Thursday, January 9, 1997
In the critically acclaimed ‘The People vs. Larry Flynt,’
‘Natural Born Killers’ star Woody Harrelson shows just how serious
of an actor the one-time ‘Cheers’ star can be.By Michael
Horowitz
Daily Bruin Staff
One started Hustler, an adult magazine infamous for its
pornography. The other played a dolt on a long running television
show and has a habit of showing up for interviews barefoot. There
doesn’t seem to be an incredible number of similarities between
Larry Flynt and Woody Harrelson.
Yet to hear Harrelson talk about it, the two are more alike than
different. "The commonality between myself and Larry?" asks
Harrelson. "We’re both poor white trash hedonists who made good in
the world, or made bad in the world."
Both have had their run-ins with the law. Both have made a
career out of no-holds-barred honesty. And then there’s their
senses of humor.
"I respect a lot of what he’s done," says Harrelson of Flynt. "I
respect someone who stands up, well I guess he’s not standing up
now, but the point is that he’s the kind of guy that likes
statements like that."
There’s an uneasy pause after Harrelson backs into a reference
to Flynt’s near-paralyzed condition after an early ’80s sniper
attack, but he’s right, Flynt would be the first to laugh. The
whole idea behind Milos Foreman’s recently-released "The People vs.
Larry Flynt" is that Flynt is no saint. Flynt isn’t even a good guy
in many of the film’s scenes. But he is a true test of America’s
First Amendment.
"Larry is a devil with angel’s wings," states acclaimed director
Foreman, who has won two Oscars for "One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s
Nest" and "Amadeus." "That’s very confusing to me, and that’s why
it’s so exciting to make a film about him."
When Harrelson heard about the film, his first reaction was one
of disbelief. "I must admit, my first feeling was ‘wow, why would
anyone want to make a movie about this sleazoid?’"
"But of course I went and talked to Milos, and he had a lot to
say about the content and the merit of the movie."
Harrelson’s first meeting with Flynt showed him why he needed to
do the movie, as he found the magazine tycoon to be more than the
sum of his excesses. "Meeting Larry, you find there’s a lot more to
him than meets your expectation," says Harrelson. "There’s a real
sweet side to him, and he’s got a hell of a sense of humor."
Yet the task of portraying Flynt was still a massive one, and a
role that gave Harrelson lots of anxiety. "It’s one thing to play
someone who’s dead," he says, "but to look into the guy’s eyes
after you’re done …"
"He was nervous," concurs Foreman, "he even got a voice coach to
learn the accent."
The details multiplied as Harrelson initially became obsessed
with matching Flynt’s mannerisms and style. But under the direction
of Foreman and a few revelations, he decided on a different
tact.
"I had some big concerns about playing Larry Flynt," admits
Harrelson. "I wanted to just be him. I had just seen ‘Nixon’ and I
was so amazed by Anthony Hopkins, you know? I was amazed.
"I wanted to really embody that character, yet it was giving me
an aneurysm trying to decide all the things that were right and the
things that weren’t working, and I felt more of it was not
working."
"(Foreman) had a more laissez-faire approach, like ‘don’t worry
about every detail,’" Harrelson recalls. "I just sort of relaxed
into it and started to feel a little more right. I realized I could
never be him."
"It would be ridiculous to try and make a carbon copy of the
real people," Foreman agrees. "History is a summary of facts. You
have to be very faithful to facts. But drama is the summary of the
spirit of the facts. If the spirit of the facts is right, forget
about if it’s exactly accurate. The most important things are if
the spirit is right and if what I see on the screen I believe. And
I believed him."
A Golden Globe Performance nomination and much critical praise
seem to show that others believed Harrelson as well. It couldn’t
have hurt that Flynt was on set some days serving as an advisor in
the name of accuracy.
"It was really important to me, and all of us, to have an
accurate portrayal," says Harrelson. "Not to glorify Larry Flynt,
and certainly watching the film you don’t feel that his character
is glorified, but certainly what he did was important in the long
run. It was just really important that it be accurate."
Early on, the filmmakers realized that Flynt wasn’t just an
appropriate source for positive stories about himself, but that he
was equally willing to discuss the negative ones. "He would tell
stories about himself that you can’t believe," laughs Harrelson.
"There’s nothing positive about the story, and yet what it is about
is honesty. That freedom of expression is honest."
The issues of free speech meant a lot to Harrelson, who has
found himself on the firing line as well. "It certainly resonated
with me," he says. "For example, Bob Dole called for a boycott of
two of the last three movies I’ve been in. I think it’s a really
important issue."
Harrelson is not angry about the proposed boycotts of "Natural
Born Killers" and "Money Train," he just sees a threat to freedom
of expression. "It’s OK to boycott," he says, "I think that’s a
great way to get a message across. If you don’t like something then
boycott it. Great. I think we should do that more in this
country."
"But I think when guys like John Grisham are talking about
bringing a movie to court, then that’s a really scary thing. That’s
censorship."
Another ironic instance of censorship near Harrelson involved
the movie poster for "The People vs. Larry Flynt," initially a
picture of Harrelson posed on a cross. "The MPAA and Jack Valenti
said we could not use a poster, the poster we should be using right
now in this country," says Harrelson, "because it was obscene, and
yet there’s no single image you can look at and say that’s
obscene."
"It’s wrong that anybody should have that power, but they do. So
we’re using this other poster which I don’t think is nearly as
colorful or as interesting."
Harrelson sounds just like Flynt as he ponders the state of the
world: "Censorship is very much alive and well in this
country."
Columbia Pictures
A judge orders sheriff’s deputies to gag Larry (Woody Harrelson)
after he blurts out controversial remarks in "The People vs. Larry
Flynt." Columbia Pictures
Woody Harrelson and Courtney Love star as husband and wife in
the true life drama about Larry Flynt.