Full Article Text
o
z
lGIY ill| 0[YER
Ewan McGregor and Jim Carrey bring the true story of
con man Steven Russell and his former cell mate and lover
to thebig screenrn I Love You Phillip Morris
BY MICHAEL GILTZflt M 56 ... B00l(s 58 ... MUSIG 60 ...
and Garrey
enjoy life outside ihe prison yard.
EwAN MccREGon looks pissed. He's playing
the title character, a prisoner, in the new
movie I Love You Phillip Morris, and his
character has just discovered that a fellow
inmate (someone he can't stand) has been
beaten up.
He's upset because everyone is blaming
his boyfriend, Steven Russell (Jim Carrey),
for the brawl. But when Morris learns that
the gossip is true, that Russell really did or-
der the pummeling, he jumps into his boy-
friend's cot and coos, "That's the most )
September 23,2008 THE ADvocArE 53
sPtcTtI0[
romantic thing anyone's ever done for me."
The actors kiss on the lips and roll around
until Carrey (now out of character) says
to McGregor, "You're getting a little too
excited."
A beat-down as a romantic gesture?
The film's directors-Glenn Ficarra and
John Requa-love it. Sitting in the steamy
warehouse set outside New Orleans, Requa
leans back with pleasure after McGregor
and Carrey finish the scene, and Ficarra
shouts, "That was great!"
Still, the make-out session needs to
be shot several more times. Sometimes
the kiss is more tender, other times more
passionate. The one thing that every take
makes clear is thatl LoveYouPhiIIip Mor-
ris, which the producers hope to see re-
Ieased this fall, isn't shying away from
showingtwo men in love.
Romance behind bars may not be re-
markable, but the true story the film is
based on surely is: Russell was a con art-
ist who posed as a chieffinancial officer, a
Virginia millionaire, and other powerful
figures in order to steal hundreds ofthou-
sands ofdollars. Once a police officer, he
was married with children before coming
out ofthe closet. Furtive affairs finally led
to a relationship with his first boyfriend
(played by Rodrigo Santoro of Che), who
later died ofAIDS.
After a conviction for insurance fraud,
Russell was placed in Houston's Har-
ris County Jail, where he fell quickly and
completelyinlove with the redheaded and
boyish Morris, who was incarcerated for
violating probation imposed for failing to
return a rental car. Russell was so in love
that after Morris was released, he repeat-
edly broke out of prison (one time literally
walking out the front door, dressed as a
doctor) to be with his man.
"What makes [this movie] different
from Catch Me IfYou Can or any other con-
man movie is that it's a love story," Requa
says. "Some ofthe more shockingelements
of the movie-the idea of these men trying
to snatch love and bliss in the middle of the
most awful environment imaginable-are
actually very funny."
For Carrey, the story presented a break
for him as an actor: to tackle one ofhis most
romantic roles yet. "Russell was so mis-
guidedly relentless about love that you've
got to admire it," Carrey says.
"I always try to figure out what delu-
sion the character is living under. We all
kind of have them, whether it's a feeling of
worthlessness or whatever it is," says Car-
rey, who shavedbackan inch ofhis hairline
to emphasize "the brain" ofhis character.
Russell reportedly has an IQ of169.
To understand the con man's motiva-
tions, Carrey had to explore the pain ofRussell's childhood. "When your mother
gives you up for adoption and then doesn't
want you back when you find her-that
definitelyleaves a hole inyou," he says. "It's
difficult to trust somebody after that."
Trust-and a level of comfort-is some-
thing Carrey had to develop with his fellow
actors right away. Because of a tight film
schedule, the first scenes he shot were the
love scenes with each of his romantic part-
ners. He made out with Santoro in a gay
bar in Miami on the first day of the shoot,
followed quicklyby sex scenes with Leslie
Mann (who plays Russell's wife) and then
withMcGregor.
"It's a very, very amusing scene,"
McGregor says of his and Carrey's hookup.
The two are out on a boat, "and I'm giving
Steven a blow job. I look up and there's this
big huge black storm cloud coming toward
us. This is true-Steven turns the boat
straighttoward the stormbecause he knows
that you canlt outrun a storm. You have to go
through the middle," McGregor says. "But
Phillip doesn'tknowthis, and it's maybe his
queeniest moment, when he has this tiffand
screams, 'What the fuck are you doing?' "
Carrey jumps in. "I tell him I read it
in a magazine. And he asks, 'What maga-
zine? Ifyou tellmeTheAdvocate, I'll fuck-
ing kill you.' "
The real Russell is still in a Texas prison
(Carrey was not allowed to visit him). But
Morris, who has a nonspeakingrole in the
film as Russell's lawyeE is a free man.
Friendly and charming, the slight
49-year-old Morris seems fit, though he's
recovering from a stroke. These days helives in Hot Springs, Ark., in the home of a
friend, a preacher, and says he's convinced
people in his life today won't associate him
with the Phillip Morris in the movie. (To be
fair, he's not completely tightJipped about
the connection. Occasionally he delights in
tellingpeople-likethe waitress at his favor-
ite diner-to Google the movie title) =
Morris, who says it's "wonderful" to have e
McGregor portray him, isnit dating anyone Z
at the moment. So the question naturally ;
is, 'Are you waiting for Russell?" "No," he F
says. "But when he gets out, as far as I'm F
concerned, we'll probablybe together." <
And by "gets out," does he mean parole I
or otherwise? Morris laughs. "Well, you :
never know." * 5Directors John Requa (left) and Glenn
work with Carrey on a prison scene.
54 THE ADvocATo September23,2008
z
lGIY ill| 0[YER
Ewan McGregor and Jim Carrey bring the true story of
con man Steven Russell and his former cell mate and lover
to thebig screenrn I Love You Phillip Morris
BY MICHAEL GILTZflt M 56 ... B00l(s 58 ... MUSIG 60 ...
and Garrey
enjoy life outside ihe prison yard.
EwAN MccREGon looks pissed. He's playing
the title character, a prisoner, in the new
movie I Love You Phillip Morris, and his
character has just discovered that a fellow
inmate (someone he can't stand) has been
beaten up.
He's upset because everyone is blaming
his boyfriend, Steven Russell (Jim Carrey),
for the brawl. But when Morris learns that
the gossip is true, that Russell really did or-
der the pummeling, he jumps into his boy-
friend's cot and coos, "That's the most )
September 23,2008 THE ADvocArE 53
sPtcTtI0[
romantic thing anyone's ever done for me."
The actors kiss on the lips and roll around
until Carrey (now out of character) says
to McGregor, "You're getting a little too
excited."
A beat-down as a romantic gesture?
The film's directors-Glenn Ficarra and
John Requa-love it. Sitting in the steamy
warehouse set outside New Orleans, Requa
leans back with pleasure after McGregor
and Carrey finish the scene, and Ficarra
shouts, "That was great!"
Still, the make-out session needs to
be shot several more times. Sometimes
the kiss is more tender, other times more
passionate. The one thing that every take
makes clear is thatl LoveYouPhiIIip Mor-
ris, which the producers hope to see re-
Ieased this fall, isn't shying away from
showingtwo men in love.
Romance behind bars may not be re-
markable, but the true story the film is
based on surely is: Russell was a con art-
ist who posed as a chieffinancial officer, a
Virginia millionaire, and other powerful
figures in order to steal hundreds ofthou-
sands ofdollars. Once a police officer, he
was married with children before coming
out ofthe closet. Furtive affairs finally led
to a relationship with his first boyfriend
(played by Rodrigo Santoro of Che), who
later died ofAIDS.
After a conviction for insurance fraud,
Russell was placed in Houston's Har-
ris County Jail, where he fell quickly and
completelyinlove with the redheaded and
boyish Morris, who was incarcerated for
violating probation imposed for failing to
return a rental car. Russell was so in love
that after Morris was released, he repeat-
edly broke out of prison (one time literally
walking out the front door, dressed as a
doctor) to be with his man.
"What makes [this movie] different
from Catch Me IfYou Can or any other con-
man movie is that it's a love story," Requa
says. "Some ofthe more shockingelements
of the movie-the idea of these men trying
to snatch love and bliss in the middle of the
most awful environment imaginable-are
actually very funny."
For Carrey, the story presented a break
for him as an actor: to tackle one ofhis most
romantic roles yet. "Russell was so mis-
guidedly relentless about love that you've
got to admire it," Carrey says.
"I always try to figure out what delu-
sion the character is living under. We all
kind of have them, whether it's a feeling of
worthlessness or whatever it is," says Car-
rey, who shavedbackan inch ofhis hairline
to emphasize "the brain" ofhis character.
Russell reportedly has an IQ of169.
To understand the con man's motiva-
tions, Carrey had to explore the pain ofRussell's childhood. "When your mother
gives you up for adoption and then doesn't
want you back when you find her-that
definitelyleaves a hole inyou," he says. "It's
difficult to trust somebody after that."
Trust-and a level of comfort-is some-
thing Carrey had to develop with his fellow
actors right away. Because of a tight film
schedule, the first scenes he shot were the
love scenes with each of his romantic part-
ners. He made out with Santoro in a gay
bar in Miami on the first day of the shoot,
followed quicklyby sex scenes with Leslie
Mann (who plays Russell's wife) and then
withMcGregor.
"It's a very, very amusing scene,"
McGregor says of his and Carrey's hookup.
The two are out on a boat, "and I'm giving
Steven a blow job. I look up and there's this
big huge black storm cloud coming toward
us. This is true-Steven turns the boat
straighttoward the stormbecause he knows
that you canlt outrun a storm. You have to go
through the middle," McGregor says. "But
Phillip doesn'tknowthis, and it's maybe his
queeniest moment, when he has this tiffand
screams, 'What the fuck are you doing?' "
Carrey jumps in. "I tell him I read it
in a magazine. And he asks, 'What maga-
zine? Ifyou tellmeTheAdvocate, I'll fuck-
ing kill you.' "
The real Russell is still in a Texas prison
(Carrey was not allowed to visit him). But
Morris, who has a nonspeakingrole in the
film as Russell's lawyeE is a free man.
Friendly and charming, the slight
49-year-old Morris seems fit, though he's
recovering from a stroke. These days helives in Hot Springs, Ark., in the home of a
friend, a preacher, and says he's convinced
people in his life today won't associate him
with the Phillip Morris in the movie. (To be
fair, he's not completely tightJipped about
the connection. Occasionally he delights in
tellingpeople-likethe waitress at his favor-
ite diner-to Google the movie title) =
Morris, who says it's "wonderful" to have e
McGregor portray him, isnit dating anyone Z
at the moment. So the question naturally ;
is, 'Are you waiting for Russell?" "No," he F
says. "But when he gets out, as far as I'm F
concerned, we'll probablybe together." <
And by "gets out," does he mean parole I
or otherwise? Morris laughs. "Well, you :
never know." * 5Directors John Requa (left) and Glenn
work with Carrey on a prison scene.
54 THE ADvocATo September23,2008