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STANFORD INTERNATIONAL PRO-AMApril 23, 2008James CaanAVENTURA, FLORIDA ASHLEY CUSHMAN: James, thanks for coming in and joining us today. Obviously an Academy Award nominated actor, a couple of Emmy nominations as well, Golden Globes. Now you're her in Aventura getting ready to tee it up with the women of the LPGA Tour. JAMES CAAN: Right. And I'm more nervous than I was in any one of those former things. ASHLEY CUSHMAN: That's what I was going to ask you about. Talk about this event a little bit and what really attracted you to coming down here and playing this week. JAMES CAAN: Well, the truth of the matter is that I'm friends for a very, very long time with the Soffer family, and Donnie and Ray Floyd obviously designed the new Soffer Course, appropriately named. I don't work anymore, so I -- I mean, it's not that I don't want to. People have forgotten my name. I think they think I passed away, which I did on that television show. But anyway, that is what happened. So I visit here quite often. The more obsessed I become with golf the more -- you know, it's nice to be around people who play very well. I hope that osmosis will take place. You know, first time I met Annika I asked her if she wanted a roommate. Of course, she turned me down. Again, the osmosis theory. But, again, the longer I've been here and the more I've known the girls, it's just amazing. I follow all of golf, and I have mixed emotions about playing with the girls, because to me it's like on one hand -- obviously it's fun and it's an honor. On the other hand, they're here to make money. So I have mixed emotions. It's not like you can have fun, you know, because they're here to make money. If I don't help or I distract them, there are some people that I guess are like that. I don't feel really good about that. So I put a lot of pressure on myself. I'm going to be taking probably shots of Valium every two or three holes or something. But I was lucky enough to draw who I spent Monday night with, Laura Davies and Christina Kim. And miraculously, I got Christina. She's one of the greatest ladies I've ever met. She's just great. She seems like one of the girls that I possibly couldn't distract. She doesn't distract too easy. So I feel a lot more comfortable. I mean, I promise you I'll do my best to distract just to test her out this week. She'll get the full Caan this week, so I'm very happy about that. Unfortunately her caddie told her I played good because she watched me play two holes yesterday. It was just those two holes. Thankfully she didn't follow me for the rest of the round. But they amaze me. They just amazes me. ASHLEY CUSHMAN: Have you played in an event like this before? JAMES CAAN: No, I don't like actors. If I lose to one -- I think of myself as an athlete -- I'd get even sicker, are so I don't like that. I have an event every year, but it's a charity event. You know, that money thing, it's -- that's where I kind of get a little -- you know, I have those mixed emotions, like driving your mother-in-law to the airport. That's an example of mixed emotions. Everybody I've met so far has been just great. Yesterday was like I thought I hit a monster on No. 6 over here, it's a Par 5. I only had I think about 190 in and I'm -- chest is all pumped. Man, I pounded this thing. I'm like, Oh, Bobby, my caddie, I said, hey, that was great. He said, Yeah, you got about 185 to the front over that water but the wind is blowing. So we're talking about it. Hey, well, I'll get there in two. I can hit maybe a rescue club. Or hit it to the back with a 5, da, da, da. As I'm talking, this ball comes sailing over my head. I don't mean just dribbling, I mean sailing at least 40, 50 yards over. I look back, and there's this girl, about 5'2". I mean, I got about that big. So I'm going to the gym. You know, I got to lift. She just probably had a 7-iron in and I was all puffed up. Wow, I hit that pretty far. So that just amazes me. ASHLEY CUSHMAN: We definitely have some incredible long hitters, and looking at them you wouldn't expect it at all. You got to be mentally prepared for that. JAMES CAAN: No. And I look at my fantastic, muscular body and you would think that I... ASHLEY CUSHMAN: Actor's body. JAMES CAAN: Actor's body! ASHLEY CUSHMAN: Isn't that what you spend all the time working on? Right, That and your golf game? JAMES CAAN: My body? I work on other bodies. I try. That's why I have five kids and four wives. I mean... I think with the girls -- and this is one of the most -- to me, I mean, one of the most beautiful places. I mean, with everything that's here, you know, the pools, and this Michael Mina dining room. I don't know if you guys have been there or if you know who Michael Mina. He's a six star whatever the heck that is. He's one of the top chefs. In Vegas he has four or five restaurants. Unbelievable. So if you get a chance and you find some money laying in the street, because it's a little expensive, but it's unbelievable. So it has so many amenities here. And Donnie and -- so there is two great things. The sponsors are great. I met the people from IMG and you girls. ASHLEY CUSHMAN: Thank you. JAMES CAAN: I'll see how many rules I can break tomorrow. I'll really want to tee it up in a sand trap. Are you allowed? ASHLEY CUSHMAN: I'm the wrong person to ask. JAMES CAAN: Say I dropped the tee and it somehow just stuck in the ground. No, that wouldn't work, huh? I'll figure something else out. ASHLEY CUSHMAN: Questions for James. Q. Couple things. What is your handicap? JAMES CAAN: Well, that is another story. I was playing to like -- at my club, I play at L cab in California. They for the U.S. Open, and the girls used to play there. Do you remember the L cab? They went there the year before the they went to that Trump course and they didn't like that. It's a tough course. So I played these two guys one day, and I think I was playing to like an 11. Just had one of those days and I just crushed these two guys, you know. So then I had to go away. Not like I do it all the time, but it's just one of those days. I just killed them. I went away and I had to do some movie or do something for three or four weeks, and I came back and I look on the board. All of a sudden I'm an 8.2. I go to the head guy and I'm like, What the hell is going on? How could I go from an 11 to an 8.2? What they did was, they got so pissed they got my number and they just posted a whole bunch of scores when I was gone. You can't erase it, so now -- because I'll never win again -- I'm an 8.2. But not really. Q. How long have you been playing? JAMES CAAN: Seriously, I looked at my birth certificate of about six, seven years ago, maybe right now, and I said, Well, you got to stop the nonJewish activities, which is rodeoing. I rodeoed professionally for nine years, karate tournaments, anything stupid. That's why I have 14 operations on my shoulder and knees and all that stuff. It was time to play golf, I thought, and then I got really hooked. Then, of course, that's stupid work got involved with like that -- whatever that thing was I did on NBC, so I couldn't play. But, you know, once in a while when I had a day off, and I would usually just hit balls. I was known to close down every range. It was dark and people would remind me and I wind up saying, Did that sound good? Because it was black outside. You couldn't see anything else. Now that I'm not working, which does not make my wife very happy, because she doesn't know the difference. You know what I mean? Somebody stole her platinum American Express card about four weeks ago, and I never reported it because the guy that stole it was spending less than her. So I'm playing a lot more now. Q. Here's my question: You said of Broadway actors, you know what it's like when the curtain goes up the first might. You been a what, you've ridden bulls in rodeos? JAMES CAAN: No. I don't ride bulls. I'm dumb but not quite that dumb. I'm a roper and a doper. Q. What is the most nervous you've ever been? JAMES CAAN: I'll tell you probably tomorrow morning. You know, I get this ego thing. I just say, you know, just hit it straight -- I remember once watching Don Adams at the Bob Hope. And to get himself loose -- everybody's lined up on the first tee, people left and right. So as a joke my -- right hand to God this is a true story -- there was a lady standing about where you are. He got up to tee there's just a ton of people around and he said, I'd be careful over there if I were you. He hit her right in the leg. So that's what's in my mind. I'll be very nervous. Again, it's -- because, you know, you just don't want to hurt anybody's chances. It's not like they're going to depend on me to win, but I don't want to distract them to the point that -- luckily, again, I got Christina. Q. This is your first Pro-Am? JAMES CAAN: Yeah. Q. Do you think it will benefit you in the sense that it's a three-day event and everyone will be as nervous as you will? JAMES CAAN: No. Really, you know, I don't care how happy or unhappy you are. Really doesn't affect me. If I'm nervous, I'm nervous, I don't give a crap about you. It won't affect me any. The thought behind that being I should realize that and calm myself down? Q. The thought behind it is over the three days would you expect that? JAMES CAAN: No, no. Nah. Because that's the thing about golf. I'm capable of going out and shooting, you know, even or couple over. But I'm very capable of shooting 95. You know, I mean, that's the game. And these particular surroundings are more contusive to the 95. I'll try something. Maybe wear tight shorts or something. I don't know. Q. The undulating greens, it's very narrow out there in some spots. This is maybe not the best course for some amateurs. JAMES CAAN: No. Well, I think Ray and Donnie, when they designed it -- because everybody is bombing it so far today from the back -- what they did is like it's member-friendly. If you're up front, if you notice the fairways are pretty wide. But if you hit it over 300 or you're past 290 to 340, at about 260 or 250 every one of them narrow down. If you want to bomb it, you're going to have to pay the price. It's the same with hunting the flag on this particular course here. It's just not the smart thing to do in most cases. They're so undulating and everything runs either back to the water or into the trap, so you got to be pretty -- you got to spot the places on the green, not necessarily the flag where you want to land. Q. (No microphone.) JAMES CAAN: Well, talk to them and tell them to put down 11 and I got a chance. Q. (No microphone.) JAMES CAAN: It's like anything else. If you have the rhythm going and it feels good, yeah. I don't know how it is with the extra pressure, because I'm not the sanest person in the world out there. It's not like I can -- you know, Jimmy get that last shot out of your mind. How about I get you out of my mind. Get away from me. Q. On the same topic of the greens, would you be apt to ask Christina for help? JAMES CAAN: I don't even know if that's allowed. Is it? ASHLEY CUSHMAN: Actually a lot of our Pro-Ams that we have on Wednesdays, they have the pros line up the putts for them. There's quite a bit of assistance, yeah. JAMES CAAN: Wait a minute. Are you telling me that when they play for money they can ask for advice? ASHLEY CUSHMAN: Yeah. Yeah. JAMES CAAN: Oh. Q. You can ask Christina, but you can't ask... JAMES CAAN: Oh, I can fire my caddie, because he can't read nothing. You know what, again, you got to get the feeling for that. My putt is not going to mean as much as her putt, you know. Although for the team it will. My main certain is just to make sure -- but, again, she's like the best I've ever met. Like nothing seems to bother her at all. But, again, I don't want to take time away from where her brain is. By the way, if she tells me two balls outside the left, I still got to try to hit the spot, and that's the hard part. They can read it. Jimmy, I said left. Oh, I thought you said right. So I still have to hit it. The answer is I guess it will depend -- but Christina is the type that will come up and say, Jimmy this is the way I see it. That's what I believe, if she's allowed to. She's just great. Q. Also, I was wondering have you not played in one of these events because you have not been asked, or have you turned down an invitation? JAMES CAAN: I've turned down a few, yeah. Again, it's pretty much the same reason. You know, it's like in my business, it would be like if you took one of the older great actors like Robert Duvall or Johnny Depp or Brad Pitt, some of the young, great actors and they were doing a serious movie and the producer said, I want you to play this one scene in this serious movie with this kid or this person who's never acted before. You know, what I mean? It's not really fair. It's not fair if it affects the overall outcome. Does that make sense? It's like I'm that kid who's playing with Duvall or, you know Leonardo or any of those great young guys. Anyway that's my feeling. It kind of shies me away. Plus, there are some actors and celebrities that really take themselves much too seriously, and I don't like being around them either. Q. More serious question: You played a role, or a part that is pretty meaningful to people. Just up the road here there's parks named after him, stadiums named after him. All these years later, can you talk about what that role meant to you? JAMES CAAN: What it meant? Well, I mean, all the credit goes to the writer of that thing. It's a pretty tear-jerking kind of thing. But he wrote it, and there was a lot of humor in it. It meant a lot at the time to ABC. Literally, and I've had ABC reminded me of this. They were doing very poorly and I think it was Movie of the Week I think that started that. Because of its success that became a big event. And then I got to meet -- I played a little ball at Michigan State, so I turned it down three or four times because it was right after I finished the Godfather. And then there was a stigma attached to television, which I think is bologna, but it was there, it existed. It's like you do television, you're out of the movie business. It's stupid. But then, they had a runningback named Don Shy (sp) who I thought I was better than. So I thought I would go and maybe have a shot at playing for the Bears, that's how sick I am. I got to meet Joy, and Brian hadn't been dead very long. That part was a little spooky. I mean, I had some weird experiences because I didn't know Brian. Joy would be standing off camera the first day and she said, Where did you learn to put your tongue in your mouth like that? I was like, Excuse me? She was, Well, Brian used to do that all the time. I was like, oh, please. Or hook your finger in there. There was all that stuff going on. But it was great. I mean, I got to be with Butkus, and all those guys are my friends today. And just to be accepted by them after a while. They started calling me Pick (sp). It was weird. Coach started yelling at me. Can't you cut back? Sure I can. So it was a great experience. Q. A few of us in the room saw Christina do a chest bump with her caddie at the ADT Championship last year. JAMES CAAN: Was that her boyfriend caddie or the girl? Q. The girl. Have you guys been working on your celebratory moves for the week? JAMES CAAN: I'm going to have to practice. It's a good idea. I'll ask her tonight at dinner. Maybe after a couple beers we can practice the chest bump. She'll win that. She's got a big chest. My boys at Tailor Made are more nervous than me. Well, maybe after a little TV coverage I won't be. Q. You've been in obviously some legendary roles. You've come into this Pro-Am. Do you expect the golfers you play with to be sort of awed by you? You're Don Corleone, for God's sake. JAMES CAAN: I don't think so. It's the other way around I would think. I'm swimming in unknown waters here, you know. I mean, I get a lot -- you know, a lot of people come and talk to me. It's all been really great so far. You know, nothing -- the standard you know, I wish you hadn't gone through the toll both, or how are your ankles and all that kind of stuff. That's all great. Thank God they still remember. Q. I can imagine that people come up to you in a situation like this and they want to hear about life on the set of some movie. JAMES CAAN: Not on the golf course they don't. No, then I would show you a perfect 9-iron, perfect. No, I don't think they do that. They're not allowed in there, are they, to ask questions? ASHLEY CUSHMAN: The players? JAMES CAAN: No. The players, of course. I mean the people? That's one of the great things of playing these things. ASHLEY CUSHMAN: He's asking about the players. JAMES CAAN: Oh, the players. Well, let's see, say that again. Do they ask me what? Q. I just imagine you're on the driving range... JAMES CAAN: Maybe the first half hour. That's my life story. That's about what it takes: About a half hour, if I stutter. No, I don't -- yeah, there's always a couple fun questions or something like that. But I have a lot of questions that I probably won't ask. How did you hit that shot? Would probably be the main one. Q. Just the last thing, is there one thing that people come up to you and that they say to you repeatedly? Like they're repeating a movie line that you made or something that's just if you hear it one more time you're going to go jump off a bridge? JAMES CAAN: No, I never get to jumping off a bridge. A shank would make me jump off a bridge. No, there's nothing -- it's usually something from The Godfather or from or the think with the ankles. You know, I've done 80 movies. They remember two of them. That's pretty good. No, there's nothing really. A lot about the Misery thing, the ankle thing and the Corleone family. I'll make you an offer you can't refuse. In reality it saves me a lot, because people still think, watch what you say to this guy. You're going to end up in a cement shoes. Don't mess with this guy. Q. I believe I read somewhere that you are the assistant golf coach at a junior college. JAMES CAAN: Yeah, Glendale. Q. How did that happen? JAMES CAAN: Well, my stand-in when I was doing Vegas is a PGA member and guy I started playing with, Greg Osborne his name is. He's a pro at the Bell. Became their coach. I been around him a long time and, you know, uses the video machine and this and that. So I'm pretty good at telling me people what to do. Just the fact that I can't do it doesn't matter, but I've been around it so long that there's little things that I find in him. He's like a plus 4 or 5. He's getting ready for the senior tour. He's 48, 49 now. And he can play. So I've been around it so much that I can pick the little things out. So genuinely I feel like I help, but mostly I think it's for comic relief, you know, just keep the kids happy. This is the first year -- they had a big program a while ago and they got poor. Some of their alumni are putting the golf program back together. Q. (No microphone.) JAMES CAAN: Well, unfortunately, yeah. I've gone out at the beginning and I helped recruit a couple. A kid from Arizona. You know, a bigtime high school player and a couple guys came out, the parents came out, so I served that part well. But, again, Glendale is not like going to Arizona State or UCLA to play. But the idea is that some of these guys weren't at that ability yet. We'll spend two years -- the whole idea behind the whole program is to spend two years at a junior college and work on them and get them used to that kind of play, and then get them hopefully a scholarship at a four-year major. So that's the idea behind it all. I think we'll be okay with that. End of FastScripts |
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