The Bite Stuff

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Critics bruised the novel pretty badly, but Hopkins got a kick out of it: "I thought it was way over the top but interesting." Foster wasn't so taken. Early on, De Laurentiis refused to pay her $20 million asking price, then after she read the screenplay, she opted out, saying she preferred to direct a movie of her own. "She need the picture more than we need her," scoffs the producer. "I believe she's wrong for this movie. We have a different story, mature woman with sex appeal, and I don't think it's right for Jodie Foster."

The book also failed to seduce Jonathan Demme and Ted Tally, the Oscar-winning director and writer of Silence. Director Ridley Scott, however, read Harris' manuscript while shooting Gladiator in Malta and signed on right away. "I saw in the material humor and romanticism," says Scott. "I think the first team missed that." Zaillian says he took on the writing challenge "because it sounded like fun."

While the filmmakers scrambled for a new Clarice (Angelina Jolie? Too young. Hilary Swank? Ditto), Hopkins stayed out of the fray. Since giving up alcohol 25 years ago ("I sobered up, cleaned up my act; fortunately I survived"), he keeps to himself, avoiding unnecessary drama. "I'm much better off on my own," he says. He lives alone in the Palisades house while his wife of three decades, Jenni, resides in Britain. The commitment to solitude extends to his work life as well. Hopkins steered clear of Hannibal's Byzantine studio politics. Before Universal, De Laurentiis' professional home, and MGM, which owns Silence, joined forces, a nasty lawsuit had been simmering over the rights to the Clarice character.

"It's not worth getting involved with all that stuff," says Hopkins. Still, he "thought it was excellent" when his colleague from Surviving Picasso, Julianne Moore, 40, signed on. Despite the shadow of Foster, Moore (Oscar nominated for her work in Boogie Nights and The End of the Affair) took the part because "I was impressed with Ridley's take on the character." Indeed, Clarice has been rethought in the adaptation. "We had to make her more of an active detective," says De Laurentiis' wife and producing partner, Martha. As for Hannibal, Hopkins decided that the years of freedom had loosened the old boy up a bit. He now punctuates Hannibal's low-slung, threatening sentences with "okeydokey" and "goody goody."

"Did you like those?" asks Hopkins. "I added those." The star is pleased with himself. When he first visited Hollywood in 1973, he stood in Humphrey Bogart's footprints in the concrete on Hollywood Boulevard and dreamed. Not long ago, he added his own footprints among those of the legends. Last year he finally consummated his relationship with America by becoming a U.S. citizen. "I have to smile, because I'm so fortunate," he says. "I don't know how I got here. I haven't a clue." Here's a clue to where he is going: De Laurentiis now plans to make an all-new movie version of Harris' Red Dragon. Hopkins is waiting to see the script, but he is willing.

Goody goody.