getting hooked

Thursday, October 31, 1996

In the upcoming ‘Unhook the Stars,’ Academy Award winning
actress Gena Rowlands takes advantage of her relationship with her
son, director Nick Cassavetes, to bring something new to the
screen. After 40 years of acting, Rowlands still has what it
takes.By Brandon Wilson

Daily Bruin Staff

ena Rowlands is the kind of actress that leads a person to
almost embarrassing displays of laudation. Besides the fact that
she has turned in some of the finest performances in film history,
her work is relatively unknown to mainstream and younger audiences.
So it’s easy to go on and on when explaining the wonders of
Rowlands.

"I feel like I have to write a poem about her, because there’s
just no way I can use superlative after superlative about every
aspect of her being," says Marisa Tomei when asked what it was like
working with the incomparable Gena Rowlands.

"She’s one of the best actresses ever, if not the best. And
she’s stunning, and she’s classy, and she’s a broad, and really
disciplined and open, and I’m really glad I got to meet her and
work with her. I think it’s been a really big influence on me in
ways I don’t even know yet."

Rowlands is best known for her partnership with her late husband
actor-writer-director John Cassavetes, a man who is now considered
to be the father of American Independent Cinema. Of Cassavetes’ 10
films, Rowlands starred in seven, and their collaboration ranks as
one of the best actor-director duos ever.

Now Rowlands is working with another product of her relationship
with John Cassavetes: their son Nick.

In the upcoming film "Unhook the Stars" starring Rowlands,
Tomei, Gerard Depardieu and Moira Kelly, Nick Cassavetes serves as
co-writer and makes his feature film directorial debut. This is a
project that was conceived as a showcase for the immense talents of
his mother, which as it happens, was the last thing she was
expecting.

"This is sort of a happy surprise, to have your son present you
with a really wonderful script is not something you can anticipate"
says Rowlands. The actress is now in the unusual position of having
given birth to and raised her director. With the young Cassavetes
she has completed a second film, continuing the dramatic tradition
well-established in the family between Rowlands and the elder
Cassavetes.

"It was thrilling," says Rowlands of stepping before the camera
for her son. "I don’t want to get soppy about it, but it’s hard to
describe, it’s quite emotional."

In the film, Rowlands portrays Mildred, a spirited widow and
mother of two grown children. Despite earnest attempts at
communication, she doesn’t get along with her aimless daughter Ann
and manages a cordial relationship with her successful son Ethan
(David Sherrill). A chance event brings her neighbor, a feisty
single mom and her son (Tomei and Jake Lloyd) into her life as
bonds form between Mildred and the mother and child.

The story is simply about a woman whom everyone needs and relies
upon.The film was a chance for Rowlands to tackle a character with
her own needs and concerns, but a character who is not all that
different from herself.

"To say Mildred has a broad spectrum of interest would be the
kindest way I could put it; to say she’s a little pedantic would be
probably closer to the truth," says Rowlands. "She has a whole set
of right and wrongs and thinks things through quite clearly; she
knows what rules in life she believes in and tries to abide by
them. But her saving grace, I think, is that she’s not a person who
judges very heavily."

Nick Cassavetes concurs with his mother’s assessment of Mildred
and has little compunction about pointing out the finer qualities
of both the character and the actress. "The thing I like about Gena
best, and I like her a lot, is that she’s an interested person. Not
only is she interested in everything, she gets excited about
information, she has a real excitement about learning. That’s what
I remember most about my childhood, and luckily she passed some of
that onto me."

Born in Wisconsin, Rowlands followed up graduation from the
University of Wisconsin with a stint in the American Academy of
Dramatic Arts in New York City (where John, and later Nick
Cassavetes would attend). Following a successful string of Broadway
performances in the 1950s, Rowlands went west to make her film
debut in "The High Cost of Living" (1958). It was at this same time
in New York City that John Cassavetes was beginning to work on what
would be his directorial debut, his improvisational first film
"Shadows" (1959).

The two first collaborated on "A Child is Waiting" (1963), with
Cassavetes doing a sophomore turn as director. Five years later, he
directed her in "Faces," which featured the blistering and
emotionally raw characterizations that have become Cassavetes
trademark. The gallery of characters created through the teamwork
of Cassavetes and Rowlands are among the most complex roles written
and acted in cinema. Her role in "A Woman Under the Influence"
(1974) as Mabel Longhetti, a wife and mother with questionable
mental sanity, is one of the greatest marvels of screen acting. She
received her first Oscar nomination for this stellar
performance.

Recalling the directorial approach of the elder Cassavetes,
Rowlands finds much of his style in her son. Both began their
careers in drama as actors.

"The similarities with Nick, and my late husband, is that he
loves actors, and he treats them with a great tenderness and
fondness," says Rowlands. "A lot of directors try to act like they
like actors but they really have a hard time pulling it off. He
really loves them, probably because he was an actor."

Other Rowlands-Cassavetes collaborations include the serio-comic
"Minnie and Moskowitz" (1971), "Opening Night" (1978), "Gloria"
(1980, for which she received her second Oscar nomination) and
"Love Streams" (1984, Cassavetes last film before his death in
1989).

While best known for her contributions to the Cassavetes
filmography, Rowlands has worked with other renowned directors
throughout her career, including Paul Mazursky ("The Tempest"),
Paul Schrader ("Light of Day"), Woody Allen ("Another Woman"), Jim
Jarmusch ("Night on Earth") and Lasse Hallstrom ("Once Around" and
"Something to Talk About").

As for working with her son, it presented some of the same
challenges as working with her husband. "On the set, if you’re
working with a member of your family, you have to be very careful
that the other people don’t feel excluded. I learned that very
early on working with John; and I think we pulled it off. We acted
just as an actor and director. When we were on "Gloria," of course
John and I had been married many years by then, a young p.a.
(production assistant) on the last day of shooting found out we
were married. She was so surprised. And I thought, ‘We did all
right!’ So Nick and I try to work that way, too."

For Nick Cassavetes, the prospect of directing both a legend and
his mother could have proved daunting. But the director relied on
his mother’s talent and their mutual love for the material to make
the process a smooth one. "Did I have trepidation about making a
movie, sure. But number one, she’s the greatest actress in the
world. She can do anything, so your behind is covered. She makes
things that are normal look extraordinary. Number two, there is a
real short-hand in speaking with someone you know so well. With
other actors you have to tell them not only what you want, but they
also have to know who you are so they can judge the direction
you’re giving. That’s one process we didn’t have to go
through."

Rowlands was recently honored during the AFI Film Festival for
her body of work, and with the release of "Unhook the Stars," the
actress may find the accolades she deserves coming to her, even if
they are a bit late.

Her son certainly hopes so. "I hope that I write something like
this for her again, it’s an exceptional part for her. It’s no
secret that Gena’s a great actress, but this film shows many things
we haven’t seen from her before. And I just hope she gets
recognized for being the great actress she is."

FILM: "Unhook the Stars" will be released this Friday, Nov.
1.

MIRAMAX FILMS

Gena Rowlands stars in "Unhook the Stars," a film directed by
her son, Nick Cassavetes.MIRAMAX FILMS

Director Nick Cassavetes on location for "Unhook the Stars" with
his mother, Gena Rowlands.

(Gena Rowlands) is now in the unusual position of having given
birth to and raised her director.