PORT TOWNSEND — Chris Cooper, who won the best supporting actor Oscar in 2002 for his role in “Adaptation,” will appear as an extra special guest at the Port Townsend Film Festival in September.
Cooper and his wife, actress Marianne Leone Cooper, will join award-winning actor Beau Bridges as special guests. Bridges was named as this season’s special guest in June.
The festival will be Sept. 25-27, when more than 80 films will be showed in eight theaters in Port Townsend over the three days.
The presence of two special guests underscores this year’s festival’s unique flavor as well as the power of personal connections, according to Executive Director Janette Force.
John Sayles and Maggie Renzi, the 2014 special guests, were so impressed with Port Townsend and the festival they chatted it up to many of their associates, including the Coopers, according to Force.
Cooper had been discussed as a potential guest but had previous commitments.
The film festival received a commitment from Bridges and Force invited Leone Cooper, a writer and actor, to participate in the festival’s Formative Film portion on Sept. 27.
When Cooper’s schedule changed, his wife notified Force of his availability who modified the schedule to accommodate a second special guest.
“John and Maggie told all their friends, which included Chris and Marianne, what it’s like to come to a small community and share their art,” Force said.
“Our festival is the polar opposite of where people go to be recognized in a pretentious formal environment.”
This is similar to how the festival connected with Bridges, who was recruited by Port Townsend resident and former Hollywood actor John Considine.
“This is all about friendship and connections,” Force said.
Bridges is scheduled to host a screening of “The Fabulous Baker Boys on Sept. 25, followed by a question-and-answer period.
Cooper will appear the following evening to screen and discuss “Adaptation.”
Both events will be in the evening at the American Legion Hall, 250 Monroe St., which will be equipped with a high-quality large screen and “250 plush seats,” Force said.
Leone Cooper will appear at the same venue on Sept. 27 for a screening of “My Left Foot.”
On Sept. 26, both Bridges and Cooper will participate in a one-hour session to talk about their careers and acting, moderated by Rose Theatre proprietor Rocky Friedman.
The festival is yet to schedule a signing in conjunction with the Writers Workshoppe for Leone Cooper for Jesse, A Mother’s Story of Grief, Grace, and Everyday Bliss, a book about the couple’s son, who suffered from cerebral palsy.
Cooper and Bridges will meet at the festival for the first time, Force said.
“They have both been in the business for so long and their paths have probably crossed but they have never worked together,” Force said.
Cooper and Leone Cooper, both 63, said they are looking forward to visiting Port Townsend after the enthusiastic description by Sayles and Renzi.
Cooper may become even more familiar with the town, as he is negotiating to play Captain William Henry Pratt in Sayles’ “To Save the Man,” scheduled to film at Fort Worden State Park next summer.
Cooper’s first film role was in Sayles’ “Matewan” in 1987.
The two have worked on four films together.
“I’m fortunate that good supporting roles have come my way. I have no great desire to carry a film,” Cooper said.
“I come from a theater background where you learn that no role is too small, but I make the lead actors work their butts off.
“I do my homework, come prepared and make them give a better performance.”
Cooper said that many young actors lack sufficient depth.
“They start so young they don’t have any life experience to bring to their work,” said Cooper, who was 35 when he made his first screen appearance.
“They’ve never done any stage work and sort of go dry after the fifth take.”
While a film may feature actors who vary in terms of fame and prestige, there is no place for such stratification on the film set.
“It’s all about the performance,” said Leone Cooper, who played a recurring role on “The Sopranos” and who, along with Cooper, has a small part in the new David O. Russell film “Joy,” starring Jennifer Lawrence and Robert DeNiro.
“I played Robert DeNiro’s ex-girlfriend and stayed away from him before the filming because I heard he was shy,” Leone Cooper said.
“But as soon as he started work, he was focused, generous and everything you could ask for in an actor.”
Cooper had similar experiences with Meryl Streep, with whom he acted in “Adaptation” and “August: Osage County.”
“For the first two weeks of our filing ‘Adaptation,’ I was intimidated until we got to know each other and she put me at ease,” he said.
“I wanted to give her my best effort and she found ways to tell me she appreciated that.
“It’s always good to her from a person you respect that they appreciate your work and the choices that you make.”
Aside from “Joy,” Cooper is to appear in “Demolition” along with Naomi Watts and Jake Gyllenhaal and the miniseries version of Stephen King’s time travel fantasy “11/22/63” which will be shown on the online Hulu.
As a writer, Leone Cooper reads the scripts submitted to her husband and offers her evaluation.
“Unfortunately for Chris, he’s married to a writer so I read his stuff,” she said.
“Sometimes, like ‘Adaptation,” it is so good that it jumps off the page.
“Other times the script may not be great but the character is a good one.”
Both Coopers are excited about the script for “To Save The Man.”
“I’m in a fortunate position,” Cooper said.
“If something excites me, I can spend my energy doing it.”
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Jefferson County Editor Charlie Bermant can be reached at 360-385-2335 or cbermant@peninsuladailynews.com.