I had the nice fortune of assembly and interviewing Robert Redford quite a few instances, however none of these events brought about fairly the stir that my first encounter did. In these days, the opening evening of the Sundance Movie Competition (which was then the U.S. Movie Competition) was held in a huge theater in Salt Lake Metropolis. I used to be there with a crew from Leisure Tonight, however the one superstar on the afterparty was an adolescent actress named Winona Ryder, who appeared within the opening evening film, Sq. Dance. (Our present didn’t worth that temporary interview till Ryder turned a star; then they milked it for all it was price.)
The explanation ET despatched me in any respect was that the subsequent morning, Saturday to be precise, Robert Redford can be holding a information convention at a gathering heart perched between Salt Lake Metropolis and Park Metropolis, the precise location of the competition. I, together with our director and crew, acquired there early to get a great spot within the small-ish room the place the confab was to happen. Native press confirmed up a short while later, however no different media shops have been anyplace to be seen.
Thank goodness I had come ready, and began firing questions on the actor, who didn’t appear to thoughts answering them—though they’d nothing to do with the competition.
He stated he was grateful for the expertise and publicity that his early roles on tv gave him—together with The Untouchables, Alfred Hitchcock Presents,Bare Metropolis. Dr. Kildare, and a memorableTwilight Zone by which he performed Demise. Nobody else within the room raised a hand so I continued. “I really feel very indebted to tv, as a coaching floor for myself. It was invaluable to me. You didn’t have on a regular basis on the earth. I believe it put you below a sort of strain that’s wholesome, to not deliberate an excessive amount of, to work extra off of your instincts, to make decisions extra rapidly that must do with your individual intestine. At the least, that’s the way in which I noticed it, so I don’t disparage tv the way in which different folks do.”
He complained in regards to the blowback he acquired for his activism. “For some time, an actor talking out was seen to be synonymous with giving up citizenship papers… as if being an actor voided you of any credibility,” he stated. “I bumped into that quite a bit, notably on this state.” He was happy with the showcase his competition was giving to younger filmmakers, and was particularly gratified by the work of the Sundance Institute, which gave promising abilities an opportunity to be mentored by seasoned professionals. However initially, he was proud to name himself an actor. “It’s a horrible magnificence, or a nice agony; I imply, there’s a schizophrenic a part of performing that makes it troublesome. I prefer it; I wouldn’t be doing it if I didn’t.”
When it was throughout, I thanked him and moved on to a press brunch.
That Monday, when ET ran the piece, our New York workplace acquired a livid cellphone name from the star’s highly effective publicist, Lois Smith, demanding to know the way I had wangled this unique one-on-one interview—one thing she had all the time denied us. My boss defined that it solely seemed like an intimate dialog. She stated we must always have confirmed the nearly-empty room so the back-and-forth can be seen in context. In the meantime, shops like The At this time Present have been complaining bitterly about lacking this chance.
Years later I used to be requested if I’d conduct a night with him for the Santa Barbara Worldwide Movie Competition and I readily agreed. Having simply confirmed the occasion, Redford noticed me on the Saturday morning brunch and clapped me on the again. “This might be enjoyable,” he enthused. “We’ve got a historical past.”
Certainly we did. He was in fantastic spirits that evening and we had a great dialogue. Then I made a rookie mistake: I posed a query, out of the blue, to which I didn’t already know the reply. I requested if he loved offering the voice of Ike the Horse within the CGI-animated movie of Charlotte’s Net… and he stated no, he didn’t! The manufacturing was based mostly in Australia and he felt faraway from it, working alone in a California recording studio. He had been trying ahead to the gig but it surely wound up being a disappointment. I rapidly moved on to a different topic.
After we mentioned The Nice Gatsby, I discussed that I’d be interviewing his costar Bruce Dern the next evening. He took this in and stated, “Ask him if he remembers me.”
That sly humorousness revealed a side of the matinee idol, producer, entrepreneur, and competition founder that the general public hardly ever—if ever—acquired to see. Extra’s the pity.
