Being Sandy Stern.

Michael Stipe's out moviemaking partner slogged through a slew of naysayers to bring Malkovich to the screen

Last year, when New Line Cinema chairman Bob Shay invited moviemaking partners Sandy Stern and REM's Michael Stipe to discuss a project they had been developing for the studio about characters who jump at the chance to be real-life actor John Malkovich for a few moments, they were amped. But when Stern pitched the bizarre story over chow at Shay's stunning Neutra-designed house--filled with Francis Bacon paintings and Diane Arbus photographs--they might as well have been starring in Robert Airman's The Player, Recalls Stern with a grin: "Shay turned to me and said, `Being John Malkovich? Why the fuck can't it be Being Tom Cruise?'" The next day the studio dropped the project.

Stipe and especially Stern were undaunted--and now they're vindicated, Malkovich has landed feature awards at the likes of the Venice Film Festival and is now wowing critics [see review, page 67]. That's fairly impressive considering even screenwriter Charlie Kaufman never thought it would get made, "Sandy was the first producer to say he wanted to make it," Kaufman says. "He just thought it was really funny." Adds old friend Samantha Mathis, who met Stern when she starred in his 1989 teen hit Pump lip the Volume: "Sandy has a dry sense of humor that will absolutely kill ya."

But even Malkovich didn't get the joke at first. "John was half intrigued and half horrified when he read the script," says a giggling Stern, sitting outdoors at the Abbey, a gay-percolating coffee shop in West Hollywood, Calif. Close by is his constant shadow, a German shepherd named Sally, and a cell phone, "He thought it was written by an obsessed stalker."

Stern and director Spike Jonze flew to France to sway the actor, "Once he committed, everyone else came along." And what if Malkovich hadn't relented? "We were prepared to change the title and go with another actor. But really, he was the perfect choice."

Stern's offbeat sensibility is informed by his liberal New York Jewish upbringing and a bent for (sometimes pop) psychological analysis he picked up while he pursuing a Ph.D. in clinical psychology at NYU. It's not, however, informed by being gay. "The people in my life and the projects I take on are not driven by my sexuality," says Stern, who came out while an undergrad at Vassar. "Being gay is just a part of who I am."

He seems to get more of his identity from his career, "There were times Sandy could have gone the more commercial route, but he maintained his commitment to making art," says Mathis, who introduced her "thick as thieves" pal to Stipe in 1996 via her boyfriend River Phoenix. At the time Stern was producing with Sean Penn and was looking for a change; Stipe happened to be looking to hook up with movie savvy.

Single Cell, the company they formed, has since been trying to stick to the rocker's simple mission statement: "I don't want to make films that suck." Stern brightens at the mention of his business partner. "He's one of the sweetest, most down-to-earth people," says Stern, "He's such a good guy, considering the kind of person he could be."

The duo have so far produced the recent gay-glittered glare-rock drama Velvet Goldmine and Showtime's well-received Freak City, which starred Mathis. They're currently working on another intriguingly titled movie, Thirteen Conversations About One Thing, a look at karma by the sister team of Jill and Karen Sprecher, as well as a television series that Stern describes as "The Sopranos meets Larry Sanders in the music business."

For all the glamour and celebrity that surrounds Stern, he's more interested in dinner parties than Hollywood galas. "I'd rather go see a movie the day it opens at the Beverly Center and put my feet up and wear sweatpants than go to a premiere," he says. He admits he'd like to put his feet up with a partner. "I think there are people who really enjoy being single, and I'm not one of them," he says. "This is going to sound like a Hallmark card, but my life is really exciting now, and I'd like to share it with someone."

His dog begins to bark. "Sally wants to go," Stern says. But he doesn't leave until he reflects some more about the reality of his trade. "You know," he says, "No matter what level you're at in this business, it never gets easier. You're always waiting for the phone to ring." With that he picks up his cell phone, and man and his best friend trot away.

Stukin also writes for Harper's Bazaar and Us.