Accomplished actors, and talented newcomers
The cast of supporting actors is filled out by a number of accomplished actors, some well-known veterans and others talented newcomers.
Alec Baldwin portrays Phil, Drew's boss at Mercury Shoes. In addition to his many starring roles, Baldwin has made a recent career of scene-stealing supporting appearances.
Phil runs Mercury Shoes with a confidence and serenity that has a distinct Zen Buddhist flair - but it's an attitude that may not be completely genuine. “I think Phil has been reading a lot of Eastern stuff. There's this self-conscious Asian, Zen-ed out quality to Phil's marketing and his whole universe,” says Baldwin. “One minute it's Zen Buddhism and the next minute it's Sun-Tzu and The Art of War. For Phil, it's whatever works - whatever gets that stock price up.”
A mega-successful businessman who must make a very difficult decision, Phil and Drew share an almost father-and-son like relationship - until Drew's new shoe design brings complete catastrophe to the company. Phil then very methodically explains that Drew must take the fall and fires him - all in the most serene-yet-straightforward manner. “Phil is one of those guys who's defined by huge success and an ability to be a good leader by bringing all his people into this world around him.
“Everybody thinks they're working for a father figure, but the father figure disappears quickly when he sees you identified with failure,” Baldwin continues. Baldwin had wanted to work with Cameron Crowe for years and considers himself lucky to have the opportunity. As Baldwin puts it, “Cameron is such a wonderful writer - he has such an honest way of writing. He is such a sweet guy - clear, enthusiastic and adventurous and he provides you with that kind of environment where you feel you can try anything.”
“I'm a huge fan of Alec's,” says Crowe. “Watching him is like cinema candy, and you can't get enough. I wasn't sure the part was big enough for him. But he sent me a note after `Almost Famous' and wrote that he was a huge Led Zeppelin fan. There was daylight there.”
Jessica Biel plays Ellen, Drew's girlfriend, who dumps him upon the ruinous debut of the Späsmotica, the sneaker that Drew has spent the last eight years of his life perfecting. The character of Ellen was a difficult task for any actress, as she must do some outwardly callous things but still remain likable. Biel was honored to join the cast of respected actors and can't compliment Crowe's style of direction enough. “He brings things out of you that you never thought were really there; it feels great,” says Biel.
Hard working character actor Bruce McGill is Bill Banyon, a former friend of Mitch Baylor who has a shady past and swindled Mitch out of a large sum of money at one time; as a result, the Baylor family, especially Hollie Baylor, hates him. McGill has worked with some of the industry's most respected directors and Crowe made it clear that he wanted no one else for the part. McGill recalls, “I found it irresistible and I'm so glad to have been in the film. I knew as soon as we started rehearsing that this was an unusual project with a great depth of texture to it.”
Judy Greer is Drew's stressed out sister Heather Baylor, who is forced to witness firsthand their mother's grief and subsequent management of it. Crowe is a huge fan of Greer's and, as filming progressed, he observed that her scenes with Sarandon had a very special quality. “They make a great team - funny and deep,” says the director.
After screening the film “All the Real Girls,” Crowe chose relative newcomer Paul Schneider to portray Drew's cousin, Jessie Baylor. The role is pivotal because, in many ways, Jessie serves as Drew's interpreter and guide while he is in the midst of the Baylor family experience. Jessie is somewhat lost in his life and ends up taking his own journey as the film progresses. The single father to a rambunctious five-year-old named Samson, Jessie has thoughts of reliving the former glory of his high school rock-n-roll band, Ruckus. To give Schneider some background in the Louisville, Kentucky music scene, Cameron sent the actor on the road with local band My Morning Jacket for a week. Having played in college bands, he and the band bonded immediately. He was also required to play drums, an instrument he was already familiar with, and sing the vocals on the seminal Lynyrd Skynyrd tune “Free Bird.”
Cameron Crowe films are renowned for their memorable and talented cast of characters and “Elizabethtown” is no exception. Crowe and his regular casting director Gail Levin assembled one of the most diverse and interesting groups of people to inhabit the world beyond the featured roles. The extended Baylor family includes the Food Network's Paula Deen of “Paula's Home Cooking” as Aunt Dora. “She's a natural,” says Crowe of Deen, who makes her motion picture debut in “Elizabethtown.” “Gail Levin saw her on the Food Network, and was blown away by how personable and real she is on camera. She just makes you feel good. Plus she's unflappable. Watch her with her favorite guest, Jimmy Carter - she's amazing. And of course she's an amazing cook, which is perfect for the movie - when you meet her, she's cooking, and she cooks throughout the movie. She expresses love with the food that she cooks.”
Deen says that her character and her director were both perfect matches for her as she made her motion picture debut. “I'm exactly like Aunt Dora,” she says. “I try to make my house exactly like hers - a warm, friendly place where the smell of home cooking invites you in. When I got the part, I was nervous at first, because I've never acted before - but Cameron created such a positive, safe atmosphere that it was easy just to channel this part of myself and become Aunt Dora.”
Other actors playing Baylor family members include acclaimed singer/songwriter Loudon Wainwright as Uncle Dale and Crowe's own mother, Alice Marie Crowe, as Aunt Lena. It's no surprise that Cameron Crowe tapped several actual musicians for small parts in the film. In addition to Wainwright, the renowned singer-songwriter Patty Griffin is seen as Baylor family friend Sharon and the fictional rock band Ruckus is actually made up of members of My Morning Jacket and musician Charlie Crowe (Cameron's cousin).
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