Josh Hartnett on Film Noir and Damsels in Distress: Hartnett warns not to label the women of The Black Dahlia as damsels in distress. “If Madeleine Linscott [played by Hilary Swank] is a damsel in distress, than I am as well (laughing). The inclination of noir films to pose that question and then turn it on its head is, I think, part of what was intriguing about the films, back in the ‘40s and ‘50s. It was so opposed to the way people were viewing the nuclear family back then. I also think that the post-war era, where people came home and moved to the suburbs and had their families living in seclusion from these grittier details of life, made them lust for it a little bit. It turned Hollywood on its head, in a way. Noir was the opposite of what Hollywood had grown to expect and market. People were lusting for that darker side of life when they were living in such seeming isolation from that darkness.”
Developing the Relationship Between His Character and Scarlett Johansson’s: “Because the characters are so well defined in the book and because the scenario is so clear, it’s almost like all we had to do as actors was develop a shorthand with each other. Same with all the actors’ relationships with Brian [De Palma]. We just developed an understanding with each other so that we could move through the piece, because I think that Ellroy has done most of the work for us - all the backstory. We know how we’re feeling about each of the other characters at any given moment because it’s in the book. So, as actors, we didn’t have to manipulate the situation the way that, sometimes, you do.
On this last film that I just finished - a movie called Resurrecting the Champ - Kathryn Morris and myself had to develop an entire backstory, just on our own. We had to sit down and get into it and all that. On this film, aside from the fact that Kay and Bucky have no backstory, we had less of that. We just had to act.”
Hartnett on His Black Dahlia Co-Stars: “I had an instant attraction to everybody on this film. I think that Scarlett, Hilary and Aaron [Eckhart] are three of the most talented people I’ve ever worked with, and working with talented people improves your work. For me, as far as being on set, I couldn’t ask for anything more. I loved working with these guys. Brian was the surrogate father, and we all got to run around and play games.”
Sticking with The Black Dahlia: “Brian [De Palma] came onto the film about two and a half, three years after I initially got involved. It was a different director at the time they hired me. It was the same producers, Art Linson and Moshe Diamant. But, I was hired to play Bucky when I was much too young to play Bucky. I was 23. Maybe I was just about to turn 23…so I was really young. But I recognized how great the material was and wanted to stick with it, so when the other director dropped out and Brian came on… There was a gap there of two years where nothing was happening. When Brian came on, he hired me, just right off the bat. Because I was still attached, he signed on with me already attached, which was great.
I went and talked to him and he didn’t seem to have any interest in talking about the character or anything. We just sat down and had a cup of coffee and looked at each other and said, ‘This is going to be fun,’ and told a couple jokes. That was it. That’s how our relationship is. (Laughing) Our relationship has stayed around that depth and I love him for that. He knows what he wants, he casts well, and once he’s cast the roles, unless there’s a specific role that needs manipulation… The character of the Dahlia - of Betty Short - wasn’t even in the script, really. That was all improv between him and Mia [Kirshner]. When he wants to work with actors, that’s the way he does it. But this script was so tight, he didn’t have to improv with us and he just left us to our own devices. It was fun. We just had a good time together.”
Page 2: Josh Hartnett on Fighting, Smoking, and James Ellroy
