http://www.suntimes.com/output/entertainment/cst-ftr-kurt20.html
A 'Blue' chip actor
February 20, 2003
BY CINDY PEARLMAN Advertisement
LOS ANGELES--When it comes to saying "I do," Kurt Russell and Goldie Hawn still say they won't.
The rumors that Russell gave Hawn a gold ring over the holidays after two decades of unwedded bliss? Well, they've been greatly exaggerated.
"Not true, but don't tell anybody," Russell whoops over breakfast at the Four Seasons Hotel. "I don't want to wreck a great rumor."
At age 52, Kurt Russell has a slightly weathered face, the body of a 20-year-old and the attitude of someone who never leaves his jeans and worn work shirt. Unconventional? You be the judge.
"Everybody wants to know, so let's take care of this right off the bat," he says. "Goldie and I have a relationship that's remarkable in every single way. We've never been tempted to get married, but in essence I'm married. I don't believe in marriage. I don't need marriage. I guess we've just removed ourselves from society in that regard.
"Let's take a look at the date. You have to believe more in divorce these days," he says. "If logic tells me anything, people don't get married anymore. They get divorced. I got married and divorced, and so did Goldie.
"I guess I just live my life differently," Russell insists.
He also approaches his career differently. Instead of big-budget fare, Russell is always looking for a hard-hitting script that will make people remember: "Oh yeah, that guy is a good actor." He found that in "Dark Blue," a gritty cop tale set in 1992 and due out Friday. Russell plays an LAPD career officer who plays fast and loose with the rules. He has to re-evaluate his ways when his wife leaves him, his son begins to hate him, and the streets he has always protected are about to explode because of the verdict in the Rodney King case.
"Now, this was a movie with possibilities," Russell says, mentioning he was paid "almost nothing" for the last five years to develop the script. "I knew this one was worth working on because it was about a man who takes a step into hell each time he goes to work on those streets. The message of the film was then simple: Can you really descend into hell and come out? Is that possible?
"It was a great question, and basically a movie studio gave us about $2.50 and said, 'Go make a movie.' "
He made a movie about a cop who practices his own form of justice, pulling the trigger first and thinking later. He even sets up street executions for bad guys who slip through the system. "The guy I play looks at it this way: You've got crime, and you've got criminals. You need to get the s--- done, and get rid of the criminals. If someone is a menace to society, why bother with a trial? Just get the guy. Take him out."
Yet it's his cop character who is almost taken out when the streets explode after the King "not-guilty" verdict is read.
"We re-enacted the Los Angeles riots," Russell says. "For two days on the set, we basically had guerrilla warfare filmmaking. You know, stage it as fast as you can, throw smoke in and make sure you hit your mark."
Russell recalls that he was filming in Puerto Rico when the real Los Angeles riots took place.
"Marty Short and I were laying in bed looking at the stuff," he says. "If you're going to watch the riots, do it with Marty Short. I'm a libertarian, which to some people is akin to being a Scientologist, so Marty and I had some interesting discussions.''
He adds, "We had some nice people on that set who were politically very liberal. And gun control was always a strong issue with them. Well, then the L.A. riots come and these same people are calling me asking, 'Do you have any guns?'
"And I said, 'I'd love to help you out, but they're all being used.' Those people, suddenly, really realized what it's like to be in that ghetto every day. It's just about survival. It's just about getting through the day. Any way you can do it, you do it. And suddenly that Second Amendment made some sense during that rough moment."
Russell says that his new movie poses some important questions, given current events.
"This movie says to question your society, and question who is in charge. You should question the police and say, 'Is this the way we want it done?' Sometimes, the answer is no."
"Blue" director Ron Shelton says the movie finds Russell at the top of his game. "He should do more of these thought-provoking roles because Kurt's really an underrated actor," says Shelton.
Does Russell, who began his career as a child actor doing Disney films, feel he's underrated?
"Those type of statements are not my world," he says. "That's Hollywood's world. My world isn't to determine my place in the pecking order of actors. I just have to go out there and do the best I can and hope that an audience will respond. All these years later, I still don't know if an audience will like a movie or not."
By the time the movie comes out, Russell will be back in Vancouver living with Hawn and their kids. As for being a father, he sighs and says, "Of course, we've tried to pass the knowledge that you shouldn't get married on to our children, but failed." He laughs because, of course, Hawn's daughter, Kate Hudson, is married to Black Crowes frontman Chris Robinson. "Honestly, we tell the kids, 'If marriage is important to you that's all that matters. Just make sure it means something.' "
One son, 15-year-old Wyatt, is playing amateur hockey in Vancouver. "We're only going to be there for a couple of years, but it was either send Wyatt by himself or go with him. He's only 15, and we thought he needed us because that gave him the best chance of succeeding. Everyone could use a little support."
And now? "It's great. Wyatt's working hard. He's learning and developing," he says. "Goldie and I are just hanging out. It's a really good time in our lives."
A 'Blue' chip actor
February 20, 2003
BY CINDY PEARLMAN Advertisement
LOS ANGELES--When it comes to saying "I do," Kurt Russell and Goldie Hawn still say they won't.
The rumors that Russell gave Hawn a gold ring over the holidays after two decades of unwedded bliss? Well, they've been greatly exaggerated.
"Not true, but don't tell anybody," Russell whoops over breakfast at the Four Seasons Hotel. "I don't want to wreck a great rumor."
At age 52, Kurt Russell has a slightly weathered face, the body of a 20-year-old and the attitude of someone who never leaves his jeans and worn work shirt. Unconventional? You be the judge.
"Everybody wants to know, so let's take care of this right off the bat," he says. "Goldie and I have a relationship that's remarkable in every single way. We've never been tempted to get married, but in essence I'm married. I don't believe in marriage. I don't need marriage. I guess we've just removed ourselves from society in that regard.
"Let's take a look at the date. You have to believe more in divorce these days," he says. "If logic tells me anything, people don't get married anymore. They get divorced. I got married and divorced, and so did Goldie.
"I guess I just live my life differently," Russell insists.
He also approaches his career differently. Instead of big-budget fare, Russell is always looking for a hard-hitting script that will make people remember: "Oh yeah, that guy is a good actor." He found that in "Dark Blue," a gritty cop tale set in 1992 and due out Friday. Russell plays an LAPD career officer who plays fast and loose with the rules. He has to re-evaluate his ways when his wife leaves him, his son begins to hate him, and the streets he has always protected are about to explode because of the verdict in the Rodney King case.
"Now, this was a movie with possibilities," Russell says, mentioning he was paid "almost nothing" for the last five years to develop the script. "I knew this one was worth working on because it was about a man who takes a step into hell each time he goes to work on those streets. The message of the film was then simple: Can you really descend into hell and come out? Is that possible?
"It was a great question, and basically a movie studio gave us about $2.50 and said, 'Go make a movie.' "
He made a movie about a cop who practices his own form of justice, pulling the trigger first and thinking later. He even sets up street executions for bad guys who slip through the system. "The guy I play looks at it this way: You've got crime, and you've got criminals. You need to get the s--- done, and get rid of the criminals. If someone is a menace to society, why bother with a trial? Just get the guy. Take him out."
Yet it's his cop character who is almost taken out when the streets explode after the King "not-guilty" verdict is read.
"We re-enacted the Los Angeles riots," Russell says. "For two days on the set, we basically had guerrilla warfare filmmaking. You know, stage it as fast as you can, throw smoke in and make sure you hit your mark."
Russell recalls that he was filming in Puerto Rico when the real Los Angeles riots took place.
"Marty Short and I were laying in bed looking at the stuff," he says. "If you're going to watch the riots, do it with Marty Short. I'm a libertarian, which to some people is akin to being a Scientologist, so Marty and I had some interesting discussions.''
He adds, "We had some nice people on that set who were politically very liberal. And gun control was always a strong issue with them. Well, then the L.A. riots come and these same people are calling me asking, 'Do you have any guns?'
"And I said, 'I'd love to help you out, but they're all being used.' Those people, suddenly, really realized what it's like to be in that ghetto every day. It's just about survival. It's just about getting through the day. Any way you can do it, you do it. And suddenly that Second Amendment made some sense during that rough moment."
Russell says that his new movie poses some important questions, given current events.
"This movie says to question your society, and question who is in charge. You should question the police and say, 'Is this the way we want it done?' Sometimes, the answer is no."
"Blue" director Ron Shelton says the movie finds Russell at the top of his game. "He should do more of these thought-provoking roles because Kurt's really an underrated actor," says Shelton.
Does Russell, who began his career as a child actor doing Disney films, feel he's underrated?
"Those type of statements are not my world," he says. "That's Hollywood's world. My world isn't to determine my place in the pecking order of actors. I just have to go out there and do the best I can and hope that an audience will respond. All these years later, I still don't know if an audience will like a movie or not."
By the time the movie comes out, Russell will be back in Vancouver living with Hawn and their kids. As for being a father, he sighs and says, "Of course, we've tried to pass the knowledge that you shouldn't get married on to our children, but failed." He laughs because, of course, Hawn's daughter, Kate Hudson, is married to Black Crowes frontman Chris Robinson. "Honestly, we tell the kids, 'If marriage is important to you that's all that matters. Just make sure it means something.' "
One son, 15-year-old Wyatt, is playing amateur hockey in Vancouver. "We're only going to be there for a couple of years, but it was either send Wyatt by himself or go with him. He's only 15, and we thought he needed us because that gave him the best chance of succeeding. Everyone could use a little support."
And now? "It's great. Wyatt's working hard. He's learning and developing," he says. "Goldie and I are just hanging out. It's a really good time in our lives."
) He is actually in the same league with some of the old school actors which I really couldn't say about any other I've seen except maybe Jeff Bridges.
s. Springfield, MA to be exact.