The movie Anthony Hopkins made because his wife told him to: “I said no, being lazy”
It feels redundant to say this in this day and age, but Anthony Hopkins is one of the greats.
The knight of the realm has been a standout of the acting world for so long, it’s almost impossible to remember a time when he wasn’t famous and respected. From Shakespeare on the stage to the Marvel Cinematic Universe, the man whose friends call him ‘Tony’ has done it all and done it all to the highest possible standard.
When you’re as naturally gifted as Hopkins, then, you have to try your hand at other things in order to keep yourself from going mad. The Welshman is also a talented artist and a skilled musician, once reaching number 75 in the UK charts with a single. In the movie world, he’s directed a handful of features and even had a go at writing his own screenplay. The man can do it all.
That script turned into the 2007 film Slipstream. Hopkins also fronts the story, playing a character inspired by his adventures behind the typewriter. He plays a screenwriter who ends up trapped in a physical timestream, confronted by visions of his own creations, and the movie also stars Stella Arroyave as the character’s wife. Hopkins didn’t have to look far to find her, given that he had been married to her for four years up to that point. As well as a possible tax write-off (for legal purposes, this is a joke), the star might have cast his missus as a thank-you for inspiring the project in the first place.
“You get to a point where you work work work and to what end?” he rhetorically asked CinemaBlend. “My wife said ‘Why not write a script of your own instead of doing other people’s?’ I said no, being lazy by nature… It started writing itself really, it’s all connected itself. I didn’t make much conscious decision. The scenes sort of ran themselves… I didn’t set out to write, because I’m not a writer. I’m not a novelist or a poet. I can write a letter, that’s about it, so I can’t write. I didn’t set out to make an impression of great writing, and I wasn’t trying to create a message or a statement.”
The whole of Slipstream turned into one big Hopkins family affair. As well as starring in it, writing it, and casting his wife in a major part, Sir Anthony also directed the piece and wrote the music for it. He refused to work with any studios that would revoke his final cut privilege and ended up recruiting students from North Illinois University to assist with filming. In a time-honoured tradition, they were paid in course credit and probably free biscuits as well (again, legally, this is a joke).
Unfortunately for the Hopkins clan, Slipstream crashed and burned. Not only was it a financial flop, but audiences had no idea what to make of it. It was ripped to shreds by critics and decried as nothing but a shallow vanity project. This is why films are usually made by more than two people and a bunch of students.
Hopkins has spoken before about how Stella helped him turn his personal life around. It’s beautiful to see how much she inspires him, even if that does occasionally result in a dreadful movie.
