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The Kiss scene was attempted three times. The first was in a peculiar spot of the fort on the ground level. It felt forced to me, and I knew right away that, in spite of what others were saying, it was dead wrong.
Madeleine Stowe -
Michael was very specific during rehearsals. When he was pleased, he always had this charming grin.
Madeleine Stowe
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Part of Michael's uniqueness, I think, comes from the fact that he worked with music. He had a tape which he gave me with many different compositions, really eclectic. These pieces of music were sources of inspiration.
Madeleine Stowe -
For the first two weeks of filming, I remember bristling at some of the occurrences on the set, none of which directly involved me. Then I surrendered to the environment, to Michael's method, and became much happier, even though no one knew what to expect.
Madeleine Stowe -
We were all so different, temperamentally from one another, it's impossible to believe that we were together for so long. The cast and crew. How could we be more different from one another? It's difficult to imagine. But something lovely came of it.
Madeleine Stowe -
I'm reticent to say much more, but we would like to begin in the coming year. We'd like to shoot through the seasons because of the passage of time. This project is the great love of my life.
Madeleine Stowe -
Daniel was a wonderful and trustworthy partner. And a fine prankster as well.
Madeleine Stowe -
Working on the accent helped, enormously. I will tell you that when I brought Michael a correct 'British' accent, one that my dialect coach was happy with, he hated it.
Madeleine Stowe
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Saving Milly was a break from this effort because I felt that it was time to be part of something that could shed light on a disease everyone feels they know, when most know so little.
Madeleine Stowe -
I remember feeling that Michael was extremely sensitive when it came to that moment. Most directors are and they usually rely, at least in my experience, on the actress to take over. And Michael is a gentleman.
Madeleine Stowe -
There came a point in time when Michael was under a great deal of pressure to alter the film in a way that was just disturbing to him. I had not seen the movie, yet. He phoned me in July of '92 to look at his version.
Madeleine Stowe -
We began talking about the characters and he opened up about his vision. He's extremely thoughtful and sees grand issues both social and political in an interesting way. Quite honestly, I wasn't certain how some of his ideas were applicable to the screenplay, but he was heartfelt and adamant about them. And I remember completely going with it.
Madeleine Stowe -
He also didn't like a lock of my hair and said that he couldn't get into the moment without the hair being just right. I quietly knew that he was anxious and that the hairdo wasn't the real issue. But we all let it go and came back to the scene sometime later.
Madeleine Stowe -
I genuinely liked all of the cast members very much. Steve had a wicked sense of humor. I remember Russell coming to my rescue, once. I watched Eric evolve before everyone's eyes. Maurice loved what he did, so. He treated his character with respect, down to the costuming.
Madeleine Stowe
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The scene was attempted a second time, up on top of the fort, and cameras didn't even roll. Michael, though he wasn't admitting it, wasn't sure how to shoot the scene.
Madeleine Stowe -
It was treacherous. I think someone was injured. But I did love being there, we all did.
Madeleine Stowe -
Yes, the marriage proposal was shot. Michael excluded the dialogue from the final edit.
Madeleine Stowe -
I've never returned to the locations. I do remember certain days more clearly than others and certain locations with a sense of nostalgia. Perhaps one day, I'll bring my daughter to see them, if she's interested.
Madeleine Stowe -
The weather was turning cold and I remember that Dante was using nothing but natural light as his electric department was away, prepping the scene in the cave. We stayed on that rock for the whole day.
Madeleine Stowe -
There were mornings in the make-up trailer where I'd have fits of laughter because of the extraordinary daily events of the shoot. Sometimes, it was all too much to believe. But the wildest things happened.
Madeleine Stowe
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I love the life of an actor because you spend brief amounts of time with other people and then you just leave. I need to be alone a lot, and I need the outdoors.
Madeleine Stowe -
I phoned Joe Roth, who was head of the studio at the time, and told him how beautiful the film was, and that I was fully ready to support it, that Michael's work was wonderful and I imagined that Daniel would feel the same. He listened quietly and read between the lines.
Madeleine Stowe -
After you have a kid you're just so happy to be alive!
Madeleine Stowe -
As we were leaving the Huron camp, it was awkward filming. I think that the Huron watching us was there to create tension - maybe we wouldn't get out. Nothing complicated.
Madeleine Stowe