Lucas on Violence

Posted January 17, 1993

Littleton is everywhere, even at a press junket devoted to George Lucas’ Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace. At a press conference, Lucas was asked to discuss movie violence in the wake of the shootings at Columbine high. Even though the Star Wars movies hardly qualify as the kind of fare that inspires scorn from those who believe the culture is far too bloody. Lucas says his attitude toward big-screen violence remains largely unchanged. “The other films are pretty much the same in terms of the amount of drama, action and violence. My feeling is the key issue […]

Grace Kelly

Posted September 24, 1992

It has been 10 years since her death in a horrible auto accident in Monaco and more than 35 years since her last film, yet Grace Kelly’s charm, cool beauty, and elegant style have not faded from our minds or our hearts Her mother said it first: there was something “special” about Grace. As a child she had a steely determination to act, and with comparatively little trouble, she became one of Hollywood’s brightest stars in the 1950s. Though some perceived her as an “ice princess,” those who knew her well knew she was warm, funny, and it was said, […]

Without Grace

Posted September 1, 1992

Her life seemed charmed. But 10 years after her death, Grace Kelly’s daughters are still searching for happy endings and wondering if things would have been different had she lived. The talk of Monaco is that there is no talk at all-at least publicly. The citizens of this pint-size Mediterranean principality scuttle about, their heads lowered, avoiding reporters’ questions about the latest romantic high jinks of the country’s royal daughters. Some Monegasques, as the residents are called, are shocked, some resigned. Most can’t help wondering: if Princess Grace hadn’t died in a tragic car crash 10 years ago this month, […]

Brad Pitt’s Cool World

Posted August 1, 1992

Since he played the thief who hitched a ride in Thelma & Louise, Brad Pitt has been hot property. Now, with three films, the actor proves he’s very much his own man. Brad Pitt doesn’t know this, but at one o’clock in the morning, as we were leaving the swank Atlanta restaurant where much of the following interview took place, our waiter tugged at my sleeve and whispered, “Remember Thelma & Louise? Remember Brad’s love scene with Geena Davis? Everybody I know wants to be in Brad Pitt’s shoes or Brad Pitt’s pants.” There may be one or two people […]

Ethan Hawke| Rich or Famous?

Ethan Hawke| Rich or Famous?

Posted March 1, 1992

“I swore to myself that I was never going to do this anymore,” Ethan Hawke says, waving his hand to include me, my tape recorder and the yellow pad I’ve set up for this interview. And when did you decide that? When you were a puppy?“It was when I was 20,” he says in all seriousness. “No, 19. No, wait…” Ethan Hawke has done eight movies to date: Explorers, Dead Poets Society, Dad, Mystery Date, White Fang, A Midnight Clear, and the upcoming Waterland and Rich In Love. If Dead Poets was the film that got him noticed, perception about […]

Wil Wheaton

Posted December 17, 1991

I’m waiting for Wil Wheaton out in front of the Columbia Bar and Grill and beginning to wonder if he’s going to show up. He’s already canceled a day at the beach, a lunch in Beverly Hills, and an afternoon at his house in La Crescenta. Since he is almost a half hour late, I suspect he’s going to blow off interview attempt number four. Just when I’m ready to leave, Wil pulls up in his truck, tumbles out, and shuffles up the restaurant’s walkway. “Sorry I’m late,” he says, pushing his hair out of his doelike like chocolate-brown eyes. […]

Born Again Christian

Posted June 1, 1991

Poised on the brink of mainstream stardom with Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves and Mobsters, Hollywood’s former bad boy Christian Slater isn’t sure whether he’s a hot adult property or still an irrepressible teen prankster. An agent once confided to me her personal litmus test for what makes a star a star. “It’s simple,” she explained. “Do you or do you not want to f** them?” By that standard and a few others, Christian Slater has much of Hollywood breathing hard. Ask anyone. Denise Di Novi, who produced Slater’s 1989 film Heathers, lauds the “incredible intensity level that separates him […]

Ryder on the Storm

Ryder on the Storm

Posted November 1, 1990

Ah, youth. Only one year ago Winona Ryder was spoofing the very idea of movie stars. Since then, she’s snagged Johnny Depp, jilted Francis Coppola, and stolen a movie from Cher. And she’s barely old enough to vote. Winona Ryder won’t wait. That’s what her representative says when she calls to move our meeting up by an hour and a half. The young actress and her fiancé Johnny Depp are in town for only a couple of weeks, to complete Edward Scissorhands, and scheduling is becoming tighter by the second. “Rather than having dinner at La Cucina on Melrose,” her […]

Johnny Handsome

Posted May 1, 1990

Can Johnny Depp, TV’s tattooed teen idol make the leap to the big time with movies like Cry-Baby and Edward Scissorhands—or is this just his 15 minutes of fame? Wayne Newton blew away Johnny Depp in Vegas the other night. Newly named Male Star of Tomorrow, 27-year-old Depp was sharing the dais with fellow honorees Anjelica Huston, Female Star of the Year, Jeff Bridges, Male Star of the Year, Producer of the Year Joel Silver, and Batman Tim Burton, Director of the Year, for whom Depp will next appear in the Fox movie Edward Scissorhands opposite Female Star of Tomorrow […]