The Big Chill Factor

Rip It Up, Issue 80, 1 March 1984, Page 8

The Big Chill Factor

Kerry Doole

You could say that writer director Lawrence Kasdan runs hot and cold. His directorial debut, the film noir-ish Body. Heat, fairly scorched the screen, while his current effort The Big Chill, has a far cooler tone. In terms of commercial success, Kasdan is simply the hottest screenwriter around, having been involved with The Empire Strikes Back, Raiders of the Lost Ark and Return Of The Jedi, three of the most, popular films ever made.

The Big Chill is light years away from escapist adventures and space fantasies, but its commercial success in North America has helped prove there is still a market for adult films that eschew special effects in favour of well-crafted writing and acting. The title may suggest a thriller or disaster movie on the impending Ice Age, but The Big Chill is a highly personal movie that examines the lives of survivors from the 60s generation. "It's so hard to come up with titles that I've given up trying," admits the affable Kasdan. "Now the title presents itself to me and 1 then protect it like a child. The Big Chill was a-sensation I sometimes got talking to people. They'd

say something that was so far out of bounds to me, ethically or value wise, that I'd actually feel a chill pass over my body. I always envisaged that the movie would centre on the funeral, so that reinforced the title. In addition, I thought there was some kind of cooling off in the workffrom the idealistic fires people had when they were younger,'' he explained. Those involved speak of the filming of The Big Chillyis if it resembled a spiritual expedience; director and actors form a mutual admiration society that would be sickening if, it wasn't so clearly heart-felt. . "Everything about the film was a gift from God! 1 had enormous respect for Larry; he's also just a wonderful human being. I'm real grateful to be a part of it." Mary Kay Place. "I'm proud to beTn a film of tffis quality; I'm thrilled to be in that group of actors.'' Jeff Goldblum. "I love actors, I'm in awe of them. There are so many good ones around, it is frustrating not to be able to use more. The only problem is deciding who to use, it is never a shortage of great people." - Lawrence Kasdan.

. The cast reads like a Who's Who of the most talented young actors in America: Kevin Kline ( Sophie's Choice. Pirates Of Penzance), Glenn Close (The. World According To Carp),- Tom

Berenger (Looking For Mr Goodbar), Jeff Goldblum (Invasion of ■ the/' Bodysnatchersf The Right Stuff), . .William Hurt (Altered States, Body Heat, Gorky Park), Mary Kay Place (Mary Hartman), Jobeth Williams ( Poltergeist) and Meg Tilly (Psycho II). Kasdan readily acknowledges that the movie is a reflection of his own life. . "It is something I've wantedlo make a movie about for • a long time. It is about values, dVid the shock 1 felt when I came into the real world, which,was a lot different than what* college had . prepared me fdrT^HHMRHfI "It ;is about things that, are in my life up to this minute, and they continue to be issues." The voluble director insists The Big Chill is not * a movie. Slimed solely at his peer group. "I intended it to be true to people's lives no 'matter how old they are, because I tlTink the value choices, those , people are making have to be m.jde by everyone. "For me, the movie is about mortality. These people now realise that perhaps hot everything is possible, that perhaps they don't have endless choices or time. Everybody feels that." One of Kasdan's comments about his characters can apply equally to the actors and the shooting of The Big Chill. "The whole weekend is a pause in their lives. It is a sale place where maybe they can behave better than in their real lives. But in the end, they're going out alone again."

Lawrence Kasdan sees no contradiction in switching . from blockbuster fantasiA. to smaller, more intimate films, so look for him to have a on both fields. #

"To me, it is a meaningless distinction to divide genres and this kind of movie.' There's rarely a kind of film that doesn't interest me. There are films I'm interested in seeing that other people aren't making, which is why I make them. There is no genre that is exhausted." ' ’ . So next strip is a Western. After that? Well, the open-ended nature of, The Big Chill means he is haltserious when he suggests that "in 10 years time, I'll make another movie about these people."