Nolte throws out small observations on many of his films -- that "48 Hrs." was largely improvised, that he was a jerk when working with "The Deep" director Peter Yates and that "The Thin Red Line" director Terrence Malick "was more interested in insects than actors" during the making of the film.
Addressing his addictions, Nolte muses that perhaps he's motivated to escape or to explore and that maybe it's all part of being an actor. "Or are you just a plain, old drunk? It seems like they have cast me in that role -- as the drinker, you know, [and] I wish I'd get paid for that role. I've given them a lot of good footage."
It's no surprise that Nolte can be candid airing some of his own (occasionally dirty) laundry. His own website ( www.nicknolte.com) launches with his mug shots and includes quotations (including one from poet Anne Sexton) about his philosophical inspirations. But what impressed "No Exit" director Tom Thurman was the actor's willingness to bare all on film, without a journalist constantly prompting him to do so.
"I knew that I wanted to make a documentary that was not traditional," Thurman says from his Kentucky home. "And if there is anybody on the planet who would roll with someone wanting to do something less traditional, this is my guy."
Thurman, who has made documentaries on directors John Ford and Sam Peckinpah and actors Warren Oates and Ben Johnson, collaborated with Nolte on Thurman's recent film about the life of writer Hunter S. Thompson, "Buy the Ticket, Take the Ride," which Nolte narrated.
When they decided to make "No Exit," Nolte agreed to no limits on the areas for discussion (Thurman would occasionally prompt the actor from off camera). "That was the remarkable thing, everything he wanted to talk about . . . [being] amazingly accessible and vulnerable," Thurman says.
Like so many hundreds of others here, Thurman has come to Cannes hoping someone will take a risk and distribute his film. "I don't have a sales rep; I am doing this completely alone," he says.
Thurman faces some unusual competition: Nolte has another movie in the market here, “King Shot,” a "metaphysical spaghetti gangster film" costarring goth rocker Marilyn Manson. As "No Exit" proves, you never know what Nolte will say or do next.
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john.horn@latimes.com
