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KF: You say your sons had a lot of creative energy. Was James an over-achiever at first like he is now?

BF: He went through a period when he was a teenager that I didn't sleep very much. There was a real tough patch there. He's talked about it in the media or else I wouldn’t even say it. He always had a lot of energy, but he just didn't always put it in the right direction. Then after things got bad enough, he turned 180 degrees and became an over-achiever even mid-way in high school. He changed and started taking more classes than he needed to and got above an A average. He turned it all around.

KF: What was the catalyst for change do you think?

BF: I think he suddenly woke up and saw where he was heading. If things get bad enough, you realize you have a choice.

KF: He didn't start acting until he was senior in high school. Do you remember the first time you saw him on stage?

BF: Yes, he came and said, "I'm in a play". We said, "Oh! What part do you have?" and he said "the lead." I went "Geez, you've never even been in a play before!" ... He was in The Idiot next, and I thought "Wow, this is really interesting." We thought he was going to be an artist because he was spending a lot of time in drawing classes in the local community center.

KF: When you saw him on stage for the first time, did you ever imagine that you would someday sit in the Kodak Theatre and see him on the Oscar® stage?

BF: No I didn't, but he was good. He was really good. Even then he hadn’t had acting lessons or anything, but he was very dynamic.

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