Lauren Bacall - By Myself and Then Some

T here have been far too many in the losses column in 2004, but there is one that meant a great deal to me personally by the name of Alistair Cooke. Our friendship began in 1952 with Adlai Stevenson. Alistair was reporting on him, Bogie and I were appearing at various rallies and whistle stops with him. All very exciting, all great fun. Bogie and I and Alistair and Jane Cooke hit it off immediately. Alistair was a man who seemed to know a great deal about everything, wrote pieces for the Manchester Guardian , and delivered a Letter from America on radio. There was not an American or a Brit who did not tune in every Sunday morning to hear Alistair’s resumé of the past week in the United States. He had become a U.S. citizen and traveled the country filming and writing a book on Alistair Cooke’s America . He was very visible on TV, in book form, endlessly interesting and inventive, with charm, good looks, wit and mind-boggling braininess. He also hosted two brilliant shows – Omnibus and Masterpiece Theatre . The four of us had great times together on both East and West Coasts. He and Jane contributed so much to my life after Bogie’s death. Excellent at spirit lifting – both of them – and clarifying for me things I might feel cloudy or fuzzy about. And we would turn up at different locations with many of the same friends: me in London when he was there, him in San Francisco when I was touring in Woman of the Year and he was touring with Alistair Cooke’s America , him in California when Bogie was surrounded by people telling him how to write his will, an eerie experience for all with me in complete denial. So many memories throughout those many years, they give you such a solid base – built in connections – conversations witty and informative with the extra perk of his piano playing of show tunes. At least there is so much to draw upon with all my losses – those friends who enriched my life – gave me pause – gave me thought – enlightened me.

In a way, friendship was my family. It was my good luck to have such an array of friends – all different – all talented – all intelligent – all complicated – all witty. And lucky I am that there are more still who are laughing on along with me – not by a thread, but hanging on nevertheless. So there is reason to be grateful and to be able to laugh and even enjoy one’s quirks, qualms and quackiness.

M y need to work remained my focus and necessity. Without warning, a script arrived with an offer for a movie called Birth to be made completely in New York. Hooray! I get to sleep in my own bed! No suitcases adorning the room to pack and unpack, no goodbyes to Sophie. How lucky can you get? The director was to be Jonathan Glazer, whose first effort was a marvelous movie called Sexy Beast and, as if that weren’t enough, which it most certainly was, Nicole Kidman was the star and I would most happily be her mother. I was thrilled beyond words. Not only because I love Nicole and admire her talent and mind but also because being her mother was such a good part in a terrific, original script written by Jonathan. So here it was – another adventure – this British director’s second movie and at a time when there is little work for women of any age, how lucky for me to be wanted by this very talented young man.

The part was really first rate. I thought, my God at this time in my life and career to be in a movie like this, with this major director – an independent movie – little money of course – but that’s the way it is in the movie business these days. If it’s not a studio movie, salaries are small – and that is a gross understatement. However, I’d still rather work with talented, new people any day, than do some of the big, high-paying mediocre movies that are too often made in Los Angeles. I have nothing against high paying, mind you. I would love to be the recipient of high pay in a good studio movie. It’s always a plus to be able to pay the rent. Unfortunately, I have not been chosen by either Steven Spielberg or Martin Scorsese or Woody Allen to appear in one of their films. I have tried to convince Martin Scorsese that I would be a perfect Mafia member. Why does it always have to be a man? He smiles sweetly, ‘Yeah, great idea.’ He’s such a terrific director but I know it will never happen.

I didn’t know what Jonathan would be like. He called me from London to make a date for dinner on his arrival. One must never have preconceptions – they are almost never right. First of all he’s young – early forties – second, he’s attractive, third, he’s smart – knows exactly what he wants. No airs. Our dinner was great, at one of my favorite restaurants. Having just arrived from London, he kept apologizing for his clothes – jeans and shirt. (The jeans, by the way, were seen regularly during the shoot.) He openly talked about his life. Save for his exhaustion – plane ride and it being five hours later for him – he got through it. We talked of the movie, he explained his concept clearly and told me who he’d cast – the major one being John Huston’s son, Danny, who had directed me in a movie called Mr North in 1988. Since then, he had turned actor and is absolutely terrific. Talk of ‘six degrees of separation’. Proof positive once again that our lives go full circle and we are all connected, just as John Guare stated so clearly in his play of the same name. Danny was to play opposite Nicole. Zoe Caldwell was to play my best friend – what could be better? Thrilling to have Zoe with me, and Danny who was like family – so great to spend time with him, grown up and with a baby. I was really excited about the entire set-up, couldn’t wait to start.

The Birth experience was in some ways diametrically opposed to Dogville . No location, for instance. I could stay home for the entire movie. That does not often happen. Being picked up every morning at 6:00 or 6:30 a.m. or thereabouts and driven to the studio in Queens, home of Silvercup, the popular white bread found in all the markets of my childhood. Upon arrival, being greeted by an assistant director and by Michael O’Connor, an assistant assigned to me who turned out to be great. Then being led to my dressing room which was next to the sound stage that all closely resembled the studio system of my young years. As a result, the day started off being much cozier – all working actors each day in the same building, walking on to the same sound stage, having the same Kraft Service coffee in paper cups and then on to the set where director, crew and cameraman were ready to get going. Somehow that system creates a more intimate feeling – though in the case of Birth , most of the cast were part of a family so familiarity was almost built in.

The role in Birth gave me more room to move emotionally and mentally than had Dogville . Nicole and I, having developed a friendship of great mutual affection, had a built-in feeling for one another that brought an extra dimension to our scenes together. Mind you, not knowing how Jonathan has cut the movie, what scenes are in, what are out, plus my not having seen the dailies, I can’t guarantee the result on screen. Anyway, the feeling was there and I hope it shows. It’s the doing of it that counts. It’s the doing of it that I truly love. I do not go to the dailies during the shooting of the film. I learned very early on in my career that I do not like watching myself on screen. I am hypercritical and see only negative moves, awkwardness, wrong attitudes. That being said, I do not consciously think of how I look in a scene, vanity not being in the forefront of my self-perceptions. I have never spent extra time looking in the mirror, as I have never been enamoured of my face, which of course is magnified umpteen times on screen. Truly, it is the work that must come first; it is the work that gives the personal rewards, the sense of exercising all that I have learned from the beginning. The years of study, observation, practicing my craft, remembering Bogie’s first teaching of the necessities of thought, awareness, concentration and focus. Of preparing. As his acting career began in the theatre, his own learning as an actor totally became an automatic part of him with each character he played, be it stage or screen. The basic necessities are the same even though the presentation and final rendition in performance may not be.