TAFs INTERVIEWS NICK, OUR FUTURE LEADER!

TAFs INTERVIEWS NICK, OUR FUTURE LEADER!
Pull up a chair with TAFs and Nick Stahl!
Reported By: Randy Jennings
Thursday, June 26, 2002

TheArnoldFans.com sat down with T3: Rise of the Machine’s star Nick Stahl just the other day to learn more about mankind’s great military leader! Nick, sitting just a couple of feet away from me and wearing a white dress shirt and a scruffy beard, was ready for my questions.

TheArnoldfans: Nick, now that the film is finished, how are you liking all the tours, press junkets, Cannes and video game parties that goes into promoting such a big film?

Nick Stahl: It’s pretty fun, you know. I mean, I’ve never even done this part of the job as well I guess. I was always more comfortable with just the acting but this is like a whole new world, the publicity stuff. I’ve done junkets but nothing like this. You get to go to Cannes and lounge on a yacht (smiling) so you don’t have much grounds to be complaining.

TAFs: And the video game party? Did you kick Arnold’s butt with the game?

N.S.:I was a bit of an athlete on the video gaming circuit. I took to it pretty quick. Yeah, it was fun! I’m a video game fan so I like that stuff.

Later, I questioned Nick on his experience on the indoor filming of the future war scene and asked if he was able to keep his battle scare. Although he did not get to bring it home, we did learn he was appalled to see the Academy Award winner Jeff Dawn’s old man make-up on his face. It really freaked him out to see how he may really look one day.

Maybe he wasn’t able to make it off the set with his scare but he did keep one memento.

N.S.:One of the gifts that Jonathan gave me when we left was the C4 (explosive prop) that I am carrying around towards the end (of the film). So, I was taking a trip to Atlanta and obviously I knew it was fake. It’s some clay with a timer on it. But I threw it in my travel bag and I was going to take it to my nephew but just as I was walking out the door, it took me that long to realize, ‘hey, do I have a block of C4 in my bag?’ Is that what they’re going to see? So I didn’t take it with me and it’s still in my apartment.

TAFs: Have you always been an Arnold fans and what are your favorite movies of his?

N.S.: Yeah, I’ve always liked Arnold. I’m a Conan fan. I like me some Conan. (smiles proudly).

TAFs: So on the set, were you pushing for him to play the role again in King Conan: Crown of Iron?

N.S.: (Nods) I kind of mentioned it to him. I said ‘Arnold, that would be cool if you could hook me up with some more Conan’ but I think he has other elements to contend with. You know, I don’t think ME wanting him to do it would necessarily be the breaking point. But Maybe.

Replacement Part

Meet ”Terminator 3”’s hot new star. For next summer’s certain blockbuster, Nick Stahl steps into Eddie Furlong’s shoes as John Connor

Entertainment Weekly
By Liane Bonin
April 20, 2002

In the Academy Award-nominated ”In the Bedroom,” Nick Stahl played a son who gets blown away by a bloodthirsty bully. Luckily, his character in ”Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines” can turn to assassin cyborgs for protection. As John Connor (played by Edward Furlong in 1991’s ”T2”), Stahl joins Arnold Schwarzenegger for what’s likely to be next summer’s box office annihilator (the movie opens July 4, 2003). EW.com talked to Stahl, 22, about getting in shape for Ah-nuld and outgrowing his first director, Mel Gibson.

Is this the kind of role that demands abs of steel?
I’m not quite there yet, but for the first few weeks of filming I have very few scenes, so that buys me some time to get in better shape. I like physical roles like this since I need excuses to work out; I haven’t the willpower to do it on my own.

Has training forced you to cut out all bad habits?
Not really. After working out, there’s nothing like a cigarette. And I figure that your body just works that much harder if you have the lungs of a 4-year-old.

Everyone from Edward Norton to Shane West was rumored to be up for this role. How tough was the audition process?
I auditioned about five times, and there were three screen tests, which is more than I’ve done for any movie. But the director, Jonathan Mostow [''U-571''] is a pretty thorough guy — probably because everyone knows there’s going to be constant comparisons to the first two films.

Did they let you read the top-secret script before you auditioned?
The first time I did a screen test, I had to come to them, go into a room, and sign all these documents before I could even look at it. And they only let me read the first two acts. Don’t ask me anything about it, because if I tell you, someone will come to my house and kill me.

How difficult was it stepping into a role created by another actor?
I haven’t talked to Edward Furlong. The fact is, it’s been 10 years since the last movie, and people change, so it’s like creating a new character. I think audiences love these movies so much they’ll give me the benefit of the doubt.

What was it like meeting Schwarzenegger? Were you tempted to imitate him?
When you meet him you realize just how bad all those imitations are; no one else can really do him. I had these nightmares that he’d be a vicious anti-smoker and he’d throw me into the gym and scream at me, but he’s very nice and incredibly humble. He has a gym in an 18-wheeler that follows him wherever he goes, and he said I could use it. I may take him up on that.

You made your feature debut as the little boy in ”Man Without A Face.” Do you ever see your costar/director Mel Gibson?
It’s not like we go to bars and hang out. I saw him at an after-party not long ago, and it was great to see him. But it was weird — I’m actually taller than he is now.

In The Bedroom – Marisa Tomei and Nick Stahl discuss working with director Todd Field

In the Bedroom
Marisa Tomei and Nick Stahl discuss working with director Todd Field and their roles as Natalie and Frank
By Lizette Resendez
The Battalion
Posted: 1/15/02

Marisa Tomei, star of In the Bedroom, had no idea what she was getting into.

“I didn’t really think it was going to be as much as a challenge as it was when I got there,” Tomei said. “I would do a scene where it was emotional and would require a lot of concentration and think, ‘Okay, that’s out of the way, the hard scene is out of the way,’ but the next day there would be another hard scene. I didn’t really realize how much I immersed myself in that world.”

While the Academy award-winning actress has had plenty of practice preparing for roles in major movies such as My Cousin Vinny, What Women Want and Untamed Heart, Tomei had to spend time with a woman from Maine who was similar to her character, Natalie, in background and personality. Tomei spent several days learning new habits, speech and body language.

“I didn’t have anything or anyone to really draw from personally,” Tomei said. “I had asked [Director Todd Field] if there was someone that he knew, if he could find somebody who might be similar to my character’s background … he found someone who was willing to befriend me.”

Tomei’s co-star, Nick Stahl, last seen opposite Katie Holmes in Disturbing Behavior, also spent days at sea as a fisherman to prepare for his role as Frank. While he grew a deep respect for the way of life, he admits it was grueling work.

“[Fishing] is a really different world,” Stahl said. “I came away with a real respect for the profession. It’s a really tough job, kind of a lonely job as well. I had really done nothing like that before.”

Stahl started acting as a child and has had to adjust with changes in roles as he matured, while juggling a normal boy’s life and acting.

“It was difficult at times. You have a certain set of roles that you’re up for as a kid, but as you age, it really changes,” Stahl said. “When I was 14, I didn’t work for almost two years. It’s an awkward age to begin with.”

Despite Tomei and Stahl’s combined experience in film, they both said working with director Todd Field was rewarding.

“I’d say it’s exciting to work with someone who has no preconceived ideas, with a lot of fresh energy, clean point of view, ready to express himself or herself,” Tomei said. “I only had the script, which I thought was really good, and a couple of conversations with Todd which showed that we approached work the same way.”

Stahl said he was not only drawn to the film by Todd Field, but also by the script.

“Todd Field did an amazing job but it was more the story as a whole that was kind of the dominating force in wanting to do [the movie],” Stahl said. “If people don’t want to go to a film to experience emotion, I guess they should just go see the newest teen flick out. [In the Bedroom] really attempts to make a statement, which is more than a lot of films that I’ve seen attempt to do.”

While the film’s full plot was a secret, In The Bedroom won the Special Jury Prize at the 2001 Sundance Film Festival and several nominations for Best Film by numerous film associations, including the 2002 Golden Globes.

In the Bedroom gave Tomei a chance to work with Sissy Spacek, one of her favorite actresses, as well as an entire cast of experienced actors.

“I was blown away (by each actor),” Tomei said. “It was like a certain trust that we had with each other. We knew we all cared very much about our craft.”

Spacek, who plays Frank’s emotionally-charged mother, has also been nominated for several awards.

Spacek was voted Best Actress by the 2001 American Film Institute, 2001 Los Angeles Film Critics Association, 2001 New York Film Critics Circle and 2002 Broadcast Film Critics Association.

‘Terminator 3′’s Nick Stahl Cautiously Talks About Sci-Fi Sequel

‘In the Bedroom’ actor taking on role of grown-up robot target John Connor.

By Ryan J. Downey

MTV – JULY 17, 2002

As promised, the Terminator will be back, and in “Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines” he’s bringing Nick Stahl with him.

“It’s gonna be great,” said Stahl, who has appeared in such films as “Disturbing Behavior” and “In the Bedroom.” “I feel really good about it.”

Currently shooting in California, “T3″ sees the return of Arnold Schwarzenegger as the T-800 model Terminator, a role he made famous nearly 20 years ago. Helmed by “Titanic” director James Cameron, 1984’s original “Terminator” depicted Arnie as a murderous cyborg sent from a future ruled by machines to eliminate the mother (Linda Hamilton) of human resistance leader John Connor. Played by Edward Furlong, Connor was a teenager in the 1991 sequel, with a friendly, reprogrammed Arnie protecting him from a deadly new liquid-metal killer.

Hamilton will appear only in flashbacks in “T3,” while Cameron and Furlong are nowhere to be found. “U-571″ director Jonathan Mostow has stepped in for Cameron, while Stahl is taking over as a grown-up Connor.

“[I'm not trying] to imitate anything about the character that’s been done,” Stahl said of his approach to the role. “I just don’t think that that’s really realistic or that’s even possible. You have to kind of use your own arsenal. So I’ve really just tried to kind of make it my own.”

Stahl got his start as a young boy, playing alongside Mel Gibson in “The Man Without a Face,” and later appeared in “The Thin Red Line,” but he’s best known for art-house hits like “Bully” and “In the Bedroom.” He said he’s aware of the high expectations for “T3,” since he’s a big fan of the series himself.

“I saw the first one when I was really young. The second one was probably one of my favorite movies growing up. So I’ve seen that many times. It was a really interestingly conceived sort of story. And it’s a great kind of commercial mix of dark, dark action and comedy.”

So will “Rise of the Machines” measure up?

“The script is really solid,” Stahl promised. “I think the main aim was to basically up the stakes from the last one and to make the newest one even more groundbreaking. Because the second one, really nothing like that had been done before. And so I think in order to match that kind of enthusiasm, they have to really try that much harder as far as the story and the actual filming goes.

“And the effects, you know, there’s a lot of effects that are done these days that weren’t available 10 years ago,” he continued. “In that way, visually, it’s gonna be more realistic. It’s hard to know how it’s going to turn out, … but if the script says anything I would say that it’s definitely as good, if not better, than the last one.”

Like everyone involved with the production, Stahl has been sworn to secrecy about the finer points of the “T3″ plot. What is known is that resistance forces send yet another T-800 to protect Connor from a female Terminator, played by newcomer Kristanna Loken (”Gangland”).

“She’s just doing a great job,” Stahl said. “She’s doing months of weight training and then fighting training and weapons training. She’s just really been very dedicated to it. And also, sort of like a mime movement class for the sort of robotic sense to the character. Once you see her in action, it’s quite a transformation.”

The “transformation” fans really want to know about is whether or not Loken’s “Terminatrix” is made of liquid metal.

“Yeah, she is,” Stahl offered cautiously. “And she’s got … It’s new and improved. But I don’t think I could … They won’t let me say any more. It’s very top secret stuff.”

“T3″ has about three months of shooting left. After that, Stahl’s off to make “Carnivale,” a new HBO series about a traveling circus during the Depression. Stahl called it “a fantasy story about good and evil.”

After that, what’s next? Would Stahl be down for “Terminator 4″?

“Yeah, yeah, definitely,” he said. “From reading the third one, it leaves some questions as to where you go from here. But I guess they thought the same thing after the second as well. You know, if it was around, I definitely would love to do it.”

“Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines,” also starring Claire Danes, is scheduled to hit theaters July 2, 2003.