Chris Eigeman in 'Metropolitan'
Jose here. Whit Stillman’s Metropolitan turns 25 in 2015, and you wouldn’t be able to guess based on how fresh and original its dialogues and performances feel. Stillman, who once was touted as the heir to Woody Allen - but proved to be a less nihilistic, more brutally sardonic, slightly WASP-ier cousin - delivered a screen debut as powerful as it was unconventional. Perhaps the one thing that gives the film’s age away (other than the late 80s hairstyles and costumes) is how interested the characters are in connecting to each other, in making a difference and affecting other people’s perceptions. Whether their agendas are strictly narcissistic or actually noble depends on the eye of the beholder.
The film marked Stillman’s debut, and it also introduced audiences to several actors including Chris Eigeman, who as the Mr. Darcy-esque Nick Smith proved to be the ultimate snob. The actor followed his work in the film with appearances in two more Stillman projects, not to mention films by Noah Baumbach and a recurring role in the beloved series Gilmore Girls. I had the chance to talk to Mr. Eigeman about the making of Metropolitan and also discussed his own directorial work, and the raison d'être behind his hilarious tweets.
JOSE: Can you believe it’s been twenty five years since Metropolitan premiered?
CHRIS EIGEMAN: Oddly I’m not surprised, because the film was shown at Sundance for its twentieth anniversary, so I had this anniversary in sight.
Read more after the jump...
JOSE: Do you remember anything in particular about the first day of shooting or the last one?
CHRIS EIGEMAN: No, and that's when I began to feel my age. I honestly don’t remember anything at all about those days. I was not originally hired to be in the movie, somebody else had that part, so then I think they’d been shooting it for a while and I got a call, it was all hurried, so I don’t remember more than that.
I had no idea that you weren’t originally in Metropolitan but I know that you weren’t supposed to be in The Last Days of Disco and ended up appearing in it anyway. Are there any other parts you auditioned for and didn’t get, that people would be surprised to discover you were in contention for?
Yes, lots, but I wouldn’t name them.
With the benefit of a quarter century behind you, would you say you knew you were in something special from the get-go?
Oh no, I think that when we were making it we thought it would be a small miracle if it ended up being released. I don’t believe anyone had any real thoughts of this movie being released as widely as it was, and that it would get as much attention as it did, or to go to Cannes for that matter. I think we would’ve been happy if there’d been a screening somewhere and everybody’s families could come.
You did Barcelona immediately after this and in both you play privileged, opininated young men. Do you think this gave people the impression these were the only parts you’d get to play?
Yeah, but I think that always happens. If you’re doing something and you do it kinda well, they will always associate it with you, and I’m fine with that. I could be cranky about it, but I’m not.
Whit Stillman’s films could be dismissed by some for being about “white people problems”, but they are so well written, insightful and funny, that I think they are more similar to Jean Renoir’s dissections of society, and of course Jane Austen who he pays homage to in Metropolitan. So I was wondering if he gave the actors assignments; to read and watch things that inspired him?
He may have with others, he didn’t with me. For me it’s always trying to figure out if there’s a joke, or how to set the joke up, that came easy to me with Whit’s writing. The social world stuff, I don’t think any of the people in the movie came from that world, I certainly didn’t, I came from Denver and didn’t even know those kinds of parties existed. But the writing makes this world so real.
You went on to direct your own films, and even though the world in Turn the River couldn’t be more removed from Stillman’s films if it tried, they’re all about characters who are misunderstood and who fail to see why.
I think that’s a very fair point, I think that’s right. Whit does that, he very astutely views his characters and never passes judgment on them. I think in my film there was also a sense of watching the world.
From a technical aspect, did you ask Whit for tips on how to direct?
No, Whit and I don’t see each other that often. I certainly was paying attention to what he was doing, 85% of the time on set was me waiting, so I’d see what people did with the camera. I don’t think Whit and I have ever spoken about technical stuff.
Chris Eigeman in 'Gilmore Girls'
Your career has been marked by collaborations, after two Stillman films you did three in a row with Noah Baumbach, and then you went back to working with Whit. You’ve also collaborated in two shows with the Palladinos, can you talk about your idea of perfect collaborators and what you seek in them?
Whit, Amy Sherman Palladino and Noah Baumbach were all fantastic to work with, the three were enjoyable experiences in completely different ways. All three of those filmmakers approach their work in different ways, I think there is something to be said about working with the same people all the time and it’s that things get easier, so you start having more fun.
The first time I saw your work was in Gilmore Girls and as I started watching Whit’s films, I couldn’t help but notice references to his work in the character you played. Given that Gilmore Girls is one of the most referential shows ever made, were these jokes intentional?
Yeah, I think that as a writer and as an actor, I widely appreciate well written scripts, they make our job as an actor so much easier, so that’s always important to emulate.
One of my favorite things on Twitter was when you suggested a food picture was emulating a Gaspar Noé poster…
Yeah, asparagus and Béarnaise sauce...I guess that’s it, I’m glad you liked it (laughs). I guess it was really appealing because it’s only a very small subset of folks who are gonna get those jokes. I’m glad it landed with somebody, I found it really amusing.
I’m mentioning this because you seem to be using Twitter to fine-tune all these great jokes, which made me wonder if you’re preparing some longer format collection of these? The Chris Eigemean Joke Book perhaps?
No, I’m not. I also appreciate you thinking that I could or would. Twitter’s a perfect medium for having one succinct funny thought and getting it out there, the problem for me is that struturally I tend to be more of a counter puncher than a puncher. I can’t do straight up jokes, I tend to drive attention to things that came before and that doesn’t play very well on Twitter because you just end up being an asshole.
Are you writing anything else or working on any new movies?
I have a film that I might get to direct in the fall, and hopefully that’ll come together. I’ve mostly been writing.
So much has changed about the way people watch movies since Metropolitan came out, now people can watch it on their phones. I hope many people will get to see it on the big screen for the first time!
I hope so!
Do you have any words for them? Anything they might miss if they watch it on a tiny screen?
I don’t know, I’ve yet to watch a film on my phone, I’ve yet to cross that nasty bridge. Truly I haven’t seen this movie on the big screen in 25 years, in fact I know I haven’t, because the last time I saw it was at Cannes. Watching a movie that I’m in can be a very uncomfortable experience, I don’t do it often. People might perceive the film as Margaret Mead-esque found footage of this long lost tribe that existed a long, long time ago. I assume that world still exists, but it’ll be interesting to see if it’s viewed as an artifact or as continuously breathing, living thing. I hope it’s the latter.
Metropolitan is now playing in select theaters.