Nick Nolte

Biography

Well, Nick Nolte wasn't at the Oscars this year in person, but he was the butt of one of Steve Martin's big jokes during his opening monologue there. Here is a photo of host Steve Martin delivering his monologue with a video projected behind of a police mug shot of Nick Nolte during that "joke" at the 75th annual Academy Awards telecast Sunday, March 23, 2003, in Los Angeles. I've been reading newspaper comments about that incident and found some critical of this joke such as CentreDaily which wrote; "In any other year, Martin's would have been a solid hosting turn, kept from greatness by too many easy, and occasionally mean, jokes. Flashing Nick Nolte's infamous arrest photo was uglier than the picture itself." And Zap2it.com said "There were times when host Steve Martin wasn't at his best (why show the arrest picture of Nick Nolte?) and much of his opening segment was stilted and awkward."

Nick Nolte's newest film "The Good Thief" opens April 2, 2003. Here is a photo from that film:

The Hollywood Reporter had this to say in its review of the film:
"While perhaps not to everyone's taste, "The Good Thief" is a striking entertainment that may prove highly commercial. Think of it as the dark underbelly of "Ocean's Eleven," where freshly scrubbed American stars cavort in a pastiche of heist comedy-dramas. Nick Nolte convinces you no one else could have wrung so much from this role. Nolte never stops talking, and Jordan has given him some of the best dialogue he's ever written, about gambling, mathematical theory, art criticism, pop music and tall tales about his family background. Nolte's rumpled charm and white-knight-in-rogue's-clothes recalls the best of Bogie, Mitchum and Belmondo."

Nolte Won Over In Hulk
Nick Nolte, who plays Bruce Banner's father in Ang Lee's upcoming The Hulk, told reporters that he wasn't interested in doing a comic-book movie. "I wasn't interested in just doing a cartoon, and Ang came to the house and said, 'Look, Nick, I don't know how to do a cartoon, but I DO know how to make a Greek tragedy.'" Nolte added, "I said, 'If we go for a Greek tragedy, I'll go for it.' ... If we can present it of the magnitude of a Greek tragedy, a father/son tragedy, and if we do it right, there should be some element of compassion, maybe some pain." The Hulk, starring Eric Bana and based on the Marvel Comics series, opens June 20.

This story was in the San Francisco Chronicle on March 6th.
Nick Nolte says he's staying sober after drug arrest
Actor Nick Nolte says he's vigilant about his renewed sobriety following his arrest last September for driving under the influence of drugs. He said the legal troubles and media attention -- much of it focusing on his disheveled mugshot appearance -- prompted him to be open about his recovery. "There's no hiding there. I've always said I had a substance problem ever since. It's something you deal with, and you take care of it, and you can keep it under control," he said Wednesday. Looking trim, tan and healthy, Nolte made the remarks during interviews to promote his upcoming drama "The Good Thief," about a heroin-addicted gambler trying to organize a heist. The film debuts in limited release April 2. In September, he was arrested near his Malibu home when police saw his black 1992 Mercedes-Benz swerving into oncoming traffic along Pacific Coast Highway. Lab tests showed he was under the influence of a banned depressant, known as the "date-rape drug" for its incapacitating effects. After pleading no contest to the charge, he was sentenced in December to three years probation and told to undergo counseling and random drug testing. "Now the trick is not to relapse and that's a matter of just daily vigilance. It's like having a disease. If you had a cancer on your skin and had it burned it off, you'd wash it and clean it," he said.

Nick Nolte recently acted in a film called "Northfork" which had its world premiere on January 21st, 2003 at the Sundance Film Festival. If you want to read a blurb on that screening check out this link: Sundance 2003: Northfork James Woods (another of my favorite actors BTW) also stars in this movie. The film will be released on July 11th, 2003 by Paramount and is about a town destined to disappear underwater forever with the construction of a new dam. Salesmen compete to convince longtime residents to abandon their homesteads. Meanwhile, a dying orphan dreams of escape with a band of eccentrics who are actually angels. If you want to read an article about the making of this picture check out this link: Stars at ease on Montana Movie SetProduction of this movie took place in the spring of 2002 in Montana (the towns of Augusta, Fort Peck, Glasgow and Great Falls) on a budget of $1.9 million. It has an official web site now atNorthforkbut so far there isn't much there.

The last film Nick Nolte finished at this time is "The Good Thief," (which was known as Double Down during film production) the Neil Jordan-directed remake of the 1955 French film noir "Bob le flambeur." Here you can see a press conference photo for "The Good Thief" with director Neil Jordan and Nick Nolte taken in Toronto in 2002. The film, to be released by Fox, is about a veteran gangster and gambler who tries to rob a casino in the south of France. It was budgeted at $30 million dollars. It was filmed in the south of France near Nice and Costa Azzurra. The remake is the Irish writer-director's Jordan's first independently financed film since "The Crying Game" in 1992. He made "Interview With the Vampire," "Michael Collins" and "The Butcher Boy". If you would like to see reviews and more information on this film check out this link:Reviews of "The Good Thief"
One of the critics gave it 4 stars and said of this film: "Neil Jordan's remake of Melville's quintessential heist pic, Bob le Flambeur, is like Soderbergh's Ocean's Eleven augmented with Gallic cool. In his best role since Affliction, Nick Nolte stars as Bob, a junkie gambler who's also the most revered thief in town. The fact that he's a walking train wreck only adds to his charm....Thanks to Jordan's whip-smart dialogue, Chris Menges' dazzling camera work and Nolte's shambling bravura, The Good Thief is as irresistible as its hero." It will go into release in April of 2003.