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He started shooting video as a kid on his fathers California ranch, making 16-mm.
remakes and parodies of his favorite movies with his late brother Wesley.
Kilmers guilelessness in recounting his life so directly, without interruption, is disarming and perhaps a bit obfuscatory.
(Was Kilmer, for example, as Joel Schumacher put it, psychotic on the set ofBatman?
Or was Kilmer just losing too much oxygen?)
But objectivity was never the goal.
Though he let me in alittlebit, its clear that hes much happier letting his 16-mms speak for him.
I was the first of my friends to have a camera.
Reading between the lines chronicling the life of an actor.
What was the process like in terms of putting this all together?
Leo is a truly gifted editor and our sensibilities spoke to each other.
My producing partners were always pushing for me to tell my story.
Leo brought on Ting and created the most glorious sizzle reel.
It was as if we worked on it for decades (which in many ways, we had).
Ting has a way of bringing the past and present together in seamless transition.
Leos artful precision, Tings Oscar-winning talents, and my tenacity seem to form the perfect diamond.
So what was the goal for you with this film?
Being present-minded has taken me to places of the extreme, both light and dark.
But things arent always adversarial.
Ive had wonderful collaborations with filmmakers.
But I love film.
The business works a certain way; sometimes I did it well, sometimes I did not.
Ive grown, Ive changed, Ive stayed the same.
Im as excited about a great performance today as I was the day I discovered [Marlon] Brando.
For Jim Morrison, you spent a year living almost entirely as him.
I attack roles like I attack life with purpose.
Twain was a monster to tackle.
Took a full year to workshop it daily.
Do you regret taking any roles?No.
I wonder specifically about Batman, which you have spoken about as a restrictive rather than transformative experience.
Has your opinion of your performance in that movie changed at all over time?No.
You said you originally didnt want to doTop Gunbecause it was silly and war-mongering.
The reunion felt great.
As far as the films plot goes, Im sworn to secrecy.
Valsort of skates around the last chunk of your career Snowman,Song to Song.
My one-man showCitizen Twainwas simply a rehearsal for the film that Ive been working on producing.
There are projects around this work that I am working on as we speak.
No release date as of yet.
Whats the most surprising piece of footage you found in the process of compilingVal?
Or the most difficult to watch?My little brothers films.
Wesley he was a genius.
Ting and Leos mastery brought her to life.
And anything with Marlon.
How did you determine how vulnerable and honest to get within the context of this documentary?
Its just not that interesting.
This interview has been edited and condensed for clarity.
