The Mother-Son Relationship of “Don’t Come Knocking:” Saint explained how she and Sam Shepard went about developing the strained mother and son relationship we see onscreen. “We didn't talk about it much, which is alright because we hadn't seen each other for 30 years, so he was sort of feeling out whether he'd be welcome. We didn't sit down and talk about it but the words are there, the emotions are there. The story is there."
Saint feels her character had grown to accept the fact she’d never reconnect with her son after he took off to be an actor in Hollywood. “She probably thought she'd never see him again, I think. She had the little shrine downstairs, but there wasn't that many good things being said. It's like Hollywood. If you don't have a lot of stuff going on, you don't get much in the print. But as soon as you do something wrong, it's all over in print. And that's what happens in his life. The press was really bad. But she had that little shrine down there. Like with some people when someone in the family dies, they still keep the clothes in the closet. Well he didn't die, but I think that she just didn't know if she'd ever see him again. Yeah, he could be dead. She doesn't know, does she, until he arrives.”
Director Wenders agreed with Saint’s take on the relationship and added, “And that's really how it's tragedy, that if he died, nobody would have noticed. He realizes that his life has come to that point. If he dies tomorrow, nobody's going to shed a tear over it. And that's the worst thing when you're 60 and you realize that.”
Changes to the Script: Don’t worry, no spoilers here so feel free to read on… Asked her first reaction to the script, Saint said she loved it but wasn’t happy with the ending. Wenders understood where she was coming from and wrote a different ending, one they could both feel satisfied with. “She said, ‘I'm not going to do this movie if you don't rewrite the ending.’ We did,” explained Wenders who then turned to Saint to say, “When you read the first draft, it was really flimsy. We made a much better ending.”
Saint was happy with the new conclusion to the film but expressed regret she didn’t get to share scenes with Jessica Lange, Gabriel Mann, and many of the other members of the cast. And she wasn’t the only person involved in the film who was disappointed by not getting to work with all their co-stars. “At least Tim Roth cranked a scene out of us for you,” Wenders said. “Tim was sitting in the alcove in a very bad mood. And I said finally, ‘Tim, what's wrong with you?’ He said, ‘You're shooting with Eva Marie Saint every day. I met her in the hotel and I don't have a scene with her. Don't you think I should be pissed off?’”
Saint laughed as Wenders told the story. “And I went to Sam and said, ‘Tim is really pissed off that he doesn't have a scene with Eva Marie.’ And then we wrote the cookie scene,” said Wenders. Upon learning just how much Roth pushed for a scene with her, Saint exclaimed, “Well, now Tim is one of my favorite actors. He's wonderful in it.”
The Best of “Don’t Come Knocking:” Saint doesn’t have a favorite scene or line from “Don’t Come Knocking,” although “Lying is for cowards, Mr. Sutter” – said while she’s lying – ranks right up there. Wenders revealed Saint had a lot of fun with that particular line. “Oh yeah, that's right. That's true,” laughed Saint. “We did it several different ways. It was so funny when Wim said, ‘I think you could be making scrambled eggs, but somebody else could do it for you.’ I said, ‘I cook every night. I know how to make a scrambled egg.’ And then I'm humming a tune and it couldn't be [one that was] copyrighted.”
Wenders said they weren’t allowed to use a song that wasn’t in the public domain and he was stuck for ideas. “The song we wrote in the script was not public domain. I think Sam and I thought of "Que Sera Sera" or something like that. And then I said, ‘Sam, we can't write that in because we don't own it.’ He said, ‘Maybe she can hum something that nobody can recognize.’ So he just put in ‘humming.’ And then you came up with your own song.”
“Years ago I wrote a song. My kids tease me about it because it's so awful. I sang it for Wim and he said, ‘Put it in,’” said Saint. Wenders joked that they should have given her musical credit for her special contribution.
Since her kids didn’t like it, they were shocked when it was in the film. “It was my song. I didn't tell my children so when I saw it the other night with my daughter, she said, ‘Mom, is that…? Am I hearing it right?’ ‘Yes, that was the song Wim wanted me to sing.’"
Page 2: Eva Marie Saint on "Superman Returns" and Wim Wenders Explains How He Chooses Projects
