Don’t Say Anything (page 2)
By Stephen Saban
Movieline, December 1994
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A. D. Page 1 Page 3
“I told him I’d just seen a screening of Pulp Fiction. “It’s one of the best movies I’ve seen in a long time,” I say. “Of course, I haven’t seen any movies in a long time. I know we’re here to talk about you, but can we talk about John Travolta for a minute?”
“I’d rather talk about him,” Stoltz says eagerly. “you know, you grow up with the image of John Travolta being super cool—Saturday Night Fever, Brian de Palma, handsome young god…he, in reality, is a very silly man. And I mean that in a good way. He’ll walk around the set talking in little weird voices, making people laugh. He’s just…” Stoltz searches for the right word, “…strange. And kind as hell; he’s the nicest guy on the set. I never expected him to have a whacked-out sense of humor.”
“It doesn’t surprise me,” I say. “But what does amaze me is what a good actor he is, especially in Pulp. That whole date scene with Uma Thurman…”
“Uma! Oh my God!” Stoltz interrupts. “Can we talk about Uma Thurman? On smack, in a black wig, knocked out on the floor, oozing blood, foaming at the mouth—and she’s still a goddess. And what makes her a goddess is that she’s probably smarter than…well, certainly than anyone in this park.”
“Present company included?”
“Yes. She’s an incredibly bright woman. And I find that enormously appealing.”
Just then, as I’m about to ask why he’s so often cast in drug-related roles—as he was in both Pulp Fiction and Killing Zoe—we’re approached by two confident black youths wearing identical T-shirts and carrying clipboards. “Excuse me,” the male says, grinning, “would you like to buy raffle ticket to fight the antidrug war in New York? Dollar donation, $500 first prize.”
His question, as presented, was masterful in its power to pose further questions. Whose side had he actually invited us to join? Were we being asked to battle the troops opposed to drugs, or align with those fighting the problem? Was he simply offering us chances in a raffle or unloading the entire lottery? Or, was the whole thing just a ruse to peddle dope? But since Stoltz, of course, prefers asking to answering, I sit back and wait.
“An antidrug war?” Stoltz asks. “You’re fighting drugs? You’re not selling them?”
“Nah, I’m done with that,” the youth says. “I’m three years clean already.”
“That’s amazing. Did you deal at all?”
“The proud kid nods. “I dealt for about a year.”
“When you were a dealer,” Stoltz asks brightly, “were you a friendly dealer?”
“The guy laughs at the odd question, but gives it some thought. “Ehh, depends who I dealt with, you know? Lotta times you get a wise one, know what I’m sayin’?”
“Yeah. So did you carry a piece?”
His friend had been put in jail for carryin’ a piece, he says.
“Oh yeah?” the guy says, with only polite interest—he’d actually been a dealer.
After they move on, I ask Stoltz what he’d written on his raffle stub so that the antidrug foundation could contact him if he won. “I wrote my number,” he says. “I really think I’ve got a shot at the $500.”
“You were so interested in those two,” I say. “Have you ever done heroin?”?
“No, I haven’t. But I’ve filmed a person doing it so I could see how it affected him physically and imitate it, for Killing Zoe. It was completely voyeuristic and educational and it didn’t endanger my own health.”
“What do actors snort as cocaine in movies?”
“It’s like a crushed up B vitamin,” he says. “It’s awful.”
“Wasn’t there a lot of real cocaine use in the industry when you started?”
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Interview courtesy of Irina. Go on to page 3 by clicking the link on the upper left part of the page.)