Bitter Feast Interview Series Part 2: Actor James Le Gros

Wednesday, 30 June 2010 19:59

Bitter Feast Interview Series Part 2: Actor James Le Gros

In part two of my series on “Bitter Feast”, lead actor James Le Gros and I discuss his thoughts on the main character, psychopathic chef Peter Gray, his own thoughts about film criticism and bloggers, as well as the current state of independent film in this exclusive interview.

James Le Gros: I got the script from Larry Fessenden, I guess he’d been trying to get a hold of me; I don’t know, there was some problem getting a hold of me whatever it was but anyway (laughs) I got this terse message from Larry saying something like “well if you don’t want to call me back then fine!” (laughs). I called him back and said “Larry why are you in such in a huff?” and again apparently he’d been trying to get in touch to give me this script and couldn’t so I just said “Well, send it”. I think then at that point I’d gotten a copy of the script either the next day or maybe even that night, I liked it, and said “let’s make it”.

VO: Your character, Peter Gray, is amazing to watch because there's this odd disconnect within him wherein he does horrible things to people yet maintains this polite veneer. I'm wondering if that was something specifically written into the script or if that was a choice you specifically made for the character?

JLG: I don’t remember if it was something that was written into the script, but I do know that it was a tone I always sensed from it and that I think Joe was after as well. So I think we were on the same page about that. As far as a character like that goes, I guess if you were to analyze him as a medical person he’s clearly a sociopath; one never thinks of oneself as a sociopath though, (laughs) we just think we’re misunderstood and doing our best to try and help (laughs) and I think that would describe Peter Gray. He’s just trying to help. If you wanted to give a subtitle to the main title, I would have suggested it be called Bitter Feast or The Re-Education of JD Franks.

VO: I think that would be an apt addition, especially given Gray’s tasking of Franks but again the emotional disconnect he displays from his cultured politeness to then whacking Franks with a frying pan or cattle prod is what really makes him disturbing. JLG: Yeah that wasn’t good; the needle in the neck wasn’t good either. None of that stuff was particularly nice but different tools for different jobs I suppose, as Peter Gray would say. You don’t use a potato masher when you need a meat cleaver.

VO: The story has been commented by other writers’ as any filmmaker's dark fantasy to torture their own critics, and in this case, bloggers. As an actor, who's worked long enough to see the rise of this particular sect, what are your thoughts on them in general since many of them often take positions like Joshua's character in their work?

JLG: Well I would say first of all, the flip side of that is that critics, be they food, film, or whatever the medium they judge within,have probably been tortured by sitting through some pretty bad stuff so there is another point of view to all of this. But I would say that I’ve benefitted greatly from being in movies that have garnered favorable criticism; certainly some films that wouldn’t have gotten on the map had not somebody seen it and written about it so it didn’t end up on the back shelf of obscurity. Having said that though, while not being a critic myself,I would imagine one of the things that you have to always be weary of is being too clever by half, i.e. writing the piece to your peers rather than to service the analysis of whatever medium you are working within. It’s not easy for any of us and we all need each other, because if there are no movies being made then there are no movie critics. And there are some movies that it doesn’t matter what a critic says about it, the marketing for it is so large and targeted that it doesn’t matter what anyone writes. But for a lot of other films it is an important, symbiotic relationship.

VO: Well you’re right on when it comes to how much marketing negates most criticism today when it comes to the big studio pictures.

JLG: Yeah but for the little movies it’s still important,and sometimes even the way the thing is written has an effect. For example,even if it’s a decent review but the first paragraph is written in a dismissive tone it can be difficult to get beyond that, which affects then how you perceive the rest of it. I’m not going to say that the film reviewer is supposed to be in the film promotion business but things like that count.

VO: That’s a fair point but I’m glad you touched upon the oft-overlooked notion that a lot of writing these days is often clever for its own sake rather than trying to serve the work you’re supposed to be analyzing. While it’s always been a factor in criticism, I think it’s become a bit more prevalent now as the traditional means of editing have broken down somewhat.

JLG: I think that’s something that writers in general have to be weary of anyway, “Am I being too clever here?” I know a lot of good writers who go through that and then re-edit their material to remove what’switty for witty’s sake and doesn’t get their point of view across but that takes a lot of discipline.

VO: As an actor who's well known for working in independent film, at this point after the current economic meltdown as well as the shuttering of various distributors these past few years, what to you even qualifies as an independent film anymore and is it irrelevant to even ask anymore?

JLG: Yeah that term has a lot of definitions attached to it, I guess specifically what they relate to it is in terms of how it’s financed, although it can be something of almost any budget. It’s funny, I remember I read an interview with someone I’m working with now, Christine Vachon, who has produced many films and been arounda long time. She said that there was a period of time in the Eighties and early Nineties where you could make a little movie and if you kept the budget low and made the investors back their money along with a little bit of profit, they’d let you make another one. It didn’t matter much who was in it; of course they’d always want to get the biggest names possible, but it wasn’t critical.

Then Pulp Fiction came along and it forever changed the paradigm, because the expectation was so high afterwards. The good news was that that movie opened up a lot of screens to independent films that otherwise wouldn’t have gotten into those multiplexes; but the bad news was that even the tiniest part in them had to be cast with a bankable name of some type. That in and of itself is some black magic that I don’t fully understand, whose name attracts value and whose name doesn’t conversely. So I don’t know, it’s always been a very difficult business and a lot of the independent parts of it come from selling off foreign territories, etc. all these different ways to raise money. Another way is through venture capital which has always ebbed and flowed through good times and bad times. Ultimately, if you want to go into it as a money-making proposition, it’s probably a bad business. But if you’re passionate about something and you want to be a part of it then it can be really great.

VO: Ultimately, as a performer who's been subjected to reviews over the years, deep down has there ever been a part of you that considered doing what Peter does in the film to his tormentor, knowing that you would not go through with it?

JLG: You know this is going to sound corny but in my whole career I’ve been really lucky. I’m mean I’m sure there are some stinkers out there, but I haven’t seen too many of them. I’ve been involved with some films that critics have said harsh things about but somehow, maybe this will change, I’ve been lucky. I certainly haven’t read anything that made me go “Oh my God that guy!” but I have read some things of films that I’ve seen and liked that I thought were really tough on the people making it and thought “Oh my God”. I guess if there’s anything I’ve learned is that it can be very subjective, but it is an important part of the process.

*To learn more about the film and check for updates, go to www.bitterfeastthefilm.com