 DANNY DeVITO:
"Like me and all the stuff I do, this film has got an edge to it. It's a
dark comedy, black comedy, comedy that's actually about some very serious stuff
- bribery, jealousy, revenge, assassination. You know, all the good things in
life."
• DeVito on casting Smoochy • Back to
top
 ROBIN WILLIAMS:
"Danny has a particularly dark sense of humor. In the wrong hands
this material could be dangerous. It's Tarantino meets Mr. Rogers. It's
Reservoir Rhino. But Danny's not afraid of anything. It's his demonic little
flair that makes this film work so beautifully. Danny's a troll without a
bridge! He was a blast. I got worried that he would let me go over the edge,
which he did, and he ended up using some interesting things."
• Williams on the film's tone • Back to
top
 EDWARD NORTON:
"I read the script for Smoochy at two in the morning. I was lying
on my back and I had these rivulets of tears running down my temples when I was
done, it was such a funny script."
• Norton's surprising role • Back to
top
CATHERINE
KEENER:
"It was a real privilege to work with Robin Williams. Edward and I would
just look at each other and go, 'Can you believe that we get this front row
seat to this incredible mind?'"
DeVITO:
"When I was reading the script I was thinking of Edward for Smoochy, I
thought his innocence and boyishness (was perfect for the role) Maybe that's
because I knew him off-screen."
• Back to top
NORTON:
"I thought Danny wanted me to play Randolph Smiley. In fact, when I read
the script I figured Adam Sandler would be Smoochy. I was thinking to myself,
'Maybe they'll let me play Rainbow Randolph, but they'll never let me play
Smoochy.' Danny said, 'You've got to play Smoochy.' I was a little surprised by
the fact that he was able to convince the studio to let me do that role."
• Back to top
WILLIAMS:
"Death to Smoochy is a black comedy, it's a satire, it's a social
commentary and it's a love story. Underneath it all, it's a peek into the
darker side of show biz; in this case children's programming, where everyone
has skeletons in their closets and a selling out point under the table. Except,
of course, for Mr. Sheldon Mopes, who is clearly the only real man in the land
of the eunuch."
• Back to top
KEENER:
"I think adults will like this movie. There's room for descending opinion
about it, it might be too much for people or not enough. I heard some people
think that it's mean spirited, but I didn't experience it in that way."
• Back to top
NORTON:
"I'm not interested in making movies for everybody. I like making movies
for myself and my friends and people with my sensibility like Danny, Catherine
and Robin. When you read a script like this the first thing you think is, 'I
hope to God they don't back off and try to make it so that you can take your
kids to it,' and I was so happy that Danny didn't. It was such a thrill to make
an adult comedy."
• Back to top
DeVITO:
"As Robin has said, we all want to make a film that we can take our kids
to … but this is not that movie."
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