The Michigan Daily - Thursday, November 11, 1999 - 17 A don relaxes witnew The Aijeiown Morsing Call TurE"6n the TV news and you might a see he. along the barricades. At 53, s Susan~Sarandon is still a cause celeb. She as in front of the microphones l menkh at a rally to protest New York M orudolph Giuliani's attacks on the Broo Museum of Art for the contro- versia hibit, "Sensation." Federa Judge Nina Gershon, in issu- ing a emporary injunction Monday against -iuliani's cutting off of city fundir for the museum, said that the n mayors action violated the First Amendent. Giuliani said he will appeal y Sav sarandon, "I think it's terrifying th .overnment can tell you what c tsee and what you can't see. The g premieof censorship - the whole idea of thi paternalistic 'We'll protect you i from rself' thing - is y very dange ii. Free speech is what this FA countiyas based on." Sar on certainly has exercised her igh otre speech. In March, she was 4 f arrest dor disorderly conduct during a protes ;ver the unarmed shooting of r an immigrant Amadou Diallo by S oir New York policemen. In 1993, she d and long-time partner Tim Robbins used podium time as Academy Award presen- ters to speak on behalf of Haitian a refugees. _ :it "Living with myself- if I hadn't said v something, if I hadn't taken those 28 p seconds - would have been much Courtesy of Twentieth Century Fox I worse,' says Sarandon of the Oscar out- Susan Sarandon and Natalie Portman star in Wayne Wang's "Anywhere But Here." burst for which she and Robbins were s taken to task. career. And that is a funny balance. But and then husband Chris, recent gradu- s I'm somebody who's media-con- I didn't start off needing my career. ates of Catholic University in nected and I can give a voice to people "I never studied acting. So it goes to Washington, D.C., were working on e don't have a voice," she says. show you how difficult acting really is," scenes together. Sarandon, who became Friday, Sarandon returns to the big she says with a laugh. a Ford model, was in New York for only screen as star of "Anywhere But Here," Her daughter Eva is studying acting. a week when she auditioned for the low- directed by Wayne Wang ("The Joy And, when Eva was asked to work on a budget "Joe" (1970) and landed the role R Luck Club"). She plays an overly pro- scene in high school drama class, of the daughter of a bigot (Peter Boyle). i tective single-parent/school teacher who Sarandon recounts: "She was assigned The film was a sleeper hit and v moves-to Los Angeles so her daughter my monologue in 'Bull Durham.' She Sarandon's career was on its way. t (Natalie Portman, Queen Amidala in said she couldn't do it. 'It's my moth- Five years later, Sarandon played " .Wr Wars: Episode I The Phantom er's.' I thought that was pretty funny." Janet Weiss in 75's cult hit, the horror- p ace")can attend Beverly Hills High Sarandon stumbled into acting. She film spoof "The Rocky Horror Picture d School and break into acting. Over the course of55 films, Sarandon has balanced family, career and causes, yet maintains a healthy sense of humor about herself. "I've managed to have a life and a Jay. film Anywhere but Here' Show." It was another five years and nother splash for Sarandon, courtesy of ome well-placed lemon juice, i Louis Malle's "Atlantic City," opposite Burt Lancaster, that yielded her first Academy Award nomination. Sarandon garnered additional raves for the lesbian-themed "The Hunger," opposite Catherine Deneuve, and for the 'arcical romp, "Witches of Eastwick," opposite Jack Nicholson, Michelle Pfeiffer and Cher, and another Oscar omination for"Bull Durham,"opposite Kevin Costner. Her romance with Robbins, who played the ungainly oung pitcher "Nuke" LaLoosh in the ilm, began then. Her role opposite Geena Davis in the irls-on-the-run-with-guns themed "Thelma & Louise" burnished her mage as a feminist icon and brought another Oscar nomination, as did Lorenzo's Oil" and "The Client," the atter based on John Grisham's best sell- er. Robbins directed Sarandon's Academy Award-winning portrayal of eal-life anti-death penalty advocate Sister Helen Prejean and counselor of a death-row inmate (Sean Penn) in "Dead Man Walking" "The great thing about acting is it's lways shaking you up and putting you n someone else's moccasins, and kind f forcing you into this position of com- assion even when you're lazy about it. t's so educational." Sarandon is pleased to have portrayed o many independent-thinking, spirited, trong women. Growing up, there weren't many women actors she emulat- d. "Certainly, Katharine Hepburn and Bette Davis had careers that everyone would like now. They were making dif- erent kinds of movies before we got into the '50s and the women had to be a ictim and vulnerable. But I don't know hat I'd want their private lives. In "Anywhere But Here," Sarandon lays Adele August, a blousy mom who rives a vintage gold Mercedes, wears cat-framed sunglasscs, flashy tops and capri pants and is unlucky in love. Call it "Louise & Louise's Daughter." Sarandon says the film is more than all that. "It's so important to have somebody who at their core was healthy, because I didn't want to beat up on somebody on screen for two hours. I wouldn't have wanted to see that. This mother, for all her eccentricities, has managed to turn out OK. "The other problem was: How do you get her centered without making her less fun? I hate movies when you're asked to root for somebody who becomes normal and boring. 'Cure them of their eccentricities' is just such a horrible premise to have for a film." Sarandon says she didn't have a prob- lem with a man directing a women's- themed film. "I've worked with women I haven't liked and (who) have not been as generous to other women (as Wang). He (Wang) loves women. "Some people read this script and said, 'Why do you want to do this? She's an obnoxious, ugly, politically incorrect boor and nothing happens: Wayne (Wang) didn't think that. Wayne got it." Sarandon says one of the attractions of"Anywhere But Here" for her was the opportunity to put on some "paint." "That was really fun because I hadn't been in makeup for so long. I hadn't had a part that was frilly clothes and makeup in many moons." Another reason she agreed to star in "Anywhere But Here," Sarandon says, was because the filmmakers agreed'to wait for her until she finished a small role in the Robbins-directed "Cradle Will Rock" and promised that they'd complete shooting before the start of her children's school year I 1 AM biology lab 2 PM kickboxing class 9 PM movie with Jeff Fashions that make the moment. Prices that make the grade. ,s f.o r, J a F London...........$341 Paris.............$416 Los Angeles...$269 Amsterdam....$416 (734)6664650 :103S. Unavwrut% Suit. 1 (734) 769.2555 Alt fa'es ae'. i' im.'Tanoiadudad. Some resi ons apply. TRAVEL Wev Been There. BMairshal u s Brand names for less. Every dir. Every day Marshalls has a huge selection of the latest brand name fashions for you and even cool stuff for your dorm room. All for much less. So you can look your best without spending a fortune. 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