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VibrantNation.com was recently invited to sneak-preview the new Miramax movie, Cheri, and offered an exclusive interview with its star, 51-year old Michelle Pfeiffer, director Stephen Frears (The Grifters, High Fidelity) and screenwriter Christopher Hampton (Dangerous Liaisons, Atonement).
Based on a novel by the French novelist Colette, Cheri stars Pfeiffer as a famous beauty about to "retire" as she reaches age 50; she embarks on a 6-year affair with the 18-year old son of her long-time rival (played by 61-year old Kathy Bates).
VN: There is clearly resistance in Hollywood making films about women past a certain age. Can talk about why you think that is?
Frears: For all the reasons you would expect. Audiences are young so they're not interested in that. It's why it is because it's why it is, really.
VN: How did Michelle Pfeiffer come to be chosen for the role of Cheri?
Hampton: We looked at a very short list. We wanted an actor who was about 50, who was clearly very beautiful, and who was sufficiently relaxed enough in herself to give herself to the story and not be made anxious by it. I think it's a tough subject for an actor woman turning 50, the story of a woman turning 50. Michelle
had absolutely no provisos about being shot in a way that made her look as if she was aging. The only problem was with the cameraman, Darius Khondji, who couldn't get his head around not making Michelle look staggeringly beautiful. We had to keep taking him aside and say, "Just read the script again." He's a sort of genius, but it really went very much against his grain not to make her look as wonderful as he could.
VN: Do you think that women are for or against each other and does that change as they age? The relationships in this movie suggest that it's a competition.
PFEIFFER: Oh, I don't think that. I think that's just the relationship between those characters. I mean, certainly those kinds of relationships exist, but I think women can and do relate to one another both ways. I certainly have relationships that feel more competitive and others that aren't.
VN: Do you know anyone in older woman-younger man relationships?
PFEIFFER: I know a very well-matched couple with a 20-year age difference. She's twenty years his senior. I've been with her through all her relationships and I have to say, he's probably the best guy that she's been with. He treats her the best and she couldn't be happier. I think you fall in love with you whom you fall in love with. I think it's really about life experience and similar life experience. An 18-year-old can live a life that is so full of experience and somebody forty, perhaps, could have half of that. So I think it's not necessarily about the years you've been here.
VN: How did the filmmakers show Cheri aging in the film?
PFEIFFER: Some of it is makeup and a lot of it is done with lighting. It's frightening and fascinating how much can be done with lighting. I just want cinematographer Darius Khondji to follow me around my whole life.
He took such great care in the earlier scenes, then towards the end where I had to show age he had to be really pushed. You could see it was painful for him. He'd finally just go, "That's all I can do!" [laughs] Then he would walk away.
VN: Does this film mean there are more roles for older actresses now?
PFEIFFER: There's less work for everyone across the board: less work for crew and for actors in general. I don't know what the statistics are, but it's something like, if you look at ten or fifteen years ago, a third fewer movies are being made. It's some really shocking number and everyone is feeling it. It's like the rest of the world now, everyone is feeling the squeeze. It's tough.
Based on a novel by the French novelist Colette, Cheri stars Pfeiffer as a famous beauty about to "retire" as she reaches age 50; she embarks on a 6-year affair with the 18-year old son of her long-time rival (played by 61-year old Kathy Bates).
VN: There is clearly resistance in Hollywood making films about women past a certain age. Can talk about why you think that is?Frears: For all the reasons you would expect. Audiences are young so they're not interested in that. It's why it is because it's why it is, really.
VN: How did Michelle Pfeiffer come to be chosen for the role of Cheri?
Hampton: We looked at a very short list. We wanted an actor who was about 50, who was clearly very beautiful, and who was sufficiently relaxed enough in herself to give herself to the story and not be made anxious by it. I think it's a tough subject for an actor woman turning 50, the story of a woman turning 50. Michelle
had absolutely no provisos about being shot in a way that made her look as if she was aging. The only problem was with the cameraman, Darius Khondji, who couldn't get his head around not making Michelle look staggeringly beautiful. We had to keep taking him aside and say, "Just read the script again." He's a sort of genius, but it really went very much against his grain not to make her look as wonderful as he could.VN: Do you think that women are for or against each other and does that change as they age? The relationships in this movie suggest that it's a competition.
PFEIFFER: Oh, I don't think that. I think that's just the relationship between those characters. I mean, certainly those kinds of relationships exist, but I think women can and do relate to one another both ways. I certainly have relationships that feel more competitive and others that aren't.
VN: Do you know anyone in older woman-younger man relationships?
PFEIFFER: I know a very well-matched couple with a 20-year age difference. She's twenty years his senior. I've been with her through all her relationships and I have to say, he's probably the best guy that she's been with. He treats her the best and she couldn't be happier. I think you fall in love with you whom you fall in love with. I think it's really about life experience and similar life experience. An 18-year-old can live a life that is so full of experience and somebody forty, perhaps, could have half of that. So I think it's not necessarily about the years you've been here.VN: How did the filmmakers show Cheri aging in the film?
PFEIFFER: Some of it is makeup and a lot of it is done with lighting. It's frightening and fascinating how much can be done with lighting. I just want cinematographer Darius Khondji to follow me around my whole life.
He took such great care in the earlier scenes, then towards the end where I had to show age he had to be really pushed. You could see it was painful for him. He'd finally just go, "That's all I can do!" [laughs] Then he would walk away.VN: Does this film mean there are more roles for older actresses now?
PFEIFFER: There's less work for everyone across the board: less work for crew and for actors in general. I don't know what the statistics are, but it's something like, if you look at ten or fifteen years ago, a third fewer movies are being made. It's some really shocking number and everyone is feeling it. It's like the rest of the world now, everyone is feeling the squeeze. It's tough.
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