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KRIPPENDORF'S TRIBE: INTERVIEW WITH RICHARD DREYFUS
* By Prairie Miller *
Richard Dreyfuss hasn't quite gotten over his thing for
academia. Following his hit playing a teacher in Mr. Holland's Opus, Dreyfus is back doing an anthropologist in his new movie
Krippendorf's Tribe. In this wacky comedy, he has to juggle
fudging some tribal research with taming a dysfunctional family
closer to home. I met with Dreyfus, who was in a mood to also
teach the press a thing or two. A both funny and tough guy to
interview, Dreyfus was sitting down, but he was really standup
for the duration. Almost every answer he gives is a punch line
too, and Dreyfus definitely keeps journalists laughing.
PRAIRIE MILLER: You looked like you were having a lot of fun
doing Krippendorf's Tribe.
RICHARD DREYFUS: I was. I loved working with Jenna Elfman, and
the kids were great. But mostly her. She's fabulous. She's
incredibly, uniquely talented, and she took it all by storm.
PM: How did you relate to a tall lady like Jenna in the film? She
must have been wearing heels the whole time
RD: No, I was.
PM: What won you over about this script?
RD: I thought the script really reflected America's true
dysfunctional family. To my surprise, it was hysterically funny.
So we decided to do it.
PM: Did you do any research to play an anthropologist?
RD: I lived with a New Guinea native family for about two years
in research for this film. And I did marry the chief's daughter
and have a child. A love child. Who is still there in the jungle.
PM: How about doing the single father thing on screen?
RD: I've always enjoyed working with children, and these kids
were great.
PM: That was some collection of exotic outfits you had. I don't
think you've ever gone quite over the top like that before.
RD: I've done a couple of films like that which have never been
released. And which never will be released...But it became very
clear that whatever difficulties or awkward moments there might
be in the costuming, they were going to be worth it. And although
it was a drag and a half putting that stuff on every day, it was
very, very funny.
PM: Is this a children's movie, or an adult comedy?
RD: Well, if the film had gone my way, you would not have brought
your seventeen year old daughter to it. Seriously. I saw a
darker, crazier comedy. The film I wanted to make was a lot more
dissident than that. I wanted it to be more off the wall. I want
to make weird movies. Although I'm very pleased with it, I would
have made a much ruder movie. But for what's there, I think that
it's totally harmless.
PM: You want Krippendorf's Tribe to appeal to children. But did
you ever feel like making it a sexier, more romantic movie?
RD: I can't say. And I won't say. And I won't be trapped like
this! Grrr!
PM: Did you see the wonderful impression Kevin Spacey did of you
on Saturday Night Live not long ago?
RD: Really? When was this?
PM: Last season. It was great. So when you hear about things like
that, do you realize how ingrained you are in the pop culture of
this country?
RD: Bette Davis was being interviewed once. And she said, you
haven't arrived until you've been imitated. I do believe that in
a certain way, so it's always a compliment. It always gives me a
little furry feeling in the back of my neck. It does make me feel
like I'm part of the popular atmosphere of my country, and I love
it.
PM: How do you feel over time about the movies that have made you
so famous and popular?
RD: The danger of films like Mr. Holland's Opus, The Goodby Girl
or Jaws is that they have a tendency to spoil you. They give you
an expectation that the world is full of interesting scripts, and
it's not like that. They come few and far between.
I find that my thoughts really do change over the course of
time. And it's an odd thing when you're asked questions by the
media. This isn't the media's fault. In essence, someone in the
media says, 'you know in 1983, you said that snails were made of
green cheese. Would you care to comment on that?' And so your
1983 opinion about snails is then revived, and you've got to
respond to it.
The truth is, I don't know how I feel now. I don't know. I
know that I had a great experience with Mr. Holland. Great. And I
leave it at that.
PM: There's a pattern right now in movies, and this is also true
of Krippendorf's Tribe. I'm talking about older men, younger
women. What do you think?
RD: It's not a trend. It's certainly the oldest thing in
Hollywood. I mean, Clark Gable and Grace Kelly. okay? It is an
interesting phenomena, isn't it? But I know one thing. I could
make a great movie out of the love story between two mature
people. Because it's just not done. To take a mature woman and
man and have a love story about those people would be very
attractive, just because of its newness...What do I think
about older men and younger women? Good luck, good health!
PM: What was it like working with Jenna?
RD: She's incredibly talented and sexy and beautiful and
fabulous. But then, so am I. [Jenna Elfman comes into the
room...]
RD: How long have you been standing there? You should have heard what I was telling them about you, pal!
Copyright 1998 by
Prairie Miller
Destination Dreyfuss: a journey from 'Jaws' to 'Opus'
By Constantine Nasr
Staff Writer
It's hard to imagine that
20 years have gone by since the great white shark first terrorized the
waters, and a young man named Richard Dreyfuss was found pursuing the
ominous beast we all call "Jaws" along the beach called Amity. In 1975, the
film created two superstars: director Steven Spielberg and star Dreyfuss.
Since then, the versatile actor has gone on to a career of magnanimous
proportions, and a variety of roles, while still maintaining a clear path
for what is to come. His new film, "Mr. Holland's Opus" was met with open
arms last week, as well as with good praise for Dreyfuss' outstanding
performance.
"Mr. Holland's Opus" is a
landmark achievement for Dreyfuss, whose work in film and on stage spans
almost four decades. From his classic performances in "American Graffitti"
(his breakout role) and "Close Encounters of the Third Kind," the actor has
never remained in any set persona on screen. From "Stakeout" to "Tin Men"
to "Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead," Dreyfuss' ability to move about
between comedy and drama is one of his high marks on the list of his broad
talents. In 1977, he won the Oscar for Best Actor for his performance in
"The Good-bye Girl."
Born in Brooklyn and raised
in Beverly Hills, Dreyfuss' love for the stage and screen can be seen in
his constant fluctuation between the two. After filming "Mr. Holland's
Opus," he flew to England to direct his own version of "Hamlet" for the
Birmingham Repertory Theatre. No stranger to the stage, Dreyfuss, in
between film roles, has acted in productions of "Othello" and, most
recently, "Death and the Maiden" on Broadway.
"I'm not really an actor,"
said Dreyfuss. "I'm a budding politician."
Dreyfuss, who is known for
his political agenda as well as his film career, was happy to do a film
that might generate significant feeling for the educational system.
"I'm trying to imagine a
film of 30 years in the life of a music teacher that ends, in today's
world, that lets him go right on being a music teacher, in a classroom
where they don't screw around with the budgets," Dreyfuss said. "That's a
fantasy. This is just reality. No one changed that point. No one set out to
make a political film, least of all Disney studios."
The task of becoming Glenn
Holland, the teacher whose career is revealed over a 30 year time span, was
a fairly easy job for Dreyfuss.
"It was more attitude. I've
got good skin," Dreyfuss said jokingly. "I haven't had a tan my entire
life.
"They try too hard, or the
person who's doing it can't make the leap -- physically, not mentally. They
age too much. If we had made this film five years from now, I couldn't do
it either.
"What was really
disconcerting was they used all these wigs and stuff to get me to look
younger, but in order for me to play 60, all they did was show me."
"I remember my mother
telling me once that every time she looked into the mirror, she was
surprised she wasn't 16. And I know what she means now. I'm 48, they say,
and every time I look in the mirror, I am shocked that I am not twenty-one
years old."
Over the past 20 years of
his career, some of his films have been accepted with open arms, and others
were not so welcomed. Overall, Dreyfuss' career has been blessed with a
good deal of films that have enjoyed cult status, which is as good an
opportunity as any actor could receive.
"I don't have a number, but
let's say I've done 20 films. 18 of them I am proud of. Two of them, I'm
not. And I won't tell you which one's they are. But I'm very proud of the
body of work. Not just one individual."
The role of Mr. Holland was
a challenge, one in which Dreyfuss had to maintain the mental leap to both
a musician and a passionate man. Fond of both music and teaching, Dreyfuss
had always wanted to take this step, which allowed him to enjoy the process
of finding the character.
"I just took a lot of
memories. I was in chorus at my high school, and I did a lot of technical
preparation. I was very much concerned about not being a piano player, and
at one point I went to a class on music appreciation. That was about
it.
"At the beginning of the
film, he's rather thick headed. He's a grumpy and humorless type of man.
And because of that, I enjoyed acting in the second and third sections
more. When he hits a stride in his middle years, and when he becomes an old
man. I really enjoyed playing those things."
Throughout the film,
Dreyfuss had the opportunity to conduct before the camera, which he
professed was one of the fun parts of his acting. In fact, it took him some
time to learn how to wave a baton, watching composer Michael Kamen through
a monitor during takes.
"If Michael tries to take
credit for my conducting, I'm gonna kill him," Dreyfuss said, defending his
abilities.
The film, which has
elements of several classics, including "It's a Wonderful Life" and
"Good-bye, Mr. Chips," was yet another interpretation of the everyday man.
However, Dreyfuss believes that there is a unique quality to the take on
"Holland's" tale.
"I think it's purely `Mr.
Chips' in the sense that it's themes are similar. It reminds me a lot of
different films, and it reminds me of none of them."
Alongside conducting,
Dreyfuss needed to learn sign language. Holland, whose son Cole is deaf, is
forced to become surrounded by a world of silence in contrast with the
world of sound he so loves.
"I studied for a few days,
but I'm very bad with language," Dreyfuss said. But he did come to realize
that, like music, there is something special within the learning of a new
language.
"Anthony (Natale), who
plays my son -- watching him do sign is like watching Rudolph Miriam dance.
I'm not kidding. It's the most beautiful thing I've ever seen. There's
something artful about it."
The experiences Dreyfuss
has had throughout his career, as well as the opportunity to watch those
actors who surround him, have affected his view of the world and taught him
how to deal with living an ordinary life with a family and kids.
"Gaining revelation by
dipping into another person's life is one thing, but losing that person's
life and being left with who you really are is a pretty varied
experience.
"My kids are always saying
to me, `Why don't you watch your old movies?' And I say, `I don't make them
for me to watch. I make them for you to watch.'"
After years of successful
films, Dreyfuss is now one of Hollywood's leading performers. It is likely
that he will be nominated for Best Actor this year by the Academy, as he
was already up for the Golden Globes. It would be fair to say that he
deserves his opportunities and his success, which he has worked long and
hard to establish. It's funny to think of what would happen if he actually
does step down from his acting career.
"I would like to be a
history teacher. I haven't given up on that idea," Dreyfuss said with all
seriousness. "I figure at some point in the next ten years, I'll probably
get bored doing what I'm doing, then I'll become a teacher."
Whatever the case may be,
we can be assured that Dreyfuss will give it his all, which we know to be
his way of experiencing life to its maximum.
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