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Compiled by Jack Foley
SAM
Rockwell stars as TV game show host, turned CIA assassin, in Confessions of
a Dangerous Mind. Speaking at London’s Claridges Hotel recently, he revealed
what it was like to meet the real-life Mr Barris, as well as his deep-felt
admiration for director and co-star, George Clooney:
Q. What was it like to get close to Chuck Barris, a rather extraordinary
and unique individual?
A. It was great. Chuck's a really warm guy. He's a very funny guy to hang
out with, so I spent about two-and-a-half-months with him. He taped my lines
and we hung out a lot and did dinner. He was really generous with himself
and he was really sweet about hanging out. And he trusted George implicitly
and George trusted me - so Chuck trusted me too.
Q. And what did you come away with?
A. As George says, we had to act as his defence attorney. We didn't want to
know too much about the CIA stuff, you know, because we wanted to tell his
story. We didn't want to be biased. We wanted to tell [scriptwriter] Charlie
Kaufman's version of his story, too, which takes a little poetic licence.
Q. How did it feel for you to know that you had the support of George Clooney
to get you in this role?
It was kind of moving. It's really amazing. It's rare in Hollywood that someone
will go to bat for you in the way that George did, so I didn't want to disappoint
him. It was a big thrill, though. I can't go on enough about what George did
for me. It's pretty phenomenal.
Q. Chuck Barris has been accused of taking American television into the
gutter. What do you think of the state of television in your country today?
A. The Gong Show and The Dating Game were the seed for a lot of the reality
shows today, but these shows now are much more mean-spirited. The Gong Show
is a much more innocent kind of show. Although he did exploit people, I think
it was a funner atmosphere. It was entertainment, it was like a big party.
I think the shows now are a little meaner.
Q. What was George like as a boss?
A. He's phenomenal. We were at the Berlin Film Festival the other night and
there's all these people screaming for George, and he's got a really bad chest
cold and it's cold out there, and he went out and signed all these autographs.
It says a lot about George, he has a great generosity of spirit and he brings
that to his work. He's very compassionate to all the actors on the set. He's
really smart. He came in very well prepared and he didn't leave any rock unturned.
He did his homework.
RELATED STORIES: Click here for
a review of the movie...
Click here for a special feature
on the making of the movie...
Click here for a Q&A
with George Clooney...
Click here to read about the US
reaction to the film...
Click here for access to the start of our Solaris
special...
RELATED SITES: Click here
for the Confessions website...
Click here for
georgeclooney.org
