Movie Star Al Pacino...On Stage!
June 18, 2007

Movie legend Al Pacino has not forgotten his stage roots. Right after hanging with Brad Pitt and George Clooney at the June 5 Ocean’s 13 premiere, the Oscar-winner headed over to the Fox studio lot for a Q&A on

his Actors Studio documentary Babbleonia. Fox has included the doc in its June 19 release Pacino: An Actor’s Vision, a collection of  Pacino’s most personal pet project films, which also includes Chinese Coffee (2000), The Local Stigmatic (1990) and Looking for Richard (1996). In Babbleonia, Pacino reminisces about his movie experiences, especially noting how his early stage work has influenced his career.

“The Actors Studio is an institution where you aspired to go to and it was a main achievement for young actors,” Pacino told the Q&A audience of primarily film school students. “Everyone wanted to try out.”

Pacino actually failed to get into the theater group on his first audition, but still has fond memories of the place.

He eventually was wooed away to the big screen.

“I was happy doing theater,” said Pacino. “I was discovered doing theater. I did get 11 offers before I made my first picture. I thought they were crazy [to pick me].”

Pacino confessed to rarely reading film scripts, leading him to make some iffy role choices along the way.

“I’ve done a couple movies without reading them,” he said. “It’s hard for me to read screenplays. I never think I’m right for any [part]. I’ll go through that process, where if I do read something I usually do like it.”

With theater, Pacino still appreciates the personal work ethic.

“Movies are great, but your performance isn’t really you,” he said. “You’re made better on the editing floor. I shot a movie where I snorted cocaine, based my character on that. But it was cut out of the picture, and it was out of my hands.”

Despite some prodding, Pacino didn’t give up the offending movie’s name.

But Pacino will always remain an actor at heart, in whatever setting. His pet project is to some day play surrealist Salvador Dali.

“I wouldn’t like to work with myself as a director,” he laughed, when asked about the possibility. “I might not ever read the script.”—Susanne Ault

Posted by Laurence Lerman on June 18, 2007 | Comments (1)