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Paul Newman & Ed Harris
By Cal Fussman
(Distributed by New York Times
Syndicate)
A Pulitzer Prize-winning novel by Richard Russo interpreted by
a cast that includes Paul Newman, Ed Harris, Joanne Woodward and
Helen Hunt adds up to more than a movie. The HBO miniseries "Empire
Falls" depicts a tapestry of characters trying to work out
their lives in a small Maine town that seems to have more of a
past than a future. Cal Fussman sat down with Newman and Harris
to talk about it in Newman's New York City apartment.
ESQ: At this point in your lives, I guess you can both do what
you'd like. (Both cackle.)
EH: We're off to a bad start. We're crawling under rocks looking
for work.
PN (wiping the trace of a tear from the corner of his eye): One
thing that's happened with age is that my eyes have no tolerance
for cold anymore. I was just out on the terrace. People think
I'm filled with poignant memories.
EH: I was laughing because I see a lot of films and say, "That
would have been a fun part to play. I wish I'd heard about it."
Not that I'm complaining. Soon I'm headed to Budapest to play
Beethoven.
ESQ: "Empire Falls" gave you great material. It's amazing
how the cast was able to capture the layering in the book.
PN: I knew there'd be people who'd want to do it as a (feature-length)
film. I thought that would truncate the material, which insisted
on detailed development.
EH: Russo really takes his time and gets into the heads and lives
of his characters. When you just scratch the surface, all you
see is the sense of longing. But if you keep going deep enough
and follow them through their doubts, fears, aspirations and dreams,
you come out the other end and it says something positive about
the human condition. But you have to take the time to get there.
PN: The writing did allow us to penetrate into our roles quickly.
I'm playing this old goat who kidnaps a priest with Alzheimer's,
steals a car and the church's money, leaves for the Florida Keys,
and has no contact with anybody. When he finally calls his son
back home, the first words out of his mouth are "Where's
my Social Security check?" You get that character in one
sentence.
ESQ: Sounds like the kind of guy who would've squandered his Social
Security if it had been privatized.
PN: The Social Security debate is just a smoke screen. It may
come to be a problem in 2018 or 2042, but there are real problems
we're facing now. The deficit. Wealth concentrating in the hands
of fewer and fewer people. The slow destruction of the middle
class. Energy and fuel are real crises, and they're simply not
being paid attention to.
ESQ: On the bright side, we're a nation of reinventors. As you
say to Ed at the end of "Empire Falls": "Everything
can be fixed."
PN: "Anything can be fixed."
EH: C'mon, get the line right.
ESQ: Sorry, I didn't rehearse.
PN: It's important to realize the acceleration of change. An idea
used to have a half-life of three to five years. Now it's a split
second or two. A problem can be on top of us before we know it,
and we won't have made preparations.
EH: How did we get to talking about deficits and energy?
PN: We should be playing the piano. (To Harris) You should be
playing the piano. C'mon, you're Beethoven.
EH: I've been playing since May. Well, taking lessons. I'm not
really prepared to play anything for you. Well, if you insist
...
(Harris goes to the piano and pounds out some death-announcement
chords, then shifts to something "Twilight Zone"-ish.)
ESQ: Ever imagine you'd have Beethoven playing in your living
room?
PN: Not in 80 years.
EH: I've also been taking violin lessons. The dog literally cringes.
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