By Christina Radish
Based on the acclaimed, page-turning, partially autobiographical novel by Armistead Maupin, The Night Listener is a haunting, suspense-filled mystery about truth, lies and storytelling. The films follows the disturbingly eerie twists and turns that unfold in the relationship between popular late-night radio host Gabriel Noone (Robin Williams) and Pete (Rory Culkin), a devoted young fan who claims to have survived a terrifying, secret past. Gabriel supports Pete in the publishing of his memoirs and draws closer to the 14-year-old teenager and his adopted mother (Toni Collette), becoming a kind of surrogate father. The more he talks to Pete over the phone, the more he is filled with doubts about the boy’s tales and becomes suspicious of who he really is, sparking a quest to uncover the truth.
In 1992, Maupin was sent a manuscript by a 14-year-old boy who claimed to have survived shocking physical and sexual abuse as a child, and had just penned a heartfelt memoir as a way of healing from his nightmare. Maupin was so taken by the boy’s tale of endurance, he wanted to speak directly with him, so he struck up a long-distance phone friendship with the child and his very protective, adopted mother. One day, months into their friendship, Maupin’s ex-partner, Terry Anderson, pointed out that the boy’s voice and his mother’s voice were disturbingly similar, leading Maupin to doubt the boy’s very existence.
{quote_top}“The Night Listener allowed two major things in my life to collide,” Maupin tells MediaBlvd Magazine. My lover left me in 1996 and I received a manuscript in 1992. I was sent the galleys to a book written by an abused kid, who was living with his adoptive mother. He was straight-identified and close-to-death from AIDS, according to everyone that I talked to, as a result of the abuse that he received at the hands of his birth parents. I was put into these life and death situations with him, repeatedly. When Terry noticed the similarity in the two voices, I wasn’t deeply unsettled. In fact, I was rather excited because I thought it was the weirdest and most interesting thing that had ever happened to me, and I was certain there was a good story in it, eventually. There were times when I felt quite guilty about that because I wanted him not to be real, since that was a better story than an actual dying child.”
Even with the obvious similarities in the voices of the two individuals that Maupin thought he was talking to, he says he wasn’t given the absolute, conclusive proof until about five years ago. “ABC began an investigation for an episode of 20/20. I think the movie jarred them into finding the truth. A voice analyst listened to tapes, and it was a voice print that finally allowed me to let go of it. I was relieved because I had been made to feel like a bad person, for a long time, for doubting the existence of the child. There were people around him, including the person who was his editor and agent, who apparently still believe in the existence of the kid.”
{quote_middle}Having written the story with the hope that it would be cathartic, Maupin says that the origin of the film adaptation came when he met the producers of You Can Count On Me. “Back in 2000, Laura Linney, who starred in my Tales of the City series as Marianne Singleton, was nominated for Best Actress at the Academy Awards for You Can Count On Me. She called me up and asked me to sit with her in the front row at the Oscars. I was put up in a suite at the Four Seasons Hotel and I helped her decide on her gown for the evening. The producers for You Can Count On Me were the original producers of The Night Listener. They got the ball rolling and put this little indie film together that attracted the attention of Miramax.”
Because it was such a small independent film, Maupin called on his nearly 30-year friendship with Robin Williams to make sure he got him a copy of the script. “I called up and spoke to his wife, Marsha,” says Maupin. “I said, ‘I have a script I think Robin would be perfect for,’ and she said, ‘Send it on over.’ Robin called three days later, and I remember he called it wonderful, because you remember those kinds of things. And, we were off and running.”
“It was just a fascinating thing to do because of all the controversy about people making autobiographies that are lies,” 55-year-old Academy Award winner Williams tells MediaBlvd. “The idea of what this character went through with this woman -- the real incident -- is quite frightening, especially knowing that it’s based on Armistead, who is a friend.”
Williams and Maupin first met in 1978, backstage at the Comedy Store, when a comedian friend of Maupin introduced them. Because they’ve been friends for so many years, Williams was naturally weary of portraying someone who would be so present on the set.
“You don’t avoid playing him,” says Williams. “You incorporate enough of him to be him, but not have him worry. It’s a different character, obviously. It’s not Armistead, but there is enough Armistead there. It’s not an impersonation because you’re creating a character based on someone you know. Armistead was on the set, so we had his feedback. This character is a guy who is a damaged person, who is trying to examine and recover and find out what his purpose is. When a relationship collapses, you’re kind of stunned. And then, when this kid comes along, he starts to focus on him.”
“I certainly didn’t want him to think he was playing me, in any way,” adds Maupin, “because impersonating another person is too much pressure for any actor. I’d hear some intonation in his voice that was as if he were picking up on the way I talked, but there was really nothing beyond that.”
Primarily known as a comedian, Williams is one of the rare actors that has been successful in his cross-over into dramatic acting, with memorable performances in such films as Good Will Hunting, Dead Poets Society and The World According to Garp. So, the fact that he’d want to take on such a serious role was not that much of a stretch for the Chicago native.
“I have been broken in the past,” says the man who will always be remembered as Mork of Mork and Mindy, when explaining how he could relate to such a character. “Everyone has had deep hurts and pains and, if they haven’t, they have to get out in life a little bit more. We’ve all had experiences that are deeply painful and all you have to do is extrapolate them or up the stakes a little bit, and you can play it. How much it hurts, or how you survive it, is just a question of tone.”
{quote_bottom}While still a student at Julliard, Williams just wanted to opportunity to act, regardless of the genre of the film. “I just wanted to perform. When I got out of Julliard, I realized that the chances of acting were small. I started doing comedy because that was the only stage that I could find. It was the pure idea of being on stage. That was the only thing that interested me, along with learning the craft and working, and just being in productions with people.”
Coming off the success of the family road trip comedy RV, Williams has the animated feature Happy Feet opening in mid-November, the family fantasy film A Night at the Museum, with fellow funny man Ben Stiller, opening in late December, and License to Wed, with Mandy Moore, opening sometime in 2007. A Hollywood veteran, Williams reveals that he would still love to be able to work with Martin Scorsese, do a musical with Jack Nicholson and play the great Albert Einstein.
“Einstein is such a complex character,” says Williams. “There are great characters out there, and that’s what I want to do. At this point, once you hit 50, you are the character actor.”
