Word: travoltas
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...Early on, when May asked Nichols what he was hoping to say in the film, he told her, "It's secretly Seinfeld. It's about the fun friends have together in what turns out to be the happiest time of their lives." As happy as that canny politician John Travolta, parading his charisma in Hollywood. As happy as that consummate showman Bill Clinton, locking eyes and hands with one more member of the universal audience...
That raspy drawl, the salt-and-pepper hair, a doughnut-stuffed belly hanging over his belt. Others in Primary Colors tried to steer clear of real-life inspiration; John Travolta became a Bill Clinton clone. It took weeks to master the familiar vocal cadence and body language, but the feel-your-pain sincerity came easier. "The scary thing about this part is, take away the Southern accent and gray hair, and I don't respond that differently to people," he says, dunking a taquito into a lump of guacamole as he unwinds in his trailer after work. "I'm good...
...Watching Travolta warmly embrace fans or chat up elderly extras on the set, it's clear he works "that great p.r. thing" as well as Clinton does. "John has a need for people, and you can feel it," says director Mike Nichols. But that's not all the actor and the President have in common. Both have answered prying questions about their private lives and sexual habits. And both know how to assuage their critics with roguish charm, cracking a humble aw-shucks smile or touching a stranger's arm to spark a personal connection...
There's also the hunger for having it all, a voracious desire to devour life--and food. Aside from the Mexican chow consumed during this late-afternoon interview, a solicitous valet furnishes Travolta with a box of chocolate ladyfingers, mere snacks "to tide him over" until dinner. Lunch can be an orgy of steamed lobster or an artery-choking beef Wellington. His sister Annie marvels at this "Vanderbilt" life-style, where 24-hour chefs cater to any food fantasy. Even during a marketing powwow for Primary Colors, Nichols recalls, "everyone brought along sandwiches except John, who was served four...
...Travolta keeps his plate full professionally too. He turned down As Good As It Gets, Jackie Brown and Good Will Hunting but has seemingly appeared in every other film produced in the past three years. "I get the top scripts now, and that's a beautiful thing," he beams. Since 1994's Pulp Fiction gave him a "second chance" at stardom, he's shot 10 movies nearly back to back, outpacing Hollywood workhorses Gene Hackman and Kevin Bacon. "I mean, he's gotta take some time off," declares co-star Kathy Bates. "Every time I turn around...