USA: AMERICAN PREMIERE OF VAL KILMER MOVIE "THE SALTON SEA"

Record ID: 548713

  • Title: USA: AMERICAN PREMIERE OF VAL KILMER MOVIE "THE SALTON SEA"
  • Date: 23rd April 2002
  • Summary: NEW YORK, NEW YORK, UNITED STATES (APRIL 2, 2002) (REUTERS) SCU (SOUNDBITE) (English) VAL KILMER SAYING: "I loved the story form the moment I read it. It's a very unusual story. It's a really edgy and dangerous world that it takes place in. I really didn't think that the studio would film what I read, so I was really happy when I met the director and he said he was fully in support of the story and the way that it is told because it's very challenging in parts. Different for Hollywood to make this kind of movie."
  • Embargoed: 8th May 2002 13:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA, NEW YORK, NEW YORK, UNITED STATES
  • Country: USA
  • Reuters ID: LVA3OJRGAC93MQI8HDO0R9AZH6EN
  • Story Text: Star Val Kilmer was among those who showed up for the world premiere in Los Angeles of "The Salton Sea," a noir thriller set in a methamphetamine underworld. He plays Danny Parker, a young widower spinning out in a dark underworld after witnessing his wife's brutal murder. Directed by first-timer DJ Caruso, the "The Salton Sea" takes us on a journey into Danny's heart of darkness before racing to an unexpected conclusion.
    Val Kilmer, looking rougher than usual around the edges, stars as Danny Parker, a young man out to avenge his wife's brutal murder in "The Salton Sea". Directed by newcomer DJ Caruso, the film journeys through a heart of darkness-like underworld of danger, drugs and deception.
    The unconventional style of the "Salton Sea" script is what attracted Val Kilmer to the project, but it was Caruso's fidelity to that vision that kept him engaged.
    "It's a really edgy and dangerous world that it takes place in. I really didn't think that the studio would film what I read, so I was really happy when I met the director and he said he was fully in support of the story and the way that it is told because it's very challenging in parts." In Caruso's hands, the film takes on a film noir style we haven't seen in a while, reminiscent even, of director Alan Parker's "Angel Heart."
    The complex plot takes twists and turns through the drug-infested lives of its characters, demanding strong performances from the actors. For co-star Vincent D'Onofrio, who gained almost 40 pounds to play the role of the creepy Pooh Bear, the film's complexity lies in the conflicting motivations of the characters. The trick in playing his character, d'Onofrio says, was to convey a sense of danger without playing it.
    "With those two aspects running parallel it becomes this very entertaining character to watch even though he's very scary and he's basically a just kind of awful person."
    Unlike "Angel Heart," "The Salton Sea" careens towards a redemptive ending thanks to the integrity of the film's main character.
    "He finds a way to survive the loss of his wife.
    He's strong that way."
    "The Salton Sea" open nationwide on May 17th.
  • Copyright Holder: REUTERS
  • Copyright Notice: (c) Copyright Thomson Reuters 2015. Open For Restrictions - http://about.reuters.com/fulllegal.asp
  • Usage Terms/Restrictions: None
Register