Special Features
Fueled By Passion: An Interview with the Cast and Crew of Charlie Bartlett
Greg Kaczynski |
 |
 10 a.m., Santa Monica, January 26, 2008.
Under cerulean skies littered with puffy clouds, mere remnants of the raging rainstorm Southern California had been pounded by for the prior four days, three key members of the Charlie Bartlett team meet with the press to discuss their new feature. Anton Yelchin, the star of Bartlett, arrives in a flash sport coat over tight red hipster jeans, and accompanying him are director Jon Poll and producer Jay Roach. The three gather in a smallish conference room in the Casa Del Mar, a fancy hotel by the sea, the kind with narrow hallways and a doorman, and graciously speak with the press for a good 20 minutes.
Poll, ecstatic to be there and clearly thrilled that he got this picture made (his feature directorial debut), leads the discussion with Yelchin and Roach occasionally piping in. Yelchin seems sleepy at first, perhaps a bit overwhelmed by the early morning conference and all of the attention, while Roach simply treats it all in a “business as usual” fashion.
The birth of Bartlett is a story oft-repeated: here’s a movie that deals with controversial matter--in this case, kids and drugs--and no one wants to make it. Roach had originally been enlisted to helm the film, but had backed out for unsaid reasons. Meanwhile, Poll had been reading another script by Bartlett screenwriter Gustin Nash, and called Roach up to see if he wanted to make that film. That was when Roach suggested that maybe Poll could direct Bartlett. Poll, excited by the prospect, gathered himself and pitched to the producers for two hours, eventually scoring the directing job. The first victory was won, but there still remained casting and financing the film.
 Casting proved to be a learning experience, but not too difficult: Poll had seen Yelchin in Hearts in Atlantis and House of D and found his work impressive and appropriate for Bartlett. They met for dinner and discussed the film, where Anton dropped the two magic words while describing how he felt about Bartlett: “honest and optimistic.” This was spot-on for Poll, who at the end of the meal naively proclaimed Yelchin to be Bartlett. Eighty-two casting auditions later, Yelchin officially got the role, and Poll had learned a little something about the casting side of the business.
Yelchin himself adds that he personally never liked high school.
“It’s such an unhealthy place,” he said. “There’s this incredible hormonal explosion, and they put a thousand of them in one place…you’re putting all these imbalanced people together and expecting them to learn.”
He describes his high school experience as an unhappy one with a few musician friends, an experience that he couldn’t wait to be done with.
Although absent from the conference, it is shared that Robert Downey Jr. was thrilled to jump on to the project. Poll heard he liked the script, and immediately pitched it to him as “20 years ago, this would have been you,” which appealed to Downey Jr. Both Yelchin and Poll praised his generosity on-set, Yelchin saying that he learned more from Downey Jr. than any other actor he’s had the privilege to work with.
 “There’s no other actor like him out there,” he said.
Poll added that, “He has this incredible generosity of spirit.”
Yelchin remarks on how in awe he was of how Downey Jr. would try different things, different tones and colors for his lines, experimenting until he found what he was looking for.
Financing the film was another beast entirely. No major studio (or financial backers) wanted to touch the film, stating that its subject matter--kids and drugs--was too taboo. After searching, Poll finally found someone at Sidney Kimmel Entertainment who wanted to fund the film; then, having a backer, they went in search of a major studio partner. They found none, so Kimmel Entertainment and Poll decided to do it on their own and get the movie made.
Yelchin also talks a little about the character of Bartlett and what drew him to the role, delving into that mentality of hope and optimism.
“I’m hopeful, but not very optimistic,” he admitted, guessing that his Russian heritage has much to do with his being more than a bit pessimistic and broody.
 If anything, it sounds like Yelchin himself may have walked away from the role learning a thing or two from Bartlett. He shared a story about how his father once told him that “life isn’t fair,” and how that has stuck with him. The fictional Bartlett, however, disregards that notion and makes his life what he wants it to be, a lesson that apparently Yelchin appreciates.
There was a little talk about Yelchin’s upcoming role as Chekhov in the J.J. Abrams Star Trek movie which will be opening this summer.
“He was a weird guy,” the Russian bilingual Yelchin said, describing original Chekhov actor Walter Koenig’s choice of accents as “interesting.” Nevertheless, he admits to keeping some of the false Russian accent in his version of the character because even though the new film is a separate entity in and of itself, “People want to see what they love.”
The conference ends with a brief statement from Poll saying how much he loves fun Hollywood films, but also “gritty independent films with something on their mind.” He hopes that with this film, Charlie Bartlett, he has successfully combined the two worlds and given an “honest voice to teenagers.”
Charlie Bartlett is now playing in theaters.
For more information, visit charliebartlett-themovie.com.
|
