“We’re not going to say, ‘Oh, poor Michael.’
And you see that from the beginning of the movie.
We just immediately subvert that expectation.”
Michael J. Fox in the documentary ‘Still: A Michael J. Fox Movie’.Courtesy of Sundance Institute
Instead,Still: A Michael J.
Fox Movieoffers a message of hope, perseverance, and the power of gratitude.
But that’s the appeal to me; it’s a universal story.
Christopher Lloyd and Michael J. Fox in ‘Back to the Future’.Everett Collection
The pitch was: What happens when an incurable optimist confronts an incurable disease?'"
EW can also exclusively announce thatStill: A Michael J.
Not every actor has that.
Michael J. Fox and Woody Harrelson.DMI/The LIFE Picture Collection/Shutterstock
Mostly just to torture him but also to see if he could do it.
And he did it.
And I remember it was breathtaking, the difference.
And so, I said for me, I still have the music.
It wasn’t hard in that I’ve been a frustrated guitarist most of my life.
So, I knew the fundamentals of the keys and what notes to hit and not hit.
Plus, I had already recorded the track with the guitarist because I came in late.
So, I was finger-syncing it to the track.
[Coldplay’s] Chris Martin told me that my scene in the movie influenced his guitar playing.
So, what a great compliment that is.
Are you a nostalgic person?
Do you return to your films?
She said, “Yeah, no s—.
Welcome to the admiration club.”
I said, “No, I never really gave myself credit for being involved in this movie.”
So I didn’t mean I’m good like I’m a great actor.
I wasn’t looking to tell anybody.
I wrote the book, and I was done.
So how did the book turn into the doc?
FOX:They’d done a nice big piece on me in theNew York Times.
FOX: No, I was asked to do a cameo.
GUGGENHEIM:A cameo.
And he was in Martha’s Vineyard.
He flew back to do that.
He goes, “No, no, I’m good.”
And the story’s pretty bleak: he trips, falls, and shatters his arm, right?
GUGGENHEIM:And he can’t reach the phone, and it’s a disaster.
They shut down production.
But his writing about it was so appealing.
Even in the horror of it, there was humor and a kind of unique voice.
I didn’t realize what a good storyteller he is.
I love him telling me his story.
And I said, “Oh look, this is a movie.”
Michael, you’re still funny and fast in the moment, the way you’ve always been.
I love that you include the shot of you falling down on the street.
GUGGENHEIM:“You knocked me off my feet.”
FOX:That’s the way I think about everything: what’s funny about this?
No matter what the situation.
But what was cool about that was that I didn’t hurt myself.
I mean, I feel like three months later, I broke something bad.
I got on this streak of breaking stuff.
But no, I liked that moment a lot.
So many of your films are about finding a sense of purpose.
But as we know from life, sometimes that purpose finds you.
Do you have different ideas these days about what your purpose is?
FOX:We’re often in dress rehearsal, and we don’t realize it.
Those are f—ing ridiculous odds.
I mean, crazy odds.
You make it up as you go along.
FOX:Oh God, yeah.
And that you were maybe being a daredevil and had a bit of a death wish.
Is that fair to say?
FOX:Actually, death wish is over the line.
I’ve never had a death wish.
I’m not fixated on that stuff.
I’m much more into life.
I was into life in a dangerous way.
You called it ’80s famous.
FOX:Yeah, ’80s famous.
Well, that was just an interesting thing somebody said.
We were talking about the ’80s, and they said, “Well, yeah.
You were ’80s famous.”
“Yeah, that’s right.
You wanted to stand in a big old bar and lead your troops.
Wanted to go crazy.
Because that’s certainly dangerous.
FOX:That’s not a death wish.
I mean, I had the means with which to do anything I wanted to do.
So, how do you make that list?
Start out at the bottom and get up to five, and you’re going, “Okay.”
So, I was never out to kill myself.
FOX:No, no.
Not in any bad way.
I mean, just in a good way.
It’s cool that you did because it made me think about things, but I never had that.
And a lot of times, to tell you the truth, it might have been somewhere dangerous.
But that was it.
I was famous in the ’80s.
What’s the status right now of the war on Parkinson’s?
How close are we?
And one of the ways is doing PPI, PPMI, which is trying to find a biomarker.
And if we can test for it in infancy, it’s over.
You’ll never have Parkinson’s in your life.
And that’s the road we’re going down.
Wow, that’s exciting.
And the material that you include about the war on Parkinson’s is really exciting in the film.
Was that important for you?
GUGGENHEIM:Well, it’s interesting.
The Fox Foundation is a gold standard in so many ways.
He says, “Life threw me this curve ball, and it’s bringing me down.”
I watch how Michael’s dealt with that, and that’s given me a path forward.
But that’s the appeal to me; it’s a universal story.
The pitch was: What happens when an incurable optimist confronts an incurable disease?
Your line that you said the other night was pretty brilliant.
FOX:I can’t remember.
Was it “gratitude feeds optimism”?
GUGGENHEIM:Gratitude makes optimism sustainable.
Did you write that line?
FOX:It somehow came in my head.
Everyone asks me, “How can you be optimistic?”
I can be optimistic as long as I’m grateful.
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