Pacino supports indie films

By Nicole Rodriguez

In this day and age the word Hollywood seems to be synonymous with glamour and prestige. To be famous doesn't mean to be good at what you do, but to be able to afford a Beverly Hills mansion and a personal trainer.

However, as eight-time Academy Award nominee Al Pacino enters the pressroom at 10 a.m. on Saturday morning, glamour is not the word his image conjures. He looks tired and worn, but not in the same hung over manner as most of the other celebrities in Park City. Unlike starlets such as Britney Spears and Kirsten Dunst, Pacino is not at this year's prestigious Sundance Film Festival to party. He's here for one reason and one reason alone: to promote his new film "People I Know," and Pacino doesn't plan on resting until his job is done.

Made for the conservative budget of ten million dollars, "People I Know" documents a day in the life of former hotshot publicist Eli Wurman who, as he desperately struggles to put together a benefit dinner, witnesses some disturbing crimes at the hands of his clients and friends.

"Eli Wurman seems like the kind of character who can't get out of the things from his past," Pacino explains of his character. "There's this scene where he's talking to Ryan O'Neal's character and he says, 'I don't know what else to do.' It's as though he's never been able to make a break in a lot of areas of his life, which is why I found it so interesting to play him."

In what has become known as the typical Pacino fashion, the actor wanted to make sure he played the part to the absolute best of his ability. One of the key elements, of course, being perfecting Eli's Southern accent.

"I got help from somebody who knows about those things," Pacino reveals. "Like in New York there's all these different kinds of accents from the Bronx and Brooklyn - it's the same anywhere else. So you call these [dialect coaches] and tell them you want an accent from a specific town, and they help you with it."

As a result, Pacino gained the ability to play Eli with what critics are calling a perfect Georgian drawl.

The film, which was executive produced by Sundance Film Festival's founder Robert Redford, is making its world premiere at the 2003 Festival nearly two years after it was filmed.

"I had a film here four or five years ago called 'Looking for Richard,'" Pacino reveals, "and, to me, [Sundance] feels like a place where you can bring pictures that would not normally be given any attention. Films like this are by filmmakers who have passion, a desire to say something. And here you have an audience that has your attention. It's a place you can be seen."

Of course, getting a film together to present at the festival wasn't as simple as some would have believed. After falling in love with writer Jon Robin Baitz's script, director Daniel Algrant had to pitch it to some rather uninterested studios.

"I was told, 'okay, we'll finance your movie if you can get Robert DeNiro, Al Pacino or Russell Crowe,'" he laughs. "And then we got Al on board and then the studios said, 'okay, how much money do you want?'" The film has subsequently been picked up by Miramax pictures and is slated for an April 25 nationwide release.

Although he feels his own film was successful in the long run, Pacino reflects that the film industry is not altogether friendly to the independent filmmaking population.

"Even when I made my own independent film, (1996's) "Looking for Richard," I found I had to finance that myself and then show it to a studio and eventually get reimbursed." (The film was eventually picked up by 20th Century Fox).

"Basically, outside of my own movie, this is the first independent picture I've made," Pacino continues. And, although he couldn't be prouder of the results, the sixty-three year old actor he has to admit that he is getting a bit tired.

"It's all over," he jokes tiredly as a reporter questions him about his recently prolific rate. In the past two years, Pacino has acted in six movies, including next month's "The Recruit" and the highly anticipated Ben Affleck/Jennifer Lopez flick "Gigli".

Despite his need for a vacation and desire to spend more time with his thirteen-year-old daughter, Pacino won't remain on the sidelines for long should a good project present itself.

"I've come to realize now that the worse the script, the more money they'll give you," Pacino explains."But then you get these great filmmakers like Robby [Jon Robin Baitz, "People's" screenwriter] and they offer you something that's simply incredible."