E-mail a friendDiane Lane
airdate September 20, 2006
Diane Lane was a stage vet before she made her first film as a teen. Having made her stage debut at age 6 and the cover of Time at age 14, she's one of few child performers to make a successful transition into adult roles. The New York City native has made increasingly challenging and diverse choices, with a body of work that includes the epic mini-series Lonesome Dove and the films The Perfect Storm, Unfaithful - for which she earned a Best Actress Academy Award nomination - and, her latest, Hollywoodland.
Diane Lane
Tavis: I'm pleased to welcome Diane Lane to this program. The Oscar-nominated actress has become one of Hollywood's most sought-after leading women. With films like 'Unfaithful,' 'The Perfect Storm,' and 'Under The Tuscan Sun,' her latest project is the film 'Hollywoodland,' which tackles the story of TV's original Superman, George Reeves. Here now, a scene from 'Hollywoodland.'
Tavis: Diane Lane, you look great, but you're playing older. So, (laugh) how'd that feel?
Diane Lane: Oh, it felt very liberating and fun, and a great relief to not be struggling against time, and just embrace it and fall backwards into it and say well, it's just a rehearsal for later, so. (Laugh)
Tavis: (Laugh) Well, you did very nicely in the rehearsal.
Lane: Thank you.
Tavis: I was just talking to one of my producers a moment ago. There is an ongoing, perhaps forever, fascination with, like, all things Superman. From the persons who played this character to the character itself. There is a forever fascination with Superman. Did you figure out what this was, doing this role?
Lane: I have my own theories.
Tavis: I'd like to hear them.
Lane: Well, first of all, I grew up watching George Reeves in the morning reruns in the seventies. I was late for school every morning, because that's what I wanted to be doing, was watching George. And it's like .007, you have your favorite. And George is the one for me, and I'm loyal to George. But I will also say, the original title of this film, which I don't know if anybody knows, was called 'Truth, Justice, and the American Way.'
Which is a very, almost oxymoronical concept these days, because of the world we live in, and all this cultural, I don't wanna say self-loathing. But what does Superman embody, and what does Superman have projected upon him? And this whole export of Superman as a concept from our country and imposing it on others. And he's standing there in front of the flag, and it's very old school.
And I like the fact that of that title originally, which of course somebody didn't get paid, so we couldn't use the title, we would up with an even better one, 'Hollywoodland.' But the fact that George Reeves had to shoulder that in that era of the fifties, when there was no separation between church and state, or actor and character, or persona and celebrity, and all of those things that today, they would wanna know more about you, not your job.
Tavis: I don't wanna get too philosophical...
Lane: Oh, sorry.
Tavis: ...but since you went there, I'm gonna - no, since you went...
Lane: Okay, let's go for it. (Laugh)
Tavis: Since you went there, can I follow you?
Lane: Please.
Tavis: All right. It seems to me, to your point, though, to your formulation, it seems to me that George Reeves would have had an easier time shouldering that then than now. I just came back from a month of traveling around the world. And you try to do that now?
Lane: Oh, yeah, you'll get henpecked for it.
Tavis: Absolutely.
Lane: At least, yeah.
Tavis: If not shot in the head.
Lane: (Laugh) Yeah.
Tavis: And I came back home hating even more this term anti-Americanism. Because it suggests that there aren't reasons why they feel this way. They're just anti-American. So I don't know if there would be any - I think it was probably easier for him to shoulder that than it would be for a modern day Superman.
Lane: Well, fear is the only thing to fear, right? That's what they say. And I think that George had such success with this character, that he wasn't allowed to do anything else. And that was almost a new thing. The diversity that an actor is supposed to attempt in their career, he wasn't allowed. And it's a funny thing, to be afraid of one's own success. He thought nobody would see it. He was hoping it would just go away, and be some afternoon kiddie show. And it turned out to be - I'm still, if it were on TV, I'd probably watch it today.
Tavis: Let me segue, then, from the philosophical to the practical.
Lane: Okay.
Tavis: That is to say, let's talk about the storyline and your character, and about 'Hollywoodland' itself, yeah.
Lane: Well, I portray a woman who really lived, Toni Mannix. And she was married to Eddie Mannix, one of the very important heads of MGM Studios. And she had about seven years' age over - seven years older than George was when they met, and she was married. That didn't get in her way. (Laugh) And (unintelligible)...
Tavis: That was very nicely put, yeah.
Lane: Well, yeah, a lot of things didn't get in her way. (Laugh) Get out of my way. And I think she figured what was good for the goose is good for the gander. Her husband had flings and paramours and things, and it was sort of the man's domain. And she said well, I'll tell you what, I'm gonna do the same thing. And she found George. And they just had this chemistry.
And they had a long term relationship, certainly by Hollywood standards. It was a good, long run. And I think her worst fear did come true. What is that awful phrase about being a 40, and traded in for two twenties, or something?
Tavis: Yeah. (Laugh)
Lane: But yeah, (laugh) it's challenging.
Tavis: I have a friend who just told me the other day - you're cracking me up. A friend of mine, we were walking, in my travels, walking on the sidewalk with one of my boys. And he looks over and we have this conversation. There's a gorgeous woman, and she's a 10. He says, ah, forget a 10, I'd rather have five twos. So anyway... (Laugh)
Lane: I think that was too fast for me.
Tavis: Yeah, it was (unintelligible).
Lane: Tavis, I'm gonna see the show, and I'll figure it out by then. (Laugh)
Tavis: Yeah, that's okay. (Laugh) Anyway, you made a point a moment ago about George Reeves not being able to experience the diversity in his acting career that you're supposed to or ostensibly want to, if you get in this business. You don't wanna be typecast. You have been able, it seems to me, to get not just beyond that, but far beyond that, because you, to my mind, have had the freedom, and I don't know, maybe freedom's the wrong word. But you've certainly made choices where you've played a variety of characters. I assume, then, that's by choice.
Lane: Well, I have attempted to - everybody's got some thing that they would rather not be in their way. And for me, I always kept coming up against this apple pie, American, just all-American type of thing.
Tavis: I'm glad you're on camera. Stay there, 'cause I'm about - no; get off of me, back on her. All-American, apple pie. I wonder why?
Lane: Well, I don't know (unintelligible). (Laugh)
Tavis: I wonder why that is, yeah. (Laugh)
Lane: But you know what I mean? So, within those confines, I have been afforded a lot more opportunity than you would imagine. And I have a lot to say. If they knew how to make hits, they'd make more of them. So, I've been very lucky to be in movies people see. 'Cause I've certainly made plenty that they didn't; and I learned on the job. And it's great that I have had the success that I've had later in my career rather than at the beginning.
Because in the beginning, I think I would have panicked and not known what to do, or felt like I should have done something. And now I can just sort of realize that at this moment, I'm a happy statistic (laugh) instead of an unhappy statistic, because there is no control. You just follow you heart the best you can.
Tavis: I guess the question is, respectfully, whether or not you think it stays that way. That is to say, even with all your immense talent, whether or not it stays a happy statistic, and I ask that, back to your earlier point, about Toni and her being older than Mr. Reeves. And your age...
Lane: Where do they send them all at a certain moment in time, yes.
Tavis: It's a tough business.
Lane: Well, it is a tough business. And I'm curious. I make lots of jokes about saying well, 'I'm tired of being photographed for a living.' And that's convenient, because they're gonna be tired of photographing me (laugh) at the same time. But no, I could get on the other side of the camera. I think one of the most noble professions, if it's done properly, is writing.
Because that's the one element that is not replaceable. You can fire the director; you can even reshoot with another actor. But you cannot change, if it's not on the page, it's not gonna get to the stage. Very little magic that isn't part of the screenplay. So to find good material is, I think, the great quest. And everybody's got a screenplay in this town. I lived in Santa Fe, and everybody was an artist there. But here, everybody's got a screenplay.
Tavis: I don't have one, so.
Lane: You don't? Oh, I'm disappointed.
Tavis: Not yet. (Laugh)
Lane: (Laugh) Well, you will.
Tavis: To your point, I think I agree with you, and I wanna probe this a little further, though. When you say that there is a certain nobility in writing, what do you mean by that? I think I agree. I wanna agree, but I wanna hear what your take on it is.
Lane: Well, I think it's a timeless craft. I think a good story doesn't have, how can I say it? It steps out of the reference of the time frame that it's within. And it has an arc, beginning, middle, end. A moral. I miss stories that have a moral to the tale. Even if it's a cautionary tale. That's worth seeing. You can sit in the dark and go ooh, I'm glad I learned from his mistake.
Now I don't have to make that, hopefully. Etcetera, etcetera. So, I think that's what unites people, and I think that's what's gonna keep actors working, (laugh) instead of being computer generated and improved upon, for better or for worse. And that is that people relate to the vulnerabilities and the mistakes and the frailties and the foibles of each other. And we take comfort in that.
Tavis: Well, I am glad that you were in 'Hollywoodland' and all the other stuff that you have done. I'm glad you came to talk to us about it.
Lane: Thank you for having me.
Tavis: The new film starring Diane Lane and others like Ben Affleck. (Laugh)
Lane: Adrian Brody.
Tavis: Adrian Brody.
Lane: Bob Hoskins.
Tavis: Bob Hoskins. (Laugh) Thank you very much. 'Hollywoodland.' I don't need to tell you to check it out. I am sure you will. That's our show for tonight. Catch me on the weekends on PRI, Public Radio International. Check your local listings. See you back here next time on PBS. Until then, good night from L.A. Thanks for watching, and as always, keep the faith.
Back to September 20, 2006