DANIEL DAY LEWIS - DAY-LEWIS DEFENDS BLOOD'S CONTROVERSIAL ENDING

Although some critics have complained that Daniel Day-Lewis's performance at the conclusion of There Will Be Blood reels completely out of character, Day-Lewis himself said today (Friday) that he supported writer-director Paul Thomas Anderson's decision to end the Oscar-nominated film the way that he did. "I was cheering Paul before I even met him to take the story to that conclusion," he told a news conference at the Berlin Film Festival, where he said that "the deal was done" for him to appear in the movie from the moment he read the script. Nevertheless, he said, he worried that the controversy surrounding the ending might dim the film's prospects for award nominations. Fortunately, he said, the Coen Brothers produced a rival film with a "more controversial ending than ours. Our controversy has been eclipsed by theirs!" he remarked. Anderson disclosed that the scene was filmed in a private bowling alley located in the Greystone Mansion, the largest estate ever built in Beverly Hills, CA and the onetime residence of oilman E.L. Doheny. He said that the film company refurbished the bowling alley, bringing it back to its original condition. (Although the grounds of the mansion are a favorite tourist attraction, the interior is closed to the public.)


08/02/2008