An Interview with John Travolta

What was your first thought when you saw yourself in the mirror with that white hair and that stubble?
It was a relief because it worked and I bought it. That was my first reaction. My second and third reaction was, 'Wow, that's interesting.'

How did you nail that New Orleans accent?
There were a couple of locals that were helping me from Alabama who were living in New Orleans. Then there was a famous accent coach that helped me as well. I felt the reality was somewhere in the middle and I did that.

How did you deal with the stifling hot and humid weather of New Orleans in August?
I used it to my advantage. It didn't matter how many suits were soaked through with sweat. You could use that for the character, so it was not a problem. You just sweat more and that's accurate. The only thing that was difficult was when we were playing it cold, in winter and had no heat and we were actually boiling. That was acting!

Your co-star Scarlett Johansson got a Golden Globe nomination. You must be thrilled for her.
I am thrilled that she got it because without that we don't live very long, and I mean that. We have a dollar to make it and a dollar to release it and without the support of critics and nominations or awards of some sort these little independent films tend to move off quickly.

It was a great relief for her to be nominated. It could've been any one of us. I was led to believe that it might happen for me, and the first piece of news was it didn't and I was disappointed. The second piece of news is Scarlett did and then I was thrilled for her and relieved at once, because the film had a shot of getting some specific attention.

What are the advantages of acting in an independent film versus a big studio film?
I prefer it as an artist because it's less pressure. You really get the idea that you're free to act and vanity doesn't matter. You can be the character and take risks that maybe a studio won't let you take. That's why a lot of big stars are attracted to independent films because they can do their craft.

In all fairness, if you don't jockey it with the other they won't want you in the independent film because you're the one that gets it made. You have to have a certain value in the studio system in order to be valuable to the independent system. Let's say if no one wants to do a movie in the big studios and they want it to be done in the smaller studio then someone like myself would come along and get it green-lit. At the same time I have an opportunity to do some wonderful work.