Living a L.I.E. Billy Kay is best known as rebellious Shayne Lewis in the CBS-TV soap opera "The Guiding Light," but fans will be in for a surprise with his latest role as an dislikable character in a controversial movie. Although he could have chosen to star in any one of summer's generic teen films, he's not afraid of taking risks, and chose instead to take on the role of an amoral street punk in "L.I.E."
Soap opera star Billy Kay
L.I.E.
tackles risky role about the
sexual expressway to nowhere
Opens tomorrow at the Signature Dole Cannery Theatre
By John Berger
jberger@starbulletin.com"L.I.E.," opening tomorrow at the Signature Dole Cannery Theatre, is a challenging and thought-provoking movie that knits together several troubling subplots and creates a chilling look at modern suburban America. Kay plays Gary, whose only loyalty it to himself. Gary will do just about anything to get ahead or make a buck -- burglarize his neighbors, betray his best friend, or sell himself to anonymous men at a highway rest stop.
"We took four days before we started (filming) -- the four main kids and (director) Michael Cuesta. We rehearsed everything," Kay said while visiting Honolulu late last month.
"He gave us a lot of background on all of our characters and gave us a little more understanding (of them). Like my character specifically -- you take "L.I.E." three years before it takes place and you'd see Gary just being a naive young kid ... and he was very lonely."
"L.I.E." is an acronym for Long Island Expressway, the transportation artery that dominates the youths' neighborhood."Many people look at Gary and say he'd either gay or bisexual or whatever," Kay said. "In the character description when I auditioned for the film it said just 'a rebellious hustler who'll do anything for a buck.' I think he wants to have friends, but at the same time he exploits everyone he can one way or another."
The basic scenario may sound similar to "Kids," the 1995 film about a young sexual predator who gets his kicks seducing girls -- the younger the better, virgins whenever possible -- and dumping them as soon after the sex act as possible. Where "L.I.E." adds another twist is that the alpha-predator in this story turns out to be a middle-aged gay pedophile who is one of Gary's sex customers. The man becomes attracted to one of Gary's friends, an emotionally vulnerable guy named Howie.
"Every screening I've been to has been a different reaction," Kay said. "People either love it or hate it. One reviewer walked out in the middle of the film. He couldn't take it."
One of the things that makes "L.I.E." such a challenging film to watch is that the pedophile is not without a few redeeming qualities. This makes "L.I.E." more true-to-life but also more difficult to accept -- particularly after the mysterious ex-Marine/ex-diplomatic attaché bails Howie out of a potentially dangerous situation.
The Motion Picture Association of America has given "L.I.E." a rating of NC-17 so no one under 17 can be admitted, even with a parent. The NC-17 supposedly reflects the 8-1/2 seconds of discreetly choreographed heterosexual sexual activity that includes showing 3 seconds of a man's butt. Kay doesn't accept that explanation, saying that the MPAA ratings board couldn't handle the gay themes and the complex character of the pedophile.After all, Kay points out, films loaded with graphic violence and explicit heterosexual sex are routinely rated R. So were "Pretty Baby" and the 1999 remake of "Lolita" -- films with plots similar to "L.I.E." but with strictly heterosexual characters.
"They don't want to (give it an R rating) because of the subject matter. They don't want us to talk about pedophilia in America in movie theaters today," Kay said. "With the NC-17 rating, even if parents decide they want to touch on that issue they can't because you can't even bring your kid in to see it. That's just garbage, and that pisses me off."
Kay says the public should look beyond the rating and consider the film's merits. He says "L.I.E." is no gay pedophilic fantasy, and that the film glorifies neither pedophilia nor the amoral attitude Gary personifies.
"People have these biased opinions and I think it's amazing because it's actually touching something that could happen in any town in the world, and it does happen (but) behind closed doors in some aspects and people won't touch it.
"If you totally just put away and put aside the (gay) subject matter and look at the film as a whole, the editing is flawless (and) the camera work is spectacular. I really hope that people look at it as a film and not just as a controversy.
"I think the movie is supposed to end on a positive note, but it's definitely a two-sided coin, you know?"
So why did Kay decide to step in the middle of all this and play a character many people would find repulsive in a film that most of America won't see?
"Forget the subject matter. It's just an amazing project. It's such a well-written script, and even if somebody doesn't like it, they're never gonna forget it. That's the great part about it. You're never gonna forget it."
Filming "L.I.E." was a homecoming for Kay, who is from Long Island. Several scenes were shot at spots where he used to hang out.
Kay says he was particularly impressed by the performance of veteran actor Brian Cox as Big John Harrigan, the man who takes a liking to Gary's troubled but innocent friend, Howie Blitzer.
"I've known him forever, and I couldn't imagine him being that amazing. It touches me every time I see it," Kay said of Cox's work.
"Big John knows everybody. He has the whole police department locked, he can get Howie out of school and everything. It's really scary to think that a guy can be there like that, who's so eerie to you but he knows everybody and can get away with everything. Everybody likes him. He's everybody's best friend.
"In some ways Howie wants Big John to become his father, I think. They're so similar, especially when they talk about poetry and Big John encourages him to write. That's such a fatherly thing to do, being a good person, encouraging Howie to believe in himself and telling him, 'Don't deny your talent' as a poet."
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