OLIVIA NEWTON-JOHN RECALLS CLASSIC FILM AHEAD OF RIDGEFIELD DRIVE-IN SCREENING.
New Haven Register (New Haven, CT)
18 Jun 2020
By Linda Tuccio-Koonz lkoonz@newstimes.com; Twitter: @LindaTKoonz
When Olivia Newton-John was approached to play the lead opposite John Travolta in “Grease,” she wasn’t sure it was the right move for her career. But once she met with Travolta and found they had chemistry, it was game on. The 1978 film became a summer classic, and was a turning point in her life.
“I was fortunate that I had won four Grammys and numerous awards, but that film took my career to a whole new level,” the star, who is also an animal rights/ environmental activist, and lives in Santa Barbara, Calif., with her husband, said via email.
Newton-John, 71, said when she does live shows, she has 80-year-olds in the audience who saw “Grease” when it debuted, along with
“young girls and boys dressed as Sandy and Danny” who have just seen it for the first time.
Of course she loved her role as Sandy Olsson, the Australian exchange student who has a fling with Danny Zuko (played by Travolta). The 1950s story starts just as their summer romance is ending. They say goodbye, but Sandy enrolls in Rydell High and meets Danny again, only to find he’s nothing like the guy she thought she knew.
“Grease” will be screened as part of a free drive-in movie series outside Ridgefield High School on Saturday, June 20, at 9 p.m. The event is a kick-off to Make Music Day and will feature downloadable lyrics for a sing-a-long. Learn more at ridgefieldplayhouse.org.
“Every year a new generation discovers the film and that’s something special!” said Newton-John, who is fighting cancer, but remains upbeat and optimistic. In a recent appearance on TV’s “Entertainment Tonight,” she said she’s “grateful to be doing well,” and for her “wonderful husband” who grows medicinal cannabis for her, which is very helpful.
She shared more in the email, discussing everything from her memories of “Grease” to how she’s coping with the pandemic.
“I live in Southern California and I know I’m very fortunate to have a property with my horses, dog, cat and chickens,” she said. “I know it is very difficult for so many people, so I’m lucky to have the space on my ranch.
“I guess the thing I most look forward to is seeing my daughter, Chloe. She was doing ‘Dancing with the Stars’ in Australia and when she came back she had to go into quarantine. Because I am in two risk groups, over 70 and with a health issue, I couldn’t see her when she returned to the USA.”
Thinking back to filming “Grease,” Newton-John said all her memories are “wonderful,” but a few stick out, including one from the bonfire scene.
“John Travolta interrupted the take I had just done and he leaned in and whispered, ‘I think you can do it better.’ So we did another take and it was — he was really always looking out for me. I also have made some great friends — Didi Conn (aspiring beautician Frenchie) and I are still very close, as are John and I.”
Another memorable time, she said, was when Travolta was filming the “Sandy” number at the drive-in “and I was inside the makeup trailer with the team that was working on the ‘Sandy 2’ look. When I walked out in the black pants and leather jacket with the teased hair, no one recognized me — but I got a lot of looks and smiles. I thought to myself, ‘What have I been doing wrong all this time?!’ ”
She also shared a surprising tidbit about her performance of “Hopelessly Devoted to You.”
“The film had wrapped by that point and they decided Sandy needed a solo number. John Farrar, my dear friend and producer/songwriter, wrote the song and when I filmed the scene in the backyard, I had to look melancholy and it wasn’t hard as it was strange to be on set by myself, knowing all of my castmates had wrapped production.”
Ridgefield’s short drive-in movie series also includes “Field of Dreams” June 27. The audio will be heard in vehicles through a radio station. All vehicles will be socially distanced by pulling into every other spot and people must remain in their vehicles. The entrance to the parking area, via Route 116, opens at 8 p.m.
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