Young stars learned about old Hollywood for ‘Rules Don’t Apply’

SHARE Young stars learned about old Hollywood for ‘Rules Don’t Apply’
rules_dont_apply_uwbp_02509fd_rgb.jpg

Lily Collins stars in “Rules Don’t Apply.” | 20th Century Fox

For Lily Collins and Alden Ehrenreich, the opportunity to play the leads in Warren Beatty’s “Rules Don’t Apply” — the first film the Academy Award winner has directed since “Bulworth” in 1998 — took the two young actors on quite the Hollywood journey.

In Chicago recently to promote the film, Collins, 27, explained that making the movie was a total immersion process.

“It was basically about spending a whole lot of time together,” she said. “We would go up to Warren’s house, where he would bring everyone into the same room at the same time: hair and makeup people, the actors, the production designers, the cinematographer and everyone involved in making this movie. It was all about everyone on the team being so immersed in Warren’s world of the 1950s — when he got his start in Hollywood, and when this film is set.

“It was so perfect. By being there, we allowed the 21st Century to disappear quite organically.”

Ehrenreich, who just turned 27, nodded his agreement and added that his involvement with the Beatty project literally dated back years. “I met Warren when I was 19 and I would have, like, a monthly dinner with him for about five years. I really didn’t know I had the role,” said Ehrenreich, referring to this film which Beatty reportedly has been mulling over for a quarter of a century.

“Until you start shooting with Warren, you really ever actually know for sure,” he added with a laugh.

Lily Collins stars in “Rules Don’t Apply.” | 20th Century Fox

Lily Collins stars in “Rules Don’t Apply.” | 20th Century Fox

Having watched other actors come in to audition and read lines for Beatty, Ehrenreich said he continually bugged the Hollywood legend for a chance to do that too, not realizing that Beatty already had settled on the young actor to play the young male lead in the film.

“Finally, one night we went to dinner and I finally convinced him — he was totally reluctant — to let me read a scene. We did it like nine times. When we were done, I thought, ‘Even if I’m not in his movie, I’ll always have this moment, this experience of having run a scene with Warren Beatty.’ ”

The movie follows Ehrenreich’s breakout role earlier this year in the Coen brothers’ “Hail, Caesar!” Ehrenreich also is scheduled to play Han Solo in a 2018 film about the smuggler’s early years.

In “Rules Don’t Apply” (now in theaters), Collins plays a young aspiring actress and Ehrenreich portrays her upwardly aspiring driver, hired by the eccentric billionaire Howard Hughes (Beatty) to chauffeur her and her mother (played by Beatty’s wife, actress Annette Bening) around Los Angeles in the late 1950s. The film, written and directed by Beatty, is the filmmaker’s fictionalized story — inspired by many true details — about the life of the famous mogul.

During the years he owned RKO Pictures, Hughes would put many young actresses under contract at the studio — though many would wait weeks or months without ever meeting Hughes or getting the much-anticipated screen test that might lead to a role in a movie.

In the film, Collins’ Marla and Ehrenreich’s Frank characters fall in love and struggle with the strict sexual mores of the time — further complicated by the two characters’ rigid Baptist and Methodist teachings about no sex before marriage.

When it was noted that a number of well-known actors and actresses are in “Rules Don’t Apply” — playing relatively minor roles — Collins and Ehrenreich pointed out that the chance to work with Beatty was something few could resist.

“Not only did we have Candice Bergen, Martin Sheen, Oliver Platt, Alec Baldwin and Matthew Broderick in the cast, there was never a dull moment behind the scenes as well,” said Collins, best known for “Mirror Mirror” and “The Mortal Instruments: City of Bones.”

“Regardless of who was IN the movie, it was amazing to see Warren’s guests, who would should up and watch the filming. One day we were at the Beverly Hills Hotel and Al Pacino showed up. So did Nicolas Cage, Brett Ratner and — most bizarrely! — John McCain. … Here we were at the Polo Lounge in our 1950s outfits. It couldn’t have been more old Hollywood.”

As for Hughes, Collins admitted she “had no idea about how many hands he had in so many projects and industries. … Whether it was technology, airplanes, airlines, politics, hotels, movie studios — you name it — I had no idea the extent of his reach in this country.”

While much has been said and written about Hughes’ infamous eccentricities — especially during his very reclusive later years — Ehrenreich pointed out that Beatty was intent on showcasing one aspect of the billionaire’s personality he felt has long been overlooked.

“At our very first meeting, Warren told me he thought that Hughes was very funny, and he didn’t think that take on Hughes had been done before. He really thought that much of what we could do was create a comedy about Hughes. Along with all the poignant moments, I think Warren has accomplished that here.”

The Latest
Only two days after an embarrassing loss to lowly Washington, the Bulls put on a defensive clinic against Indiana.
One woman suffered a gunshot wound to the neck. In each incident, the four to five men armed with rifles, handguns and knives, approached victims on the street in Logan Square, Portage Park, Avondale, Hermosa threatened or struck them before taking their belongings, police said.
For as big of a tournament moment as Terrence Shannon Jr. is having, it hasn’t been deemed “madness” because, under the brightest lights, he has been silent.
This year, to continue making history, the Illini will have to get past No. 2-seeded Iowa State.