Video Interview: John Turturro's 'Fading Gigolo'

Photo Credit: Millennium Entertainment

– By Beau Behan, Film Critic & Entertainment Reporter

Originally published at 1:07 p.m. April 30, 2014. Edited to move video to top of the page.

• Fading Gigolo (2014), R, 90 min, comedy
• Expanding Nationwide, May 2, 2014
• Stars: John Turturro, Woody Allen, Sharon Stone, Sophia Vergara, Vanessa Paradis
• Director: John Turturro
• Writer: John Turturro

John Turturro stars in Fading Gigolo, which he also wrote and directed. A longtime favorite of indie film aficionados, Turturro is well-known for his high caliber performances in Coen Brothers’ Barton Fink, O Brother, Where Art Thou, and Redford’s Quiz Show—clinching a Golden Globe Nomination.

The first act of Fading Gigolo’s screenplay is the introduction of the two gorgeous best of friends, Dr. Parker (Sharon Stone) and Selima (Sofia Vergara), who have decided to participate in a ménage à trois.

This segues to a phone conversation between Dr. Parker and her patient Murray (Woody Allen) about the ladies’ sexual desire and their quest for the most suitable man to fulfill it. Recognizing the financial potential of the proposal, Murray agrees to help her with a ‘consulting’ fee, and sets to convince his friend, Fioravante (John Turturro), to seal the deal by entering the oldest profession of streetwalkers.

Reluctant at first with the prospect, Fioravante comes to realize that providing attention and happiness is a good deed. A partnership between Murray and Fioravante is born.

Everything is going well until Murray introduces the next client, Avigal (Vanessa Paradis) to Fioravante. The complication arises as her longtime secret admirer, Dovi (Liev Schriber), becomes jealous and insecure. What ensues is the hard decision that Fioravante must make – proceed with caution, enter at your own risk, or exit out completely.

Fading Gigolo ’s genesis came about during an improvisation done by Turturro for a friend’s entertainment over lunch. Subsequently, he explored the movie concept by talking with a few of his friends, including his barber who mentioned the idea to one of his clients, Woody Allen.

Allen enjoyed it so much that he reached out to Turturro.

“I went over to Woody’s place and I talked him through it,” remembers Turturro. “He’d say ‘that’s funny’ or ‘that’s not funny’ or ‘that could be funny.’”

As we know it from the movie, their collaboration did not end there. In fact, Allen offered to provide more feedback while John was writing the script. Turturro acknowledges Allen for his great support of the project.

“He was very generous with his time,” says Turturro. “Woody encouraged me in his own way to go deep, and by the end there was a lot more of me in the movie.”

Fading Gigolo is John Turturro’s fifth directorial film—after Mac, Illuminata, Romance & Cigarettes, and Passione. Between acting and directing, he mentions “, I’d like to direct more; especially if I feel I have something to say or a point of view about.”— in this case, he does, since he has had a long-time fascination with the topic of prostitution.

“It’s a profession, and like any profession there are people who do it well,” says Turturro. “Sex is a big part of life. It’s a longing that people have, even those who are in relationships. There can be a true transaction that happens; it might not be an emotional one, but it’s a real one.”

As a filmmaker, he regales that he has “always been interested in the story about men and women. So many fantastic directors have made a movie about streetwalkers or prostitution.”

I then ask, “What makes the story of Fading Gigolo very compelling to tell?”

His eyes light up with great candor, and explain that the screenplay is not one-dimensional.

“It is a great human comedy,” Turturro said. “There’s a real investigation of humanity. It’s more of a nuanced film than a silly comedy. This what makes it more unforgettable.”

Vergara adds, “At the end of the day, we all wanna do things that, we think, will make us feel good. I think there’s a lot to experience in the movie.”

Turturro sums it up best: “It is an essential film.”