Edward Burns has a lot of confidence that his new movie will entertain the hell out of audiences.
Burns, who was in town recently screening Confidence at the Phoenix Film Festival, alternates between writing and directing his own movies [The Brothers McMullen, She's the One] and acting in other directors' movies [Saving Private Ryan, Life or Something Like it].
For Confidence [directed by James Foley] Burns is on board as an actor only, but declares that making the movie was his most enjoyable professional experience to date and is thrilled by how good it is.
"[The movie] has a great script, terrific dialogue, and you can't beat this cast. The filmmaking was 35 days of laughter, and sometimes you think, 'oh, we're having such a good time, maybe we are not making a good movie.' But this movie exceeded our expectations," Burns says.
In Confidence [due in theaters Friday] Burns plays Jake Vig, a conman who accidentally rips off The King, an L.A. crimelord [juicily played by Dustin Hoffman]. Jake goes to The King and admits that he stole his money, but instead of paying him back he proposes a deal. Using The King's muscle and resources, Jake will perpetrate a gigantic con that will earn them both a lot of money.
Of course the plot is just an excuse for an elaborate series of double-and-triple-crosses pulled off by an eccentric bunch of characters, including a tweedy FBI agent played by Andy Garcia and a sultry beauty played by Rachel Weisz.
Burns says his instincts and background as a writer immediately drew him to Doug Jones' screenplay for Confidence.
"I read 200 screenplays a year. Very rarely do you get one that, the first time through, you fall in love with. Even as convoluted and as complicated as the script was, it was very cool. And you had such interesting characters, that what was more interesting [even then the con plot] was the dynamic between these men and this woman, and how those relationships evolved and changed."
Edgy, character driven dramas like Confidence are something of a specialty for director Foley, who also made At Close Range [1986], with Christopher Walken and Sean Penn, and Glengarry Glenn Ross [1992], the famous adaptation of David Mamet's Pulitzer Prize-winning play which featured an all-star cast that included Al Pacino, Jack Lemmon and Kevin Spacey.
Burns' admiration for Foley's work was one of the reasons he wanted to work with the director, and he notes that there are many "parallels in tone" between Confidence and the high-energy, foul-mouthed Glengarry Glen Ross.
"If you think about Foley's work in 'Glengarry' you have another all-male ensemble, dialogue-heavy screenplay [similar to 'Confidence'.] Seeing what Foley did with 'Glengarry' - turning a stage play into a really cinematic film - we were pretty confident that he was going to do the same with this. But what he did was just amazing, because none of us expected the film to look or be so good," Burns says.
Burns enjoyed working with the talented ensemble cast, but he was particularly thrilled to share scenes with Hoffman.
"When I was in film school [Hoffman's films] 'Midnight Cowboy' and 'The Graduate' were two of those films that made me want to become a filmmaker. So not only was I a fan of his, but he was in some of the films that really inspired me, so he was kind of a hero in a way. When you get to meet anyone like that, it's a thrill. During rehearsals, watching Dustin create his character - if you're a movie fan and you get to watch him do that, it's pretty awesome," Burns says.
Burns, lean and muscular in this movie, has a real movie star quality about him. Indeed, he has a classic leading man toughness/vulnerability somewhat reminiscent of some classic stars like Steve McQueen or William Holden.
"Doug Jones' screenplay called for that type of performance; I never get offered those kinds of parts. My guys are sort of the working class guys with the heart of gold, and very rarely do I get to play the more traditional Hollywood leading man, the charming tough guy. But I have to give the credit to Foley for casting me," Burns says.
After Confidence, Burns will appear in director Peter Hyam's Sound of Thunder, based on a story by Ray Bradbury and also starring Ben Kingsley. Burns says that appearing in big productions like Sound of Thunder, aside from being fun, allow him a chance to get his own films made.
"Juggling a Hollywood career is difficult in that you have to do the big action movie to get your personal, smaller movie made," Burns says.
But for now Burns is looking forward to the release of his new movie with a lot of confidence.
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Reach the reporter at michael.b.green@asu.edu.
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