'INSIDE THE ACTORS STUDIO' GOES HOLLYWOOD JAMES LIPTON'S FAMED BRAVO SHOW COMES WEST FOR INTERVIEWS WITH BIG TALKERS.

Byline: Evan Henerson Staff Writer

James Lipton admits he's no Jay Leno. But he is more than willing to take some professional advice from the veteran late-night host. Who better, after all, to offer instruction in the fine art of comedy writing and delivery?

Lipton, the writer/playwright and host of the Bravo series ``Inside the Actors Studio'' since 1994, tried his hand at an opening monologue before bringing ``The Tonight Show's'' Leno into the studio for the traditional two-hour Q&A taping, which is edited down to one hour for broadcast and also includes questions from the students in the audience.

Observing from the sidelines of the Geffen Playhouse - where ``Actors Studio'' recently taped two upcoming episodes - Leno watched Lipton's slightly stiff attempt at Carson-ism and later offered his evaluation in the form of a grade.

``He gave me a C,'' recalls Lipton, with perhaps a small touch of pride in his voice. ``From him, man, I'll take it.''

Lipton wasn't looking for an ego boost, nor is he considering quitting his day job. Lipton's monologue - and its deconstruction - was a learning experience. Viewers of the televised series, which enters its 10th year in 2004, may routinely discover some new and intriguing factoids about some of their favorite performers. But the session is for the film and theater graduate students at the Actors Studio, not to add another ``Entertainment Tonight''-style star interview to the TV archives.

Actors with class

``Bottom line, it's a show the artists want to do,'' says Frances Berwick, senior vice president of programming and production for Bravo and the show's executive producer. ``You see actors who are highly articulate and very spontaneously funny in a way you would never get a sense of even if you've seen them interviewed over and over again.''

Lipton chalks it up to the educational component - to the fact that the guests aren't simply answering his questions, they're helping the students as well.

``What happens there is a class,'' says the Detroit-born Lipton. ``A course in the Actors Studio Drama School is what this always is, was and will be. That's what gives it its character, and the guests are aware of it. It's a conversation, and it's meant to be instructive.

``Jay was hilariously funny - he can't help but be, but the fact is he was teaching. There was a tremendous amount of valuable information in that evening.''

The two Geffen tapings - with Leno and Clint Eastwood - were the second time ``Inside the Actors Studio'' has traveled outside New York City's New School for Social Research. Lipton - the dean of the school's master's degree program - interviewed Juliette Binoche and Jeanne Moreau in Paris. The West Coast run, hosted by the Geffen, recruited audiences from Actors Studio West to fill the house.

The experience was like a return to the classroom for Daniel Stern, a 2002 graduate of the Actors Studio who estimates that he has attended between 50 and 60 of the tapings over the course of his three years in the Studio's Master of Fine Arts program.

``A lot of times, I went in thinking, 'This is going to be a waste of my time,' and, without fail, there was something I would pick up on,'' says Stern, who lists the Francis Ford Coppola and Ben Affleck sessions as his favorites.

Quite a club

More than 130 guests - from Gene Wilder to Billy Bob Thornton, from playwright Neil Simon to the cast of ``The Simpsons''- have taken the seat opposite Lipton. They've talked about their craft, recited a well-known line from a celebrated film role and, of course, discovered just how thorough Lipton and his research can be. (``And when you were 11, that ice cream vendor told you ... what?'') Lipton borrowed the interview-closing 10 questions from French talk-show host Bernard Pivot, and show archivists have now cataloged the responses.

An assistant brings Lipton the raw research material on disk. The host then assembles that material on note cards with questions written around them. Lipton charts a life and career chronologically - and he makes a point of trying to eliminate surprise.

``I was originally going to be a lawyer, and the only thing I remember from cross-examination is never to ask a question the answer to which you don't already know,'' he says. ``I have a lot of the answers. Now, they may give me different answers, and it's swell when they do. There's no pre-interview on my show. They don't know what's coming next, but if I've done my research well, I sort of do.''

It was on ``Inside the Actors Studio'' that Steven Spielberg discovered the connection between his parents and the form of alien communication he employed in ``Close Encounters of the Third Kind.'' It was moments after he recited the opening line from the Alcoholics Anonymous pledge that ``Days of Wine and Roses'' star Jack Lemmon acknowledged - unprompted - that he was, himself, an alcoholic. If he has an all-time favorite guest, Lipton won't reveal it (``That's like asking a parent which of your seven kids is your favorite''), nor will he name his least favorite. Marlon Brando and Jack Nicholson still top his wish list of performers he hopes will come on the program.

Lipton's big 'gets'

Clint Eastwood was a coup - after nine years of trying to book him, says Lipton. Barbra Streisand was a schedule conflict away from an appearance during the L.A. stopover.

``Robert Duvall and Dustin Hoffman haven't done it yet. Nicole Kidman was trying desperately to get out of shooting, to get an evening off while we were her (in Los Angeles). Tom Cruise. These are people who want to do it, but we haven't been able to conform our schedules to theirs.''

Lipton has his detractors who fault the host's overly effusive style and for seeming to be too much of a fan of his guests. Former ``Saturday Night Live'' regular Will Ferrell regularly did a devastating impersonation of Lipton, a skit that the host reportedly admires.

``He puts up with a lot of criticism,'' says Stern, an actor and screenwriter. ``He's a very genial host, and people aren't used to that. People are more used to hard-hitting journalism - and nowadays it's all about sensationalism in the media. Lipton doesn't go for that, and because he's different he catches a lot of flak. But people don't realize what he's going after and that he'll get more out of these guests than most interviewers would.''

Russell Crowe and Hugh Jackman have been confirmed to come on the program. John Goodman's show will premiere Sept. 14, while Eastwood's interview airs Oct. 5. Leno and the cast and crew of NBC's ``Will & Grace'' are yet to be scheduled.

Evan Henerson, [phone]

evan.henerson(at)dailynews.com

INSIDE THE ACTORS STUDIO 

What: Host James Lipton interviews famous guests about their careers in front of an audience of performing-arts students. This week's episode is a repeat of an interview with actor Tom Hanks.

Where: Bravo.

When: 8 p.m. Sunday.

CAPTION(S):

4 photos

Photo:

(1 -- cover -- color) How `Actors Studio' lures big names to get at what's ...

INSIDE JAMES LIPTON

(2 -- 4) ``Inside the Actors Studio'' set up shop at the Geffen Playhouse for host James Lipton's interviews with Jay Leno, left, and Clint Eastwood, below. Lipton, below left, draws on copious research before questioning his guests.