I have
the great pleasure of welcoming a very special guest, actor Mitchell
Lichtenstein, to CINEMATIC REVELATIONS for an interview. Mitchell has acted in
various motion pictures over the years, most notably in feature films such as
THE LORDS OF DISCIPLINE, CRACKERS, THE WEDDING BANQUET, STREAMERS [my review of the film can be found here] and
FLAWLESS, to name a few examples. Mitchell today will be discussing his role in
STREAMERS, acting, and his role as film director.
Welcome
to CINEMATIC REVELATIONS Mitchell!
Athan:
When did you first realize that you wanted to be an actor?
Mitchell:
In college. I had intended to major in “creative writing”, but took an acting
class my first year with a great teacher – Larry O’Dwyer – and wound up never
taking a single writing class.
*
Athan:
Where did you study acting?
Mitchell:
First at that college – Bennington College in Vermont, than at the Yale School
of Drama. And later on I studied with various teachers including Mira Rostova,
who, infamously, had been Montgomery Clift’s acting coach, Marilyn Fried (who
had taught Diane Keaton) and Milton Katselas.
*
Athan:
Your performance as Richie in STREAMERS was an excellent, nuanced portrait of a
person who was, by and large discriminated against by the other characters, but
always responded with understanding, and a lack of malice. How did you become
involved in this project?
Mitchell:
Through the customary route: auditioning. Altman later told me that he hired me
for the role because I could blush on cue.
*
Athan:
The final sequences when Michael Wright, as Carlyle, lost his balance and
embarked on a deadly rampage were shattering to witness in STREAMERS. From your
point of view, how did you find filming these difficult, emotionally charged
scenes?
Mitchell:
The scenes leading up to – spoiler alert! – Billy’s murder were genuinely
difficult emotionally for me and, I believe, for the other actors as well. More
so than in other films because we were such a small, close group, and because
we shot in sequence, so we lived the story in a way an actor really can’t in a
normal film shoot. Shooting in sequence was financially possible for Altman
because we were working in a single location (set).
*
Athan:
What did you most enjoy about the experience of making STREAMERS?
Mitchell:
Robert Altman. All actors loved working with him. He had a genuine love for
actors, for their work, their invention, their quirks – he appreciated and
encouraged it all. Because of that, and because we trust his eye, actors are
never more free than when working with Altman.
Also,
I made some life-long friends on that shoot.
*
Athan:
What for you was the most demanding, but emotionally satisfying segment of
making STREAMERS?
Mitchell: I’d say, my scenes with Michael Wright. Both because of the emotional complexity of David Rabe’s writing, and the genius of Michael’s performance.
*
Athan:
STREAMERS was shot in a limited, realistic set that intensified the action for
viewers watching the movie. How did you feel about working in such a restricted
film set without outdoor locations?
Mitchell:
Just as the single location intensified the action for viewers, it intensified
the action for us, too, so it helped us to feel the reality of what our
characters were going through. It helped us to focus, too. No pauses in filming
while moving from location to location, no distractions.
*
Athan:
Have you kept in contact with any cast members and crew from STREAMERS?
Mitchell:
For years, I kept in contact with many, but some are gone now. David Alan Grier
and I were in the same class at Yale, so I was already friendly with him. And
Albert Macklin (who played Martin) and I became good friends.
*
Athan:
STREAMERS was directed by the renowned Robert Altman, and was one of his
best-ever movies. What was the experience of being directed in the film by Mr
Altman?
Mitchell:
I touched on this a few questions back. I’ll just reemphasize that you’d be
hard-pressed to find an actor who didn’t love working with Altman because of
his love and support of actors, his artistic sense, and the relaxed yet focused
tone of his set.
*
Athan:
STREAMERS was set during the Vietnam War in the late 1960s. Did acting in the
movie prompt you to research this turbulent era in the United States?
Mitchell:
I didn’t do any special research on the war, because Richie (and the other
young characters) are pretty clueless about it themselves. I already knew a lot
more about the war than Richie did, having grown up in that period. I marched
on Washington against the war, and just missed the draft by a couple of years.
*
Athan:
You have directed three motion pictures so far, being TEETH (2007), HAPPY TEARS
(2009), and ANGELICA (2015). What for you are the most satisfying aspects of
directing a full-length movie?
Mitchell:
Creating a world is what’s satisfying to me. So choosing and collaborating with
all of the artists who help to do that is what makes movie making a satisfying
and (mostly) joyful experience. Sometimes it’s border line surreal to watch
actors I’ve long admired embodying characters I’ve invented (or adapted) and
saying lines I’ve written: Parker Posey, Rip Torn, Demi Moore, Janet McTeer
among them.
*
Athan:
Do you have any upcoming projects of which you would like to tell readers?
Mitchell:
I’m writing a screenplay. And I’ve written a play, so if there is ever a
post-Covid 19 when theater becomes possible again, I look forward – for the
first time -- to creating a world on stage.
*
Thank
you so much today for your time Mitchell, and for the insight you have provided
into the art of acting, STREAMERS, and film directing. It has been lovely to
have you on CINEMATIC REVELATIONS. You are welcome to return whenever you wish.
*
Mitchell
Lichtenstein links
+Mitchell Lichtenstein website
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