By Tim Nasson
Seventies heartthrob John Travolta has come a long way since his first film, nearly 30 years ago. From dancer (Saturday Night Fever, Grease, Staying Alive) to comedian (Look Who’s Talking) to Academy Award nominee (Pulp Fiction) to Scientologist to box-office gold (Michael, Phenomenon, Get Shorty, Face/Off, A Civil Action) to laughingstock (Battlefield Earth, Lucky Numbers, Basic, The Punisher), Travolta is now poised to take his fans by
firestorm in the new Disney film Ladder 49. He plays Baltimore City Fire Chief Mike Kennedy, responsible far the lives of his entire squad, rookie and veteran alike.
Joaquin Phoenix has also come a long way. He was raised a vegan, and traveled to such exotic places as the Amazon jungle and mountains of South America before the age of six. His family finally settled in Los Angeles. As Joaquin began first grade, his parents secured an agent for the entire clan. Brother River would be the superstar, until his untimely death from a drug overdose in ’93. River’s death gave Joaquin more of an impetus to succeed. Gay director Gus Van Sant, who directed River in My Own Private Idaho, took a chance on 19-year-old Joaquin in ’94, casting him as Nicole Kidman’s obsessive devotee in To Die For.
It’s been uphill ever since for 30-year-old Joaquin: an Academy Award nomination for Gladiator, and now, as fireman Jack Morrison in Ladder 49, top billing.
The cast of Ladder 49 and its director, Jay Russell, boarded pilot John Travolta’s 707 luxury jetliner
and toured the country, making their final stop in Boston three days before the film’s release. I spent the rainy afternoon with them at The Four Seasons hotel. The two standouts, of course, were Travolta and Phoenix, the stars.
Travolta said about his part, “I have had so many bad guy roles lately that it was refreshing to be able to play someone with a soul.
“I always prepare for my roles, but I can’t remember a time I have worked so hard or cared so much about a role. The entire cast spent six weeks in Baltimore before shooting began, training with the city’s firefighters. They were sticklers for detail. They were even on the set once filming commenced, and wouldn’t let us get away with anything, be it verbiage or technicality.”
Travolta, 50, may well get his third Academy Award nomination, not for Ladder 49, but for his starring role in A Love Song for Bobby Long. He could barely contain himself when talking about that film. “It’s one of those small films that need to be nurtured and promoted well by its publicists, covered properly in the media: I play someone
slightly older than myself, and it is just such a great movie.” Is his performance Oscar-worthy? “Actually, yes. It would be so great if I were to be honored with even a nomination, not because I want an award but because I think it would help that film earn the recognition it deserves.” Travolta will also reprise his role as Chili Palmer in Be Cool, the sequel to Get Shorty.
Poster boy
Walking into the hotel suite, the self-assured sex symbol Phoenix picked up a poster of Ladder 49 on a chair, turned it over to the blank side, rested it against a wall, shook my hand and sat next to me. He was clearly not
in the mood to be stared back at by himself. “I never cared about billing. Five years after a Newman/Redford movie, who would know who had top billing? I wouldn’t have done the movie if validation was what I needed.
“I think most kids aspire to become what their older brothers or sisters are. I just happened to have an older brother who was a successful actor, and I wanted to be like him.
“Since, as kids, we grew up without a TV, we were challenged to use our imaginations, and we spent a lot of time dressing up, doing plays and singing songs. We were in more of a position to experiment, and not care about rejection if we were turned down for a role.
“There was a time in my acting career, before my brother died, that I wanted out of the business. I had made Space Camp, Russkies and Parenthood, and just had it. I wanted to be out of the spotlight. To have my own life. But after a few years of not working in the movie business, I realized that something was missing, and decided to give it another chance. It just happened to be after my brother died. But I did feel like there was fulfillment when I went
back to acting. And now I could never think of not acting again.”
Phoenix is also proud to be part of the Best Film at this year’s Toronto Film Festival, Hotel Rwanda.
It’s clear that Phoenix and Travolta are still climbing the ladder to success.
