Stallone Glad To 'Get' Double Dose Of 'Carter'

Film Gave Him Opportunity To Work With Original Star, Michael Caine

When veteran film star Sylvester Stallone signed on to do a remake of new action-drama, "Get Carter," he was literally getting Carter -- and then some.

In addition to playing the title role of Jack Carter, a conflicted hitman avenging the death of his brother, Stallone got the original Carter, too, when Michael Caine signed on for the project.

That's a unique situation, to say the least, when that actor is a seasoned, Oscar-winning veteran like Caine. While Stallone assumes the role of Carter this time around, Caine plays a pivotal role as the owner of the club that Carter's late brother managed.

In a recent interview, Stallone told me that he was honored to have the man who made the 1971 original a cult classic validate the 2000 version by joining the cast.

"He definitely condoned the fact that it is not a note-for-note remake," Stallone said. "What we did was take the character and tried to move it into a year 2000 sensibility. What (Caine) did was very valid back then. But, as we know, music changes, art changes and the way people view morality and bad guys and the way the law deals with them has certainly changed radically in the last 30 years.

"Also, his character was focused on living as a bad guy and dying a bad guy. There was no sense of being redemptive or caring about anyone else. He wanted to be a pure gangster," Stallone told me. "My character is a fella who's starting to question the choices he's made in his life."

And that characteristic of the role suits Stallone just fine. That's because while he's a world apart from Carter in terms of lifestyle, the universal theme of fate was something to which he could more than relate.

"When you (lie) down at night, do you say, 'Did I turn right when I should have turned left in my life? Did I do the right thing?' Carter's at that crossroad when all of a sudden he decides he has to do something radical," Stallone said. "When his brother dies, he's forced into a situation where he's put into heroic circumstances, even though it's something he didn't seek.

"The question is, will he rise to that and will he do something that's finally positive and nurturing for someone else, even though it's dangerous and may cost him his own life? But he's found the quest -- it's something will perhaps erase all those years of living on the dark side," he said.

While "Get Carter," like most films, is predominantly for entertainment purposes, Stallone is happy to know that questions about fate are layered within. It certainly made him think about his decisions in life.

"If you've provided entertainment (to audiences), yet they take something inspirational with them on the way home, you've really achieved something," Stallone told me. "What I get from films like 'Get Carter' is that I realize that I made the right choices in my life -- otherwise I could have ended up like this guy."

'Getting Caine'

While Stallone has been well-established in Hollywood since the '70s, it's great to know that he's not above learning something new from his fellow actors to further develop his craft. In the case of "Get Carter," determining whether he was going to class or not was a no-brainer: After all, he was studying the masterwork of Michael Caine.

"Most young actors become so overprepared and so inundated with their work that they become tense and don't rely on technique, whereas the true form of acting is the ability to create a scenario or scene, but be very relaxed," Stallone explained. "Caine is like a machine that can go 'on' and 'off.' He's very poised."

Stallone realized what makes Caine's motor run while playing cards with him one day on the set, waiting for a scene to be shot. Stallone recalled that Caine was just being a regular guy, telling stories until it came time to film the scene. Then, Stallone told me, Caine turned it on -- full throttle.

"Then there you are, saying to yourself, 'My God, I was just playing cards with this guy, and now he's there crying and pouring his heart out.' As soon as they yell 'cut' he's saying, 'Whose deal is it?' That to me is a man who's mastered the craft," Stallone said. "You have to have a technique, because you can't actually be totally gone and immersed; otherwise you'd be a total schizophrenic. You can only have that reservoir of energy for so long, and then you must rely upon technique. So I watched how he conserved the energy and prepared, and the most important thing he does is (that) he focuses on the retention of dialogue -- he's not groping for the words."

One thing that Stallone didn't have to learn from Caine was how to be a survivor in the ever-competitive business of moviemaking. Much in the same way that remakes like "Get Carter" are presented differently in the year 2000, the business itself is in a constant state of flux. With the age of digital film in our grasp, let alone independent films and Internet-based productions, the art of filmmaking is without question more accessible to actors and filmmakers than ever before.

As a result, even a seasoned veteran like Stallone -- who has more than amply made his mark in the business -- realizes that he can't be as selective in the process of choosing projects.

"It's getting tougher," Stallone told me. "Today, what really works is a unique concept that can be promoted and advertised in a fetchy way, like 'The Perfect Storm.' It's very rare, though, but when you find films like that, you try to align yourself with them.

"It's very difficult now because the business moves so fast to be so selective that you stay out of work for a couple of years, and before you know it, you're forgotten."

Vincent Shines Again In 'Starry Night'

There's no question that any of the great artists throughout time would suffer extreme culture shock if they were by some miracle brought back to life in the modern world. And that's exactly the single biggest issue facing tortured artist Vincent van Gogh in the mystical dramedy "Starry Night," new on home video.

Starring Abbott Alexander as Vincent, "Starry Night" was written and directed by Paul Davids (writer of the critically acclaimed TV movie "Roswell" in 1994), who himself has painted 90 canvases in his lifetime. Having held the brush in his own hands gave Davids more insight when it came to penning the script.

"When Vincent's 'Sunflowers' sold for $33 million 12 years ago, the news hit me like a shock," Davids told me in a recent interview. "As an artist, I'm very sensitive to the problems of artists. Granted, some artists attain great recognition during their lifetime. But probably most don't attain recognition until their later years or until after they're gone."

Of course, that was exactly the case of van Gogh, who, despondent over the fact that his work was never accepted in his day, ultimately committed suicide.

"I thought there was some sort of cosmic injustice in the fate of Vincent, in that he never got to realize how his work would be esteemed and revered," Davids said. "He shouldered the burden of accomplishing the work of 900 paintings without concern for his reward.

"He only sold one, and he was thinking about how some of these paintings would be viewed in 100 years. He talked about hoping that the portraits he painted would be seen like a revelation of a time gone by. And though he had that foresight, he never got that reward."

As a fantasy writer who has written "Star Wars" children's book adaptations for Lucasfilm and a fantasy book about Mark Twain, Davids (who produced the film along with his wife, Hollace) felt that he had the goods to put a fantastical spin on the story of Van Gogh.

But that's not to say that there isn't any reality within the fantasy. Instead of coming back to a wave of adulation from the art world, Vincent simply can't get anyone to believe that he really is the real van Gogh. Perhaps the biggest quandary, though, is trying to understand the attitude that has misshapen the true meaning of art.

"I got a chance to bring Vincent back to face the wonderful news that he's one of the greatest artists of all time, but with the knowledge of knowing how his work has been accepted comes the responsibility he never had in his life," Davids said.

"That's where the film shows him with a sense of purpose -- that the fortunes from his paintings should be used to help the cause of the struggling artists of the world, so that they wouldn't have to again go through what he went through."

In case you're wondering about the title, Van Gogh's painting "Starry Night" naturally inspired it. It's also the subtitle of the moving Don McLean song "Vincent," which is featured prominently throughout the film.

• Next Week: Join me for an interview with Spinal Tap guitarist and "Waiting for Guffman" writer-director-star Christopher Guest, who's bringing his satirical eloquence to the world of dog shows in "Best in Show."

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