Yes, she still gets called "Sandy."
"Occasionally (I do)," says Olivia Newton-John of her signature role of the good-girl opposite John Travolta in the 1978 movie musical Grease. "That movie is so special, there's really no escaping it."
But that was then. These days -- aside from saving the world with cancer charities, health products and endeavours for indigenous rain-forest tribes -- Newton-John is singing about, of all things, hockey.
In her first screen role in a decade, she's the mom in Score: A Hockey Musical, the campy over-the-top ode to our national sport that opens in theatres across Canada on Friday. It scandalized serious-minded cineastes last month when it opened this year's Toronto International Film Festival.
Seeing as how she has been to only one hockey game in her life -- a Florida Panthers game that her husband, herbal-remedies tycoon John Easterling, took her to -- she is as natural a spokesman for shinny as, say, Mike Duffy for Nutra-System.
"What does hockey mean to me? Not extremely a lot," she says with a laugh.
"I was familiar with hockey sticks, as in women's (field) hockey, but not ice hockey.
"My husband took me to a game, in Florida of all places (they live in Jupiter, Fla.). It was very fast, I couldn't keep track of the puck. It was furious and fun. I don't remember any fighting, but they thud each other against the side all the time. That seems unfair to me. I don't like violence."
Which is actually what makes her perfect for her role in Score. The movie, by director Michael McGowan (One Week) tells the story in song of Farley Gordon (Noah Reid), a backyard rink kid who is so fast, a Junior A owner (Stephen McHattie) decides to drop him into the real game, cold. But Farley is a violence-shunning pacifist, courtesy of his New Age parents (Newton-John and Canadian singer-songwriter Marc Jordan in his acting debut).
The two are aghast when he joins the team, and dismayed at the treatment he receives for his non-violence. (For all his goals, the media mock him as un-Canadian for his refusal to drop the gloves.)
For those who know Jordan's career way back to his '70s hit Marina Del Ray, it may not come as a surprise that he was key to Newton-John's participation. The two (and Jordan's wife, singer Amy Sky) have been friends for nearly 30 years. Their relationship came via songwriter Steve Kipner (who penned John's '80s hit single Physical) who thought they'd work well together.
"We dueted before, didn't we?" Newton-John says to Jordan of their harmonizing in Score. "Before on one of my records, Grace and Gratitude.
"I love his music," she says, before addressing Jordan again. "What's the one that opens with the horns and you're talking?" "This Is How Men Cry," Jordan says.
She's frank about Jordan's role in convincing her to come to Toronto to film Score.
"It would have been a lot harder if it was working with someone I didn't know. He's good, isn't he?" she says of his Eugene Levy-esque performance. He should act more."
Jokingly dismissing the compliment, Jordan quips, "It comes naturally -- you know what they say. Women can fake orgasms, but men can fake entire relationships."
Credit McGowan with not wasting musical talent. "Amy and Olivia and I wrote the (anti-violence) song Hugs, which Olivia and I sing," Jordan says.
Asked what she's been doing since the '90s," Newton-John says, "Gosh, time flies. Probably being a mom and doing my music. I did a few television movies, but the best thing probably was (the AIDS themed movie) It's My Party by Randall Kleiser, who directed Grease."
These days, there's a breast cancer centre in Melbourne in her name (she survived the disease in the '90s).
"I have a health retreat in Australia and there's my husband's and my Amazon herb company. We bring dietary supplements from the Amazon and help indigenous people get title to their land with a percentage of the profits."
All of which she finds more rewarding than pop stardom.
"I don't think my life should be summed up in a movie role. It's about the people you loved and cared about. I don't think anybody who's dying reaches out for their gold record," she says with a laugh.
jim.slotek@sunmedia.ca
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