A Constant Forge Page #10

not to say something to Nick.

But he broke that bond...

so she ignores him,

almost as ifhe's not in the room.

It seemed a perfectly reasonable

reaction to me.

John was very surprised with it.

He was delighted with it, though, too.

He never- He never got, uh,

his nose out of joint...

because it wasn't what he expected.

He loved things he didn't expect.

The only way

a director can create an environment...

in which actors will take the kind of emotional

risks that they did in John's movies...

is if you are an extraordinarily open,

loving, giving...

and receptive audience.

I like it when it's better.

I hate it when it's lousy.

There's often a picture ofJohn

standing in back of the camera...

and he almost always has his hands

clasped like this...

and his head way back,

laughing silently.

Now, you would think that

he's laughing at a funny scene...

but that is not necessarily true.

It could be a very serious scene.

His laughter was just the joy

that it was working...

and that the actors were doing it.

And it just filled him...

with ecstasy, practically.

He would just -

Wonderful pictures of him doing that.

He went through

every bit of it with you.

I could seeJohn by the camera,

ifhe wasn't shooting, going-

You know, trying

not to laugh and blow the scene.

Or you could look over there

and he'd have tears in his eyes...

because he was a terrific audience.

That's what we perform for.

You got the sense

that he'll go as far as -

As far as he'd ask you to go,

he'd be right there with you.

You know, that's pretty infectious.

We had been shooting quite a long time...

when I break down and they take me

to the mental institution.

It takes quite a lot to get there.

I belong to you.

That's it.

Those are my five points.

That's what I -

And to still keep your point of view...

as - as an actor.

I mean, you aren't becoming this person.

You're representing this person.

And John loved to shoot

with a handheld camera...

as well as the other cameras going.

So it's right in the front

of the fireplace where I was saying...

"If they wouldn't send me,

I wouldn't want anything.

I would just like to - I would just be home,

and I would never be unhappy. "

Then it escalated.

Get him away from -

- You must go to the hospital.

- Hospital!

Don't, baby. Stop that!

Nick! Nick! Don't let him! Please!

I - I promise. I won't want anything.

Just let me stay in my house, please.

Then John was filming it.

He dropped the camera, said "She's gone, "

and he rushed into the scene.

I think he thought he'd pushed me...

just a step too far.

Or else maybe he always

basically thought I was crazy.

I was so mad

'cause I was gonna have to do it again.

But actually, it was a funny moment.

And I realized then, 'cause that isn't

something we had talked about before...

that he was a little afraid of it.

I love you!

I love you. I'll lay down

on the railroad track for you.

If I made a mistake,

which I did, I'm sorry.

But so what?

What's the difference? I love you.

- Now relax. Come back to me.

- Nick.

- Relax and come back to me.

- Nick.

- Get out of here!

- Get out of here!

I'll kill ya! Don't touch me.

You're not gonna make me.

He knew this woman very well.

He knew her capacities

as an actor and as a human being...

and there are moments in that film

that are so frightening...

'cause you don't know

to what extent it's Mabel...

and to what extent

it's Gena Rowlands...

under the influence of...

anything from the camera...

to family, conditioning,

lack of privacy.

Gena was in back of me...

and I was there, and Gena's -

John's mother was here,

and, um -

and Gena was over there by the fireplace

and the camera was shooting...

and all of a sudden there she was -

she was doing this.

I said -

And I hadn't studied the scene

or anything like that ahead of time.

All of a sudden this woman,

right in front of my eyes, was doing this.

Jesus. It was...

amazing-amazing to see that.

It's changing your energy...

and allowing another person

to haunt your house, so to speak.

Sort of like being a medium,

you know...

when they come in

with the crystal ball...

and they're all sitting around

the thing and -

and the medium says,

"I am in contact with the soul.

The jewels are in the closet

in the attic. "

And then they fall over, exhausted,

as if they'd been drained by this character.

- Take a deep breath!

- It's very exhausting.

And a sort of dangerous feeling...

especially if you're playing someone

with mental problems.

- Nick. Nick, I need -

- Sit down!

I'll knock you right on your ass!

Some of the time you're walking out there

where the air is kind of thin...

and you hope that you'll walk back.

But it's very much easier

in a community of actors...

who know each other

and love each other...

and trust the other ones

to take care of us too,you know.

- Please, children. Children.

- Mabel.

His...

investment in the actors...

was something

they trusted so much...

that they could - that you could

kind of, you know...

cut that wire

and cut that wire...

and go

and know that you wouldn't...

hit concrete.

And, um -

Until he says, "Wrap. "

Then maybe.

The thing thatJohn never did

was lie to anybody.

It's really important to do that,

especially with actors...

because they gotta

take some chances...

to be vulnerable,

to make themselves look like a jerk...

to show emotions that they have to mean,

that are honest.

And if you don't trust the director-

Our instinct is to protect our own butt,

even to our own detriment.

You want me to make an ass of myself

on that stage.

Well, they don't pay me enough to make

an ass of myself. Do you understand?

It took me a long time...

to realize...

that it's all right to make a fool of yourself

in some of these takes.

Didn't make any difference,

'cause he wasn't gonna use it.

But it's hard to reach that point...

because you wanna protect yourself,

you wanna look good.

You know.

You don't wanna look like an ass.

It wasn't decisively important...

how beautiful the photography was.

The question was,

what are we working for?

And the obvious answer was

that we were working for these people.

We're not dealing with objects and walls

to look better.

Now, it doesn't really make any difference

whether the wall behind them...

is white, dark, black.

I don't think it means

anything to anybody.

It's what these people are thinking,

what they're feeling-

that's the drama of the piece.

We were slaves to the actors.

All we were there to do

was record what they were doing.

- Let him go, let him go.

- You're crazy, baby.

- Let me go. Let me go.

- Hugh, come on.

Let me go!

What the hell is wrong with that guy?

What's wrong with you?

You don't have to get carried away.

He's always messing up the damn thing!

What's wrong with him?

This is a party! Stop it!

I felt totally safe.

And for an actor to feel safe...

is astonishing.

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