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Well I just . . . I was just emotional. I was emotional. I took care of this little Chihuahua and had to give him back, so I had nothing else I could do except write it down on seven legal sized pads – seven pages. And we touched a lot of people, so you know we were able to get it published. I mean I sent it to people who liked it. And then they sent it to people and they liked it. And then finally we got . . . It took seven years. It took seven years to get the book off the ground. And I don’t even know if anybody will really read it. I just think it was a great experience to, you know, give birth to a story that’s actually based on a true story.

Well the . . . It was . . . The owner was really an out of work actor who was once a very big star, and somebody I knew and really liked a lot. And I was actually afraid something terrible was gonna happen to him. So I ran over to his house where he was leaving to go to a smaller apartment, and to try to help him. And the dog was in the corner, and I was . . . I said, “Who’s that little cute little . . .” and the dog just sort of flew into my lap. And you couldn’t make something like this up. And I was told to leave with the dog because he didn’t like him. He was a dog that . . . He just didn’t want him anymore. And he was so skinny. It was like just this tiny, tiny thing. And we went back to the hotel and everyone fell in love with him. And I’ve never seen a dog get so happy, and excited, and gained weight, and sat with me in casting sessions, and scouted locations with Ridley Scott, and Jerry Bruckheimer, Michael . . . He just had this great time, so it was very hard to give him up because he was really so easy to have around. And he was like a people magnet. And every time I walked anywhere with the dog, people would come to touch him and hold him. So he’s sort of a little magical dog.

I did not wanna give him back, and I fought pretty hard not to give him back. But when I took him back to his owner who really missed him, and the owner had another dog . . . It was his sister – Chocolate’s sister. It sounds completely silly, but they licked each other from head to toe, and there was such a screech when they saw each other that it was . . . and they all kind of lived happily ever after. And I think it was the experience of writing that was great for me because it helped me to get through missing the little creature. You know because I’m so busy working. At that time I was working on films and traveling. And my husband was in New York, and I was living at the Four Seasons for, oh, like four or five months. I think it was lovely to be able to just put it down on a piece of paper and get rid of it, you know. And maybe I’ll always think about this little dog, but I was able to write the story down and out it away. I think it’s interesting when you wake up in the middle of the night and you can’t sleep. And you get up and you write down these things – whether it’s a story or a list of things you have to do. And then you’re able to go to sleep again and something like that.

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This director, her name is Deepa Mehta. And she’s . . . She did a movie called Water which was an absolutely exquisite film. And I . . . After I saw the film I called her representation and I said, “Please let me just meet her.” And when I met her I said, “I really would love to work with you. Just tell me how. I’ll send you every script that I have.” I think that movie was so touching, so beautiful, so real. And she gave me a script called Stella, and . . . which we’re gonna shoot in India in the end of February. And so in answer to your question . . . I’m not answering your question really, but I’m gonna get there. Yes. The answer is yes. Yes I think as we see performances in . . . in let’s say Indian films and we see something special, we’re going to bring it to what we’re doing. You know if . . . You know obviously the film would have to be something that was noticed by the Academy. And let’s say they were five foreign films. I think there are a lot of incredible Chinese actors like __________ I don’t know if you’ve seen that. It’s __________ new movie. There’s an actress by the name of _________ and ___________ - two spectacular . . . I know I would like to work with them and use them in the future. So yes. In answer to your question, yes. As we see movies . . . And also I think . . . I just came back from London where I saw some theater and saw some wonderful performances with Ewan McGregor and Chiwetel Ejiofor. That’s a name for you. He’s somebody who’s starting to do movies and really terrifically talented. And I met a young man today by the name of Nathaniel Parker – Nate Parker – and he’s just in the Great Debaters with Denzel Washington that Denzel just directed. And I think he had a wonderful presence in the movie. Yes, so as we see movies; as we go to theater; as we, you know, look at the magazines and see a face, yes. I think if we pull . . . If we’re casting, or producing, or directing, we try to reach out to new people no matter who they are and where they’re from, and to see if they can fit into what we’re doing. So yes.

Recorded On: 12/21/08

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There Will Be Blood. Daniel Day Lewis was just wonderful, and I have worked with him. I did a movie called Last of the Mohicans with him. But this performance was wonderful. And also in The Diving Bell and the Butterfly, just across the board wonderful, wonderful performances. Sean Penn’s movie Into the Wild, Hal Holbrook was astonishing in that movie. All the actors were astonishing, but you do hold onto Hal Holbrook who you’ve seen so many times. And you were so touched by him that, you know, some kind of stunning performances that will stay with me.

I mean I always remember Kevin Kline and Meryl Streep in Sophie’s Choice, and that was a long time ago. I remember Placido Domingo and Tricia Status . . . or Stratus, I think her name is, in La Traviata, which was an amazing movie. And it was an opera, but the performances were beautiful. And I think I’ve seen recently Tommy Lee Jones do some astounding work, and Kate Blanchett. So I do take some of those performances with me for sure. Russell Crowe I think is a really good actor as well.

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Well I’ll give you an example. I worked on a movie called Awakenings with Robert De Niro and Robin Williams. And it was fantastic to watch Robert in the auditioning process because he read with a lot of other actors. And the way he grew from the first audition to the last one that we did together . . . Because you know because he played somebody who shook quite a bit. And watching him do that . . . Watching him create a character in the audition, because he’s . . . many weeks. We read with a lot of different actors. I thought that was fascinating. And I could see him writing down on his script little things that he thought about. And his script was filled with like little notes. And I that’s a big part of it – that you put yourself inside that person and create a character. And maybe sometimes you can’t even come out of it.

Another instance was I was working with Al Pacino, and I . . . He was directing, and I brought in this actor from Chicago to play a bartender. And Al said, “Would you mind reading with me?” And he said, “No, not at all. I’d love to.” And I saw Al take his hat and turn it in such a way, and his posture changed. And it was almost as if Al Pacino had walked out of the room and this character was sitting in the room. I had never seen anything quite like that. But he was . . . He understood that character so much that I would imagine he would be doing that almost daily in different ways when he would think about something; or how the character would sit; or what he would be thinking. It was just a remarkable physical thing. It was truly amazing.

But he did. He twisted his hat. His shoulders went down. His body language was different. And he became the character, and Al Pacino literally walked out of the room. So I think there is a way to get inside a character that I think is . . . It’s unbelievable to me. I mean when a curtain goes up on stage and you’re transported into a whole other world, and these incredible human beings are playing these characters, I just don’t know how they do it. You know I just don’t know how they do it. I think it’s remarkable. But I’m talking about people who are really committed and great.

Recorded On: 12/21/08

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Sometimes it’s just there inside of them. They’re just born with it. The camera loves them, and they have such a great core . . . emotional core. And sometimes it’s just very natural, and other times it’s about study and working hard. Yeah, I think that’s . . . It’s very hard to be an actor and a good actor. I mean anybody could be an actor. You could be an actor. I could be an actor. But to be a great actor I think that’s something different, and it takes a lot of hard work.

Recorded On: 12/21/08

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I don’t care about that. I don’t think about, you know, who’s wearing what styles. I don’t really give a hoot about that. You know I care, I think, about . . . I’m not a . . . I’m really not that into gossip, you know? I . . . The things that I care about are, I think, great acting talent, whether it be on the stage or on film. I’m interested to read stories about actors like, you know, Daniel Day Lewis or the great Robert De Niro. Or you know if there’s a story or an article about, you know, actors that I respect, I always would like to read about them. But I don’t really particularly care, even if I look at these magazines, because I have to for my work in a way. I have to keep up with everything that’s going on. I don’t really care about . . . You know I care about people like Owen Wilson because I’ve worked with Owen. I’m horrified by what happened in the press after, you know, he tried to commit suicide. And my heart went out to him because I care about him. I think he’s, you know, a terrific actor and a great human being. So I kind of get mad at that . . . with stuff. I think, you know, when Robert Downey, Jr. went to jail, I went to the prison to see him. He didn’t see me, but I went there because I knew him since he was as young guy . . . a young kid and I wanted to support him. So those are the things that . . . you know that I care about or think about.

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You can sense that. I mean I . . . I remember the first time I met Meryl Streep was at this theater that I told you about – the Phoenix Theater. And she walked in and she had her pants all tied up because she was riding a bike to the audition. And she had a wheel . . . a wheel of her bike in her hands, and her hair was all messy. And I thought, “Oh my god, she’s glorious. She’s . . . she’s just beautiful.” So you do get those feelings. You do . . . You are drawn to people that, you know, come in; come sit down next to you and talk to you and you see something. And maybe they’re not necessarily right for the part, but there’s something about their personalities. Maybe you wanna put them in another role. But yes, the room changes. The color changes. Usually golden . . . golden yellow I think for me. I get very excited and try to place these performers in either the role that they’ve come in for, or in another part. So I like to think that when I cast a movie, or even work on a movie, that it would be a movie that people see a hundred years from now. I think that’s the way I always look at things. Will people look at this project, this movie, this actor in 100 years in the same way we look at Betty Davis, and Cary Grant, and Humphrey Bogart. And I think we’re looking at them for a very long time. I think that’s the goal – to see that talent that you think will last forever and ever and ever.

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If you’re casting a feature, or a television series, or a, you know . . . whatever it is that you’re casting, usually you read the script first, and hopefully you only take on things that you really like. And then you start to imagine as you read who’s going to be in this script. And a lot of times I’ll carry actors in my head while I’m reading a script. And I’ll . . . Sometimes I get it right the first time; and then other times I have to work for months to find the right people. So you can do it different ways. You could interview somebody. Or you could see a movie, or a television show, or read, or see a picture in the paper, or even just a picture and resume and say, “This is somebody I would like to bring in to meet a director or a producer.” I don’t think in terms of location, or catering, or anything like that. I just really think in terms of the . . . if I’m casting and not producing. So it’s different when you’re producing. You’re reading a script and thinking of all kinds of things. You know but I think in terms of casting, there will be times where I’ll be sitting opposite an actor, and I’ll see a big screen behind this actor or actress. And I’ll imagine them on the screen right while they’re sitting in front of me, and I’ll just get the sense that they will be in the movie somehow, or in a movie. So sometimes I think that’s one way – just this . . . my instinct. And other times I will have an empty wall in my office. It’ll be completely empty, and I will start to paint a picture. So it’s an empty canvas, and then I’ll start to put up faces – even faces of people off the street or in magazines. I’ll start to fill up this wall filled with pictures and start to see a painting. So I kind of view the casting job almost as if I’m painting a picture.I have cast, I think, 54 movies. So that’s a lot of movies. So I think you have to have a real imagination about what you’re doing.

You know when the right actor comes in, the room sort of changes color. You know I think you know it. You know it when . . . When somebody is before you and they are right, something happens in a performance, in a room, even in an audition and you can see that they’re right for the part. But then of course they could go through different steps. They’d have to maybe work with another actor, or to see how the chemistry is. They have to be physically right for the part. They have to be . . . see how . . . If it’s a love interest, you wanna test opposite your leading actor or actress to see if those things are working. There are so many different . . . But sure, yes. I’ve seen actors come in and I’ve thought, “I didn’t think this person would be right.” But they’re just so interesting that you wanna bring them in front of the director. Maybe you don’t have to make all the decisions yourself. Maybe you have to take chances and you have to say to a director or to the producers, “Would you like to take a chance with me and look at somebody who is,” you know . . . you know, “tall instead of small? Or blond instead of dark?” Or you know, “a different nationality or race?” You know you have these ideas. I think that’s the most exciting part of the job – being able to discover. Because anybody can put together a list, you know?

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I am from New York. I have . . . I’ve never left New York. Where a lot of us go out to Hollywood to work because that’s the business I’m in – show business – I think that staying in New York has made me just a little bit different. I think the fact that you could walk to theaters, movies, museums; walk to the opera, the ballet; I think that helps me to understand talent; to understand all the new people that are coming in. So I think living in New York is tougher. I do . . . I love to go out to Los Angeles because it’s so beautiful; and there are so many flowers; and everybody eats breakfast, lunch, and dinner out; and it’s fantastic – it’s like a vacation. But in New York it’s tougher, edgier. And I think that the kind of work that I’m doing is a little tougher, a little edgier.

I think it’s become like a zoo actually. I think . . . I don’t even see buses stop for lights . . . for people to cross the street, I think. It’s a different . . . It’s very different. It’s a little . . . Everyone is so crazy, and everyone smokes on the street. So there’s always people smoking on the street, where they never used to smoke on the street because they could smoke indoors or in restaurants. And so . . . So I see a lot of that, and I see a lot of aggression . . . a lot of aggression, and it’s disappointing. I like those . . . You know the bicycles that . . . I think those are just wonderful and I wish there were more of them. And that cars would park somewhere else and we could just either walk, or ride bicycles, or be driven by bicycle. I think . . . Or horse and buggy, I don’t know. I think it . . . I mean I . . . The horse and buggy time, that was way before my time. But I think that there is a sort of romance to New York even through its grittiness and its intensity. But I think a lot of that is gone because people are in such a hurry. And you know and they smoke a lot of cigarettes on the street. (Chuckles)

Recorded On: 12/21/07

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Bonnie Timmermann. I’m a producer and a casting director.

I think my family influenced me a great deal. My mother was an opera singer. She still sings opera. My father was . . . When he first came to this country he was a boxer. And so the combination of my father being a boxer and very tough on all of us, and my ma being an opera singer gave me a sort of imbalance that worked very well, I think, for show business. My sister is an actress, and my brother is a musician. And they do other things too. I mean my sister is now a painter, and my brother is a sound engineer and works in film. And my father really loved the film business and wanted very much to be a part of it. And I think he lived vicariously through what we did. So there was always that . . . that thing in the family. And also growing up was . . . was tough for me. So I think I could hide away in books, and music, and the world of film. So I think, you know, had it been an easy childhood, I think I could have just absolutely done something else. But it . . . It was a dramatic childhood, I think, basically.