Death to Smoochy

A Smurf on smack reciting "Faust" in Swahili. That's what was playing from the little recorder sitting on my desk, and all hope was vapor. The thought of throwing my wasted self from my 10th-floor room came to me with open arms, saying, "I am your friend. Take my invitation!" Then I realized it was because it was 3 a.m., I was tired and had forgotten to switch the recorder's speed down to normal. Regrouping my wit (and yes, it was singular by this point), I pushed "play" and began to transcribe the events of March 25. That was the day I participated in a telephone conference with Robin Williams (Rainbow Randolph), and director Danny DeVito (Burke), in promotion for "Death to Smoochy." What follows is the majority of that stimulating conversation. Here, you will find the story of a rainbow-riding fool driven to the edge of insanity by a fuchsia rhino, the man who dared to bring it to the screen, and a cookie… My God, a cookie that would bring Ron Jeremy to his chubby knees. Enjoy…\nRobin Williams\nQ: This is the first of three dark roles for you ("Death to Smoochy," "Insomnia," "One-Hour Photo"). Why did you decide to do them?\nA: With "Insomnia," it's working with Chris Nolan ("Memento"). It was amazing because he's so young, but he has a great feel of scene and direction. Playing dark characters is something that I wanted to explore for awhile. Studios wouldn't send it because, I hadn't done it before, but with "Smoochy" it was just so nasty-funny, and once I found out it was Danny DeVito, I said, "I have to do this."\nQ: Danny DeVito seems to be very visual and you are more improvisational and physical. How did that work out?\nA: There are no boundaries with him, there aren't even little road cones. It's just basically this sense of try anything and he'll take the best. Because he's so visual, I think that's why you kind of push the physical comedy, which is great. That combined with his own nasty sense of humor -- he has this kind of demonic laugh that you know if he's going for it, it must be really dark. And he just wanted to go more. He's not afraid of anything and that's why I wanted to do it.\nQ: Was this like exorcising the demons?\nA: It's nice to go the other way once in awhile just to confuse people, like "Is this that nice man?" You know, it's when you find out there's a porno version of your movie called "Snatch Adams," you go, "Oh my God!" And it's kind of interesting to toy with people on that level, and that's why it's been fun for me to do and also so interesting for the films themselves because they kind of toss people's perceptions on their ear.\nQ: What was one of your favorite moments from filming?\nA: There's a great one! You know the scene where he (Smoochy) pulls out The Cookie (think Interpretive Cookie Art à la Larry Flynt) the first time, you know, there are all these sweet little kids around and this one little kid about 8 years old looks up and goes, "What the fuck?" And that was the first time he pulled out The Cookie and so that was the real reaction of this little kid responding to The Cookie and they didn't get it on film. And it was the most bizarre thing. It was like a little cherub saying it.\nQ: How was working with Edward Norton?\nA: He was great. He's a great actor. I mean, you look at him, everyone's talking about me doing a dark roll. He's coming from the dark side doing a kind role, because you know, he has played some of the nastiest and powerful characters like in "American History X" and "Primal Fear." My God, what a frightening psychopath. And in this he's playing an innocent, very sweet and yet, by the end slightly more realistic, more cynical, more of a survivor. And he's a great actor. He's really got the chops. It's great to work with him. I've been lucky enough to work with people like him and Pacino and all these other people and you just learn, which is a great thing.\nQ: In this film, Randolph is quite offensive and he's doing this in front of impressionable children. Did you have any discomfort doing this in front of them, and if so, how did you deal with these things?\nA: The first day they wanted me to just come and do those things and say those things about The Cookie right in front of all of them, and I said listen, I have to do two things: I have to tell the parents that we're doing this -- you know, I don't want anybody having to explain things that they're not ready to explain to a child -- and then also let them know what was going to be said. And the only word they were uncomfortable with, and this was Canada, was the word "dick," because they said one of the children might be named Richard.\nQ: When you got the script, how did you feel reading and were you a little apprehensive?\nA: No, not at all. I laughed my ass off when I read it. The only other time I've laughed out loud is when I got a copy of "The Birdcage" and I went, "Wow!" Was I worried about it having an edge? No, I mean, my stand-up's like that.\nDanny Devito\nQ: What was it like working with Robin Williams, Edward Norton and Jon Stewart?\nA: The experience was really exciting. It's always exciting directing movies, but when you have people who are very prone to improvise and constantly have a lot of fun, which is good by the way, your experience is broadened. It's made more exciting because you do the script, which we stuck by pretty closely, but I also allowed all the actors a few takes to let it loose. And the one person you have to be careful to say that to is Robin, because he just goes. It was lots and lots of fun.\nQ: Working as an actor, producer, and director, which role would you say you prefer?\nA: Well, I love the business. I think it's the greatest industry. We have the ability to create and work with people and to do all the things that I love to do. I really enjoy working as a producer because you get to work with people like Quentin Tarantino, (Steven) Soderbergh and all the different directors and collaborate with them and try to get their vision on the screen. And acting I've been passionate about since I was in my early 20s. And directing is a glorious thing to be able to do -- to take that script and visualize it and work with the actors. So, I really couldn't pick one to do, if I couldn't do the other two, I guess I would say directing would be first because it would take up a lot of the time in the day, which it does, and you have more time to sit and draw pictures and think of music and do all the things that I love doing.\nQ: How do you make the decision to push something and how do you know when to draw the line?\nA: In terms of taking risks, I think that's what life's all about if you're an artist. If you take risks, you're going to grow and you're going to try things. You also have to have a barometer, I guess, inside which kind of pulls you into like how far you're going. I usually pull back a bit. Even though sometimes it doesn't seem like it, I do censor myself in terms of the kind of shots that I'm doing and how far I'm taking the audience or pushing the envelope. I try and be respectful to the script and the sensibilities of all the characters, whether or not I'm taking it over the edge. It's something you have to guard really close, and sometimes maybe your foot slips over the edge, but it's more exciting for you as an artist to take that risk as long as you're not really hurting anybody. The risks are part of the joy of it.\nQ: There are some who are arguing that the kids-business-as-hell-hole concept is old, something that's already been done by such shows as "The Simpsons" with Krusty the Clown. As the director of "Death to Smoochy," what would you argue makes this film an original approach to this storyline?\nA: I actually watch "The Simpsons," you know. I've appeared on "The Simpsons" a couple times, but they've never done it on "South Park." That's my only reference these days. I felt when I got "Death to Smoochy," it was a really unique and exciting vehicle, something I could take chances with, bring a lot of style to and get Robin Williams and Edward Norton and Catherine Keener on the board, finding out what their interpretations of these characters would be and that was what really inspired me to do the movie.