March, 2003 - We started lining up outside the Imperial Ballroom at the San Jose Fairmont Hotel about 1½ hours before the scheduled starting time for the award ceremony. The line quickly grew quite long. While in line, guests were invited to write questions on 3x5 cards to be used during the interview. Once the doors were opened, fans streamed into the room, wider than it was deep, and it filled up quickly. After just a few minutes, it was standing room only, and even that was crowded.
Cinequest started with a brief introduction about Val’s career, followed by some clips of some his memorable roles. First they showed Doc Holliday in his famous scene with Ed Bailey fromTombstone. From the chuckles and laughter in the room at the witty lines Doc has in that scene, I realized a sizeable portion of the audience was probably seeing it for the first time. Not necessarily avid Kilmer fans, they were likely there just because it was part of the Cinequest Film Festival. Some of us, however, had flown or driven hours just to be present for this momentous occasion. The ladies seated behind me gasped when he said “Why Ed Bailey, we cross? … Does this mean that we’re not friends anymore?” and Doc quickly drew his pistols. Val had practiced long hours to perfect that scene, and people that had never seen it were duly impressed.
In addition, Cinequest showed a clip from The Doors. The “Another Ruined Thanksgiving” scene also drew surprised laughter and gasps from the audience.
Then we were treated to some exciting, never-before seen clips from Wonderland which we learned is currently in the editing stage. Later, during the interview, Val let it slip that we will be again treated to his singing voice in Wonderland, and it will be a Gordon Lightfoot song.
One clip showed a rejected John Holmes (Val) trying to convince his wife Sharon (Lisa Kudrow) to go into the witness protection program with him. But he wanted the three of them -- Sharon, John, and John’s teenage lover Dawn (Kate Bosworth) -- to go together. In the clip we saw Sharon refused his pleadings. Another clip they shared with us was a very steamy scene between Holmes and Dawn.
After the film clips, Val came out onto the stage. He was casual in his dark blue T-shirt with white lettering under a dark blue sport coat. His hair was dark and short, which nicely matched the start of a new beard and mustache.
Cinequest started off the program by presenting him with the Maverick Spirit Award in recognition of his devotion in keeping the Maverick spirit alive. There were two upholstered arm chairs set up on the stage. Film professor Susan Tavernetti invited him to sit for an interview. Val walked over to a chair, picked up a card from the seat and read out loud “Val Kilmer sit here”. That set the tone for the rest of the interview.
Because neither cameras nor recorders were permitted, the following impressions and comments are from my notes and my memory. Many of the stories were paraphrased because Val quickly moves from topic to topic and does not allow much time for writing lengthy quotes. However, a few quotes really stuck in my mind, and are indicated accordingly.
Professor Tavernetti did some of her homework and knew his filmography. Val even commented at one point that she could answer her own questions. However, she did not know his interview style. Another interviewer once wrote: “The great thing about Kilmer’s silences, one quickly learns, is that they’re merely the prelude to a non-answer or a joke. Calculated pauses happen to be the cornerstone of his dry comic timing.” This interviewer, however, tried to fill each silence with a comment or a new question. This led to some humorous confusion, with Val either ignoring the new question to finish the answer that he was pondering, or he would make her repeat the question because he wasn’t listening.
The thing that stuck with me most about Val was his energy. It’s also the hardest thing to describe in words, but it’s tangible when you’re in the room with him. While appearing perfectly at ease and at home on the stage, he never appears totally relaxed sitting still. Instead you feel a restless, buoyant energy. He sits lightly on his chair; coiled as if ready to pounce.
And pounce he did. Early in the interview a cell phone rang in the audience. He leapt to his feet and bounded off the stage into the audience. “Where is it? Where is it?” he demanded, acting very annoyed at the disruption. Tracking down the phone he reached out his hand, palm up, and curled his fingers, saying “Give it here.” The owner surrendered her phone to him. As he sauntered back to his chair on stage, he answered the phone. The audience roared with laughter, so we could only partly hear what was said. It started with “She’s busy right now. She is just being taken into surgery …” Can you imagine that caller, finding Val Kilmer on the phone? He was weaving quite an impromptu story, seemingly to amuse himself. He kept the phone for the rest of the interview, occasionally fiddling with it. Later in the interview he was asked to say “I’m your huckleberry”. He said “no”, paused, and picked up the phone to press the redial button. He asked who the owner of the phone had called last, and learned that it was her answering machine. He paused, presumably waiting for the beep, and said “I’ll be your huckleberry.” The whole scene seemed to be a playful diversion for Val from the boredom of answering the same old questions over and over. Val has been called “intensely playful with a smidge of danger, and always himself.” We got to see that first hand.
Originally planned to be a 30 minute Q & A session, followed by a few minutes to greet the press before dashing off to his next adventure, he generously delighted us with nearly 2 hours of interview, smiling and laughing often. The following are a few highlights from the interview.
Q: How did you doThe Saint multi-characters? I’ve heard that you like 6 to 8 months to prepare for a role.
A: “I got over that,” he said dryly. “We had 6 to 8 days.”
Q: Were you intimidated by working with Al Pacino and Robert DeNiro in Heat?
A: “Oh no, they’re fluffy,” he said wearing a big grin. “Italian fluffs … True terror is having Tom Sizemore behind you firing an automatic weapon.”
Q: Tell us something about yourself you’ve never been asked before.
A: “No” firmly, but with a smile.
Q: Are you shy?
A: “Yeah”
Q: What do you think about God?
A: “I think She’s great. She’s a great listener”
Q: What do you like to do in your spare time?
A: In a slow, bored, monotone voice, “I like to read … like girls … child rearing, really love my children.” He later added sarcastically “I like needlepoint … philosophy.”
After this question
, the stock answer for any boring or trite question was “I like reading …” in his best monotone voice.
He told a little story about trying to make the ranch self-sufficient. The children, however, learned that you can’t “kill and eat something with a name”, so now they name everything. Springing to his feet and pointing at the ceiling, he mimicked one of his children saying “A duck! There’s Agnes!”
When discussing The Island of Dr. Moreau, Val did a wicked Marlon Brando impression. Dead on. Not another Godfather impersonation, but imitated him sitting in a chair saying “Why can’t they just give me the money?” It was great.
Answering a question about Jim Morrison and The Doors, Val said he had read books by women who were influenced to write them after just spending one night with Jim. Val speculated, with a grin, that they were influenced to write about the experience “because he was a good listener”. He added, however, that “Holmes, on the other hand, is not a good listener.” Discussing Wonderland later he described Holmes as “a hustler”. “Someone who gives you what you think you want. You know, like television.”
The time passed so quickly. Val’s need to get to the airport prevented any opportunity to greet the crowd personally. But he gave us a great interview full of humor and wit, lots of little stories, and occasional impersonations. The second he left the stage the energy went out of the room. It was more than just being sad about the ending of a wonderful interview. The aura of energy he projects was gone, and the room felt lifeless. However, as I remembered the looks on his face, and the stories he told, and the way he bounced off the stage after that ringing cell phone, I know that I will be there the next time he announces where he’s going to be and when.