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• Q & A with Mr. Schell
• Article on Mr. Schell
• Der Rosenkavalier
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Tavis: It is a distinct pleasure and honor to welcome famed actor and director Maximilian Schell to this program. The Austrian-born actor has enjoyed a terrific career in film, including an Academy Award for his role in 'Judgment at Nuremberg.' He also received an Oscar nomination for his role in 'Julia.' His latest project, though, is a production here in L.A. for the Los Angeles Opera. 'Der Rosenkavalier' is receiving rave reviews, and runs through much of June at the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion in case you get to L.A. Here a scene, now, from the play.

Tavis: I said play. Of course I meant opera. Mr. Schell, nice to meet you.

Maximilian Schell: Very nice to meet you.

Tavis: Glad to have you here.

Schell: Thank you. And I heard you are going to Paris tomorrow.

Tavis: I am going to Paris tomorrow. Any advice for me? Anything that you want me to do--I've been there before, but anything I should do?

Schell: Be careful.

Tavis: OK.

Schell: That's all I can say. No, Paris is a wonderful city, but the Parisians are not so easy. But I heard you are going to the university.

Tavis: I am.

Schell: Oh, that's wonderful.

Tavis: The University of Paris. Yeah.

Schell: Are you teaching there?

Tavis: Not teaching, just doing a little lecturing.

Schell: About what?

Tavis: I don't know. I'll figure something out on the plane.

Schell: I never know what I'm teaching about. I was teaching here at USC for one semester, and it was a so-called master class, and I said, "I don't know why it's a master class, 'cause I'm not a master, and you are obviously not masters yet." So--but when they are talented, then it's easy to teach. When they're not talented, it's difficult.

Tavis: Did you enjoy teaching? Do you enjoy being a teacher?

Schell: I do enjoy teaching. I love people, and I love, also, young actors who come to me and say, "What can I do? What would you advise?" so I say, "Read a lot, try it out, then learn it, then come to me and show me what you're doing," because usually they just come and want to become famous. That's not enough.

Tavis: That's not enough.

Schell: No. What did you study originally?

Tavis: Politics, actually.

Schell: Politics?

Tavis: Yeah. Public policy.

Schell: Here in Los Angeles?

Tavis: No, actually, in Indiana. Indiana University.

Schell: Indiana.

Tavis: Absolutely.

Schell: I would love to go to Indiana one day. Are you born there?

Tavis: They'd love to have you in Indiana someday.

Schell: You think so?

Tavis: Maximilian--you know, how would you like that? I'll roll back to Indiana with my new friend Maximilian Schell. I'd be the rage in Indiana if I went back and took you to my mama's house with me. I'd be the hero in Indiana if I brought you home.

Schell: Does she cook well?

Tavis: She cooks extremely well.

Schell: I thought so.

Tavis: She cooks extremely well.

Schell: and in Indiana--what's going on in Indiana?

Tavis: Nothing. There's nothing going on in Indiana. That's why David Letterman left. That's why I left.

Schell: But you grew up--you grew up there.

Tavis: I grew up in Indiana.

Schell: And you liked the school?

Tavis: I had a great time at Indiana University.

Schell: Was it mixed?

Tavis: It was mixed. More white than black. Much more white than black, but I enjoyed it.

Schell: I thought, actually, mixed--women and men.

Tavis: Oh, women and men. Oh, yeah. A lot of those! A lot of those.

Schell: Yes. Because I don't see any mixture between you and me.

Tavis: No, not at all. No. No mixture between you and me.

Schell: I just think we are friends.

Tavis: Yes, we are very dear friends. I'm getting grilled by Maximilian Schell. I gotta get a copy of this show on tape somewhere.

Schell: Well, give my regards to your mother. Or is she watching?

Tavis: She's watching right now.

Schell: Oh, good.

Tavis: You can say hi to her right now. Her name is Joyce.

Schell: I hope you will cook one day for me.

Tavis: There you go. Now, she'll hold you to that now. She'll invite you to the house one day. Tell me about the opera that you're directing right now here in L.A.

Schell: Well, it's called 'Der Rosenkavalier,' which means in English 'The Cavalier of Roses.' And it's actually an invented story by a German poet called Hugo von Hofmannsthal, and Richard Strauss wrote the music. The premiere was in 1911, and it was immediately a huge success. And it's really, in 2 words, the story of a rich man who wants to marry his daughter to a nobleman. So he gets nobled, and he gets rich. And at that time it was custom, but it was not custom, actually--it was not a tradition--that a young man comes and brings a silver rose to the girl announcing who is now the man who wants to marry her. And the young man comes, gives that rose, and he looks in her eyes and falls in love. And she falls in love with him. And the rich man, who is a little bit, you know--he is called , which means ox in the double meaning.

Tavis: Right.

Schell: She hates him, certainly, because he behaves so badly. He takes her and puts her on his leg, and so it's very funny and very sad at the same time. That's basically the story. It's a love story.

Tavis: I read somewhere where you were quoted as saying that directing an opera is like meeting a woman. Do you recall saying that?

Schell: I recall saying it.

Tavis: What did you mean by that?

Schell: well, I just mean it's something unknown. You know what it means to meet somebody unknown. You come into a room, and then you see people, and for some reason--it's like when I came in and saw you. Forgive me for saying this, but I liked you immediately. There's something--there's an aura about you. Maybe from Indiana; maybe from your mother. And immediately you would say, "Yes, I like this man." and so it's the same thing with an opera. You go--you see an opera--I did 'Lohengrin' 3 years ago. That was actually quite successful. It's Wagner. Strauss is much funnier and much more interwoven with love and humor. And I thought it was an easy thing to do. And suddenly I found out there were about 100 people involved and an orchestra of 120. And it suddenly became a huge task, and thank God we got through.

Tavis: Tell me why take on a project like this? I mean, I suspect that directing an opera is a wonderful and fun thing to do, but I don't see folk lining up to do it, either. So why, at this point in your career, direct--

Schell: Are you talking about money?

Tavis: No, not even money. Just why creatively? Yeah. Artistically, why?

Schell: Well, Wagner, who did 'Lohengrin,' he wanted to do--it's called in German the . It means "Everything is art. To do in one piece." So acting, writing, the text, the music, the movement, the scenery. And everything becomes actually the same in a way. You know, it's like reaching out to make the impossible possible. And on the stage you can do that. Even more than on film. Although I did 6 films, and 3 got nominated for an Academy Award of my films, but it's the same thing there. You write the script, you choose the actors, you choose the colors, you choose the cameraman, and then suddenly it becomes your own style. And often, the opera, for example, takes on its own life. After you have the cast, the costumes, the set, the conductor--Kent Nagano, who's a wonderful conductor. He's the musical director of the Los Angeles Opera. Then, suddenly, something starts happening, and I can only sort of watch it grow. It's like a tree.

Tavis: What's the best thing you can do, then, since it takes on a life of its own, to your point--as a director, what do you think you are most responsible for in fusing into that production, then?

Schell: Patience.

Tavis: Patience. Wow.

Schell: Yeah, because there are so many individuals. One girl is afraid of the part, the other girl is already advanced. The comic figure played it already more than 100 times and was very successful in the world all over, from Hong Kong to Munich. Now I have to tame him because he's a friend of mine, and he sang in 'Lohengrin'--and he intended to, you know, do all sort of funny things. And I thought, "Try to be a nobleman from the country, who really doesn't know totally how to behave. And that is more funny than when you're trying to be funny." And he was so cooperative, and now he has a huge success. And I'm very happy for him, too.

Tavis: You mentioned earlier you did 6 films, 3 nominated for Academy Awards. That's a pretty good batting average I might add, by the way.

Schell: Not bad. Yeah.

Tavis: That said, though, I was going back and--I went back to read about your Academy Award...'Judgment at Nuremberg'--'61--and I found a funny story about the fact that you barely made it to the ceremony--within minutes--to receive your award. Do you recall that?

Schell: Yes.

Tavis: Why were you so late?

Schell: Because my agent--really she is until now my agent. That's 50 years ago. Like a golden anniversary. Like a marriage, huh? She's now 86, and she is a wonderful lady. And I want to take her with me. I came down from the mountains. We have a farm in Austria. And suddenly I knocked at the door, but don't you know she's in the hospital. I said, "Oh, well, what if she gets an operation?" so I run to the hospital. They said, "Well, she hasn't woken up yet." so I canceled the flight. And then she woke up, slowly, slowly, and she said, "You must go. You must go." and then I said, "But I can't." "Yes. I found out there's another flight via Toronto. If you get that, you can arrive one hour before." Of course, the flight was late in Toronto, but I flew, and then I arrived one hour late in Los Angeles. And then I remember I just raced down. Bob Hope came to me and said, "I'll keep my fingers crossed for you." And about 20 minutes before they called my name, I walked into the audience.

Tavis: 20 minutes. You barely made it.

Schell: Yeah. Barely made it. But enough to hear my name.

Tavis: That's long enough. You got there just in time. Tell me right quick what you think--I suspect on some level this is for others to judge, but what do you think your legacy is? In all that you've done, all you've accomplished, what's your legacy?

Schell: What do you mean by legacy?

Tavis: What do you want to be most remembered for? What contribution do you want to be most remembered for?

Schell: I'll tell you something. I would like to have another life after this one.

Tavis: You want to come back again.

Schell: Yes.

Tavis: OK. As Maximilian Schell?

Schell: Just to know that I was, because all of these people, these deja vu moments, they are very strange. I think you want only to have a different world, where you remember this world. So I remember, yes, Tavis, we talked together.

Tavis: Hmm. That's deep. Give me the name of the play again. You say it so much better than I do. The opera. I'm sorry.

Schell: 'Der Rosenkavalier.'

Tavis: See, I can't say it as nice as you can.

Schell: 'Der Rosen...kavalier.' So it's the cavalier--same word in

English. 'Cavalier of the Rose.'

Tavis: I got it.

Schell: And he gives a silver rose to you. Are you married?

Tavis: Not yet.

Schell: Well, maybe one day comes somebody with a silver rose.

Tavis: This I can say. The Dorothy Chandler Pavilion. That I can say. Go check it out. It was an honor to have you here.

Schell: Honored to be here.

Tavis: Nice to meet you.

Schell: Nice to meet you.

Tavis: Thank you, sir. Up next, a look back at the life and legacy of the late great Oscar Brown Jr. Stay with us.

Hans Rolfe: Germany alone is not guilty. The whole world is as responsible for Hitler as Germany. It is an easy thing to condemn one man in the dark. It is easy to condemn the German people, to speak of the basic flaw in the German character that allowed Hitler to rise to power, but at the same time positively ignore the basic flaw of character that made the Russians sign pacts with him, Winston Churchill praise him, American industrialists profit by him! Ernst Janning said he is guilty. If he is, Ernst Janning's guilt...is the world's guilt...no more...and no less.