Five Minute Time Out: Mr. Magorium's Emporium
We chat with Dustin Hoffman, Natalie Portman and Jason Bateman!
by April Peveteaux
November 20, 2007
On Childhood
Hoffman: The first thing I would advise if you have children is that you learn very quickly that they can out-argue you at a very early age. There is a logic they grab onto and they start to understand your logic and they say, "But why?" You cannot win it and it can go on forever. One day I just said in great frustration, "Hey, this is not a democracy. You live in this house. It's a dictatorship. There is no 'why'. I don't have to say 'why'. You're in bed at nine o'clock at night, no discussion. I'm the dictator. When you get out of the house you can have your democracy." I would advise that you tell your kids as soon as possible that they're living in Russia.
Portman: You have to fall on your face a lot. I've been lucky enough that most of my face falls have not made it into the tabloids and obviously other people have not been so lucky. I think it's a tricky thing and it's not necessarily a positive thing happening with how young people are working and seeking that sort of attention and getting that sort of attention.
Bateman: I certainly did not come through unscathed. I was not perfect, and I'm still a safe distance from that. I was just a little bit smarter about getting caught. And I didn't spend twenty-four hours a day being an idiot or an outlaw. That's not an overriding instinct for me, to do mass amounts of drugs or rob liquor stores. I don't have to fight that urge. My instinct is normalcy. It's not tough. The borders are a little wider for you, people let you get away with a lot more. But if you have the right kind of friends and family, they just don't let you get away with being a jerk. So if you start to sort of test the boundaries, those boundaries get solid on you if you have the right people around you.
Mills: She [Natalie Portman] kind of gave me warnings like, "Don't end up like all the [child actors] you see."
On The Perils of Children's Movies
Hoffman: Think about it, like Bambi, the mother died in flames. Wow. And Pinocchio
"My instinct is normalcy." — Jason Bateman fell asleep and his legs were burned off. It's extraordinary how violent the children's themes are and why there is a sinister aspect to it. I don't know why.
Portman: I started working when I was eleven, but I was never in a kid's movie. And now I'm in a kids' movie but I don't get the kid treatment, because I'm a grown up. That was sort of a bizarre experience.
Mills: Sometimes on set people will go, "He'll get a smaller trailer because he's just a kid." But I'm like, "My parents are going to be there!"
On "Marriage-Destroying-Good" Natalie Portman
Hoffman: I met her years ago. My wife and I saw her on Broadway in The Diary of Anne Frank. So we met and I did a very bad thing. I called up my son in Los Angeles and said, "I got her! I got the one!" I put them on the phone together and they talked a little. And afterward he said, "Dad, don't pimp for me anymore. Please." I didn't take the advice. It's one of my flaws. Natalie's a professional. She's fun to work with. She's lovely. Maybe she'll marry my son.
Bateman: I've described her as marriage-destroying-good. She couldn't be nicer, prettier, more talented or smarter. Remember the Daisy Cutter? The bomb we developed a few years ago to end the war? The bomb that goes down into the ground like fifty meters before it even explodes? She's just an incredible weapon.
Mills: Jason and Natalie gave me a lot of tips and pointers. They started out as child actors, so they kind of looked after me. Dustin, on the other hand . . . he gave me tips and pointers on where to go for lunch.
©2007 April Peveteaux and Nerve Media
About the Author
|
|
Related Articles
|
|
April Peveteaux is a writer, editor and sometimes performer. She lives in Brooklyn with her husband, son and daughter. |
|
|
-
by Jennifer V. Hughes
The author shares her three-martini approach to parenting.
-
by Katie Bayless
Designer Denai Jones makes the diaper bag glamorous.
-
by Jennifer V. Hughes
The show's executive producer on the secret joys of math.
|
