SOMETHING HE TOOK AWAY FROM MAKING 'BLOW OUT'
Kevin McCarthy, an entertainment reporter for FOX 5 Morning News in Washington, D.C., interviewed John Travolta last week while the actor was promoting his lead role in Fred Durst's The Fanatic. "Brian De Palma’s Blow Out is such an incredible piece of cinema," McCarthy stated in a post on Twitter. "John Travolta tells me the one key thing De Palma taught him on that set in the 80’s that has shaped him as the actor he is today. A fascinating answer that truly shows the depth & care Travolta has for acting. ❤️"
In that Twitter post, McCarthy shared a 2-minute video with audio of Travolta answering his question:
McCarthy: Fanatic: you're on the set, making a film, playing Moose. What do you take from De Palma? Specifically, from Blow Out, that you still use now? I know it's probably a loaded question, because there's a lot of things...Travolta: No, I'll tell you, there's one thing. Brian De Palma said this to me, one time I gave him three choices of this, circa 1980, and I'm an actor who wants to allow the director to have input with my performance. And he said, "No, no, no. When I hired you, I hired you because I trust your choices. You tell me what the best choice is for this scene."
McCarthy: Do you have an example?
Travolta: I forgot what the scene was, but, it was something that was very weighty, and it was Nancy and I, and I just showed him three different ways I could do that.
McCarthy: Interesting...
Travolta: And he said, "You tell me what it should be." And it gave me the power to do what I'm paid to do, which is, design the character, make the choices. And it took that old adage of, "Oh, the director will mold your performance." No. He hired you, because ninety percent of his job is done by getting you correctly cast. That's his theory on it. So, when I take on a role, I take on a responsibility, and then I look for input, but only on a ten percent level. Like, you know, maybe like what Fred and I did together, where he was improvising with me. He helped me get into the zone.
Updated: Thursday, August 22, 2019 12:13 AM CDT
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