2007
By Dany Margolies
Readers of Back Stage have become accustomed to our articles about
young actors who grow weary of the struggle for roles and who
therefore become filmmakers. But even the legends occasionally feel
the need to create a film from start to finish. The résumé of Anthony
Hopkins includes 40 years of credits--as varied as Magic, The
Elephant Man, A Chorus of Disapproval, The Silence of the Lambs,
Remains of the Day, Nixon, and The Human Stain. So, what was the
impetus to write, direct, and appear in his own maiden film,
Slipstream? As you will glean from his comments, the film is a rule-
breaking, wonderfully strange vision of life--in this case the life
of a screenwriter.

Back Stage: You've had a comfortable career, let's say. Why did you
now decide you wanted to break out?

Anthony Hopkins: Well, I've done long bouts of acting, and I've done
films--some good, some not so good--and it's the same old stuff. I
thought, "Oh, I get bored of this." I've had a good life with it, but
I got to an age where I thought, "I want to do something else, just
for the fun of it." I wrote this script three or four years ago. I
sat down at the computer, and I thought, "I think I'll write a
script." I know that I'm not a professional writer, but I can write a
letter, I can write a laundry list, so I can write. I thought, "I
don't care what the quality of writing is like; just do what I know
how."

I wrote by sheer instinct; scene followed scene. I didn't have any
plot line. I had no idea what the film was about, where it was going.
And I just wrote it. I can recall writing the very first scene--on
the road, the big car smash, the idea of an impact. And then going to
the second scene. And I thought, "This is interesting." And then the
racetrack scene. I just let it flow. As it went on, I let it take me.
So I suppose I was writing from an unconscious or a subconscious. I
didn't have any fear of it. I thought, "What are they going to do,
shoot me if I don't make a good film?" I didn't even have an
intention of making a film. I just wrote a script just for my own
sense of creative exercise--something to do.

It took me about two, three weeks. But I didn't do it every day. I
suppose I did it over a period of 10 days. I'd take days off. I sit
down and think, "Alright, where are we now?" And I'd just touch the
computer, and off it would go. I finally finished it. I didn't edit.
But then I showed it to a few people, and they said, "God, this is
really strange, wacko stuff. You ought to do a movie of this." And
then I thought, "Well, maybe I ought to do it as a movie." I started
looking around to raise some cash. I sent the script to Spielberg and
asked him if he would give me a critique of it. He thought it was
really terrific. He said there was really terrific dialogue. He
said, "You should make a movie of it, and let me know when you're
editing; I'd love to come by." I never did phone him, because he's a
busy guy, and I didn't want to be a kiss-ass.




Anyway, it came to a point, my wife, Stella Arroyave, produced. And
then we got [another] producer, Robert Katz. He was terrific; he
believed in it. We'd gone through the usual route of people
saying, "Oh, yes, we're very excited, but we want to talk about final
cuts and rewrites." I said, "No. Bye-bye." I was polite, but that's
it: "Thank you very much for your time." And I went to Robert Katz,
and he said, "Yes, I believe in it. Let's do it." And we put the cast
together [and] got Christian Slater. I wrote the part for Christian,
although I didn't know Christian that well, but I had seen him, and I
was very impressed, and I thought, "This would be a great part for
Christian Slater." And then John Turturro. And then we put the [rest
of the] cast together: Camryn Manheim, Epatha Merkerson….

Back Stage: I think the casting is an unusual mix of great people.
Can you recall specifically how you approached them?

Hopkins: I called Christian Slater and sent him the script. He read
it and said, "Yeah, man, I'd love to do it." He didn't know if he was
going to be available, because he was in England at the time, doing a
play. Then he said, "Yah, I'm going to be available." So he came
over. John Turturro wasn't sure if he'd be available to do it, but he
said, "Strange script. I'd love to do it, though." And then we put
calls out to [other] people. Camryn Manheim I wanted as the script
supervisor [in the film]. Gavin Grazer, who plays the director, I
wrote it for Gavin as well, because Gavin's a close friend of mine.

But the big attraction was when I sent it to Dante Spinotti, who's
such a great cinematographer. I'd worked with Dante years before, and
my wife said, "Why don't you just send it to Dante?" I said, "Nah, he
wouldn't do this. He's a big shot." But he phoned me and said, "Tony,
I'd love to do it." He said it was the best experience he's ever had,
because he loved the outrageousness of it.

We shot it on digital, high-definition. That was Dante's idea. We had
a schedule of 37 days. [Then] I spent four months in the editing room
with Michael Miller. I wanted to break all the rules and throw
everything out the window. I believe that if you just do something--
people said, "How do you do this?" I said, "Just do it." We live in a
world of such rules and laws and formats and this, that, and the
other, and conventions--which are okay, but why not do something for
the hell of it? And that's what I did, for the hell of it, for my own
personal gratification. It's my movie: I own it; nobody can touch it.
Whether it's ever seen, I don't know, but I did it. That was a great
achievement for me.

Back Stage: This is your first full-control directing job.

Hopkins: I enjoyed the independent nature of it. Most of the actors
enjoyed it. One or two complained bitterly. I won't work with them
again.

Back Stage: I think a lot of actors like to work with first-time
directors. Your very first day, was it a strange experience to be in
the position of director?

Hopkins: No, no. I'd just got the crew together. We were up in the
desert, in Lancaster [Calif.], outside this diner. I said, "Here we
are; we've got a 37-day schedule. No pressure. I don't want anyone to
rush around. It's very hot. Watch out for the rattlesnakes in the
grass. Drink plenty of water. I just ask you to have a good time and
just relax, and we'll get it done." And we knocked two days off the
schedule. So everyone was relaxed, and we didn't push. And I believe
that's the best way to go.

Back Stage: What else did you do to prepare, technically, for that
first day? Did you have rehearsals?

Hopkins: No, never. No rehearsal. I just had a rough camera plot. I
had a production assistant; he organized the scenes. And I said to
Dante, "This is the shot I'd like to do." And he said, "Okay, good."
I said, "Let's set it up." And we shot very fast. Two, three takes--
that was the maximum. It keeps everyone on their toes. At the end of
the day, people would be tired, but they would feel they did a good
day's work.

Back Stage: You didn't want the actors to rehearse?

Hopkins: No. Christian Slater saved the day. He came into the diner
scene, and he just took it over. It was wonderful. I just pointed the
camera at him. Well, we had a rehearsal, naturally--sort of blocking.
I said, "Why don't you move into that seat, there, if that's okay,
and then the waitress comes over, so at this point I'd like you to
get up." And he said, "Okay." So he did it. And suddenly he started
to move around. I thought, "Oh, God, this is terrific." And he
changed the whole scene around; he just took it over. I was very
grateful to him. He knocked at least two days off the schedule.

Back Stage: What things did the other actors do, what did they bring
to their roles, that surprised you?

Hopkins: I just let them go. I didn't interfere with them. Camryn
Manheim was wonderful. And Epatha Merkerson. I just let them go and
have a ball with it. And Michael Clarke Duncan, he did a performance
which was surprisingly different from what I perceived. He was
terrific. They all were.

Back Stage: How was it different from what you expected?

Hopkins: There's a scene around the trash bins at night, when he's
got a bullet hole in his head. He did it in a way which was so
different and much more powerful: very quietly. I wrote it for some
guy who's in a rage. But Michael took it in a different way. I was so
pleased, and kind of shocked, I forgot my own lines. And Camryn
Manheim: There was a lot of improv, as well. There were scenes which
had a basic line of story, but I realized that the way I plotted it
out it would take a week to do them. So I said, "Okay, let's just
improvise this. Just go for it."

Back Stage: What things happened that made you recollect your acting
experiences with other directors?

Hopkins: There was one actor who was really inexperienced. He was
good actor, but he'd never really been in a movie before. He tended
to do a little bit of overacting. I said, "Do nothing. Just speak the
line and stay still. Don't jig around, don't gesture. You don't need
it." And he was very funny; very, very good he was in the scene.

Back Stage: Any other difficulties that made you think back to advice
you'd heard?

Hopkins: There was one person who was difficult on the set. He had a
big storm one day. He'd show up late. And he blew up one day, with
the producer. I didn't say anything. I thought, "Oh well. That's up
to him." But I just let him do [his work]. And he was very good in
the film. But, no, I didn't have any shootouts with the actors. For
one, I hate shouting at people.

Back Stage: Did you do anything to coax performances out of actors?

Hopkins: Oh, there was another actor who was playing a smaller part,
a very good actor, a friend of mine. I think he was a little
intimidated, because he had a pretty rough time in this business; he
hadn't worked much. He got on the set, and he was so muted and quiet
and nervous. One day he was standing by the camera while they were
setting up a shot, and I saw him, and the light was very peculiar.
And I said, "Just stand there a moment. Just say this one line." It
was a line about some kind of anxiety, some recall, that made him
fearful. And I said, "That's it! That's the performance that I want
you to give." And of course, in the scene, he really goes berserk.
You know, people have nerves, they're frightened. So you just try to
stand back, let them relax, and be watchful to see what they are
presenting to you. And if it's too much, say, "Okay, that's good.
[Pause] Let's try it again; you can do less than that." And that's
what I do.

Back Stage: Would you write and direct again?

Hopkins: Yes, but it will be low-budget. It will be my movie. And I
would use some of the same cast, I guess. I started writing one a few
weeks ago, then I left it to clear my brain, and maybe I'll go back
to it. I don't know. Easy come, easy go in my life!

Hey,

Have you seen the show Swimming with Shark's that he's in? I went to
see it last night, it's fab, I was so suprised at how good it really
was. Christian was fantastic in it.
Check out his video diaries on here, they're great
http://christianslater.lastminuteliving.com/christian_slaters_video_d/20
07/08/christian-is-ba.html

Seeya

Here's a link to a video Christian shot and edited while on vacation in
South Africa:
http://travel.timesonline.co.uk/tol/life_and_style/travel/article2548346
.ece

_News Galleries_
(http://www.tiscali.co.uk/news/daily/photos/galleries/view/daily/20070824/large/\
2)

or

_http://www.tiscali.co.uk/news/daily/photos/galleries/view/daily/20070824/larg
e/2_
(http://www.tiscali.co.uk/news/daily/photos/galleries/view/daily/20070824/large/\
2)

Enjoy!
Best--
         --Carol



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_http://www.weareellisisland.org/_ (http://www.weareellisisland.org/)


_ARROW(R) Apparel Set to Launch New Multi-Media Campaign and Community
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(http://www.broadcastnewsroom.com/articles/viewarticle.jsp?id=173659)

Best--
        --Carol



************************************** Get a sneak peek of the all-new AOL at
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[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

Here's a link with a picture of Christian with a new woman.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/pages/live/articles/showbiz/showbiznews.html?
in_article_id=439425&in_page_id=1766&ito=1490

I checked the website and it says check back soon for the on-demand
video, but here's a shortened link to the website since it was kind
of hard to find:

www.gmstars.notlong.com


If you want to go about it the hard way, or if the link quits
working, the actual website is:

http://gmtv.feedroom.com/ifr_main.jsp?nsid=a-
5fdd9dea:10ff9ff5254:469&fr_story=FEEDROOM171912&st=1168132559125&mp=W
MP&cpf=true&fvn=9&fr=010607_081553_w5fdd9deax10ff9ff5254x46b&rdm=84008
2.0249761341

Good luck, hopefully the video will be available soon!!


--- In christianslater2@yahoogroups.com, susan_etler <no_reply@...>
wrote:
>
> You don't have to live in Detroit to watch:
> Parade of Stars Can Be Seen On www.gm.com
>
>
> Detroit -- The whole online world can watch Saturday, January 6, as
> Jimmy Kimmel, host of ABC-TV's "Jimmy Kimmel Live," emcees the GM
Style
> red carpet event via streaming video through GM's web site,
> http://www.gm.com. The event begins at 7:00 p.m. Eastern Time.
Those
> who miss the live presentation can click and view on-demand replays
any
> time.
>

You don't have to live in Detroit to watch:
Parade of Stars Can Be Seen On www.gm.com


Detroit -- The whole online world can watch Saturday, January 6, as
Jimmy Kimmel, host of ABC-TV's "Jimmy Kimmel Live," emcees the GM Style
red carpet event via streaming video through GM's web site,
http://www.gm.com. The event begins at 7:00 p.m. Eastern Time. Those
who miss the live presentation can click and view on-demand replays any
time.

http://www.freep.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070103/ENT05/701030333


[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

GM Style event adds star power to lineup


[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

Hi, Everybody--

http://www.freep.com/apps/pbcs.dll/articleAID=/20070103/ENT05/701030333

Best--
--Carol

Look for CS at about 18 seconds.  I have no idea what this commercial
is about.  They keep saying "they'll get it", but I just don't.

http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=8284908769013668454&q=%
22christian+slater%22&hl=en

Here's a link to an CS Bobby interview on video.

http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-8112867575090559738&q=%
22christian+slater%22&hl=en

http://www.readexpress.com/read_freeride/2006/12/qa_christian_slater_1
.php

EXCEPT FOR THE ASSASSIN, Christian Slater plays the only bad guy
in "Bobby," Emilio Estevez's ensemble flick about the day Robert F.
Kennedy was shot. Just as his kitchen manager character reforms (at
least a little), the naughty actor has also been undergoing a
transformation recently. Trading wild nights for daddy duties seems
to suit the 37-year-old star. Express asked Slater about the new
roles.

» EXPRESS: Bobby Kennedy was such an icon. Do any politicians today
match up?
» SLATER: Barack Obama. Through this movie, I've gotten to meet him
and he was very cool. He's got charisma, charm, style, a nice smile
and kind eyes. And he seems to have a good head on his shoulders, too.

» EXPRESS: The main character of the movie is the Ambassador Hotel.
Are there any places that are particularly special to you?
» SLATER: Where I went with my son this summer to Africa to Richard
Branson's private game reserve, Ulusaba. It means "place of little
fear." It's magical and gorgeous and you see these prides of lions
and elephant herds and rhinos. That place — I loved it more than
anywhere I've been in the world. It was great to get away from
everything, too. We went into town and they don't have politics or
glamour magazines, but there's no crime and there's a real sense of
community. Then we flew back into London when the terror threat hit,
and I thought, "This is what we call civilization?"

» EXPRESS: You play the head of the kitchen in "Bobby." I'm guessing
you've never worked in a restaurant, but are you a chef at home?
» SLATER: Honestly, no. I've pretended to do it in movies. I may have
an undiscovered talent that's in me, but I've haven't been in one
place long enough to try.

» EXPRESS: From your bag here, I see you like gum a whole lot.
» SLATER: I'm trying to wean myself off the Nicorette. I've been on
it for a year and a half, and the gum seems like a reasonable
alternative. I keep seeing interviews of myself chomping, and that's
not good. It gives me pleasure, so I do it to excess.

» EXPRESS: What else is giving you pleasure these days?
» SLATER: My children. We've been horseback riding and having
adventures running around the globe. We've gone to New York, and it
was fun living in London for a few months.

» EXPRESS: Did you pick up an accent?
» SLATER: Just certain words. Mate. Cheers. They're still with me.

» EXPRESS: Are you a gadget guy?
» SLATER: I love going to the Apple Store and seeing what I can do
with my computer. I made a video in Africa.

» EXPRESS: I hear you do karate?
» SLATER: I was playing tough guys and it was embarrassing that I
didn't know what the hell I was doing. So I thought I'd pick up some
tips. I worked my way up through the ranks, but I didn't achieve my
black belt and then I went to London. But I'll start again. My son is
really into it. When I first started, he was 2 and he'd come with me
and just run around and hit me with swords. Now he's always asking me
to start again.

» EXPRESS: What will you do if he gets a black belt before you?
» SLATER: I'll be very proud — and very scared.

I don't know if anyone here has an account with Wire Image, but they
have a video section:

http://www.wireimage.com/GalleryListing.asp?
navtyp=SRH&sfld=C&logsrch=1&nbc1=17&str=christian%20slater

Yes, I saw this and I have to admit I have never seen him have more fun
with an interview before. I would have to say this is my all time
favorite interview with him as yet. And yes it was very long compared
to some of the others I've seen. I'm hoping someone was able to record
it and it will end up on the net, but I'm not gonna hold my breath yet.
I'm looking into purchasing a video capture device so I can do just
that with future interviews but they are not all that cheap, so it
won't be in the next couple of months at least.

M.

--- In christianslater2@yahoogroups.com, "horsefeatherz"
<horsefeatherz@...> wrote:
>
> Did anyone see this?  I thought it was a great interview.  Probably
one
> of the better ones I've seen.  It was longer than the others too.
>
>
>
> --- In christianslater2@yahoogroups.com, "horsefeatherz"
> <horsefeatherz@> wrote:
> >
> > CS will be on the Late Night Show with Craig Ferguson on Mon 11/20
> (CBS)
> >
>

Did anyone see this?  I thought it was a great interview.  Probably one
of the better ones I've seen.  It was longer than the others too.



--- In christianslater2@yahoogroups.com, "horsefeatherz"
<horsefeatherz@...> wrote:
>
> CS will be on the Late Night Show with Craig Ferguson on Mon 11/20
(CBS)
>

Someone in charge of reruns loves us!!  I think this is from 1984...

Tales from the Darkside
A Case of the Stubborns
Grandpa (Eddie Bracken) won't give up the ghost---even after he becomes
one. Christian Slater. 30 minutes- None, USA, (CC), Stereo

Tue  Dec  5  11:00A on SciFi Channel

I noticed the same thing.  He was really fidgety on Conan, cracking
knuckles and such.  And I agree, both interviews were way too short.
Does anyone really want to watch Robin Williams for 30 minutes??!?
(No offense, but anyone who's reading this probably favors CS...)

--- In christianslater2@yahoogroups.com, "meluivan_indil"
<Meluivan_Indil@...> wrote:
>
> I saw that little flinch myself and felt so bad for him. But I have
> to mention I watched both this interview and the one he did on
Regis
> the day before and for some reason he seemed so much more
comfortable
> on Regis than he did Conan. I'm not sure why at all or if I was
just
> seeing things, but still it's how I felt about it.
>
> The only other thing I could say was that the interview was too
> short. Man did I want to see more. I screamed NO!!!!!!!! when it
was
> over. Ah but then again that's no one's fault but my own.
>
> M.
>
>
> --- In christianslater2@yahoogroups.com, "horsefeatherz"
> <horsefeatherz@> wrote:
> >
> > Did anyone get a chance to watch this?  After they played the
clip
> from
> > Bobby, I loved the wince on CS's face.  His expression
> said "forgive
> > me, I'm really not a jerk" (the character isn't the nice guy of
the
> > movie).  If you recorded it, go back and watch it.  It's awesome.
> >
> > --- In christianslater2@yahoogroups.com, "Carol" <cushyb624@>
wrote:
> > >
> > > Hi, Everybody--
> > >
> > > Haven't been around much lately, so I'm not sure if this was
> posted
> > > here or not, but according to The Late Night TV Page, Christian
> > Slater
> > > is scheduled to appear on Conan O'Brien's show on Tuesday,
> November
> > > 14.
> > >
> > > linkage--
> > >
> > > http://www.interbridge.com/lineupsdate.html
> > >
> > > Best--
> > > --Carol
> > >
> >
>

I saw that little flinch myself and felt so bad for him. But I have
to mention I watched both this interview and the one he did on Regis
the day before and for some reason he seemed so much more comfortable
on Regis than he did Conan. I'm not sure why at all or if I was just
seeing things, but still it's how I felt about it.

The only other thing I could say was that the interview was too
short. Man did I want to see more. I screamed NO!!!!!!!! when it was
over. Ah but then again that's no one's fault but my own.

M.


--- In christianslater2@yahoogroups.com, "horsefeatherz"
<horsefeatherz@...> wrote:
>
> Did anyone get a chance to watch this?  After they played the clip
from
> Bobby, I loved the wince on CS's face.  His expression
said "forgive
> me, I'm really not a jerk" (the character isn't the nice guy of the
> movie).  If you recorded it, go back and watch it.  It's awesome.
>
> --- In christianslater2@yahoogroups.com, "Carol" <cushyb624@> wrote:
> >
> > Hi, Everybody--
> >
> > Haven't been around much lately, so I'm not sure if this was
posted
> > here or not, but according to The Late Night TV Page, Christian
> Slater
> > is scheduled to appear on Conan O'Brien's show on Tuesday,
November
> > 14.
> >
> > linkage--
> >
> > http://www.interbridge.com/lineupsdate.html
> >
> > Best--
> > --Carol
> >
>

Did anyone get a chance to watch this?  After they played the clip from
Bobby, I loved the wince on CS's face.  His expression said "forgive
me, I'm really not a jerk" (the character isn't the nice guy of the
movie).  If you recorded it, go back and watch it.  It's awesome.

--- In christianslater2@yahoogroups.com, "Carol" <cushyb624@...> wrote:
>
> Hi, Everybody--
>
> Haven't been around much lately, so I'm not sure if this was posted
> here or not, but according to The Late Night TV Page, Christian
Slater
> is scheduled to appear on Conan O'Brien's show on Tuesday, November
> 14.
>
> linkage--
>
> http://www.interbridge.com/lineupsdate.html
>
> Best--
> --Carol
>

http://movies.about.com/od/bobby/a/bobbycs111206.htm

Christian Slater and Freddy Rodriguez Talk About "Bobby"

Emilio Estevez' dramatic film, Bobby, follows events in the lives of
22 people in the hours leading up to the assassination of Robert F
Kennedy at the Ambassador Hotel. Christian Slater plays the man in
charge of the Ambassador Hotel's kitchen while Freddy Rodriguez
handles the crucial role of the hotel's busboy, Jose.

While Slater and Rodriguez play characters who loathe each other in
the film (Slater's character is a racist who treats his staff like
dirt), when the cameras weren't rolling the two got along well. Even
when they were filming Slater and Rodriguez managed to joke their way
through difficult scenes. Together to promote Bobby, Slater and
Rodriguez talked about working on Emilio Estevez' passion project.

What did you remember about Robert F Kennedy and did you find out
anything during the research that surprised you?

Freddy Rodriguez: "I don't if it surprised me, but what I got a sense
of was how he affected the people at that time and the way people
were energized and had this belief in the leader.

I can say that in my generation I've never felt that way about a
leader. I guess maybe a little bit Bill Clinton when he was in power,
but I've never felt the way the youth felt at that time. That was
always fascinating to me and was an educational experience to me. And
just how the world was in turmoil at that time and how they depended
on Bobby becoming a leader to change that. Because America depended
on him, when he was killed they were so completely crushed. I mean,
yes, because a being was killed, but also because their hopes that
change would come were crushed as well."

Christian Slater: "I was born in `69, so I did miss this particular
moment in our history. But I relied on things my parents told me
about the Kennedys and things I'd heard in school and (from) other
filmmakers — Oliver Stone, Spike Lee, who represented this time
period rather well. But the Kennedys to me have always represented a
certain amount of American royalty – Camelot - and certainly survived
a great deal of tragedy. I love the Kennedys. I love their faith and
belief in people and in America, and in the direction we really could
go. Somehow they just seemed to represent a really good quality and
aspect of what's in each and every one of us."

How long did you work on Bobby?

Freddy Rodriguez: [Emilio Estevez] has been at this for years and I
kind of feel like I've vicariously lived that journey with him. The
script was presented to me at least three years before it came into
fruition, so when it was presented to me and I read it and the money
fell through at the first production company it was at, I stayed in
contact with Emilio. He kind of updated me throughout the years as to
what was happening with it. I was very aware of the journey that he
went through with it, just trying to get it off the ground. When he
finally did get it off the ground and people did start to come on
board, I was just really happy that it was happening for him because
I knew what he was going through."

Christian Slater: "For me it probably took about 10 days coming in
there. It was the type of movie where everybody's schedule was
really, really crazy. There were so many people and so many different
story lines to put together and film. There were days when I would
show up and not work, and sit around. But the key for me was just to
be ready. Whenever they did need me I wasn't going to hold anything
up. I just wanted to make sure I was as available to Emilio as I
possibly could be."

Freddy Rodriguez: "I was pretty much there from beginning to end. My
schedule was pretty much peppered throughout the 37-day shooting
schedule. I had a lot of scenes in it, a lot of stuff that was cut
and you don't get to see, but I was pretty much there from beginning
to end."

Can you talk about shooting the assassination scene?

Freddy Rodriguez: "The assassination scene was hard to do for many
different reasons. I guess for me it was a tad eerie because my
character is loosely inspired by an iconic photo that exists of a
busboy holding Robert F. Kennedy after he was shot. I guess when we
were filming it, they would use that photo as reference to position
me. That was surely eerie to recreate. And then actually to see a
photo of myself in that same position, and to compare it to the
actual photo was a little tough to digest."

Christian Slater: "There were extras on the set that could point to
themselves in the actual footage. `There I am, there I am,' so that
certainly added to the power and intensity. You could really feel the
horror of it. From when they would say `action' to `cut', people were
definitely shaking by the end of that scene."

Do you know what happened to the real person who inspired your
character? Did he ever come forward?

Freddy Rodriguez: "Oh yeah, he's definitely been identified. After
the shooting there were even articles done on him and his picture was
taken for the paper. I think he retrieved his rosary after he put it
in Robert's hand, because I remember seeing a photo of him in an
article and he had the rosary in his hand. But yeah, he was
definitely recognized after that. I'm not sure if he's still alive or
not. We chose not to contact him during the filming of this project
because it was not really based on his life, so there was no need to
do that."

Christian Slater: "At the end of Bobby Kennedy's life, the person
that was down there on the ground (with him) were the people he was
actually speaking for and stood up. I find that to be phenomenally
ironic. It ties into the whole speech in the movie. Here's the guy
who's going to be the next President of the United States and at the
end of his life, it just doesn't matter what position we have. We're
famous, not famous, rich or poor — we have a short window of time
here and what are we going to do with it?"

Christian, how did it feel being the villain of the piece?

Christian Slater: "Wasn't there a guy named Sirhan Sirhan? (laughs).
Why am I the villain? I don't get it. I mean that's the bad guy… I'm
the evil bastard. Demi Moore's a vicious drunk. Bill Macy's a
womanizing cheating bastard, and I'm the villain… Yes, I tackled the
race issue there. I got the script — no, no, I got the call from
Emilio when I was in London and he told me about the people that were
involved in the movie and what the subject matter was, and I signed
on prior to reading the script. `Where do I show up?'"

Freddy Rodriguez: "He didn't know what an a-hole he was going to be."

Christian Slater: "Yeah, then I got the script and went, `Oh, s**t.'
But I was reading the character, I'm going along, `Okay, he's a rough
guy, he's a rough guy,' and then there was that scene, the baseball
scene, the radio moment, and having that scene in the movie actually
helped to make the character a lot more human.

I liked that there was that arc.

To bring it back to Bobby Kennedy, I think Bobby Kennedy was a
powerful enough man that he was able to raise the level of education.
Even the other characters that are in the movie, a character like
mine is able to grow and a bridge is able to be built eventually.
People are able to see each other as human to human at some point in
the film. I thought that was really important."

How do you convey the racial issue without making it seem
stereotypical?

Christian Slater: "It's certainly helpful getting to know myself more
so I'm able to differentiate who I am and what the character is that
I'm playing. That helps. And the exciting thing about getting to be
an actor is that you get to put on somebody else's clothes and get
into somebody else's mentality. I think the richness of the script,
really, and the looseness of Emilio's direction. That really helped
to make things feel very relaxed and human and not stifled.

For me, I come on the set and everything's very intense and very
heavy. Everyone's excited doing this movie about Bobby Kennedy, and
Sharon Stone is very intense, and they're all whoop de do, la di da.
My character was certainly much more… You know, I was a human guy, a
product of that time, and someone who had a job to do. I wanted every
available person to be there."

CS will be on the Late Night Show with Craig Ferguson on Mon 11/20 (CBS)

Ok, well, obviously those links did not work since they never evolved
into links at all.  Sorry 'bout that.  Trying again.  If the links
don't work this time, at least you'll have URLs to copy and paste
into your browser--

Slater and Fanning Open Gideon's Gift - ComingSoon.net

http://comingsoon.net/news/movienews.php?id=17434



IMDb Photo Gallery

http://imdb.com/name/nm0000225/photogallery

Best--
--Carol
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~




--- In christianslater2@yahoogroups.com, cushyb624@... wrote:
>
> Hi, Everybody--
>
> Slater and Fanning Open Gideon's Gift - ComingSoon.net
>
> Also, check out the newest photos of CS on his IMDb pages--
>
> Christian Slater
>
> Photo gallery for Christian Slater
>
>
> Best--
>         --Carol
>
>
> [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
>

Hi, Everybody--

Slater and Fanning Open Gideon's Gift - ComingSoon.net

Also, check out the newest photos of CS on his IMDb pages--

Christian Slater

Photo gallery for Christian Slater


Best--
         --Carol


[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

If any of you saw him last night on MNF, do you know who he was
saying 'hi' to? He said he wanted to say 'hi' to a friend and then
said, "hi Michelle, I wish you were here".
Any ideas, or am I missing a joke amongst the commentators or
something?

If any of you are on this website, and if it's Monday 11/6, then get
off your computer and turn on football on ESPN because CS is on it (in
the commentators' booth).  Enjoy!!

Right now!! on ESPN!!

He looks great!!!