Rip Torn emotional over role in local film
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NORTHAMPTON - Continuing work on a project they say is a labor of love, local filmmakers Liz Foley and Pete Hobbs this week brought some star power to town.
Today at Smith College they'll be shooting a scene with veteran Hollywood actor Rip Torn, whom the couple describe as "a national treasure" and a "true artist."
The film is called "Bridge of Names," and follows the misadventures of a disaffected punk-rocker named Steve. Scenes shot this week follow Steve after he is bailed out of prison by his father, Tom, played by Torn. Before heading to Smith, the crew worked Wednesday and Thursday at the Hotel Northampton.
"I don't remember having been as emotional in a film," Torn told the Gazette in a break from filming Thursday afternoon.
Born Elmore Rual Torn, the 77-year-old Emmy nominee lives in Lakeville, Conn.
He said the role resonates strongly for him because the estrangement between Tom and Steve reminds him of his relationship with his own father. Growing up in Temple, Texas, he said, he was taught never to cry.
Talking about his role off camera, though, his tears welled up.
"This is one where I really have to fight to keep it down," he said, wiping his eyes.
Foley and Hobbs said they always pictured Torn in the role, but weren't certain he would take it.
"We didn't know about it because he's the big leagues," Hobbs said. "But he liked the script and he liked our work in the past."
The couple plan to work with him again soon on another feature-length project, called "Funny Peculiar." Foley said this movie will play on themes similar to "Bridge of Names" and offer Torn an even more pivotal part.
On the set inside the Hotel Northampton's Gothic Gardens suites Thursday, Torn received star treatment. At lunchtime he had shrimp cocktail delivered to his dressing room, and sent a young assistant scurrying to find him some Tabasco sauce.
Robert Postrovny, who plays Steve, said performing alongside Torn was bracing.
"You've got to be on your toes, because he's very in-the-moment, very spontaneous," said Postrovny, who lives in Los Angeles. "It's like working with a wild animal."
Independent filmmakers
Foley and Hobbs divide their time between homes on Glendale Avenue in Northampton and New York City, where they have their own film production and consulting company, Elyria Pictures.
The couple showed the first incarnation of their film, a 20-minute short called "Accidents will happen," at the 2006 Northampton Independent Film Festival.
Hobbs said cinematographer friend Ben Wolf later persuaded them to expand it into a feature-length film. Wolf, who assisted during the Northampton shoots this week, put some of his own money toward the production, and that attracted other funders, Hobbs said.
"We're still at the absolutely no-money level, but we've got just enough to squeak by," Hobbs said.
Last summer they spent 10 days shooting around Montague. That's where the real Bridge of Names - a footbridge leading to the village of Lake Pleasant - is found.
Four completed clips from the film, as well as other projects, can be viewed online at Elyria Productions' MySpace page. One clip includes a tense exchange between Steve and a police officer played by radio host and Pleasant Street Video clerk Bill Dwight of Northampton, who is also one of the film's producers.
Foley said she would like eventually to show "Bridge of Names" at the annual Northampton Independent and Shelburne Falls film festivals, though it probably won't be finished in time for this fall's events.
James F. Lowe can be reached at jlowe@gazettenet.com.
