Where do you start with Donald Sutherland?

Where do you start with Donald Sutherland?

For me, as a young film buff, it was his trench-coated health inspector in Philip Kaufman’s thrilling 1978 remake of “Invasion of the Body Snatchers.” The ending of that film kept me up at night for the better part of a week, giving me plenty of time to think about the pod people, but also about the actor who had so enchanted me. Wait … he played Hawkeye in “M*A*S*H”? There was a “M*A*S*H” movie? Who is this Robert Altman?

Many years later, I took my daughter to see “The Hunger Games.” Before the movie started, I told her to pay special attention to the actor playing President Snow. He is one of the greats. And indeed he was great.

I’m Glenn Whipp, columnist for the Los Angeles Times and host of The Envelope’s Friday newsletter. How were you introduced to Donald Sutherland? And which of his films will you be revisiting this weekend?

Ewan McGregor doesn’t want to reduce his age. Mustache? Another story.

Ewan McGregor is swiping through his camera roll, looking for the photo that proves he’ll never sport a moustache – unless a job requires it. And even then, he’ll probably argue that the character should be clean-cut. Cast without a moustache? Unrealistic.

Before our conversation, I had resolved not to ask McGregor anything about facial hair. It seems that most of the interviews he has given to promote his spectacular Paramount+ with Showtime limited series “A Gentleman in Moscow” have spent too much time focusing on the mustache he has grown to play Count Alexander Ilyich Rostov, a Russian nobleman sentenced to house arrest in a ritzy hotel after the 1917 revolution. Over four decades (and eight episodes), the fine gentleman has learned to drop formalities and appreciate simple pleasures and embrace family.

But he never shaves his moustache.

I spoke to McGregor a short time ago on the set of “Flowerwell Street,” a film so secretive that when he mentions its name, he immediately panics. “Oh, no. I’m worried I got the title wrong.” When I tell him the film has been released, he’s relieved. He finished shooting at 6:30 a.m. that morning, and 4½ hours later he’s on Zoom with me. “I’m a little nervous, but it’s all okay,” he says.

Everything was great. He’s a splendid fellow, and we covered the waterfront – but not “Flowervale Street.”

When I told him that all I knew about “Flowerwell Street” was that David Robert Mitchell (“It Follows”, “Under the Silver Lake”) wrote and directed it, and that it’s a mystery, and that it might be set in the 1980s and might contain dinosaurs, he smiled and said:

“Well, I’m not at liberty to discuss it one way or the other, so it might be in the ’70s, you know, with rodents. But it’s a lot of fun.”

As was the interview.

Emmys 2024: Early predictions (and voting advice)

Emmy voting is underway, and if you’re one of the 24,000 Television Academy members wondering if there’s still time to watch all three seasons of “Reservation Dogs,” the answer is: yes. But get busy. Ballots are due June 24.

Is there ever enough time to see everything and be a fully informed Emmy voter? Probably not. There are some shows I’ve never seen despite my best intentions. And no, I’m not mentioning them because I don’t need your judgment. I didn’t penalize those who came in late to “Reservation Dogs” (other than to silently chide myself a little), because I don’t think you can blame anyone for not sampling every single one of the 300-plus series presented. Unless you’ve seen “Shogun.” Then we need to talk.

Another problem plaguing voters this year is that there are too many worthy contenders in the limited series categories and not enough good dramas to award, making voting equally challenging, but for different reasons. Comedy? Fine. As long as “Reservation Dogs” is eventually awarded. But again, no decision. (Yet.)

I recently did a column summarizing the 15 main categories. Whose name did I forget? Maybe Paul Rudd for “Only Murders in the Building”? That intense conversation he had with Cookie is still on my mind.

Wesley Taylor and Paul Rudd in “Only Murders in the Building”.

(Patrick Harbron/Hulu)

Rethinking the ‘common people’

I asked earlier which Donald Sutherland movie you’d most like to see again this weekend. For me, it’s “Ordinary People,” a painful portrayal of a family torn apart by tragedy. Sutherland’s sensitive portrayal of a father who cares for his distraught son (Timothy Hutton) while beginning to question his love for his wife (Mary Tyler Moore, an inspired casting choice) is extremely touching. When I first saw this movie in 1980, I was younger than Hutton was. And now I’m older than Sutherland was when he made it. I think it will affect me a little differently.

As always, thanks for spending some of your time with me. I hope you have a great weekend.

Donald Sutherland and Mary Tyler Moore in “Ordinary People,” directed by Robert Redford.

(Paramount Pictures)