Thursday, May 14, 1998
Beatty campaigns for ‘Bulworth’
FILM: Director seasons his political, sociological ideas with
light comedy
By Lonnie Harris
Daily Bruin Contributor
Like a true politician, Warren Beatty insists on shaking the
hand of every new person he meets. While this is customary on a
political campaign, like the one Beatty is running in his pet
project "Bulworth," it’s a bit unexpected in a cramped suite in
Beverly Hills filled with anxious journalists. Beatty is certainly
an imposing figure as he strides around the room, not looking a day
of his 61 years (most of which were spent in some capacity in
Hollywood).
All of this experience has given Beatty a lot to think about,
and "Bulworth," which he wrote, directed, stars in and produced, is
in many ways a sounding board for some of his controversial
political ideas. The film follows the final days of the senatorial
campaign of Jay Billington Bulworth, a Democratic incumbent for the
State of California.
Bulworth has decided that his life is so meaningless he wishes
to end it, so he arranges his own assassination after making sure
his daughter will receive a huge insurance settlement. His new life
sentence allows Bulworth to finally let loose and express his real
feelings about politics, society and just about any other topic he
encounters.
Unfortunately, after meeting an attractive young woman from
South Central (Halle Berry), Bulworth realizes that he wants to
keep on living and spends the rest of the film trying to call off
the assassination.
While much of the film works as a comedy (or, as Norman Mailer
called it, a "tragic farce"), underneath the surface is a scathing
satire of American politics, lampooning the way special-interest
groups exploit public servants through hefty donations and
influence.
"Eventually, you have to do a movie about something you feel
about, instead of something you think about," Beatty says. "If you
want anybody to be amused, or entertained or even to stay in their
seat, you have to feel something."
What Beatty feels, however, is not a traditional political
viewpoint. Much of "Bulworth" concerns race relations, and the film
finds Beatty making many trips to South Central Los Angeles and
even adopting elements of African American culture. One of
Bulworth’s most effective techniques in his campaign becomes the
use of rap music to push ideas about the corruption within the
Senate.
The film also has a rap soundtrack featuring Ice Cube, Mack 10,
Cappadonna, Method Man, Dr. Dre, L.L. Cool J and others. Beatty
personally chose many of the songs that would be featured in the
film, and felt that the rap was essential for expressing much of
the movie’s message about the condition of the African American
community.
"The energy that came out of certain political figures in the
’60s and ’70s went into this rap community," Beatty says. "Some of
them are saying articulate stuff, some of it is political, some of
it is just dumb. It’s white kids that are buying this, so what you
have to realize is that there is much less of a racial divide among
young people. This thing is moving toward class more than
race."
All of these intense political and sociological messages might
normally weigh a movie down and make it preachy. It was important,
then, to include light comedy in order to temper the intellectual
discussions. Beatty attempted to deal with these two opposing
themes by focusing on entertaining the audience instead of forcing
his opinions on them.
"I just want to have a good time," Beatty says. "I want to be
entertaining. If you want to send a message, call Western Union. I
could sit down and say my message, but it would bore most people,
because it would be like something you’d see on C-SPAN. In order
for me to be entertaining through this, I go to a heightened
characterization. We use a stereotypical politician, a
stereotypical cop and a stereotypical black man. It’s what I call
funny."
However, is any movie as politically charged as "Bulworth" made
only to be funny? It is a cagey proposition considering that the
film is written and directed by one of Hollywood’s more
controversial filmmakers, known for his left-wing manifestos
(including "Reds" and "Bonnie and Clyde").
Beatty insists, however, that people can get any message they
want out of his story of a senator having a nervous breakdown.
"I don’t make movies to effect change, although they may very
well effect some change," Beatty says. "You make movies to express
yourself, to release some feeling or some joke. Very often those
things do effect change. But, I never thought I could make this
movie and not have it be marginalized."
The final product is certainly not marginalized, despite the
fact that "Bulworth" was produced by Newscorp, a major corporation
of exactly the type that Bulworth complains about in the film. (The
company is even run by billionaire Rupert Murdoch, whom Beatty
insists has political views antithetical to his own.) Beatty is
actually so pleased with the final film as to call it the best work
he’s ever done. Considering his prolific career, this statement
says a great deal.
"I think it’s the best picture I’ve made, because I didn’t give
a fuck how much money it would make," Beatty says.
"Even when I made ‘Reds,’ I still felt an obligation to have it
do well. I made this movie way in advance and had complete artistic
autonomy on it, and I had none of the marketing rights. I’m just
lucky as hell to be able to do it."
FILM: "Bulworth" opens in Los Angeles on Friday.
Twentieth Century Fox
Warren Beatty wrote, directed and stars in ‘Bulworth.’
Twentieth Century Fox
Halle Berry and Warren Beatty star in "Bulworth."