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The Lost Interview: John Cassavetes
Two decades after his death, a 1985 interview with the grandfather of modern independent cinema reveals new truths
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It’s spooky: From some angles, Cassavetes’ gaunt face evokes memories of the late John Marley, who starred in Faces (1968). Later, after we return to Burbank, he will politely but firmly decline when I ask to take a photo. Even spookier: The sudden intimation of mortality during a pleasant conversation—it’s like something out of one of the director’s movies.
Cassavetes appears both amused and intrigued when I mention my curiosity about a recurring motif in his work: The unexpected, frightening realization that life is short and fragile. “You mean, how do I look at the death sentence that’s been given all of us? Well, yeah, I think that’s what good drama is made of: Life and death. I mean, if it isn’t life and death, it’s a comedy. Everything passionate, everything to do with love and hate, anything that is important, has to do with someone saying, ‘Hey, this is the last time. This is it, right now, this day that we’re living is the time.’
“I think you feel mortality more when you’re most alive, really. Because that’s when you don’t want anything to happen to you. When you’re depressed, let’s face it, you don’t really care about death that much. You think, ‘Listen, that might be a solution to my problems.’ But if you’re having a wonderful time, if you’re feeling life and it’s really grappling with you, then you get worried. It’s like a rich man being afraid of being robbed. A poor man is not so afraid of being robbed—unless, of course, it’s payday. But the day after, you don’t care anymore.”
Cassavetes cares very much about Big Trouble, in large part because it really could be his last film. One moment, he indicates as much. The next moment, however, he contradicts himself: “I could do another movie, easy.” It all depends on his health, he says.
“With this kind of disease, you don’t know whether the liver regenerates or it doesn’t.”
Is it difficult, even after making so many movies about facing up to mortality, for Cassavetes to consider the possibility of his own death?
“Well, emotionally, as I look at it, I’m not aware of anything that’s wrong with me. I guess I can’t cope very well with things that mean a lot to me—like most people. It comes out in different reactions. But I can never face anything that I don’t want to happen. I’ll fight to the death, you know. And I think there have been certain things in the past number of years—well, I wasn’t aware that they were happening, or that they meant that much to me, but they evidently did. They’re personal things; I don’t want to discuss them with myself, why should I talk about them with you?”
Cassavetes is smiling as he speaks, but there is a slight edge to his voice. ‘That’s fair,’ I reply. ‘I’m conducting an interview, not a psychiatric session.’
“Well you’re doing both,” he retorts, exploding into laughter, vigorously slapping the table where my tape recorder is whirring. “But, seriously, they were personal things. I don’t cope well with the loss of people I love and things like that. I went through a really terrible manic period and I think my health broke down on me. So I’m taking better care of myself. Gena is insisting that the strong body I’ve been given should be cared for a bit more. I don’t know. I guess other people wouldn’t think about it as much, but I rest when I can.”
Faced with his serious ailment, Cassavetes’ reaction is one of annoyance, not fear. “Not having as much energy is very frustrating. I used to have enormous energy and could accomplish a great deal. Now it takes me a longer period of time to accomplish what I could accomplish in a very, very short time. Outside of that—the rest of it—well, that’s life.”
The hard-scrabble days of Cassavetes’ early directing career were long behind him. But he vividly recalls the period in the late 1950s and early ’60s when, still young and optimistic, he tried to revolutionize the art of moviemaking in America. The New York-born son of Greek immigrants, Cassavetes was profoundly influenced by his father, a Harvard-educated businessman who made and lost millions. “My father was a gambler because he had to be,” Cassavetes notes. “From that point of view, I’m very similar. I had to be a gambler—I had no choice. So I’d rather enjoy it, rather than think of it as something terrible or repressive. I’ve been selfish all my life. And the thing Gena says is, ‘What I don’t understand about you is that you’re proud of it!’”
Legend has it that in 1959, Cassavetes actually solicited funds for his first feature, Shadows, on a late-night radio talk show. The legend, Cassavetes admits, is true. At the time, he recalls, he was establishing himself as an actor in live television and sharing his expertise by conducting an acting workshop in Manhattan. After supervising a particularly successful improvisational exercise, he thought of translating the classroom activity into a movie.
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COMMENTS | POST A COMMENT 
- Comment by Mr. Peel on 1/29/09 at 4:52 pm
Great article. And since I’ve always had a bit of a fascination with BIG TROUBLE--part of my blog name even comes from it--it’s great to learn a few things about its making. I still enjoy that film, flawed as it is. Thanks for letting me learn a few things about Cassavetes while he was making it.
- Comment by j oliveri on 3/05/09 at 12:41 am
Great interview with a great director, and quite ironic, this being his last. What a talent Mr cassavetes had. Truly a genius.
- Comment by denver criminal lawyers on 6/02/09 at 10:22 am
John Cassavetes is one of my Hollywood idols as he is not only a great American actor but also one of the most accomplished screenwriters and filmmakers.Thanks to the author for posting his image and article that define his personality.
- Comment by netbook cases on 7/14/09 at 7:08 pm
I only wish that people when commenting would stay on topic. It’s out of respect people. Web 2.0 is about contributing not about posting a bunch of useless comments. Please be more considerate of MM. It’s a great site.
- Comment by Mark Ewans on 2/09/10 at 11:11 am
This is just another reason why I like your website. I like your style of writing you tell your stories without out sending us to 5 other sites to complete the story.
car insurance directory- Comment by Handmade rugs on 3/12/10 at 12:32 am
Cassavetes was indeed an American master. His films can be unrelenting, the scrutiny he brings to bear on his living, breathing characters absolutely ruthless and unsentimental. I think it’s wrong to say that he was looking to recreate reality in his films (that’s too facile for a man of his intellect and aesthetic maturity). But his films are filled with more real MOMENTS than anyone else. Some of the scenes and exchanges within Cassavetes’ oeuvre are so intimate, there is an uncomfortable, voyeuristic sensation one experiences while watching them. “Woman on the Verge…” is an entrancing, horrifying film. Cassavetes makes us endure the anguish Gena Rowlands’ character feels every waking moment of her life. It demands its toll, its pound of flesh…and at the end of the movie (many of his movies) there is a sense of being PURGED…
- Comment by doviz on 6/29/10 at 4:34 pm
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I really like your topic .. Topics I’ve shared your facebook .. Thank you very much again- Comment by oyun oyna on 8/22/10 at 9:44 pm
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This story was published in the Winter 2009 MovieMaker Magazine. The headline was:
The Lost Interview: John Cassavetes / Two decades after his death, a 1985 interview with the grandfather of modern independent cinema reveals new truths
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