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BBC MUNDO RADIO
Character actor Charles Martin Smith forges a career in directing
3:01 PM, Sep. 23, 2011 |
Director Charles Martin Smith attends the premiere of Warner Brother's "Dolphin Tale," which opens tonight. / Valerie Macon / Getty Images)
A character actor for more than 30 years, Charles Martin Smith has
seen just about everything. But working with luminaries like George
Lucas (in "American Graffiti"), Brian DePalma ("The Untouchables") and
Carroll Ballard ("Never Cry Wolf") helped him forge a career in his
first love, directing.
Smith's latest picture "Dolphin Tale" is inspired by the true story of Winter, a dolphin found washed ashore in Clearwater, Fla., tangled in ropes. Her tail was amputated, and eventually a prosthetic was put in its place.
Smith's aquatic mammal story -- which opens today -- stars Ashley Judd, Morgan Freeman, Harry Connick Jr., child actors Nathan Gamble and Cozi Zuehlsdorff, and Winter, naturally playing the role only she can.
We recently caught up with Smith, who talked about the movie, working with Winter, and a possible special edition of "American Graffiti."
How did you get connected with "Dolphin Tale"?
I first heard about it in the summer of 2009. Alcon (Entertainment) and Andrew Kosove and Broderick Johnson (co-founders of Alcon) found out about Winter and had gotten the rights to do a film about her and had been developing it for awhile, and were not happy with the direction it was going, I guess. So they brought me in to rewrite the script and make the film. That was the first I'd heard of Winter.
Let's talk about Winter. This is essentially her doing her own autobiography, right?
Absolutely. {$326} Winter was quite young when she was rescued in the real story. She was only 4 months old, and she was quite small. That was something I really liked and wanted to retain in the movie. We talked about using other dolphins or doing it some other way, but there's no way to really fake a tail-less dolphin. So somewhere during the scriptwriting process we looked at each other and said, "Let's just shoot it with Winter." She has such personality, and she has such a unique way about her. It might sound funny to talk about a dolphin like this, but she's such a charismatic animal.
Can you talk about working with a live animal. Even a dolphin, I would imagine, would bring challenges. Did you have any issues with keeping things moving at a decent pace?
Yeah, one of the great things about Winter is because she was injured so young, she was raised by humans. She's very used to being around people, and she also happens to have a very gregarious personality. She loves people {$326} and plays little tricks on people. I wanted to just take her and use what she gave me.
How were the child actors working with a live dolphin?
They were marvelous. I can't think of enough superlatives to describe those two kids. I must have auditioned 100 boys and 100 girls, we did an exhaustive search, and these two kids are amazing. They're fantastic actors, and they're really sweet, good kids. They got along well with Winter. Nathan especially spent a lot of time with Winter; that's the main relationship in the movie, the boy and the dolphin. And one of the funny things about casting this is that Winter really had final approval. If we got some boy that she didn't like, we'd have to get someone else. It wouldn't have worked.
One of the major themes of the movie is Winter's disability, and how she inspires humans with disabilities. Can you talk about that as one of the more poignant themes in the film?
I saw it first hand, the first time I came down here. Winter is very inspirational for disabled people and just people in general. Sometimes disabled children or veterans from the war would come in, and you could see how profoundly moved they are to see this animal struggling forward this way, never complaining, keeping her chin up as it were. I could see how moving this was for people, and I wanted to make sure we captured that. I wanted to have the disabled children represented in this movie, because I've seen the profound effect Winter has on them.
This film has the "Inspired by a True Story" tag attached to it. Winter's story is more or less accurate, how much of the rest of the film is fact-based?
It really is Winter's story that is the true story, how she was injured and rescued and her prosthetic tail {$326} But as far as the characters and the kids, they are fiction. And Kevin Carroll and Dan Strzempka, the guys who made the prosthetic, they're around, and they're great, and having them represented by Morgan Freeman just thrilled them.
Speaking of Morgan Freeman, you've worked with some of the best in the business -- Curtis Hanson, Brian DePalma, George Lucas among others. How much did you learn from those guys?
I watched all of those guys -- George Lucas and DePalma and John Carpenter, but more than any of them I probably learned from Carroll Ballard, who I worked with on "Never Cry Wolf." I worked with him on that film for, gosh, close to three years, and he was so gracious and helpful in teaching me. I felt like a disciple following the master. He is an amazing filmmaker. As we were researching "Dolphin Tale," I sat down with the cinematographer and we watched "The Black Stallion" just to see how Carroll captures the visuals for the relationship between the boy and the horse. I don't think I would be able to begin to direct a movie of any kind if I hadn't worked with Ballard.
OK, one more question: I heard a rumor that George Lucas is doing a special edition of "American Graffiti," and Terry the Toad will cry "NOOO!" when he gets carded. Are you going to re-record that dialog?
(Laughs) I haven't heard about that! I might have made that up.
(Laughs) That's so funny. George is doing other editions of "Star Wars." He's really proud of "Graffiti." I still stay in touch with the cast, some more than others. Every now and then we get together and show that film, and George is always there. It's a really good film; it holds up. It shows that George has a great way with characters and dialog, and he doesn't really get credit for that these days.
Smith's latest picture "Dolphin Tale" is inspired by the true story of Winter, a dolphin found washed ashore in Clearwater, Fla., tangled in ropes. Her tail was amputated, and eventually a prosthetic was put in its place.
Smith's aquatic mammal story -- which opens today -- stars Ashley Judd, Morgan Freeman, Harry Connick Jr., child actors Nathan Gamble and Cozi Zuehlsdorff, and Winter, naturally playing the role only she can.
We recently caught up with Smith, who talked about the movie, working with Winter, and a possible special edition of "American Graffiti."
How did you get connected with "Dolphin Tale"?
I first heard about it in the summer of 2009. Alcon (Entertainment) and Andrew Kosove and Broderick Johnson (co-founders of Alcon) found out about Winter and had gotten the rights to do a film about her and had been developing it for awhile, and were not happy with the direction it was going, I guess. So they brought me in to rewrite the script and make the film. That was the first I'd heard of Winter.
Let's talk about Winter. This is essentially her doing her own autobiography, right?
Absolutely. {$326} Winter was quite young when she was rescued in the real story. She was only 4 months old, and she was quite small. That was something I really liked and wanted to retain in the movie. We talked about using other dolphins or doing it some other way, but there's no way to really fake a tail-less dolphin. So somewhere during the scriptwriting process we looked at each other and said, "Let's just shoot it with Winter." She has such personality, and she has such a unique way about her. It might sound funny to talk about a dolphin like this, but she's such a charismatic animal.
Can you talk about working with a live animal. Even a dolphin, I would imagine, would bring challenges. Did you have any issues with keeping things moving at a decent pace?
Yeah, one of the great things about Winter is because she was injured so young, she was raised by humans. She's very used to being around people, and she also happens to have a very gregarious personality. She loves people {$326} and plays little tricks on people. I wanted to just take her and use what she gave me.
How were the child actors working with a live dolphin?
They were marvelous. I can't think of enough superlatives to describe those two kids. I must have auditioned 100 boys and 100 girls, we did an exhaustive search, and these two kids are amazing. They're fantastic actors, and they're really sweet, good kids. They got along well with Winter. Nathan especially spent a lot of time with Winter; that's the main relationship in the movie, the boy and the dolphin. And one of the funny things about casting this is that Winter really had final approval. If we got some boy that she didn't like, we'd have to get someone else. It wouldn't have worked.
One of the major themes of the movie is Winter's disability, and how she inspires humans with disabilities. Can you talk about that as one of the more poignant themes in the film?
I saw it first hand, the first time I came down here. Winter is very inspirational for disabled people and just people in general. Sometimes disabled children or veterans from the war would come in, and you could see how profoundly moved they are to see this animal struggling forward this way, never complaining, keeping her chin up as it were. I could see how moving this was for people, and I wanted to make sure we captured that. I wanted to have the disabled children represented in this movie, because I've seen the profound effect Winter has on them.
This film has the "Inspired by a True Story" tag attached to it. Winter's story is more or less accurate, how much of the rest of the film is fact-based?
It really is Winter's story that is the true story, how she was injured and rescued and her prosthetic tail {$326} But as far as the characters and the kids, they are fiction. And Kevin Carroll and Dan Strzempka, the guys who made the prosthetic, they're around, and they're great, and having them represented by Morgan Freeman just thrilled them.
Speaking of Morgan Freeman, you've worked with some of the best in the business -- Curtis Hanson, Brian DePalma, George Lucas among others. How much did you learn from those guys?
I watched all of those guys -- George Lucas and DePalma and John Carpenter, but more than any of them I probably learned from Carroll Ballard, who I worked with on "Never Cry Wolf." I worked with him on that film for, gosh, close to three years, and he was so gracious and helpful in teaching me. I felt like a disciple following the master. He is an amazing filmmaker. As we were researching "Dolphin Tale," I sat down with the cinematographer and we watched "The Black Stallion" just to see how Carroll captures the visuals for the relationship between the boy and the horse. I don't think I would be able to begin to direct a movie of any kind if I hadn't worked with Ballard.
OK, one more question: I heard a rumor that George Lucas is doing a special edition of "American Graffiti," and Terry the Toad will cry "NOOO!" when he gets carded. Are you going to re-record that dialog?
(Laughs) I haven't heard about that! I might have made that up.
(Laughs) That's so funny. George is doing other editions of "Star Wars." He's really proud of "Graffiti." I still stay in touch with the cast, some more than others. Every now and then we get together and show that film, and George is always there. It's a really good film; it holds up. It shows that George has a great way with characters and dialog, and he doesn't really get credit for that these days.
O.C. girl stars in ‘Dolphin Tale'
Mission Viejo’s Cozi Zuehlsdorff, 13, goes from doing commercials to getting her first movie role.
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According to Cozi Zuehlsdorff, just after returning from Florida, where she completed filming the movie "Dolphin Tale" about a real-life dolphin that lost its tail in an accident and would have died if not for the work of a marine biologist and a prosthetics doctor, her family was watching some old home movies.
Young
actress Cozi Zuehlsdorff, 13, of Mission Viejo who stars in the family
film "Dolphin Tale," points out her image in the movie poster next to
co-stars Kris Kristofferson, Ashley Judd, Harry Connick Jr., Morgan
Freeman and Nathan Gamble.
LEONARD ORTIZ, THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER
ADVERTISEMENT
Her sister held up the toy dolphin, and that's when Cozi's father hit the pause button. The entire family stared speechless at the screen. The toy dolphin's tail had broken off.
"It was freaky," Cozi said.
"I think it was prophetic," her father Scott added.
In "Dolphin Tale," which opens this weekend, Cozi plays the daughter of the aquarium's owner (Harry Connick, Jr.). She befriends a local boy and the two youngsters care for the injured dolphin. The real dolphin, named Winter, remains a major tourist attraction in Florida.
Cozi got her start in an Orange County production of "Annie," and continued in local musical theater until she started making commercials. "Dolphin Tale" is her first film.
Q. When was the first time you said to yourself, "Hey, I want to be an actress?"
A. For sure, it started when I was 7 in musical theater. I didn't even know I wanted to do it but my mom encouraged me to audition for "Annie."
Q. You had done nothing before that?
A. Oh, small roles in school plays, like Bumble Bee Number One.
Q. I'll bet you were an excellent Bumble Bee Number One.
A. Thank you. But "Annie" really excited me. It was a tiny stage, the size of that rug, but to be on stage and have people looking at you was really cool.
Q. Was there a single moment when you were on stage that made you realize how much you wanted to do this?
A. Not a single moment, but I got a rush every last performance of every show I've done. There's something about being the last time you can connect with the audience that I love.
Q. How did you transition from local theater to a big Hollywood movie?
A. My mom got me in some acting classes, and I guess I captured one of the teacher's attention. He went to my mom and said he'd liked to manage me if I wanted to go out for commercials, TV and film.
Q. Were you excited?
A. Not really. My sister used to go up to L.A. for auditions and I remember sweating in the car because we didn't have air-conditioning. Well, we do have a better car now, and we do have air-conditioning so I assumed it would be better this time. Still, I didn't want to do it at first, but then I said I'd do it. Then I got an agent, and started getting some commercials.
Q. How often were you going up to L.A.?
A. Well, it started off slow. I did three commercials the first year. There were a lot of auditions, although most of the time it has nothing to do with your acting. It's a matter of looking like the right daughter for the parents in the commercial. If they're looking for a girl with dark hair, I'm out before I start. From that, I realized that just doing commercials wouldn't satisfy me. I wanted to do something more long-term.
Q. Excuse me for interrupting, but which commercials did you do?
A. I did two insurance companies and a bank. Then I did a Nestle's commercial, and a Hallmark voiceover for a Father's Day commercial. And I just shot a Trident commercial that hasn't come out yet.
Q. So, how did you get the dolphin movie?
A. I went out on five TV and movie auditions, and then I got the script for "Dolphin Tale." It said they were looking for an 11-year-old Caucasian girl with freckles, blond hair and a big personality. Well, hello.
Q. How did the audition go?
A. I felt so good about it that I took a picture of myself when I left the audition so that if I got the part, I'd have a picture of the moment. Two or three weeks later, I got a callback to meet with the director, Charles Martin Smith.
Q. Were you familiar with his acting career?
A. After I met him, I got to see "Never Cry Wolf" and some other movies. He's amazing. He was even on "The Brady Bunch" when he was 16.
Q. What happened next?
A. I waited forever. Then we called my agent, and she said she thought they went with someone else. The next day, she called and said I was in the final three. I went up to L.A. for another audition. I met with the three boys who were up for the role of Sawyer, and when I met Nathan (Gamble), I knew he would get the part. And we worked well together in the audition. We had the same rhythms.
Q. No animals were involved in the audition?
A. No. But they did ask if I ever swam with dolphins before. I told them I got to touch a dolphin's chin at Sea World.
Q. After you got the part, how much time did you have before you left, and what did you do to prepare for the role?
A. We had about 14 days, and I took some swimming lessons. I wanted to make sure I could tread water because the script kept saying that my character was in the water all the time. It turns out that I only had to sit in the tank holding the dolphin, but somebody said I swam like a fish and I was so excited.
Q. Describe what's like to swim with a dolphin.
A. The first time wasn't with Winter. It was with an older dolphin named Panama, and it was magical. Dolphins are so big and grand. The water was about 86 degrees, and I put on goggles and watched her swim underwater. It was really amazing. Winter was a little smaller, but she was so personable.
Q. What else did you do when you got there?
A. A lot of chopping fish. They wanted me to get used to being around an aquarium. I knew all about chopping fish.
Q. What was your life like in Florida?
A. We did all our shooting at the aquarium, and when we weren't shooting, I'd literally walk through a door and attend school. I had to go to class for 3 ½ hours a day, and I worked nine hours a day.
Q. How long were you there?
A. Three months, and I loved every day of it.
Q. Was it your first trip to Florida?
A. It was. I remember getting off the plane, and my first thought was I couldn't believe all the car exhaust. Somebody told me it wasn't car exhaust; it was humidity. It's really humid in Florida.
Q. Was it ever dangerous during the filming?
A. Not really, although it was a little scary jumping into the lagoon at the end of the movie. Usually we were in the dolphin tank and the water was warm. But the lagoon's water was about 60 degrees, and I was a little worried. But I kept telling myself, "Cozi, there are lifeguards all around and you're not going to die. Just play the part and keep swimming. "
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