Kevin Bacon Analyzes the Film’s Take on Celebrity: “It says a few things. Lanny’s sort of the voice of that, but one notion is that when you get away with things, when you get things for free, you get a pass on the traffic ticket, you also then start to believe that you can get away with murder, literally, which is sort of what these guys are kind of thinking. They’re living by some other code, some other moral code that the rest of us are not.
I also think that it shows that celebrities can become victims of their own celebrity. Look at Vince’s character and how he got to the top of a career and then has not been able to pull himself back up since then. And also that notion that Lanny has of always feeling like it’s going to end at any minute. His whole sense of self-worth is kind of judged on [that idea]. He tells the girl that he’s going to be on ‘The Today Show’. Why does he have to tell that girl that? Why does he have to get upset when she doesn’t watch? Who cares?
Fame is…there’s an addictive quality to fame. When your celebrity starts to wane, people get a real fear about that. And that’s why I think sometimes you see people who will put themselves on real weird reality shows or they’ll find themselves just back in the paper by doing something horrible. I almost get the feeling like it’s better than not being in the paper, just as long as you’re in the paper.”
On Working with Colin Firth and Atom Egoyan: “I love Colin. He’s a great guy. He’s a lot of fun to be with. He’s funny. He’s got a darker side to him than most people know, which I think comes out in the movie. I love him. I wish he was here [at the press junket]. In the past we’ve been able to do a lot of interviews together, which has been a lot of fun because we only have to answer half as many questions. And Atom’s fantastic. He’s an artist.”
Kyra Sedgwick’s Reaction to This Particular Role: “She liked it. She thought I did a good job. She was very supportive. You mean the humping part of it? You know what? We’re used to it.
People have asked me conversely how do I feel about seeing her, and I don’t think she’s ever done anything, except for ‘The Woodsman,’ that’s probably the most extreme sex scene she’s ever done. I’ve seen her in movies where she’s gotten her head smashed into the table and her nose broken. And I’ve seen her kissing another guy. I’d rather watch her kiss another guy than get beat up.”
On the Challenges Still Left for Him as an Actor: “I’ve challenged the idea of not being heroic, right? It was shocking too for me to play, in ‘JFK,’ a gay fascist prisoner. People were like, ‘Wow, that’s kind of shocking.’ Certainly ‘The Woodsman,’ ‘Beauty Shop,’ which is great because I feel like I’m definitely not pigeonholed. But to me what would be shocking now is for me to be in a situation where I just get the bad guy and kiss the girl. Do something comedic or something just straight ahead romantic that’s not sexually twisted. Be in a Disney movie or something like that. That’s really what I’m looking for.
Who knows? Career planning’s an oxymoron I find. But I am trying to focus on doing something that’s kind of mainstream.”
His Final Words: After such a long and successful career, how would Kevin Bacon word his epitaph? “I don’t know. I made a joke once where I said, ‘No Oscars but at least I have a game named after me,’” laughed Bacon.
