The Ultimate Gift

by Rene Gutteridge

  It is a wealthy person, indeed, who calculates riches not by gold but by friends.

  The Gift of Learning

  Education is a lifelong journey whose destination expands as you travel.

  The Gift of Problems

  Problems can only be avoided by exercising good judgment . . . Good judgment can only be attained by experiencing life’s problems.

  The Gift of Family

  Some people are born into wonderful families. Others have to find or create them. Being a member of a family is a priceless privilege that costs nothing but love.

  The Gift of Laughter

  Laughter is good medicine for the soul. Our world is desperately in need of more such medicine.

  The Gift of Dreams

  Faith is all that dreamers need to see the future.

  The Gift of Giving

  The only way you can truly get more out of life for yourself is to give part of yourself away.

  The Gift of Gratitude

  In those times when we yearn to have more in our lives, we should dwell on the things we already have. In doing so, we will often times find that our lives are already full to overflowing.

  The Gift of a Day

  Life at its essence boils down to one day at a time. Today is the day!

  The Gift of Love

  Love is a treasure for which we can never pay. The only way we keep it is to give it away.

  Interview with James Garner

  (played Red in the movie)

  Interviewer:

  Red is the heart and foundation of the movie in the sense that he sets the story emotionally.

  James Garner:

  You’ve got a dead man setting something in motion . . .

  Interviewer:

  Tell me about it. What is his plan for Jason?

  James Garner:

  Well, I can’t tell you what his plan is because then you’ll know the whole script, but he sends him off to learn about work and people and life in general. And he makes him run a merry chase to learn about what really matters before he gives him the ultimate gift.

  Interviewer:

  Is he a self-made man?

  James Garner:

  Red made his fortune in the cattle business early in his life and branched out to about everything else. He probably owned insurance companies, and all that, because he was an extremely wealthy man.

  Interviewer:

  What is Red’s biggest failure?

  James Garner:

  Family was his biggest failure. And he’s a little disappointed about them, except Jason, his grandson whom he really cared for.

  Interview:

  What do you think it was about Jason?

  James Garner:

  Well, we’re getting way into the character here and into the movie, but Jason’s father, who would be my son, was killed and my character felt guilty about that. To tell any more would give too much away, but as Red would say, “You don’t really begin to live until you’ve lost it all.”

  Interview with Brian Dennehy

  (played Gus in the movie)

  Interviewer:

  Tell me how the character Gus fits into the overall story of The Ultimate Gift.

  Brian Dennehy:

  The whole point about Gus is that he’s a good man. He’s a hardworking decent man who believes in hard work, has achieved a lot in his life through hard work and his relationship with his old friend Red.

  Red knows that he will help his grandson find his way out of this mess that he’s gotten himself into. It’s not just a legal mess, it’s more importantly a crisis of the soul and spirit.

  Interviewer:

  When Jason first arrives and asks Gus for his “gift,” how does he react?

  Brian Dennehy:

  Oh, he just laughs at him. He just thinks it’s funny. Because, of course, the gift that they’re talking about can’t be given, its got to be earned. And the kid doesn’t really have any idea what that process is, nor does the audience at that point. They realize it, hopefully, approximately at the same time that Jason does. Which is that the gift is a process—not a thing.

  Interviewer:

  Gus really starts the process and ends the process.

  Brian Dennehy:

  Well, Gus realizes the process is over only when the lesson has been learned. And, of course, that’s also when it’s time for this kid to move on. Gus’s life—while valuable, moral, and strong— is not, Jason’s life. He has to live his own life . . . find a way of living that life, and hopefully, he has. It is time for school to be out and for him to start living his own life.

  Interviewer:

  From what I’ve seen watching you rehearse today, you seem very comfortable with the role of Gus. It seems very easy for you. Have you found anything that was a challenge in the role?

  Brian Dennehy:

  Well, I still have to do the rope gag this afternoon, and that’ll probably be a problem. I’ve used a lariat in the past, but it’s been a long time and I’m not really a roper. And it’s windy today. So, yeah, that’ll be a challenge!

  Interview with Drew Fuller

  (played Jason in the movie)

  Interviewer:

  How did you hear about plans to film the movie The Ultimate Gift?

  Drew Fuller:

  I’d just been shooting a movie in Europe for three months, and I’d been home for about two. I got ahold of the script and I woke up one morning, rolled over in my bed, sat up, read the script, cried my eyes out, and then called my manager and said, “I have to meet them immediately. I love this project. It’s amazing. It’s like the dream role. I want to do this, I want to go ride the motorcycles, I want to be in prison, and I want to have the penthouse, and I want to drive this sick muscle car. It’s just awesome. And I want to cry, and I want to feel, and I want to lose myself and find myself and the whole thing.” And they said, “Good. Go do well in the meeting.”

  Interviewer:

  I hear you have a unique approach for feeling at home whenever you travel for a movie?

  Drew Fuller:

  Yeah. Whenever I leave town to go do a movie—I was born and raised in Los Angeles—I have a tendency to cut myself off from my friends, my family, my life because I’m going to a new place where I become a new character. That new place is my new home. The people there are my family, my friends. If I keep thinking about home and what I’m missing, then it’s not fair to the character or to the story. We [actors] have the greatest gift in the world. I mean, I get paid to play for a living. And I love that. I try to live it up as much as I can and be as present as possible.

  Interviewer:

  How do you view your responsibility as an actor?

  Drew Fuller:

  It’s a huge responsibility. This character has five, six, seven layers. Just when you think you’ve hit a new level, you dig a little deeper and there’s another level there. And to be involved in a script that’s opening me up to that . . . that’s what it’s all about. Pushing me. I’m uncomfortable. I’m nervous. I get scared before I go on set, because I’m hitting levels and I’m doing things I’ve never done before, things that I’ve never had to do. And the fact that I’ve been challenged in this way, and hopefully living up to the challenge, and meeting each one as they come, is very gratifying. So when this is all said and done and the final product is out there, I know that I approached it with my heart and soul and gave it my best. And it has definitely pushed me to a new level as an actor. It has changed me forever. I mean, granted, the story is the one that changes people because it’s such a beautiful tale.

  Interviewer:

  How close has your own life been to the character Jason?

  Drew Fuller:

  I am no where near a billionaire’s grandson, but I was fortunate to be raised in Newport Beach, California, the orange curtain, or the bubble, as some people like to refer to it in Southern California, because it’s like this little bubble, country club right on the beach. I mean, my first period in high
school was surfing. It’s ridiculous and amazing. And the cars in my high school were Mercedes and BMWs, the latest and greatest lifted trucks, and awesome muscle cars. Anything and everything. I saw what money could do to so many people.

  I think I’ve lost contact with almost every single person from my high school except for two. But I saw how it affected these kids. Now when I go home to visit my parents, who still live there, I can see it. It’s worse now, but maybe that’s because I’m older and more mature. I can see how spoiled everyone is. A lot of it is really ugly.

  That’s what Jason is trying to hide, that ugliness. He has this really sleek façade of the coolest, most amazing tools, the most beautiful . . . the coolest apartment. So that was my bridge. That was Drew bridging to Jason. And after that, I treat each character like an island, you know. Where I’m at and where the character in the story needs to be. So I find my bridge to get there, and once I’m there, the bridge goes away and I build my character from the ground up.

  Interviewer:

  How was it to work with James Garner?

  Drew Fuller:

  What can you say? He’s a legend. He’s done well over a hundred movies. We actually only filmed one scene together for just one day. It was a surreal moment— in the same vein as Field of Dreams. In the scene, it was like his material body was in front of me, but really it was just an image on a screen. I don’t think it’s sunk in yet. We’re acting opposite each other and I’m crying and he’s crying and we just give each other this huge hug at the end. After our scene, he took me to dinner at Cracker Barrel. I got sick mid-meal because he was force feeding me all this food like country-fried steak, gravy, fried okra, dumplings . . . it was a disaster! And he was just laughing.

  Another legend is Brian Dennahy. On the set, Dennahy came to the conclusion that this is his 117th film. He’s great. Oh man, in one of his first scenes he comes out of the house with the Brian Dennahy smile and the “ho ho ho” . . . I was thinking “Yes, that’s the Dennahy I know. That’s the guy I saw in the movies.” Amazing actor. Huge theater actor. He just came off of eight months in London doing “Death of a Salesman” where he just got nominated for an Olivier, which is the equivalent to a Tony in America. He’s this amazing theater actor. I relished every moment. I wouldn’t leave the set; I just watched what he did.

  You couldn’t have gotten a better cast. Everyone is so perfect for their role.

  Interviewer:

  Do you think that one of the 12 gifts stands out as “the ultimate gift”?

  Drew Fuller:

  No, they’re all equally important. Every single “gift” that Jason receives is a necessity. He needs each to progress, to become a man, to have a real sense of soul. He needs to embody and overcome all these things. So there’s not one that sticks out more than another or resonates most with me. I’ve treated them all as equally important because they were all issues that needed to be dealt with.

  Interviewer:

  Is there an essential message to this movie?

  Drew Fuller:

  Yes, there is but I think I’d like to keep that to myself. Each person will leave the theater taking something from the story. And maybe one particular gift will resonate with them. As a character approaching it, all the gifts are equally important. But as a viewer, it might be one gift, “the gift of work” for instance, resonates with you. Maybe it is something you need to address in your life. I hope everyone takes something from it and be motivated to change something about themselves for the greater good.

  Interviewer:

  You say you make a place your home. What’s it like shooting in Charlotte?

  Drew Fuller:

  I wish I knew. I’ve had maybe six days off since I’ve been here, so I really haven’t had a chance to explore. What I’ve seen of it, I love. Everyone’s really friendly. I love that there’s an actual season called fall. Leaves are turning colors and all of a sudden trees aren’t green anymore. They’re red and brown. You just don’t have that in LA. I talked to my parents yesterday, and it’s 87 degrees there. That’s beautiful and nice and fantastic, but . . . it’s November, it’s Thanksgiving, I want cold, I want scarves, I want red trees, I want crunchy leaves on the ground. I guess it’s old fashioned, but Charlotte has all that. I like how crisp the air is and how sweet everyone is. But I don’t think I could ever live in any place like this full time. I respond too much to energy, to action. I want to be in the thick of things.

  Interview with Abigail Breslin

  (played Emily in the movie)

  Interviewer:

  You play the character Emily. Who is she and what is she like?

  Abigail Breslin:

  Emily is a very strong and determined girl. She speaks her mind and has just a little bit of an attitude. She has stuff to say, and she wants to say it.

  Interviewer:

  Can you give me an example of a time when she has an attitude?

  Abigail Breslin:

  Yes. Most of the time she says things like “What, you can’t do that!” or something similar. Emily just says whatever she wants, she doesn’t care. She doesn’t really mind if somebody doesn’t like what she says, she says it anyway.

  Interviewer:

  Are you anything like Emily?

  Abigail Breslin:

  I’m like Emily because I will say what I feel, but not exactly how she says them. I’ll say things that are on my mind.

  Interviewer:

  What about your hair? You wore a wig in the film, right?

  Abigail Breslin:

  Yeah. Emily has leukemia, so I had to wear a wig in the movie. But this is my real hair. So we always have to braid it, and then we put this cap on over it, tie knots in it, put on a wig, and pin that, and most of the time put on a hat. So it takes a while. But she has leukemia, and she’s dying, so that’s basically why she says all the things she wants to say, because she wants to get it out before her time is up.

  Interviewer:

  Talk a little bit about Emily’s attitude on being sick.

  Abigail Breslin:

  Emily tries not to think about dying, she tries to think about better things. Like living. She isn’t focused on when she’s going to die, she thinks about how long she has to live. That’s what her real attitude about it is. She tries to act in the most positive way.

  Interviewer:

  Tell me about the first time Emily sees Jason.

  Abigail Breslin:

  Emily is at a funeral the first time that she sees Jason. She’s sort of just standing there, looking around her. She sees Jason coming, who looks kinda cool, he has these sunglasses on, and everybody’s real quiet, they’re all dressed in black, and they’re all sad. He just comes in and acts all cool, and Emily thinks he’s cool.

  Interviewer:

  Why do you think Emily likes Jason? Why is she willing to be his friend?

  Abigail Breslin:

  Because he’s very full of life. And he’s always thinking about how he’s going to live and what’s going to happen to him.

  Interviewer:

  Why does Emily want her mom to date Jason?

  Abigail Breslin:

  Emily tries to matchmake with Jason and Alexia so her mom won’t be lonely when Emily dies. She wants her to have somebody there with her. And I’ve done some matchmaking before, so it’s kind of fun for me.

  Interviewer:

  What was one of your favorite scenes to shoot?

  Abigail Breslin:

  One of my favorite scenes was when I had to say to Jason, “It’s not complicated, it’s pathetic. How can one possibly conceive that I would want to go to Disneyworld?” And that was really fun because I would never say that to anybody. I would get in trouble for saying that to somebody. It was fun being a little bit different from how you are. A little bit ‘baddy,’ that was kinda fun.

  Interviewer:

  What if you said it to your real mom?

  Abigail Breslin:

  If I said it to my. . . I woul
dn’t say it to my real mom. If I did . . . I wouldn’t even think about saying that. I don’t know what would happen. I wouldn’t say that at all to anybody. And I do, actually, like to go to Disneyland. I just wouldn’t say that in real life.

  Interviewer:

  Tell us how it’s been working with Drew Fuller.

  Abigail Breslin:

  Oh. He throws so many temper tantrums. He like kicks his feet in the air and says everything . . . no, just kidding about that. He’s really nice. It’s like working with a big brother.

  Interviewer:

  Is it true he asked you to marry him?

  Abigail Breslin:

  Yes, he did ask me to marry him. I said no.

  Interviewer:

  How’s it been having Ali as your on-screen mom?

  Abigail Breslin:

  Ali is really, really nice. And she’s funny, and so it’s been a lot of fun working with her. We went to a pumpkin patch, actually, to pick up pumpkins for Halloween and that was a lot of fun.

  Interviewer:

  Heard you had a dance.

  Abigail Breslin:

  Yeah, we like to dance. (Does head movements) We both like music a lot.

  Interviewer:

  What similarities are there between Emily and Abby?

  Abigail Breslin:

  We both have a different sense of style. We both have our own style. Emily’s more like Gothic, and I’m more Bohemian. One time somebody called me like a little bit of a tomboy, but a girl girl so they called me tomgirl.

  Interviewer:

  If one of your friends came up to you and asked what The Ultimate Gift is about, what would you say?

  Abigail Breslin:

  The Ultimate Gift is about what’s most important to you in your life.

  Interviewer:

  How does Emily handle being sick?

  Abigail Breslin:

  Emily has concerns about dying, but she doesn’t really care about it as much as she cares about the people that she’s leaving behind. And she wants them to be taken care of.

  Interviewer:

  At the end of the movie when Emily dies, what does Jason do?

  Abigail Breslin: