Ellen Barkin: the woman who spices up this month's Uber-male-dominated Heistfest, Ocean's Thirteen, talks comebacks, left turns, and Nachis with the legend whose last interview was a 2,000-year-old man.(Interview)

Publication: Interview

Publication Date: 01-JUN-07

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COPYRIGHT 2007 Brant Publications, Inc.

CARL REINER: Ellen! How are you?

ELLEN BARKIN: Hi Carl. I'm so happy you agreed to do this.

CR: Are you kidding? This is fun. One of the things I do in life that I haven't done in a while is interview people. The 2000-Year-Old Man was my last big interview! This is exciting for me.

EB: Can I interview you instead, Carl?

CR: First I have to find out more about you. When I saw you on the set, I said, "My God." Of course, you did the steamiest love scene in the world with AI Pacino in--what's it?--Sea of Love [1989], I guess it was called. And when I saw you guys on the Ocean's Thirteen set, I said to myself, "I wonder what they said to each other when they saw each other?" [Barkin laughs] It was the attitudes which you both had and the fact that you're both good actors and you're both deeply sensual people. Have you seen him since Sea of Love?

EB: Yeah.

CR: What do you talk about when you talk about that particular scene?

EB: We never talk about that scene. AI was very shy.

CR: You would never know it.

EB: I don't think he's comfortable with those kind of scenes. I am. [both laugh] At the time I was, anyway. Now, I wouldn't be, but I thought it was a good icebreaker in those days.

CR: In Ocean's Thirteen, it turns out that you have a love scene with who? It is one of the most original love scenes I've ever seen. You and Matt Damon?

EB: I don't think we get that far to call it a love scene.

CR: I don't know if we should tell the premise, but you gave us the impression there was something you were smelling that was so sensual that it was driving you nuts. What was in your head?

EB: [laughs] I was smelling a cologne.

CR: Ah. They actually gave you something to work with, huh?

EB: It was in my mind.

CR: Anyway, now that we got that out of the way, there's lots I do not know. I don't know if you come from a theater family or if you are the first one in theater in your family?

EB: I'm the first one, yeah. I come from immigrant Jews. My grandparents had a pushcart and a morn-and-pop grocery store in Harlem.

CR: You're kidding! Now's the first time I find out you're Jewish.

EB: What? Of course! What else would I be?

CR: [laughs] Where did they come from? Maybe we're related.

EB: My father's family was from Siberia, and my mother's family was from the Russia-Poland border.

CR: When you went into show business, did they have an idea of what you were gonna do? Did it make sense to them?

EB: My grandparents were very proud.

CR: Now there's a Jewish word called nachis which means--

EB:...

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