Kay McConaughey in “Bernie”

Kay McConaughey (affectionately known as K-Mac) plays a small town gossip in the new film Bernie, directed by family friend Richard Linklater, and co-starring her son Matthew, whom you may have heard of.

Her character, Tassie, is one of the more memorable “locals” through which the film’s narrative is told. She plays a ballsy gal with plenty to say and steals the movie in her few brief scenes.

I sat down with K-Mac in the Lobby Lounge restaurant in the Four Seasons Hotel while SXSW frenzy buzzed around us. Looking nowhere near her 80 years and having more energy than most kids I know, she chatted about the movie, her book, her famous son, and being a grandma.

DW: I’ve just come out of a roundtable interview with Matthew and Richard. They talked about you…

KM: (laughs) Yeah, well, Richard’s so low-key and sweet. I hope I get to see him in a suit before I die. I’ve never seen him in a suit no matter what the premiere is and I go to all of his.

DW: How did you get involved with the film Bernie?

KM: Rick called me and said, “There’s a part for you in this movie Bernie and I cannot imagine anybody playing Tassie but you.” I’m good friends with him and his family so it’s not like… I mean he just comes right out and says, “It’s you, K-Mac. It’s got you all over it.” So he emailed it to me and I said, “Rick, you’re right. That sounds like me.” I said I’d love to do it.

DW: The part you play is one of the townspeople, one of the gossips, and it all seems so natural. Was it ad-libbed or scripted?

KM: I ad-libbed. (laughs) A lot.

DW: Well, that explains it. (laughs)

KM: It was so easy to do. I don’t mean to make it sound like I’m a pro, I was just so comfortable, you know.

DW: Well, your character weighs in a lot on the crime and the two lead characters. What do you think about Bernie and Mrs. Nugent?

KM: I wish he’d gotten a lighter sentence. I mean, she’d be enough to drive anybody crazy. Have you seen the movie?

DW: I did, and I enjoyed it.

KM: Isn’t it wonderful? And Shirley MacLaine is perfect for it. Jack’s perfect for it. Matthew’s perfect for it. Rick did a good job of casting, including me. Very good. (laughs)

DW: Getting away from the movie a bit, I know that you’re a grandma…

KM: And a great-grandma, too!

DW: Wow, congrats on that. Are you a traditional kind of cookies-and-milk grandma…?

KM: NO! Not at all! But, I mean, they don’t try me. They’re very respectful to me and I can’t imagine them talking back to me. But they’re always happy to see me because I do the fun stuff. Levi (Matthew’s son) loves to role-play and he’s only 3. I say, come on let’s go, and he says, “Is the big black car gonna pick us up?”

DW: He’s already used to limos.

KM: Right (laughs), but he’s very imaginative. I’ll say, “Where should we go.” And he’ll say, “Brazil.” And then he wants me to tell a story that we can act out. Now Vida (Matthew’s daughter, 2) is gettin’ to be the same way. Levi will say, “Ma-Mac, Ma-Mac, tell me a story.” And I say, “Where should we go to tell this story?” and he says, “Under the piano?” So there we go, under the piano or under the pool table. Just us on an adventure. That’s how we go. No, I’m not baking cookies and all of that. That’s not me.

DW: You wrote a book called, “I Amaze Myself.” Do you have any plans to write more?

KM: No, it was fun but I don’t want to do it anymore. It’s time-consuming. I have a partner now. We travel. And I mean, I self-published this and it was a lot of work. Book signings, Kiwanis Club, Lions Club, you name it.

DW: So you were your own publicist and all of that?

KM: Yeah, it was a lot of work and I’m done with it now. I did it because I would tell stories to and about my kids and some of the things I’ve gotten away with… that I have no shame about. Like I always say, I’ve been thrown out of better places. So I had stories to tell, but there’s no trying to please everybody. And I’m just happy being me.

DW: That’s the only way to live it.

KM: The only way.

DW: With having a celebrity in the family, what would you say is the best thing about that and what is the worst thing about it?

KM: The best thing is I get to go to great places. We went to Africa, Italy. Matthew is so good about flying us over and my partner gets to come, too. That’s the best part, getting to see places I would never have been able to.

DW: You get to see the world…

KM: Yes, he’s very good about that and always has been. And I guess the worst part, it’s not really a bad thing, but I don’t like it when we’re someplace and people come up to talk to him and they take him away from his family, from us. Like at a premiere or something, we go in first and then he has his time and does his thing. That’s fine. But it’s mostly when we’re out someplace and they come up and say, “Are you Matthew McConaughey?” and then our time is taken away. I understand it, and it’s not bad, but it’s really the one thing I don’t like.

DW: He’s moved back to Texas now so do you get a lot of time with him and the grandkids?

KM: He’s in Austin now. Yes, but I don’t go unless they ask me. (laughs) Right now, I’m back almost every Sunday. Levi and I are friends. He’ll call and say, “Ma-Macky, come to my house now.” So I may be his grandmother but I’m his fun friend most of all.

DW: Well, I’ve really enjoyed talking with you. This has been a lot of fun.

KM: The one thing I always say and have all over my house is: It’s All Good. I gave one to Matthew, a big sign that says, “It’s All Good,” and that’s the way we live.

DW: I can see that in him and in you, too. Thanks so much.

KM: Thank you.

You can see K-Mac in the new film Bernie, currently in theaters. My review of the film is here.

Bernie is a twisted, quirky comedy; the true story of a beloved and cheerful small-town mortician who befriends the meanest (and wealthiest) widow in town and ultimately kills her. It stars Jack Black as Bernie, Shirley MacLaine as Marjorie Nugent, and Matthew McConaughey as District Attorney Danny Buck Davidson.

The following is an edited transcript of the discussion in which 10 journalists were invited to ask questions.

QUESTION (to MM): In this film and in some of your best work you play a lawyer. I’m trying to think of all the films where you played a lawyer…

MM: What have we got here… A Time to Kill, Amistad, Lincoln Lawyer and this … yeah.

QUESTION: And you wanted to be a lawyer originally, you were pre-law?

MM: I did. That’s where I was headin’. Then I luckily ran into a friend of ours, Don Phillips, in a bar and he introduced me to this guy (motions to Linklater). And yeah, this is much more fun.

QUESTION: How does Bernie fit into your “J.K. Livin” philosophy?
(“Just keep livin” is a quote from Dazed and Confused that McConaughey has adopted as his personal philosophy and it is the name of his production company.)

MM: Well one, Rick’s the director, the only director I work with that can go “Hey, I think I’ve got something for ya. Let’s get together and talk about it.” The process of getting to the day of shooting is really fun for Rick and I. There’s nothing formal about it all. We really play. It doesn’t take us that long.

RL: Yeah, the process for this one was just a couple days.

MM: And it’s just he and I, one on one. And I always look forward to that. And so, that’s a part of JK Livin philosophy right there, the fact that he’s a good friend and I like to work with him. The work is so much better when you have fun and I always have fun working with him.

QUESTION (to RL): In this film, there’s the opportunity to do some one-on-one research for the multiple roles. Did you seek out the real-life people?

RL: I started with Bernie and then talked to Scrappy (the defense attorney) as well. Jack wanted to meet Bernie so we facilitated that. I went to the trial about 15 years ago. I was into it back then. I wanted to see him testify. So yeah, it’s tricky when you do something that’s based on real events, real people. You know, I was concerned about the families and you try to be as accurate as you possibly can.

QUESTION (to RL): Why did you use the sort-of documentary style of the town characters?

RL: You’re talking about all the gossips? The townspeople? I just thought having grown up in a small town… and I hadn’t really seen that before. If you think about it that’s how I received the story. Mrs. Nugent is gone. Bernie’s in prison. So you have no access to the players, right? So what are you? In a way you’re whatever people say about you. So we hear the gossip from a lot of different angles. I was reading a stack of Skip’s journalistic notes (Skip Hollandsworth wrote an article about the trial for Texas Monthly, and he co-wrote the screenplay), that’s when it hit me. Like… gossips… yeah. It’s all the same event from different experiences. That’s when I got the idea in my mind that gossips would tell the story. You know, I went to that trial and saw it. They were excited. Gossip is fun, especially in a small town. It’s human, but it’s especially strong in a small town.

QUESTION (to MM):  Matthew, how did he describe the story? On paper it could seem really, really dark, and your kind of humor is a bit more whimsical, I suppose. So when he described the story to you, how did he play it?

MM: I was pretty much onboard when I read it. I thought it was the funniest thing he’d done on paper. I thought it was very, very funny. There’s an innocence about Rick, he has a bit of charm that he gives. There’s something about him, either your charm or you give that kind of charm… (to RL) You’re charming. (laughs) It’s just moving. There was something innocent about it that attracted me in that way. I never read this and thought, no it’s too dark. When I read it, I felt on pace with the tone. I thought it was much more funny than dark.

RL: I don’t really think it’s dark. I mean, it’s described as a dark comedy only because there’s murder in it, the darkest subject you can think of. But Bernie’s life I don’t… it only had a few seconds of darkness.

QUESTION: How much did you exaggerate the characters for comic effect?

RL: Danny Buck’s gonna be at the screening tonight so you can see for yourself.

(laughter)

QUESTION: What about Bernie?

RL: Jack so nails Bernie. He got his walk exactly. He was working on the accent thing because we had some recordings of Bernie that he was going on, like one at a church service. But then when he finally met Bernie and got to hang out with him, that was it.

QUESTION: Was the Shirley MacLaine character really that bad in real life?

RL: Oh, yeah. Shirley was talking to Ms. Nugent (motions to the sky, Ms. Nugent is the murder victim), so she had that connection.

(laughter)

QUESTION: I totally understood everything the characters were saying, but sometimes you’ll see a British film, like a Ken Loach film, where they have subtitles. I wonder if this film needs subtitles for the east and west coast.

RL: I wonder if you have to. I had a friend from New York who saw it at a press screening. He called me up and said, “Don’t take this the wrong way, but I felt like I was watching a film from another country.” (laughs) Well, it kinda is. Even in Texas, it’s like another country, isn’t it?

QUESTION: The scene where you break down the different areas of the state, that was funny…

RL: I always wanted to do that in a movie because if you live here and you have friends not from Texas it’s hard to describe. It’s impossible. They’re like, “Oh, did you grow up like in a John Wayne movie?” And it’s like I grew up in an area that’s all woods. There’s trees in Texas. (laughs) Yeah, there’s all these different sections and I’ve been kinda wanting to break that down. I remember seeing a postcard when I was a kid about how Texans see the country, do you remember that? It’s like Texas goes all the way to Canada… (laughs), so we worked on that graphic.

QUESTION (to MM): We’re writing an article about your mother, we’re interviewing her today, so I wanted to get your side of the story…

(Up until now, the interview had been fairly subdued, but McConaughey lit up when asked about his mom, affectionately known as K-Mac, and renowned for being a fun and fearless broad.)

MM: You’re gonna need to get some stuff from me because my mom is not gonna say enough for you to write. (He grins broadly). She’s such a lady of few words. (laughs)

QUESTION: We wanted to ask you what it was like to work with your mom.

MM: This is the guy to ask (points to RL) ‘cuz he’s done this in Newton Boys. He hired my oldest brother, Rooster, and put us in a scene together. (laughs) So she tells me they met … or auditioned for it?

RL: She auditioned for it.

MM: And she goes, “Rick says I’m just right for it.” So a couple weeks go by and I go, “So did he say you got the part?” And she says, “Well, I mean, Rick said I’m right for it.” And I go, “No, no, no, a director can say anything like that. Did he say you got the part?” And she goes, “No.” (mimics her heavy sigh, laughs) So I said, “You might be gettin’ a call-back. You better get after it some more” So I get her pumped up. I’m serious! I jacked with her. So she starts… I work with her one night on those lines, and she’s walking around for weeks sayin’ like, “Well, mAY-be…” (strong accent, laughs). So I’m workin’ with her and stuff and tellin’ her don’t worry about her lines, just relax, and be yourself. That’s probably what Rick would like the most. I don’t remember how it exactly went down but she finally got the formal “yes,” and then everything notched-up. (laughs) Then she’s in the movie. That’s great. But then there’s a scene where I’m in a café and old sneaky cat here (motions to RL) … who’s sittin’ next to me: He puts my mom in the scene.

RL: It was in the script!

MM: But there are all kinds of townies!

RL: But did it say their names for all of ‘em?

(The two argue playfully and talk over one another.)

MM: Okay, I had no idea. So, my brother and I are in one film together and now he’s got Mom and I. I don’t think he’s likely to get my middle brother. Yeah, so that was…

RL: She’s been trying to get in every one of your films. (laughs) She wanted to re-do The Graduate early on.

MM: I would be Benjamin and she would play…

QUESTION: Mrs. Robinson? Oh, that’s twisted!

(raucous laughter)

MM: She said that would be a (uses quote fingers) “money maker!”

(laughter)

RL: She said to me, “At least someone appreciates me.”

(laughter)

MM: So tonight I’ll be there, ya know, having a great time.

QUESTION: What did she think of you in Killer Joe?
(Killer Joe is an ultra-violent film that also screened at SXSW)

MM: She liked it. She’s like, “You bad.” (points finger) “You baaad.”

QUESTION (to RL): Have you screened Bernie in Carthage yet?

RL: No, not yet. We’re hoping to get a screening in the prison for Bernie.

QUESTION: Jack could do like Johnny Cash, a sort of Live at Folsom Prison…

MM: Jack’s great in this, isn’t he?

(universal approval)

QUESTION (to RL): I know that Some Came Running is one of your favorite films and you’re finally getting to work with Shirley MacLaine. Did you bounce some thoughts off of her from that film?

RL: No. You know when you’re working with someone with that kind of career, I never ask those questions. But she would offer things and she’s got her stories and experiences.

QUESTION (to RL): Did she really meditate Mrs. Nugent?

RL: She said she did. She felt a little jealous because Jack had access to Bernie and she couldn’t, but then she could…

(laughter)

At this point the fellas were whisked away for more interviews elsewhere. The film screened at the Paramount Theater later that night, Wednesday March 14.

Click here to read my review of Bernie.

“Bernie” is based on a crime story that proves the adage “truth is stranger than fiction.”

There is so much about the film (and Bernie) that is odd, and often endearingly so. The story is structured around interviews of quirky and colorful local residents who are eager to share their thoughts about the crime. These are interspersed with re-enactments of the events as they unfolded in 1998. It’s at once funny and chilling that most everyone in town sides with Bernie even though he confessed to shooting an elderly woman four times in the back.

The offbeat tone of the film is established in the opening sequence in which a competent and cheerful Bernie demonstrates to a class of future-morticians how to make corpses look good. (You’d be surprised how much super glue comes in to play.) The pride he takes in his work, his respect for the deceased and their families, the sing-song delivery of well-chosen words, and his stereotypically homosexual mannerisms establish a character that’s both funny and intriguing. He has got to be the happiest mortician on the planet.

When we next see Bernie he’s on his way to Carthage for a new job, singing a peppy spiritual with comic gusto and abandon.  Right away, one wonders if anyone can truly be this upbeat. Is he up to something? Is this guy for real? Jack Black plays the character utterly devoid of guile, let alone malice. So when he settles in Carthage, becomes the most popular man in town, and then endeavors to befriend the recently widowed and infamously wretched Marjorie Nugent (Shirley MacLaine), it’s not hard to believe that he’s simply doing it out of kindness. Only one man, the local D.A., thinks Bernie connived his way into Mrs. Nugent’s life in order to get his hands on her fortune.

Bernie and Marjorie develop an unhealthy co-dependency that takes some surprising turns and brings up some needling questions. Who’s using who? And how calculating are either one of these characters? The film doesn’t really take a stand on this. It lets the locals say their piece, but ultimately it simply presents the facts without judgment or manipulation. They were friends, they travelled together, got spa treatments together, he made it into her will, and somewhere along the line Bernie went from being her constant companion to something of an indentured slave. Then one day he shot her.

Enter District Attorney Danny Buck Davidson (Matthew McConaughey), defense attorney Scrappy Holmes (Yes, these are their real names!) and a juicy trial that brought the media circus to small town Texas.

Most performances in the film are splendid, particularly the quirky “locals” who provide an often hilarious running commentary chock full of colloquialisms that ring surprisingly true (McConaughey’s mom, Kay McConaughey, among them.) Director Richard Linklater is from Austin, of course, but by way of east Texas originally. He knows these people and captures them well. Lest non-Texans think these are exaggerations, I can attest that I’d be rich if I had a dime for every time I’ve heard the expression “I guaran-damn-tee ya.” Yes, people really talk like that.

Jack Black’s earnest and sincere portrayal of Bernie is highlighted by his lovely singing voice. He has the opportunity to show off his pipes here and there’s no denying his musical talent when he’s not goofing around. He even does a bit of song-and-dance that impresses and makes one wonder what he could do with a shot on Broadway. Shirley MacLaine plays her familiar grumpy gussie without much subtext or humanity.

McConaughey shines as the D.A. who can’t believe his eyes and ears when an entire community (including the pastor) sides with the murderer. D. A. Davidson is a bit of an a-hole who mentions “closet homosexuals” more than necessary and asks Bernie on the witness stand if he knows what wine goes with fish… as if that’s somehow a damning factor in the trial. Though the D.A. may be a publicity-whoring jerk, he also happens to be right on at least one score: murder is murder, whether the victim was a total bitch or not.

The film’s only weakness is that it doesn’t seem to be quite sure what it wants to say about these proceedings. There isn’t much of a take-away when all is said and done, except that a good time was had at the movies.

It’s unclear how this will play outside of Texas, and it’s a hard film to categorize in general. It’s not exactly a dark comedy – it’s pretty darn perky. But there is the problem of a dead old bitch in a freezer. If offbeat is your cup of tea, I guaran-damn-tee you’ll like this one.

4 of 5 stars

SXSW screening of Bernie is Wednesday 3/14 at the Paramount Theater.

Matthew has been loving up Austin recently. Being a season ticket holder he attended the opening home game of the Longhorns football team with his wife and baby Levi in tow. All three were rocking the burnt orange. He then got his fitness on by participating in the Nike+ Human race with his pal Lance and a sea of randoms outfitted in red. Austin was also lucky enough to host the premiere of his new movie Surfer Dude. The green carpet was rolled out at the Paramount where Matthew donned his best pair of jeans. Also attending the premiere was co-star, friend, and fellow Austin lover, Woody Harrelson.

Beijing Action

Let’s just take a moment to acknowledge all of the athletes who wore the burnt orange while participating in the Olympic Games in Beijing. Let us also take a moment to acknowledge the amazing bodies of the men….and the women….but ESPECIALLY the men. Who knew swimmers were so ripped? The Austin, Texas contingency raked in 14 medals with Longhorn Aaron Peirsol leading the way with three medals in the pool.

Friday Night Lights.

It seems that the Friday Night Lights crew is back in action based on spottings reported on the Austin Star Map website. I debuted as an up and coming Hollywood actress and joined in the frenzy to participate as an extra in the filming last weekend in the role of “Football Spectator #427”. I spent a stimulating evening sitting in the stands and fake cheering on command. Sadly, I wasn’t able to stalk any of the real stars of FNL since they were just shooting filler scenes. I was really hoping to catch Minka Kelly for an autograph, but to no avail she was not at the taping. Perhaps she was showing Derek Jeter some of the sights of Austin.