Doris’s Day

Susan Sarandon has a great eye for projects, including the recent HBO movie Bernard and Doris, in which she played the late, great Doris Duke in an Emmy-nominated performance. The legend --Sarandon, that is -- spoke to us as she geared up for the Emmys on September 21.

By Lawrence Ferber

An Advocate.com exclusive posted September 2, 2008

Nominated for 10 Emmy Awards, Bernard and Doris is the little HBO film that could. The $500,000 production imagines a loving, albeit platonic, six-year relationship between late billionaire Doris Duke (an Emmy-nominated Susan Sarandon) and her gay Irish butler, Bernard Lafferty (Ralph Fiennes, Emmy-nominated for his role as well). We caught up with the always outspoken, politically aware Sarandon, who lives in the Chelsea neighborhood of New York City with partner Tim Robbins.

Are you excited about the Emmy nominations?
All excited! It’s just been something so unforeseen, and the whole spirit in which we undertook the film really was lovely and brave on the part of so many friends who got involved and made such a big difference to make it what it was. For all who took this Kierkegaardian leap of faith and worked for nothing, to have these Emmy nominations come out of nowhere is so sweet, and we’re all so happy. To be able to say at least they got an Emmy nod means a lot to me. My only disappointment is my friend Frankie Diago, who did the sets, didn’t get one. It seemed like a place these people actually lived, and she did a great job with nothing.

You’ve played quite a few real-life people now. Would you like to play Hillary Clinton in the movie of her life?
No. I’ve been around her and don’t find her… At this point, to say after what’s happened to her campaign and how they squandered all that money and all the different reasons her campaign fell apart, to blame it on sexism, I find so destructive to every young girl who dreams about making a difference through government. Instead of saying, "Look how far I’ve gotten and you can do it too," and all the positive things she could have done, she’s turned into such a blamer and whiner, as if that was the reason, when clearly she wouldn’t have been in the position she was in if she hadn’t been a woman. If she hadn’t been married to that man and hadn’t had the Democratic machine behind her. To now turn around and say it was sexism I find so dishonorable and really destructive to women all over, young women all over. So I don’t really respect her enough to want to play her, and I find it sad and disappointing.

Can Obama actually win?
Why wouldn’t he be able to win?

Story continues on next page...

Page: 1 | 2 | 3

Ferber’s writing has appeared in Entertainment Weekly, New York, and Time Out New York.

Reader Comments

These comments are reproduced as written by visitors to this Web site. They have not been edited for content, grammar, or spelling. The viewpoints appearing here are those of the writer, and do not necessarily reflect the opinion or views of advocate.com, The Advocate, or its affiliates.

Name: Stephanie
Date posted: 2008-09-04 5:02 PM
Hometown: Baltimore

Comment:

I have a news flash for Susan Sarandon. Hillary Clinton has never once said that sexism was responsible for her loss. Ever. And what is destructive to young women is their inability to recognize how sexism shaped the attitudes about Hillary Clinton long before she ever ran for President and paved the way for the dehumanization of her in the press for the past sixteen years. But I can see that because I don't let the press do my thinking for me. Furthermore, I find her suggestion that Hillary Clinton would not be successful were it not for her husband to be sexist and repulsive. Susan might be a talented actress but her inability to recognize the sexism directed at Hillary is disturbing and her nasty attitude towards a remarkable woman rather disheartening. She should be embarassed to have been so shallow when she need not have said anything at all.

If you would like to submit a comment for posting, please fill out the form above.

All comments submitted via this form are subject to posting or publication. (To send a private letter to an Advocate editor or writer, please use the e-mail button at the top of the page, or use snail mail.) If you would like your comment considered for publication in The Advocate magazine, please include your full name, your city of residence, and a phone number where you can be reached during business hours so that we can confirm your identity. Your e-mail address and telephone number are strictly confidential and will not be shared or used for any purpose other than to contact you about your comment.

See the Contact page for sending comments for reasons other than responding to Advocate editorial and news stories.

Please note that comments sent by fax or snail mail are unlikely to be posted, although they will be considered for publication along with all letters received via e-mail or via this Web page. Comments that chiefly concern Advocate.com content will be considered for posting only on the Web site. The Advocate reserves the right to edit submitted comments for grammar, spelling, obscenities, or libel; we will, however, do our best to preserve the original comment's style and intent. Comments considered for publication in The Advocate magazine may also be edited for length.

More Exclusives

Great American Couple
In an exclusive excerpt from his new book, Hollywood Bohemians: Transgressive Sexuality and the Selling of the Movieland Dream, Brett L. Abrams explores the relationship between Cary Grant and Randolph Scott, who led homosexual lives right under everyone's nose.

Mormons Gone Wild
After one man undresses missionaries for his calendar, LDS Church–owned Brigham Young University strips him of his degree.

Constructive Impatience
Stung by the Warren decision, GLAAD's former executive director Joan Garry offers the Obama transition team some sage advice.

Boxer Goes Trans for Eli Stone
Often perceived as male by confused casting agents, boxer-body builder turned actor Dallas Malloy felt a deep connection to the trans minister she plays on Eli Stone.

Mamma Mia! Rises Again
Meryl Streep and company managed to top Harry Potter and Titanic at the U.K. box office, and now Mamma Mia! is poised to break similar records on DVD. Director Phyllida Lloyd talked to Advocate.com about bringing one of the biggest musicals of all time to the big screen.

Letters From Southern Africa: Home Visit
Peace Corps volunteer Zachery Scott heads into the bush to visit with families.

The Other White Meat
As one of the subjects of the documentary about the drag pageant circuit, Pageant, opening in select theaters, and one of the contestants on RuPaul's Drag Race, premiering next month on Logo, Victoria "Porkchop" Parker may not look or act like your typical female impersonator, but make no mistake, she is one of the best.

The Religious Defense
In an excerpt from her new book, Bulletproof Faith: A Spiritual Survival Guide for Gay and Lesbian Christians, author Candace Chellew-Hodge incorporates the wisdom of Xena: Warrior Princess to illustrate her theories as to how gay and lesbian people of faith can protect themselves from those who attack their views.

Photo Finish
Did Prop. 8 backlash cause art censorship -- or its reversal -- at Brigham Young University? Could be, as BYU photography student J. Michael Wiltbank found when his contribution to a two-week-long art exhibition -- eight pairs of benign portraits, each depicting an LGBT-identified BYU student alongside a supportive friend -- had been removed.

The Divine Miss M.
Since the death of performer Wayland Flowers in 1988, his over-the-top puppet creation Madame has been seen only sporadically. But with the launch of her new casino tour, Madame is back.

Whither NLGJA?
The leading professional organization for LGBT journalists is facing a crisis that threatens its very survival. In a changing media landscape and a tough economy, how does a small nonprofit live up to its mission and retain members?

The Road to Equality
Barbara Boxer, the U.S. senator from California, understands why her gay constituents are furious over Rick Warren's role in the inauguration -- it feels like Proposition 8 redux.

A Call to Action for Barack Obama
In the wake of the decision by President-elect Barack Obama to select Reverend Rick Warren to give the invocation at his inauguration, Equality California executive director Geoff Kors calls on Obama to live up to his promise of "One America" and prove he is the ardent supporter of LGBT equality he claims to be.

Gays Shut Out of Cabinet
As if the news of antigay pastor Rick Warren's invitation to deliver Obama's inaugural invocation weren't insulting enough to LGBT Americans, we're now hit with the reality that no openly gay people will be seated at the cabinet table to weigh in on the next antigay flap.

Wading Your Way Through Hollywood
Reichen Lehmkuhl switches hats for his second column and leaves the activist at the door as he offers some sage advice for Hollywood hopefuls. Whether you're gay or straight, what Reichen has to say about "talent" puts the business that is entertainment into perspective.

The Better Angels?
President-elect Barack Obama's choice of Rick Warren to give the invocation at his inauguration puts LGBT Americans on notice: While the next four years hold unprecedented promise for our rights, we may sometimes feel forsaken.

Stage Doubt, Screen Doubt
On Broadway, Doubt -- the story of a steely nun facing off against a heroic priest, whom she fixates on for giving special attention to the school’s only black (effeminate) kid -- worked because of a top notch cast and its unique brand of stylized narrative. If only the excellent Meryl Streep and Viola Davis were enough to make the movie work quite so well.

People of the Year: Al Gore, Chad Griffin, and Lawrence King
This week Advocate.com is going to highlight our remaining People of the Year, who range from activists to entertainers, politicians to students. Today we take a look at environmentalist Al Gore, political strategist Chad Griffin, and slain student Lawrence King.

Dame Edna's Fond First Farewell
As Dame Edna prepares to bid audiences adieu with her First Farewell Tour (take that, Cher), she sits down with Advocate.com to talk about her maybe gay son, Michelle Obama's dresses, and her plans for matrimony in America.

Push for 'Don't Ask, Don't Tell' Review Gains Steam
In the last week both Gen. Colin Powell and the Joint Chiefs chairman, Adm. Mike Mullen, have gone on record about reviewing the military's gay ban, leading some D.C. insiders to conclude that the incoming administration has put the wheels in motion behind the scenes.