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STAGE TO SCREENS: "Doubt"-ers Streep, Hoffman, Shanley, Davis, Adams; Plus Michael Sheen
By Michael Buckley
14 Dec 2008
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John Patrick Shanley directing "Doubt"
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| photo by Andrew Schwartz/Miramax Film Corp. | We talk about "Doubt" with Meryl Streep, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Amy Adams, Viola Davis and John Patrick Shanley. Michael Sheen discusses "Frost/Nixon."
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Doubt, the Broadway play about a nun who suspects that a priest is a pedophile, has been adapted and directed as a new feature film (for Miramax) by playwright and Academy Award winner John Patrick Shanley ("Moonstruck"). His drama, set in 1964, earned the Bronx native a 2005 Pulitzer Prize, as well as Tony, Drama Critics Circle, Outer Critics Circle, Drama Desk, Lucille Lortel, and Obie Awards. Limited release for the picture began Dec. 12, but "Doubt" will spread across North America in the coming weeks. I met its cast, and its creator, at a recent press event in California.
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John Patrick Shanley describes "Doubt" as a parable, which Merriam-Webster defines as a "fictitious story that illustrates a moral attitude or a religious principle." His inspiration for the story was the idea that "you can never know anything for certain." Shanley felt that he should not lead an audience "to any one conclusion. I want people to think, but I don't want to tell them how to think." He began "with a simple question: 'Did he or didn't he?'" and was determined not "to answer that question at the end."
Much of "Doubt" was shot in Shanley's old neighborhood. "The street where the guy plays the zither is the one I grew up on. The kids' school is where I went. [To depict a reference about the way gossip spreads, wonderful stage actress Marylouise Burke is seen, albeit briefly, tearing apart a feather pillow on a rooftop.] I played on that rooftop, and in the alley where the kids are seen," reminisces Shanley. "Eugene O'Neill calls it 'poetry of the real.'" (Shanley's screenplay is up for a Golden Globe; the nominations were announced Dec. 11.)
Onstage, notes Shanley, "There were four characters and a few sets; the film shows the priest's final sermon, the parishioners, the kids." Seeking "a fresh approach" to his work, Shanley chose to direct. His only previous writer-director movie credit was "Joe Versus the Volcano," a 1990 comedy that starred Tom Hanks and Meg Ryan, but caused no box-office eruptions. Featured was Nathan Lane, who once told me that that the picture (his second) "was like the most expensive episode of 'Gilligan's Island' ever filmed." At a "Doubt" screening, Shanley recalls, "The moderator mentioned ["Joe"], and the audience applauded. I said, 'You mean, you liked it?' [Laughs]"
To cast "Doubt" (selected by the National Board of Review for Best Ensemble), Shanley "sat down with [producer] Scott Rudin. 'Who do you want for Sister Aloysius?' he asked. I said, 'Meryl Streep.' He agreed: 'Me, too.' Shooting with Meryl is like capturing lightning in a bottle. Every take is completely different, yet each is grounded in the depths and truths of the character.
"Philip Seymour Hoffman [as Father Brendan Flynn] was my idea. I thought he'd make Meryl sweat." For Sister James, who's based on Shanley's first-grade teacher, Sister Peggy, the film's technical advisor, "Amy Adams, along with her work in 'Junebug,' seemed a natural."
But there didn't seem to be "a natural" for Mrs. Miller [mother of the student who may be an abuse victim]. "Her scene with Sister Aloysius is the story's crucible. Viola Davis was Scott Rudin's idea. He's a big fan of hers. I wasn't sure. We tested a lot of incredibly talented people, but the crew stopped breathing when Viola tested. She's one of the most talented actresses I've ever seen."
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Viola Davis in "Doubt"
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| photo by Andrew Schwartz |
Viola Davis admits to being "terrified" when she received a call to report for three weeks' rehearsal. "They said, 'It'll be you and John and Meryl.' Not 'Meryl Streep,' just 'Meryl.' I thought: 'I'm going to go in, and she's going to be a diva.' How could she not be? She's an icon. You've got to allow yourself to make mistakes to find a character. But that wasn't an option for me 'cause you know she's not going to suck!" When Day One arrives, Davis discovers that Streep "couldn't be any more beautiful as a person."
Rehearsal proceeded to be "fantastic! It was a period of discovery. I never saw the play, didn't know what it was about, came in completely green. So much preparation went into our scene. Then we shot it over and over. I went home to L.A., but was called back. 'We want to shoot different angles,' was the excuse. I said, 'You want to shoot the whole friggin' scene again!' John wanted more silences at the beginning, but he said that it was 'some lighting thing,' which was bull-crap!
"When you get a job, you hope that it will be the one that opens doors. When I got 'Doubt,' I thought: 'It's a great role. I get to work with Meryl Streep. This is it!' Since I finished the film, I've done one day of work, in 'State of Play' [a 2009 release, starring Helen Mirren and Russell Crowe]. One day! [Laughs]" She's now a Golden Globe nominee for "Doubt," and won the National Board of Review's Best Breakthrough Performance.
Is she aware that an Oscar nomination may follow? "I don't understand buzz. I just know about work." Her work has brought Davis several honors: an Obie Award (Everybody's Ruby), a Drama Desk (Intimate Apparel), a Tony nomination (Seven Guitars), and a Tony (King Hedley II). Of the last play, she exclaims, "Every day was a joy! Brian Stokes Mitchell was fabulous!"
As a young adult, Davis spent four years at Juilliard, "which stretches you, breaks old habits, and makes you more versatile. But Juilliard doesn't celebrate the individual. It stifles everything that makes you uniquely you. They tried to make me into a small, white woman. For 13 years, I battled it out regionally, and in New York. I lived in apartments with roaches and mice. Now, I live in a house in Ramada Hills but I'm still very much that girl."
That girl became upset with her screen image during a "Doubt" looping session. "I thought: 'Was my eye twitching? Why did my lips look that way? Awful!' I went home, took to my bed, pulled a blanket over my head, and stayed there two weeks." At the end of the tunnel, however, was a light (a klieg light).
"My husband [actor Julius Tennon] and I went to the L.A. premiere, and the movie was fabulous! Julius, who loves me, and whose opinion counts, said, 'Vee, that was a great scene. You made me cry.' I love it when I move people."
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Amy Adams in "Doubt"
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| photo by Andrew Schwartz |
Feeling like a princess is probably second nature to Amy Adams, Shanley's "natural for Sister James." Adams played Giselle in "Enchanted," and has attracted numerous young ladies in waiting. "They're so cute. Their mothers recognize me. Sometimes, the girls are skeptical, because I'm not dressed like a princess. I can't ruin the fantasy. I tell them, in Giselle's voice: 'I'm in disguise.'"
During "an intense rehearsal period" for "Doubt," the "Junebug" Oscar nominee "wanted to be a good scene partner for Meryl. I wasn't scared of her, I was scared of myself. Meryl and Philip [with whom she worked in "Charlie Wilson's War"] are two people I greatly respect. Working with such talented and powerful actors was intimidating, but I let that help toward how I built Sister James."
Sister Peggy, who inspired her character, "has a spirit that made a lasting impression." Wearing a nun's habit was no problem. "You don't have much peripheral vision, so it keeps you focused. It was very comfortable, and I didn't have to worry about my weight," she says with a laugh. Somewhat naοve as "Doubt" begins, Adams' character changes by fade-out. "Sister James' faith and compassion are intact. God is the same to her, but she's a little smarter about people."
Immediately following "Doubt," Adams and Streep co-starred ("but we don't have any scenes together") in Nora Ephron's upcoming "Julie and Julia." Adams plays Julie Powell, a government employee who tries to prepare, within a year's time, every recipe in the Julia Child (Streep) book,
"Mastering the Art of French Cooking."
Adams (a Golden Globe nominee for "Doubt") had one scene that required 11 takes, and was very grateful that "Meryl was on the other side of that camera for me, every time. She so understands an actor's challenges."
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Philip Seymour Hoffman in "Doubt"
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| photo by Andrew Schwartz |
Mention of Shanley's comment that Philip Seymour Hoffman was cast "to make Meryl sweat" seems to confuse him. "I don't know about that. I love working with Meryl. We challenge each other," the actor says. He looks amazed when told that Adams felt intimidated by him and Streep. "Amy intimidated? Amy? No. She may say that, but it's baloney!"
Had Hoffman ever attended Catholic school? "No. Friends of mine did. They told me about it. A priest told me what was happening in the Catholic Church in the '60s. He was very helpful, but the story's not about the Catholic Church."
How does he deal with possible "Doubt" Oscar buzz? "You keep going on with your life. I just had a third kid [a girl, with partner Mimi O'Donnell; they have a son, Cooper (5), and daughter, Tallulah (2)]. I've got work coming up. That's what I think about."
Winner of an Academy Award (and 22 other Best Actor honors) as "Capote," Hoffman also received nominations for another Oscar ("Charlie Wilson's War"), an Emmy ("Empire Falls"), and two Tonys (True West, Long Day's Journey into Night).
Movie sets, he states, are "kind of boring 12 hours doing scenes several times. It's hard to keep concentrated." He also finds movie publicity "kind of boring."
(For some reason, the Golden Globes decided to nominate him in the Supporting category, for what is clearly a leading role.)
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Meryl Streep in "Doubt"
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| photo by Brigitte Lacombe |
Enter Meryl Streep, and all is right with the world. Filling the room is a streak of Shanley's "lightning in a bottle," bright'ning at full throttle. Considered by many critics "the greatest living film actress," I found her to be a classy, comical, down-to-earth delight.
Known for her accent on talent and talent with accents, there's buzz that her performance as Sister Aloysius may garner a record 15th Oscar nomination. Is that distracting? Should there be less talk? Affecting a grande-dame manner, Streep says, "No, I don't think it should be less. [Laughs]" She adds, "I wish all scripts were as good."
First seen at Sunday Mass, the nun scolds a slouched-over student. Explains Streep, "That was a very specific thing John wanted. He said, 'Bend down, look at him, turn your head [sideways], and say: Straighten up!' I chafe against such direction. 'Oh, I have to put my head down, and turn like this; do I?' That was his visual expectation, but it drove me nuts!"
In "Doubt," Streep and Hoffman play combatants. (Flynn: "I can fight you." Aloysius: "You will lose.") Their last time out, they were mother (Arkadina) and son (Konstantin) in a 2001 production of The Seagull, at the Delacorte in Central Park.
Did she enjoy the movie's three weeks' rehearsal? "Every director works differently. On 'Adaptation,' Spike Jonze said, 'Let's just do it.' I loved that. But 'Doubt' was fun, too. It was good to have an in-depth rehearsal."
New York Times critic Ben Brantley called Streep a "rare chameleon movie star who never just plays variations on her own personality." Audiences, he continued, don't confuse an onscreen "haunted concentration camp survivor" (her Oscar-winning "Sophie's Choice" role) or her "icy fashion editor" ("The Devil Wears Prada") with "the actress who portrays them." Sealing an imprimatur of that are her last three roles: a Dancing Queen ("Mamma Mia!"), a rigid nun ("Doubt"), and a seasoned chef ("Julie and Julia").
It was her singing (of "O Holy Night," in French) at a seventh-grade Christmas concert that changed her life. Actually, it was the standing ovation it received. "I quite liked it. Someone told my parents they should get me voice lessons." Every Saturday thereafter, the teen traveled from Bernardsville, NJ, to Manhattan, to study with Estelle Liebling (1880-1970). Streep remembers, "The student before me was Beverly Sills. I went to her debut at City Center, and decided that night I would not be an opera singer."
Following Vassar (B.A. in Drama) and Yale (M.F.A.), she answered an open audition call for the Public Theater that resulted in her Broadway debut, in Trelawney of the 'Wells'." Between 1975 and '77, Streep appeared in four other Broadway plays; she has also performed in seven Off-Broadway productions.
Chosen as Oscar's Best Supporting Actress of 1979, as Dustin Hoffman's estranged wife (for which Kate Jackson had been sought), in "Kramer vs. Kramer," Streep had auditioned for the role of his overnight "guest" (played by JoBeth Williams). "They asked, 'Would you read this other part, just in case?'"
Robert Benton, who wrote and directed the picture, was having a problem writing Mrs. Kramer's final courtroom scene, and asked Streep if she'd take a crack at it. "The scene was brilliant," he later said. "I cut only two lines of what Meryl wrote. What you see on the screen is hers." (Benton won Oscars for his screenplay and direction.)
For "Doubt," Streep earned a record 23rd Golden Globe nomination (with six wins, to date). She was also nominated this year for her work in "Mamma Mia!" She's won three New York Film Critics Awards (winning for each nomination), and is a three-time Emmy nominee, winning twice, 25 years apart: "Holocaust," 1978, and "Angels in America," 2003.
Accepting for the latter, in which her four roles included Ethel Rosenberg's ghost and a rabbi, Streep said (tongue-in-cheek), "There are days when I, myself, think I'm overrated. But not today!"
Thrilled with her 2004 AFI Lifetime Achievement Award, her acceptance acknowledged her iconic image: "I wish I were her; I really do!" She thanked her late parents for having "taught me everything I know about drama," and her husband (since 1978), sculptor Don Gummer, for "his gorgeous DNA," and for giving her "the four biggest prizes in my life." Their oldest three, Henry, Mamie, and Grace are actors. ("My kid [Louisa]," says Streep in the "Doubt" interview, "is applying to college this year.")
Three-year-old Mamie (born Mary Willa) played Streep's daughter in "Heartburn." (Joked mom, "She got a better review in the New York Times than I did.") Mamie later portrayed younger versions of her mother's characters in "The House of the Spirits" and "Evening." Streep says that she advised Mamie to find a profession with fewer disappointments, but (with maternal resignation) admits, "She doesn't listen to me."
Last month, "Mamma Mia!" became the U.K.'s biggest-grossing British film ever. Did Streep have any idea that the movie would do so well? "I wasn't surprised. They were over at Universal City. Why? Because they're [whispers] men. [Laughs] That musical's budget would have fit into the prop budget for 'Hellboy.'"
Come February, Streep starts "an untitled comedy, with Alec Baldwin and Steve Martin. It's about a divorced couple, whose youngest child is graduating college. I go to the graduation, and my ex [Baldwin] is there. But somebody interesting [Martin] has just come into my life. Is it possible to go back or has the ship sailed?"
Remarks Streep, "The more complex and contradictory movie characters are, the more interesting they are to play. It's very gratifying to see a film ["Doubt"] contend with that."
Concludes Streep about "Doubt": "I met a 96-year-old nun who, in 1963, ran the New York City school system, a gigantic responsibility. But she was still subservient to her parish priest. Things change, yet not at the top. You won't see a woman celebrate Mass or a woman Mullah or a woman Dalai Lama." Continued...
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