Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SATURDAY, May 7, 1994 TAG: 9405090109
SECTION: SPECTATOR PAGE: S-1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: By BOB THOMAS ASSOCIATED PRESS
DATELINE: LOS ANGELES LENGTH: Medium
Returned from where? Paris.
For two years, the onetime Valley girl has been savoring the cultural and otherwise attractions of the City of Light. If she displays a new maturity in the miniseries, that's only natural.
"The Stand" marks another dramatization of the prolific King's multimillion-sellers, this one scripted for the four-part miniseries by the monarch of menace himself. He even plays a role in the show, which airs Sunday, Monday, Wednesday and Thursday nights (at 9 on WSET-Channel 13).
King offers an apocalyptic drama of a Defense Department experiment that goes awry and kills virtually all the world's population.
Ringwald joins the survivors who seek purity of spirit, as opposed to a faction that is determinedly evil. The cast also includes Gary Sinise, Laura San Giacomo, Rob Lowe, Ray Walston, Miguel Ferrer, Ossie Davis and Ruby Dee.
Appearing for an interview in a San Fernando valley restaurant near several film studios, Ringwald repaired to the bar, where she could smoke. She was still adjusting to the ostracism of smokers from L.A. restaurants, something unknown in Paris.
Is "The Stand" an allegory, a cautionary tale or simply a Stephen King thriller?
"I think it's all of those things," replied the actress, now 26. "The book was written pre-AIDS. Now doing the film and watching the film, it seems to have a different resonance. There are so many striking similarities, especially in the first segment, when everybody is getting sick. All of the victims are untouchable, like lepers.
"It made me think a lot. ... the idea of people having to start over again and refocus their lives and learn how to reconnect with people. I'm much more interested in the human aspect of the story rather than the horror aspects."
Ringwald previously had acted in another ABC movie, "Something to Live For: the Allison Gertz Story," about an affluent AIDS victim who tries to help other sufferers of the disease.
She has no concern about venturing into television.
"I find that television oftentimes does the most interesting stuff," she said. "They're willing to examine certain subjects that are more difficult on film.
"Whatever medium that is willing to focus on a subject that interests me is one that I'll do. I kind of like film because it's bigger, and I like the structure of it more, rather than constantly pausing for the commercial break. But all this business of people saying, `I'm a film actor, not a television actor' is ridiculous. You're either an actor or you're not."
Ringwald has been performing since the age of 4, when she sang with her father's jazz band in Sacramento. At 9, she was touring in "Annie." Then, she did a stint in the TV series "The Facts of Life."
She was 16 when John Hughes chose her for "Sixteen Candles." That plus Hughes' "The Breakfast Club" and "Pretty in Pink" propelled her to stardom and a cover story in Time magazine.
Being back in the States is fine, she said, but as soon as she finished some business matters, she planned to hurry back to her base in France. She explained why she relocated:
"I went to Paris two years ago, and I was only supposed to be there a month and a half. I decided to stay. I had a house here, but it wasn't a good time to sell it. So I packed up everything in boxes and put it into storage. I flew to Paris with seven suitcases."
First, she called her parents to say she was staying. Then, her agent. He was incredulous at first. She admitted that remaining distant from the Hollywood mainstream was not the best thing for her career.
"But I can't live my whole life in fear," she said. "If I do good work, that's all I can do. I have to go where I'm happiest.
"In Paris, I'm able to live and to walk around and be anonymous in a way I haven't been since I was a child. ... There are more important things for me now than being in the No. 1 box office hit of the year."
Ringwald finds plenty to do in Paris, going to galleries and museums, taking side trips, and studying French four hours a day. Her ambition is to learn the language well enough to appear in French films.
She lives with a French writer, name not divulged, but that doesn't help her language studies.
"He speaks perfect English," she said.
by CNB