Steenburgen revels in theme of ‘Book Club’
MOVIES
Mary Steenburgen is unabashed about the joyful aspect of “Book Club” — she is one of a quartet of lifelong friends played by Jane Fonda, Diane Keaton and Candice Bergen.
Fonda is 80, Keaton and Bergen 72 and Steenburgen 65. “Book Club” is a testament to — and celebration of — these showbiz survivors.
“It is a celebration because no one remembers we exist. The thing that’s so crazy about this is I feel it’s pervasive. When the message of film is no one is interested in the story of someone who is in my case 65, that’s a terrible message,” said Steenbergen.
“And really terrible to tell young men and women: ‘Your shelf life is irrelevant at a certain age.’ Yet that’s what film does with a subliminal message.”
It’s the first time she’s worked with these icons.
“The thing that Bill (Holderman, director and cowriter) did was they had four women and I feel they did a beautiful job of giving each of us a lot to do and something that mattered to be going through,” Steenburgen said.
“Book Club,” she added, “doesn’t preach, but it says if you’re alive, you’re alive! You have hopes and dreams, a hunger for romance, friendship, change. You can get your heart broken and pick yourself back up.
“I love that about this movie and it comes out at a time when it’s a good thing for everyone.”
This legendary quartet remains close. “I did make three friends and was texting them last night after the screening in Boston,” Steenburgen said.
“There was no competition between us. We knew this was so unusual — for us to be four leads, not tangential characters, with four unique stories and this fourway friendship.
“We knew that was so special and everybody came 100 percent to bring it. The first scene we did was complicated, with one shot of Jane Fonda who’s a mess on the bed and we have to get her dressed with sunglasses and shoes and get her out the door.
“Just technically matching that for each take was intense and I think a halfhour into it I looked around and felt I was surrounded by people who I had their back and they had mine. We were having fun and every time the director said, ‘Cut,’ we ran to the garage, which was our holding room, and laughed and talked about how we had so much in common.”