BeatBoxBetty Interviews Steve Martin about his new movie, Novocaine!

Betty: First off, I have to say - you kicked ass at last year's Oscars. Any plans to host it again? Please?
Steve: Thanks. I don't think so this year. It was fun to do and hard to do and exhausting. When you're out there, you're looking at a bunch of friends.

Betty: Is Russell Crowe your friend?
Steve: I don't think he's a humorless guy. I think he was just surprised that he was mentioned. Maybe he wasn't even paying attention and then heard his name. I haven't met him but people say he's a very nice guy and he has an Australian sense of humor.

Betty: In Novocaine, you get to play a dentist, again. Did your "Little Shop of Horrors" research help with this film?
Steve: Okay... first me and dentists, I've only played two. One was in "Little Shop" who I realize gets killed. Then this one, who's a pretty straight guy - a regular character who actually kills others. So, it's a full circle! I just had my experience from "Little Shop" which I completely forgot so I had to go to a dentist and sit around all day and play with people's teeth.

Betty: That's nasty. How do you feel about dentists in real life?
Steve: I don't hate them. I don't like them or hate them. It's just something I do every six months or three times a year, something like that.

Laura Dern & Steve Martin
Photo courtesy of Artisan Ent.

Betty: What appealed to you about this character?
Steve: Well, first I liked the movie because it was the kind that you don't know what's going to happen next. You read the script and you don't know what's gonna happen, unlike many scripts I read. I enjoy the genre of psychological thriller, with its twists and turns. It's kind of like "Spanish Prisoner." I had just done [that movie] and thought, "This has the same feel." I really like that, and it's a bigger role.

Betty: Were the love scenes difficult?
Steve: Oh no. First of all, Helena Bonham Carter's a giggler and Laura Dern's funny and bright and witty. So whoever I was in bed with, it was a delight. You know, these scenes are shot with 15 people staring at you - so it can only be funny, rather than hot.

Betty: Are you writing anything?
Steve: Yeah, I've just written a screenplay for "Shop Girl," my novella. And I've adapted a play that will be done in New York in March called "The Underpants."

Betty: Interesting title - what's that about?
Steve: "The Underpants" is a play that was written by Carl Sternheim in Germany in 1911. It's the story of a woman whose underpants fall down in public and how it changes her life. So, I adapted it for modern times.

Steve hit it big in '77 with the comedy album - Let's Get Small

Betty: We've watched you from this "Wild and Crazy Guy" with an arrow in his head to a true thespian in "L.A. Story." I'm wondering, as you get older, has your sense of humor changed?
Steve: I would say that as you get older, your sense of humor becomes less vicious, at least in my case. Edgy humor is better left to younger people who can afford to be less sensitive. As you get older, you know people who died, you know people who got diseases, you've had things yourself, you know what pain is and so you tend to identify with your victim a little more. You can still be edgy, it's just not as vicious.

Betty: Do you think of the scripts you read as an actor or a writer?
Steve: You read a screenplay like an actor. You think, "Can I say this?" The first time, you just read it to see what it's about and then if you're interested, you read it several more times to see what you've missed. Sometimes you miss action, you didn't quite catch what was going on, you start reading all the descriptions rather than just your own lines.

Betty: Do you consider this film a comedy?
Steve: I never considered the film a comedy, although now that I've seen it with people, I realize it gets laughs. No one's acting funny. It's really the style of the movie that brings about the humor, and that's the director's [David Atkins] gift to the film. It's really a kind of very dark, scary movie.

Betty: Is anything in your career really special to you?
Steve: You know, I'm always looking forward. So, in the last 10 years I would say the play I wrote, "Picasso at the Lapine Agile," my book "Shop Girl" and the things I'm working on now. It's hard to look back 10, 15 years or 25 years and go and say, "That was the most special" because life is so present. I don't really live in the past.

Steve with co-star Helena Bonham Carter in Novocaine
Photo - Artisan Entertainment

Betty: What invigorates you about writing and acting?
Steve: Writing and acting are complete opposites. One is very physical. It's done in public, and it's done on the road and in different towns. Writing is mostly interior. It's quiet and solitary and it's essentially intellectual. Performing is essentially emotional, or acting. Of course, they bleed into each other because writing is certainly an emotional experience. It's just a different portrayal. If you're writing something, you can break down a gesture into five paragraphs if you want. When you're acting it you just do it.

Betty: Do you prefer one?
Steve: No. Both are rewarding, but writing is much more personal, so I'd have to say my heart leans towards that.

Betty: Hey, aren't you hosting something for NPR?
Steve: Yes, a comedy series. I'm sort of the narrator of a little half hour show about comedians of the 20th century. It was fun, because most of the series was built of audio clips and bits from a lot of comedians. I'm anxious to hear it because when I did it, I didn't get to hear the clips.

Betty: Wow, you've been a writer, an actor and now, a comedic historian. What goals are possibly left for you to go after?
Steve: I don't think of life in terms of goals. I think of what I'm motivated to do next. As long as something keeps appearing, which it always has, that's what keeps me vital. Sometimes I might think about something for 10 years and then suddenly it becomes the time to do it.

Betty: Well I'm glad you didn't wait 10 years to talk with me! Thanks again for chit-chatting and we'll see you at the movies in "Novocaine."

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