William Friedkin and Surprise Guests Discuss 'To Live And Die In LA' (reported by Ben Kenber)

Director William Friedkin declared “To Live And Die In LA” to be one of his personal favorites of his career when he dropped by the Aero Theatre in Santa Monica. The film was being shown as part of American Cinematheque’s tribute to him, and it played as a double feature with “The French Connection.” But while Friedkin was scheduled to be there, he brought along two of the movie’s stars as surprise guests: William Petersen who played Secret Service Agent Richard Chance, and Darlanne Fluegel who portrayed his “girlfriend” and informant Ruth Lanier.

With “To Live And Die In LA, “ Friedkin worked with casting director Bob Weiner who also worked on “The French Connection.” With this film, the director didn’t want any stars and could only consider no-name actors. That was due to the budget being only $6 million. In a sense though, casting unknown actors was a plus for the film as the characters they play walk a thin line between good and evil, and having recognizable stars might affect how that came across.

Known today for “CSI,” it was a shock to realize that this was actually William Petersen’s first movie. Bob Weiner discovered him when he was playing the lead in a Canadian production of “A Streetcar Named Desire.” Petersen said he hadn’t done any movies nor did he have an agent at the time. All he knew about William Friedkin was the films he directed, and they met up in New York to do a scene together. But Petersen didn’t ever get around to finishing when Friedkin interrupted to say:

“That’s good enough for me. You got the part!”

From there, Petersen said he didn’t know what to do. Excited as he was for the opportunity, he was already scheduled to be in another play soon and wasn’t sure how to go about negotiating with Friedkin or the studio. It didn’t even occur to him that he would be making $400 a week! So he ended up talking with John Malkovich who knew him from Steppenwolf, to get advice on what to do. Later, Petersen went back to Friedkin saying he wouldn’t be able to play Richard Chance due to his prior theatrical commitment. To this, Friedkin told him:

“No problem. We’ll wait for you.”

Now how cool is that?! Seriously, how many other directors let alone movie studios would wait on an actor who is not even an established name yet? Considering the sheer charisma William Petersen exudes onscreen just from one look, it makes perfect sense why Friedkin waited on him before the start of filming.

Although he was used to doing theater more than film, Petersen found making “To Live And Die In LA” a “freeing, fun experience” and thought all movies he would be just like it. This of course got a good dose of laughter from the audience as we know they are not. Despite the long hours on set, Petersen was never tired at day’s end.

In researching his role, Petersen worked with Gerald Petievich, the former Secret Service Agent who wrote the book the movie is based on, and with criminals including actual counterfeiters. This led Friedkin to tell the audience that Gerald ended up getting a counterfeiter paroled from jail just so he could create the fake money they needed. Friedkin even admitted that he passed so many fake bills that he concluded the government’s money was worthless and only paper. Some kids of the special effects supervisor were not as lucky; they ended up taking some of the fake money to buy candy, and a Treasury Agent got called on them in ten minutes flat.

Darlene said she was shocked about getting a part in “To Live And Die In LA,” and she created one of the film’s most unforgettable characters. She found working with William Petersen to be “so easy,” and they both agreed that there never was moment between them that didn’t feel real. We always here these stories how actors don’t like doing sex scenes and how awkward they can get, but Darlene said they were actually easy to do. She also made it clear that neither of them actually had sex onscreen even though it certainly looked like they did. When they worked together, everything always flowed perfectly.

But one great behind the scenes story William Petersen told was when they were at the airport and Chance was chasing down John Turturro’s character. This had Petersen jumping on top of the moving walkway while in pursuit, but in rehearsing it, security came over and told him and Friedkin that it was against safety regulations and didn’t want him to do that again. Petersen however was insistent that it was easier for him to jump on top and that it worked better for the scene. So when security was out of hearing range, Friedkin told Petersen to jump on top anyway when he said action, and that after he said cut, Friedkin would yell at him not do it again, making it look like he didn’t forget what security said previously. Once again, Friedkin does movies his way regardless of the warnings of others!

Like several of William Friedkin’s movies after his heyday with “The French Connection” and “The Exorcist,” “To Live And Die In LA” was not a big hit when first released. It was only after its release on video and DVD that it gained a cult following that has gotten bigger and bigger over time. Seeing it on the big screen was a blast, and it deserves to be ranked alongside the best movies of Friedkin’s career. Besides, this is much more preferable to watching him pick his feet in Poughkeepsie.