InDepth InterView: Kathleen Turner

 

Today we are talking to the heart-stopping bombshell of BODY HEAT and PEGGY SUE GOT MARRIED, the satirical queen of comedy in SERIAL MOM, the Mother of mass suicide in THE VIRGIN SUICIDES and the unforgettable dog-trainer in MARLEY & ME, as well as the greatest Martha since Uta Hagan in the Edward Albee's ferocious work of staggering genius, WHO'S AFRAID OF Virginia Woolf; star of stages and screens all over the world, the one and only Kathleen Turner. Talking theatre (her new play HIGH), film (past and future, including a few in the can such as one co-starring Jason Ritter), television (she plays David Duchovny's confidant on CALIFORNICATION), and her erudite insights on the cultural significance of the basic arts - like theatre - in a technology-drenched world. Ms. Turner also talks about working with Francis Ford Coppola, John Waters, Edward Albee, Michael Douglas, William Hurt, James Woods, Kirsten Dunst, Sofia Coppola, Jason Ritter, Emily Deschanel and a host of other huge Hollywood and/or Broadway heavyweights. Her unmistakable voice and spirit paw and purr through every word she selects, she is the cat's pajamas - or should I say, cat's negligee.

It's About Believing

Last week I had the honor of discussing the life and career of Hollywood Legend and Broadway Star Kathleen Turner with the grand dame herself and what resulted was truly an interview for the ages. Once I got past the chills upon hearing her unmistakable voice, it became clear that this is what Hollywood Legends sound like in real life - not just in the movies. Impossibly quick-witted, considerate and cool, Ms. Turner is an interviewer's dream and displayed all the charm, vivacity and exotic, erotic allure that she is so well known for in her numerous appearances in blockbuster films. Memorable films in which she has starred range from Lawrence Kasdan's sexy noir thriller BODY HEAT to Francis Ford Coppola's time-travel family film PEGGY SUE GOT MARRIED to romancing Michael Douglas in the espionage adventure of ROMANCING THE STONE to John Waters' bizarre cracked universe in SERIAL MOM to acting alongside Owen Wilson and Jennifer Aniston in the recent hit comedy MARLEY & ME. That's not even mentioning her first and foremost love and passion: evident in the performances she has given on Broadway, the West End and on tour. In this BWW Exclusive InDepth InterView we discuss her new role on stage playing a recovering alcoholic nun in the new drama HIGH and her illusory comments on the play's themes and the character herself, as well as her work on the stage in Edward Albee's WHO'S AFRAID OF Virginia Woolf and her thoughts on his work, in addition to a full discussion of her film work in BODY HEAT, ROMANCING THE STONE, THE WAR OF THE ROSES, THE ACCIDENTAL TOURISTS, SERIAL MOM, THE VIRGIN SUICIDES, MARLEY & ME and the new film THE PERFECT FAMILY and a healthy dose of behind-the-scenes stories from stages and soundstages around the world, as well. If all of that was not enough, there is also some breaking news on her upcoming film and stage appearances and a discussion of the future of HIGH on its cross-country trek towards Broadway (hopefully, as soon as this season) and a discussion of her new one-woman show RED HOT PATRIOTS. It's time to turn on to the delectable Kathleen Turner!

 

PC: I'm such a huge fan, you're an amazing talent. I'm sure you get sick of hearing that.

KT: Thank you. I just get sick of it, you know. (Laughs.)

PC: For someone born in 1984, SERIAL MOM is a true comedy classic with few equals. We all remember it so fondly.

KT: We had such a fun time.

PC: Please tell me about working with John Waters on the set.

KT: Everyday, John and I would just... we would just have fun. Fun.

PC: And it made it to screen exactly as it was in the script. I've heard a lot wasn't cut out.

KT: I don't think so. No. Not like some other films. Yeah.

PC: Also, I love your SERIAL MOM anniversary commentary with John Waters that you recorded in 2007.

KT: Yeah. John is such a good friend. He's such a sweetheart.

PC: It sends a good signal when a big star like you participates in the commentary and DVD features, a lot refuse to and it's foolish because you can add so much insight and connect with the fans, in a way.

KT: Right. The stories I remember are so vivid and so present. I don't know, I suppose I don't have a lot of attitude about that, I'm afraid.

PC: You certainly did as Martha. Edward Albee is my favorite playwright. Tell me about WHO'S AFRAID OF VIRIGINA WOOLF and working with Edward Albee, as both playwright and director.

KT: Well, the story you've heard is, of course, quite true. I read WHO'S AFRAID OF Virginia Woolf? when I was in college, when I was twenty. I decided that when I turned fifty that I would do Martha, that would be my role. With the arrogance of a twenty year old, you know, thinking that fifty would be the right age because fifty would be past child-bearing and, of course, in order for it to be tragic Martha really has to be unable to have a child. So, in my mind, it was fifty. You know?

PC: Yes, I completely agree. It adds another dimension.

 

KT: So, when I was forty-nine I started thinking, "You better get on the stick here, girl!"

PC: Now or never, right?

KT: Yeah. So, I took the producer out to dinner and talked to her about meeting with Albee and what I needed to do to convince him to mount another production. At that point, he was working on THE GOAT and he wasn't really interested, she said, in revisiting some of his old plays.

PC: Right.

KT: But, I pointed out to her that it had not been done in New York since 1975. Since Colleen Dewhurst. It had only been done by Uta Hagan and Colleen.

PC: That's insane! In thirty years?!

KT: So, finally we got together a lunch and Edward asked me what I wanted and I said, "I want to read it for you. I just want a chance to read it for you." So, we set up a reading and I got Bill Irwin to come along with a couple of other actors and Edward just loved it. He loved it.

PC: The toughest critic if there ever were any!

KT: Actually, at the end of the first act we took a kind of break and he walked over to me and said, "I haven't heard anything like this since Uta Hagan," and I said, "Well, that's only one act!"

PC: There are three!

KT: Yes, yes. (Clears throat.) I was being very, very daring!

PC: What a great story.

KT: And, of course, he agreed to let me go ahead and do it. It was as thrilling an experience as I dreamed it would be. It really was. It was... I wouldn't want to say it was the highlight of my entire career, ‘cause I don't know yet! (Laughs.)

PC: (Laughs.) Not yet!

KT: But it's certainly way up there. (Laughs.)

PC: Is there a line or a moment or an act you particularly love?

KT: I just love the third act. I love how it breaks down and she talks about her love for George. It's just beautiful.

PC: "The Exorcism" is such a great title for that act.

KT: Yeah, it is.

PC: I'm interviewing Elizabeth Ashley about ME, MYSELF & I for the next entry in this column. Do you know that play?

KT: Yes, it's interesting because I took a good look at that. I was interested in that.

PC: What happened?

KT: Oh, it's just that they weren't getting the production together and other things came up and so I had to move on.

PC: Are you a fan of Liz Ashley's?

KT: I think she's just divinely outrageous! I haven't seen her in that, but I've always enjoyed Elizabeth. I mean, come on!

PC: You two are great ladies of the theatre, from her new play with Albee to your new play HIGH: I've heard the last scene with Michael Berresse is unforgettable.

KT: With this process, we're in three different theaters. We started in Hartford, now we're in Cincinnati and in October we go to St. Louis.

 

PC: Wow! You're all over the map.

 

KT: Yes, we had some major rewrites. Specifically, about that scene you mentioned at the end of the second act, with Michael Berresse and stuff. When we moved here to Cincinnati... you know, when you rewrite you don't just put in new lines. You have to re-light. You have to re-block. You have to...

PC: It's everything. Top to bottom.

KT: Yes. So, we kept the Hartford production as it was originally and then immediately went back into rehearsal when we got here to Cincinnati to start putting in the new work, which I think is much, much better. It's a great improvement over what we were doing in Hartford. I feel sorry that Hartford didn't get it!

PC: (Laughs.) They never do!

KT: But, never mind about that! (Laughs.) Anyway!

PC: Tell me about the story of the show, the issues.

KT: It's the story of a Catholic rehab facility and I play this foul-mouthed recovering alcoholic nun -

PC: Oh, wow!

KT: - (aside) Yes, oh yes - who is one of the counselors in the center. Michael Berresse plays Father Michael who runs the facility and he puts in my charge a young homosexual prostitute meth addict.

PC: Wow, that's a rough plight.

KT: It's a much more serious addiction than she's ever dealt with before. They deal with more, sort of, family problems. You know, the husband who's starting to drink a little too much before he goes home.

PC: Right.

KT: Or the kid who's taking speed because she wants to make good grades.

PC: Or gambling.

KT: That sort of thing, yeah. But, this is hardcore addiction.

PC: Big difference.

KT: Sister Jamie really doesn't think that they are qualified to help him, but Father Michael insists that it must be done there. You find out why as the play goes on.

PC: What it's about thematically?

KT: It's about faith. It's about the belief in redemption. A spiritual transformation that's possible. What hooked me on it originally was that these were real issues. Yes, it takes place in this play within the structure of the Catholic belief, but, to me, it can be about any form of belief. It can be about believing. I don't think it has to be one religious structure, one church. I think the issues of faith and redemption are much more universal than any one religion.

PC: Yes, it's incredible, in the dictionary sense of the word.

KT: It's fascinating how all of us, everyday, rely - at some point, to some extent, for some reason - on faith in our life. Whether it's God or not, or "Please help me!"

PC: Right. Anything, just looking for guidance from somewhere.

KT: There's this one line that Sister Jamie has where she says, "St. Augustine, in his famous prayer he says, ‘Lord, grant me chastity and countenance, but not yet!'" She says, "Now, come on, you're all I have for help... but only when it's convenient!"

PC: The themes are so appropriate to today. Now.

KT: Well, I've been studying our playwright Matthew Lombardo who is a three-and-a-half-year recovering meth addict. He's doing well, but his story and what he has taught us, what he has introduced us to about from his own knowledge and his own path is so shocking and so frightening to me. Evidently, it's incredibly widespread.

PC: It's everywhere.

KT: I mean, not just meth addiction. Almost every kind. Addiction has become a truly American...

PC: Institution?

KT: Burden. Truly a burden on our society.

PC: Everyone is addicted to something. Whether an iPod or Blackberry or coffee or....

KT: So it seems. Learning more and more about this particular addiction: it's so terrible. It's so frightening to me. One of the first things I did when I read this was call up my daughter and say, "If you ever, I will...." But, she assures me that's not her thing so I believe her.

PC: So this is not a show for kids, I take it. Not family-friendly fare.

KT: Well, there's nudity. And there's foul language - thank you, Sister Jamie! (Laughs.)

PC: (Laughs.) No one better to deliver it! That velvet voice!

KT: I don't think it's for everyone. I would encourage older teenagers to come, myself.

PC: Thank goodness you're doing a play about real hot-button issues about today, not about ten or twenty or forty years in the past.

KT: Yeah. Isn't it? Of course the thing that amuses me right now is that we're getting reviews that say, "Yeah, but they don't... They're leaving us with all these questions!" Yes, so? That's as it should be!

PC: That's called playwrighting! Right?

KT: Yeah. I mean, what, you want me to wrap it up with, and give it to you with, a bow?! Go home and think about it!

PC: Exactly. One last thing on the topic of Catholic themes, are you familiar with Albee's TINY ALICE?

KT: Oh, sure. He actually brought that up to me that I should consider doing that at some point soon.

PC: It's my favorite play. You would be perfect.

KT: It's quite intriguing to me. I'm not convinced I'm the one that needs to do it yet. I need to be convinced my doing it would make the difference.

PC: Tell me about the new films you have coming out for awards season.

KT: I have a new independent film coming out. I did it in June, it's called THE PERFECT FAMILY. This is going to turn out to be my year of Catholicism. It's about a woman who desperately wants to win the Catholic Woman of the Year award in her arch diocese because it carries with it the prayer of absolution which - only the Catholics could think this up, I think - would absolve her of any sins she may have committed in her life.

PC: What a story! Tell me about the cast.

KT: I had a fantastic cast. Emily Deschanel. Jason Ritter plays my son.

PC: Great names!

KT: I had this really great cast. I was absolutely thrilled to be working with these people.

PC: Jason Ritter is a really, really talented guy. And a great singer!

KT: I think he's swell. He's a sweetheart.

PC: HAPPY ENDINGS is a great performance of his. Great actor.

KT: I was very pleased to do that [THE PERFECT FAMILY] with him.

PC: When is it coming out?

KT: That's probably headed towards Sundance or something, I think.

PC: Tell me about what else you're doing on stage right now.

KT: Yes, before that, I was in Philadelphia creating RED HOT PATRIOTS. It's a one woman play about Molly Ivins. I ran that in Philadelphia for a couple of months.

PC: When can we see it? What's it about?

KT: Well, that's a piece I can pick up again. I can do it almost anywhere. It's about a ninety minute piece about Molly Ivins and all her extraordinary wit and wisdom.

PC: Is it a funny show, then?

KT: Oh, yeah. No, it's quite funny. She was. It also carries a lot of wonderful political insights.

PC: I'm so glad you're doing a one-woman-show so you never have to be off-stage!

KT: I don't know, I'm never off-stage in this show! (Laughs.)

PC: No way! Are you serious?

KT: I should get an award!

PC: Many!

KT: I need a vacation, kid!

PC: Yeah, you do! But the audience won't let you go!

KT: Man, I've been working since February 3rd. I'm getting "Ugh!"

PC: You're too beautiful to be "Ugh!"

KT: All I know is I want to be lying on a beach somewhere in November. (Laughs.)

PC: Since you brought it up, where do you go for vacation when you finally get the chance to take a break for a few weeks?

KT: I usually run back to Europe and bop around a couple of little towns that I love.

PC: What do you think of the new technology and people watching your clips from old TV shows or Tony Award shows you hosted on Hulu and YouTube?

KT: I love the new technology in terms of giving access to doing more independent work. When I first started out, any film had to rent from Panavision and the expenses were humongous. Now, given the advances in technology, you can put out extraordinary quality filmmaking at nothing like the price it used to be.

PC: Like David Lynch's INLAND EMPIRE or Michael Mann's movies.

KT: But, we still have the bottleneck of the studios controlling distribution.

PC: Which is ridiculous.

KT: I hope it will change in the future. It must, in the future. That, is rather ridiculous to me, really.

PC: I agree completely.

KT: The festivals are getting more important, so that's very hopeful. Even if the studios are poaching from the festival... but never mind! (Laughs.)

PC: (Laughs.) Spot-on!

KT: That's another story. But, no, I don't really go to YouTube or, especially, participate in Facebook. I just really don't want to know that many people, honey!

PC: You're Kathleen Turner!

KT: I like having a slightly smaller life, if I can manage it.

PC: If! And only if!

KT: But, no, I don't see anything wrong with technology as long as it doesn't interfere with your life.

PC: So you won't pull a Patti LuPone and tell them to turn off their camera-phones in the audience tonight?

KT: Well, it is illegal. And it is disrespectful. And I would mind it tremendously because it's not fair. It's just not fair. I mean, yes, it is the performance I am willing to show the public but that does not give someone the right to own it. Only me, really. I always find that sort of thing offensive.

PC: As you should.

KT: It's an assumption that they can just take over my work and I don't like that.

PC: Especially since you're a movie star and they want to "have you forever" on their own camera phone.

KT: There is that, too. (Pause.) But, people on the whole are respectful, I find.

PC: If anyone would know about that, it's you. You're always touring.

KT: I like going out into the country. We took Virginia Woolf to Washington and Chicago and San Francisco and LA. I enjoy that. I think the rest of the country deserves great theatre.

PC: And Kathleen Turner! Hey, it's good enough for Julie Harris, right?

KT: Yeah.

PC: You've worked with so many actors and directors on so many great films, but I love you and Nic Cage in PEGGY SUE GOT MARRIED and with Michael Douglas in ROMANCING THE STONE the most. What was your favorite film of yours in the 80s?

KT: I have to say that one of my favorite films is PEGGY SUE. I just think it's magical.

PC: Coppola, how could it not?

KT: I think it's magical. What Francis did and the whole premise of it. (Pause.) That was pretty magical.

PC: And ROMANCING THE STONE?

KT: I had the most fun doing ROMANCING. I loved throwing myself around. I grew up in South America. I love to go back there. Michael desperately needed a bilingual person - he didn't really figure far enough ahead on that! (Laughs.) I just had a ball.

PC: Have you spoken to him recently? He's going through a tough time with his health problems.

KT: I've talked with him. (Pause.) The family, the kids are great. That's the most important thing.

PC: What about working with Lawrence Kasden (and William Hurt) on BODY HEAT and THE ACCIDENTAL TOURIST?

KT: I think ACCIDENTAL TOURIST wasn't ever really fully appreciated, you know?

PC: Definitely not. Thank goodness for DVDs, right?

KT: I think it's a wonderful movie. I loved working with Bill [Hurt] and I loved working with Larry. It was great to all get back together and feel safe. You know, when you've worked with somebody before and you've worked very deeply and dangerously then you start with the relaxation and the trust right away and that lets you go even deeper, which is a lovely thing.

PC: My favorite film performance of yours is in Sofia Coppola's film version of THE VIRGIN SUICIDES.

KT: That was really tough for me.

PC: It's a near-impossible role! Especially based on the book.

KT: That was a really hard role to play because that woman was way, way far away from me. Also, at that time, my daughter was a young teenager so it just tore me apart, some of it.

PC: I've never read a book or seen a film that captures teenage angst better than Jeffrey Eugenedes and Coppola did.

KT: Well, I think you have to give Sophia credit for that script. She adapted it.

PC: It's the book. Almost word-for-word, like ROSEMARY'S BABY. Thank goodness.

KT: Yes, it is.

PC: The scenes with James Woods are chilling to the bone.

KT: They were tough. That was tough.

PC: Sophia just won the Venice Film FestivAl Golden Palm. She's the real deal. THE VIRGIN SUICIDES is one of the great films of this century.

KT: That's a wonderful thought.

PC: Define collaboration.

KT: To trust in the other person and support them.

PC: You made my day, thank you so much.

KT: (Laughs.) OK! You are welcome!