The Proposition is a western that takes place in Australia in the 1800’s. The land is beyond hostile, with the heat and sweat apparent in almost every shot. What I found especially fascinating were the little things, like the use of flies. They are everywhere and in almost every shot. Now don’t think this was added in, or that they released flies before every take. The flies are still apart of the landscape in Australia, and where they went to film, the flies added a ton of authenticity and really made you feel like you were watching true events unfold.

Something else that the film does effectively is portraying real characters. No one is black and white, everyone is grey. If you are into westerns, or if you just want to see a great character piece, The Proposition is strongly recommended.

Now the reason for this article.

About a week ago I got to be part of some roundtable discussions with two of the stars, Guy Pearce and Danny Huston. If you are unfamiliar with what a roundtable is, what film companies do to promote their film is get a bunch of the stars together and have them go from room to room, talking with reporters about the project. They do this for most of the day, as a result sometimes when you get an actor or director, they have been talking for five hours about the same thing and you can tell they just want to go home. Happily, this was not the case for either Guy or Danny. Both seemed enthusiastic and energetic to be promoting this film, and with good reason, it is something great.

I will admit I am a huge Guy Pearce fan. From L.A. Confidential to Memento, I really think Guy is one of the best actors working in the business. When I watch him on screen, he seems to be able to disappear into his roles, causing me to forget I am watching someone act. To me, this is the clearest definition of great acting. Thankfully he comes across as extremely grounded and focused when talking about The Proposition and how he chooses his projects. Guy covers a lot of ground and it is definitely worth listening to.

Danny Huston is one of those actors that you know from somewhere, but you just can’t place him. While he has yet to be a lead in a mainstream film, as he talks about in the interview that is changing soon. One of the questions I actually got in was about Fade to Black. In this upcoming film Danny plays Orson Wells (picture above) during the 40’s. He explained that the film is about Orson arriving in Paris after filming The Magnificent Ambersons to begin work on another movie. On the set someone dies, causing Orson to try and figure out what happened. When you listen to the interview, I think Danny might have given too much information away on this project… but perhaps not, judge for yourself.

Danny also goes on toward the end of the interview about some of his other projects like Children of Men, which is directed by Alfonso Cuarón. He also talks about Marie-Antoinette and The Number 23, projects he has small parts in. I think the best way you might know him is from the recent classic The Constant Gardener, where he plays Ralph Fiennes friend in Africa.

Both interviews are fast paced and well rounded, covering a variety of subjects.

To hear Guy Pearce click here.

To hear Danny Huston click here.

Remember you can either listen right now by clicking the link, or right click the link and save it for later, even for your iPod. No copy protection here.

Other recent audio downloads that you might have missed.

Ridley Scott and William Monahan Q&A - from our screening of the Director’s Cut of Kingdom of Heaven.

 part 1 - part 2

Deepa Mehta - she wrote and directed the film Water.

Lisa Ray – one of the stars of Water