00:12
Charlie Rose: LINDA FIORENTINO is here. She has been playing a number of roles, but she got a lot of attention in 1994 with The Last Seduction. After that, she's been teamed with such actors as Tommy Lee Jones and Will Smith in Men in Black, Matt Damon and Ben Affleck in Dogma and Garry Shandling and Greg Kinnear in What Planet Are You From? In her latest project, she co-stars with a screen legend, Paul Newman. Here is the trailer from the film. (trailer for ''Where the Money Is'') Where the Money Is opens on April 14th. I'm pleased to have >>LINDA FIORENTINO here for the first time. Welcome. LINDA FIORENTINO: Thank you. You loved it, huh?
02:46
Linda Fiorentino: I like the trailer!
02:49
Charlie Rose: Yeah. And you loved working with Newman.
02:52
Linda Fiorentino: I-- absolutely. It was such a delightful experience and--
02:57
Charlie Rose: What made it delightful?
02:59
Linda Fiorentino: Well, he's a bit of a prankster.
03:01
Charlie Rose: Yeah. Every day--
03:03
Linda Fiorentino: Like myself.
03:05
Charlie Rose: --a different--
03:06
Linda Fiorentino: Every day. Every day, he made me popcorn, most importantly. I never had a co-star make me--
03:08
Charlie Rose: From Newman's Own popcorn?
03:10
Linda Fiorentino: No. No, actually! He has this special-- these special kernels--
03:14
Charlie Rose: Yeah.
03:15
Linda Fiorentino: --that he searches for, and he does this whole little process. It's a big secret.
03:18
Charlie Rose: Yeah. How is he to work with? I mean, how is he different from other people?
03:25
Linda Fiorentino: He's-- the one thing I thought was really interesting about the two of us was that we're both advocates of underplaying, so much so that I think we put each other to sleep a few times while we were doing scenes! And the crew! (laughter) So it was, like, duelling underplaying and-- and it seems as if he's not doing anything while we're on the set, and then when you see the film, you realize what he was actually doing. It was all in his face and his eyes.
03:46
Charlie Rose: Stunning eyes.
03:48
Linda Fiorentino: Stunning, and just works in layers. I mean, not quite like (unintelligible)
03:51
Charlie Rose: Yeah. Now, here's what's interesting about this. It's got you in this film. Who-- who plays your husband?
03:57
Linda Fiorentino: Dermot Mulroney.
03:58
Charlie Rose: Dermot Mulroney is in this-- and it's directed by an English director--
04:03
Linda Fiorentino: Actually, a Polish--
04:04
Charlie Rose: Polish--
04:05
Linda Fiorentino: --director who lives in London--
04:07
Charlie Rose: London--
04:09
Linda Fiorentino: --grew up in London, so--
04:10
Charlie Rose: What's his name?
04:12
Linda Fiorentino: Marek Kanievska.
04:14
Charlie Rose: Now, he was doing commercials, and he did Another Country years and years and years ago.
04:16
Linda Fiorentino: He did two films in the mid-'80s and then kind of disappeared, didn't like Hollywood, and--
04:19
Charlie Rose: That's something you share with him! (laughter)
04:21
Linda Fiorentino: We did! We got along great! And then I think he was directing commercials. And Tony Scott, who produced Less Than Zero with him--
04:26
Charlie Rose: Yeah.
04:28
Linda Fiorentino: --also has a commercial company, so he's working with him.
04:32
Charlie Rose: And they're producing this?
04:33
Linda Fiorentino: They were the producers on this.
04:35
Charlie Rose: What do you like about this film? Other than the characters.
04:37
Linda Fiorentino: Well, when I first read-- other than the characters?
04:40
Charlie Rose: Yeah. I mean, other than the actors.
04:43
Linda Fiorentino: I liked the character I played because she reminded me of girls I grew up with and-- who are always saying things to me, like, ''Oh, your life must be so exciting, and my life is so boring, and if I could only do what you do''-- and you know, sometimes I would trade in my life for theirs, and this is a bit of an homage to them because I think Carol Ann, you know, shares the same sensibilities.
05:00
Charlie Rose: Sometimes you would trade in your life for theirs.
05:04
Linda Fiorentino: Oh, absolutely.
05:07
Charlie Rose: Because?
05:09
Linda Fiorentino: Because there's a price to pay.
05:11
Charlie Rose: For fame or for--
05:13
Linda Fiorentino: Or even--
05:15
Charlie Rose: --celebrity or--
05:17
Linda Fiorentino: --a little bit of fame, you know. It's-- people think there are degrees of, like, notoriety. And for me, it's, like, even a little bit is a big price to pay because I'm private.
05:25
Charlie Rose: Yeah. You have made career choices in which you could have played roles in big movies and chosen not to simply because you didn't want to be part of that.
05:33
Linda Fiorentino: Uh-huh. Well, mostly for-- not because I didn't want to be famous but-- like Top Gun, I guess, is one of the things--
05:38
Charlie Rose: Yeah. That's a personal thing about--
05:41
Linda Fiorentino: --you're talking about.
05:43
Charlie Rose: Yeah.
05:45
Linda Fiorentino: My problem with that was that in the third act, there was a war and, you know, it was a movie that was clearly geared towards an 18 year and under audience. So I just felt that it was-- would be immoral on my part to take the job because I had money in the bank. If I had money-- if I don't have money, then I'll take a job! My standards are lower.
05:57
Charlie Rose: Yeah.
05:59
Linda Fiorentino: But I did. I had some money saved.
06:03
Charlie Rose: This is called situational ethics.
06:04
Linda Fiorentino: Exactly! So-- but not so much to shy away from, you know, the fame aspect of it.
06:09
Charlie Rose: Yeah.
06:11
Linda Fiorentino: I try not to think about that too much.
06:12
Charlie Rose: But you prefer small independent films like The Last Seduction, like this.
06:15
Linda Fiorentino: Definitely. Because there's--
06:18
Charlie Rose: You know, rather than big Hollywood productions or--
06:20
Linda Fiorentino: Because you have more freedom as an actor and as a person if you take less money--
06:23
Charlie Rose: Yeah.
06:24
Linda Fiorentino: --because the more money you make, the more they own you.
06:27
Charlie Rose: Yeah. But some would say the more money you make, the more you can be free to make choices to do other things.
06:32
Linda Fiorentino: Yes, unless you're trying to maintain a certain ground, and then you make choices that they would probably want you to make anyway.
06:39
Charlie Rose: Would you do-- would you do a remake of a film you'd made with-- with Will Smith and Tommy Lee Jones?
06:43
Linda Fiorentino: A sequel?
06:45
Charlie Rose: Yeah.
06:46
Linda Fiorentino: Absolutely. I had great time.
06:49
Charlie Rose: You'd do that in a second.
06:51
Linda Fiorentino: Yes, and I'll tell you why, because now I have all these little 8-year-old fans, and it's such-- so refreshing--
06:57
Charlie Rose: Yeah! Right!
06:58
Linda Fiorentino: --coming off of The Last Seduction.
06:59
Charlie Rose: Yeah. Right. Right. Right!
07:03
Linda Fiorentino: My, you know, middle-aged--
07:04
Charlie Rose: Yeah.
07:06
Linda Fiorentino: --you know, male fans stalking me!
07:07
Charlie Rose: You have stalkers?
07:08
Linda Fiorentino: I have had two, actually, yeah.
07:09
Charlie Rose: Yeah. What happened?
07:12
Linda Fiorentino: Oh, somebody sent me some mail once, and the FBI actually intercepted it and took care of it.
07:15
Charlie Rose: So they've been taken care of (unintelligible) It no longer is a problem.
07:20
Linda Fiorentino: No. That's when I call upon--
07:23
Charlie Rose: Was it coming out of The Last Seduction?
07:25
Linda Fiorentino: --relatives! (laughter) Uncle Tony!
07:28
Charlie Rose: Tony. Tony.
07:31
Linda Fiorentino: Been to Kansas City lately? (laughter)
07:35
Charlie Rose: Where did you grow up?
07:37
Linda Fiorentino: Philadelphia.
07:38
Charlie Rose: Yeah. Did your parents want-- they-- did they want you to be an actress?
07:45
Linda Fiorentino: Well, actually, my degree in college was in political science--
07:50
Charlie Rose: Yeah.
07:52
Linda Fiorentino: --and I was heading to law school--
07:53
Charlie Rose: Yeah.
07:55
Linda Fiorentino: --as a matter of fact. And so acting was a second choice. And my mother-- my mother just wanted me to be a professional and make my own money because she had eight children, and then growing up-- she was still young enough in the '60s, with the feminist movement-- you know, she was in her 20s, so she was very affected by it but couldn't do anything herself. And so she instilled all those principles in her daughters. So now she has six feminist daughters! So we're carrying the torch, I suppose.
08:13
Charlie Rose: Yeah.
08:14
Linda Fiorentino: So when I was young, it was more about being a professional anything--
08:20
Charlie Rose: Yeah.
08:22
Linda Fiorentino: --and having your own money and--
08:24
Charlie Rose: And being independent and being--
08:26
Linda Fiorentino: Not--
08:28
Charlie Rose: --self-sufficient and all those things.
08:29
Linda Fiorentino: Being able to leave whenever you want to! (laughter) I think those were the words she used.
08:33
Charlie Rose: Do you have that?
08:35
Linda Fiorentino: Not-- not as much as I'd like--
08:36
Charlie Rose: Yeah.
08:38
Linda Fiorentino: --but just enough to get by.
08:39
Charlie Rose: It's a product of mindset or is it a product of economic resources or is it a product of the career you choose or what?
08:44
Linda Fiorentino: I think it's, you know, the options that I'm given and, you know, what I will and will not do, at this point. And for me it's, like, I'll try to make enough money to take off if-- you know, if I could live for a year, than I can do something that I like or something that's, you know, a little risky for no money. And then-- now I'm starting to think, ''I hope they make Men in Black II, and I hope they offer me the part'' because it would be nice to have some-- some kind of financial security.
09:03
Charlie Rose: I read somewhere that they said that if they paid what Tommy Lee and Will wanted to make-- and they may have included you in this--
09:08
Linda Fiorentino: No.
09:09
Charlie Rose: --that they would have no more money left. That would be it.
09:12
Linda Fiorentino: To make the movie.
09:13
Charlie Rose: To make the movie.
09:14
Linda Fiorentino: Well, yeah, not to mention the profits--
09:16
Charlie Rose: Yeah.
09:17
Linda Fiorentino: --that they'd ask for. It would be-- they wouldn't be able to make the film. So I hope they work it out because I think it would be really fun.
09:24
Charlie Rose: What was your mother's favorite film that you've done?
09:28
Linda Fiorentino: Well, she hasn't seen this one, but this is the one--
09:31
Charlie Rose: She'll like this one--
09:33
Linda Fiorentino: --she's most excited about. When I called to tell her I was doing a movie with Paul Newman, she said, ''Oh, honey, you've finally made it!'' (laughter) Like nothing else mattered before Paul Newman.
09:39
Charlie Rose: Did she like The Last Seduction?
09:41
Linda Fiorentino: She did, actually. I think my parents liked that movie because it was-- it's like a '40s movie. And it's-- you know, when they were kids--
09:48
Charlie Rose: Yeah.
09:49
Linda Fiorentino: --and they're the kind of movies they went to, so I think it was a throwback for them.
09:53
Charlie Rose: There are two things about that that interest me, is one, is what did you think made it so-- such a classic, such a film noir kind of classic that everybody talked about, everybody loved, yet it did not have that sort of advance warning that-- or advance publicity and marketing that a film of that quality has, nor could you be-- be given Academy consideration because it was first--
10:09
Linda Fiorentino: Right.
10:11
Charlie Rose: --an HBO movie.
10:14
Linda Fiorentino: Well, at the time, I thought-- I mean, I thought it was a funny situation. I thought it was hilarious. I was completely broke, and that movie came out in London--
10:23
Charlie Rose: Yeah.
10:26
Linda Fiorentino: --first, and the-- the independent company that made it here-- they sold the company, and so they were trying to sell off all the movies they had. And they sold it to HBO before it had a chance to get distribution here. But it had been distributed as a film in Europe and did very well. And so October Films bought it and said-- you know, they begged HBO not to air it and they--
10:51
Charlie Rose: HBO said--
10:53
Linda Fiorentino: They aired it--
10:55
Charlie Rose: Yeah.
10:57
Linda Fiorentino: --like, two months before it came out in the theaters, and they aired it four times only. And they wouldn't not because that was the deal they made for the money they paid, and everybody begged them not to because they knew-- there was advance notice from London, and so--
11:08
Charlie Rose: Yeah. And it could have been an Academy Award for you for Best Actress.
11:13
Linda Fiorentino: I mean, that's what they said, but how would we know?
11:19
Charlie Rose: Yeah.
11:20
Linda Fiorentino: I mean, that's what everyone was saying. And now I wish, you know, they had listened because--
11:24
Charlie Rose: But do you say now about those kind of things, ''OK, comme ci, comme ca''? I mean, it happens, it doesn't happen. You just continue to--
11:31
Linda Fiorentino: You know, at the time--
11:32
Charlie Rose: --enjoy your life.
11:34
Linda Fiorentino: At the time, I said, you know, I was just happy that, you know, I was getting more attention for not being nominated, you know, which was--
11:38
Charlie Rose: Yeah.
11:39
Linda Fiorentino: --you know, in keeping with everything else in my life. And so it actually made sense to me, in a funny way. But now, when-- you know, where I am now, I think, well, it would have been nice to have that trademark in front of my name because it does-- you make more money. I mean, more than anything, you make more money if you have that little Oscar trademark in front of your name.
11:54
Charlie Rose: Roll tape. This is a clip from the film. I think this is the relationship between you and--
12:26
Linda Fiorentino: Dermot?
12:49
Charlie Rose: Dermot. Right. (clip from ''Where the Money Is'') As I was watching that, I said to you, ''Boy, they must have all tried to get you to duplicate The Last Seduction. Jade was an effort, in part, to do that.
14:00
Linda Fiorentino: Uh-huh. Well, Jade, actually, I did before The Last Seduction--
14:05
Charlie Rose: So that was done before.
14:08
Linda Fiorentino: I did The Last Seduction-- well, it was around the same time, but it was before I knew The Last Seduction was going to come out as a film, so--
14:18
Charlie Rose: There was an idea for a Last Seduction II.
14:21
Linda Fiorentino: They actually made a Last Seduction II.
14:23
Charlie Rose: But not with you.
14:26
Linda Fiorentino: Not with me or John Dahl or Peter Berg. I guess they sold-- the company sold the rights to some British company, and they made a really low-budget version, bastardized version.
14:35
Charlie Rose: Would you like to try to duplicate whatever the essence of it was, rather than just simply doing a Last Seduction II, to try to recapture what it was that--
14:41
Linda Fiorentino: You know--
14:43
Charlie Rose: --was magical about it?
14:45
Linda Fiorentino: I never want to play that role again. I'm sorry. I just-- I played it enough.
14:50
Charlie Rose: What do you mean, ''played it enough''?
14:52
Linda Fiorentino: It's, like, one movie is enough for that person, that monster that I created.
14:56
Charlie Rose: Because of the monster quality.
14:57
Linda Fiorentino: Well, and the repercussions thereof. I mean, can you imagine what I've had to deal with since that film?
15:02
Charlie Rose: The stalkers and all that and--
15:03
Linda Fiorentino: My boyfriend won't even watch it because my sister said ''Don't watch it. You'll leave her.''
15:10
Charlie Rose: Yeah. (laughter) Is that right.
15:11
Linda Fiorentino: It's true! And I said, ''Well, no, you should watch it because, you know, it's a good movie and, you know, you can see what I do and-- for a living,'' and my sister said ''Don't do it. You'll leave her. You will.''
15:21
Charlie Rose: Has he watched it?
15:22
Linda Fiorentino: No. He won't.
15:23
Charlie Rose: What's next?
15:25
Linda Fiorentino: Actually, working on a film with Ben Kingsley. It's based on the love story between Alfred Stieglitz and Georgia O'Keeffe.
15:31
Charlie Rose: Oh, that's great.
15:32
Linda Fiorentino: I play Alfred Stieglitz.
15:34
Charlie Rose: No, you don't! (laughter)
15:36
Linda Fiorentino: play Georgia O'Keeffe. And it's most centers on their-- their relationship together, so it's not a biography, so to speak. It's more of a love story.
15:41
Charlie Rose: And what else? Anything else?
15:44
Linda Fiorentino: Nothing. Well, I'm doing that for-- basically, for free, so I have to look for a job after that.
15:49
Charlie Rose: Because you like Georgia O'Keeffe or because the idea--
15:51
Linda Fiorentino: The script is phenomenal, and Ben Kingsley is a genius. And Marek Kanievska, who directed this movie, is directing it.
15:58
Charlie Rose: O (unintelligible)
16:00
Linda Fiorentino: So we got along very well, so--
16:02
Charlie Rose: Now, was it his idea to do this, for you to come do this or--
16:05
Linda Fiorentino: No, actually--
16:07
Charlie Rose: Because he was already--
16:09
Linda Fiorentino: --I was offered--
16:10
Charlie Rose: --signed on?
16:12
Linda Fiorentino: I was offered the movie first, and then--
16:13
Charlie Rose: Your idea to bring him in?
16:14
Linda Fiorentino: Yes. He met with the producers, and they liked him. They liked this film, so they said, ''You guys work great together.'' And then Ben Kingsley came on, so--
16:18
Charlie Rose: Thank you for coming.