Ten
With Matthew Modine
I’ve met Matthew Modine before.
It was a long time ago; I remember introducing myself and having a brief
conversational exchange with him. What we talked about, I don’t remember at
all. I hope I was somewhat dignified. He
was lovely and charming and approachable – not at all aloof or intimidating.
Smiled easily. The kind of person you
enjoy sitting down in comfy chairs over drinks and talking for hours about
politics, activism, theatre, books, people…and before you know it, it’s midnight
and you’re wondering where the time went. Those qualities haven’t changed, except maybe
they’ve deepened.
He’s the kind of person who is
interested in everything, and may sometimes find himself frustrated that there
aren’t enough hours in the day to explore everything he wants to see. It’s a stretch to say you ‘know’ someone from
interviewing them or conversing with them on Twitter, but the words and
impressions I have of Matthew are:
Kind
Conscious
Invested
Committed
Interested
Concerned
Amused
Curious
Engaged
He’s also very
intense. Very goal-oriented, though he can also stop and take it all in. It’s a
good quality to have as an actor or artist—particularly if you have as many
projects on the hopper as he does.
A California
native, Modine is the youngest of seven children; his father was a theatre
manager. He moved to New York City after graduating high school and began
studying with the legendary Stella Adler, landing gigs while he was still a
student. And he has worked steadily ever since, appearing in some of the most
critically acclaimed, influential, and sometimes controversial films of his
generation, notably The Hotel New
Hampshire, the cult classic Vision
Quest, and Stanley Kubrick’s Full
Metal Jacket, a film that was as challenging to make as it is to watch –
and HBO’s Emmy-winning, groundbreaking And
the Band Played On (1993), playing an overwhelmed epidemiologist in the
early, terrifying days of the HIV epidemic.
Most recently he appeared as Sullivan Goff in ‘Weeds’ and as Foley in The Dark Knight Rises.
Like most creative
souls, he channels his enormous energy towards other outlets that are equally
fulfilling and dynamic: Modine was the 2013 recipient of the ShortsHD Visionary
Director award for his six short films; six little pieces of his thoughts –
some humorous, some offbeat, some controversial. His most recent short, Jesus Was a Commie, is a provoking,
almost free-association narrative on the nature of communism, socialism, and
religion, as well as modern society’s need to label and define.
One
ARD: I love the
Punky Dunk Project! This is really an adorable idea; I want it for myself, and
I’m 42 years old! It’s an obvious question, but how did you become involved in
this project?
MM: My producing partner, Adam Rackoff, and I
were looking for an animator for a feature film we were developing. Adam met Kat Llewellyn, a wonderful artist, who was working on the idea of creating
the Punky Dunk app. We partnered and worked with her and Steven Landess to create
what I believe is one of the best apps available for young, and as you say,
playful, young-minded adults.
Two
ARD: Were you actively involved in the App design
and production/animation? What sort of input did you have? I imagine it was
rather hard work; did it surprise you?
MM: The creative design of the book began with
the original artwork of the century old children’s book. Kat and Steve worked
closely with Glow Interactive to make the app fully functional and fun to play
with. I was cast to read the story and find talent for the Spanish language
version. We were able to get the very popular Mexican actress, Kate del
Castillo to record this version included in the app. We continue to make plans
to cast actors and actresses from many different countries and record them.
Imagine Punky in Japanese, French, Italian! What a great way to hear and learn
new languages!
Three
ARD: The Full Metal Jacket Diary. I want it, gonna
get it. But what I’m struck by is that this film and Pvt. Joker evidently
affected you in some very close places that you still contemplate and touch
today. While listening to a sample of the audio diary, I was struck by – I
don’t know, the apprehension in this young Matthew – his trepidation, maybe his
fear? Am I wrong? Am I right? And can
you talk about your relationship to that film, not so much as an actor, but as
a person who contemplates the experience he went through?
MM: I’m glad the book was published and now this
amazing app. Both are there to explain, or give a personal insight, into the making
of the film, and of course, working with Stanley Kubrick. I’m happy because now
I don’t have to explain any longer. The film came out 26 years ago and you can
imagine how many times I’ve been asked about the experience. What I am most
pleased with about FMJ is that it is one of those very rare films that stand
the test of time and continue to be relevant to modern audiences.
(Smiling)
So, if you want to know more about my participation and the two years I spent
in London with Kubrick, get the Full Metal Jacket Diary iPad app.
Four
ARD: Okay…now I’m gonna ask about Kubrick. How did
you perceive him then, and how do you perceive him now? Has your view of him
changed in any way? Do you think you would relate to him and talk to him in the
same way now as you did then, or, if not, how do you think that relationship
would be different for both of you?
MM: Well, we would both be 25 years older, so of
course we would relate to each other differently. I respected him very much, so
that would not have changed. Because Stanley was always curious, I doubt our
conversation would be about our shared past. I believe we would speak about the
present and - no doubt - about projects we were both planning and hoping to
make.
Five
ARD: Jesus
Was a Commie made me want to sit down over a pot of strong coffee with you
and talk about the shades of gray between faith and politics, and faith of
politics. Why do you think people misidentify/misinterpret what Communism truly
is? Or Socialism or Marxism, for that matter?
MM: The communism we are taught is through the
biased lens of capitalism. First, I want to make sure you don’t think that I,
or the film, is advocating communism as a solution to our current
environmental, economic, and religious problems. It’s not. The film is a tool
for dialogue and discussion. We are taught in school that communism caused the
suffering and murder of millions of people. Stalin was a tyrant and a dictator
and a paranoid murderer. Ditto Chairman Mao. Stalin instituted a campaign against
alleged enemies of his regime called the Great Purge, in which hundreds of thousands were executed. Major figures
in the Communist Party, such as the old
Bolsheviks, Leon Trotsky, and several Red Army leaders were killed after being
convicted of plotting to overthrow the government and Stalin – who was detested by the communists because they
recognized him for what he was, a murderer.
We
were taught and grew up believing that murder and mind control were two of the
goals of communism. This was neither Karl Marx’s vision or goal. *Marx's
theories about society, economics and politics—collectively known as Marxism—hold
that human societies progress through class
struggle.
What
is happening today is, perhaps because of the growing human population, is
individuals are losing the ability to negotiate fair salaries and working
conditions. Capitalists do not like communism, or socialism, because it desires
to protect the rights of workers. Capitalism wants low salaries and high
profits. Capitalists aren’t much concerned with environmental protection,
unless they can sell their products for more profit because they are “environmentally
correct”. Simply put, socialism and communism cut into the profits of
capitalists. Social Security is a successful example of Marxism. Medicare is
another. Neither programs murder people or seek to control our minds.
Six
ARD: So, are humans capable of love and
forgiveness without greed? Does altruism only come from dissociation from
‘things’? Anarchy = breaking cycles?
MM: Yes. We are capable of love and forgiveness.
First, we don’t have to seek love and forgiveness because they exist inside of
us. But in order to feel it, to experience them, it requires us to let go of
materialism. Once again, materialism is a goal of capitalism. The sale and
purchase of things. This is the greatest threat to modern humanity. The
compulsion to own things. To define our lives by the things we own. Not
understanding that the things we own, really own us. Not fully comprehending
that the world cannot support a consumer economy. There is a finite amount of
earthly resources and we are consuming what the planet can offer at a
unsustainable rate. It is only a matter of time, and a very short amount of
time, before complete environmental collapse. Our collective goal should be to
do whatever necessary to avoid environmental collapse. If this happens, it will
not only be the end of the very complex symbiotic relationship of millions of
species we share the planet with, it will mean the end of life as we know it.
Seven
ARD: Do you think we tend to use faith and/or
religion as a method of rationalizing our own lack of altruism? (I’m not even
sure if that makes sense, but I really wanted to ask this question)
MM: I think religion had its place in history. In
the past it was a good and necessary organization used to bring people
together. In the case of Christianity, (because I am not versed well enough in
other religions) they took the simple teachings, the parables of Jesus and used
them to enlightened generations of people ready to hear and practice his
teachings. People today have grown confused by the teachings, disillusioned by
religion because the teachings have been so misused. So often used to justify
horrors never intended by the author. Killing in God’s name, justifying the
murder of another human being in God’s name is the height of absurdity. The
enlightened teachings of Jesus and Buddha contain the seeds of altruism. Loving
forgiveness. Not seeking God from without, but from within.
Eight
ARD: This film has some very stark, visceral
imagery in it – photos that can’t really be viewed without a measure of shock.
As you were developing and editing the film, what was your reaction to these
images that made you choose them?
MM: Terence Ziegler and I had to find many ways
to transport the viewer in a story driven by narration. Thankfully, Terence is
a great artist and editor. Each time I watch the film I am more and more aware
of his genius.
Nine
ARD: You told me that there are often discussion
sessions after screenings of this film.
Can you tell me about your experience with some of them? What kind of
reactions people have had, and are they candid with you about those reactions?
MM: The most wonderful thing that happens is when
there is someone enraged by the title of the film and then, after having seen
the film, they are reawakened to the ideas of love and forgiveness. Of
cooperation and responsibility to others. It’s as if they’d been wearing
blinders (like on a horse) that has restricted their full view of life, and the
film has pulled them off. Allowing them to replace their anger with joy. The film
is, for some, like a small torch that helps them to see in the present
darkness. That’s pretty amazing.
Ten
ARD: Twenty years ago, “...And the Band Played On” shook some
complacency out of the general public perspective. We knew so little about HIV and AIDS then,
but it did feel like an inexorable slide to those paying attention. What was
your outlook on the future battle at the time, and looking back, do you think
you were too cynical, or too optimistic?
MM: At the time, the bulk of the population felt
there was a disease that had a sexual preference. The Gay Plague. Thankfully
there were reasonable scientists and doctors that understood the foolishness,
the ignorance of this. There is a very good line in the film, “When a house is
on fire, you don’t wait for scientific proof. You grab the first hose and you
start putting it out.” HIV/AIDS was perceived as a disease only effecting one
portion of the community, a community that the President of the United States (Ronald Reagan) didn’t think mattered or chose to ignore. This ignorance, or as you say,
complacency, costs thousands of people their lives. Because it greatly effected
the artistic community, you had people familiar with speaking to people
rationally and effectively. Artists, actors, directors, producers,
screenwriters, dancers, the Broadway and Hollywood community all raised their
voices to save the lives of their friends and families. I was honored to be a
participant of such an important film.
Watch Jesus Was a Commie HERE
As Maxie
prepares to leave town on her vision quest, she stops at Lulu’s for a tense, if
cordial visit before heading out. Things
are delicate between them, and it’s an open question as to whether Lulu, made
of stern Spencer stock, can ever forgive this person she loves so much, but who
has also brought her so much pain. Maxie prepares to leave, and just before she
heads out, she meets a very handsome, very mysterious man named Nathan West –
who has some business of his own to take care of with certain people in town. 
Britt takes
Ben with her to the hospital and runs into Dante, letting him know she’s
meeting his wife for tests—starting the process all over again for
surrogacy. Britt grapples with her
secrets, feeling the mounting guilt on her shoulders like a yoke. Compounding her shame, she ends up having to
give Lulu distressing news—news which causes the frustrated, hopeful
mother-to-be to take stock and make an irrevocable decision with no option for
turning back. 
There’s a
lot of guilt going around Port Charles these days, and Morgan Corinthos is
carrying his own self-carved yoke with increasing oppression. Incensed, his
father confronts the prodigal, finally fed up with protecting and
enabling – and hurls down a challenge that rends what little obstinacy Morgan
had to shreds. The mini-mobster wants out.
