Frank Langella and Kevin Bacon Interviews - Frost/Nixon
Frank Langella brings his award-winning performance of Richard Nixon to the screen in 'Frost/Nixon.' Kevin Bacon, who plays Nixon's right-hand man, and Jim Meskimen, one of his close confidantes, joined Langella at the film's LA premiere.
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Transcript: Frank Langella and Kevin Bacon Interviews - Frost/Nixon
Rebecca Murray from About.com Hollywood Movies at the Los Angeles Premiere of Frost/Nixon.
Frank Langella – 'Richard Nixon' in Frost/Nixon
I never saw this on stage. How did it differ taking it to the big screen? Were you able to explore him more or did you know him so well anyway?Frank Langella: "I had to get over a very bad script. [Screenwriter Peter Morgan is next to Langella during this interview and Langella's giving him a hard time as a joke] But I managed somehow. It was different in two words – Ron Howard. And Ron Howard's care and affection and real curiosity about each of the characters and what each character was doing helped us all. Both Michael [Sheen] and I had been at it for so long, we rediscovered it all over again. And if you have a director who doesn't say, 'Gee, I liked what you did onstage, just put that on film…' Instead, you have a man who's constantly looking at you and thinking, 'Is there a better way to do this? Maybe if you said it like this? Why don't we try slowing it down? You don't have to do…,' so that energized us to reexamine each character. And the new company that came in – this is a first-rate group of actors in every role. Beautifully cast."
And working with Michael Sheen in a film, that's also bringing another layer to the performance, right?
Frank Langella: "Michael and I are picking out furniture together. We've been together longer than some of my relationships."
Why do you think this story is still relevant to audiences?
Frank Langella: "Because it's not a political story. It's a story about humanity, weakness, a certain amount of rivalry, a certain amount of need to climb up out of a hole and fix what you ruined. And that's universal with everybody."
Kevin Bacon – 'Jack Brennan' in Frost/Nixon
Did your opinion of Nixon change after you did this role?Kevin Bacon: "Well you know I was brought up in an extremely left wing household where he was very much, as I say in the movie, the boogeyman. And I think that any good film, in the process of working in any good film, is the process of actually turning characters into human beings. So, yeah, it did. I mean, my whole job in this film is just to support him and admire and almost be in love with that character in a strange kind of way. And of course, you know, like any other person in history who has negative things attached to him, there's always a human side as well."
Jim Meskimen – 'Ray Price' in Frost/Nixon
Jim Meskimen: "I think it's extremely relevant to the times because this was a guy who was a…I mean it's almost a Shakespearean saga of a very flawed leader but who nevertheless was quite brilliant and intelligent. I don't know. I think it will just be refreshing for audiences to see a presidential figure who can throw a sentence together. That's very refreshing."Did your opinion of Nixon change after doing the movie?
Jim Meskimen: "Yes, it did. It did. I saw a core of decency that I didn't perceive at the time. I think when you see the original footage, the actual footage of Nixon, and then what also the great performance that Frank has done, you see the human being that is flawed as all human beings are. And so it was less demonizing but still culpable."