'World Trade Center' brings out Bello's softer side

0 Comments | Oakland Tribune, Aug 5, 2006 | by Movie Guy column by Barry Caine

IWAS looking forward to the second chance.

I had talked to Maria Bello, Golden Globe nominee for "A History of Violence" and star of Oliver Stone's "World Trade Center," earlier in the day during a group interview, where three colleagues and I took turns asking the actress questions in a suite at the Ritz- Carlton in San Francisco.

During the session -- part of a press junket to promote Stone's drama, which opens Wednesday -- Bello said something that clanged in my ear.

In the movie, she plays Donna McLoughlin, wife of Sgt. John McLoughlin. The New York Port Authority Police Department officer was the second-to-last person freed from the rubble of the two towers on Sept. 11, 2001. Nicolas Cage portrays McLoughlin.

When Bello, 39, discussed preparing for her part, she said she and Donna were very "different." "... She's nurturing, kind. As we met we ended up doing the dishes together in her kitchen."

Wait a minute. Back up.

Are you saying that you are not nurturing and not kind? I could have asked when it was my turn, but by that time we had moved on to other topics.

Also, I wanted to keep that little gem to myself.

"So Maria," I said during a one-on-one session with the actress. Here's what you said, here's what it suggests.

"Is this how you really are?"

Of course not. Bello didn't say it exactly that way, but that's what I read into her semi-startled, then amused reaction.

"Donna's so much softer than I am," Bello said. "I tend to be more masculine. I have to work at something (showing softness)."

Stone told her to tone down the hard work, "to be more gentle with myself ... I tried to get to the truth without morphing into her. I tried to embody her essence, which is nurturing and strong."

Okay, fine. We moved on.

Bello is striking. She has brown eyes. She wears blue contacts in the movie because Donna has blue eyes.

She gained 12 pounds for the role. Now she's taut.

She's also genial.

Bello's a single mother, which is how she wants it. She is not marriage-minded. Her son Jackson Blue is 5. His father, TV exec Dan McDermott, lives nearby.

They remain close and share caring for the boy when work schedules conflict, and they all plan to vacation together.

Hey, if it works ...

"I love my job," said Bello, whose next release will be "Flicka," about a horse. "It's the first movie I've ever done that my son can see."

Also, she recently finished shooting the thriller "Butterfly on a Wheel" with Pierce Brosnan.

"I need travel, adventure," Bello said. "I've given up security to live a life that's independent."

She's writing a novel, and she learned to ride a horse for "Flicka."

"I'd love to do a romantic comedy with Nick (Cage)," she said. "I want to make real good choices, to stretch myself, to be a really good human. I want to live life as art."

The "chemistry" thing ... I don't recall who told me that "chemistry" refers to actors being fully present during every scene.

For an example of that, watch Steve Carell in "Little Miss Sunshine."

The crowd-pleasing dark comedy, which opened Friday, examines a severely dysfunctional family whose members clash and bond during a road trip from New Mexico to California.

The goal is to get the youngest to the Little Miss Sunshine pageant in time to compete.

Carell, a TV weatherman in "Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy," plays the little girl's suicidal, gay uncle.

His delivery is, appropriately, deadpan.

Carell stands out because, even when he's in the background, he listens. You see it in his eyes, his expression, the way he reacts physically.

His character continually evolves. Ultimately, Carell steals the show.

Toni Collette, Greg Kinnear and Alan Arkin also star.

The storytelling is awkward in places, but the film is funny and poignant. It's a solid "B" if I had to grade it.

DVDs out Tuesday ... "Barefoot Gen," "Bring It On: All or Nothing," "Cavite," "Clone," "Curse of King Tut's Tomb," "Don't Come Knocking," "The Frat Boy Collection: 'Bachelor Party,' 'PCU' and 'Porky's,'" and "Gilles' Wife."

Also: "Hellraiser 3: Hell on Earth," "The Hidden Blade," "Inside Man," "The Jayne Mansfield Collection" ("The Girl Can't Help It," "The Sheriff of Fractured Jaw," "Will Success Spoil Rock Hunter?") and "The Joy of Life."

Plus: "Jude the Obscure," "Larry the Cable Guy: Health Inspector," "The Lost City," "Manderlay," "Revenge of the Living Dead Girls," "The Tooth Fairy" (horror version) and "Tromeo & Juliette: 10th Anniversary Edition."

E-mail The Movie Guy at bcaine@angnewspapers.com, call (925) 416- 4806 or write c/o 4770 Willow Road, Pleasanton, CA 94588. For more on movies or to check out Caine's blog Sex & the Single Movie Critic, visit http://www.insidebayarea.com/movies.>

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