PartyLines- photographs by Patrick McMullan

Did you think the movie was too racy? “What’s wrong with nudity? Look, I’d rather watch nudity than violence. A famous director once told me, ‘A tit never killed anyone.’” —Morley Safer

Is nudity back? “I’m not sure it ever went away. Have you seen the new Viggo Mortensen fight scene? Male frontal nudity has a lot more impact than female frontal nudity.” —Candice Bergen

—Gay Talese

Do you feel as wise as you seem onscreen? “No. You can say the word and look serious.”
—Morgan Freeman

What did you and Morgan Freeman do between takes? “We sang ballads. Lots of old ones, wonderful ones.” —Jane Alexander

—Nick Pileggi

Why more female frontal than male frontal? “You show female frontal nudity, you get an R. You show male frontal nudity, you get NC-17. That is a business decision.” —Robert Benton

What’s it like working with Morgan Freeman? “Morgan did a lot of full-frontal scenes in this movie, and we cut them out.” —Greg Kinnear

—Connie Chung

—Maury Povich

Would you do a nude scene? “Not again. I did it once from the rear. I was too young and crazy to think about being embarrassed.” —Richard Belzer

—Nora Ephron

Do you have a coffee-shop hangout in real life? “I live in L.A. Not really. There’s a raw-food restaurant.” So your hangout is a raw-food restaurant? “Pretty much.” —Radha Mitchell