THE ‘THIS MORNING’ / 'THE RELIC' INTERVIEW!
In England, I’m ashamed to say, we have a weekday morning variety show that is hosted by a husband and wife couple, Richard Madeley and Judy Finnegan. I always, always avoid this show because they really are the most lame couple ever. But last year, laid up with an exploded tooth abcess, I happened to catch note of "and after the break we’ve the star of ‘The
Relic,’ actor Tom Sizemore." Hurdling down the stairs and ignoring my
great pain (aah!), I threw a tape into the video and caught ten glorious
minutes of Tom being interviewed by ‘England’s finest’! Here is the
interview in full for your pleasure.......
(Clip is shown of Kothoga breaking down steel door)
Richard: Which is what happens if you don’t put the cat out, basically.
Tom: Yeah, I guess so (Tom is wearing a black suit and white shirt).
Richard: Hiya!
Judy: This is Tom Sizemore!
Richard: Mr Sizemore!
Judy: Sounds like Sizewell. Sizewell’s a nuclear power station and you’re not that (she laughs nervously). You play the homicide detective, the lead in the movie. You tell us
the plot cos it’s quite complicated. It’s set in a natural history museum?
Tom: Yeah, well, it’s complicated. I may not have a lot of time.
Richard: You can have all the time you like (laughs).
Tom: I know you’re not telling me the truth (laughs).
Richard: I think you’ve done this before, right?
Tom: Yeah, I’ve done this before. It’s set in a museum and what happens is there’s 7 decapitations and very unpleasant business. I’m assigned to the case, blah, blah, blah.
And it leads me to the Chicago Museum of Natural History. And I think I’m looking for a man.
Richard: A serial killer?
Tom: A serial killer, exactly. I actually say "I think we have something worse than Geoffrey Dahmer here." And then there’s this big gala affair and I want to close the museum down, they won’t let me so they go ahead with the affair and I say "look, there’s something in here, somebody in here," and for the first half of the picture I don’t know.
Richard: But we, the audience.....
Tom: You guys know fairly early on that there’s something not nice but I don’ t know until that clip you just saw. That’s when I realise I’m in a bit over my head.
Judy: This monster thing is called a ka-ka-ka....
Tom: Kothoga.
Judy: A kothoga, and what it is is a kind of South American....
Tom: It’s actually based on a true myth of the Zenzeira tribe in South America where they would feed, I think it was like this big lion, they’d starve ‘em and then they’d let ‘em loose
on their enemies so they’d tear ‘em apart.
Richard: A bit like the Romans.
Tom: Cos they’d be hungry. Like me. I want some of that chicken (laughs and looks across studio to kitchen where last part of show was cookery slot).
Judy: You can have some. We’ll save some for you.
Richard: This relic is an ancient artifact of a tribe in Zanzeira which is brought back to the museum. A bit like ‘Curse Of The Mummy’s Tomb’ in terms of......
Tom: Pardon me? Pardon me, Richard? (Tom is so obviously not interested!)
Richard: In bringing back the relic...
Tom: Right.
Richard: They bring back...
Tom: They bring him back by messing with the past. They bring back this super demon.
Judy: Do we see it properly in the movie?
Tom: Oh, you’ll see him and he’s scary. Oh, he’s very scary. They say 15 year olds can see it and I think that’s good for mature 15 year olds. In America, you know, some
people really got upset and cried and fainted and stuff like that, but
everyone likes a good scare. It’s fun. It’s entertaining. It’s not The English Patient!
Judy: Thank God!
Tom: I love The English Patient. I did a movie with Ralph.
Judy: I didn’t.
Tom: You didn’t love it? Well, I really did. I like Ralph quite a bit. We made Strange Days together.
Judy: Well then you have to say you like it!
Tom: Well, no, I don’t have to (grins).
Judy: Yes you do. Fortunately I don’t know him so...
Tom: This is my ‘Entertainment Tonight,’ I like everything, (laughs), and everybody!
Richard: Can I ask one more question about the monster? Is it as frightening or more frightening than the Alien?
Tom: More frightening. And it’s made by the same man. Stan Winston made the Alien, he
made this monster, he made the dinosaurs in Jurrassic Park. He’s the best.
Richard: How would you describe it?
Tom: He looks like an agent after a negotiation! (laughs)
Richard: That bad? (laughing)
Judy: Do you think there’ll be baby Kothogas in toys shops...
Tom: There could be, yes. It’s a hit movie, you know. I’ve been in other movies like
Natural Born Killers and Heat, whatnot, that were successful and did well. This is the first time I’ve carried a Hollywood picture, a big Hollywood picture.
Judy: It’s the first time you’ve not been shot!
Tom: It’s the first time I’ve, like, lived to the end!
Richard: Let’s see a clip of you being very dry. I like this bit. Let’s have a look.
(Could cases have been opened and then nailed shut? Clip is shown)
Judy: Did you work with the Chicago Police at all when you were researching it?
Tom: I was just looking up there, I was watching the clip. Yes, I did work with the Chicago
Police. I worked with them on Natural Born Killers also. I played a very different type of policeman, psychopathic.
Richard: You lost a lot of weight for that role, didn’t you?
Tom: Natural Born Killers? Yeah, I wanted to look like a lizard.
Richard: You lost about 18 pounds.
Tom: You’ve read about me, right?
Richard: We know everything about everyone (laughs nervously).
Judy: What’ve you done to your nail? (Tom’s finger-nail is black)
Tom: I was doing a breathing exercise and I hit the door jamn.
Judy: Sure!
Tom: I’m serious! (Moves arms backward and forward) Bang! And I’m hoping I
don’t loose it. It’s turning purple though. It was very unpleasant at the time.
Richard: Were you happy with Natural Born Killers in the social sense?
Tom: I loved it. I lost 22 pounds!
Richard: What did you think of the huge row that did surround it, that it was encouraging violence?
Tom: I think that’s all......
Richard: You can say it.
Tom: A bunch of bull. I think things start at home. I mean, I wouldn’t let my child see Natural Born Killers so I think it starts with parenting. And I’m very good friends with
Oliver and he was saying that, I know this is a morning show and it’s nice and easy, but this has been a very violent century and America’s a very violent country, and if you don’t live in the nicer areas it’s basically a shooting gallery. He was just making a comment on the violence that’s out of control. It’s casual. You lose 20 teenagers every weekend in Los Angeles. 20. 20 teenagers are dead every weekend. They’re alive on Thursday... on Monday they’re dead.
Richard: And if that’s an average there must be some weekends when you’re losing 50.
Tom: Yeah, Exactly, so that’s the average. And also he was making a comment on
tabloid television. How the Geoffrey Dahmer and the Ted Bundy’s are celebrated. That the violence is celebrated. That was his point of view. I think in the viewing of the film there are some violent scenes that upset people and you’re not gonna make everybody happy. Particularly a film-maker like Oliver Stone. He’s a controversial
film-maker and he makes controversial films, so there you go.
Judy: But as far as The Relic goes, you think it’s good scary stuff that is in the traditional horror movie vein?
Tom: Do I look heavy by any chance? (Tom is shuffling about in seat, grinning broadly) I was just wondering. I don’t want to look heavy. I have to lose weight for my next film.
I’m doing a film here, yeah. I keep looking at myself, I kinda do look
heavy. I have to lose weight. Anyway...
Judy: (laughing) I think you’re lovely.
Richard: We think you’re great.
Judy: We’re doing this phone-in on movie therapy. I wonder if any therapist would recommend anyone to watch The Relic.
Tom: What is movie herapy?
Judy: It’s supposed to be a big thing in The States (realises she’s come unstuck and laughs).
Tom: Paranoia. Fear of the unknown?
Richard: That’ll do! Thanks for being here. Great to meet you.
Tom: That’s nice. You guys are really nice. Nice to be here.
As you can probably tell, Richard and Judy are not the most clued-up of interviewers. It is, however, an entertaining interview and Tom shines through as the consumate professional. ‘This Morning’ with Richard and Judy can still be
seen every weekday morning from 10am - 12pm. The Relic has recently been released onto sell-through video. Might I suggest you go out and buy that instead?!
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