An evening with Al and Sam
Dr Mumbo felt ever so lucky to see Hollywood legend Al Pacino talk about his life at the Lyric on Friday night.
He felt even luckier to have Sam Neill sit next to him, although he wasn’t convinced the feeling was mutual.
But rather than let the Jurassic Park, Event Horizon and Dead Calm star sit in peace, Dr Mumbo thought it might be fun to ask a few (no doubt irritating) questions before the show started.
Mumbo: Did you enjoy doing the Meat & Livestock Australia commercials?
Neill: “Sure. It was of fun for a few days.”
Dr Mumbo: “You make a very convincing newsreader.”
Neill: [silence]
Mumbo: “Have you got any commercial work on at the moment in Australia?”
Neill: “No. I’m busy shooting a TV series in Canada called Alcatraz. We’re only ten weeks in.”
Mumbo: “Favourite Al Pacino film?”
Neill: “Scarface.”
Mumbo: “Plans to work with Al Pacino?”
Neill: “You never know.”
Mumbo: “Pacino or De Niro? Who’s your favourite?”
Neill: “I’m not going there.”
The conversation stumbled towards the state of the Australian film industry.
Mumbo: “Australia’s movie business is struggling a bit at the moment, isn’t it? What do you make of things?”
Neill: “I disagree. Red Hill was phenomenal.”
At this point, the lights dimmed and it was time for Pacino to have a dig at the local film industry.
To a question about which Aussie films he liked, he asked: “You guys make films in this country too?”
Pacino took a while to warm up, to be fair. But once he got going, he said some memorable things. Here are a few (Mumbo had his notebook handy):
“Did you like my Vittoria commercial? I’m not going to pitch commercials at you, but there are some good ones out there. That AmEx ad that Scorsese directed with De Niro. Terrific.”
“I had alopecia. I wore a lot of wigs – and I liked it. Maybe I should do commercials for wigs.”
“Fame is the perversion of the natural human instinct for validation and attention.”
“It was my idea to cast Marlon (Brando) in the Godfather.”
“I was at the Oscars, third row from the front, drunk as hell and popping valium. I honestly didn’t wanna win, because I was dying for a piss.”
“Brando was a genius. But James Dean was a breathing sonnet.”
“I was offered (a role in) Star Wars. But I read the script, and thought, what is this shit?”
“The three most important things about acting: Show up. Learn your lines. Get good lighting.”
“The girl in Carlito’s Way, what was her name? Shit, I can’t remember. I had an affair with her too.”
“The only film I wish I’d been in is Lost in Translation.”
“Francis (Ford Coppola) was crazy. But he’s probably the best director of our time.”
“I didn’t wanna play Michael (Corleone in The Godfather). I wanted to play Sonny.”
“My favourite film I’ve been in? It’s a little soon to say.”
“My favourite actors around now? Johnny Depp, Sean Penn, Leonardo Di Caprio and John Cusack.”
“How do I prepare for a sex scene? I think about it all the time…”
“My favourite leading lady? Johnny Depp.”
Ha ha. Good one. I can just picture one super uncomfortable Sam Neill squirming in his seat, politely answering your questions with a forced grin on his face.
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