JOHN Travolta Ruben V. Nepales
LOS ANGELES—“Barbra (Streisand) is dealing with ‘Gypsy,’” John Travolta said about the movie remake of the beloved musical that the legend is developing. Earlier stories reported that John will play salesman-turned-agent Herbie, Barbra will be stage mother Rose, and Lady Gaga will portray stripper Gypsy Rose Lee.
“I will find out eventually what the deal is,” John added in this recent interview. “It’s a good idea.” But John stressed that he’d prefer to patiently wait as Barbra, his close friend, tries to get the project off and running. “I’m very respectful of what our relationship is.”
“I can’t wait—I want to do a musical desperately,” said the star of such musicals as “Hairspray,” “Grease” and “Saturday Night Fever.” “It’s just hard to find them.”
John shared the story that got musical aficionados excited late last year. “I had heard Gaga was a fan, and we were right next door to each other at the Fox studios,” recounted John who was then filming “The People v. OJ Simpson: American Crime Story.” The miniseries is produced by Ryan Murphy, who was also shooting his other pet project starring Lady Gaga, “American Horror Story: Hotel,” in the next soundstage.
The actor recalled, “Ryan said, ‘If you’d like to meet Gaga, I’d be glad to introduce you—we’re filming tomorrow.’ So, I came over. She was midscene, so she was mostly naked and, eventually, [there was] blood all over her, but that was part of the scene.
“I mostly wanted to communicate how big a fan Barbra was of hers, and my bright idea for her to have dinner with Barbra and me. She said, ‘Oh my God, in a New York second!’ Because Barbra was her No. 1 inspiration. So, I did my due diligence.
“I called Barbra and arranged the whole thing. We had it at Barbra’s house. I supplied the food, chef and all that. I knew that it would be a magical evening to see two great artists get to know each other—and I felt like I was the glue that made it happen.”
John began to sing “Matchmaker, Matchmaker.”
Third version
Again, John emphasized that his iconic friend is still actively developing what would be the third movie version of “Gypsy” after the 1962 movie adaptation and the 1993 TV production.
In the meantime, John was asked about Fox TV’s “Grease: Live,” which stars Aaron Tveit in the Danny Zuko role he originally played to acclaim, Julianne Hough (Sandy) and Fil-Am Vanessa Hudgens (as Rizzo). “I’m not in touch with ‘Grease: Live’ too much,” he answered. “But it will be fun for people to see another version of ‘Grease.’”
By coincidence, NBC has announced that its next live musical project will be “Hairspray,” whose movie version also starred John as Edna Turnblad.
The talk veered toward his terrific dancing in “Saturday Night Fever,” where he played Tony Manero, one of the androgynous male heroes in the ’70s.
“Dancing, by nature, is a bit androgynous,” he explained. “So, growing up in the theater, it was never a concern of mine. I am always true to the characters I play—and that boy was tough, sometimes angry and complicated.
“But the joy of his life was dancing, so I had to be unabashed about his passion for it! He put it above everything. I embraced it more than I did. I liked the rawness of it.
JOHN Travolta as Robert Shapiro PHOTO COURTESY OF FX
‘Cherishable’ time
“When you’re young, you do things raw. It’s a ‘cherishable’ time. When Barbra was 22, she grabbed notes just like that. She was electric! Now, she glides up there with utmost professionalism. Tony Manero danced like a fish in water. There’s something about youth that’s different from when you get older.”
On his other passion, flying planes, he gave us an update: “I have 9,000 hours of flying, most of them in jets. I’m licensed to fly a 747, a 707 and seven different corporate jets, including the Challenger Jet and Lear Jet.”
The certified pilot’s Florida estate has not one but two runways that lead to his front door. He shares the home with his wife, actress Kelly Preston, and their two kids, Ella and Benjamin.
Asked about his worst flying experience so far, he replied, “I lost my electric power over Washington years ago in a Gulfstream. Most people might not have gotten out of that one, but I did—and I was proud of the way I handled it, because I had my family on board. I wish they hadn’t been, but I got them down safely. So, yes, you must fly with me!”
What’s the safest seat on a plane? “It’s probably in the back, although let’s be honest, riding on a plane is still 100-percent safer than us getting in a car. It was only 25-percent safer in 1959. Today, it’s got to be 100-percent safer!”
“I’m back!” he exclaimed with a laugh on his return to television after 40 years with “The People v. OJ Simpson,” where he plays lawyer Robert Shapiro, who was part of the defense team that successfully defended the former NFL star from charges that he killed Nicole Brown, his ex-wife, and Ronald Goldman, her friend.
“I had trepidation because I hadn’t been on television in over 40 years,” admitted the actor, who starred in TV shows, including “Welcome Back, Kotter,” in the ’70s. “I wanted to make sure that it was done with the right tone.
“They give you the concept of the full 10 episodes. I realized that they were going for a multilayered story. The level of artistry was high-end. I thought, maybe this is the one to say ‘yes’ to. So I did.”
“I never did meet OJ,” he volunteered. “But I knew a lot of people who did, and their stories about OJ were very interesting!”
On whether he thinks OJ is guilty or not, John said, “There’s so much evidence that leans toward that. But again, you have to make your own opinion on that. It’s a tricky question, but I feel that instead of my personal opinion, which doesn’t really matter, I’d rather go with what the piece says. And those lawyers felt that most likely, he did [it]. My opinion isn’t what I was doing this for; I was doing it as an actor.”
Hollywood has changed a lot since the ’70s, according to John. “First of all, there were less of us then. Honestly, when I started, if I went up to audition for a piece, there were six or seven of us. It was Richard Gere, Treat Williams, myself—and those were the more known ones, and a few other guys. Your odds were better at being chosen for a role.”
John credited his family for providing him with a solid foundation that allowed him to survive the initial rejections. “My parents gave me a great sense of who I was as a child,” he said. “I was 15 years old, and I did a great song-and-dance audition for a summer stock producer. He said, ‘You should really think about not being in show business.’ I thought, how could he think this?
“Gene Kelly’s brother taught me how to dance. I had a lot of support from significant artists who said otherwise. Then, this man told me to leave the business. So, I went into it with a good sense of self. When I evolved into looking for bigger concepts and found Scientology, I loved what I found there—and it added to my sense of self. That’s all I can say, really.
“I live a clean life—I exercise and eat well. I don’t do anything in excess, so that does help. Every celebrity leads a stressful life, but I counteract that with my religion.”
That was all John wanted to say about Scientology, the controversial religious sect he joined in 1975.
Looking into the future, John rattled off what was next for him. Playing a New York crime boss in “Gotti” is on top of his list, with Kelly and Ella portraying his wife and daughter, respectively. “I will play Gotti Senior in March. Then, there’s a race car movie that I’m looking at. I have three movies in the can, including a Western with Ti West, ‘In a Valley of Violence.’ It’s excellent!
“And there’s an action movie called ‘I Am Wrath.’ There’s another one about electrical linemen, and guys who climb the electrical poles (‘Life on the Line’). They’re scheduled to be released this year.”
E-mail rvnepales_5585@yahoo.com. Follow him at twitter.com/nepalesruben