Interview: HAPPY GILMORE, LUCKY GUY Star Christopher McDonald Talks OFFER AND COMPROMISE

Christopher McDonald is known to many of us as the iconically awful Shooter McGavin in The Comedy classic HAPPY GILMORE, as well as the philandering husband in THELMA AND LOUISE. He's starred on the late, lamented HARRY'S LAW with Kathy Bates, and has a place in Star Trek history as Lieutenant Richard Castillo in the famous THE NEXT GENERATION episode, "Yesterday's Enterprise." On Broadway, he's been one of the great Billy Flynns in the long-running revival of CHICAGO and Eddie Hayes in LUCKY GUY with Tom Hanks.

What's an actor with a resume like that to do next? In McDonald's case, he's scheduled to begin work on OFFER AND COMPROMISE, the brainchild of actor/director Valerie Landsberg (FAME) and producer Tani Cohen (THE DUST FACTORY), currently in its last week of a Kickstarter fundraising campaign (www.kickstartval.com). OFFER AND COMPROMISE is a look at the modern American economy and the pressing issue of credit card debt and debt settlement, through a humorously skewed lens.

We talked with McDonald at his home in California about OFFER AND COMPROMISE, about his career and upcoming projects, and about the growing trend of Kickstarter and Indiegogo funding for independent films.

He's been everyone from Shooter McGavin to Mel Allen; he's been an infomercial host (REQUIEM FOR A DREAM) and a cheating husband, and he's even been an unintentional STAR TREK icon. What are his favorite roles, and his favorite productions, to date? "The ones that are hits, of course! But seriously, the philandering husband in THELMA AND LOUISE, and Jack Barry in QUIZ SHOW. FATAL EXPOSURE was one of my great joys. We were shooting on location, and I got to impersonate this guy - I had a breakthrough as a young actor about playing bad guys, and it turned out really well. I just came off playing Tommy Jefferson on HARRY'S LAW with Kathy Bates, which I loved. That show died before its time. It was such a great, transformative show and it was such a shock when it was cancelled.

"Playing in FAMILY LAW with Dixie Carter and Kathleen Quinlan was incredible. And then there was THE TUSKEEGEE AIRMEN - I loved doing that. But in many ways, GREASE 2 was my favorite thing to do - riding about on motorcycles and in a T-bird; it was a thrill. And for a young actor when I came to Hollywood, GREASE was the word - it was the Holy Grail when I came to town."

So what attracted an actor with such huge credits to OFFER AND COMPROMISE? "My friendships with everyone in it. Valerie, I've known for years. Tom Cavanagh is great. And the script's timely. I have the ugly part, the man who makes people pay their debts. The economy's gotten so ugly now - this is what's happening out there. If we hit our mark, production's a go in April, right before a miniseries I'm doing for The History Channel. This is my third time with a Kickstarter program. It's always the last week where everyone comes together. I'm looking forward to starting on this." The History Channel miniseries is, incidentally, THE TEXAS RANGERS, scheduled to begin shooting in Mexico in June, and starring Bill Paxton, another project McDonald is looking forward to doing.

More and more name actors are coming to small independent films funded through the Kickstarter route, and McDonald expects the trend to continue. "For most of us, the attraction is the material. It's not green-screen special effects and CGI. The money on those things is great, but character-driven stuff is more challenging, more fun, and that's in the independent film world. That character stuff, the small stuff, has the really meaty roles in it.

"I hope the trend continues. That's the hope - it's tricky to sell a film once it's been made, but at least Kickstarter's a source of revenue to get it made in the first place. And it might not make the major movie theaters, but if it goes on cable, on, say, Sundance Channel, and it's repeated, then you've got all these people who do see it, who come up to you and tell you that they saw you, how much they loved you in it. I've invested in Kickstarter myself, though not in movies I've been in, and this is the third Kickstarter-funded film I've Gone into. It's a great way to fund things - there's no risk to the investors if enough money isn't raised. I think it's wonderful."

What's McDonald's part in Landsburg's new flick? "I run a collection agency - a bunch of misfit guys who have this horrible but necessary job. The new guy (AMERICAN IDOL semi-finalist Casey Abrams) comes in and doesn't do well. He's got too much heart. You can't be too sensitive when you're collecting legitimate debts - it's tough love in that line of work. I'm the guy who has to lean on people, to make other people lean on people. People do have to pay their bills somehow."

OFFER AND COMPROMISE is scheduled to have some amazing cast members in it besides McDonald - Cavanaugh, Constance Zimmer, Lee Meriwether, and Frances Fisher among them. "Constance is fabulous. She's funny, she's talented - she's great. And Lee - she's amazing, isn't she? She's Catwoman! And she's Miss America! She's everything. What a pleasure. And I've worked with Frances Fisher before. She's sexy, funny, and gifted. I've met most of the crowd before, but there's always someone you haven't worked with that you've always wanted to." And just who else - outside of OFFER AND COMPROMISE - has he not worked with who's on his bucket list? "I'd also love to work with Daniel Day-Lewis, and with Leo - and I've never worked under Scorsese's direction, though I worked with him on screen in QUIZ SHOW. I'd love to have him direct me."

But this is still Broadway World asking questions, so it's important to inquire about whether Billy Flynn has future stage plans. "I'm hoping to be back sometime. I had a complete blast working on LUCKY GUY. Working with Tom Hanks - he's one of my heroes. That was a check-off on my bucket list. Upcoming? I've put feelers out - that's all you can do. I've had to turn down an offer because of existing commitments, but I'd be happy to be in more plays or to do a musical. I have an apartment in New York. When the kids are out of school in a few years, I may get back there and start doing a real search for more stage work again. Right now, if the right show and the schedule fit, I'd be there in a heartbeat."

But wait - Kickstarter relies on offering investors incentives for their donations. McDonald's contribution to that is to offer a lucky investor a round of golf with Shooter McGavin himself... so just what is Shooter McGavin's handicap these days? "That's a good question! When I was good, it was a 9; I was in single digits. Now I bogey off, but I can still putt like crazy. I mostly do tournaments these days. But they're for good causes and they're a great way to meet some good people. I love doing them. And I try to get a little practice in, in my back yard, in the mornings. I need to do that more often!"

The film revolves around a family whose husband and father, played by Cavanagh, runs up his credit cards rather than admit to his wife (Zimmer) and her mother (Fisher) that he's lost his job. Once the debt's been incurred, the efforts to collect it, from McDonald's debt collection firm, kick in. Carol Kane from THE PRINCESS BRIDE also stars.

Other backer rewards include everything from autographed photos of Lee Meriweather to screening the film with Cavanagh. Landsberg is providing dinners in New York and Los Angeles with cast members from FAME. Frances Fisher is treating backers to lunch, and donating autographed scripts from TITANIC.

Landsberg directs OFFER AND COMPROMISE; Cohen produces, and Dylan Otto is scriptwriter. The producer is A Day In The Life Films. More information is available at http://offerincompromisethemovie.com. The Kickstarter campaign is here.

Photo Credit: Walter McBride

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