Prairie Tales

But even Altman gets anxious on the job. Resting in his office last July in downtown St. Paul's Fitzgerald Theater, where the bulk of Prairie was shot over just 22 days, he expressed dread about a tightly scripted segment in which the cast would discuss the death of one of their fellow players. ''It's the most written scene that we've done in the whole picture. There's actually dialogue and response,'' he said, sounding drained. ''Consequently, it's a very difficult scene for me. In fact, this morning, I was thinking, 'Can I just scrap this?'''

He didn't, of course. He shot it, and he seemed pleased with the results. Still, his self-doubt and weariness seemed to take on an existential weight. ''I don't think it makes a hell of a lot of difference what I do, other than turn the switch on in the morning,'' he said. ''I'm not being funny with you here. I truthfully ponder this a lot.'' He even wondered if Prairie could be his last project. ''I don't know that I have the energy or the longevity to do any more,'' he admitted.

It's a possibility that those closest to him do not seem ready to consider. Four-time Altman vet Tomlin has known the director since 1974, when he cast the Laugh-In star in Nashville, her first movie. She tears up at the thought of losing her friend. ''I don't even want to suppose it's possible...'' she says, her voice cracking. ''No, I don't subscribe to that at all.''

Back on the train, now just 30 minutes away from Boston, Streep and Kline reminisce about working together in Sophie's Choice, and Altman sings a jingle about Abe Lincoln. The man is in high spirits, betraying none of the exhaustion from nine months earlier. He has plenty to whistle about: Prairie screenings have been generating favorable buzz. And a month prior, he finally took home a long-overdue Oscar — albeit an honorary one. ''It felt good, I enjoyed it,'' he says. ''There wasn't any anxiety. I wasn't sitting there wondering who was gonna get it.''

He's also no longer wondering if Prairie could be his swan song. Altman is eyeing a September start date for Hands on a Hard Body, an adaptation of the 1998 documentary about an endurance contest, which he hopes will star Chris Rock, Dwayne ''The Rock'' Johnson, Billy Bob Thornton, and Hilary Swank. ''I do not intend to retire at all,'' he says firmly. ''Someone may retire me, but I'm not going to have anything to do with it.''