Hey everyone. Capone in Chicago here, with my second interview with Steven Zahn. The first time I spoke to Zahn was about two years ago when he was making the rounds with RESCUE DAWN, opposite Christian Bale. This time around, we got together to discuss his latest work, the small and sweet romantic comedy MANAGEMENT, in which he enters into a truly bizarre relationship with Jennifer Aniston. As much attention as will inevitably fall on Aniston's involvement in this movie, MANAGEMENT belongs to Zahn's, a motel worker in his family-run business. This is his character's story, into which Aniston's Sue enters. Mike is uncomfortable with women and himself, but there's a naked ambition and curiosity to his character and his performance that personifies what I love about Zahn's abilities. We all know the guy lives and breathes comedy in films like REALITY BITES; SAFE MEN; SAVING SILVERMAN; SUBURBIA; and many other works. But I've grown increasingly impressed with his work in non-comedies. Check out his work in JOY RIDE; SHATTERED GLASS; CRIMSON TIDE; and, of course, the devastating performance in RESCUE DAWN. If you need further proof, Zahn appeared in excellent smaller roles in two indie films, THE GREAT BUCK HOWARD and SUNSHINE CLEANING, in which he gets to have empty sex with Amy Adams. Rough life.
Zahn is a really easy man to talk to: he's open, honest, playful, and will answer anything. He's one of the busiest actors working today (or any day in the last 15 years). I really enjoyed watching him and a rather subdued Aniston play off each other and dance around their various interactions in MANAGMENT, a film with strong supporting case that includes Fred Ward, Woody Harrelson, Margo Martindale, and James Liao. Enjoy Steven Zahn…
Capone: Hey, Steve. How are things?
Steve Zahn: Good, man. How are you?
Capone: Really good. You know, it wasn't that long ago that I was talking to Ethan Hawke not long ago about his career, and I didn't realize how tied into each other the two of you were early on.
SZ: Yeah, Ethan and I are old friends. We haven't done anything together for a while, but I'm sure it'll happen again. he's such a great guy.
Capone: I was talking with him about BEFORE THE DEVIL KNOWS YOU'RE DEAD, but the conversation made its way around to the last film he directed, THE HOTTEST STATE. I may have been the only critic in America that liked that movie, and he was really appreciative and willing to talk about that movie too.
SZ: That's Ethan. He'll talk about anything if he makes a connection with you on something, and he thinks it's important to you. I'm sure it meant a lot to him that you dug his movie. Did you see CHELSEA WALLS [which Hawke also directed in 2001]?
Capone: Sure thing.
SZ: See, I think that's a brilliant film, really great stuff.
Capone: I'm a fan of that as well. I spoke to Mark Webber recently [who is featured in CHELSEA WALLS and stars in THE HOTTEST STATE]. Didn't you and Ethan start a theater company together?
SZ: Yeah, but that was even before the movie thing--REALITY BITES and all that.
Capone: So have you and Jennifer Aniston been looking for the right project to work on together since you guest starred on "Friends" back in 1995? And then MANAGEMENT came along?
SZ: [laughs]: That's exactly it! Actually don't forget, we also knew each other from THE OBJECT OF MY AFFECTION [1998]. So we met on "Friends," which was like the most terrifying experience of my life, really my first television experience. And it was like walking into this close family--this really kind and inviting family--and I'm this outsider. The show had only been on the air about a year, but it was already this huge thing. I was scared to death. But then Jen and I worked together again on OBJECT OF MY AFFECTION, and we became friendly then.
Capone: Or at least comfortable enough where you could shoot that butt-touching scene over and over again and have it not be too weird.
SZ: Right. That scene is funny because we shot it so many times to get it just right. We wanted it to be funny, a little awkward, but not too creepy. And Stephen [Belber, the writer-director] was going for a very specific tone. We shot that scene fairly early in the movie, so that helped add to the awkwardness somewhat.
Capone: Is it meant to be sexy in any way, because I thought it was.
SZ: Oh yeah. It's meant to be sexy above all else. Stephen wanted to make it clear that Sue is getting turned on a bit from it; Mike is getting turned on--not that he's going to do anything beyond touch her butt.
Capone: Mike makes it very clear that touching her but would be considered a major success for him, after however many years of his awkward approach never working on women who have stayed at that hotel.
SZ: [laughs] Exactly.
Capone: I also got the impression that shooting that sequence was more difficult than shooting the actual love scene later in the movie.
SZ: That might be true. The sex scene ends at a certain point before things get too hot and heavy, but that butt-touching scene is shown in agonizing detail.
Capone: Mike is a guy with closeted ambition, and Sue helps him realize the possibilities the world outside that motel has to offer. And of course, it goes both ways. He helps her realize that her life could easily go in a direction she has not anticipated.
SZ: You've got it. That's what I loved about this unbelievable script. It's all there, all this detail about the motel and his family and how he feels trapped because his mother is terminally ill and his father is incapable of taking care of himself or the business. There are actually a few scenes that were cut because they were just too dark and depressing, especially when it came to his mother dying.
Capone: Speaking of which, you get to work with one of my all-time favorite character actors, Margo Martindale, who just seems like the sweetest woman on the planet. She's certainly the hardest working. She's in everything. I just saw her in the HANNAH MONTANA movie for crying out loud.
SZ: [laughs] She's wonderful, isn't she? And she's so good and kind in this movie. She so doesn't want to burden her son. I loved working with her.
Capone: I should have asked you this first, but how did this script and Stephen Belber find you?
SZ: I honestly don't remember. I just know that when I read the script, I wanted to do it. It was so well written and the character was someone I had to play. It was one of the ridiculous moments where I said something like, "You'd be a fool not to hire me," which never works, except in this case, it did. [laughs]
Capone: The film is by no means a pure comedy, but Mike gets into some really unexpected stuff. What did you think of him trying to be a Buddhist monk?
SZ: That was great, wasn't it? And he's so bad at it.
Capone: But in 99 other films that sequence would have been played for laughs at the expense of the monks. But you guys take it very seriously, and that almost makes it funnier, but at Mike's expense. I love that he's so bored that he organizes volleyball games that last hours.
SZ: That scene is a perfect example of why I fell in love with the script. And again there were some great moments like that that had to be cut just for pacing sake, but the directions Mike's life took and the things that he tried out were so out there.
Capone: I wanted to talk for a second about your role in SUNSHINE CLEANING. I believe in olden times, your character would have been called a cad. But I do applaud you for finding you way into the beds of both Jennifer Aniston and Amy Adams. Bravo.
SZ: It's ridiculous, right?
Capone: I wouldn't say that, but I do envy you. When we spoke a couple years ago, you mention how longevity in your career was really important to you and that was why you found yourself working so often. You could do comedies for the rest of your life if you wanted to, but I'm actually digging your more serious roles a lot more these day, and I'd include MANAGEMENT in that category.
SZ: Thanks, man. That's good to hear. It's not really a plan that I have or anything, but I look at each script and each role, and try to make good decisions. For some reason in my head, when I got the role in SHATTERED GLASS that marked something of change in people's perception of me. And I did that thing where I flew out on my own dime just to meet the director and tell them they had to hire me. Did I mention that never works? And I don't think that had anything to do with the reason I got that part, but I had to do it; that script was just so incredible. But, I wish I could say that, you know, “Yes, from this point forward…No more comedies! I’m going to make money doing THIS.” But, you know, I have to make money. [laughs]
Capone: So, you attribute it, then, to what’s being offered you getting more serious rather than you looking for that type material.
SZ: Yeah, because I’m not really into changing everybody’s opinion of me. Perception’s crazy. And, you can’t change someone’s perception sometimes, no matter what you do. I mean, no matter what.
It’s fascinating. They might see you in a movie 15 years ago and go, like, “Holy shit, man, I thought you were fat.” And, you’re, like, “No.” “Wow, you been working out lately. You been working out for a movie?” And, you go, “No, I’ve always been in shape. I’ve always looked like this.” “No, dude, no. You’re fat,” you know. And, you can’t change that. And, you go, “Well, okay. Yeah, man, I’m workin’ out, yeah” or “I got cancer,” whatever. And, you can’t change it, so why even try. It’s, like, fuck it. I just look at the next gig and try to do that well. And, I feel confident in that I can play a P.O.W., and I don’t feel like I’m proving something. I’m just playing a part.
Capone: It’s funny, that dialogue that you just did, talking about something you did a while back that people might still ask you about…I was talking to Sam Rockwell not too long ago, and he mentioned that SAFE MEN is still a film that people bring up to him. And now [SAFE MEN writer-director] John Hamburg is getting lots of attention because of I LOVE YOU, MAN
SZ: In fact, I saw John last night.
Capone: Really?
SZ: Yeah, we had a premiere, and he popped up. I was, like, “Holy fuck, John!”
Capone: So, do people still talk about that movie with you?
SZ: Omigod, yeah, a lot. That’s, like, a crazy…I was mentioning that to someone the other day. They were saying, like, “You…,” I don’t know, I forget what the question was, and I was, like, “You have to see SAFE MEN. Holy shit.” And, it was some journalist who didn’t know about it. I’m, like, “You don’t know about SAFE MEN. What the fuck!”
Capone: It is a minor masterpiece.
SZ: [Laughs]
Capone: I think it is, I’m serious.
SZ: Totally.
Capone: Are there other films that people always bring up, whether you want them to or not.
SZ: Well, it depends on the…Yeah, I mean, you can pretty much kind of peg…you know, if they’ve got kids, it’s DADDY DAY CARE, it’s THAT THING YOU DO! or it’s SAHARA. But, people that feel like they’re the only ones that watch it are, like, SAFE MEN and, like, HAPPY, TEXAS. It’s, like, “By the way, I saw that movie that no one ever saw. I’m the other guy.”
Capone: People forget that J.J. Abrams wrote and produced JOY RIDE, which is a great little thriller.
SZ: Yeah, that’s right. JOY RIDE’s another one. I love that movie.
Capone: Let me talk about some films that you’ve got coming up. I know that later on in the summer…In fact, I just got a note in the mail yesterday about a release date for A PERFECT GETAWAY.
SZ: Yeah.
Capone: What’s that about?
SZ: Well, that’s a…David Twohy wrote it, who’s a very good writer. And, he directed it as well. It’s a real thriller, kind of JOY RIDE-esque movie. And, it’s two people on a honeymoon, and people start getting murdered, and you just don’t know who the fuck is doing what. And, it’s really clever. I’ve never read anything like it…I mean, I was completely…you know, I didn’t get it--at all.
Capone: Who are you paired with in that film?
SZ: Milla Jovovich.
Capone: Wow, lucky you.
SZ: Yeah, she’s great. And, Timothy Olyphant is in it. It’s a great cast. And, again, David Twohy is just really kind of a remarkable writer. And, then, I did “Treme”.
Capone: That’s the [director] Agnieszka Holland pilot?
SZ: Yeah…David Simon wrote it and created it.
Capone: That sounds really neat.
SZ: Fuck, it’s…yeah, it is beyond ‘neat’. The highest form of neat.
Capone: Okay, what is that about, and what do you do in that?
SZ: David Simon did “The Wire” and “Generation Kill,” and he produced this thing. Basically, in a nutshell, it’s very difficult to explain, which means it’s good. [laughs] It’s just…When it was pitched to me, I was, like, “What?” And, I read it, and I was, like, “I got it”.
It’s basically the rebuilding of New Orleans two months after…It starts two months after Katrina. The Treme is the neighborhood right off the French Quarter, where kind of all the infamous jazz musicians of our country come from. And, it’s still kind of got that vibe, and, if you know New Orleans, then you know what I’m talking about. And, it’s basically the rebuilding of the culture through the jazz musicians. And, Kermit Ruffins is in it and the Rebirth Band. And, half the people in it are just in it, you know. Like, Elvis Costello shows up. And, I play a DJ/pianist/songwriter--a real guy--who’s this angry, awesome, drunk, brilliant, eccentric guy. And, it’s a character that is…I mean, I can’t even tell you, I was so excited to get it, so…
Capone: That’s something you finished already?
SZ: I finished the pilot.
Capone: So, who’s airing that?
SZ: HBO Yeah, it’s a new series.
Capone: I was going to say Holland has been doing mostly American TV lately. Are you still doing something called SALESMEN?
SZ: No, that one didn’t get its money. And it kills me because it’s a fucking great script and an amazing cast. And, I just don’t know…It was during the whole crash, and all the financing just went south. And, you’re, like, Omigod, I can’t believe this movie’s falling apart, you know.
Capone: Seriously, I really did love MANAGEMENT, and it was great to have talked to you again.
SZ: Yeah, likewise. I’ll talk to you down the road, I’m sure.
Capone: Okay, cool. Thanks a lot, Steve.
-- Capone
capone@aintitcoolmail.com
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