The SALON Interview continues
Casting a British actor who doesn't resemble Nixon was an in-your-face move. Did you do it to generate a certain buzz?
I wouldn't characterize that as a motivation. It works. He feels like Nixon. In ''Remains of the Day,'' I felt his sense of isolation, his sense of sadness. In ''Shadowlands," there was an emotional fullness to his character. Hopkins is a complete actor. He's not like some of these by-the-numbers TV actors who have their bag of tricks. Tony is sincerely exploring the universe. He's bold.
Three hours, 10 minutes is a long time to ask an audience to pay attention, especially to an unpopular historical figure. Could you have edited more?
The film kept me rapt. I didn't look at my watch. It's a big story. It covers the century. It tries to give a sense of the American experience.
How do you think the political establishment will react to the movie?
I imagine negatively, because they don't like the things I do. They've been very critical of (my) historical interpretations. There's a high priesthood in a sense that thinks they own the dogma. It's the scholars, academics and politicians -- the guys with the cloaks.
John Ehrlichman, Nixon's domestic policy chief, has blasted the veracity of "Nixon," especially when it deals with Watergate, saying, ''It's not even a dramatization of history. It's made up stuff, and it's very cruel.''
He took a negative attitude way back when he saw an earlier draft of the script. I think he comes off well in the movie, better than he really was. He was busted.
While we're on the subject of the president's men, in his autobiography, the late H.R. Haldeman wrote that Nixon played a role in numerous assassination attempts, including plots against Castro, an allegation you highlight in the movie. But Haldeman later denied it, attributing the words to his ghostwriter. What do you think?
I don't believe that. He said it. He knew what he was saying. I think Nixon warmed up to him after he got out of jail and then he (Haldeman) went soft.
Have you finally put Vietnam to rest?
I always get asked that and I always say sure. I think to root out the consciousness of the period requires more than one film. ''JFK'' is a bookend to ''Nixon.'' I'm approaching the same era from different places, hoping to create a prism for a complete look at that era. ''The Doors'' movie in a sense is about that era, too.
Does your continuing interest in this earlier period make your movies of limited appeal to younger generations?
Probably. Maybe. But I don't think in those terms. I realize that some teenagers won't care. They're more interested in music and drugs. That's their call. Nixon's tragedy is a lesson for all of us. Much of modern politics in America is a result of his techniques.
