'Wonder' Boy
VAL KILMER CHANNELS A PORN STAR''I'm not playing a porn star,'' says Val Kilmer. ''I'm playing a guy who used to be a porn star.'' In ''Wonderland,'' Kilmer stars as John Holmes, the porn star -- make that ex-porn star -- who said he'd slept with 14,000 women, was acquitted in the '81 Wonderland Ave. murders (hence the title), and died of AIDS in '88. Kilmer addresses his image, his costar, and prosthetics.
Why did it take you nine months to sign on to do this movie? I just didn't have an interest in being attached to the world of pornography. I've had a lot of bad things said about me. So, fear. [Laughs]
What changed your mind? Kate Bosworth [as Holmes' girlfriend Dawn]. This girl can act like crazy. And I really got excited about this guy who slept with thousands of women but who was hopelessly in love with one girl.
Did you wear a prosthetic member? We talked about it. I said, ''You've got to address this guy's uh -- the reason the story takes place is because of how he was built.'' But the director thought it was stronger if you didn't see it.
Is the movie controversial? It's not a kids' movie. A guy who knew boys [who lived and dealt drugs] at Wonderland Ave. told me, ''Of all the sick places I've been, that was the sickest place of all.'' (TBA)
