Relaxing in the shade of an old-fashioned gazebo on the precisely manicured grounds of the Century Plaza Hotel, Thora Birch, Mena Suvari and Wes Bentley — three of the stars of DreamWorks’ hot release, “American Beauty” — could easily pass for any gaggle of fresh-faced teenagers in Everytown, U.S.A.
Which, as it turns out, is pretty much how Hollywood wants them to be seen by American audiences — especially those moviegoers in the prized teen and young-adult demographics.
In fact, though, this trio of attractive, articulate and talented actors couldn’t be less generic. On this unseasonably mild late-summer afternoon, each of them is about to take off on a roller coaster ride that will jostle all their plans for the immediate future and could climax next spring at the Academy Awards.
“American Beauty,” which opened in Chicago last Friday, is getting the kind of buzz and reviews that turn heads in Hollywood. Co-stars Kevin Spacey and Annette Bening — who play the terminally dysfunctional parents of Birch’s Jane Burnham, perhaps the world’s first goth cheerleader — are early favorites for Oscar and Golden Globe nominations, and it wouldn’t surprise anyone here if one or more of these young people was among the five finalists, as well.
After all, each of them had already beaten out dozens of other candidates for the much-coveted assignments. More important, they had turned in performances likely to haunt viewers long into the new century.
“There was a clamor to do this movie,” says Debra Zane, whose job it was to populate “American Beauty” with believable faces. “The actors all cut their prices. Everyone in town wanted to be a part of this film, even though it was being done on a tight budget.
“They also wanted to work with Sam Mendes, who had done `Cabaret’ and `The Blue Room’ on Broadway. He’d never worked in film, but actors were so impressed with him as a director.”
First-time screenwriter Alan Ball’s dead-on script for the inky black comedy describes what happens when Baby Boomer parents pass along their anger, hang-ups and frustrations to their children. Mendes, a 34-year-old Brit, was handed the reins of the film by DreamWorks co-founder Steven Spielberg, after Robert Zemeckis and Mike Nichols were forced by previous commitments to turn down the assignment.
Spacey and Bening were logical choices for Jane’s parents — while the always-wonderful Chris Cooper turns in another powerful performance as their stern ex-marine neighbor — but it was the casting of the children that was so crucial to the credibility of the story. Even though their presence is being downplayed in the advertising campaign (perhaps so potential audiences wouldn’t confuse the serious-minded “American Beauty” with the strictly-for-teens “American Pie,” and its ilk), they would have to possess enough screen presence to hold their own with the adult leads.
“I was born to be Angela,” says Suvari, who plays the modern-day Lolita that lights a fire in the frozen soul of Jane’s father. “I thought the script was really beautiful and creatively written. I had to get into the movie somehow.”
Suvari, 20, made her film debut in Greg Araki’s “Nowhere,” which was released in 1997, and then moved on to “Kiss the Girls,” “Carrie II: The Rage” and “Slums of Beverly Hills.” Her television appearances have included a recurring role in “High Incident” and a high-profile turn on “Chicago Hope,” playing an HIV-infected youth.
Birch has been acting since she was 4 1/2. Now 17, the L.A. native was seen recently in “Paradise,” and she has played Harrison Ford’s daughter in “Patriot Games” and “Clear and Present Danger.”
“I didn’t have an agent, and the script sort of just landed on my door,” she recalls. “Debra Zane remembered me from my previous films. I immediately fell in love with it, even though it was quite a different role for me.
“But I didn’t care at that point, because I just wanted to be able to say I had met with the director of this film. I welcomed the challenge, so I was just happy to get a callback.”
Newcomer Bentley, 21, had a small part in last fall’s “Beloved,” and soon will appear alongside Antonio Banderas in “White Water Kid,” playing a serial killer. Later this month, he’ll begin shooting “Soul Survivors” in Chicago, with Casey Affleck and Luke Wilson.
“I heard there were a hundred guys and a hundred girls who auditioned for `American Beauty,’ ” said the darkly handsome Arkansas native and onetime Juilliard student. “It was a great script . . . no doubt about it. The first time we read it together, we all were affected the same way.”
Bentley plays the son of the fanatical marine (one of his treasures is a plate used by Nazi officers), whose solution to his son’s growing pains includes smacking him around and committing him to a mental institution.
Because these fine young performers are virtually unknown, viewers are free to focus on the motivations and dilemmas of their on-screen characters, instead of having to waste time trying figure if they know the face from “Party of Five” or “Dawson’s Creek.” It’s also another hint to adults that this movie is aimed mostly at them — not children too young to drive, let alone vote — thus eliminating the kind of demographic confusion that killed such excellent cross-generational pictures as “Dick,” “The Ice Storm” and “Election.”
“Casting was a painstaking process,” said Zane. “A lot of kids auditioned for those roles, and there was never a clear-cut way to go. Thora was the best-known, and the role of Jane was probably the least of my worries.
“But Meena’s part required an actor who could look like someone’s dream vision, and had humor and emotional range. It was a very tall order, but she had all of that going for her.”
Zane was unfamiliar with Bentley, but the persistence of his William Morris agent won him a prized audition.
“Wes was determined not to let this part get away . . . he felt a connection to it from the minute he read it,” said Zane, whose eye for talent also is on display in the upcoming thriller, “The Limey.” “While reading the scene together, I got sweaty nervous that, now, there might be a roomful of actors outside waiting and I need to spend a lot more time with Wes. He told me things in this scene — which I had now heard read and read myself 60-70 times — that I hadn’t understood before.”
Together, at last, after a long day of roundtable interviews, photo sessions and TV tapings, the trio are able to let down their hair a bit before heading home in the rush-hour traffic. As they reminisce about their first early readings and rehearsals, it’s clear that the actors still enjoy each other’s company.
“I was completely blown away when I saw Thora and Wes do scenes together, because they seemed so perfect together,” said the newly brunette Suvari.
“And, I would sit there and watch you two guys,” countered Bentley, far less twisted in person than he appears on screen. “When we all got into a room together, everything just seemed to click.”
Birch added, “Alan was so great with dialogue, and everything was so coolly presented to us . . . I never felt as if, as a teenager, I knew more than the script. Because the writer was right there on the set, if we had ideas, he could interpret them and make it right.”
Tight relationships between actors, Birch stresses, can prove to be temporary.
“It’s possible to become very close, very quickly — but you’re also aware that, in three or four months, you might not ever see that person again,” she observed. “You have to make an effort to become very connected with them as people, instead of just as actors — and I think that’s what comes through in this film.
“You want the audience to believe that these two people like each other, no matter what.”
Both of the women knew going into the film that they would have to appear partially nude in crucial series. They willingly agreed, knowing that “American Beauty” wasn’t likely to end up on the same double-bill as “Porky’s IV” or “South Park Goes North.”
“Overall, I think it was done very well, and it wasn’t gratuitous,” stressed Birch, whose character falls in love with a video-obsessed Rick. “I understood the scene and was comfortable with it. It’s not a provocative moment.
“Jane is expressing herself and opening up to Ricky in the deepest way she can conceive of. When I read the script, I felt it was the natural thing for her to do.”
Her character, adds Birch, “isn’t really connecting with the camera, she’s doing it for him. At first, she’s attracted to the fact that he’s paying attention to her — and that’s great, because she’s not getting a lot of that at home.
“But, later, in talking with him, she sees something in him that points out a different way at looking at things and life in general. She connects with that immediately.”
Suvari will go from being a cheerleader in “American Beauty” to being a cheerleader in “Sugar and Spice.”
“In `American Beauty,’ I got to practice with Paula Abdul for a week, and the other girls were dancers,” she said. “On `Sugar and Spice,’ we had a two-week `cheerleader camp,’ and the other girls were really hard-core college cheerleaders. Every movement was exact and precise, whereas we could just flow and dance in `American Beauty.’
” `Sugar and Spice’ was a lot harder, and I was so seriously sore.”
