— Chris Bradley, WXYZ7TV

— Joel Siegel, Good Morning America

/

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>

down the toilet. And then I went
to my fall-back career of being
an independent filmmaker and
being a waiter."
During those days, Russell
lived in a tiny studio apartment
in New York, where he was a
waiter at many celebrity wed-
dings, including those of Alan
Alda's daughter and Caroline
Kennedy. But it wasn't until
two weeks ago at the film's New
York premiere that Russell di-
vulged that story to Alda.
In Flirting, Alda, along with
Lily Tomlin, play the Schlict-
ings, Mel Coplin's biologi-
cal parents — two very hip
Bohemian artists living in
the desert in New Mexico.
By telling the story to
Alda, Russell was con-
cerned that Alda would look
differently upon him.
"I wouldn't look at you
differently," said Alda.
"Now go get me a beer."
Then, when Russell told
George Segal that he grew
up around the corner from
Segal's niece Jeannie, Rus-
sell said, "I could see it in
his eyes that, like sudden-
ly, I went from being this
authoritative 37-year-old
director to his 11-year-old
niece's friend in 1972, and
I thought, 'Oh, what a mis-
take.'
Tea Leoni and Ben Stiller are taunted by
"There was a part of me
deep-rooted sexual passion in Flirting With
like, 'Yeh, I'm directing
Disaster.
George Segal — I'm di-
"I think they feel prickly recting Jeannie Segal's uncle,"
about it," Russell says about his Russell admits. "There was a
parents' response to the current great feeling of vindication, be-
film's release. "They wish I'd cause in the '80s, I was kind of
make Bull Durham or some- doing the opposite of what
thing — 'Why can't you just everybody else was doing —
make a simple baseball movie where Reagan was getting
elected and re-elected, and I
and leave us alone?"
Russell's parents did not at- was doing this '60s thing — or-
tend the L.A. premiere but will ganizing people to improve
see the film when it opens in their communities, which was
Boca Raton, Fla., where they not what was being valued at
currently live. When Russell that time — and all my friends
was growing up, his parents were climbing up the corporate
had mixed feelings about sup- ladder, making 10 times what
I was making.
porting him as a writer.
"And as you're following your
"They kind of talked out of
both sides of their mouths — I dream — I needed to do that be-
think they were a little divided cause that's just who I am —
about it themselves. They re- you also kind of get this sinking
spected my ambitions, but they feeling like 'Oh man, I hope this
also felt terrified that it wouldn't works out; I don't want to be 50
work out, which I think is nat- years old and still living in this
studio apartment and waiting
ural, probably," he says.
"Especially when I started to on tables.'
"So it's extremely vindicating
become a political organizer,
they just thought that it was an when you realize that you have
unmitigated disaster — that these stars in your house and
four years of an Amherst edu- they're really responding to your
cation would have been flushed material."

appear in many of author Philip
Roth's books, including Port-
noy's Complaint and Goodbye
Columbus (which Roth dedi-
cated to his mother and father).
"Philip Roth was great for me,
because he gave me permission
to write about my family," quips
Russell. "I heard when (Port-
noy's Complaint) came out, and
other books came out, (Roth's)
mother took out an ad in the pa-
per saying, This has no relation
to me, or anybody in my family,'
and I felt like, 'Yeah, OK, so if
he can do it, I can do it.'

❑

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