The casting of the film presented several challenges: a number of the characters, for example, are still familiar faces to movie fans. Moreover, as Bogdanovich notes, "When you're doing a period picture, you look for a period face. Faces look different in different periods, though often it's a subtle difference. One's look can be too modern. "
Lewis' background as a casting director helped the process along. "It was great working with Peter because there was never any question that we would go for the best actor for each role," she recalls. "We got many calls from agents pitching clients who really weren't right, for a number of reasons, but we held out for the best. "
In the end, Bogdanovich, who has often been acclaimed for his casting choices, distills his technique down to a deceptively simple formula: "Basically," he says, "You try to find the person who most easily eliminates the thin line between the actor's persona and the character's persona. "
He notes that this technique has not always been understood in Hollywood.
"When I was preparing to do MASK, the studio brought me a list of 35 or so women who they felt were right for the part. Almost everyone within a certain age range was on that list, from Meryl Streep to Jane Fonda," he recalls. "After reading me the list, they asked me what I thought. I told them the best one for the part would be Cher, who had only done one supporting role in Silkwood at the time. When they asked me why I wanted her, I said it was because I could believe her as a drug addict - though she's not one - and I could believe her as a person who hangs out with bikers. "
To recreate the celebrated personages that acted out this extraordinary drama, Bogdanovich went about assembling an international cast of exceptional range and ability.
"Edward Hermann, who plays Hearst, is a superb actor who I've seen both on the stage and in movies," notes the director. "He just does a great dramatic performance…complicated, full of color, as full of complication as Hearst. He also looks a lot like Hearst. It was quite amazing. "
To Herrmann, an acclaimed actor equally at home on stage, on television or in feature films, the opportunity to portray one of the most powerful men in the world of his time was irresistible.
"Hearst was an archetypal power broker, a media mogul before such things existed," says Herrmann. "He could make or break anything or anyone; he could start wars or break a president - he was absolutely extraordinary. As a person, he was far more enigmatic and difficult to pigeonhole. He had enormous appetites like J. P. Morgan, but was also adolescent and even childish in many ways. He loved to create the world he wanted to see and had the power to do it. "
To portray Marion Davies, the successful actress and the one true love of Hearst's life, Bogdanovich turned to Kirsten Dunst, who most recently received critical acclaim for her performance as a wealthy but bored-with-it-all high school student in Disney's CRAZY/BEAUTIFUL. Previously, she was seen in Universal's BRING IT ON and THE VIRGIN SUICIDES with Kathleen Turner and Josh Hartnett. She was also nominated for a Golden Globe for her performance in INTERVIEW WITH THE VAMPIRE.
"I think Kirsten Dunst is a remarkable actress," says Bogdanovich. "It's quite staggering how much she understood a character who was quite a bit older than herself. "
"In preparing for the role, she also watched several of Marion's movies and it was apparent that it enriched her performance. She did a brilliant job. "
For Dunst the allure of a period piece initially captured her interest, but as she delved into the life of Davies, an intelligent, sympathetic portrayal of the actress became her central focus.
"I've always wanted to do a movie that took place during the 1920s and I loved the idea of playing a silent film star," she recalls. "Then, when I learned a little about her, I saw that no one portrayed her like the really great comedian and intelligent businesswoman she was, so I wanted to do her justice. They made a documentary about her that I watched a lot. The first time I saw it, it made me cry. "
Jennifer Tilly, nominated for an Academy Award for her performance in Woody Allen's BULLETS OVER BROADWAY, was tapped to play legendary Hollywood gossip columnist Louella Parsons in spite of the fact that she bears no physical resemblance to her at all.
"When they called and asked if I wanted to play Louella Parsons, at first I was horrified! I said, 'Louella Parsons, that fat, pudgy gossip columnist?'" she recalls with a laugh. "But then I got the script and I really loved it. I think it was very insightful for Peter to cast me because it's so comedic and she's so much fun and she's really goofy, but she's also very smart. "
"Jennifer Tilly is just a brilliant comedian and a very fine actress," notes Bogdanovich. "She handles the comedy sections brilliantly, of course, but she has dramatic sections that she also handles brilliantly as well. "
Multiple Emmy Award winning (for his stand up routine "Eddie Izzard: Dress To Kill") British actor and comedian Eddie Izzard plays comic film genius Charlie Chaplin and Cary Elwes portrays Thomas Ince, a contemporary of D. W. Griffith who is thought of as one of the earliest visionaries of the film industry. It is often said that Ince contributed as much to the art and craft of the film producer as Griffith did to the art of the director.
"Eddie, who plays Chaplin, is an inordinately gifted comic mind who is also a superb actor," notes Bogdanovich. "Comedy is the hardest of the arts to pull off because it's so brutal - if they don't laugh, it's not funny, so comedy can be instant death. But Eddie is superb at comedy and really got into where Charlie was at that moment, and captured that very well. Bogdanovich concluded that Izzard gave the "subtle and nuanced performance" that he was looking for.
On Eddie Izzard's recommendation, Bogdanovich turned to British actress Joanna Lumley to play the theatrical Victorian romance writer Elinor Glyn.
"Joanna is well known to American fans of the British television series "Absolutely Fabulous" and Eddie thought she'd be good for this part," he recalls. "When she read for me, I thought she was good, very, very good, and she is one of the finest people I've ever worked with - a brilliant sense of comedy and a brilliant sense of drama. "
For Joanna, working with a director she'd admired for years was a prime consideration.
"Elinor Glyn was quite a remarkable woman," she says. "She was very daring and very sort of avant garde for her time, but another lure of doing this picture was Peter, who's been a huge hero of mine ever since I saw THE LAST PICTURE SHOW and PAPER MOON and WHAT'S UP DOC? What I love about him is his complete skill, and I love him also because he loves our business and he loves the greats in our business. "
"Cary Elwes gives a very fine performance as Thomas Ince, which is one of the most complex parts in the picture, because the character is deeply ambiguous and troubled and in a very dangerous place in his life," Bogdanovich continues. "Cary pulled off the various different elements that were necessary to be revealed. "
Production of the film took place in Berlin, Germany, as well as on locations in Greece.
In addition to reconstructing the period, the design team had to recreate the luxurious world of William Randolph Hearst and his life aboard the Oneida, the multi-millionaire's two-hundred-and-twenty-foot steamer, all polished teakwood and gleaming brass beneath towering smokestacks.
"The sets were very lush to reflect the opulence of the period and of Hearst himself," says Bogdanovich. "It also helped that our Production Designer, Jean-Vincent Puzos, and our Director of Photography, Bruno Delbonnel, were brilliant and worked quite well together. "
The collaboration of Puzos and Delbonnel is particularly evident (and effective) during the film's nighttime climax, as light and shadow play on the opulent setting to create a mood thick with anticipation and suspense.
Kirsten Dunst- Marion Davies
Kirsten Dunst stars as film actress Marion Davies, who adores her long-time lover, multimillionaire media mogul William Randolph Hearst, but is torn by the desire stirred within her by the romantic advances of an old flame, the very persistent Charlie Chaplin.
Since her feature film debut in 1989 at the age of seven in Woody Allen's NEW YORK STORIES, Kirsten Dunst has amassed an impressive roster of credits. Her recent critically acclaimed performances in the box-office smash hit comedy BRING IT ON, and Sofia Coppola's THE VIRGIN SUICIDES with Kathleen Turner and Josh Hartnett, signaled a transition from Hollywood darling to leading lady. Dunst recently received additional critical acclaim for her lead role in Disney's CRAZY/BEAUTIFUL and also starred in Miramax's GET OVER IT. This spring, Dunst will be seen as Mary Jane Watson in Sam Raimi's highly-anticipated film adaptation of SPIDERMAN.
Nominated for a Golden Globe Award for the feature film INTERVIEW WITH THE VAMPIRE, Dunst's other motion picture credits include starring roles in DROP DEAD GORGEOUS with Ellen Barkin and Kirstie Alley; DICK with Michelle Williams; LITTLE WOMEN with Susan Sarandon and Winona Ryder; JUMANJI with Robin Williams; MOTHER NIGHT with Nick Nolte; the Golden Globe-nominated Barry Levinson film WAG THE DOG starring Dustin Hoffman and Robert DeNiro; and SMALL SOLDIERS with the late Phil Hartman.
Dunst's performance in VAMPIRE earned her the Blockbuster Video Award for Best Supporting Newcomer, an MTV Award for Best Breakthrough Artist and the Saturn Award for Best Young Actress. The Hollywood Reporter also named the actress Best Young Star for her portrayal of a teenage prostitute in NBC's hit series "ER".
In addition to her critically acclaimed recurring role on the hit television series "ER", she starred in Showtime's "The Outer Limits" and "Devil's Arithmetic", produced by Dustin Hoffman and Mimi Rogers; the telefilm RUBY RIDGE: AN AMERICAN TRAGEDY; the Wonderful World of Disney's TOWER OF TERROR, and Lifetime Television's 15 AND PREGNANT.
Edward Herrmann- William Randolph Hearst
Edward Herrmann portrays William Randolph Hearst, America's first media mogul, both ruthless and cunning, and willing to do anything to protect his relationship with the love of his life, film actress Marion Davies.
Edward Herrmann studied at London's prestigious Academy of Music and Dramatic Art before returning to the United States and spending several years with the Dallas Theater Center. Equally at home on stage or in front of the camera, the actor has an impressive list of credits both on and off Broadway, including a Tony Award for his performance in Shaw's Mrs. Warren's Profession, as well as on the London stage.
Herrmann's numerous television roles include his acclaimed portrayal of President Franklin Delano Roosevelt in both the television movie ELEANOR AND FRANKLIN and its sequel. He also gave a memorable performance as Lou Gehrig in the television movie A LOVE AFFAIR: THE ELEANOR AND LOU GEHRIG STORY.
Herrmann made his motion picture debut in 1971's LADY LIBERTY starring Sophia Loren and William Devane. His subsequent early film credits include James Bridges' THE PAPER CHASE; Mike Nichols' THE DAY OF THE DOLPHINS; THE GREAT GATSBY starring Robert Redford and Mia Farrow; THE GREAT WALDO PEPPER, also starring Redford; THE BETSY starring Laurence Olivier and Robert Duvall; and Warren Beatty's REDS.
Herrmann has also been seen in the Woody Allen films A LITTLE SEX and THE PURPLE ROSE OF CAIRO, as well as in MRS' SOFFEL starring Diane Keaton, THE MAN WITH ONE BLACK SHOE and BIG BUSINESS. Along with an appearance in the recent television biopic "James Dean, " Herrmann can be seen weekly on television's critically acclaimed "Gilmore Girls. "
Eddie Izzard- Charlie Chaplin
Eddie Izzard plays Charlie Chaplin, America's foremost comic genius and a self-absorbed man who will stop at nothing to get what he wants - even if it's the love and affection of another man's wife.
Eddie Izzard is an award-winning performer whose many diverse stage and film roles complement his already formidable reputation as an exceptionally talented stand-up comedian. This versatile actor and comic has been awarded the Time Out Award (1991) and the British Comedy Award for Top Stand-Up Comedian (1993, 1996), as well as the Jury Award for Best One-Man Show in the Aspen Comedy Festival (1998). Most recently, for his show "Eddie Izzard: Dressed to Kill", he received an Emmy Award for Best Writing in a Music, Variety or Comedy Program and a second Emmy Award for Best Individual Performance in a Music, Variety of Comedy Program (2000). Among his other television comedy appearances are "Eddie Izzard: Unrepeatable," "Eddie Izzard: Definite Article," The Unseen "Frank Skinner" TV Show and "30 Years of Monty Python: A Revelation. "
On the big screen Izzard's credits include the Academy Award nominated SHADOW OF THE VAMPIRE; THE CRIMINAL; CIRCUS; MYSTERY MEN; THE AVENGERS; VELVET GOLDMINE and THE SECRET AGENT. His London stage credits include Lenny, Edward II, Cryptogram and Oneonta.
Cary Elwes- Thomas Ince
Cary Elwes portrays Thomas Ince, a pioneering filmmaker in the early days of Hollywood who has fallen on hard times and sees William Randolph Hearst as the key to his economic salvation.
Born in London into a family of painters, Cary Elwes attended Harrow. Following his graduation he moved to the United States and studied acting at Sarah Lawrence College in New York. After gaining some experience acting in several Off-Broadway productions, he returned to England to make his film debut in ANOTHER COUNTRY.
Elwes first gained prominence in the film world with his acclaimed comical performance as the farm boy Westley in THE PRINCESS BRIDE. He has since been seen as Tom Cruise's racing competitor in DAYS OF THUNDER, Matthew Broderick's gallant second-in-command in GLORY, the driven fighter pilot in HOT SHOTS! and the forlorn fiancé of the beautiful but doomed Lucy Westenra in BRAM STOKER'S DRACULA. Especially fond of playing period pieces, Elwes played the title role in Mel Brooks' ROBIN HOOD: MEN IN TIGHTS to good effect.
Additional film credits of note include TWISTER, LIAR, LIAR, THE CRADLE WILL ROCK and SHADOW OF THE VAMPIRE. He has been seen on American television in THE PENTAGON WARS, the miniseries FROM THE EARTH TO THE MOON and in RACE AGAINST TIME.
In the fall of 2001, Elwes joined the cast of the highly acclaimed "The X-Files," and starred opposite Jon Voight in the NBC mini-series "Uprising. "
Joanna Lumley- Elinor Glyn
Joanna Lumley plays the renowned English Victorian novelist Elinor Glyn, a remarkable woman who viewed Hollywood as a voracious beast who trapped people with dreams of wealth, then sucked the morality out of them. Nevertheless, she took on a very theatrical look and manner herself, and reveled in her own experiences in Tinseltown.
Born in Kashmir the daughter of a British major in the Ghurka Rifles, Joanna Lumley came to England as a young girl to complete her schooling at St. Mary's School in Sussex. She spent three years as a model before becoming a house model for the late Jean Muir. Her early films include SOME GIRLS DO; ON HER MAJESTY'S SECRET SERVICE; two PINK PANTHER films - TRAIL OF THE PINK PANTHER and CURSE OF THE PINK PANTHER; THE SATANIC RIGHTS OF DRACULA and SHIRLEY VALENTINE. Her most recent films include JAMES AND THE GIANT PEACH, INNOCENT LIES, FUNNY BONES, PRINCE VALIENT, SWEENEY TODD and a television film version of COLD COMFORT FARM.
Her television credits include the role of Purdey in 24 episodes of "The New Avengers" as well as appearing in 34 episodes of "Sapphire and Steel". Her experiences of living alone on a desert island were filmed for a BBC Special entitled "Girl Friday. " She also traveled to Bhutan in 1996 to film a journey made by her grandparents.
American television audiences know Lumley best for her co-starring role as Patsy Stone (the character's full name is Eurydice Clytemnestra Dido Bathsheba Rabelais Patricia 'Patsy' Cocteau Stone), a middle-aged and totally debauched former model who hasn't had a non-alcoholic drop to drink since her stomach bypass in 1969, in the hilarious British comedy series "Absolutely Fabulous", also known as "AbFab. " The satirical look at two unsympathetic social misfits who thrive on bad behavior - Patsy's partner in debauchery is PR executive Edwina Monsoon, played by series co-creator Jennifer Saunders - is classic British humor at its driest and best, and spawned a generation of viewers who greet each other as Patsy and Eddie always did, with air kisses and "Sweety, dahling. " Several retrospective specials have aired since, leading up to a revival season of the series that began airing in late 2001.
Lumley has written three books: Stare Back and Smile, Forces Sweethearts and Girl Friday, from the BBC Special. She has also been awarded an OBE.
Jennifer Tilly- Louella Parsons
Jennifer Tilly portrays neophyte New York-based gossip columnist Louella Parsons, who is determined to use whatever means is at her disposal in order to pressure William Randolph Hearst into transferring her to Hollywood with a long-term contract to cover the city at the epicenter of the film industry.
Award-winning actress Jennifer Tilly has received critical acclaim for her performances in a wide range of roles. She received both an Academy Award nomination and an American Comedy Award nomination for Best Supporting Actress for her portrayal of Olive in Woody Allen's BULLETS OVER BROADWAY. Her performance as Samantha Cole in Universal's LIAR LIAR starring Jim Carrey earned the actress another American Comedy Award nomination for Best Supporting Actress, as well as a Blockbuster Entertainment Award for Favorite Supporting Actress in a Comedy. Her range has further been demonstrated in roles as different as Tiffany, a "bad" girl whose spirit possesses the doll-form companion of Chucky in THE BRIDE OF CHUCKY, the fourth installment of the CHILD'S PLAY series, and Stuart Little's mother in STUART LITTLE, a family comedy based on the E. B. White classic. Additional film credits include THE MUSE, THE GETAWAY, THE DOORS, and THE FABULOUS BAKER BOYS.
Among Tilly's television credits are "Sister Mary Explains It All", "Bella Mafia and Heads. " She has also made notable guest starring appearances on such popular hit series as "Dream On," "Moonlighting," "Garry Shandling's Show" and "Cheers. " Recently, Tilly lent her vocal talents to the box-office animated smash MONSTERS INC. , along with upcoming voiceover work in LIL' PIMP and CHILD'S PLAY 5.
Ronan Vibert- Joseph Willocombe
Ronan Vibert plays clipboard-carrying Joseph Willicombe, the efficient and always self-effacing chief secretary to William Randolph Hearst, one of the richest and most powerful men in America, as well as the world's first media mogul.
British actor Ronan Vibert is equally at home on stage, on television or in film. On the big screen Vibert has appeared in Stephen Frear's SAMMY AND ROSIE GET LAID, Elias Merhige's SHADOW OF THE VAMPIRE, and Chen Kaige's KILLING ME SOFTLY. He will soon also appear in Roman Polanski's latest film effort entitled THE PIANIST.
On British television Vibert has portrayed Robespierre in both THE SCARLET PIMPERNEL and THE SCARLET PIMPERNEL II for BBC/London Films. Other credits include "Mrs. Bradley Mysteries," "The Raven," "Cadfael," "A Statement of Affairs," and "Jeeves and Wooster. " He was also in the cast of the original British television production of "Traffik," the miniseries later remade into the Academy Award-winning feature film (TRAFFIC) by director Stephen Soderbergh. American audiences may recognize him from his appearance on HBO's "Tales From the Crypt. " Vibert can soon be seen in the upcoming THE PIANIST, directed by Roman Polanski.
Victor Slezak- George Thomas
Victor Slezak plays George Thomas, a practical man who does double duty as Thomas Ince's business manager and as a pretend escort to Margaret Livingston in order to disguise her affair with the high-powered film pioneer.
Slezak's film credits range from Clint Eastwood's THE BRIDGES OF MADISON COUNTY to John Boorman's BEYOND RANGOON, and also include Alan Pakula's THE DEVIL'S OWN, Ed Zwick's THE SIEGE, Arne Glimcher's JUST CAUSE and Janusz Kaminski's LOST SOULS.
On television Slezak has appeared in the American Playhouse production of "Darrow" starring Kevin Spacey, "The Good Policeman" directed by Lee Grant and the HBO Films presentation of "Jackie Presser: Team Boss. " He has also guest starred on such series as "Law and Order," "Miami Vice" and "Crime Story. "
Slezak's work on Broadway includes a portrayal of John F. Kennedy in Jackie: An American Life. He was also seen in Any Given Day and the classic Suddenly Last Summer. His lengthy list of Off Broadway and regional credits range from classics, such as Sweet Bird of Youth, The Importance of Being Earnest, A Month in the Country and Of Mice and Men, to more modern fare like Mafia on Prozac, Appointment with a Highwire Lady and the New York Shakespeare Theatre's production of Talk Radio.
