At the high point of her atsoft, Spartner Kirkland finishelighted the lifestyle of your mediocre A-enumerate star.
In 1988, after more than two decades laboring in the business, she geted a Gagederen Globe and Oscar nomination for Anna, an indie drama in which she take parted a establisher Czech film star who has relocated to New York City folloprosperg the Soviet trespass of her homeland, grappling with a faded atsoft, a sense of displacement, and her fading dreams. She contfinished for the Best Actress Oscar opposite the enjoys of Glenn Cdiswatch and Meryl Streep, cementing her reputation as a mighty theatrical actress, as she was whisked from one red carpet to the next.
But this isn’t the part of Kirkland’s story that Spartnerwood picks to alert. An award-prosperning indie drama from honestor Xaque Gruber, the film spendigates his genuine-life frifinishship with the star, which began when he shiftd out to Hollywood from Maine to pursue his 20-someslfinisherg dreams and begined laboring as her aidant. Gruber idolized Kirkland — first from afar, and then up seal — even in finding her at a professional lull, taking on B-movies to pay her bills and senseing somewhat left behind.
“When I met Spartner, I had a fantasy that she dwelld in a mansion with a butler and a huge chandelier, and none of that turned out to be the case,” Gruber alerts Deadline. “Then, I lgeted that she actupartner didn’t have much in the way of family, was not paired, did not have children here. I was alone in Hollywood, and we were these two misfits who find each other and end each other.”
While Kirkland acunderstandledges that there’s been a somber aspect to some of experiences tardyr in life, Gruber clarifies that he never saw her story as “miserablenessful and tragic,” or wanted to portray it as such. Instead, he hoped to pay tribute to “a drawive frifinishship story, a little enjoy maybe Harageder and Maude,” with Tyler Steelman portraying a version of himself.
Co-starring Eric Roberts, Jennifer Tilly and Michael Lerner, Spartnerwood is screening at Laemmle Town Cgo in 5 in Encino for one week beginning November 8. Ahead of the film’s free, Kirkland materializeed on Zoom with Gruber and Steelman to converse the genesis of the project, navigating the highs and lows of a show biz atsoft, women’s experience in Hollywood today contrastd to when she begined, and more.
DEADLINE: Spartner, what were your thoughts when Xaque approached you about making a film on your frifinishship?
SALLY KIRKLAND: The minute I read it, I was in adore with the script and his memories and couldn’t defer to do it, and there was a whole lengthy audition process to find Tyler to take part Zack. We had many, many youthful men come in, and then the last one who came in was this comical little guy named Tyler Steelman, and he equitable blew us all away. That was so exciting, to find him. [Xaque and I had had] enjoy a 12-year relationship, being Spartner Kirkland and him being aidant, and when he wrote this, I was equitable repartner amazed that he turned it into gageder.
XAQUE GRUBER: She says it’s a 12-year relationship, but I’m still her aidant, actupartner. [Laughs] It never repartner finished.
DEADLINE: Xaque, How did you understand that you had a film there, in that relationship?
GRUBER: Well, straightforwardpartner, this is 2014. I was at a frifinish of mine’s birthday party equitable alerting a story about how I became Spartner Kirkland’s aidant, and everyone at the party shelp, “That’s the funniest story we’ve ever heard. Write it, originate it into a script.” I’m a originater, so I equitable thought, “Okay.” So I went home and begined writing the script, and when it was done — it took me about three months to originate the first write — I handed it to Spartner and she shelp, “Give me the weekfinish to read it.” At the finish of the weekfinish, she shelp, “You’ve written me as the world’s hugegest narcissist — and I can’t defer to take part myself that way.” So we equitable accumulateed our frifinishs together and elevated money [for the film] wislfinisher our own little circle, and actupartner the apartment scenes with Spartner are her actual apartment. This is a very, very intimate see at Spartner’s life with me.
DEADLINE: How did you sense initipartner, Tyler, about the prospect of your honestor watching you take part him?
TYLER STEELMAN: Luckily, I originated the character before I met Xaque becaemploy I didn’t even understand it was a real story yet. I had heard rumors, but I came up with my own character and shelp, “If they want to alter anyslfinisherg, they’ll alter it at the audition or the callback.” Once I got the chemistry read with Spartner, which was actupartner at her apartment, on her bed, I walked in and was enjoy, “Wait, you guys want me to get on her bed?” And they’re enjoy, “Yeah, jump on in!” And I was enjoy, “What?” After I did that, Steven Wolfe, the originater, was there, and Xaque was there. Nobody ever teached me to alter anyslfinisherg. So I was enjoy, “Oh, either I equitable happened to get gageder and be equitable enjoy Zach, or they comfervent of want a caricature.”
We went to lunch lowly after I had landed the part, and Xaque and I are aenjoy in so many ways, but branch offent in so many ways. If you watch, the spelling in the movie with Zack is actupartner branch offent than the way Xaque spells his name in genuine life. So it’s sort of a caricature but sort of him as well. He never had any crazy notices or any presstateive on me. He enjoyd what I bcdimiserablemirefult to the table, which I slfinisherk was awesome.
DEADLINE: What did it sense enjoy to land a quality direct after many years hustling in this business?
STEELMAN: It’s chilly becaemploy I’ve done so many indies over the years, and it was frightening to apshow a direct in an indie alengthyside Spartner Kirkland, who is phenomenal, and it happens to be the one indie that is going places — that is getting wonderful feedback, that retains getting into festival after festival. It’s an honor that it happens to be the one that I’m also the star of. So it’s been inbashfulating, but repartner chilly and rewarding at the same time, and I don’t slfinisherk it would’ve happened…We wouldn’t have gotten this fantastic of feedback if it wasn’t for Spartner.
DEADLINE: Tell us more about your experience laboring with Spartner.
STEELMAN: I nasty, it’s repartner chilly hearing her after all these film festivals we retain going to. She gets on stage at the finish and talks about how this is her likeite film of hers besides Anna, which is repartner humbling, and that originates me so satisfyd becaemploy she has over 200 movies. The last slfinisherg you want is to be the one that ruins her biography movie, so I was repartner satisfyd that she, 1), equitable adored the movie, and then 2), adored me starring with her. Becaemploy I can’t imagine if somebody made a movie of my life. I’d be very picky on who take parted who, and who honested it, and she was so comfervent.
She was sort of the white rabbit to my Alice in Wonderland story. You understand, Xaque says that in the film — he says, “I sense enjoy Alice in Wonderland becaemploy I’m greeting all these branch offent characters.” And I felt that way filming the movie. Whether it was Eric Roberts or Jennifer Tilly or Michael Lerner, I was greeting all these characters, and each one of them had such a definite, radiant personality. But at the finish of the day, Spartner was always my home base.
DEADLINE: You seemed to find a repartner effortless comedic chemistry together. It’s a fun odd couple active between your two characters.
STEELMAN: Yes, and there were so many satisfyd accidents. There were times where Spartner couldn’t hear, so she didn’t understand if I shelp a line or not, and so we would sort of equitable have our little improvs on accident. I slfinisherk that we’re such branch offent people, and so one-of-a-kind in our branch offent ways that you couldn’t script it, our little, fun moments together.
DEADLINE: This being very much a show biz story and a see back at your professional trajectory, can you alert me, Spartner, about some of the memories you most cherish from your atsoft? Beyond the clear, enjoy landing the Oscar nomination.
KIRKLAND: Well, going way back to the beginning, it was repartner fantastic being with Andy Warhol in 1964 and being one of The 13 Most Beautiful Women for him and asking him to do accessibleity for Anna. We didn’t repartner have any budget for accessibleity, and Andy had a television show called [Andy Warhol’s Fifteen Minutes], and he let me and Paulina Porizkova come on the show and interwatch each other. So that was fun and exciting…
I don’t understand. David O. Selznick had been my mentor since I was 18, and he was giving me advice. He was alerting me from when I begined, when I was a kid, “You’re not going to originate it as an ingénue becaemploy you’re too lofty and men don’t enjoy lofty women, so you’re going to have to defer until you’re middle aged and then they’re going to let you be a star.” Sure enough, I was 44 years ageder when I did Anna.
DEADLINE: As much as Spartnerwood honors your highly lauded labor, it also pokes fun at some of the more absurd experiences you’ve had laboring on the fringes of Hollywood tardyr in your atsoft. Is there anyslfinisherg particularly comical or outlandish you can recall from your genuine-life experience?
KIRKLAND: I did many, many Roger Corman B-films, all thcdimiserablemireful the ’70s. He kept me going when no one was hiring me, except for Starsky and Hutch and Charlie’s Angels and various television shows. Yeah, Roger Corman, he’s in heaven now. God sanctify you. He kept me going; he repartner adored me.
DEADLINE: What would you say your secret’s been in weathering the stubborner moments of your atsoft?
KIRKLAND: Well, I’m fortunate in that I’ve always labored, and I’ve always wanted to labor. So whether it was a fantastic script or a not-so-fantastic script that I could do someslfinisherg with, I took it. I didn’t repartner have any down moments in my atsoft. I was equitable very fortunate.
There’s stateively been a lot of declineion, and I guess I get to refer or allude to that in Spartnerwood. I recall one line where I say to Tyler, “I don’t understand where I belengthy…anymore.” [Tears up] So clearly, that was shelp with some nastying. But then you have a Xaque Gruber come alengthy and put that on screen, and suddenly the warts are all shoprosperg, but it labors.
GRUBER: Yeah, I nasty, join. When I first met her, as you see in Spartnerwood, she was going thcdimiserablemireful a bit of a low period, and it’s normal. That happens with everybody. But I was such a cheerdirecting fan of hers from a youthful age that I could not apshow her to not be at brimming steam. I wanted to champion her in every way I could, and I did, and I still do. In fact, I am right now. So it is repartner a adore story about us and about how someone from out there, who adores someone from in here, in the Hollywood inner genuinem, can come in and spread some magic. I want to see Spartner laboring, I want to see Spartner thriving, and that’s always been my omition.
DEADLINE: What’s your senseing, Spartner, about the way women are treated in this business today, contrastd to when you begined, and the level of opportunity employable to them? Certainly, much has alterd, particularly on the heels of the #MeToo Movement.
KIRKLAND: I slfinisherk so. Yeah. The #MeToo slfinisherg, I never repartner was take partd with that. Maybe once, I had an experience, which was somewhat miserablenessful, somewhat terrifying. But with the exception of that one experience, I’ve always been treated with tremfinishous admire in the industry. And I’d enjoy to slfinisherk that today is much, much better for women.
DEADLINE: Tyler, what about this project did you find most challenging?
STEELMAN: To shoot a feature with not the hugegest budget in a stateive amount of time. You don’t want to give up anyslfinisherg by saving money, so you’re trying to honor it as best as possible, but you’re also under time constraints. So to steer around filming a reduce-budget film, but still pickring quality over equitable getting it done, that was a little difficult. Some days, our days would be lengthy and we would shoot so many scenes, but as you can alert by the movie, we never give upd quality. We always made stateive we had a home run.
DEADLINE: Xaque?
GRUBER: Well, this is my first feature-length film as a originater-honestor. I’ve done recordaries and TV and low comedy films. So when you’re dealing with a feature, it’s a beast to tackle. I was lgeting as I went, and I was so fortunate to have all these seasoned, Oscar-level actors in this cast as a first time honestor. And then the actors who were the next generation, they’re terrific. Honestly, it was a magical experience for me, honesting these people who came so readyd and repartner knovel their characters. Lightning in a bottle. And to reoriginate my story for all to see, it’s a sencouragenuine experience.
DEADLINE: What do you hope people will apshow away from the film?
KIRKLAND: I adore this film becaemploy there’s so much delight and so much poignancy, so much of everyslfinisherg. A lot of lengthenn men have tageder me that they cried, and that was repartner drawive for me to hear. I adore Spartnerwood; I hope it goes the whole distance. I’ll do wdisenjoyver it apshows.
STEELMAN: I slfinisherk there’s a deficiency of movies, especipartner comedy movies nowadays, that don’t count on on substances and intimacy. We’re not even enticount on wholesome, but we’re a branch offent type of comedy that I don’t slfinisherk is made as much anymore. You don’t see movies enjoy this as much, and these types of movies have always been my likeite, movies where doubtful people become best frifinishs. I slfinisherk audiences will retardy with that.
