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Only in Hollywood
Denzel picks his champs: Pacquiao and Lakers
By Ruben V. Nepales
Philippine Daily Inquirer
First Posted 22:17:00 06/18/2009
LOS ANGELES—Denzel Washington, an avowed Manny Pacquiao fan who personally congratulated the Pinoy boxer after watching him KO Ricky Hatton in Las Vegas last month, is also a diehard Lakers supporter.
How big a fan is Denzel of the Los Angeles basketball team, which won the NBA championship last Sunday? In an interview before the NBA finals, Denzel, who stars in “The Taking of Pelham 1 2 3,” admitted that he chose to attend a Lakers game instead of schmoozing with US President Barack ***** when the latter was in town for a ********ic Party fundraising event several weeks ago.
“I want to apologize to him (*****),” Denzel said. “He had a big fundraiser. Jeffrey Katzenberg (one of the organizers) called me.” Denzel confessed, laughing, “I didn’t go because the Lakers were playing. I went to the Lakers game instead. He (*****) has been very kind and gracious to me and my family. I got to introduce him at the first inaugural ball when they opened the show at the Lincoln Memorial. That was a real thrill.”
Wrong part
DENZEL shared an anecdote about attending *****’s historic inauguration: “I saw Jesse Jackson by himself. I told him, ‘You’re as much as anyone the reason that ***** is up there.’ He got a little teary-eyed, too. ***** was probably still in college when Jesse took a shot at it (ran for president).”
Back to the Lakers. Whenever possible during the basketball season, Denzel and his wife Pauletta are in their season floor seats once owned by the late Walter Matthau. By coincidence, in the remake of the 1974 movie, “Pelham 1 2 3,” Denzel plays Garber, the role tackled by Walter in the original. John Travolta has the Robert Shaw role in director Tony Scott’s very effective update of the New York subway crime-thriller-drama.
While John obviously has fun in the role of a train hijacker, Denzel holds his own as the subway dispatcher who deals with the *********. Still, Denzel claimed that John’s was the meatier role. He explained, “The first day John started shooting, I was like, ‘I’m playing the wrong part.’ I just finished a film (‘The Book of Eli’) which will be out next year. Gary Oldman is the bad guy. I have to find a bad guy role to play because definitely it is a lot more fun.”
The actor was being modest. It’s a tribute to Denzel’s acting skills and screen presence that his “good guy” character is just as riveting.
Since he and John are perfectly matched for the exciting cat-and-mouse game portrayed on the screen, Denzel was asked if there’s a project that would star them again. “There are no plans but I would love to work with him again,” he answered. Denzel said of John, who is still grieving over the death of his son, Jett, last January and begged off from the media promotion activities of “Pelham 1 2 3”: “I love John. He’s a beautiful human being. And this was one of the most pleasant experiences I’ve ever had making a film.” Denzel and Pauletta have reportedly been helping John and his wife Kelly Preston deal with their tragic loss.
Filming on the subway was surprisingly a pleasant experience, according to Denzel. “Not as many **** as I expected,” he said. “I don’t think they like the noise.”
Being on the subway took Denzel back to his childhood. “I took the subway from age 2,” he recounted. “Whatever age I turned, I said, ‘If I ever get two dollars to rub together, I’m never going to take the subway again’ because I lived up in Mount Vernon. I had a two-hour ride every day to school.”
These days, Denzel, being one of Hollywood’s top actors, no longer has to deal with train commutes, of course. But he downplayed his extraordinary life by saying, “Living [in itself] is extraordinary. Just being on this side of the grass is a gift, so I don’t take that for granted. Actually, it’s been over a year that I’ve been living a relatively ordinary life—raising the kids and working.”
The four “kids” are all grown. He said his eldest, John David, is an associate producer on “The Book of Eli.” “My daughter Katia is working as a film editing intern this summer. My youngest, Olivia, is going to college to act. I was so relieved that she is very good [at acting] because I told her that I was going to be honest with her.”
What he’s learned
DENZEL and Pauletta’s fourth child is Malcolm. Like his twin sister Olivia, Malcolm (who was a point guard in his high school basketball team) is college-bound. “They’re all film buffs, much more than I am,” the proud dad added.
On working with his son, the award-winning (Oscar, Golden Globe) said, “The other day, they asked what I have learned. I was like, ‘I’m learning to keep my mouth shut.’ It’s a tricky balance. You do let them go, they go to college, they come back and they have an opinion. You have to respect it and not crush their spirit.”
Asked if he’s interested in playing Martin Luther King, Denzel, who is 54, replied, “I think I am too old to play him. He died when he was 39.”
Denzel picks his champs: Pacquiao and Lakers
By Ruben V. Nepales
Philippine Daily Inquirer
First Posted 22:17:00 06/18/2009
LOS ANGELES—Denzel Washington, an avowed Manny Pacquiao fan who personally congratulated the Pinoy boxer after watching him KO Ricky Hatton in Las Vegas last month, is also a diehard Lakers supporter.
How big a fan is Denzel of the Los Angeles basketball team, which won the NBA championship last Sunday? In an interview before the NBA finals, Denzel, who stars in “The Taking of Pelham 1 2 3,” admitted that he chose to attend a Lakers game instead of schmoozing with US President Barack ***** when the latter was in town for a ********ic Party fundraising event several weeks ago.
“I want to apologize to him (*****),” Denzel said. “He had a big fundraiser. Jeffrey Katzenberg (one of the organizers) called me.” Denzel confessed, laughing, “I didn’t go because the Lakers were playing. I went to the Lakers game instead. He (*****) has been very kind and gracious to me and my family. I got to introduce him at the first inaugural ball when they opened the show at the Lincoln Memorial. That was a real thrill.”
Wrong part
DENZEL shared an anecdote about attending *****’s historic inauguration: “I saw Jesse Jackson by himself. I told him, ‘You’re as much as anyone the reason that ***** is up there.’ He got a little teary-eyed, too. ***** was probably still in college when Jesse took a shot at it (ran for president).”
Back to the Lakers. Whenever possible during the basketball season, Denzel and his wife Pauletta are in their season floor seats once owned by the late Walter Matthau. By coincidence, in the remake of the 1974 movie, “Pelham 1 2 3,” Denzel plays Garber, the role tackled by Walter in the original. John Travolta has the Robert Shaw role in director Tony Scott’s very effective update of the New York subway crime-thriller-drama.
While John obviously has fun in the role of a train hijacker, Denzel holds his own as the subway dispatcher who deals with the *********. Still, Denzel claimed that John’s was the meatier role. He explained, “The first day John started shooting, I was like, ‘I’m playing the wrong part.’ I just finished a film (‘The Book of Eli’) which will be out next year. Gary Oldman is the bad guy. I have to find a bad guy role to play because definitely it is a lot more fun.”
The actor was being modest. It’s a tribute to Denzel’s acting skills and screen presence that his “good guy” character is just as riveting.
Since he and John are perfectly matched for the exciting cat-and-mouse game portrayed on the screen, Denzel was asked if there’s a project that would star them again. “There are no plans but I would love to work with him again,” he answered. Denzel said of John, who is still grieving over the death of his son, Jett, last January and begged off from the media promotion activities of “Pelham 1 2 3”: “I love John. He’s a beautiful human being. And this was one of the most pleasant experiences I’ve ever had making a film.” Denzel and Pauletta have reportedly been helping John and his wife Kelly Preston deal with their tragic loss.
Filming on the subway was surprisingly a pleasant experience, according to Denzel. “Not as many **** as I expected,” he said. “I don’t think they like the noise.”
Being on the subway took Denzel back to his childhood. “I took the subway from age 2,” he recounted. “Whatever age I turned, I said, ‘If I ever get two dollars to rub together, I’m never going to take the subway again’ because I lived up in Mount Vernon. I had a two-hour ride every day to school.”
These days, Denzel, being one of Hollywood’s top actors, no longer has to deal with train commutes, of course. But he downplayed his extraordinary life by saying, “Living [in itself] is extraordinary. Just being on this side of the grass is a gift, so I don’t take that for granted. Actually, it’s been over a year that I’ve been living a relatively ordinary life—raising the kids and working.”
The four “kids” are all grown. He said his eldest, John David, is an associate producer on “The Book of Eli.” “My daughter Katia is working as a film editing intern this summer. My youngest, Olivia, is going to college to act. I was so relieved that she is very good [at acting] because I told her that I was going to be honest with her.”
What he’s learned
DENZEL and Pauletta’s fourth child is Malcolm. Like his twin sister Olivia, Malcolm (who was a point guard in his high school basketball team) is college-bound. “They’re all film buffs, much more than I am,” the proud dad added.
On working with his son, the award-winning (Oscar, Golden Globe) said, “The other day, they asked what I have learned. I was like, ‘I’m learning to keep my mouth shut.’ It’s a tricky balance. You do let them go, they go to college, they come back and they have an opinion. You have to respect it and not crush their spirit.”
Asked if he’s interested in playing Martin Luther King, Denzel, who is 54, replied, “I think I am too old to play him. He died when he was 39.”
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