Towne is a man who likes to work with friends, and his friends tend to make memorable movies. He worked with Jack Nicholson on The Last Detail, Chinatown, The Missouri Breaks, Drive, He Said, and The Two Jakes. With Warren Beatty he began by doing a rewrite of Bonnie and Clyde, then worked on The Parallax View, Shampoo, Heaven Can Wait, Reds, and Love Affair. For his friend Tom Cruise, he started with Days of Thunder, then did work on The Firm and Mission: Impossible, and now Cruise has produced Without Limits, the story of legendary runner Steve Prefontaine, which Towne wrote and directed.
[godfather]
Q: What was the scene you wrote?
A: In his novel, Mario Puzo didn’t have a scene between Michael and his father passing on the mantle, and Francis felt that their relationship was never going to be resolved without this scene. He had no time to thinkChe was going to lose Marlon [Brando] and the scene had to be ready for his last day of shooting. So I had to stay up all night to write it.
Q: How did Brando receive it?
A: He was in his makeup chair and he said, “Read it to me.” “Read it to you?” “Yeah.” “Both parts?” “Yeah.” That immediately pissed me off, because I thought, “Well, this ****er’s got to know that’s an intimidating thing to do to anybody.” I made up my mind about one thing: I ain’t gonna read this well. [Laughs] Acting for Brando is one mistake I’m not gonna make. I read it and he said, “Read it again.” Then he did something that only Tom Cruise has ever done sinceChe took that scene apart, line by line, pause by pause, word by word. He wanted to know absolutely everything in my head that I could tell him about it.
[without limits]
Q: You never considered a more recognizable face than Crudup’s for Pre?
A: I had seen a couple of people. For silly and not so silly reasons, Tom Cruise was originally going to do it. He loved the story and I wrote the script right after he finished Mission: Impossible. But he said, “I’m in my 30s, I’ve got a wife and two kids, everybody knows who I am, they’re not going to believe I’m 16.” And he said, “I do love it and I promise you I will make sure we’ll get it done. I’ll produce it if you’d like.” And indeed, without Tom, this movie wouldn’t have had a chance.
Q: When did you first get to know Cruise?
A: On Days of Thunder. We became instantly friendly. Where we really became close was on Mission: Impossible. I was there for five weeks rewriting, and he and I worked by phone and by fax every night. Under that tremendous pressure we really got to know each other. He was just fun. There’s nothing like a guy who’s a champ under pressure.
Q: What did you think of the film?
A: I liked it. I had warned him, “I don’t think it’s going to be perfect in five weeks, but it’s a start.” I was trying to do more than could be done in that time frame.
Q: Do you ever talk about his beliefs or interest in Scientology?
A: If Scientology is what makes Tom Cruise what he is today, I feel about it exactly the way Lincoln felt about Grant and booze: let’s give it to my other generals. Any question that I’ve ever asked Tom regarding our work has been answered with wit, humor and candor. That’s all I need to know.
Q: Have you ever wanted to work with Depp?
A: Depp should be one of the biggest movie stars in the world. Everyone seems to know it. The difference between Tom and Johnny is that Johnny’s a little vainer than Tom. Johnny does not want to be caught dead in something that looks like he’s pleasing an audience.[Laughs] Tom doesn’t mind.
Q: You’re also close to Kurt Russell.
A: Kurt and I talk often. Both Kurt and Tom are possessed of more physical courage than any two men I’ve ever met. Tom is more discreet than KurtCby that I mean his choices are more careful. Tom makes choices that he thinks will work and will be challenging. With Kurt, I have teased, “You’re the best actor with the worst taste that I’ve ever seen.” And he laughs. He’s a ballplayer who’s been obliged to become a movie star now making $10, $15 million a movie, having been derailed in his basic, true job.
