‘Serendipity’ makes Dustin a director at 75
Being 75 caught up with Dustin Hoffman one day in the security line at JFK Airport.
“I walk around thinking my age doesn’t affect me,” the Oscar winner says. “I mean, I did have my ‘Oh my God, I’m turning 40’ moment. The rest became superfluous.”
This brings him to his airport encounter. “There I am taking my shoes off to get through this thing and the lady in charge says, ‘Oh, Mr. Hoffman. You can leave your shoes on.’ I said, ‘Why?’
“She nods to a sign and I look up and it says, ‘If you’re 75 years or older, you can leave your shoes on.’
“At that moment, I thought, ‘Even terrorists have a limited shelf life,’ ” he says with a laugh. Then he adds, “And by the way, it’s the first thing I’ve ever had in common with a terrorist.”
Age is actually the topic of his new film, now receiving critical raves.
Hoffman directed “Quartet,” opening Friday and starring Maggie Smith, Michael Gambon and Billy Connolly. The film is set at a home for retired opera singers and centers on their concert to celebrate Verdi’s birthday. Enter diva Jean (Smith) who upsets the plans.
Hoffman’s first major directorial effort came along in an odd way. He was shooting “Last Chance Harvey” with Emma Thompson a few years ago and spent a lot of time with the cinematographer.
“We would discuss the shots as the film went along,” Hoffman says. “One day, he turned to me and said, ‘You should direct a movie. You talk camera so much.’
“I said, ‘Send me a script,’ ” Hoffman says. “The truth is they never send actors scripts to direct unless you’ve really proven yourself.”
But “Quartet” arrived. “I read it on an airplane and I really responded to it,” he says. “It was just serendipity — an accident waiting to happen.”
In “Quartet,” older people are swept aside and ignored, something Hoffman has witnessed offscreen as well. “The culture makes older people invisible unless they’re someone who has power. Some might call that a prejudice.
“It’s not just in America. Older people get no respect. You can only be hit over the head a certain number of times before you start to believe what people feel about you and your age,” he says. “Of course, as we get older the body becomes more limited. You can get into that or you can do your best to resist it.
“What you can’t do is allow the spirit to become limited. Ironically, the film says that your spirit can actually expand with age.” Big Picture
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