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SECTION D
WEDNESDAY, JULY 29, 2015
The human
side of
Chris Farley
Documentary
looks back on
the man, and
the life, behind
the laughs 3D
NETWORK ENTERTAINMENT
LIFELINE
HOW WAS YOUR DAY?
GOOD DAY
MATTHEW BRODERICK
The stage and screen vet will
appear on Broadway for the
second consecutive season.
Broderick, who teamed with his
old pal Nathan Lane last fall in
Terrence McNally’s ‘It’s Only A
Play,’ has signed on to star in the
A.R. Gurney play ‘Sylvia,’ now set
to begin previews Oct. 2 and
open Oct. 27 at the Cort Theatre.
Broderick will join the previously
announced Robert Sella and
Tony Award winners Julie White
and Annaleigh Ashford in the
comedy about a New York
couple and a dog.
ANDREW TOTH, GETTY IMAGES
CAUGHT IN THE ACT
Heaven sent: A flock of Victoria’s
Secret Angels proved an
eye-catching bunch at the
launch of Body by Victoria
Tuesday in New York.
DIMITRIOS KAMBOURIS, GETTY IMAGES
TWEET TALK
STARS SOUND OFF
ON TWITTER
@justinbieber No better feeling
than giving back
TIMOTHY A. CLARY, AFP/GETTY IMAGES
@UzoAduba Stevie Wonder
gets it done every. single. time.
SNEAK PEEK THE 33
MIRACLE MINE RESCUE
GETS ITS DAY IN THE SUN
Bryan Alexander
@BryAlexand
USA TODAY
Antonio Banderas recalls being
swept up in the euphoria when
33 Chilean miners were saved
after being trapped underground
for 69 days in a massive mine
collapse.
A worldwide audience monitored every development in the
2010 rescue, with full coverage
on CNN as Pope Benedict XVI
joined the prayers. President
Obama called the miners’ improbable emergence a “thrilling
moment,” and it was witnessed
live by an estimated 1 billion
people.
So when Banderas was asked
to star in a film about the miners,
known simply as “The 33,” he
wondered what direction the
story would take.
“We all know the beginning
and we know the end of this story,” Banderas says. “We tried to
put a magnifying glass on human
behavior that comes out in situations like this, when death is right
in front of you.”
The 33 (opens Nov. 13, with the
U.S. trailer out Wednesday), stars
Banderas as the mine leader “Super” Mario Sepúlveda and shines
a light on what happened 2,300
feet underground with the men
seemingly trapped.
For 17 days, there was no word
from the miners, who strictly
rationed their three days of
emergency food and kept their
spirits up in the face of growing
hopelessness. Banderas dropped
weight during the film shoot to
mirror Sepúlveda’s own weight
loss below ground. The 54-yearold actor also welcomed signs of
fatigue from the shoot to better
look the part.
“When I saw in the mirror that
my tummy was very reduced and
the bags really growing under my
eyes, I thought that I could pull
this off,” Banderas says.
When rescuers were able to
drill to the miners to allow communication and supplies, the
mining crew found they had
@SarahKSilverman I carry
most of my stardust in my
thighs & hips
IT’S YOUR BIRTHDAY
WHO’S CELEBRATING TODAY?
Antonio Banderas stars
as Mario Sepúlveda,
leader of the trapped
Chilean miners.
DOUGLAS KIRKLAND, WARNER BROS. PICTURES
turned into celebrities during the
prolonged international effort to
free them.
“Many things started happening: book deals, rights for telling
this story for money,” Banderas
says. “They had to make peace to
get out of there united.”
Director Patricia Riggen says
the miners “completely understood” why the tales of 33 were
condensed into 10 major characters onscreen. “We had to compress all that happened to them
in an hour and a half,” she says.
“They think it was very fair to
BEATRICE AGUIRRE, WARNER BROS. PICTURES
what they lived.”
Ultimately, the story told deals
with 33 men having their humanity tested below ground while the
world came together to save them
aboveground.
“It shows what human beings
can accomplish when we work together,” she says. “That’s why this
touched everyone.”
The stories of all of the
miners were compressed
into those of 10 major
characters for the film.
The view
from below
Filmmakers take the
action underground 2D
“We tried to put a magnifying glass on human behavior that comes out in situations
like this, when death is right in front of you.” Antonio Banderas
MOVIES
‘Listen’ to Marlon tell his own story
Andrea Mandell
@AndreaMandell
USA TODAY
PHOTOS BY GETTY IMAGES
Tim Gunn is 62. Martina
McBride is 49. Josh Radnor is 41.
Compiled by Cindy Clark
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Cuckoo for coffee
62%
of chocoholics
would rather give
up chocolate than
their cup of joe.
Source Toluna Quicksurveys /
Gourmesso.com poll of 1,000 Americans
TERRY BYRNE AND VERONICA BRAVO, USA TODAY
You should hear how Marlon
Brando tells it.
In the new documentary Listen
to Me Marlon, audiences will have
a chance to hear from the legendary actor’s own lips, thanks to
director Stevan Riley.
“My pitch (to make the film)
was Brando on Brando,” says
Riley, who was given access to
more than 300 hours of Brando’s
private audio tapes, including his
self-hypnosis. Until his death in
2004 at age 80, Brando had
focused on recording thoughts on
his life, in hopes of shaping his
official biography.
In Listen to Me Marlon, which
directs the audience to hear
Brando’s side of the story, “I
thought it would be amazing to
tell it entirely in his own voice,
especially because he was so private,” Riley says.
The documentary — which
opens in select theaters Wednesday in New York and Friday in
MIKE GILLMAN, SHOWTIME
Marlon Brando, photographed with daughter Cheyenne,
recorded more than 300 hours of private audio tapes.
Los Angeles, followed by its debut
on Showtime later this year — begins with Brando’s tough childhood before diving into the ebb
and flow of his remarkable career.
“It was a Freudian study,” Riley
says. “He was in psychotherapy
most of his life.”
Of course, many of Brando’s
iconic roles are highlighted, in-
cluding his starmaking turns in A
Streetcar Named Desire and On
the Waterfront. “When you hear
method (acting), it’s Montgomery
Clift, James Dean and Marlon
Brando,” says IMDb.com senior
film editor Keith Simanton.
But by the time Francis Ford
Coppola was casting The Godfather in 1972, Brando’s name had
become so tarnished that studio
executives made him audition.
“He really was desperate in a
way for a part,” says Riley, noting
that Brando was paid only
$50,000. “It was humiliating for
him, but he knew he wasn’t calling the shots at that point.”
His family life was marked by
tragedy, particularly when his son
Christian shot his sister’s boyfriend to death in 1990; he went
to prison and later died of pneumonia. Brando’s daughter Cheyenne lost custody of her baby and
killed herself in 1995.
By the time the documentary
reaches 1972’s Last Tango in Paris, the reclusive actor is resenting
giving a far-too-autobiographical
performance in the film, which
sees him battling issues with
women and self-loathing. “I realized, you know, you’re naked,
Marlon,” Brando says in a tape.
Ultimately, Listen to Me Marlon is “a human story,” says Riley,
calling Brando the prototype of
the modern-day celebrity. “The
fascination with Brando and the
hysteria preceded any icon of the
20th century.”