L'Italo-Americano

THURSDAY, JANUARY 11, 2024 www.italoamericano.org 26 L'Italo-Americano A fter six nomina- t i o n s , P a u l Giamatti has w o n t h e t h i r d G o l d e n G l o b e o f h i s c a r e e r . D u r i n g the 81st Golden Globes Awards ceremony held, as usual, at the Beverly Hilton Hotel in Los Angeles, Kris- ten Wiig and Will Ferrell presented Giamatti with the award for his performance in The Holdovers. In the film, Giamatti plays the role of a history profes- sor at a private New England college. "Teaching runs in m y f a m i l y . E v e r y o n e i s a teacher, it's been like this for generations," Giamatti said in his acceptance speech, adding also that "teachers are good people. We need to respect them." Paul Giamatti's father, Angelo Bartlett "Bart" Gia- matti, was indeed a universi- ty professor at Yale and later became the president of the u n i v e r s i t y . T h e G i a m a t t i surname is the American- ized version of the original Giammattei and comes from T e l e s e T e r m e , i n t h e p r o v i n c e o f B e n e v e n t o , where Paul Giamatti's pater- nal grandfather was born and raised before emigrating to the United States. Paul Edward Valentine Giamatti was born in New Haven, Connecticut on June 6, 1967. After graduating from Choate Rosemary Hall School, he earned a degree in English literature at Yale University, where he also studied acting, pursuing a m a s t e r ' s d e g r e e a t t h e School of Drama. Following his initial experiences with the university company, Gia- matti moved to Broadway a n d t h e n m a d e h i s b i g - screen debut in 1992 with a very small part in the film Singles - Love is a Game. He s u b s e q u e n t l y a c t e d a s a character actor in films such a s W o o d y A l l e n ' s M i g h t y A p h r o d i t e i n 1 9 9 5 , P e t e r Weir's The Truman Show (1998), Saving Private Ryan (1998), and Tim Burton's Planet of the Apes (2001). However, it was his role in Alexander Payne's 2004 film Sideways that earned him his first Golden Globe n o m i n a t i o n . W i t h T h e Holdovers Giamatti returns in front of Payne's camera after almost twenty years. In the movie he plays, we said, an unpopular ancient histo- ry teacher at an elite all- boys New England college. M u c h t o h i s d i s m a y , t h e curmudgeonly academic is tasked with overseeing the "holdovers," a group of stu- dents with nowhere to go during the winter holidays of 1970. Payne, whose fil- m o g r a p h y a l s o i n c l u d e s Downsizing, The Descen- dants, and Election, drew inspiration for the plot from the 1935 film Voyage to Col- lege (Merlusse) by French director Marcel Pagnol. W h a t w a s i t l i k e working with Alexander P a y n e a g a i n a f t e r a l l this time? I ' d p l a y a n y c h a r a c t e r Alex Payne asks me to. After S i d e w a y s , w e b e c a m e friends, so it's not like we never saw or spoke to each other again. We had some i d e a s t h a t n e v e r c a m e t o fruition, particularly a film about a private detective, s o m e t h i n g h e n o l o n g e r wants to do, but I still do. We tried to make this film for several years, but one thing or another always pre- vented it. Then I finished Billions and had the time to commit to it. T h e c h a r a c t e r y o u play is named Paul Hun- h a m . I s t h e n a m e t h e only thing you have in c o m m o n , o r i s t h e r e more? He's a very familiar char- acter, which is why I was e x c i t e d t o p l a y h i m , a s I attended that kind of New England school myself. The c h a r a c t e r I p o r t r a y w a s w r i t t e n b y D a v i d H e m - mingsen, who based it on his uncle, born in 1920, a World War II veteran who raised him after his parents s e p a r a t e d . T h i s m a n w a s incredibly learned but also a bit rough around the edges, bald, with protruding ears, Buddy Holly glasses, and a remarkable gift for subtle, somewhat profane irony. I channeled these character- istics into the character. Can playing a charac- ter that closely resem- b l e s y o u b e a d o u b l e - edged sword? L o o k , " d o u b l e - e d g e d sword" could be the title of my memoir. W h a t w a s i t l i k e t o shoot a film set in the 70s? I t w a s q u i t e s u r r e a l t o make a period film and have been alive during that time. I mean, aren't period films supposed to be about horses and carriages? Anyway, it made me want to go back and watch James Bridges' T h e P a p e r C h a s e , f r o m 1973. I loved it as a kid, and there's something that ties these two films together. I heard there were no c o n s t r u c t e d s e t s a n d that everything was shot in organic locations. Is that true? And if so, did it help you stay in char- acter more effectively? Yes, and not only that, whenever it was snowing in a s c e n e , i t w a s a c t u a l l y snowing. It makes a huge d i f f e r e n c e c o m p a r e d t o being on a set, which can be great, but nothing beats the real location. For example, my room was very evoca- tive, there were small details l i k e v i n t a g e o b j e c t s a n d b o o k s . T h e s e t d e s i g n e r Marcus Whitman dressed every part of the set, even those that wouldn't be on camera. The desk drawer, which I wasn't expected to o p e n , c o n t a i n e d a b o o k from the era so that if I did open it, I wouldn't lose the authenticity of the scene. And there is another inter- e s t i n g t i d b i t a b o u t m y office: there's a small sculp- ture near my desk that was also used on the set of Side- ways. A n y c u r i o s i t y a b o u t the film? Mrs. Lydia Crane, played by Carrie Preston, wears a heart-shaped necklace iden- tical to the one Reese With- erspoon wore in Alexander Payne's 1999 film, Election. Dominic Sessa, your c o - s t a r i n t h e f i l m , i s m a k i n g h i s c i n e m a t i c d e b u t . H o w d i d y o u r r e l a t i o n s h i p d e v e l o p , both off and on set? I was really rooting for h i m . W e f i r s t s p o k e o n Zoom, where we did what we call "chemistry reads," a n d I w a s c u r i o u s t o s e e how much of a mentor-pro- t é g é r e l a t i o n s h i p w o u l d develop between us, both in front of the camera and off i t . T h e g o o d n e w s i s t h a t Dominic didn't need much guidance. I've never seen such a natural talent, not just in acting generally, but in film acting specifically. You know, he was essential- ly playing a version of him- self. It's remarkable that, in his first role in a major film, a senior from an elite New England prep school plays a j u n i o r f r o m a n e l i t e N e w England prep school. H o w w o u l d y o u describe the style of the film? T o m e , i t ' s a c l a s s i c . There's a kind of Scrooge- like story, where everyone arrives at this place knowing something will be resolved. Underneath it all, it could be seen as a classic Christ- mas story. Golden Globe 2024, Italian-American Paul Giamatti wins Best Actor SILVIA NITTOLI Paul Giamatti stars as Paul Hunham in director Alexander Payne's The Holdovers, a Focus Features release (Photo: M Seacia Pavao/ 2023 FOCUS FEATURES LLC) LIFE PEOPLE MOVIES MUSIC BOOKS

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