Dustin Hoffman Shares His Thoughts

Dustin Hoffman always appears to be accessible on screen and in real life it's no different. He was gracious with his time during a question and answer session following his latest movie,'Last Chance Harvey', which took place recently at The Landmark in Los Angeles which I had the fortune to attend. I found his comments to be both witty and insightful.

He was generous in describing his costar Emma Thompson, calling her an "unselfish pure artist." Hoffman said that while most actors, himself included, are always consciously aware of where the camera is, Thompson selflessly ignores the camera, not worrying about how it might not portray her in the most glamerous of light and just focusing on the work at hand. He called her work as an actress 'a gift.'

He said that he really learned to appreciate her acting when the two of them were both working on the film,'Stranger than Fiction,.' He stated that while they had very limited screen time to together, they both agreed that if they found the right project, they'd love to work together.

While Hoffman loves to improvise, Thompson, who originally came from the theater, has always stuck to the script while doing her movies, some of which she has written herself. Hoffman complimented her on adjusting to the work on 'Last Chance Harvey, which used two cameras and which the scenes were left open. Filming was done in a short 38 days.

The movie is about a Harvey Shire (played by Hoffman) , a jingle writer in New York who's daughter is getting married in London. He is told that he will lose his job unless he successfully delivers one account and promises to be back for an important meeting, which interferes with the wedding plans. Thompson plays Kate, who he initially meets at the airport and the two start a witty sarcastic banter and soon find a real comraderie with one another.

Hoffman ends up giving a very touching Wedding speech to his daughter in the movie. In keeping with the improvisational nature of the movie, Hoffman shared that he had written the speech the night before and that none of the actors or or the director knew what he was going to say until the scene was actually filmed. He wanted it that way so that the reactions of the other actors would be fresh and unrehearsed. He stated that when he did the movie 'Midnight Cowboy' he really did almost get hit by a car when he uttered his famous line "I'm walking here."

Hoffman said that as an alumni of Santa Monica City College, he has played an active role in the theater department and that they wanted to name a new theater in his honor. He said he preferred that the wait until he was dead before having such a grand gesture made on his behalf. He preferred having something more fitting named after him-the toilet. He stated that when he was in theater as a student there was never a toilet nearby during performances and he wants his lasting contribution to the theater department to be the fact that he had a toilet put in right off stage.

Hoffman went on to talk about how he has recently had roles on animated movies, such as 'Kung fu Panda' and 'The Tale of Desperaux." He said that he enjoyed working on both movies but found the process odd. As animated movies, they were done without the other actors in the room and Hoffman stated that he prefers working in a collaborative environment with other actors present.

Hoffman stated that he never tries to play a character when he takes on a role, instead looking for a piece of himself in every role he takes and letting the costume do the rest. He quoted legendary director Federico Fellini who said,"All art is autobiographical, the pearl is the oyster's autobiography." He stated that Kramer vs. Kramer was his most autobiographical role, with his oscar-winning performance taking place at the time he was going through a contentious divorce himself. He said he rewrote some of the script so that it rang more true to himself. He stated that this movie,"Last Chance Harvey," was very autobiographical as well.

When Hoffman was asked by someone in the audience what he was going to do next, Hoffman replied,"be with my wife." He was also asked about directing, which he said he has been planning to do for 30 years but hasn't got around to doing it yet, though he appeared to indicate that it might happen in the next few years and that it really is something that he would like to do.

He stated that every time a movie is made it is a crapshoot saying,"statistically every time you make a movie, the odds are it's not going to work." He said that in current Hollywood with its emphasis on blockbusters and unwillingness to promote smaller releases like this, that it is very hard to market little movies.

Hoffman, who plays the piano in the movie, stated that his dream was to be a jazz pianist, but that he didn't think he had enough talent. One of the songs in the movie was written and perfomed by him. He also stated that he has had one of his songs performed by Sting and played at Carnegie Hall, which was a big thrill for Hoffman. The song was sung by Sting, with Hoffman accomanying him on piano.

In person, Hoffman looks just like he does on screen-short, slim and with not typical movie star looks. But both on screen and off, he gives great performances and entertains his audience.

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