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 Denzel Washington sees subway dispatcher Walter Garber, his character in The Taking of Pelham 1 2 3, as "an ordinary guy in an extraordinary situation." |
LOS ANGELES -- Been there, rescued them, thwarted that.
It's a feeling Denzel Washington -- no stranger to saving civilians and tangling with criminal masterminds on-screen -- wasn't sure he'd be able to shake shooting the new thriller The Taking of Pelham 1 2 3, opening Friday.
"I didn't want to be a cop," the two-time Oscar winner says during a promotional stop at a Beverly Hills hotel. "I was concerned a little bit about Inside Man, where I was a cop and a negotiator."
So to portray a New York City subway dispatcher who faces off against train hijacker and hostage-taker John Travolta, Washington decided to go places he normally wouldn't. Actor-speak for delving into the soul of a character? Not quite. "(I went to) the deli. Not New Delhi -- the deli," he says with a laugh. "I just ate a lot and got smaller and smaller sweaters to wear and spilled coffee on myself."
Hence it's a beefier, bespectacled Washington than audiences are used to from the characteristically commanding, charismatic star.
"I just like the idea of when he held a gun he'd never held one before, that he was an ordinary guy in an extraordinary situation," says the 54-year-old, back looking slim and fit in a sleek black suit. " 'Leading man' is something people call you at press junkets. I don't mean that facetiously, that's what that is. I'm not a leading man, I'm an actor. I like the idea of him not knowing anything about how to solve this problem. And that he had problems of his own. He's very good as a dispatcher; he's a star in that world. But he's taken out of his element."
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Academy-Award winning scribe Brian Helgeland (L.A. Confidential) penned the new movie, based on the novel by John Godey; it was previously adapted into a 1974 drama starring Walter Matthau and Robert Shaw.
Washington isn't opposed to remakes as a rule -- there was the 2004 redo of the revered classic The Manchurian Candidate, after all -- but here, he believes his Pelham defies such categorization. "It's not a remake. I think it's basically the story of a hostage situation in New York. That's what the two films have in common. I don't know if my character and the character Walter Matthau played were similar, necessarily. I don't know why anyone would remake a film ... to redo it in the same way."
Remarks Helgeland, "The last thing I want to do is muddy around with what they did so well (originally)."
Of course, in the 35 years since the first movie, technology -- both behind the camera and above the subway tracks -- has improved dramatically. If the original was comparatively a low-tech and static affair, in the hands of action veteran Tony Scott (Man on Fire, Top Gun), the remake is frenetic, fast-cut and loud. "I love shooting with real things in the real world," Scott says. "It's about noise and anxiety."
Aiding in that pursuit was the cooperation of NYC Transit, which granted the filmmakers unprecedented access to scout the entire subway system: Stations, tunnels, Grand Central and the new, state-of-the-art Rail Control Center. The filmmakers used the latter as a template in constructing their own version of the hub, with 150 foot-long video boards and interactive playback.
"It's like NASA," Scott says, "It's the last thing you expect if you watch the old movie."
Remembers Washington, "It's huge, unbelievable ... And I loved meeting the real people. Once I was introduced, I kept going back."
Scott ended up filming in the tunnels for four weeks -- the longest any production has ever shot there -- including areas no film crew had been allowed into before. Using real locations, Scott believes, makes "everything rise to the occasion. But it's also very worrying being in a subway, where someone can step the wrong way or put their hand in the wrong direction and you have an accident."
Still despite the hazards, he believes the results are worth it. "Going out to touch the real world and real people -- that's my way into movies," says Scott, no fan of digital effects and computer-generated trickery. "My mom was 95 when she died and she would watch movies and say, 'That scene doesn't quite work' and it was because it was digitally regenerated. There's something about working in a real-life situation. It elevates the performances, elevates the drama ... My whole career I've tried to avoid CGI, whether it's planes or trains."
Says Washington, who consulted with real subway workers for the role, "One of the reasons I like working with Tony is that I know he's a research fanatic. So going in, I know he's going to have a lot of stuff for me to look at and go through."
Not that the actor, who grew up in New York City, didn't already have an intimate understanding of the subway system there. "I took the subway every day for many years. If you can do it on a subway, I've seen it -- from robbery to parenting."
Still, for all the never-before-granted access and frenzied filmmaking fireworks, the movie still ultimately hinges on the interplay between Washington and Travolta. As Scott points out, "It's a tough movie to do. Two-thirds is two guys on the phone. I saw that as a challenge. I said, 'How are we going to keep that momentum?' But it comes with the writing and the acting."
Travolta makes for a compelling fiend, he adds, because "John's got a big heart. He's sweet. So playing the bad guy, it's a contradiction. He's funny, he's smart -- it's not what we expect from bad guys."
Travolta himself isn't doing press for the movie, still anguished over the sudden death of his 16-year-old son, Jett, in January.
Washington says his wife, Pauletta, was actually closer to Travolta and his wife Kelly Preston before Pelham shot last summer, but now, "I know him pretty good now, I think."
That's because while their characters are separated for the bulk of the script -- interacting electronically -- both actors were on set for each other's scenes.
Despite Pelham's intensity, though, off-screen the atmosphere was anything but tense. Remembers Washington, "We would sing songs, tell jokes and sing Broadway tunes and all kinds of stuff."
kevin.williamson@sunmedia.ca
The Scott-Washington film partnership:
The Taking of Pelham 1 2 3 marks the fourth film from macho men Denzel Washington and director Tony Scott. They're like the De Niro/Scorsese of red-meat, high-testosterone action thrillers. "I think there's a short-hand and there's a trust," Scott says of his and Washington's professional rapport. "There's trust in terms of having the same work ethic and we trust each other's process." Which, of course, means Pelham won't be their last movie together, either -- they're already reportedly re-teaming on the runaway train thriller Unstoppable in the fall. Until then -- and before Pelham opens Friday -- here's a recap of their celluloid resume:
Crimson Tide (1995)
The lowdown: Aboard a U.S. submarine, Washington's thoughtful Naval officer clashes with Gene Hackman's cigar-chomping, nuke-first, ask-questions-later captain. It's like Dick Cheney commanding a sub with second-in-command Barack Obama.
Box-office gross: $91 million.
How macho? On a scale from 1 to 10 (1 being Clay Aiken; 10 being Lee Van Cleef): 8
Man on Fire (2004)
The lowdown: Washington's alcoholic burned-out mercenary reluctantly takes a job in Mexico City protecting the precocious child (Dakota Fanning) of a wealthy couple. When she's snatched by kidnappers, he makes the swine flu look like a case of the sniffles.
Box-office gross: $77 million.
How macho? On a scale from 1 to 10 (1 being Andy Dick; 10 being Lee Marvin): 10
Deja Vu (2006)
The lowdown: Washington's New Orleans cop travels back in time to save a dead woman before she's murdered.
Box-office gross: $64 million.
How macho? On a scale from 1 to 10 (one being Liberace; 10 being James Coburn): 4
(Fact is, compared to their other films, this is the Washington-Scott equivalent of a chick flick).