If Anthony Hopkins were in charge of the UCLA School of Theater, Film and Television, aspiring filmmakers would have a drastically different education. To start, he would promptly throw away all the guide books.
“Don’t get bound up by rules,” Hopkins said. “Don’t take it all so seriously and just go for it. Let it all go to hell.”
Hopkins likes to practice what he preaches. The Wales native, respected worldwide for his long acting career, recently wrote, directed, starred in and even composed music for the independent feature film “Slipstream.”
“Slipstream” is scheduled to screen today at the Billy Wilder Theater as part of the UCLA Film and Television Archive’s recently launched First Mondays program, which offers sneak previews Mondays throughout the year. There will be a Q&A with Hopkins after the screening.
On its surface, “Slipstream” is a film about a troubled screenwriter (Hopkins) working to finish a murder mystery script. Aided by an erratic, mile-a-minute editing style, the film oscillates between the narrative story and a stream-of-consciousness, dream-like look into the mind of Hopkins’ character, Felix Bonhoeffer. Like Bonhoeffer, viewers will have trouble determining where his life ends and the movie he’s writing begins.
“I wanted to create chaos because I think life is chaos,” Hopkins said. “I’m so bored with form ““ you watch a movie with beginning, middle and end and it’s the same old stuff. I wanted to upset the apple cart.”
When the unconventional film was brought to the attention of Geoffrey Gilmore, director of the Sundance Film Festival, it was an easy sell.
“It has the kind of edge and experimental quality that I’m always looking for,” Gilmore said. “He’s got an enormous sense of visual style, something very few filmmakers ever achieve.”
As Hopkins acknowledges, the movie is a hard sell to mainstream audiences. In lieu of a broad theatrical release, “Slipstream” has appeared at festivals, including a stop at Sundance, and comes out this week in limited release.
Gilmore recognizes the difficulty of bringing an out-of-the-ordinary film, made by a household name, to the masses.
“People expect something more conventional about work made by a mainstream actor,” he said. “But I think there’s an audience for it, people looking for something fresh and original.”
After years in front of the camera, Hopkins made the leap behind the lens for the simple reason of trying something new.
“I made the movie for myself,” he said. “I didn’t do it to please anyone. Some people really like it and some can’t get along with it at all, but I don’t care.”
UCLA English Professor Lawrence Grobel, who has known Hopkins for 15 years, expressed concern that in making such a highly personal film, Hopkins alienates his audience.
“It’s Hopkins’ mind being dissected and presented,” he said. “It’s intriguing but it’s impossible to enter. The audience is kept at arm’s length.”
According to Hopkins, whether or not people understand the film is not his main concern.
“I’m happy with it because I did it and it’s mine,” he said.
When Hopkins started working on his screenplay, he was unsure where the project would go.
“I wrote the movie as an experiment,” he said. “I’m not a writer by profession. But I can write a letter, I can write a note, and I can write a laundry list. So I thought, “˜Therefore I can write.'”
Once a draft was finished, he was encouraged by his friends and colleagues to carry on with the project. One fellow filmmaker in particular gave Hopkins the motivation he needed to get started.
“I sent a copy to Steven Spielberg and he said, “˜You’re going to have a tough time marketing this … but you ought to do it.’ And I said, “˜Okay, I’ll try,'” Hopkins said.
Another important source of encouragement came from his wife, Stella Arroyave, who coproduced and acted in the film.
Other members of the ensemble cast include Christian Slater, John Turturro, Camryn Manheim and Jeffrey Tambor, as well as newcomer Lisa Pepper.
Hopkins was adamant about making the project the way he wanted and not letting financiers or studios take control.
“I own it and nobody can touch it,” he said. “Studios probably wouldn’t have touched it anyway.”
Grobel sees the film as stylistically similar to stream-of-consciousness writers James Joyce and Gertrude Stein.
“He’s trying to tell you it’s a dream, but it’s more than a dream. It’s a man about to die and that flash of a second before he dies. It might be fascinating, but in the end that’s something you can deal with on the page but it’s not so easy on the screen.”
“Slipstream” is bound to be a divisive film, but for Hopkins, he couldn’t care less ““ that’s his philosophy.
“Life is meaningless,” he said. “Well, it is. What’s the purpose of it? Nobody seems to know.
“I just live for today.”