Al Pacino says he didn't want to meet Phil Spector

Al Pacino arrives at Delacorte Theater on June 18, 2012, in New York. / Andrew H. Walker/Getty Images

PASADENA, Calif. Al Pacino said Friday that he decided not to meet famed record producer and convicted killer Phil Spector before portraying him in an HBO movie — only to find he already had.

A friend showed Pacino a 20-year-old photo in which the actor was standing next to Spector. Pacino said he has no memory of the moment.

The movie, "Phil Spector," debuts in March. It focuses on the client-attorney relationship between Spector and Linda Kenney Baden, who represented him in his first trial after he was charged with the murder of actress Lana Clarkson. That ended in a mistrial, but Spector was convicted in a second trial and is now serving 19 years to life in prison.

Pacino wore a dizzying array of wigs in his portrayal of the eccentric Spector, whose "Wall of Sound" style was an integral part of pop music in the early 1960s. The actor said he decided not to meet Spector in prison because he'd be a different man than the one Pacino is portraying, who had not yet been convicted of a crime.

He watched video clips of Spector to help him with his portrayal.

"I didn't know anything about him, except that he was responsible for a lot of great music and this strange case," Pacino said.

Actress Helen Mirren, who portrayed Baden, said she heard stories about Spector from her filmmaker husband, Taylor Hackford, who had hired Spector to provide music for his 1980 film, "The Idolmaker."

The Academy Award-winning Mirren was a last-minute substitute in her role. Bette Midler had begun filming as Baden, but had to withdraw because of a bad back. The film's executive producers are Barry Levinson and David Mamet.

[bongojohno]

This article was poorly written and I still have questions like, what were the things heard about spector on the film, IDOLMAKER //????

[royalstar05]

SKOL VIKINGS !!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[rwsmith29456]

Spector had a long and well-documented reputation for getting what he wanted by bullying people with firearms. He is still a record producing genius I think that people will remember him more for his influence in the music industry than for the latter part of his life. It may be wise to draw influences from his earlier life.

[audemus]

Promising cast...interesting subject...sounds like one I should watch....any one want to catch the Matinee ?

[jbsilver1]

THE MUSIC HE CREATED WILL LAST FOR ALL OF TIME. I GREW UP LISTENING TO HIS GREAT STUFF. WHAT A TALENT, BUT A COMPLETE DIFFICULT MAN TO DEAL WITH AS FAR AS I CAN REMEMBER. I TOO AM A WRITER AND SINGER AND KNEW OF SPECTOR BEING DIFFICULT TO WORK WITH WHEN HE WORKED WITH THE BEATLES. PERSONALLY, I BELIEVE HE KILLED LANA AND THAT IS NOT TO SAY HE IS STILL A GREAT ARTIST!
A SIN AND A SHAME HE WENT TOO FAR!!!

JBSILVER

[jbsilver1]

THE MUSIC HE CREATED WILL LAST FOR ALL OF TIME. I GREW UP LISTENING TO HIS GREAT STUFF. WHAT A TALENT, BUT A COMPLETE DIFFICULT MAN TO DEAL WITH AS FAR AS I CAN REMEMBER. I TOO AM A WRITER AND SINGER AND KNEW OF SPECTOR BEING DIFFICULT TO WORK WITH WHEN HE WORKED WITH THE BEATLES. PERSONALLY, I BELIEVE HE KILLED LANA AND THAT IS NOT TO SAY HE IS STILL A GREAT ARTIST!
A SIN AND A SHAME HE WENT TOO FAR!!!

JBSILVER

[kenodenis]

This whole subject matter is creepy. Neither Al Pacino nor Helen Mirren seem to know anything about the roles they were playing. Yuck, can't Hollywood do any better than this?

[bobnjersey]

[Neither Al Pacino nor Helen Mirren seem to know anything about the roles they were playing]
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most films are based on a screenplay ... which translates into a script ... and is realized via the director's vision and the actors portrayal of that vision. these in an of themselves define the roles they will play.