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Reeve turns creative energies to directing
First effort airing on HBO
April 9, 1997
Web posted at: 4:10 a.m. ESTFrom Correspondent Michael Okwu
LOS ANGELES (CNN) -- It was like any other film premiere -- the stars posed, paparazzi swarmed -- but it represented a new start.
Dozens of celebrities were on hand to celebrate Christopher Reeve's directorial debut in "In the Gloaming," an HBO drama.
"How lucky that out of something that was a tragedy in my live, I've had such a nice, new beginning," says Reeve, who was paralyzed in a 1995 horseback riding fall.
"To see him find a new creative outlet was an astounding experience," says one of the film's stars, Glenn Close. "He is a triumphant human being."
"He really offered a great life raft for actors who have to go places that are very difficult," says co-star David Strathairn.
"In the Gloaming," which is Scottish for twilight, is the story of a young, AIDS-stricken man who comes home to die. Estranged from his family, his presence compels them to confront emotional barriers and forge a new beginning. The film airs on April 20.
New avenue for Superman
Although a serious subject, in the days before the film's premiere, Reeve showed his sense of humor is still intact.
When asked why he decided to make the film, he responds, smiling, "because the location was only 10 minutes from my house."
Actually, Reeve says, he specifically wanted his first directing stint to be on an intimate film, one that would allow the actors to shine. And the job never tired him, he says.
"I found I was energized by it," he says. "And I could do an eight- or nine-hour day without a problem."
Reeve insists the 1995 riding accident has not changed him or his perspective.
"I think it intensifies things," he says. "I was always a person in motion all the time. I've had to learn stillness, and particularly in this movie I was able to talk to Robert Sean Leonard (who plays Danny) and say, 'Don't be so afraid of the stillness. Don't be afraid of the quiet.'
"When you can't move your body, your mind and your spirit take over, and you also find that you must learn patience," Reeve adds.
Reeve capped a 27-year acting career most recently in "Village of the Damned," John Carpenter's remake of the classic horror film, and in HBO's "Above Suspicion." He also turned a few heads in the critically acclaimed "Remains of the Day."
But according to Reeve, there's no point in looking back at the acting accolades.
"I'm very lucky that this new career in directing has opened up," Reeve said.
And it's in this new career that Reeve is now harnessing his energy: "I'm focusing on the next phase of what I can do, instead of regretting what I can't."
Related stories:
- Christopher Reeve hospitalized for blood clot - January 16, 1997
- 'I am a lucky man' - February 22, 1996
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- HBO - In the Gloaming
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