08/19/2005
Heath on Brokeback: Fear Conquered
Today's Brokeback Mountain coverage comes in the form of an MSN interview with Heath Ledger and Matt Damon from the Brothers Grimm junket. Heath had this to say about the making of the film:
"The idea I had to make out with Jake ... just wasn't the easiest thing to do. It is a beautiful story, a beautiful script. It was definitely a real sense of accomplishment once I finished. I had so much fear for the project and the story and, you know, had to be brave. I definitely came out thinking, '[Expletive], I can do anything,' you know?"
Maybe it was the stubble that was scaring him. Then, of course, comes the inevitable question about the sex:
"I mean, look, there's enough. You'll be pleased I think. We're not dry humping each other in every scene. It's a beautiful love story, it really is, and we've definitely pushed the envelope."
Two decades go by in the movie. Heath lets us in on some of his aging techniques:
"I had to do some things I've never done before ... like the aging process. There's not a lot of [physical] change between the age of 18 and 40, really. So, I staged my accent in pitches, so it was higher when I was younger and deeper when I was older and I tried to make it subtle."
Then Matt Damon wields his A-list baton that Heath got his sloppy seconds:
"That's a beautiful script, I read it years ago. In fact, I was gonna do it. Gus Van Sant read it and wanted to do it after 'Good Will Hunting.' I read it and loved it. But, I was going off to do 'The Talented Mr. Ripley' and then 'All the Pretty Horses.' So I said, 'Gus, I'm going to do a movie about, quite frankly, a guy who's gay, and then I'm going to do a movie about a cowboy. I shouldn't then just do a gay cowboy movie."
Posted 2:07 PM EST by Andy Towle in Film & TV | Permalink
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The Brothers Grimm looks to be promising too. I wonder if the bros will get any action (and out of their clothes). Probably not.
And I bet Heath didn't actually mind making out with Jake that much. Something tells me Michelle liked to watch.
Posted by: Rob | Aug 19, 2005 2:32:16 PM
Oh, and thanks for the new AIM icon. Where'd that come from?
Posted by: Rob | Aug 19, 2005 2:35:13 PM
I wonder when someone will say how brave Rupert Everett and Rock Hudson have been to take on 'straight' romantic roles.
What I particularly like about Ledger's commentary? "It's a beautiful love story... it really is..."
Posted by: BAZ | Aug 19, 2005 2:45:32 PM
"Ripley" remains one of my favorite films with many wonderful scenes including the one where Damon suggests he get in the bathtub with Jude Law, and the painful ending that one only hears as the camera pulls away from the characters [no Spoiler, moi. DO rent if you haven't seen it]. How absurd that John Malkovich was cast in the next Ripley film. Straight to DVD, I believe. The character's attractiveness is key to his success in deceiving people. And, props to Ledger, but I would much rather see Damon and Jake simulating gay boomshakalaka.
Posted by: Leland | Aug 19, 2005 2:53:22 PM
And so it begins...
Posted by: timothy | Aug 19, 2005 3:06:45 PM
AIM icon courtesy of iheartjake.com
Posted by: andy | Aug 19, 2005 3:38:43 PM
I completely disagree - I think that Matt Damon would have been completely wrong for this part (Heath is much more more believable and I have to say much hotter!). I also found The Talented Mister Ripley to be a pretty bad movie, especially due to Damon's over the top performance (Jude Law's acting was the only worthwhile aspect). Also, like Ang Lee said about the casting for Brokeback Mountain, the pairing of Jake and Heath is nice because they are somewhat physically opposite (one taller, fair, and quieter), the other slighter with dark hair and eyes and more outgoing. Just like in the short story! I think this film is going to be excellent - judging from the preview!
Posted by: Jload | Aug 19, 2005 3:40:55 PM
I've kissed women plenty. Not that I enjoyed it so much. It was akin to ironing, a chore, but not excessively laborious. I never felt brave or indomitable after. I guess society exerts such a strong influence against men kissing men that it takes such COURAGE.
Posted by: Michael | Aug 19, 2005 3:58:32 PM
Actually Malkovich's Ripley in Ripley's Game is a far better performance than Matt Damon's in the Talented Mr. Ripley.
I do have to say that I am disappointed that Gus van Sant ultimately passed on this project. He's a far better director than Ang Lee in my opinion.
Posted by: Basil | Aug 22, 2005 12:18:50 AM
I have listened to plenty of my fellow gay friends discuss how bad it would be to "be with a woman” yet we bitch when a straight guy talks about being with another guy – oh please. Everyone feels uncomfortable about something, and when it involves sex - we all know it is even more difficult. Be happy that the movie made its way through the "Janet Jackson" censoring bureaucracy.
Posted by: Mike | Aug 22, 2005 4:07:45 AM
Malkovich better? Puhleeze. One agrees he has the charisma to make the proverbial phone book interesting, but, again, he is so naturally sinister looking no one in real life would trust him enough to let him pull a Ripleyesque con so he was totally wrong for the part despite Basil's apparently fathomless capacity to suspend disbelief. Malkovich as Ripley is equivalent to casting Margaret Rutherford as Cleopatra.
Posted by: Leland | Aug 22, 2005 4:37:06 PM
Malkovich's Ripley is closer in spirit to Patricia Highsmith's character. The plot in that film involved an older, more refined Ripley.
Of course, if you actually read any of the Highsmith novels with Tom Ripley, you would know that Matt Damon's aimless puppydog portrayal is a loose, if not deviant, interpretation of the text.
In closing I will say that Alain Delon cut a more dashing and sinister Ripley in Purple Noon, a superior film to Minghella's movie.
Posted by: Basil | Aug 23, 2005 5:16:48 AM