agent anymore.‘ Legend has it he also passed on An Officer zlm/ xi (INN/('me and xlnu’ricmt Gigo/o. In fact. he even hesitated ovcr Pulp Fiction.
‘I had some concerns about the violence in the film until I realised that it wasn‘t going to be gratuitous. But the first meeting 1 had with Quentin 'l‘arantino was a special sort of tneeting. It lasted twelve hours and there was this odd coincidence that when I got to Quentin‘s apartment. it tttrned out to be the very same place I rented when I first came to Los Angeles in 197-1.’
With fate on his side. 'l'ravolta now puts much trust in 'l‘arantino's judgement. It was the latter who persuaded him to read lilmore Leonard‘s original novel when the actor passed on the script of (:‘ct Shorty and who turned 'l‘ravolta on
to the work of John Woo. director of Broken
A )‘I‘Ult‘.
With his confidence fully restored. 'l‘ravolta now enjoys playing with his screen image. ‘lt’s fmmy. because I have a habit of forgetting who I am and then suddenly notice people acting all
‘I have a habit of forgetting who I am and then suddenly notice people acting all nervous about meeting me. I imagine
that after all these years, considering
I’m not dead, people just see me as a
bit larger than life.’
nervous about meeting me. I imagine that after all these years. considering I‘m not dead. people
just see me as a hit larger than life. or like the
JOHN TRAVOLTA FEATURE
The hipster: John Travolta with Samuel L. Jackson In Pulp Fiction, and In Saturday nght Fever
characters I play on screen. In fact. I‘m not at all like the people i play.‘
His latest directors agree. Get Slzorty’s Barry Sonnenfeld says Travolta ‘is incredibly charismatic and incredibly handsome’, while John Woo ‘enjoyed the contradiction between the real John Travolta. who has such a warm personality and a certain overall “twinkle”. and the limitless menace of Vic Deakins.’
[Eighteen months ago. we cheered when he took to the dancetloor again with Uma Thurman in Pulp Fiction. From ‘Disco lnfemo’ at the 2001 Odyssey to a laid-back twist at Jack Rabbit Slim‘s. just check out the man and those suits.
'l‘he roofofJohnTravolta's enduringa eal is
there in black and white. Get Shorty opens on Friday 15 Marc/1, and Broken Arrow on Friday 12 April.
Danny DeVito tells Anwar Brett about the long and the short of life in Hollywood.
hese days. Danny DeVito is a big man in
l-lollywood. liar from being ‘that gtty from
'lim" or playing second banana to buddies .lack Nicholson and Michael Douglas in a string ofother people‘s movies. this most unlikely of lilm stars has emerged as one of Hollywood's most powerful independent producers through his company. Jersey Films —~ as well as a respected film director.
In his latest film. however. l)e\"ito can be seen in his capacity as an actor only. playing fictional movie star Martin Weir. A pretentious and vapid man. Weir is the title role in (}(’I Shorty. the story of a Malia loan shark who goes to Hollywood with an idea fora film. Once there. though. ("hili l’almer (played by John 'l'ravolta) linds that. amidst the double talk and bullshit. he is the only honest man in town. ‘l believe the reason lilmore Leonard wrote his
novel was that he'd had a couple ol bad experiences in l-lollywood.‘ l)c\'ito explains. "l‘he way it
SIZE does matter
7" " rm... ttsually works there is that you'll " 1'" go in and tell people your story. and they'll nod and go. “yeah. I" yeah. yeah". and then say they'll get a“, back to yott. That means either "(iet the hell out of here”. or that they‘ll never call you back. It's a rare case when you meet somebody in Hollywood that knows exactly what they want and commits to it.‘
If that is the case. then at least l)e\."ito seems to be that rarity. He‘s a major player and is mercifully devoid of any of the obvious insecurities of his peer group not least in playing ‘shott‘ for the first titne.
‘l’eople stopped calling me “shorty” quite early on in my life. I've been called it maybe half a dozen times. but never twice by the same person. I‘m a pretty nice guy. but if it happened I‘d probably find something ridiculous looking on the person calling me the name and beat them to death with it. And it‘s true that this is the first time I‘ve played short.‘ he continues. the hint of a smile playing on his lips as he draws on a huge cigar.
‘But if you look back over my lilmography. every character I‘ve played was live feet tall.‘
.g 3,1; I
~21 Mar 1996 7