The Sordid Truth - Advocate

Olivia Newton-John and writer-director Del Shores dish white trash, those pesky lesbian rumors, and their new movie, Sordid Lives.

By Alonso Duralde

Only in Hollywood: Singer-actress Olivia Newton-John and writer-director Del Shores decide to hold their Advocate interview - her first major interview with the gay press-in a little café in Santa Monica, Calif., which, as fate would have it, sits directly across the street from the railing where Olivia did some of her memorable roller skating in the 1980 goof-ball classic Xanadu.

These two old pals, as it turns out, make each other giggle like schoolgirls at a slumber party. They've come to talk about their new movie, Sordid Lives, which Shores adapted from his hilarious play about cross-dressing, embarrassing deaths, coming out, and other white-trash scandals. Playing against type, Newton-John plays the notorious Bitsy Mae Harling, an ex-con who may or may not have had a scorching lesbian affair with the woman whose untimely demise sets the plot in motion.

You two met through Olivia's sister and have known each other for years - but Del, you've been a fan of Olivia's even longer than that, right?

Shore: It feels like it to me, because I came out so pathetically late in life. 1 was such a huge fan before we met.
Newton-John: Tell what you said to me - I think it's really cute.
Shores: I've always said that Olivia kept me straight for two decades (laughs). Every time I started questioning my sexuality, I thought, But I'm attracted to Olivia Newton-John. Then I found that a lot of gay men are attracted to Olivia Newton-John and that you had become sort of an icon in our community. I can't go to a club where there's not a remix of Xanadu.
Newton-John: I don't know what it was about Xanadu. Musically it was ahead of its time. Even the dancing. You look at the dancing. Kenny Ortega (Dirty Dancing), who was the choreographer. He got all these street people in New York to dance in it...it's just happening now. He was way ahead. And I got to dance with Gene Kelly. It was the most wonderful experience.
Shores: So let's talk about the rumor.
Newton-John: The Rumour was my least-selling album, Elton John wrote it.
Shores: No, no, honey, the rumor
Newton-John: I'm not a lesbian. Next!
(Laughs)
Shores: Cause I was thinking like Meryl Streep, Sally Field, Olivia Newton-John
Newton-John: There have been rumors about them too?
Shores: I think anyone famous has them.
Newton-John: I often wondered why that is. Why do you think that is? If they can't find anything else about you, then they'll say you're gay. I don't know.
Shores: I remember one time, we were having a more serious conversation about this, and you asked me
Newton-John: You and me, serious?
(Laughs)
Shores: For a second. When we first started doing the movie and you said How would you like it?
Newton-John: Actually, I said to Del How would you like it if I accused you of being heterosexual? (Laughs)
Shores: I'd hate it. It would really hamper my dating life. I think the issue, more than anything, is that those kinds of things can hurt, like, say, your boyfriend. Where did it all start?
Newton-John: 1 can only think that it started on The Tonight Show many, many years ago. When I was first in this country and I sang I Honestly Love You. And I'm in my little white pretty dress, and I sit down with Johnny Carson, and he asked me some questions. And then be said something like, 'cause it's a long time ago, something like, Do you have more girlfriends or boyfriends! And I said girlfriends. Which is true. I have a lot of girlfriends, female friends. And he did one of his only-Johnny-could-do eyebrow-raise kind of things. That's the only thing
Shores: Which went over your head?
Newton-John: Yeah, at the time. But when I thought back. I was trying to think what could have started it. Or they could have mixed me up with an other Australian singer, who at the time was quite open about it, and maybe they mixed me up. I don't know.

Growing up in Australia, did you know any gays or lesbians?

Newton-John: It wasn't talked about. I mean, I don't remember it was kind of hush-hush; it wasn't open. I don't remember-no, we didn't talk about those things. I think in Australia in the last 10 years it's probably like America in the last 10 years. I think in Australia it's very open there, and they've got the biggest gay Mardi Gras in the world there. But growing up in Melbourne...I don't remember. If I did know them, I probably wouldn't have been aware of it.

You two have known each other for several years. At what point did you realize you had to put her in your movie?

Shores: Well...
Newton-John: If you ever make this movie, think of me for the singer or something. I said it kind of flippantly. And not really thinking.
Shores: Yeah, she called me on my birthday three years ago and she said, What have you been doing? I said, I'm trying to catch stars. She said, Oh, let me play one of those Texas women, joking. And then I called Rona [Olivia's sister) the next day and said, Do you think Olivia could do this? Olivia didn't hesitate too long - she said yes and she signed a letter saying that she would do it, and that allowed us to start raising the money for the movie. So this lady basically said, I love this piece enough to lend my name to it. She made $800,
Newton-John: That much?
Shores: We all have a little piece of the movie money, but we haven't seen it yet. It opens May 11. When I first asked you to do Sordid Lives, I remember we talked a little bit about Bitsy Mae who has quite a past - cause you had seen the play, and [talked about] her sexuality. And I told you not to worry about it.

How do you describe Bitsy Mae?

Newton-John: Bitsy Mae's white trash. If you're looking for someone who will do anything, well, Bitsy Mae will [laughs]. She'll do anything
Shores: She's open to anybody.
Newton-John: To me this is really a challenge, because I was really nervous about it. And things that I'm really nervous about are always the most fun in the end. Anything that's a little contr versial or it's going to be a little difficult for me, like Physical. It was a pretty hard song for me to sing. I did it and then afterwards I freaked and called my manager and said, Don't put it out. My fans are going to hate me And it was fantastic. It was like the biggest hit I had in my life. And you get over it.
It turned out that playing Bitsy Mae was really fun for me, and it was really a challenge to play her, because she's tough. It was really interesting studying human behavior, because I put tattoos on and I left them on for the couple weeks I was filming. I bleached my hair. I left roots. And cut it off myself. I did my own haircut. Lots of makeup. And I would find that when I went shopping and stuff, people wouldn't recognize me, but the attitude I got from people was really awful. And I remember thinking, God, this is a good lesson to me to not judge people by what they look like. Or just because they have tattoos doesn't mean they're not a good person.
Shores: Olivia said, Well, you know, me playing Bitsy Mae, what about those, you know, hints that she may be a lesbian, we're not sure what she is, and I said, I think you should do it just because gay actors don't play gay. This will dispel the rumor completely. [Laughs] And she was wonderful.

[The waiter arrives with an absurdly decadent-looking chocolate concoction, which we all tear into]

Shores: So, Sordid Lives kind of all comes together at the end with Bitsy Mae at the funeral, and she's sort of this enigma. Who is she? What's she about? And then all of a sudden it all makes sense when you tell your story. I love where you go, Can I say something too? because Bonnie Bedelia has just told this horrible lie about how the mother died. And Olivia just sort of stalks up, and everybody's just staring at her like she -
Newton-John: That was fun too, to be disliked by everybody.
Shores: And she chews gum all through the movie, which was her choice. She puts it on the mike and on the coffin. Every time she sings, she takes it out and just sticks it wherever.
Newton-John: I've never sung live and played guitar before, because I'm not a very good guitar player. But it didn't matter with Bitsy. She's not either. It wasn't me, so that was fun to sing live. And we were in the car park doing one of the songs live and it was really noisy and these cars kept on going by. We had like 10 minutes of light left. Do you remember? Thank God we got one take that was OK.
Shores: And you're so beautiful in that take. It's such an emotional piece of the film, where you look up. And it was perfect we were blessed by that lighting, because it was natural and you look so fabulous in the shot.

So, changing the subject a little - you've been a very big inspiration for a lot of people, surviving breast cancer and coming out publicly about it.

Newton-John: I think I would have come out about it anyway, but what happened was, I'd gone for tests at Cedars-Sinai, and somebody had informed the press and wrote some scary article that I was dying of cancer. I had the choice to either come out and tell the story and make it right or frighten my family and my friends. So I was kind of forced into it. I think at the time it was a very frightening thing because it's something you want to keep personal. But, in retrospect, it was the best thing that could have happened - I believed that part of my makeup was to be very private about things, but it was healthy to talk about it because that's a very personal part of you. And once I did it, it was OK. And women I know who have breast cancer who haven't spoken about it, I've encouraged them to talk about it, because I think it's an important part of your healing to be open and honest. Keeping a secret is unhealthy. Even though you feel it's just a pride thing, it's much better to be open and to get support and love from other people. What I love now is that I'm able to help other people who are going through it and go, Look, here I am! And I'm here and I'm healthy.

So I understand the two of you are going to be working together on another movie, for Showtime.

Newton-John: Del wrote a movie for Chloe [Lattarzi], my daughter. She's 15, and we're going to Australia to film it. It's a musical movie for Showtime, and we're very excited, and it's her first - this is her first grown-up thing. She's a singer and dancer and actress and very excited. It's exciting for me.
Shores: It's called The Wilde Girls. It's their last name. It's like a mother-daughter story. It's Tumbleweeds meets A Star Is Born.
Newton-John: Tumbling Star.
Shores: So Olivia, 10 years from now, are you still going to be working? Recording?
Newton-John: I just want to be healthy and happy and creative. As I get older I enjoy being on the other side. And giving back and being involved in charities. I just want to take it a day at a time. It's exciting. Every day is some thing new.