Atlantica - 01.02.2006, Side 56

Edward Weinman: “A Prairie Home
Companion” began airing back in
1974. Can you explain what the show
is all about?
Garrison Keillor: It’s a radio
variety show with music and com-
edy and [an ongoing] story about
my hometown of Lake Wobegon
in Minnesota. The music is of an
extreme variety: opera, bluegrass,
jazz, a bit of rock and roll, some
classical, and everything in between.
We have a five-piece band, which
carry the waterfront musically. I usu-
ally go with three actors. One is a
sound effects man who does amaz-
ing things vocally: engines and explo-
sives, all types of animals, includ-
ing humpback whales and dolphins,
office machines and telephones.
EW: Why do you think “A Prairie
Home Companion” has been such a
popular program over the years?
GK: It’s an entertainment show
and it has comedy in it, so I assume
people have simply come to enjoy it.
It’s unique. That’s always an advan-
tage. To have something that is not
like anything else. And it’s new every
week.
EW: How did the idea for the script A
Prairie Home Companion come about,
and how did it develop into your first
film loaded with stars and directed
by Robert Altman?
GK: Robert Altman and I met for
dinner in Chicago. We were intro-
duced by mutual friends. I was inter-
ested in making a picture about Lake
Wobegon, my little town. He did
not want to do that but he wanted
to make a fictional documentary
about a radio show. So off we went
to do it. It wasn’t a difficult process.
Financing was probably the most
difficult.
EW: How does writing for film differ
from radio?
GK: Well, I think a good scene
is a good scene. In radio, it’s likely
to be a shorter scene. A scene has
certain dynamics. You can only dis-
cover them by writing what you
need to write. Of course, screenwrit-
ing requires many fewer words. The
fewer words the better. And that’s
hard for a writer to get used to.
EW: Scripts can take years to write.
You say this wasn’t that difficult?
GK: There were a couple of blind
alleys that I went down. Stories that
simply didn’t work. In the end, the
only way I could think to give the
story the right sort of pall it needed
was to make it be the last show, and
create a threat from the outside – [a
person who wants to shut down the
show] – but that’s not the crucial
thing. The crucial things are the
characters who are gathering them-
selves for their final hurrah.
EW: I know the script was written
some time ago, but with the cur-
rent budget presented to Congress, it
seems the “threat from the outside”
could be President Bush, who has
called for a 25 percent cut in funds
to public broadcasting. Do these
budget cuts mark the end of PBS
(Public Broadcasting Service) and
NPR (National Public Radio)?
GK: No. Public broadcasting is very
strong. I think it’s found its audience.
It’s very diverse, but it’s growing
by leaps and bounds. I think NPR’s
big news shows, “Morning Edition,”
and “All Things Considered,” have a
larger weekly audience than any of
the top news shows in America. And
this is astounding. Where there’s this
type of audience, the money will
follow.
EW: Conservatives constantly com-
plain that NPR and PBS are biased
towards liberals. Does this complaint
have any merit?
GK: Depends on the conserva-
tives you’re talking about. They use
the word ‘liberal’ to include people
I’d consider moderate. They don’t
recognize this enormous group in
the middle. I see public radio as
being part of that large, well-inten-
tioned group believing in civility,
hearing both sides of the question
and weighing the facts. To me this
belongs to the middle, not to the
avid left. I think what really irritates
conservatives are moderates, people
like me who are believing Christians
Garrison Keillor is a cultural icon with one of
the most recognized voices on American radio –
a matter-of-fact, mournful baritone that reminds
listeners of a pastor from a small Lutheran town.
Regarded by many as a folksy, political sage, the
host of the popular “A Prairie Home Companion,”
which airs on National Public Radio, will record his
eclectic program live from the Reykjavík National
Theater on May 16th. While in town, Keillor will also
screen his film of the same name, directed by
Robert Altman and starring the likes of Meryl Streep,
Lindsay Lohan, Kevin Kline and Robin Williams.
ICELANDa
Continued on pg. 58 »
Remembering
What You Hear
By Edward Weinman
(Continued on pg. 56 »)
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