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JILL RAPPAPORT reporting: Hi, Katie. Well, it's another intense and powerful role for Ralph Fiennes, whose film "Sunshine" was just nominated for three Golden Globe awards.
(Clip from "Sunshine" shown)
Mr. RALPH FIENNES ("Sunshine"): In one sentence, this film is about the disease of wanting to be accepted, wanting to, you know, be part of the group, being afraid to stand up and say, 'Actually, I'm different, and I'm proud to be different, and this is who I am.'
(Clip from "Sunshine" shown)
Mr. FIENNES: I passionately believe in this film. I believed in it as a script, and I believe in it now. Well, I'm biased, I know.
RAPPAPORT: The film is "Sunshine." Written and directed by Academy Award winner Istvan Szabo, and starring Ralph Fiennes. It's the story of a family of Hungarian Jews and the events that both shaped and plagued their lives throughout the 20th century.
Mr. FIENNES: This film in Hungary is really potent. I mean, it's been a huge success, because I think Istvan has dared to tell the truth of Hungary's history in the last century.
RAPPAPORT: That history includes empires, dictators, two world wars, fascism, communism and, of course, anti-Semitism, which serves as the film's central theme.
(Clip from "Sunshine" shown)
RAPPAPORT: I understand that the original script--600 pages.
Mr. FIENNES: Yeah, yeah.
RAPPAPORT: They cut it into a film that is just under three hours. But by doing that they actually had to cut the film in half.
Mr. FIENNES: Yeah, it's a long film.
RAPPAPORT: Are you concerned at all about that, how the audience will respond?
Mr. FIENNES: I think some people will find it long, and other people will get completely absorbed. I think, you know, you got--there are some films that you just have to know, have heard that they are long, and that you're prepared--like reading a long book, you're prepared to give it that time.
(Clip from "Sunshine" shown)
RAPPAPORT: Known for challenging and intense roles in movies like "Schindler's List," "The English Patient," and "The End of the Affair," 38-year-old Fiennes outdoes even himself this time around. You take on three roles in this film.
Mr. FIENNES: Yes, three--three men. They are all male bloodline, like grandfather, father, son. And although they're very--they're very different, I think there's a sort of similar spirit that links them all to get ahead. They have to compromise on who they are.
(Clip from "Sunshine" shown)
RAPPAPORT: You give so much credit to the director for helping you come along in this film, and I understand that they waited two years for you.
Mr. FIENNES: When I read this script, there was no question that I wanted to do it.
RAPPAPORT: But you weren't available.
Mr. FIENNES: For a long time I'd been developing a film with my sister, and it would have meant, you know, suddenly turning my back on that...
RAPPAPORT: Right.
Mr. FIENNES: ...and I couldn't do that. And I said to Istvan, you know, please wait for me. I want to make this other film first, and then I will be--then I'm yours, you know, if you can wait.
RAPPAPORT: The film was made a year and half later, opened in theaters back in June, and was just re-released for Oscar consideration.
Unidentified Woman: "Sunshine," Paramount Classics.
RAPPAPORT: So far it's received three Golden Globe nominations, and there's hope for a few Oscar nods as well, including best actor, an award that has already escaped Fiennes twice. Do you ever say to yourself, 'Yeah, it's great to be nominated, but I should have one of those on my shelf by now'?
Mr. FIENNES: Well, no, I think I try to say--I say to myself, 'That'd be great if it happened, but if it doesn't, you know, there are lots of actors I admire that haven't won an Oscar.' It's very easy to get sort of caught up in the hoopla and the kind of circus...
RAPPAPORT: Right.
Mr. FIENNES: ...of the nominations. It just punctuates the year with, 'Let's celebrate making this--the making of movies, and what's great about movies.' And being nominated is a great feeling, and I guess to get--to get an award would be--of course, it's a great feeling.
RAPPAPORT: The audience expects a lot from you because of what you've given us. Is that pressure for you at this point?
Mr. FIENNES: I think it's a dangerous way to think--to think, 'This is what's expected, so I must keep repeating.'
RAPPAPORT: Wouldn't you agree, though, that there's a lot of expectations placed on you because of your past body of work?
Mr. FIENNES: Are there?
RAPPAPORT: You tell me. When you've got the resume that you have, people expect a lot from you, and that's a good thing.
Mr. FIENNES: That's a good thing, yeah. And you don't want to disappoint. I mean, you want--as an actor you want audiences to at least come and see your work, and hopefully like it, or, you know, in some way be--make an impression on them. And I think the worst thing to do is to bore an audience.
RAPPAPORT: I don't think you've ever been accused of that, Ralph.
Mr. FIENNES: Maybe I have.
RAPPAPORT: No way. And we'll be keeping our fingers crossed for Ralph when Oscar nominations are announced next month. This is such an incredible movie.
COURIC: It looks completely...
RAPPAPORT: What a role for him.
COURIC: ...like my kind of movie.
RAPPAPORT: Yeah.
COURIC: Meanwhile, he is so enormously talented. And he plays three different characters?
RAPPAPORT: Three different characters. The grandfather, the father, and the son.
COURIC: Wow!
RAPPAPORT: And just each role is so intense. He really is incredible. He better get nominated and win this time.
COURIC: Are you listening, Academy?
RAPPAPORT: I'll give them a message.
COURIC: All right. Jill, thank you very much. Up next, tips on how to quit
smoking in the New Year. But first, this is TODAY on NBC.
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© EL STEPHO
Added to the RF Reading Room on January 6, 2001
EL STEPHO