Interview: Philip Seymour Hoffman, John Ortiz Propel ‘Jack Goes Boating’

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CHICAGO – When Philip Seymour Hoffman and John Ortiz were working on Bob Glaudini’s dramatic play “Jack Goes Boating,” they mentioned the cinematic potential of the project to each other on multiple occasions. Through a series of events, “Boating” would become Hoffman’s directorial debut, opening in Chicago this Friday, September 24th, 2010. The Oscar-winning actor-and-now-director and his co-star sat down with us this month to discuss their craft, the importance of collaboration, their expectations for the film, and their love for Chicago theater.

“Jack Goes Boating” began life as a play and the importance of Hoffman and Ortiz’s stage background can not be overstated. It’s clearly a love for both of them with Ortiz going as far as to say “I definitely need to do it. I don’t want to be one of those actors who once did a play in college and are really successful and keep going “Yeah man, I wanna go back. I miss it, man.””

Jack Goes Boating
Jack Goes Boating
Photo credit: Overture Films

As for why theater in Chicago has a resonance to him, Hoffman says, “We were just talking about how to work again here. It differs in the fact that there’s not a lot of cities that are theater towns, so that’s great. But that’s a similarity to New York. But it does differ in that other cities you go to you’re not going to get that same vibe. What’s nice about Chicago is the companies that are here – the development of new work is a really big thing and that’s something that John and I both get turned on by. When you’re doing a play here, it matters. They’re really into it. And that’s also not something that’s the case in other cities. The excitement level for theater here is as great as any city in the world.”

Jack Goes Boating
Jack Goes Boating
Photo credit: Overture Films

Their love for the theater process has infected the way they approach film. At the Q&A for “Jack Goes Boating” the night before our interview, both Hoffman and Ortiz answered multiple questions by pointing at the contributions of others like Glaudini, Ryan, and the crew. The collaborative process is essential for both gentlemen.

Ortiz says, “It’s what takes it to another level; the next level or a deeper level is feeding off that energy and hoping you have a good script. But I’m all about that. Sometimes you have to make a decision and that may go out the window a bit but, for the most part, it’s about being around people that you like and have fun with and care about and that you respect. It can be a lonely world; a lonely job. It helps to be inspired with a moment, a bigger scene, or the overall thing. For me, going to school, for a big part of those years, was about waking up and seeing the girl that I had a crush on. That’s what got me to school. It wasn’t sports or classes. It was wanting to see her. It just adds that extra thing. For me, the collaboration with the work has a lot to do with that.”

Hoffman is quick to point that it’s not all about the team. “I do think though that if you’re not responding to the script that’s the be all and end all,” he says. “I don’t think you should collaborate with people you know really well if you’re not into it. I kind of think they’d want you to tell them… (Laughs.) But, yeah, I did this read-through of a screenplay the other day with a bunch of people I’ve known for awhile – read-throughs are always a little weird but I got there and I knew even the people watching and it really settles in. It’s like, “This is nice.” Once you’ve worked with somebody enough, they’ve seen it all—so I’m okay. I’m okay with being uncomfortable. Maybe I won’t do so well but it’s just “them,” so it’s okay.”

Turning a play into a film features some unique challenges, not the least being that the tension and continuity provided by building to a climax on a stage must be recreated through multiple takes and with a cast and crew standing there. But that uniquely different process has its benefits as well.

Jack Goes Boating
Jack Goes Boating
Photo credit: Overture Films

“In many ways, it’s harder,” says John Ortiz. “In other ways, it’s easier. It’s harder because you don’t have that continuity but it could be easier because this is isolated to this section and to this point and to this day and these hours. If you know it and you have help, then that’s the time to turn it on. It’s like “calling that play” on 4th down and one. You know the play. F**k, I got to get the ball across this yard line. There’s something about it that’s actually kind of freeing in a way because it’s so specific and isolated. It’s the time to do it. And you try not to let the other stuff get in the way like how many takes and it’s really three in the morning and I’m tired and I didn’t have what I needed – you try your best not to let that f**k you up. As long as you can do that and you have a director that respects that and knows what it is to produce in that environment, then hopefully you hit it.”

“It was a pretty intimate set to begin with,” Hoffman adds. “We’ve worked on the play together so we’ve been through a lot and I was very clear early on where I saw this scene heading. Sometimes it’s about not talking about…in this instance, because of the collaboration, sometimes it’s good to put pressure on them. I think that’s what I did. I talked to him beforehand and I was like, “This is where you’re going to want to go.” I’m not telling him how to act it as much as “These are the stakes.” And that can be hard as an actor to hear but I know it does jolt you and stops you from being delusional or fooling yourself. You realize “That’s what I have to do. That’s what’s ahead of me.” What was tough was that was the hardest scene to be in as an actor and be a director. In fact, I screwed up the first take, which was a nightmare because the first take of a scene like that sometimes is the richest stuff because it’s the most…I was off-camera and I had to feed in a line and that didn’t happen. And there was this pause and I was like “Somebody got a…” And John goes “It’s you!” I felt so awful. Then I had the script with me because I knew I couldn’t be in character at all. I had to watch.”

Creating a dramatic piece in which the characters feel well-rounded enough that one believes they existed before the start of the film and continue on afterwards is a difficult task but Hoffman’s response to creating backgrounds for his characters might not be what you’d expect. He says, “I think that back story is necessary if it’s necessary — meaning to the actor. Your back story is ultimately the life that you’ve led. The life you’ve led up to that point is going to inform the imaginary circumstances. As an actor, I fill in what I need pertaining to the story and the other actors but if there’s something…I’m not going to wonder where Jack gets his sodas. It’s not necessary. Jack gets his sodas where I get my sodas.”

Jack Goes Boating
Jack Goes Boating
Photo credit: Overture Films

Ortiz goes into depth about developing background on this project specifically — “We talked about some stuff around the table but it’s usually kind of shared stuff – setting circumstances that can even out the playing field. IN a story like this, so much of what one character says or does effects the other. It was important to lay out the common circumstances that might not be on the page. On the other hand, there’s some stuff that’s better to keep to yourself. I say that specifically for this story because there is so much that the characters keep to themselves. There’s so much mis-reading or miscommunication or not saying anything. With Lucy, there was some stuff where it could have come up and I kind of felt uncomfortable talking about stuff that wasn’t on the page in a weird way. And I think that was very informative of what Clyde was going through and the true nature of their relationship.”

A small film with a small cast can have a tough time finding an audience in this cutthroat movie world. Naturally, Hoffman wants people to see his work, but he recognizes that it can take time, as happened just last year with the actor’s remarkable “Mary & Max,” a film that was never even released in Chicago.

He says, “I think things that have merit eventually get their due along the way, down the line. I’ve done a few things that when they came out didn’t get as much recognition as they could have but over the years you start to get a lot of feedback and the life of it grows. I am interested to see how the reaction will be to this film coming out. I’m really excited to see how people respond because I think it’s something that’s not out there right now.”

As for “Mary & Max” specifically, “I get people almost every week who mention that movie. That’s a real…but you can understand. That’s a really unique film. It’s a hard film…People are like “You made an animated film.” And I go “No, my kids can’t see that movie.” (Laughs.) It’s a specific movie. But it’s a lovely film.”

See another lovely film when “Jack Goes Boating” opens on Friday, September 24th, 2010 in Chicago.

HollywoodChicago.com content director Brian Tallerico

By BRIAN TALLERICO
Content Director
HollywoodChicago.com
brian@hollywoodchicago.com

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