THE LIST
GUEST LIST
odd title had turned up on his desk. and 01 course that was it. I like the book so much because there are strong themes I understand. It‘s about loneliness. and it’s about loss oi taith. For me that's not necessarily a religiousthing. but a loss at laith in yoursell really. in why you‘re doing what you‘re doing.‘
Filmed in seedy Georgian Dublin. the lilm starsa well-cast Maggie Smith in the title role. and Bob Hoskins asthe opportunistic Irish- American ex-hotel porter who is the latest in a string at emotional disappointments. and marks only the seventh work in thirty-two years trom this least prolitic yet most underrated ottilm~makers. 'I suppose I‘m really rather ashamed 01 my career.‘ Clayton Iightheartedly contesses. “Looking back on it. I really ought to have made double ortreblethe
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amount at lilms l have. But it‘s not in my nature. because it takes me so long to get over a lilm once it‘s tinished. Like a woman with a baby. ‘
Best known perhaps tor Fitties‘ realist classic ‘Room At The Top‘ (trom John Braine).1961‘s masterly supernatural tale ‘The Innocents‘ (Henry James). and the lavish 1974 version at ‘The Great Gatsby‘ (F. Scott Fitzgerald). Clayton does have a simple explanation tor his concentration on literary adaptations: “Nobody has ever managed to come up with an original screenplaythat has come into my hands that llelt attracted enough to do. I’ve read so many appalling scripts that I end up doing novels. and I‘ve never made anything yet Irom a bookl didn‘t like. All the timel have it in my mind notto tamper with the piecetoo much. With Gatsby. and
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Smith In Jack Clayton’s Tho Lonon Passion ot Judith Hearne
18-9.
Judith Hearne too. most at the dialogue is simply litted trom the original. I see my part in it as translorrning the words on the page into a
visual image thatwill conveythe meaningthe writerislrying to get across.‘ (Trevor Johnston) The Lonely Passion ol Judith Hearne opens at the Glasgow Grosvenor. AMC Clydebank1Dand Edinburgh Dominion on 27 January.
DAVID KERNAN
‘l can‘tthinkolanything more boring—except perhaps The Book ol Kels.‘ So said Stephen Sondheim when David Kernan proposed to compile a show entirely ol Sondheim‘s songs. He nonetheless granted permission. and the show. Side By Side By Sondheim. ran torthree years in London. was a Broadway hit and received a Tony nomination. ‘It‘sthe
kind at thing that happens once in a career.‘ says Kernan. a devotee ot Sondheim who got to know the great man while appearing in his showA Little Nightmusic.
But Kernan has not leitit at that. Following the death 01 actor Geoltrey Burridge trom AIDS. he and his colleagues Showpeople mounted a benetit pertormance which was seen by Ian McKellen. McKeIlen immediately volunteered his services tor nothing. and the management 01 The Playhouse Theatre in London agreed to accommodate a show tree 01 charge. The result. McKellen‘s acclaimed one-man show Acting Shakespeare. raised £500.000torthe London Lighthouse Aids Hospice. then toured the British Isles (including Edinburgh and Glasgow last May) and raised a turther£130.000 torlocal AIDS groups.
David Kernan
Playhouse has also led to a season otSunday AIDS benelits involving stars such as Judi Dench and Alan Bates. When a vacancy inthis schedule unexpectedly appeared last November. Kernan was iorced to fill the gap. and assembled a large group 01 stars tor A Celebration Dl Sondheim. a new compilation whose programme was in part chosen by each pertormer. This show was revived byx populardemand one nigh last month. and visits Edinburgh on 5 Feb. Those appearing with Kernan include Fenella Fielding. Su Pollard. leading West End musical actors and criticJack Tinker. who narrates. The show is closed bylan McKellen. who speaks about the issues involved and makes his singing
debut. pertorming ‘With So
Little To Be Sure Dt.‘ Accordingto Kernan. McKeIlen‘s interpretation is extraordinarily moving. and the song‘s aptness can hardly be overlooked.
The pertormance atthe King‘s Theatre is in aid 01 Scottish AIDS Monitor and Scottish AIDS Funding Enterprise. Tickets are still
Iamous movie lathers. is a
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\ ' difliculties. both physical and otherwise.
; mostlunlhaveeverhadon ’ | amovieset.‘Lou explained.‘Thereseemed to be somethingcharmed
Lou Diamond Phillips‘ YoungGuns
available. and all prices include 75 percent I donation. (Andrew Burnet) The Acclaimed London I Celebration at Stephen I Sondheim. King‘s Theatre. Edinburgh. 2291201. I 7.15pm. £5. £7.50. £10. £12.50. £15. I
LDU DIAMOND PHILLIPS
Not many young actors ol the present generation have had the opportunityto play atcowboys (or. in the case at Lou Diamond Phillips. part-Indian) on the big screen. Young Guns. in which Lou stars as part olan ensemble which also includes hall—brothers Charlie Sheen and Emilio Estevez as well as Keiter Sutherland. all sons oI
rare breed these days. a
; lullylledgedWesternwhich ;
rings some changes on the staples oithe genre. while remaining respecttul 01
‘l have to say itwasthe
aboutthe whole process. in that we all got along well. without any in-Iighting or ego problems. and we were doing something we were all quite excited about- it‘s notas it a Western comes down the road every day.‘ Based on real events involving William (Billythe Kid) Bonney and the Lincoln County range war. its success in the US has lurther raised Lou‘s standing as an important contemporary actor. That process began when he won the part 01 Richie Valens in La Bamba. a success he Iollowed by deliberately accepting a supporting role (tor which he has a Golden Globe Award nomination) in the small-scale but excellent Stand and Deliver. The part olthe hall-breedknile-thrower Chavez in Young Guns uttered new challenges. but was not without its
'lthink in any role you
take. you have to look atthe traps. atthe obvious stereotypical choices. and then tryto avoidthem. There were plenty inthe Chavez character-the stoicism. the savagery. the tact that the halt-breed has always been the bad guy. I tried to get away lrom those by balancing the stoicism with the good humour at someone who was part ola group 01 young guys. and with the emotion which comes out in my big speech. There were enough twists in the characterto allowthat to happen-the apparent outsider. tor example. provesto be as onalas anyone inthe group.
'I approached the role in the same way I approach any role. You have to know the history. and inthis instance. we are talking about a characterwho is removed trom me by at least one hundred years. lread up on the Lincoln County wars. on the Murphy-Dolan laction and the Regulators. all 01 which is documented. I also read a book called Peyote Religion. which was givento me by the writer John Fusco. and I spoke with some native Americans (Lou is himsellone-eighth Cherokee) to help me get the leel torit.
‘Atthe same time. lwas going through an intense physical preparation. and I ended up doing all my own horse-riding and stunts. As tar as throwing the knives went. the director just gave them to me and sent me awayto learn how to do itby mysell. which is what Chavez would have done. I drove my wile crazy by setting up a board inthe back-yard and working away at them. I also did some work with a drummer. using drumsticks to develop the dexterity in mylingers. and I came up with a lew movesthat have not been seen belore. (Kenny Mathieson
'l'hcI.Isl_7.l;1nu;uy ‘) February 3