Behind the scenes on the new O'Toole thriller

(17 Apr 2001) 1. CU CLAPPER BOARD 2. VS BTS 3. SOT ADRIAN LESTER (ACTOR) "It's the story about two game show hosts that don't like each other at all. But the story starts to twist when Stitch begins to dig when he becomes interested in why they don't like each other, and he becomes imbroiled in the story. Then it starts to spin 'cause he unearths all this information. And this scene is when they meet, you see them meet on the screen, I think it is for the first time and you see the world that they're in, and all smiles while they are stabbing each other in the back and we see that all is definitely not what it seems and there is something going on here and there is something very wrong. 4. MS PETER O'TOOLE 5. SOT PETER O'TOOLE (ACTOR) "What appealed to me about it was literally its originality, it is most unusual, try and place it any of your categories and it will be difficult. Beautifully drawn characters in extraordinary situations and I am so old fashioned I hate to give away the story and to talk about character which is very popular these days, amongst young actors, if I do it, it all turns into vapors and disappears. It's, what can I say, it's original, it has a cutting edge wildly funny and yet deeply disturbing. 6. VS BTS 7. SOT ADRIAN GILLEN (ACTOR) "I would have held J.J. in higher regard in my younger years, he's like an old school entertainer type, my character is much more arrogant and brash, and not playing by those showbiz rules. But as the years go on and my fame and riches increase I grow to hate him, also as he is the number one in the ratings and I am the number two. 8. MS PETER O'TOOLE, ADRIAN GILLEN AND PAT HARKINS, DIRECTOR 9. SOT PAT HARKINS, DIRECTOR "We had talked to several actors because we wanted Peter initially but then he was unavailable, and we went down the road speaking to some other actors. A lot of people wanted to change it to make J.J. a more sympathetic character but obviously the heart of the story for us is this monster who is a damaged person, so you know, certain violent occurrences have to happen in the film, and it has to be about the character, rather then about the actors who are playing them. 9. SOT PETER O'TOOLE "With all good scripts, plays, screen plays, the extraordinary alchemy of you look at the ink on the page, the ink goes into the eye, into the mind, and then comes out the mouth, I found with all fine works, they live on the page, for an actor for an actor's sensibilities and they certainly don't. 10. VS BTS THE DARK HEART OF LIGHT ENTERTAINMENT Behind the cheesy grins of game show hosts are monstrous, twisted egos willing to do anything to maintain their ratings. It is this portrayal of the dark world of naked ambition and power games in THE FINAL CURTAIN that attracted the interest of virtuoso British actor, PETER O'TOOLE. The producers of the film were able to convince O'Toole to come on board after he saw the script by the talented John Hodges, who penned some of the most hip movies of recent years, including "The Beach", "Trainspotting" and "Shallow Grave." The former hell raiser has made more films than his 69 years but still can turn on and produce award winning roles, as demonstrated by his Emmy for the TV film "Joan of Arc," in 1999. In "THE FINAL CURTAIN" O'Toole plays an aging showbiz veteran defending his territory against a young upstart played by AIDEN GILLEN, who sprung to fame in a daring British TV drama about gay life in Manchester, "Queer as Folk." Find out more about AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/HowWeWork Twitter:   / ap_archive   Facebook:   / aparchives   ​​ Instagram:   / apnews   You can license this story through AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/metadata/you...