Alan Rickman on Punk, ‘Potter,’ and the Likelihood of a ‘Galaxy Quest’ Sequel
In “CBGB,” Alan Rickman plays Hilly Kristal, the man who founded the legendary New York City punk bar whose stage helped launch The Ramones, Blondie, and the Talking Heads. The film happens to co-star Rupert Grint (as a member of one of the lesser-known punk bands, The Dead Boys), proof that the “Harry Potter” universe is indeed all-encompassing.
We talked to Rickman about his own relationship to punk (distant), how close he stays to his former Hogswarts charges (fairly close), and just what kind of device he’d need for a “Galaxy Quest” sequel.
What made you want to take on this part?
I thought he was completely fascinating in the sense that he started a club that was supposed to honor country music [“CBGB” stands for “Country, Bluegrass and Blues”], and he never got to play any country music there. Along came punk and he was smart enough and open enough and generous enough to listen to what their point of view was. In fact, he became a kind of father figure to all these wild young things.
How did you get into character?
Lots of videos you can watch of Hilly and some private ones I was given. I was able to just watch him for hours, really, walking, talking, being. [The real Hilly died in 2007.]
Had you ever been to CBGB’s?
I haven’t, except in its new incarnation as John Varvatos.
Were you a fan of punk music?
Not really, because I was an art student and a drama student in London in the ’70s. When you say “punk music,” I never thought it included people like David Byrne, but now I know that it does. And also The Police. So I’d have been a bit more down that road than The Dead Boys or Television.
So of the punk bands, who’s your favorite?
Well, I’d say Talking Heads, probably.
You had to listen to a lot of The Dead Boys, the band that Hilly produced. What do you think of them?
I really enjoyed their music when it was being played live. I think the truth of the matter is, you kind of have to be there in a club, in downtown with 150 other people to get it. It’s probably not “sitting in an armchair” music.
What was the toughest part of the shoot?
To be honest, it was shooting it in Savannah in the summer and it was 90 to 100 degrees and Hilly Kristal always wore flannel shirts.
You get to sing briefly in this movie, which I don’t think we’ve seen you do since “Sweeney Todd.” Any plans for more singing roles?
I don’t think you’re going to see me headline in Las Vegas. But who knows?
Rupert Grint is in this too. And he even drops his pants at one point! How hard do you think it is for actors from the “Harry Potter” films to be seen in different roles?
It’s as easy or difficult as people make it for them. They’re all three of them [Grint, Daniel Radcliffe and Emma Watson] great people and all three of them very talented actors. If people have enough common sense, they’ll let them have careers, because, why not?
Have you kept up with their films?
I look forward to seeing Daniel’s new film about Ginsberg and I didn’t see Emma’s film, what was it called… “The Bling…?” I haven’t seen that, but no I stay in touch with them. Rupert is rehearsing a play at the moment so he’s going on stage for the first time. Daniel is ever adventurous and Emma’s gone back to finishing her degree at Brown. So they’re a great threesome.
Up next, you’re directing your second film, “A Little Chaos,” in which you also star as Louis XIV.
I’ve shot it. I’m in the editing room. I’ve run away from the editing to come and do press for this.
What’s the tone of that one?
It’s got its serious side and it’s got its funny side. It’s all there. It’s about a woman landscape gardener, Kate Winslet plays her, who gets a job of designing one of the fountains at Versailles. At the same time, it’s not really about history, it’s about her and her options. And some it’s very funny and some of it’s not funny at all.
What’s changed about movies since you directed your first film, “The Winter Guest,” in 1997?
I guess moviegoing habits. It’s a great deal harder to get a film like that financed because people, generally speaking, want to stay at home and watch movies… It’s becoming harder and harder for movies to be anything other than a big action movie or a cartoon.
Would you like to do more “big” films like Harry Potter or do you prefer the smaller ones?
I don’t mind what size they are. Is there some fun to be had, or entertainment to be given, or a good story to tell? I’m not really aware of the budget. It was a bit like that when we shot “Galaxy Quest.” We were playing a bunch of little actors surrounded by all of this mayhem. And so, in a way, it’s a sort of metaphor for the whole thing.
People have been hoping for years for a sequel to “Galaxy Quest.” Any hope of that ever happening?
They’d need a few zimmer frames [Laughs]. [Ed’s note: Zimmer frame is British for walkers]
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Bonus: Interviews with Rupert Grint for Vulture and writer-director team Jody Savin and Randy Miller for SnitchSeeker
Did you feel any echoes of Ron and Snape in the scene where Cheetah first meets Hilly? Because you’re being so polite and calling Alan Rickman sir …
Rupert: Yeah, I was kind of getting flashbacks. I love Alan. He’s one of my favorites, and he was completely transformed. I was surprised when I saw him. He was just completely in that zone, as he was when he was Snape, when he was quite intimidating. And yeah, when I was doing that first scene, it was weird! I was getting flashbacks of when I was 11, because I kind of grew up with him, really, in a weird way, so he’s been in my life for a long time. So it was kind of cool to see him out of that world and in a completely new environment.
*****
SnitchSeeker: You worked with Alan Rickman on a couple of films prior to CBGB. How did you two meet?
Randy Miller: The first movie we did with him was called Nobel Son, which was about a Nobel prize winning chemist loosely based on my dad – he was on a team of people who won the Nobel prize. So we pursued him, like you would any actor. I remember we had this long route where different agents passed on it. We finally got to him.
Jody Savin: Everyone kept saying, “No, he’s never going to do that. No, move on. Move on.
Randy: We eventually got to this London agent and he called us up and said yes. So we became friends with [Alan]. Professional friends, and regular friends, too. And then we did Bottleshock and we convinced him to do that with us. He played an English wine connoisseur. This one (CBGB) was a couple years after Bottle shock and we asked him to look at it. It took awhile. He said he liked it. Jody went back to New York and worked a bit with him on the script.
Jody: We spent three days going through everything, making sure we were on the same page about everything. And then he said OK.
SnitchSeeker: And you wrote all three of these scripts that he’s done for you?
Randy and Jody: We wrote them together.
SnitchSeeker: Why does he like working with you two so much?
Randy: I think just the way we are, there’s mutual respect. We don’t do anything lightly. We go into it wholeheartedly and I think he really appreciates that. It’s not really about the commerce, and that’s what he really appreciates.
SnitchSeeker: Most good actors do.
Randy:Once you get past the agents and the reps and everybody, you get the real actor, the artist. That’s what it’s about. If you find someone where it’s not like that, then we’re probably not going to work with them anyway.
Jody: They probably don’t want to do independent movies.
Randy: Because there’s not a lot of money. You’re doing a movie sometimes in not the best environment, location or whatever. You’re doing the best you can. So he really is all about that.
SnitchSeeker: What is Alan’s work ethic like?
Jody:He’s a perfectionist. He wants everything completely accurate. He studies everything really, really, really hard. He doesn’t take anything lightly. He never wings it at all. He’s always extraordinarily prepared. He’s a very generous actor. He’s always there for the other actor.
Randy: He never leaves the set. He’s one of those kind of people who … oftentimes you’ll hear stories about actors who, when it’s not their coverage, they’re not really performing. [Alan] is always there. He’s always performing with the other actor. He is always on set even when it’s miserably hot.
SnitchSeeker: He’s there to work.
Randy: Yeah, he doesn’t go back to his trailer. He stays.
Jody:And he’s very encouraging to young actors and new actors. He’s great because he’s an icon in his industry. For a bunch of actors in this movie, this is their first professional job. He was so kind and encouraging to them and that meant so much to them that it raises their performances up.
SnitchSeeker: Both Alan and Rupert Grint did American accents in this film.
Randy: We had a phenomenal dialect coach on the set all the time for both Alan and Rupert.
Jody: Well, for everyone.
Randy: Even Malin Akerman, who played [Debbie Harry of] Blondie, had a very specific accent. We tried to make it a great working environment for everybody. That’s how we are. We work together, and we probably step on each other all the time, but we’re basically about trying to create almost like a theater company of actors who really want to work together and support each other. That’s what we try to accomplish.
