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Making The Caveman's Valentine
By Carla Robinson
When talking about a film, one person’s art is another person’s
anathema, but it’s always the filmmaker’s baby. Although it’s my humble
opinion that The Caveman’s Valentine is a picture only
its creators could love, I remain enamored of two of the people who brought it to life:
Kasi Lemmons and Samuel L. Jackson. All along, this project was intended for Jackson. The
producers at Jersey Films (Danny DeVito’s company) purchased the rights to George
Dawes Green’s 1994 mystery novel with him in mind.
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Jackson was drawn to its offbeat main
character, the mentally ill Romulus Ledbetter. Romulus, once a Julliard-trained classical
musician, lives in a cave in a Manhattan park and finds himself compelled to solve a
murder. Something in Romulus’ plight drew the actor, who mused at a recent press
conference, “How intriguing to have someone that society has discarded because
he’s unstable and have him be the person who pieces together a murder mystery.”
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© 2001 Universal Studios
Lulu (Aunjanue Ellis), Romulus (Samuel
L. Jackson) and Det. Cork (Peter MacNeill) in The Caveman's Valentine
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The most challenging aspect of portraying such an
unconventional character was “finding the center,” he noted. “No matter how
far into depression or how high up he went, he had a center.” Although Romulus is
schizophrenic, Jackson is comfortable drawing a parallel between him and the character,
adding, “I can take myself to incredible highs and lows.” And the relationship
that Romulus has with his estranged daughter, Lulu, struck a chord with Jackson, who said
that as an actor he was away from his own daughter a lot when she was growing up.
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When the time came to tap a director for Caveman’s Valentine, Jackson could think of
none better than Kasi Lemmons. Fresh off Eve’s Bayou, he felt that “Kasi had
just the right type of sensitivity to make this kind of material work.” For her part,
Lemmons jumped at the chance to work with Jackson again, saying, “Romulus is one of
the best character studies that I have read. He is human and godly at the same time. And
Sam had the flexibility and control to take us on that voyage.” She was impressed
with the material itself because “It touches on all my obsessions about what’s
real and what’s not,” she said. “I was fascinated by the concept of the
character’s insanity and his moments of genius.”
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The most challenging aspect of portraying such an
unconventional character was “finding the center,” he noted. “No matter how
far into depression or how high up he went, he had a center.” Although Romulus is
schizophrenic, Jackson is comfortable drawing a parallel between him and the character,
adding, “I can take myself to incredible highs and lows.” And the relationship
that Romulus has with his estranged daughter, Lulu, struck a chord with Jackson, who said
that as an actor he was away from his own daughter a lot when she was growing up.
When the time came to tap a director for Caveman’s Valentine, Jackson could think of
none better than Kasi Lemmons. Fresh off Eve’s Bayou, he felt that “Kasi had
just the right type of sensitivity to make this kind of material work.” For her part,
Lemmons jumped at the chance to work with Jackson again, saying, “Romulus is one of
the best character studies that I have read. He is human and godly at the same time. And
Sam had the flexibility and control to take us on that voyage.” She was impressed
with the material itself because “It touches on all my obsessions about what’s
real and what’s not,” she said. “I was fascinated by the concept of the
character’s insanity and his moments of genius.”
Lemmons, who wears a number of hats professionally but simply considers herself “an
artist and mommy,” brings the strength of her convictions to her projects, which can
be an uphill battle when it comes to casting women over 30. Longtime friends of Tamara
Tunie (remember Jessica Griffin on “As The World Turns”?), who devilishly plays
Sheila, Romulus’s former wife and current muse, Lemmons and Jackson wanted her from
the start. But the people pulling the purse strings insisted they look at younger
actresses, despite the fact that Jackson himself is over 50. Lemmons stood firm,
insisting, “I’m not putting Samuel Jackson in bed with a girl! I want a
woman.” She’s proud that her films feature women with a capital W.
M
April 2001
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