Blessed, Life and Films of Val Kilmer

by William Hamilton

  And how did Mr. Harlin work with Val? “We had no problems once we understood each other. There are some actors who want to test you, and keep suggesting ways of doing things on the set. Val is like that. I just explained to him we weren’t going to be doing that, and he agreed.”

  How was Val on the set? There was a small group of people watching the filming and they said, “Then Val Kilmer looks up and smiles, for a second we think that he has spotted us upon the roof. But then we see what he is looking at, a little white cloud with a small golden rim. It stays only for a few seconds.”

  Awards

  The little gold man might have been elusive to Val so far, but he has received a few other awards. If the right combination of factors came into play in his previous movies, he certainly would have more. His best roles seem to come in obscure films with little financial backing from the studio, while his commercial successes have been only from rather commercial movies. It seems odd that a man who is determined to be known for his acting and not his looks would have the problem of not getting the awards he deserves, but this is probably also explained that many of the awards are based on financial success also.

  MTV Movie Awards

  1992 and 1994

  Val was nominated for Best Male Performance in “The Doors”in1992 and Best Male Performance and Most Desirable Male in 1994 for “Tombstone.”

  Prism Award

  2003

  The Prism Awards are a different sort of award; they are awards that promote accuracy in drug, alcohol, and tobacco use and other social problems for the purpose of public awareness. Val is a natural to win one of these awards; he won his for Performance in a Theatrical Feature Film for “Salton Sea.”

  The Prism Awards are from the non-profit EIC, who celebrated its 20th anniversary last year.

  Maverick Spirit Award

  2003

  Writer/Director Halfdan Hussey developed the Cinequest Film Festival to showcase maverick films, filmmakers and film technology. Its success is evident in that it earned a spot in “The Ultimate Guide to Film Festivals” top 10 list.

  A huge assortment of movies, 145 from 31 countries, was in the spotlight at the festival.

  Val won the prestigious “Maverick Spirit Award,” and spoke at the festival.

  Cinequest’s director of public relations Jens Michael Hussey said,

  Val Kilmer is an actor who has great diversity and depth in his wide range of roles. He really fits the bill of a ‘maverick spirit’ both personally and in his work. He goes against the grain and has established a strong physical screen presence.”

  Susan Tavernetti, a film professor from de Anza College, acts as hostess and guides Val through his career. Val was in a great mood, and he shot off jokes faster than Tom Sizemore shot bullets behind Val’s head in “Heat.” He joked about his roles, starting with “Top Secret,” saying that he slept with all three directors to get the part. He also said he was glad his mother wasn’t there because all the clips they showed were of him playing killers, drunks and drug addicts.

  He praised John Cox for his work in “Wonderland” that he was currently editing. Val told the audience, “If you clap real hard, he’ll have to keep (the clips they showed) in.” The audience didn’t disappoint, and showered the clips with an ovation. Val then related that he wanted to be in “The Salton Sea” so he could have a green Mohawk.

  He’s asked about Cher, “She’s one of the funniest people I’ve ever met. She’s done it all: TV, film, stage, she’s won an Oscar, infomercials!”

  He also talked about one of his favorite subjects, his kids, who are too young to watch most of his films. “Dad, do we have to watch ‘Willow’ again?” asks Jack.

  “Yes, I made it for you before you were born.”

  “But it’s so boring!”

  Miscellaneous Oscar quote:

  From an unidentified Oscar voter; “if I’d seen Tombstone before I voted, I’d have voted for Kilmer. And I know a lot of other people who feel the same way. The public was ahead of the critics, the Academy, and even Kilmer’s own studio on this one.”

  Troubled Val

  Val Kilmer’s goal, “To be an actor, rather than being successful or famous.”

  Joel Schumacher called Val “the most psychologically troubled human being I’ve ever worked with... he needs help.”

  Val reaction, “I didn’t read the article where Mr. Schumacher said that, but it wasn’t based on any experience. I never threw the Batmobile off a cliff or didn't show up. He knew I was going through a divorce, so that (comment) was designed to help my ex-wife in custody, which was pretty shocking… He was a very generous director. (When) my mom came to visit, there was a nice chair for her, and he never forgets anybody’s name.”

  “I’m sure I’m more guilty of being difficult than I’d like to remember. I don’t regret my desires. I’ve regretted the way I would communicate my desires. Maybe I’ve lost a job because of some rumor, but I doubt it. Nobody good that I’ve worked with has ever said anything negative about me, because we’ve never had a negative experience. By ‘good,’ I mean directors who do their homework, people that are passionate, crazy, never sleep, and do like I do and just go after it.”

  Val’s brother Mark seems to think that Val is troubled also, “Val has no example in his life that he can look to of a good relationship.”

  “There was a lot of Jim Morrison going on in Val when we made ‘The Doors’” Says Oliver Stone. “Morrison was always shrinking from this parents; he was full of self-loathing. Val had to take that on, and I don’t think he lacked for those same themes in his own life… (Val is) passionate about his work — with the wrong approach, you may see a side of him you don’t like.”

  Val says, “Interesting characters are troubled characters. The only problem I’ve had in my business is very few people - unfortunately, very vocal - confusing the difficult role that I play with me. I play these guys, but I’m not like them. I’ve been accused of being difficult to work with. But that’s like saying the football player’s out of breath ‘cause when he comes off the field having caught a hundred-yard pass he shouldn’t be out of breath. He’s not out of shape; he just went and did his job.”

  “We learn, the hard way, that you can’t change how a film is perceived. I’ve been out of line on one aspect of the way I’ve approached work because I just hadn’t accepted that as a fact. If I’ve been hustled, like, ‘We’ll make these changes,’ ‘We’ll do this or that’ -- nothing unique to me, you understand, just standard business practice where time gets away -- what I never accepted or had any empathy with, from the producer’s, director’s or writer’s side, is that they have stuff they want but don’t get, either. I didn’t learn until ‘Tombstone’ that an actor cannot change the tone, the predominant feeling of a film. They killed more people behind the camera on ‘Tombstone’ than they did at the O.K. Corral. Over 100 people quit or got fired. Somehow, strangely, my character survived all the damage.”

  “I messed up certain relationships because of that. When I worked on ‘Willow,’ I should have just relaxed. If George Lucas was happy, I should have been happy.”

  “I had just lost my father right before I started Tombstone, and that had just happened to Jim (Carey) as well as this extraordinary success, so he was very uh... he was reeling. And it was a special feeling to just be able to share it...just to be able to share time with him because it had happened to me. And he was a very serious man, so he liked talking about acting and things and it helped get his mind off it. But having said that, then he’d go to work and he was just electric. A lot of fun. But it was very pleasurable now and again when he would complain about his costume, too.”

  Once there was a rumor that Val would let anyone talk to him on the set of “The Doors.”

  Val says, “Let’s say that the production manager did a dumb thing. I had an assistant who had a conversation with her about procedure. Like, what would be nice. And this interpretation of these suggestions came ou
t as: DO NOT TALK TO HIM. I couldn’t figure out why the crew was so quiet all of the sudden. I’m serious. When a crew is good - and these guys were great - they are usually pretty quiet and efficient. Like, they wait three weeks before they start making fart jokes. Anyway, once I found out, I had to go around apologizing to everyone.”

  Irwin Winkler talks about his decision to hire Val, “I’d heard the stories about him, so I checked him out. I called Bob De Niro and Michael Mann, who’d worked with him on ‘Heat,’ and they both gave him raves…I had a wonderful experience, in spite of all the naysayers. Some people expect an actor to be like a wooden Indian, to do what he’s told and never open his mouth. But Val has lots of great ideas, and he should be listened to.”

  Kurt Russell says, “It was kind of up to me to hold things together. I’ll be honest: I was a little concerned about Val because I heard he had a rep for being difficult. I can tell you, he was a love. I mean, he gave me the same kind of loyalty that Doc Holliday gave Wyatt Earp. It was really on the line for me, and he came through. And I think that’s what it is about for Val. He needs a challenge to be at his best, the challenge of a difficult role, or a difficult situation. Val doesn’t have a coasting gear.”

  Anthony Hoffman says, “You have to hold your own against him. He kept me on my toes. But he's very generous….It actually surprised me how much he really wanted to be directed. He was really willing and wanting to be directed. I had heard that once Val forms an opinion about a character, he’s pretty much stuck on it, and directing him might be more difficult. What surprised me the most, and what was most rewarding, was how collaborative he was.”

  Katzenberg talks about the actor, “Val was one of the first people cast in [The Prince of Egypt]. He was there every step along the way; patient, understanding, and phenomenally generous with his time…(negative stories) have not a scintilla of credibility in my life. It’s not possible for someone to be more conscientious, more devoted, more generous, more collaborative.”

  D.J. Caruso talks about working with Val, “I think sometimes he might be too generous. There were some scenes (in ‘The Salton Seal’) that were particularly Danny’s scenes, and lots of times Val would encourage other actors-like Peter (Sarsgaard), for example-to do more in the scene. Val would say, ‘Wouldn't it be great if Peter did this?’ There are certain actors who like to hit the ball back, and whenever we found an actor who was willing to play ball, Val would be even more giving.”

  “I think a lot of times he probably was not in roles that were challenging enough, and he was trying to make something more of them than the director or the script or the studio wanted him to be.

  Ted Turner says, “You know, people have said I’m a little crazy. But if you’re the slightest bit different, you’re gonna get a little of that, right? He’s got his own style. I kind of like that. I think he’s an interesting, fun person. I think he’s a hoot.”

  Heat co star Tom Sizemore told Premiere, “Never have I heard so much crap about an actor I had such a good time with. It’s all b******t. He doesn’t explain himself to people, so people talk.”

  Val has a positive attitude towards the whole thing, “People don’t believe me when I say I don’t think about it. There wasn’t anything to think or ask a question about. It takes energy to be jealous or to want revenge. There’s so little time in the world.”

  Readers React

  W Magazine July 1997

  Kudos to Kilmer (a letter written to the magazine)

  I’d like to say something about your article on Phillip Noyce's “The Saint” and actor Val Kilmer (“Phillip Noyce: Man of Action,” April). Much has been written about Mr. Kilmer, most of it negative. While I do not know him personally, my late husband, Chief Ted Thin Elk, worked with him in the film “Thunderheart” in South Dakota in the early Nineties. My husband played the elderly medicine man who was the focal point of the film. Plucked straight from the Rosebud Sicangu Lakota Reservation, Ted did not know what to expect as a first-time actor. His co-stars were Graham Greene, Mr. Kilmer, John Trudell and Sam Shepard. Being in his mid-70s at the time, my husband had lived most of his life on the reservation and had not seen many films in his lifetime. With the exception of John Trudell, who was an Oglala from the Pine Ridge Reservation next to Rosebud, Ted didn’t really know these actors. I met Ted after the film was released.

  There was a color photograph of Ted and Val Kilmer prominently displayed in the living room until his death. He spoke often of how kind and caring Mr. Kilmer was to him and how he went out of his way to help him make the scenes stronger. He said he learned Mr. Kilmer has Native American heritage himself and shared knowledge about the Lakota (Sioux) with him during breaks in the filming. I will never forget the smile on his face when he spoke of Mr. Kilmer. When I read horror stories about how difficult he is to work with, I just remember the wonderful things Ted told me about him and realize the stories cannot be totally accurate.

  If you have a way to get in touch with Mr. Kilmer, I would very much appreciate your letting him know how much the late Chief Ted Thin Elk thought of him as a man and an actor.

  Ted died January 27 of this year.

  Keep up the wonderful stories and articles you give us. They are superb.

  Anna V. Carroll

  San Francisco, Calif.

  Blessed

  Val has been working on an epic personal project since 1993, which he plans to co-write, direct, star in, and co-produce. The story is laid out in his mind for the most part.

  Val says, “I’ve wanted to (direct) for a long time. I just haven’t. It’s finishing the script and looking for a partner. I had a writing partner last year, and it's not uncommon that I didn’t get the first draft I was after. It’s called ‘Blessed.’”

  The basic premise is a man traveling through different eras comes into contact with real-life charities, and then exploring the charities in a vignette. Val explains, “The main themes, are identity and heroic action, and in feeling the film will be somewhat analogous to ‘Kundun,’ ‘E.T,’ ‘Being There,’ and, in historical scope but not tone, ‘Forrest Gump.’”

  “The character is literally a better person than me. That’s selfish intent: If I write a character better than me, than I’ll be better by playing it...It’s really an attitude, a kind of generosity of spirit. I was making fun of myself about being prepared to do the interview, but it’s true, I never have prepared for one. But you see people who have, some intensely. And wisely. Some people communicate very succinctly, and it’s as if they have a gift for interviewing or selling themselves.”

  “It’s never been done before and it’s happening and it's pretty exciting. I’m always looking at other people’s stuff and going, ‘Damn, I gotta get around to behaving properly.’ Like what’s-her-name. She’s so wonderful, so squared, God. Harvard graduate and Oscars coming out of her Oscars. She’s so sweet. Jodie Foster. She starts her company and does the interview and she’s all smiling in the pictures and everything’s right and proper. I don’t - I don’t do it like that somehow.”

  “To be honest, I despair often, because it’s very hard to make a movie, period. Anybody that does really deserves a lot of credit; no matter how the thing turns out…I would look at it more as foolish (than ambitious). Write a short list of ten dumb things to try and do with a commercial movie, and they’re all on it.”

  Val has put his own money into the project, and is working with a New York based company called Third Millennium Media. He might do the whole project without studio backing. He wants to establish a non-profit organization to coordinate fundraising for the film largely through corporate sponsorships, to arrange distribution and merchandising deals, and also to act as something of a clearinghouse for the non-profits mentioned in the film, supporting them with whatever revenues might result. Part of the funding will also come from product placement deals.

  Val say he can film a movie for less than a traditional movie by filming with high-definition video, to eliminate the ne
ed for a large crew and specialized lighting. Val says, “With high definition, we’ll be able to film anywhere in the world for less money than shooting the whole time in Los Angeles. Any movie under $20 million, the only reason they’re not being filmed on hi-def is ignorance of the quality. I don’t feel like I’m being that innovative; it’s just the practical way of solving the challenges of this particular story.”

  Val commissioned Earthrise films, which also did “Africa Unbottled” to do a test run of the process of transferring high definition to film with a twenty-minute movie also called “Blessed.” Earthrise films also did a high definition film called “In Two Worlds” which was commissioned by Val and is about the Native American Prep School.

  “Blessed” was shot in Hawaii, Iraq, Jordan, and New Mexico. The main purpose was to see how the film worked in different settings, many of which might be used in the film. The plot was a loosely constructed story of a series of men all played by Val, who are part of a worldwide nature collective. It begins and ends with quotes from Thomas Paine: “The world is my country; mankind is my brethren; to do good is my religion,” and, “These are the times that try men’s souls.”

  In a review of the movie it describes the characters, who were purposefully outlandish. First he was a long-haired surfer, then a bald fashion-type figure, a denim-wearing cowboy, a roguish spy, a guy who danced around like Jamiroquai's lead singer, and a naked guy on the beach and then, still naked, on the base of the Statue of Liberty. There were scenes inside some children’s hospitals and out in the desert. The sound track included the Smashing Pumpkins, Orbital’s theme from ‘The Saint,’ he’s also trying to get Beck and Led Zeppelin for the real movie.