Q&A: Mark Ruffalo
Mark Rafallo, star of the top Sundance sales title "The Kids Are All Right", tells THR how his brother's death prompted him to rethink acting and nearly derail his award-winning directorial debut at the festival Upped, "Sympathy for Delicious."
For more than a year, actor Mark Rafallo calls "a rollercoaster ride". After surviving a brain tumor in 2002, Rafallo spent much of a decade preparing for his directorial debut, "Sympathy for Delicious", a comedic drama about a paraplegic DJ-turned-faith healer Was when his brother Scott was killed during its preproduction.
Rafallo went on to honor his brother's memory and real-life paraplegic friend - Christopher Thornton, who wrote in the film and stars - until production ran out of money last summer. It took him a couple of weeks to co-star in Lisa Cholodenko's moving comedy "The Kids Are All Right", then considered taking a break from acting with his wife and three children. Then in December, Sundance released "Sympathy" to the U.S. The dramatic contest saved the day by giving a major opening weekend slot. Audiences responded with a thunderous applause, and left them "loose" after some mixed initial feedback from critics, with strong support for the unconventional mix of drama and satire meeting THR, New York Times, USA Today, Filmmaker magazine and started. Elsewhere.
Rafallo's comrades eventually gave him the U.S. Awarded the Dramatic Special Jury Award, and distributors who have received big hits with faith-themed films such as Samuel Goldwyn, Fox Faith and Bob Burney of Apparition, are now circling the project. Adding to its happy ending, Sundance added Cholodenko's "Kids" as a late entry, and Rafallo's performance - arguably the best in his 18-year film career - had already generated buzz at the end of the year Is, a major factor in the Focus features around $ 5. Million Acquisition Deal. All this good news comes as Martin Scorsese's delayed thriller 'Shutter Island', starring Rafallo and Leonardo DiCaprio, finally hit theaters this month with positive buzz. Rafallo spoke with THR's Greg Goldstein about what he had learned from Martin Scorsese, televangelist Jimmy Swaggart and his turbulent journey.
Hollywood Reporter: What made you want to direct?
Rafallo: My friend Chris Thornton and I went to (acting) school together with Stella Adler - I've known her for 22 years. At that time he was capable. Sixteen years ago, he succumbed to a climbing accident and sat in a chair. I directed him in two plays and starred in many with him - it was my dream to direct one day, and here was this project with a dear friend. I knew he was a great actor, and it meant a lot to me that he got a chance, you know? Someone cut a genius so talented like this?
He was giving me many different ideas 12 years ago - he started writing more when he couldn't act as much - and I said, "Dude, that's what you need to write." And about a year and a half later, he handed me a draft of 186 pages of it. At that time, I read it and said, "Who is going to direct it?" Would you mind if I did? "It's been 10 years and at least a hundred drafts for him and I to grab modifications, develop it, bring it into a single story. And we were learning to make movies at the same time .
THR: Did you shoot anything earlier?
Rafallo: No, I shot a small trailer for it a few years ago, but I've had the honor of working with some really great directors over so many years, so being on so many sets was a really great film school. met. .
THR: What did you learn from special directors and your experiences?
Rafallo: Well, from "Eternal Sunshine (The Spotless Mind)", I ended up using camera operator Chris Knorr to become director of photography. Every director has his or her own style and way of working, so I learned - oh my god (from "Zodiac" director David) Fincher - he is a technician, he was very helpful. He sat with me for five hours with a post-cut of mine, and we would watch film by scene. He would say, "Wait here, what is happening here, we are missing a story here" - it was like a master class for me. Working with Marty [Scorsese], he likes to dig into the script, and we did a lot of work and sitting down ("Shutter Island") going over the script. He was showing us a lot of films - that was another kind of film school for me.
THR: Did they give you any advice about your film?
Rafallo: He did. And [it was amazing] to hear his stories about his filmmaking experiences over the years and the losses he had experienced. He said, "You have to make the film that you are watching. This is the film that you make. Don't let anyone tell you what kind of film to make or how to make." It is a good thing when you are navigating through all these waters and all these opinions. It is hard to stick to that as a filmmaker for the first time.
THR: I think you're getting a lot of opinions, especially with such a unique film, mixing drama and satire.
Rafallo: It comes from some autobiographical material there. When we lived together, Chris was trying to get into some treatment services early, a Korean faith doctor ... there must have been five or six people, some religious, some secular. He wanted to walk and walk. At the time Chris was trying to deal with the tragedy, trying to understand it - thinking "Why me? Is it fair?" - These over-the-top ridiculous rock 'n' roll dudes were coming from home. They were so high that if I put it in the film, you wouldn't believe it. I had an ex-girlfriend who was dating this guy who was living at home, too (laughs) and I was working at all these rock 'n' roll bars, (like) all these people in LA. Looked up against Chris, it was crazy and interesting and compelling. Over the years, as we were developing it, we were meeting priests, band managers, trying to make the thing as real as possible, even if it was completely fictional.
THR: Since you are also playing the role of a Catholic clergyman in the film, did either of you have a religious background that attracted you?
Rafallo: Chris returned to his Catholicism in the face of that tragedy. He studied devoutly and devoted himself to it, and I know it was a balm for him at the time. The film is about the treatment of all. Seeing him going through all this, I know that there is a depth in him that comes from sorrow. When he was really, really down, I said "Listen, man, what you are today is much bigger than before." But maybe there is a gift in it, which sounds as terrible as it sounds.
In my household, all Catholics were Italian, and then my grandmother became a born-again Christian - overall Evangelical - and my father became a Bahá'Ã. We were all living together in the same house, and that was crazy. And it was [my] evangelical [grandmother] who was torturing everyone [laughs]. [He said] We were all going to hell. My father was going to hell, my mother was going to hell. For her birthday, I went and was saved by Jimmy Swaggert at the First Assembly of God Church! I was 9 years old. It was fast, man. I went to a Catholic school, I went to a Thursday fire for the Bahá'Ãs, and my grandmother was taking me to one of those mega-churches. I could see people speaking and speaking in tongues and moving in the Spirit of the Lord. I have just had a very liberal experience of religion, and what I understood is that each person has their own relationship with God. The idea that any one of them is more correct than the others is a matter of utter insanity. Where do you draw the line?
THR: Do all the dramatic things you see in church inspire you to become an actor in any way?
Rafallo: Let me tell you, when Jimmy Swaggert touched me and all the kids around me were falling to the ground, I got my first experience of acting. When I had my hand on my head and was not feeling anything, I (thought to myself) "Dude, you are going straight to hell! Jesus does not want you, man! You are the antichrist! You are the babe they keep talking about! "So I am waiting on my knees to be struck by the Spirit of the Lord, as all are before me, and in the end I have just taken a dive! That Actually my first acting gig was.
THR: It's not an easy film to define, and it seems like it was a tough sell for financiers.
Rafallo: It was impossible - literally seven years of knocking at the door, something like 40 rejections. Either one liked the script, but didn't like the idea of an unknown paralysis - they were saying, "How are we going to finance this film with this guy?" Or they did not get the script at all. I had an actress who used to say that she was the worst thing ever, and then I told people about it. One thing I heard was that people did not know what to do about tonal shift. They are not so big - I think they are like life. The way I like acting is one on a banana peel and the other on the grave. And so is life: it is alternately sunny, it is alternately depressed.
THR: How did you convince Corner Stone and Super Crispy to make it?
Rafallo: (Corner Stone Head) Matt Weaver's wife Hilary Weaver and I were in acting class together. I was directing one of the plays, she was my producer - this is a small band that has been together for years. The woman who gave us the first million, Joanne Jacobson, was a theater investor who owed us money. He was not interested in films. (We said) "Do you want to read (the script)?" He said, "I don't care to read it. I know who you are - I've seen you grow up in front of me, your work, I have full faith in you." And he was. Once we had a million, suddenly it gave credibility to the film. I could go anywhere - a large part of the budget had already gone. At the time Matt was putting his company together and he put together what was then the rest of the budget.
THR: Did working as an executive producer on "We Don't Live Here Anymore" helped you in any way?
Rafallo: Oh, yes. I think it will probably help me later. Chris and I produced this film — we went to meetings together, talked to the actors (Juliette Lewis, Laura Linney, Orlando Bloom, Noah Emerich); Some of them are my friends. I have worked with many filmmakers for the first time, who are like me, and have a lot of disadvantages. With manufacturers, there is dirt with people with money. If you do not know what you are doing, what you are looking for and do not have a strong hand or idea of what you want, you can lose control of your project very quickly. I have seen people come in money and take the film in their hands, and so I knew how to navigate our web and how politics works. Then when I was part of selling ("We Don't Live Here Anymore") - that's another animal. He is the snake pit. And the conspiracies that were going on. … We were all so scared that we would not get the sale, that we would forget. ... We were so desperate and scared that I think we made a really bad deal. And that film earned money and led to an Oscar campaign. The film was a success.
THR: How do you think Sundance helps as a platform?
Rafallo: Sundance made such a radical change this year - in their focus, its spirit, the films they chose. I think it is a healthy innings. But after the crash, and with internet distribution, I think we are entering this completely new way that you can watch and make movies. It is all open. And for me it's a homecoming - that's where my career started, basically. (His success role was in Rafallo's Kenneth Lonergan's 2000 entry "You Can Count On Me", which won the US Dramatic Grand Jury Award and the Waldo Salt Screenwriting Award.)
THR: I wanted to say how sorry I was to hear about your brother. I know it took some time to start production on "Simpathy". Was there a point you didn't consider?
Rafallo: Yes, there was. It remains a devastating experience for me, and I… I had no idea. And I immediately dropped out of the film at that time. And (Super Crispy producer) Andrea Spurling said, "If you want to get out, you should probably take a couple of weeks. We'll start a break, suspend preproduction. Why don't you take some time off, put your head in one Keep up with. You are in a bad place. I completely understand why you do this and respect whatever choice you make. " I took a few weeks off to spend with my family and thought highly of it. I apologized to Corner Stone - everyone told me they understood. I (wanted) try to make sense of it and turn it into something that was a tribute to him. To dedicate their grief to him and his memory. So I decided that I would take a few months off and then make this film. A lot of people were trusting me, and so I put it to work (laughs). And then I had to pay for it later.
THR: Have you had a chance to take a vacation at any time?
Rafallo: Yes. I deferred my plans for a while. I want to start directing more at this point. And I've spent a lot of time reevaluating everything. When you go through something like that, you try to understand it.
THR: Do you think you can take some time off from acting, or change direction?
Rafallo: Yes, I am definitely taking some time off. I do not have an agent right now, I do not have representation. I'm just waiting to see what comes up. You know, this is a good time for me. I hope this film is being well liked and I can keep doing it. I really like directing - in many ways it feels very natural, much more natural than acting, in a very bizarre way. Acting, for me, is a very personal type of endeavor. So is the story and the film, but it is not focused on you. It becomes very myopic, and directing is the exact opposite. These are all other functional elements that all have their own mastery, their own language, their own creative expression which is equally satisfying, and more than that.
THR: Why did you choose to associate with "The Kids Are All Right"?
Rafallo: That was in July. I read that script and I really liked it but I turned it down - I thought, I don't know, I don't want to act right now - but it never really left me. It was funny and smart and a nice break from the editing of the film - a quick job. I am a huge fan of Lisa Cholodenko, she is amazing, and Julian (Moore) and Annette (Benning) - I always wanted to work with them.