Morgan Freeman Talks Going In StylePosted by Elizabeth Taylor
April 5, 2017
Coming out this week is the comedy “Going In Style,” starring Oscar winners Morgan Freeman (“Million Dollar Baby”), Michael Caine (“The Cider House Rules,” “Hannah and Her Sisters”) and Alan Arkin (“Little Miss Sunshine”)
Directed by Zach Braff (“Garden State”) from a screenplay by Theodore Melfi (“Hidden Figures,” “St. Vincent”),
Freeman, Caine, and Arkin star as lifelong buddies Willie, Joe and Al, who decide to buck retirement and step off the straight-and-narrow for the first time in their lives when their pension fund becomes a corporate casualty, in director Zach Braff’s comedy.
Desperate to pay the bills and come through for their loved ones, the three risk it all by embarking on a daring bid to knock off the very bank that absconded with their money.
The film also stars two-time Oscar nominee Ann-Margret (“Tommy,” “Carnal Knowledge”) as Annie, a grocery cashier who’s been checking Al out in more ways than one and Joey King (“Wish I Was Here”), as Joe’s whip-smart granddaughter, Brooklyn. John Ortiz (“Silver Linings Playbook”) stars as Jesus, a man of unspecified credentials who agrees to show the guys the ropes, and Peter Serafinowicz (“Guardians of the Galaxy”) as Joe’s former son-in-law, Murphy, whose pot clinic connections may finally prove useful; with Oscar nominee Matt Dillon (“Crash”) as FBI Agent Hamer; and Christopher Lloyd (“Back to the Future” trilogy) as the guys’ lodge buddy, Milton.
Blackfilm.com had to the opportunity to be present at the press conference where these award winners and legends were there to discuss the film. Here are some statements that Freeman answered from the conference.
How do you connect with your character?
Morgan Freeman: You don’t forget what you’ve done in life. Been there, done that, knew all about it.
What is a senseless act that you have done to others?
Morgan Freeman: I don’t know if I have done anything to literally change the course of anyone’s life but you get to a spot where people come to you for help and if you give the help, hopefully you change the course of their life and maybe you didn’t.
What would you say to yourself if you were in your 20s?
Morgan Freeman: When I was 20, I was in the military. If I could see my 20-year-old self, I would say, ‘Your dreams are about to come true.’ I never had one that didn’t.
What kept you going when you were struggling as an actor?
Morgan Freeman: I can think of two or three things that encourage you to keep working. One is sometimes when it’s at the very limits of your endurance, I remember finding a $20 bill on the middle of the street on Broadway. It’s like, ‘Oh! It’s gonna be my lucky day.’ Friends would say, ‘No, no. You can’t quit.’ The other one is just total embarrassment of driving a cab in New York and having somebody I know get in it. I was on the very verge of going to the Taxi & Limousine Service to get a chauffeur’s license when I got a job from Paul Newman. You just gotta keep going.
