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CNN Live Today
Interview With Stephen Dorff
Aired September 16, 2003 - 10:44 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
LEON HARRIS, CNN ANCHOR: You don't know now, folks. You'll find out in just a couple of days what you're going to be getting yourself into. That was a scene from "Cold Creek Manor" which is a new movie about a house that hides a dark and deadly secret, or collection of secrets. And here to tell us more about this upcoming thriller Stephen Dorff. He's one of the actors in the film, you saw him there in that trailer. And he joins us this morning live from Los Angeles. Good to see you, Stephen. How are you?
STEPHEN DORFF, ACTOR: How are you, Leon? Good to -- thanks for having me.
HARRIS: As I understand it man, you actually should be here in Atlanta. You're from Atlanta?
DORFF: Yes, I was born in Atlanta. My father went to the University of Georgia and my parents were from New York and then he was going to school there so I was born there at Piedmont Hospital.
HARRIS: See we could feel the vibe here. We knew something was happening. We knew it. Just could tell, man. Well listen, tell us about this movie.
DORFF: It's -- "Cold Creek Manor" is directed by Mike Figgus who's just a fantastic director. He directed "Leaving Las Vegas," movies like "Internal Affairs."
It's kind of a -- it's a real throw-back to an old classic thriller. I mean I think it's an incredible cast of actors. Dennis Quaid and Sharon Stone, Christopher Plummer.
It's basically about a house that Dennis and Sharon's characters move into and come face to face with the old owner, who I play, Dale Massie. And it kind is Dennis is uncovering footage from -- kind of a documentary, kind of research about what went on in the house before him. He's getting a little close to something I don't want him to.
So it becomes very much like, I think, "Cape Fear" and movies like "The Shining." It's a real classic thriller that's very scary because of -- the situation's real and it deals with real people and real situations.
HARRIS: So you clicked on just two titles that popped in my head when I first started seeing the trailers of this one, "Cape Fear" and "The Shining." This movie seem to be sort of a combination of all that. How did they come to pick you at this particular role? I know you played some rather sinister roles before in the past. How did they come up with you?
DORFF: I don't really know. I mean I think Mike Figgus you know really did me a solid on this one. I mean he wanted me from the beginning once I think he signed on. I actually hadn't heard about this. Normally would have heard of a movie of you know this size or this cast. I would have read it a long time before. It kind of came out of nowhere.
I was about to start another picture and luckily I hadn't committed to that. And I got a call last summer right after my birthday. Mike wanted me to call him and in Canada so I called Mike, who I'd known before and he just told me he really wanted me to do this. And at the time I hadn't read the script and he wouldn't let me read it for a week because he was rewriting it.
So it was just one of those great ones that kind of came out of nowhere and such a layered part he gave me and working with this cast and him was an incredible experience.
HARRIS: But tell me about the cast. I know Dennis Quaid, Sharon Stone, you know, Christopher Plummer, you can't beat those kind of names. It's a true A-list in there.
DORFF: Yes, I mean, they were awesome. They were so good to work with and so nice to me and...
HARRIS: Any surprises, though, working with those kind of guys?
DORFF: Yes, I mean Dennis is such a great guy. What a -- it's so great that his career's kind of taken off in such a way recently and he kind of deserves it more than anyone. I mean he's such a good guy, too. And a great father. And we really bonded as friends.
And it was hard because every time Mike would say action we were killing each other in there. But we had a great time. I mean he's such a great golfer as well so we'd kind of go ahead and hit some balls. I'm nowhere near as good as him.
And, Sharon, you know, is always been really supportive of me. We almost worked together a little while back on a picture that didn't end up happening. And this was the first one for me and her as well. And Juliet Lewis is somebody I've known for, God, 12, 13 years and we've never worked together.
And you know Chris Plummer's somebody I totally respect as an actor which I was thrilled when Mike told he was playing my father. It was awesome.
HARRIS: That's great. Good for you. On way out here. What's your gut tell you about how this is going to do this weekend considering that it's coming out now at a time of year when there really aren't any of the big blockbusters coming out? DORFF: It feels good. I mean it seem like last weekend, you know, the week before was kind of a dead weekend at the box office. And I feel like this weekend there was a lot of people going to the movies again.
So I feel like we're coming out at a good time. I think Disney couldn't be better at what they do. I mean, they have like it seems like all ten of the top ten movies in the country. So hopefully we'll be the next one.
But I feel real confident and real happy with everything and I hear good things. So cross my fingers, I guess.
HARRIS: Well good deal. Well here's hoping this isn't a dead weekend for you guys -- except for in the movie. You want some dead stuff in that.
(LAUGHTER)
HARRIS: Stephen Dorff, good luck, congratulations.
DORFF: Thanks, Leon.
HARRIS: Thanks for spending time with us.
DORFF: Thanks for having me.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
Aired September 16, 2003 - 10:44 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
LEON HARRIS, CNN ANCHOR: You don't know now, folks. You'll find out in just a couple of days what you're going to be getting yourself into. That was a scene from "Cold Creek Manor" which is a new movie about a house that hides a dark and deadly secret, or collection of secrets. And here to tell us more about this upcoming thriller Stephen Dorff. He's one of the actors in the film, you saw him there in that trailer. And he joins us this morning live from Los Angeles. Good to see you, Stephen. How are you?
STEPHEN DORFF, ACTOR: How are you, Leon? Good to -- thanks for having me.
HARRIS: As I understand it man, you actually should be here in Atlanta. You're from Atlanta?
DORFF: Yes, I was born in Atlanta. My father went to the University of Georgia and my parents were from New York and then he was going to school there so I was born there at Piedmont Hospital.
HARRIS: See we could feel the vibe here. We knew something was happening. We knew it. Just could tell, man. Well listen, tell us about this movie.
DORFF: It's -- "Cold Creek Manor" is directed by Mike Figgus who's just a fantastic director. He directed "Leaving Las Vegas," movies like "Internal Affairs."
It's kind of a -- it's a real throw-back to an old classic thriller. I mean I think it's an incredible cast of actors. Dennis Quaid and Sharon Stone, Christopher Plummer.
It's basically about a house that Dennis and Sharon's characters move into and come face to face with the old owner, who I play, Dale Massie. And it kind is Dennis is uncovering footage from -- kind of a documentary, kind of research about what went on in the house before him. He's getting a little close to something I don't want him to.
So it becomes very much like, I think, "Cape Fear" and movies like "The Shining." It's a real classic thriller that's very scary because of -- the situation's real and it deals with real people and real situations.
HARRIS: So you clicked on just two titles that popped in my head when I first started seeing the trailers of this one, "Cape Fear" and "The Shining." This movie seem to be sort of a combination of all that. How did they come to pick you at this particular role? I know you played some rather sinister roles before in the past. How did they come up with you?
DORFF: I don't really know. I mean I think Mike Figgus you know really did me a solid on this one. I mean he wanted me from the beginning once I think he signed on. I actually hadn't heard about this. Normally would have heard of a movie of you know this size or this cast. I would have read it a long time before. It kind of came out of nowhere.
I was about to start another picture and luckily I hadn't committed to that. And I got a call last summer right after my birthday. Mike wanted me to call him and in Canada so I called Mike, who I'd known before and he just told me he really wanted me to do this. And at the time I hadn't read the script and he wouldn't let me read it for a week because he was rewriting it.
So it was just one of those great ones that kind of came out of nowhere and such a layered part he gave me and working with this cast and him was an incredible experience.
HARRIS: But tell me about the cast. I know Dennis Quaid, Sharon Stone, you know, Christopher Plummer, you can't beat those kind of names. It's a true A-list in there.
DORFF: Yes, I mean, they were awesome. They were so good to work with and so nice to me and...
HARRIS: Any surprises, though, working with those kind of guys?
DORFF: Yes, I mean Dennis is such a great guy. What a -- it's so great that his career's kind of taken off in such a way recently and he kind of deserves it more than anyone. I mean he's such a good guy, too. And a great father. And we really bonded as friends.
And it was hard because every time Mike would say action we were killing each other in there. But we had a great time. I mean he's such a great golfer as well so we'd kind of go ahead and hit some balls. I'm nowhere near as good as him.
And, Sharon, you know, is always been really supportive of me. We almost worked together a little while back on a picture that didn't end up happening. And this was the first one for me and her as well. And Juliet Lewis is somebody I've known for, God, 12, 13 years and we've never worked together.
And you know Chris Plummer's somebody I totally respect as an actor which I was thrilled when Mike told he was playing my father. It was awesome.
HARRIS: That's great. Good for you. On way out here. What's your gut tell you about how this is going to do this weekend considering that it's coming out now at a time of year when there really aren't any of the big blockbusters coming out? DORFF: It feels good. I mean it seem like last weekend, you know, the week before was kind of a dead weekend at the box office. And I feel like this weekend there was a lot of people going to the movies again.
So I feel like we're coming out at a good time. I think Disney couldn't be better at what they do. I mean, they have like it seems like all ten of the top ten movies in the country. So hopefully we'll be the next one.
But I feel real confident and real happy with everything and I hear good things. So cross my fingers, I guess.
HARRIS: Well good deal. Well here's hoping this isn't a dead weekend for you guys -- except for in the movie. You want some dead stuff in that.
(LAUGHTER)
HARRIS: Stephen Dorff, good luck, congratulations.
DORFF: Thanks, Leon.
HARRIS: Thanks for spending time with us.
DORFF: Thanks for having me.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
