Ledger Pop Journal - Celebrity News & Sports

Susan Sarandon, whose "Bernard and Doris" HBO telefilm with Ralph Fiennes is considered an Emmy frontrunner, admits, "I didn't anticipate such a strong response or the range of people who would find something identifiable in it." That's not a surprise, considering the admittedly "odd setup" of what she views as the love story of the Bob Balaban-directed movie -- between the 1970s' richest woman in the world, Doris Duke, and her penniless, alcoholic, gay, Irish butler.

Susan Sarandon Recalls 'Generosity of Possibility' When Sexuality Unlabeled (Image: Wenn)

Susan, who has talked previously about having had a couple of romantic involvements with gay men herself in the past, feels that in terms of defining one's sexuality, "In those days, you didn't have to declare yourself as clearly as now. There was more generosity of possibility with people. All kinds of coupling was going on. Everyone was surfing the grey lines, anything was much more possible, and you didn't dissect and label people as you do now."


MEANWHILE: Sarandon is taking a quick family trip to Maine with Tim Robbins and their sons Jack, 19, and Miles, 15, before beginning work with Pierce Brosnan July 9 on the big-screen drama "The Greatest." She can use a breather. "My life has ADD. I can't quite get from one thing to the next without an overlap," she admits. Susan has finished a string of upcoming films, including the just-wrapped psychological thriller "Peacock" with Cillian Murphy and Ellen Page. She's in Peter Jackson's highly anticipated "The Lovely Bones" adaptation, and has a role in daughter Eva Amurri's forthcoming "Middle of Nowhere."

"It's a tiny part," she stresses of the latter. "It's her movie … I'm so proud. She's really good, so I can relax. It was a tough shoot, and she did a great job."


Now, Jack, "who is studying film in school," will be working on "The Greatest" on the camera crew. "I'm really excited about that," Susan says. "When you're working with people you care about and respect and have a project you care about in common, the gift of that kind of experience is fabulous. There's nothing better than being able to work with people you love."

But vacationing comes close. "To have kids who are now old enough to take off by themselves together -- it creates a whole new kind of family time, which is wonderful," she notes. "I can't believe it every time they show up for Christmas. I think, boy, are we lucky."