Brian Damage
07-11-2008, 03:19 PM
Hartford's Eriq LaSalle was at press tour to talk about a Hallmark movie in which he'll star.
But he kept being asked about his biggest role, as Dr. Peter Benton on the long-running hospital drama "ER."
Which started to get a little annoying to him.
"OK, I mean look, it was a defining moment, you know, for a lot of us as artists," La Salle said at last. "You know, it was a show that was a little bit ahead of its time. We had a great time doing it. I don't know what else to say. I talked about the show so much. I prefer to talk about 'Relative Stranger.'"
Complicating the moment was the fact that two of his costars in the movie had also been on "ER."
For their parts, Michael Michele said, "'ER' was a defining moment in my career and it continues to be." Michael Beach said, ""I had a great time on the show."
But when another "ER" question came, La Salle began to stew.
"You really want to talk about 'ER,' don't you?"
Well the show is ending its run next season, the questioner persisted.
"It was a great show," La Salle said. "I had a great time doing it. And I'm not doing it anymore. And I'm doing other things...That's it. I'm sorry...Let's talk about 'Relative Stranger.'"
So he did.
La Salle's character in the movie is an ex-football player who returns home.
"He was a standout all through high school and college and he played in the pros, got injured early into his career, couldn't really deal with certain pressures, and ended up abandoning the family," he said. "When that was met with failure, he just, you know, imploded and just basically disappeared.
"We pick up on the story six years later when his father has died and as he gets news of his father's death and him being summoned back because of a will reading. He comes back to find that his family has changed."
The character has to deal with his ex-wife, mother, brother and children - "one child being old enough to know what it felt like to be abandoned, the other child being too young to really comprehend that," La Salle said.
"It's just basically a guy who made some horrible choices and the ramifications of those choices. Now he basically has to deal with those."
After a beat, he cracks: "It's a musical."
Hallmark Channel Executive Vice President of Programming David Kenin said it took five years to make "Relative Stranger" because Hallmark films had been long dependent on financing from international markets. "And African-American themed movies were hard for us to get money for out of let's say Europe, which was a big source."
With a new production company, Faith and Family Entertainment, got involved, it was possible to fund films that were not as dependent on international money.
"It was just a huge breakthrough for us," Kenin said. "And you'll see more of these kinds of movies. Not necessarily African-American stories, but stories that we couldn't have made before and now we are able to."
"Relative Stranger," which also stars Cicely Tyson, premieres on Hallmark in January 2009.
http://blogs.courant.com/roger_catlin_tv_eye/2008/07/eriq-la-salle-sick-of-talking.html
But he kept being asked about his biggest role, as Dr. Peter Benton on the long-running hospital drama "ER."
Which started to get a little annoying to him.
"OK, I mean look, it was a defining moment, you know, for a lot of us as artists," La Salle said at last. "You know, it was a show that was a little bit ahead of its time. We had a great time doing it. I don't know what else to say. I talked about the show so much. I prefer to talk about 'Relative Stranger.'"
Complicating the moment was the fact that two of his costars in the movie had also been on "ER."
For their parts, Michael Michele said, "'ER' was a defining moment in my career and it continues to be." Michael Beach said, ""I had a great time on the show."
But when another "ER" question came, La Salle began to stew.
"You really want to talk about 'ER,' don't you?"
Well the show is ending its run next season, the questioner persisted.
"It was a great show," La Salle said. "I had a great time doing it. And I'm not doing it anymore. And I'm doing other things...That's it. I'm sorry...Let's talk about 'Relative Stranger.'"
So he did.
La Salle's character in the movie is an ex-football player who returns home.
"He was a standout all through high school and college and he played in the pros, got injured early into his career, couldn't really deal with certain pressures, and ended up abandoning the family," he said. "When that was met with failure, he just, you know, imploded and just basically disappeared.
"We pick up on the story six years later when his father has died and as he gets news of his father's death and him being summoned back because of a will reading. He comes back to find that his family has changed."
The character has to deal with his ex-wife, mother, brother and children - "one child being old enough to know what it felt like to be abandoned, the other child being too young to really comprehend that," La Salle said.
"It's just basically a guy who made some horrible choices and the ramifications of those choices. Now he basically has to deal with those."
After a beat, he cracks: "It's a musical."
Hallmark Channel Executive Vice President of Programming David Kenin said it took five years to make "Relative Stranger" because Hallmark films had been long dependent on financing from international markets. "And African-American themed movies were hard for us to get money for out of let's say Europe, which was a big source."
With a new production company, Faith and Family Entertainment, got involved, it was possible to fund films that were not as dependent on international money.
"It was just a huge breakthrough for us," Kenin said. "And you'll see more of these kinds of movies. Not necessarily African-American stories, but stories that we couldn't have made before and now we are able to."
"Relative Stranger," which also stars Cicely Tyson, premieres on Hallmark in January 2009.
http://blogs.courant.com/roger_catlin_tv_eye/2008/07/eriq-la-salle-sick-of-talking.html