Although The Words might be witlessly titled and
executed, you can pass the time coming up with fancy phrases to describe its
basic concept: The stories nesting inside stories suggest matryoshka dolls; its
meta-narratives a mise en abyme.
The movie opens with Clay Hammond (Dennis
Quaid) giving a reading to a packed auditorium of his latest novel, The Words--
a tale of struggling writer Rory Jansen (Bradley Cooper), who becomes a
literary sensation after submitting as his own work a yellowed manuscript he
finds in an attaché case while honeymooning in Paris. The original author of
that text, played by Jeremy Irons (and listed in the credits only as "the
Old Man"), tracks Rory down and sets in motion another chunk of heavily
voiceovered flashback, as Irons, sounding more than once like Scatman Crothers,
recounts his days as a stripling in postwar France.
In their helming debut,
writers-directors Brian Klugman and Lee Sternthal repurpose the infamous 1922
incident of Hadley Hemingway accidentally leaving husband Ernest's writings on
a train at the Gare de Lyon. Also stuck in Papa's time are women's roles: Zoe
Saldana, playing Rory’s wife, Dora, does little more than simper and receive
hugs at the kitchen sink. But hoariest of all are the exhortations to make
distinctions between "fiction" and "life."
- John Hannah Talks Damages: Exclusive Interview Part 2
Here are a few interesting things you didn’t know about
John Hannah: he’s a big fan of Phineas and Ferb; loves working with American
actors; and prefers Brooklyn to Manhattan. Want to know more? Read on.
If you missed our first interview with John, you can read
it
here.
JOSH PAYNE: How did playing Batiatus on Spartacus prepare
you for this?
JOHN HANNAH: Funnily enough, in a sense the Spartacus
scripts worked in a similar way. A lot of the actors asked, “Where’s my
character going and what’s he doing?” And they were always on the phone with
the writers. When I went in I was only expecting to be in two or three scenes
per episode, so I didn’t have any huge expectations about a big part. But as it
developed I realized what I liked about not knowing what was happening next was
that in life you have plans about what’s going to happen next, but it doesn’t
always work out. Sometimes things that happen surprise you. And I decided to
take a step back from it and let the next episode take care of itself. That
character was always scheming. And as soon as a plan died, he was always onto
the next thing, like, “Right, okay, this is what we’ll do now.” And I love that
kind of energy of having it be spontaneous rather than having it all planned. I
like just taking it as it comes and being surprised by it. So that sort of prepared
me for this. And I get to keep all my clothes on in this, which is nice—for the
audience and for me [laughs].
JP: Part of the reason the characters aren’t as fleshed
out in advance is that the Damages writers want to get a feel for the actors
first and write to their strength. Was that helpful?
JH: Absolutely. It’s like with [film directors] Ken Loach
and Mike Leigh. The way Ken Loach sets up a scene—he’ll work with the actors
individually and tell them what their goal is in the scene and then shoots with
long lenses. You’re never really aware the cameras are around. It’s very
observational. And the actor comes into the scene with their goal and they
encounter all these other actors they not have known were coming. Although it’s
quite improvised, it’s also managed. So I had a reference for being out in the
kind of back-story desert [laughs]. And I’ve really liked it.
JP: What were you looking forward to in Season 5?
JH: I love working with American actors. I find them very
easy, very free, relaxed and confident. I think that’s always quite nice. Being
British—not that I had an upbringing in theater or anything like that—I was
attracted to this business because of films, American films, mostly. I’ve
always really liked what American actors do. You know, it’s kind of a kick for
me to be involved in something that I’m a fan of.
JP: What shows have you been watching recently?
JH: The last couple years I’ve been watching a lot of
children’s television with my kids. I’m a big fan of Phineas and Ferb. For
myself, it’s been interesting. I’ve been watching the younger shows on British
TV. Misfits and The Inbetweeners—things like that, which are fairly puerile and
juvenile but it sort of makes you laugh at the end of an exhausting day.
JP: How was working in New York? Did you get to spend
much time here?
JH: Yes. It’s been a brilliant new discovery for me,
working down here in Brooklyn and staying down here in Brooklyn as well. I find
Manhattan can sometimes be a little intimidating. It’s lovely to come when
you’re with your wife and you’re in for the weekend. Then it’s great. But when
you’re working and just staying at some hotel in midtown and you go out to get
something to eat it can just be a little intimidating. But I’ve loved being in
Brooklyn. I can’t recommend it highly enough.
JP: Are you based in the States now?
JH: No, I live in London.
- Big Issue interview: John Hannah
John Hannah on
being a teenage melancholic, playing a gay man in Four Weddings and a Funeral,
and doing 'the most amazing thing in the world'
I wasn’t very academic, so at 16 I was looking forward to
leaving school and starting my electrician apprenticeship. Apart from that my
life was all about football and girls. Your parents tell you these are the best
days of your life and you don’t believe them. But I wish I’d taken them in,
enjoyed them more. Those endless summers, out on your Chopper for hours on end.
I was quite cocky about life. I didn’t know what it would be like going to
work.
The truth is I applied to drama school because I didn’t
have the qualifications or skills to do much else and I thought it might buy me
time to think about the future. But by the time I applied, when I was about 20,
I’d become quite serious and melancholy and I found acting suited me. It didn’t
scare me. Being on stage pretending to be someone else felt more like wearing a
mask than being vulnerable and judged as myself.
Even at drama school I was a miserable sod. People were
always telling me to cheer up. If I could talk to the younger me, I’d tell him
to try really hard to step back and just enjoy where he’s at. But being that
kind of melancholy Scot, it’s not something I do enough of. It’s like the
William Henry Davies poem – we have no time to stand and stare. You stress
about not screwing up each job you get, then worry about where the next one’s
coming from.
I’d been working for about 10 years when I auditioned for
Four Weddings and a Funeral. It didn’t particularly feel like a big deal, not
until it came out. Then it became clear it was going to be a breakthrough role
for me. I’m quite proud of it. There was nothing clichéd about the gay
relationship in that film [Hannah played the boyfriend of the character played
by Simon Callow], and Simon was just the loveliest, loveliest man. As John
Lennon said, any love in this world is a good thing. So we just played it as
this couple who were in love.
Even now, if people describe me as a Hollywood film star,
I don’t believe it. It’s funny how your expectations change as you go along. I
don’t look back at my career with a self-satisfied glow. The teenage me dreamt
of being a footballer. And a couple of boys I knew a bit – Ally McCoist and
Maurice Johnston – went on to do rather well in football. That kind of success
would be a lot more accepted from our background than what I did. I snapped my
knee about 18 years ago and though I knew by then I wouldn’t be a professional,
it was really sad to be told that was it, I couldn’t play the beautiful game
any more.
Not everything you do will be as satisfying as you hope.
When I was 20 I made a hugely monumental decision which impacted on my life in
a very positive way. But sometimes you look at your life and think, this has
become my job, the thing I do every day. I wonder if there are any big
life-changing decisions still to come along, or will I just bob along for ever
now? I try not to have any specific ambitions because I’m scared about how it
might feel if I achieved that ambition – what would I do then?
I still remember very clearly the moment my wife told me she
was pregnant with twins. That was the biggest thing, the closest I’ve come to
just standing there and going, oh my God, we are doing the most amazing thing
in the world. And, of course, I was there when they were born. It was a bit
like getting a great job: euphoria at first then, oh shit, I’ve actually got to
do this now.
In 1978, the year John turned 16... Pope John Paul I dies
after 33 days of papacy and is succeeded by John Paul II... Argentina win the
World Cup, held in Argentina... Garfield comic strip first published... Annie
Hall wins Oscar for Best Picture...
