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Interview: Kristen Bell Relates To Her Character In Big Miracle

Laura Aguirre — Thu, 02 Feb 2012 00:18:59 +0000

Kristen Bell can relate to her character in the new Ken Kwapis film Big Miracle. In this true tale about ‘Operation Breakthrough,’ in which three gray whales were trapped and then freed from the ice in Alaska, Bell plays a young journalist in search of the story that will make her career. Bell, who rose to fame when she starred on the hit TV show “Veronica Mars,” knows competition. Sure, she’s starred in a bunch of movies, and was even able to get on another show with Don Cheadle (“House of Lies”), but she’s aware that there’s always someone out waiting to take her job. We recently spoke to the actress, and she shared all sort of things. Did you know her dad was a newscaster? She told us that’s the reason she speaks in soundbites. See what else Kristen Bell had to say about working on Big Miracle below.

What was it that originally drew you to the script?

Kristen Bell: Initially, the fact that it was about animals. I thought, in simple terms, “Oh, I like animals.” Then upon reading it, the complexity of the story, it seemed almost unbelievable to me. I was like, “Oh really, a hundred and eighty journalists from different countries flew in and two million dollars was spent on this, really, and people got married who met talking about the whales? Give me a break Kwapis.” And he said that the most outrageous portions of the movie are the truth. I just felt like it was as story that needed to be told. The inspiration factor behind it was the most important thing to me. There’s so few times in history when everybody wakes up at the same time or everybody works together. We are so into having enemies as humans. We are so interested in the us and them of it all that it’s phenomenally rare to have everybody check their baggage at the door and work together and it is so powerful, I think.

Did you study different newscasters to really get your character right?

Kristen: A little bit. My dad is a news director so I had kind of grown up with it. I tend to speak in sound bites, because I’m trained by him. The reality of it is I did hang out at his news station a lot and I was excited because I knew the local celebrities who were the anchors and I played around with the teleprompter. When journalists would submit their tapes and he had to hire a new producer or on-camera person, I would watch them with him and I would be able to say “It makes me uncomfortable that the weatherman is in a sweater. Number one, he is too comfortable, I want a professional delivering my news. Number two; it makes me feel like it’s going to be cold and it’s not good news.” I felt like my dad was really open to my feedback in creating a good station.

He’s essentially a casting director?

Kristen: Exactly. And an editor because he picks the stories that make it on the air. I had a fair amount behind-the-curtain information. There’s so much news coverage on this story that I was able to watch a lot and how it traveled and it blows my mind that in the 80s when there were no journalistic entities all over the internet, there was your local news. That was it. And then there was the nightly news that was international. Everyone in the world was covering this one story. It doesn’t even happen now and there’s so much more news out there. That was fascinating and there was a lot for me to research for the piece.

You really owned the ‘80s look.

Kristen: I tried. Thank you very much. That was also exciting because I grew up in the ‘80s but that wasn’t like my prime. My prime was definitely like 95-96, I’m sure you’ve heard. I had older sisters and I definitely looked up to the way my mom dressed. There’s something about the first time I realized, “Oh look at these beautiful, stylish women in my life.” It was around that this story happened so in playing this character, it was really fun working with the costume designer to create all these amazing shoulder pads and cool pastels. Her hair obviously had to be big, so we did hot rollers every day, which was really fun, and then teased the crap out of it and I wore press-on nails because everyone had long pink fingernails in the ‘80s.

Did you talk to your dad at all about this film?

Kristen: I didn’t. I’m so embarrassed. Can you believe I didn’t? What I should have done and what I regret not doing is sitting him down and asking him specifics about what he remembered about this story. I’m very regretful that I didn’t do that. I think I was overwhelmed with the amount of information out there and the amount of tape, so I felt like I had a good handle on it. I can understand the competition. I know what Jill wanted and there were plenty of reporters for me to draw upon that covered the story. But, no, I didn’t sit him down and get his perspective, which could have been very useful for me. Sorry, dad.

Do you think partially because there weren’t as many outlets and varieties of news sources that it was able to draw such a big focus? It would almost be impossible now because there’s always something else to draw the attention away.

Kristen: Yeah, I think that too much stimulus can make you feel crazy. Nowadays, it’s harder to tell what is important because there is so much news on the table. In a way that is really good because we all feel a little bit more connected. The interesting thing about this piece for me was not only did everyone in the world seem to connect with the emotion behind this story and wanting to save the whales, but everyone also came on board and decided to drop all their differences and collectively work for a common goal, which almost never happens. There are very brief times in history where you can pinpoint that happening, where the entire world blinks at the same time. The degree of differences of people involved in this, it’s a polarizing issue between the cultures because you have the Americans going to Inupiat land saying, “We love whales, save them,” and you have the Inupiat’s going, “We’ve lived here for thousands of years, and how do you think we feed our children.” From an anthropological point of view, it’s not really appropriate, as much as you like whales to tell another culture that they shouldn’t do what they have been doing for thousands of years. For them to have abandoned what they do, and join the use was a hard decision which I think was portrayed accurately in the movie, and respectfully. Truth be told, they were the fundamental reason that the whales survived. Our bodies, from the lower 48, are not built to be in that cold for a severe 24-hours at a time. The Inupiat’s could handle it. There were so many things that interested me about this story.

Do you have any memory of the story?

Kristen: I have a brief memory of knowing that it happened but nothing that I could really draw upon so it seemed all completely new to me.

Many of the characters in this film are based on real people but your character is really a representation of the many journalists who covered the story. Is that more freeing in the sense that you’re not playing a real person, you’re just playing a character?

Kristen: It’s better and it’s worse at the same time. You don’t have anyone specific to draw on so you’re not sure that you are doing it right. But at the same time, I can certainly identify with the idea of competition. My existence is in a business where there is always someone better than you right around the corner. The idea of that competition and that hunger and that aggressive dedication I could identify with because I have wanted jobs so badly. I feel that Jill Gerard was just a mish-mash of all these journalists that thought that this was the story that would make or break them and that they had to do a great job. Her storyline is interesting because she loses herself a little bit, or maybe she doesn’t. Maybe you see what her two priorities are. She’s a little bit more selfish. She’s not really in it for the whales.

She has a moment there where she contemplates giving it up and going into teaching. Have you ever had a moment where the competition was too high and you thought about doing something else?

Kristen: Yeah like legitimately every five minutes. It’s something I’ve learned to deal with over the last couple of years. I find my sanity because I evaluate my self-esteem based on the integrity of my actions versus the jobs I get. There was a huge portion of my life where whatever job I was getting was who I was. Whatever job I had was my entire existence. It was my validity. It was whether I was legitimate or not, and whether I actually even existed. I think that since I’ve grown up I’ve realized that I’m a human being that likes acting a lot, but I love being a human being. So it’s a really delicate balance to stay sane and not think that that one job that you might attain could make or break your life.

What was it like filming in Alaska? And it’s a very male dominated cast with the exception of you and Drew, what was that like?

Kristen: Truth be told, the boys are pretty much sissies on this film and Drew and I are way stronger so that is how it breaks down. No, this cast got along really well because everyone is kind of a goofball. Ken Kwapis is like the most genuine sort of goofy guy ever, but he’s so sincere and his heart was so into this picture. It was mandatory for him that we have animatronic, really life-like whales so that we weren’t acting with a tennis ball, and so that the whole group was looking at the same thing. And so that between action and cut, we were able to feel something for this animal. No one in the cast or crew had friends or family in Alaska that I knew of, and no one could really travel because there were icy winds all the time, so we visited a lot of pizza joints. We saw a lot of movies; we played a lot of poker in each other’s rooms.

Who was the best poker player?

Kristen: Ted’s a pretty good poker player. Krasinski is a pretty good poker player. I can’t remember who won the most though. I don’t even think we were playing for real money. We were just playing for respect.

Would you say the strategy of the animatronic whales worked?

Kristen: For me, yeah. I’m kind of an idiot but when I was looking at those whales. I’ve been whale watching a few times and been in Capetown where the Southern White Whales come from. It’s extraordinary. You look into their eyes and you just feel something magical. I hate to say it but I kind of felt the same thing when I was looking at these animals. It was sad, visually how small the hole was for them to come up and when you see the three of them surface together, just the story that the picture told, kind of devastated you. I did connect to these animatronic toys, and they’d yell,”Cut!” and you’d see the New Zealander who built it with dip in his mouth, doing the joystick. It wasn’t real. I feel like it worked. And it was really important to Ken, which I think was lucky for all of us because it made our job a lot easier.

Do you consider yourself a nature lover, an outdoors person to begin with?

Kristen: A wood nymph? Yes! Yes, I do like being outdoors a lot. I hike a lot, and I’m a huge animal lover. So Alaska was a really wonderful location for me because we really got a chance on the weekends to explore its majesty and it doesn’t disappoint. It’s kind of hard to articulate, because it is so untouched. Like, we hiked to the top of Mt Alyeska, I mean there was a tram involved. It wasn’t like we hiked for two days. You are actually above the clouds and you are able to take pictures when you are on this peak and you are looking 200 feet down and there are the clouds. It’s extraordinary.

You have a few scenes with John. I was wondering how it was like to work with him?

Kristen: One of the best we’ve got is an easy way to describe it. I was friends with John before we started this movie, so it was great going in knowing that I would be comfortable and not have to get to know someone new. John’s a really giving actor. He’s very present, and he’s eager to work on the scenes. John loves what he does and he’s not over it by any stretch of the imagination. He’s also a really good writer and he thinks on his feet well so it’s a very fun aspect to have in a partner when you are struggling with something. His ego is not involved at all. He really is a story teller by nature. It was awesome. I loved working with John.

What was it like for you watching the movie as an audience member?

Kristen: I think it was everything I hoped it would be. I don’t know enough to read a script and go, I know how Ken is going to shoot this. I’m not that cocky, I don’t have the education as a filmmaker. It was more magical than I thought. We shot in Alaska but the area where we shot was right under water and at times, in the early fall when there wasn’t the snow that we needed, we would manufacture it and some of the elements were manufactured by man. We weren’t out in the complete arctic, but then when you saw it, I didn’t smell at all. It looked completely legitimate. Some of the most touching scenes that I wasn’t present for were the scenes between Malik and the whales. It’s was beautiful. It was like a snippet from a frontline that they are doing on the Inupiat culture or something. It helped that everyone involved was interested in telling the most accurate story possible.

Q: Is it safe to say that you would go back to Alaska again?

Kristen: I would yeah, I really would. I didn’t get to see the Northern Lights or go up to Fairbanks when I was there and a lot of the cast did. I drove down to Seward and saw the aquarium where they rescue or rehabilitate otters, seals, or damaged wildlife. I would definitely go back to Alaska. There is a harmony up there that is non-existent in LA.

That’s out interview with Kristen Bell. Big Miracle hits theaters Friday.

What did you think?

Interview: Drew Barrymore and John Krasinski Save The Whales

Laura Aguirre — Wed, 01 Feb 2012 21:24:18 +0000

John Krasinski and Drew Barrymore are two of the most charming people in Hollywood, and to top it off, they star in a new film about whales. Who doesn’t love whales? In Ken Kwapis‘ Big Miracle, Krasinski plays Adam Carlson, a small town news reporter, and Barrymore plays Rachel Kramer, an outspoken Animal lover based on real life Greenpeace advocate Cindy Lowry. In the film, Adam and Rachel work together to help a family of gray whales trapped underneath the Alaskan ice.

Recently, we got the chance to talk to the two stars about this based on real events movie. John Krasinski told us that he was skeptical at first about the film’s authenticity, only to be reassured that the most outrageous things in the film had actually happened. He also let us in on a new project he’s been working on with director Gus van Sant. And Drew Barrymore, well, she had nothing but nice things to say about her co-star and director. Check out the complete interview.

Were you guys aware of the story the film is based on before the script came together? Was it news to you or do you remember hearing it?

John Krasinski: I remember hearing about it. I remember definitely knowing something about it, probably was too young to be at all involved in it and wasn’t necessarily the most current events guy at age whatever-I-was…uh nine, I guess? Ten? But no, I mean, when you read the script I remember I read the script and I thought it was really great, I thought it was really sweet. My concern was that it was like – I said to Ken [Kwapis], “Yeah, it’s really good, but we have to cut back a little bit of this stuff. Some of this stuff is a little unbelievable.” And he’s like, “Nah, it’s all true.” And I was like, “Alright, Ken. I don’t know how long you’ve been in Hollywood, but none of this is real.” And he was like, “No, these people got married and…

What part seemed the most unbelievable to you?

JK: I think that the press secretary and the national guard pilot falling in love and getting married after being so adversarial on the phone was insane. That was insane! And then when you see the picture at the end of the movie it’s so moving. I think it’s just a great, great movie, especially at this point in time to believe in the power of unity and getting together for a cause or really for anything, especially with social media. I think this is the time where not only can you have a voice, but your voice can be the catalyst for something massive.

Both of you have had previous experience working with Ken Kwapis, but this movie is obviously very different from anything you’ve done previously. From your perspective, how did his approach change for this project?

JK: He was, in a good way, very stressed, and I say in a good way because I think he understood the difference in the level he was trying to achieve in this movie versus the movie that I did with him and the movie you [Drew] did with him and certainly The Office. That’s a little more low-rent than this movie. So I think he wanted to make it really, really fantastic and I think he knew immediately that the visual spectacle would be an essential part of the movie. I think, he’s very aware that he, at this point, wasn’t necessarily known as the visual spectacle guy and he knew he could do it and he wanted to do it right. And I remember his shot selection and his preparation and going over the script, he was so dedicated and it was amazing to see him do it because the movie I had done and especially on The Office, he’s so performance-based, and he still was on this movie, but to see him be able to be performance-based and do these incredible crane shots, I was just so incredibly proud of him.

Ted Danson was saying that while you were shooting Shell was trying to drill, did you get at all involved with that? He went…

JK: Yeah, I remember that night when he went. He was nervous. He said, “Those guys are real.”

Drew Barrymore: I think it was great for him because he was playing J.W. who is this oil man, but no, that was really his cause.

The way he explained it was that night it almost seemed like your character, Drew, in the beginning of the movie. There’s like a correlation between the two.

DB: I just think that sort of seeing this story and living in it, you just appreciate that everybody kind of put their agendas aside for a second to work on the same thing and sort of peeling away the layers of maybe… I liked when I got to say to his character in the film, “You’re not as hard to hate as I thought.” I always just liked that moment and thought what it would actually be like if you were stuck and got to know the people that you thought you were so different from or really had fundamentally different morals and beliefs. And yeah, I think galvanizing or trying to fight for something that you believe in is always inspiring. So I’m glad it inspired him. He’s the best.

Did you work with or speak with people at Greenpeace at all?

DB: I did! I met with the head of Greenpeace and spent some time with him. They’re actually coming in DC to the screening. And I went and studied whales up in Seattle with Paul Watson, who did Whale Wars. And then I spent a lot of time with Cindy Lowry, who is the woman that I play in the film. And she’s just rad and a total badass and super cool and fun. We actually connected, which is the way you hope it will be, but maybe it will, maybe it won’t. But we were like two peas in a pod, it was great.

The two of you share a great scene when you, John, are recording her in the studio, and you’re like, “Stop being so formal and rigid.” Can you talk about filming that scene?

DB: I think it’s also making it very personal rather than just soapbox-y, which I think this film is, I hope it achieves or is as good at in that way. It’s amazing how it touches on so many things that could be different today if they were different back then, but it doesn’t do it in a preachy, in your face kind of way. So I think the more you do speak from the heart, rather than thumping the agenda, I just think that’s what people listen or relate or open themselves up to more. That’s one of the things I really loved about that scene.

JK: Yeah, and I think that you did such a great job in that scene too, because I think that agenda-based movements in any sort of way, though incredibly powerful and worthy, I think that sometimes you get lost in the white noise of people’s anger and being super adamant on one side or the other and what fails to happen is that you actually aren’t disseminating the information that you want to get across to these people, which is whether it be any sort of major issue, what you fail to do is tell them the basics and the details of how long these whales need to live and how this is scary and all that very human, emotional stuff that will connect with people rather than having them at home feeling like, “Oh, this is too big an issue, I can’t get involved, I don’t know how to get involved, there’s no way to get involved, someone else will take care of this…” And when you bring it to a small level and sort of make it easy to access, which you did, I think it’s the most powerful part of the movie.

Your character, John, stands in for the regular person because everybody still does have a lot of agendas going on throughout the movie, but you’re the kind of person that’s allowed to be…

JK: I get stepped on early on in the movie [laughs]. No, no I totally agree as far as the media thing. His whole thing is that he wanted the glamour of being in the national news spotlight and as soon as people came they sort of pushed him aside so he had to become, really, an assistant to get his voice back with these people. I also love the idea that, I’ve always loved those movies where somebody thinks they want something and then they realize that the thing they really want is right in front of them, and that glamorous life of what it is to be a news man or be in the lower 48 or in New York or whatever it is, I love that he discovers the real truth of life, which is as long as you’re doing what you love and you’re around people that you love you’re doing something right. So I think that was sort of the undertone of my character was kind of keeping that thing in check versus all of the other people who had a specific political agenda.

What did each of you appreciate about working with the other?

JK: I really appreciated – and she’s going to say “No” and blush and all that stuff – but I really appreciated how professional she was. I don’t think anybody really fully understands what it’s like to be at the level that she’s at and the amount of responsibility that it is, and I think that I’m one of the people that feels really, really lucky to be there, but I’ve only been doing it for a certain amount of time, she’s been doing it for longer and achieving so much more than any of us could even hope to do and to stay so incredibly positive and so incredibly normal. You’d be surprised how much the sway of the day really wants to go to the negative, whether it’s too cold or lunch wasn’t good or whatever it is, there’s always a reason to be grumpy, and the entire crew will go with whatever the vibe is. And they all look to one person and usually it’s the biggest head-honcho on set and that was usually her and she was always so positive and it set the tone for the whole rest of the shoot.

DB: Thank you, thank you. I was so excited because Ken told me that maybe this could happen, there was a schedule conflict with The Office, which was a little bit terrifying, it may or may not happen. He called me in the San Francisco airport and I started running up and down the halls I was so happy and so excited, because I really…

JK: She was like, “Steve Carell’s going to be in our movie!?” [laughs]

DB: I do love him, but I was so excited about you! I was! And I was like, “Oh good, I just think that Adam and Rachel…” I just hoped that they would be just these certain kinds of people while he was struggling with where he wanted to his life to and she was doing the things that she wanted to do, I just wanted them to be good people and exude a good energy. And so I was so excited about doing this with John because I love his acting and I just think that he’s a good person, and you believe in that. And it’s true. So I was like, “Oh please, this is ideal. This is how this film would be, that this story could get told.”

JK: I just have to get over that kicking puppies habit and I’d be…

DB: Oh no! [laughs] We both had our dogs up there too, and our dogs love each other, it’s so cute.

Drew, John mentioned your positivity on set, can you talk about not getting jaded with this whole Hollywood system?

JK: Yeah, how do you not do that? I’m already jaded [laughs].

DB: I mean, it’s just a choice, I suppose. I don’t know. I think that if you feel lucky all the time and you don’t take things for granted – and I’ve also experienced in life that it really can all go away, so that was a really wonderful thing to experience, because then you really do appreciate what you have and so I’ve experienced a bit of both, which is really such a blessing and it always confirms to you that you really are lucky to have what you have and you have to work to keep it going, but you really need to appreciate it as much as work for it. The two work hand in hand. So I feel really lucky, I genuinely do. It’s no B.S.

Did you bond with the young actor, Ahmaogak Sweeney, as well?

JK: He’s so good though, isn’t he? He’s so good. Mal is definitely one of the coolest kids. If they ever did like an MTV or something on him they would be like, “Oh my god, this is like the coolest kid ever.” He’s like this handsome, cool, fun, really funny kid. He brought a couple of his friends from school and they were blown away, more blown away that he got to miss school for this [laughs]. But it was really, really fun and he’s so good and it’s one of those things that it’s frustrating to see how natural it was to him. He wasn’t sitting in his trailer really figuring out the scene. He was like, “Yeah, I get it,” and he just understood the whole thing, it was pretty amazing.

Did the Walkman freak him out? Was he like, this is a weird iPod?

JK: “What’s that, grandpa?” [laughs] It was pretty wild, that whole thing with batteries, and he played that so well! Especially a kid who I think had a Wii and an Xbox and all that stuff. And he was like, “Wow, a Walkman!” And I was like, “That’s pretty good acting, because these things are ancient.”

Did you have to explain the bands to him or did he know Guns ‘N Roses and all of them?

JK: He did know Guns ‘N Roses and he really liked Guns ‘N Roses. I think when we got into Def Leppard and stuff he was like, “All right there.” He was really fantastic and a great energy to have on set. He was always really excited to be there and, you know, those scenes where I am alone with him are really amazing. I feel like one of the great relationships in the movie is mine and his relationship only because it bonds the Iñupiat tribe with the outside world and to be the only guy that understands his grandfather when even he is like, “My grandfather doesn’t understand anything that’s going on.” It was just really nice to be the character that sort of pulled everybody together and sort of really fun because I got to work with everybody, which was fun. I got to be in a scene with everybody.

John, can you talk about the project that you were working on with Matt Damon and now Gus Van Sant is going to direct it.

JK: Absolutely, as far as my brain has been able to process it. It’s a pretty incredibly exciting thing. Yeah, I had this idea for a script and I worked on it with David Eggers, who came up with the story and actually came up with a first draft of a script with me, and I brought it to Matt who wanted to direct immediately. The script sort of fell apart because of an issue that was happening at the time, which wasn’t sort of going to be a strong enough issue later on. So we had to rewrite the script and he’s been an incredible friend and collaborator on the whole thing, and then, just before Christmas, he realized that it’s very similar to doing three or four movies over five years and then having them all come out in the same year. Everyone believes that you shot them all last year, and it’s the same thing with booking movies. I would assume that I’ve never been that in demand, but with Matt Damon it’s like a lot of things that he had agreed to all of a sudden everybody was calling him and saying, “The only time we can do it is here and the only time we can do this…” and all of a sudden he looked at his schedule and there was just no way to do everything. And he’s a very, very talented guy and incredibly smart guy, and he didn’t want his first opportunity to direct, he takes it very seriously, and he didn’t want to be hindered in any way, shape or form, and so it really was purely scheduling. He’s doing Liberace in June so he would have had to shoot our movie, go shoot another movie, and then go back and edit, and that’s just not the way you want to do your first movie. And so I was incredibly bummed, to say the least. It was a very hard night, he called me around 7:30 and I remember at 1:30 the next day he called again and said, “So, Gus Van Sant’s doing your movie?” And I flipped out. I think that Gus is one of the most talented directors there is or ever has been. He’s an incredible storyteller and for our movie in particular he’s going to be unbelievable. So I’m thrilled. I’m really, really thrilled and to be able to, you know, it’s my first script – my first original script, I adapted a screenplay, which is very, very different because that was all David Foster Wallace – but this is the first script, so to have this experience, I should just call it quits after this.

How soon will that go?

JK: It’s going to go in April.

DB: I’m so happy for you! It’s exciting.

John, would you be interested in directing again?

JK: Yeah, at some point. I had the best time, but I was also surrounded by the most amazing people. John Bailey, who actually shot this movie, shot my movie. He did a couple tiny movies like Ordinary People and he won the Oscar for As Good As It Gets. So when you have a great team around you to make you look really, really good, if I could ever assemble that group of people and harness that sort of courage that would be fantastic, but it’s a little like walking down a street with landmines and then at the end of it people are like, “You know there are landmines all down that,” and you’re like “What?!” And now that I’ve seen it I’ll be looking out for them and that’s a lot more difficult than just blindly running down the street thinking that it’s really, really…not easy in any way, but it was really, really fun. I had a blast directing…

You might have scared off Damon.

JK: Yeah, exactly. I told him it was the worst decision of his career. Ha, no. But I want this one [points to Drew] to direct really soon. Whip It was amazing.

DB: Thank you!

JK: I hope she does it again soon.

That’s out interview. Big Miracle opens Friday.

Will you be watching Big Miracle this weekend?

The Cast and Director of I Melt With You Talk Middle Age and Allegories

angelbaker — Wed, 07 Dec 2011 23:30:10 +0000

When Thomas Jane, Mark Pellington, Rob Lowe, and Jeremy Piven made the junket rounds to promote their new film, I Melt With You, the conversation took an interesting turn. It quickly went from exchanging pleasantries to the exploration of what it means to be a man in America. It was fitting because for the actors to slip into character, and for Pellington to direct, they had to do some serious self-examination to translate the heady script. I Melt With You is no ordinary tale of four men on a vacation from their lives. It’s a bold look at topics that generally go unnoticed in mainstream film. The cast and director spoke openly about the brave screenplay and what drew them to it.

1-1 Interview: Director James Bobin on The Muppets

Damon Houx — Tue, 22 Nov 2011 18:00:46 +0000

Though he may not be a household name, James Bobin was a perfect choice to direct The Muppets. Bobin cut his teeth on Da Ali G Show and Flight of the Conchords, and knows comedy and how to film musical numbers – along with having a great reverence for the material. Bobin proved a lively interview, and was very thoughtful about how to best preserve the legacy of Kermit and company, while embracing the technical challenges and the musical side of the production. Check out our talk….

In the earlier films Jim Henson and Company seemed very sentient of what they could and couldn’t do with puppets, and you can see them challenging themselves with the bicycle scene in The Great Muppet Caper, which plays but you can see that they fell in love with the ability to show it. Did you give yourself a great challenge, or did digital effects make that pointless?

The problem with that is the wow factor is that the answer today to “how did they do that?” is always “it’s a computer.” It’s hard to wow. I was always aware of the incredible things they did – one of my favorite things ever is in the Caper when they climb a drainpipe. That’s a very complex procedure, even today I’m still working out how they did. But nowadays people would say “oh, it’s a computer.” They wouldn’t believe we actually did it. So it wasn’t really worth chasing that. It was more about being true to the characters. Their humor and their characters.

And I thought the set pieces would be more interesting if they were musical numbers, because I love musicals. I hired Brett (McKenzie) early on, I knew he was funny, I knew where the numbers were going to go. When I joined the movie there were songs all through the movie and the first part of the job was saying “here’s a perfect place for a song, move this one over here, do this, move them around. So I thought all the set pieces would come from the music rather than any great stunt thing we did. We did something like that – the kidnap scene – that’s as close as we get, and that takes forever.

That bike ride in Caper had to have taken two weeks, and these days you don’t have two weeks to shoot something like that, so even if I wanted to, I wouldn’t be able to do it. And if we did, people would say “oh, it’s CG” and wouldn’t care anyway. I’d love to, but for me it’s more important to get back to the basics of why these guys are great and make that movie.

How quickly do you adapt to the elevated stages required for puppeteering?

It’s a very complex procedure – you think it’s be so bizarre with the stages up and the camera up and the whole crew has to move up, but it’s incredibly quick. There’s a hole in the floor, you don’t use crane arms, but filmmaking is so flexible anyway, you don’t worry about it. You do worry about people falling in the holes, cause it’s a five and a half foot drop.

Did you lose anyone?

No, we had some close calls, you have to mark it all off with tape, cause it’s literally a big drop. But usually the floor is out because the puppeteers need the space to perform. And sometimes when humans are in the scene you need to block out and you have to leave some blocks in so they can stand. It gets tricky because if you change your mind on how you want to block the scene you have to start again. You have to be sure of your blocking, that’s a key part of directing a Muppet movie.

Having worked on Da Ali G show and Flight of the Conchords, and with Jason having also done some R-rated stuff, did you ever do a dirty version to cleanse the palate as it were?

(laughs) Not really, because we’re Muppet spiritualists. It really was a part of my childhood the way it was a part of Jason (Segel)’s. I’m from England and everyone in England thinks it’s an English show which happens to have Americans in it. It was made in England for five years in London, and it has an English tone to it. It feels a lot more like Monty Python, or The Goodies or even The Young Ones after it. It feels more like that anarchic craziness versus the more stagey character-based American comedy.

And the love of old theater and vaudeville traditions feels British as well.

Exactly. The theater itself was modeled itself on a British theater for vaudeville. It had a sense of time and entertainment history.

But did you ever have a moment on set where you had to be a little transgressive?

(laughs) Not really, it doesn’t feel right. I mean you know what it is so you don’t want to go there. I mean we’re all adults, so it happens, but never for any purpose for a joke.

With Brett (McKenzie) did you say to him “give me something Paul Williams-y”

Kind of. I love Williams work, and not just The Muppets, but also Bugsy Malone, which in England is enormous. The finale for Bugsy Malone – “Give a Little Love” – was the last song I played at my wedding. But in America it’s not well known, where in England it’s an untouchable, holy thing.

Bugsy Malone and – I feel - An American Werewolf in London are more revered in England.

It’s true, those are huge in England. Anyway, I love Paul Williams and he was in my mind but I also love contemporaries of Paul Williams like Harry Nilsson, who wrote songs for The Point.

And Popeye.

Exactly. He feels very muppet-y, but he never worked with them. So I said that was the kind of tone we were going for. Singer-songwriters from the 70’s to a degree, but also it’s contemporary to a degree, but then also remember the people can’t sing because they’re puppets. Having worked together on Flight of the Conchords, we knew how to make songs count both comedically and emotionally. We knew where they’d go and how you’d get into them so they’d move the story along but also tell jokes.

It’s lucky for you because between this and Flight of the Conchords, you’re the preeminent musical directors.

How’d that happen? (laughs)

Absense?

Yeah. It’s bizzare. Music has always been in my blood because my dad was a DJ, he works in TV now. But in the 1960’s and 70’s he worked as a DJ on The Breakfast Show. And one of my earliest memories is getting a box of 45’s from him at age five, and a gigantic record player, so I’ve always had a knowledge of old music and I’ve always loved music. And doing Conchords, I already knew about music video history, so there I could put all that knowledge to use instead of at trivia games. And it was really useful. And with Muppets it felt similar. And now I do much bigger and grander things, and indulging my love of Oliver! – the 1968 version is one of my favorites.

I was going to go Russell Mulcahy and Richard Lester.

Well, also, also. I mean A Hard Day’s Night is one of my favorite movies, and I think that’s really fantastic.

You capture that insouciance.

Thank you. That’s a fantastic complement because to mentioned in the same breath as those people is amazing to me. I’ve always loved music, and I want to play it straight because I don’t like this “wink at the camera” thing. It’s about commitment to me, if you commit to it, you can’t do anything wrong.

The Muppets – like the Warner Brothers Looney Tunes – have a certain irreverence, but it has to stay within the universe. That’s got to be a fun balance to walk.

Absolutely. Because I always prefer jokes when they’re played straight – that’s how I’ve always done it, when you have a set of rules everyone obeys, I like that idea.

There’s been a number of trailers for the film with footage that’s out of the movie, how was the editing process? It seems you lost some cameos.

We did, and it’s always very hard because you shoot a long script and you have to lose things for time. And so when you watch DVD extras, you always see directors say “I loved this scene, but we had to lose it for time” that’s what they always say.

Did you want to have a 100 minute or less cut?

When you make a comedy you have to know where stuff is going to land, but you don’t want to outstay your welcome and comedy-wise – unless you’ve got an incredible reason to stay longer than an hour and a half – you shouldn’t bother. I wanted to make a movie around that length, but we had a lot of characters to service, and set up all the characters, I think we’re at an hour thirty eight, and I think that’s about right. It wasn’t a “this is how it has to be” but you have to feel it and this feels like the right length for it, and we had to lose some people I love and things that we showed in previews that were the high points of the movie, but are no longer in the movie. It’s a shame.

Speaking of high points… Chris Cooper.

He’s amazing isn’t he? Incredibly focused, but very very keen to rap. We didn’t persuade him to do it, he was keen to do it. I think he’s spent a lot of time playing the brooding menace.

I was thinking “he was such a bas-*ss in Matewan.”

He was very much my number one choice for a very long time, partly because his acting chops are so incredible, he has a genuine menace against the Muppets when he sees them, and he should always be a genuine threat. But also, if you can have Chris Cooper do a song as a rap, you might as well do that. There is a longer version of that later on.

So you see DVD and Blu-ray as a chance to throw some of that stuff out there?

Yeah, things I always love you end up losing and then you put it out there and people “why did you cut that?” And you say “because of time, obviously!” And you watch it with an audience and you watch how a movie flows and you can feel it yourself. You know it’s got to go, it has to be shorter.

What’s your favorite cut thing?

Chris’s extended song, and there’s some people I cut that I can’t mention right now cause of various legal things. You’ll see on the DVD some of it, stuff that wasn’t in the trailers that I hope get cleared. It’s one of those complicating things, you want to be civil about it.

Are you already working on the extras?

Not really, I finished this last week, it’s been an incredibly tight schedule production-wise. I was working up to the absolute last minute, because why not? Since then I’ve only thought about getting some sleep.

That’s the nice thing about digital filmmaking.

It’s amazing, we had to deliver a month out, and it’s nice that it’s not gathering dust somewhere.

It must also be nice as a first film this being what you’re used to.

True, but my background is TV so you do that all the time there.

The Muppets hits theaters November 23. Check it out.

Interview: Writer Nicholas Stoller and Jason Segel on The Muppets

Damon Houx — Mon, 21 Nov 2011 20:00:03 +0000

For anyone who saw Forgetting Sarah Marshall, the idea of Jason Segel and writer/director Nicholas Stoller making a Muppet movie seemed like their greatest dream. That film ended with a muppet musical, and it was obvious everyone involved loved The Muppets. So it’s nice that Disney gave the two the keys to the kingdom, the keys to reboot the beloved franchise. And they pulled it off. Segel and Stoller are old friends, and they have a natural comic rhythm together. Our chat follows, check it out…

Was getting The Muppets back together the idea you had from the start?

Jason Segel: I must say that a lot of the plot came from Nick. I said, “I want to make a Muppet movie,” and he said, “Okay, I’ll think of the idea.”

Nicholas Stoller: We had an initial phone call. He had a meeting at Disney, and then literally on that drive, we pitched out the whole thing.

Segel: Nick and I have a weird kismet relationship, so we riffed it out. But, Nick thought of a lot of it, and then I went in and pitched it. And then, I called Nick back and told him he was writing the movie with me. That is what happened.

How soon did that happen after Forgetting Sarah Marshall?

Segel: It was the first thing that I pitched after Sarah Marshall. I did go in and pitch it alone, but Nick is my buddy and had helped me flesh out the idea. And then, while I was in there, I was like, “And, by the way, I’m writing this with Nick Stoller,” and they were like, “Oh, great! That’s terrific! I didn’t even know Nick would want to do this.” I was like, “Yeah!” And then, I called Nick and presented it as an option.

Stoller: Yeah, it was awesome. It was thrilling. It paid off. It was very exciting.

Why do you think The Muppets still work today, when a lot of kids’ shows are much more cynical now?

Segel: I think that’s why they needed to come back. We have reached a very cynical era of comedy. The Muppets have proven, for 40 years, that you can get laughs without ever doing it at someone else’s expense, and I think that that’s a really important thing for kids to realize.

Stoller: I also think the best entertainment isn’t cynical. The Pixar movies aren’t cynical. They’re heartfelt. Big, big hits like that aren’t cynical.

Segel: I think it’s that The Muppets remind us of who we wanted to be, when we were kids. They remind us of the best version of ourselves. The world beats out of you that anything is possible. You have this wide-eyed wonder, and then you come to the reality of what the world is like. But, The Muppets have never given in to that. They believe that they can accomplish anything, and they just go forward with their eyes open wide and a smile on their face. It reminds us of the best in us.

Jason, having been a fan of The Muppets since you were a kid, do you remember the moment you thought you’d like to write something for them?

Segel: My goal was to be a cameo in a Muppet movie, someday. I never thought that I would be working in this capacity with The Muppets. For Nick and I to get to write and produce a movie like this is thrilling, and it’s unbelievable. It really does feel like a fantasy, sometimes.

Stoller: It’s all a giant prank.

What was it like to actually see yourself as a Muppet?

Segel: That’s how I see myself when I look in the mirror, since I was very young.

Stoller: He suffers from a rare medical condition. It’s a problem.

Segel: A man can certainly be a Muppet. Being a Muppet is a state of mind. It’s about finding that little part of you that’s unique, and not being embarrassed by it, but cherishing it.

Was there any specific Muppet that you just immediately knew what to do with?

Segel: We knew that Animal should be in anger management.

Stoller: A lot of that stuff came immediately.

Segel: We were trying to think of just the funniest places to find people.

Stoller: The one that was cut early on, that would have been funny, was that the Swedish Chef was on Top Chef.

Segel: He was a judge on Top Chef, but you couldn’t ever understand his criticisms.

Stoller: But, the people he was critiquing would be crying.

Segel: Fozzie Bear performing in Reno came pretty quickly.

Stoller: That sequence was a lot longer. We trimmed it down for time.

How did you get the idea for the montage?

Stoller: We wrote that part more than maybe any other part in the movie.

Segel: We wrote that part, over and over and over again. You didn’t know how many Muppets to service with full stories.

Stoller: When you’re writing a movie, you have different theories. There are times when we thought, “Most of this movie is about getting The Muppets back together.” But then, we realized, “No, it’s not much of this movie.” And then, we split the difference .

Segel: The Muppets are always better together than they are apart. That’s one of the themes of the movie, so we wanted to get them together. My favorite in the montage, by the way, is Rowlf. That was neat.

What was it like to work with Bret McKenzie and put together the songs?

Segel: He was a perfect choice.

Stoller: He’s just awesome. He’s great.

Segel: Flight of the Conchords is very Muppety. It’s about two wide-eyed innocents, making their way through tough New York. When we found James (Bobin), we knew that we had the perfect director for this movie ‘cause he knew how to do those musical numbers so well, and without a sense of irony. And so, then we brought Bret along and we felt very lucky.

Stoller: I was so excited. I’ve been friends with James for years, before this. Actual friends, not Hollywood friends. When he expressed interest, I was thrilled.

At what point did you decide to use “Rainbow Connection”? Was that in the film, from the beginning?

Segel: It was not, actually. I remember the moment we decided to use “Rainbow Connection.” I was listening, in my car, to a CD of people covering Muppet songs, and there was a duet of “Rainbow Connection.” I had never heard it sung as a duet, between a guy and a girl, and I said, “Oh, this would be an amazing Kermit and Piggy resolution.” And then, in the middle of the song, drums kicked in and it became rockier. I thought, “Oh, my god, Animal hasn’t been drumming, this whole time. That’s where you resolve the Animal story, and you turn it into a Queen-esque rock opera, where all the Muppets come out and sing.” It just fit, perfectly. That’s a pretty cool moment, I must say.

Did you reach out to anyone for a cameo who refused to do it?

Stoller: President Barack Obama. Disney said no to [Muammar] Gaddafi. I’m not going to hide the truth anymore. We went after him, but other people got to him first.

Jason, did you have any idea how logistically difficult it would be to shoot this movie?

Segel: I knew that it would be logistically difficult, but I think that was much harder for (director) James [Bobin] then it was for me. It actually worked out well for me. I had to sit a lot because I’m so tall. Nick knows, from directing me a couple times, that I way prefer to sit then to stand or walk.

Stoller: Scenes where he’s asleep are his favorite.

Segel: I just don’t like moving around. It’s true. I’m not making a joke.

Stoller: He way prefers it. He’s like, “Can we do this scene sitting?”

Segel: “Why? It’s a chase sequence, Jason!”

Stoller: “Can you just put my face on someone else running?”

Jason, were you nervous about the big dance number, at the beginning of the film?

Segel: I actually wasn’t, no. I really like to sing and dance.

Stoller: But, you don’t like moving!

Segel: That’s true! But, music starts and the rhythm takes me over. A lot of those numbers weren’t even planned. They just happened, spontaneously, and everyone joined in.

Stoller: Apparently, he’s unaware of all the prep that goes into it.

Segel: I was very excited about the idea of a lavish, MGM-style musical number. Singin’ in the Rain is one of my favorite movies. That Donald O’Connor, “Make ‘Em Laugh,” number is maybe one of my favorite pieces of film, of all time.

Was there ever a fear of meeting your idols, or seeing the mechanics behind it all?

Segel: No. If anything, I walked away with a greater appreciation for the puppeteers. The biggest shame is that the puppeteers’ job is to be invisible. You’re never supposed to think about them. They’re acting and they’re puppeteering, and they’re singing and dancing, and they’re comedians, and they’re contortionists, all at the same time. Eric Jacobson, for example, plays Fozzie and Piggy and Animal. In any other context, besides being a puppeteer, that’s a Peter Sellers-esque feat, but unless you’re a crazy Muppet fan, you don’t even know these guys’ names. So, the biggest thing I walked away with was that it’s a really underappreciated art.

Has Frank Oz seen the movie?

Segel: He hasn’t, no. Not as far as I know. I think that he’ll be very proud when he does, though. I hope.

Are The Muppets good at improvising?

Segel: Yes! There was surprisingly more improv than you would think. Fozzie improvised the best line in the whole movie.

Stoller: That was during the Emily Blunt scene, when she says, “Oh, we don’t have an opening until September.” Kermit is like, “That’s months away!” And then, Fozzie said, “You think that’s bad? One time, I had to wait a whole year for September.”

Segel: Eric Jacobson improvised that, on the spot. I lost it. It’s the best joke I’ve ever heard.

Stoller: There’s a lot of improv in the movies that Jason and I have done together, but I’ve never heard a joke improvised. That’s a proper set-up, punchline, joke, and not just a funny line.

Segel: He did the greatest thing in a TV interview with me. It was unscripted. He’s Miss Piggy, Fozzie and Animal, and I was doing an interview with Piggy. One of the questions from the viewers at home was, “Jason, do you do any impressions of The Muppets?” I said, “I guess I can do a Kermit impression,” and I did a weak Kermit impression. And then, Miss Piggy said, “You know, I actually do impressions of Muppets as well. Here is my Fozzie Bear.” Then, Miss Piggy did Fozzie’s voice, and it was the best joke, ever. They had never done that bit before. He said he thought of it, on the spot. They had literally never done that joke.

Stoller: That’s amazing!

Jason, did you have any sexual tension with Miss Piggy, during filming?

Segel: I felt it. I feel like she’s attracted to me.

Were there moments on set when you forgot they were puppets?

Segel: I never forgot that they were puppets, but you do forget about the puppeteer. You see it happen with a kid in about 10 seconds, and it happens to every adult in about a minute. Something kicks in, where you’re looking right into these puppets’ eyes. It’s unbelievable.

Did you ever think about including your Dracula puppet from Forgetting Sarah Marshall?

Segel: I tried to get him in as a cameo, but Universal wouldn’t allow it.

The Muppets opens November 23. Check it out!

Interview: Kermit the Frog, Miss Piggy and Walter on The Muppets

Damon Houx — Mon, 21 Nov 2011 19:00:51 +0000

There are few actors in the history of cinema as iconic as Kermit the Frog, the leading man of the new comedy The Muppets. his name stirs emotions – Kermit is the sort of performer who puts a lump in your throat, and brings out a childlike glee. He was joined by Miss Piggy (who arrived fashionably late to the interview) and the newest Muppet Walter to talk about their collaboration with Jason Segel and what he and the rest of the gang had been up to before their return to the big screen, and the shooting process. Check it out…

How are you guys?

Kermit the Frog: We are tired, but we’re happy to talk about our movie. That’s kind of fun.

Walter: I’m just so excited and happy to be here, and just great.

Kermit: You are so enthusiastic. That’s what I like about you.

Walter: Aw, thank you, Kermit.

Kermit, is what was going on in the movie what’s really been going on in your life, since we last saw you?

Kermit: No. It’s not exactly a documentary. It’s not reality. It was just a story.

What were you doing, during that time?

Kermit: Over the course of the last 20 years, we’ve done lots of stuff. We did some other TV shows and TV movies, and some work for the internet. We did “Bohemian Rhapsody” about a year ago. So, we’ve been together, but it made for a better story, if we had been separated for 20 years. We took a little artistic license.

Did you have script approval?

Kermit: I did not, and that’s fine. All I had to do was open to page 30 and it said, “Kermit the Frog enters here,” and I did. What am I going to do? It said, “Kermit the Frog.” Who else is going to play it, right? Justin Bieber wasn’t available.

Walter: The casting was a no-brainer, for that one.

Walter, how was the audition process?

Walter: It was actually really, really cool.

Miss Piggy: There was no audition process for moi! Are you kidding?!

Walter: The question was asked of me. It was an all-time classic Hollywood story. I was swimming laps at the hotel, and this talent scout came up and said, “Whoa, I think you’re perfect for the film.” They had been scouring the country for 18-inch tall guys to play this role, who also happen to be big Muppets fans. Jason (Segel) said it came down to me and another guy, and the other guy wasn’t available.

Miss Piggy: Fascinating! Let’s talk about me, shall we?

Missy Piggy, who designed your wardrobe for the film?

Missy Piggy: I did have a pair of Louboutin shoes made for moi, as well as an outfit by Zac Posen. This was a very highly regarded fashion assignment. I had a whole wonderful wardrobe. I think I had 738 costume changes in the movie. I had five costume changes in one shot. I think that’s a record.

Kermit: That’s true. I had almost none. I was mostly naked, for the whole film.

Walter: Well, it was a Jason Segel film, so somebody had to be.

Kermit: That’s right. Better me than Jason.

Were you guys fans of Forgetting Sarah Marshall?

Kermit: Well, that whole opening scene was inspired by my nudity, so yeah.

Walter: I actually had not heard of Jason Segel before this film. After meeting him, we’ve become friends. I have watched Forgetting Sarah Marshall, but I watched it on an airplane so I wouldn’t have to see his bumpy bits.

Miss Piggy: I actually still haven’t heard of Jason Segel. Who is this guy?

Kermit: He’s that tall guy who was on set every day.

Walter: He’s the one whose name was on the script.

Miss Piggy: Oh, I didn’t read the script.

Kermit, some performers get tired of singing the same song, over and over again. Do you get tired of signing “Rainbow Connection,” or is it always good to go back to it?

Kermit: I think it’s nice to sing it again. The last time I did it in a movie was 34 years ago. I hope that “Rainbow Connection” still has some relevance. I think it’s a pretty song. I think it does.

Miss Piggy: I think it does, especially with my voice added to it.

Kermit: And we did add Piggy’s voice, and all the other guys too, so that was nice.

Kermit, was there ever any consideration about you directing the film?

Kermit: No, I just want to perform. I really wasn’t looking to direct. It’s too much responsibility. You’ve gotta think in everyone’s mind, instead of just your own. And, while I am a talking from and relatively sentient, I don’t think I’ve got quite that much brain power going.

Miss Piggy: Aw, you sell yourself short, Kermit.

Kermit: Yeah, well, I am short.

Do you guys pull any pranks on set?

Kermit: All the time. We are famous for it. We like to scare each other. We like to hide behind doors and jump out, and stuff like that.

Miss Piggy: I don’t like that. I don’t like that, at all!

Kermit: Some of the things that might pass as prinks on other sets are actually accidents on ours, like explosions and the Swedish Chef’s food.

Walter: Jason Segel sitting on me, during our scene in the mansion.

Kermit: Yeah, we had a sofa crush.

Walter: That was the most pressure I felt, during this entire experience.

Walter, did you have any special time that you got to spend with Jason Segel?

Walter: Oh, yeah, for sure, totally. It was part of getting into the role of being brothers and best friends. We hung out a lot. We went to Johnny Rockets, we did karaoke, we went bowling together.

Would you say that you’re a method actor?

Walter: I wouldn’t say that at all, no. Although I did draw from my own experience, and my own emotional, well to perform the role of Walter. It’s just a happy coincidence that my name happens to be Walter.

Kermit: What a coincidence! And, my name happens to be Kermit the Frog. Talk about weird!

Walter: And, he was cast as Kermit the Frog.

Kermit: Same with Piggy.

Walter: I suppose you’d call all of us method actors, then.

Kermit: These were the roles we were born to play.

Walter: I felt like I was made for this role.

Kermit, you and Miss Piggy have both had quite a bit of experience with adoring fans. Did you give Walter any advice, in how he can deal with the adoring public?

Kermit: I’ve tried to be there for Walter, when he asks questions.

Walter: You have been. I think the best advice you gave me, Kermit, was, “Always find a chair or a box to stand on, if you want to reach the brownies on the craft service table.”

Kermit: That’s a very valuable piece of advice.

Walter: Believe me, it’s come in really handy.

Miss Piggy: Is that what happened to all the brownies? You know, those were for moi? Those were in my contract. That’s why they were there.

Walter: I didn’t realize, Piggy. I thought you had your own brownies in your dressing room. I didn’t think you had to go to the common craft service table with everyone else. Clearly, I’m mistaken. I’m sorry!

I hope you didn’t put on the craft service 10 pounds.

Walter: You have to watch out for that!

Kermit: Yes, you do, especially at my age.

Kermit, you’re naked, so at least the wardrobe doesn’t have to change.

Kermit: That’s right.

Walter: Jason did talk about leading man shape that you have to stay in.

Kermit: Yeah, he’s so svelte, after all.

Kermit and Miss Piggy, you’ve been in the spotlight for years and you’re being introduced to a new generation now. Are you excited to have new potential fans see this movie?

Miss Piggy: I am so excited, but I am not nearly as excited as the rest of the world is, obviously, that moi is gracing the silver screen once again. This is really a love letter, both to moi’s existing fans, and all of my new ones.

Kermit: It is wonderful. I hear from so many folks, who now have kids, who grew up with us back in those Muppet Show days. It’s great to have the chance to think that we might be able to let them introduce us to their kids. I hope that works.

Walter, what’s it like to officially be a part of the Muppet canon?

Walter: For me, it’s a huge honor. You talk about the Muppet canon, but actually Gonzo offered to shoot me out of the Muppet cannon.

Kermit: Yes, there is an actual Muppet cannon.

Walter: There is! That’s not just a rumor. But, I did all my own stunts in the film, like the electrocution and getting the cake dropped on me.

Kermit: I think people probably thought that electrocution scene was a special effect. But, we actually wired him up.

Walter: No, that was not a special effect! They totally wired me up, and there were sparks and smoke. Apparently, when you become one of the Muppets, you’re doing your own stunts.

Kermit: Authenticity is the name of the game.

Walter: But, they’re really authentic, which is something that you’ve got to respect. It’s a huge honor and it’s humbling, really, to be with these guys. How else could it be?

Kermit: Well, it could be awful.

Walter: It could be a terrible, horrible experience. But, you asked about what Kermit taught me. Kermit has been doing this a long time, and yet, he’s the same, humble, real frog he’s always been. He always sees the best in people. I think that the old fans and new ones alike will really appreciate that and relate to it.

Kermit: I hope so.

Throughout the years, have you learned how to interpret the Swedish Chef?

Kermit: We’re all wondering about the Swedish Chef. We’re not sure. But I’m not sure we want to know what he’s saying. It may be better that we don’t know.

Do you like his food? Do you think he’s a good chef?

Kermit: I like Swedish food. Whether or not I like the Swedish Chef’s food is a day-by-day, judgmental thing.

Kermit and Piggy, do you want to address the rumors of sexual tension on the set, during filming?

Kermit: Well, there were rumors.

Miss Piggy: It could have been the good kind of tension.

Kermit: Listen, Piggy and I have been together for a long time.

Miss Piggy: They’re all true. All the rumors between moi and Kermie are true. The more scandalous, the more true they are.

Kermit: I think the secret to our relationship is that Piggy can flirt with whoever she likes, and I better not.

Miss Piggy, did you flirt with Jason Segel on set?

Miss Piggy: That is a rumor that is not true! That’s one that Jason has started, evidently.

Kermit: Now you know how it feels.

Miss Piggy: He’s a very funny man, yes, but he’s not my type. My type is more short, green and handsome.

Miss Piggy, what was the hardest acting challenge for you?

Miss Piggy: Well, I think it was playing the editor of this fashion magazine because I had to be this boss. To be a boss, you have to be really bossy, and that is not like me at all, in real life.

Kermit: No, that couldn’t be further from the truth. Absolutely no type-casting there.

Walter, do you have any advice for anybody who wants to make it in the business?

Walter: Oh, gosh, that’s tough. Just like the Muppets teach you, just believe in yourself. If there’s something different about you that maybe doesn’t quite let you fit in with other people, that’s probably the truest thing and the best thing about yourself, so be in touch with that and love that. Just believe in yourself and dreams can come true. That sounds really cliche.

Miss Piggy: Oh, my gosh, that is pathetic! Believe in yourself and your dreams will come true?

Walter: That’s totally cliche, but I was trying to say that the things that make you special and make you different from other people are often what’s best about you.

Kermit: Walter, that’s completely okay, unless you’re an axe murderer, and then perhaps you might want to make a few changes before you believe too strongly.

Walter: Or, if your leg eczema is the special thing about you. That’s a good point.

Kermit: Never believe your own PR. That’s my advice. That’s very important.

Miss Piggy: Unless your own PR is something that you, yourself, wrote.

The Moopets are kind of the villains in the film. How were they behind the scenes?

Kermit: To play a role like that, you have to be kind of rough. But, I’d say they were actually okay, behind the scenes. They’re just hard-working actors and actresses in Hollywood.

Miss Piggy: That we got from the chain gang.

Kermit: That’s right. And, like so many of them, they’ve had their ups and downs. But, The Moopets are okay.

With that I told Kermit that I had been a fan all my life and he said thank you, and then I took a picture with him as miss Piggy. The Muppets opens November 23. Check it out.

Interview: Taylor Lautner on Imprinting in Twilight

Damon Houx — Fri, 18 Nov 2011 01:30:50 +0000

For Taylor Lautner, the biggest challenge of Breaking Dawn Part 1 wasn’t being on the losing end of a love triangle between himself, Bella Swan (Kristen Stewart) and Edward Cullen (Robert Pattinson), but figuring out how to play imprinted. In the latest and penultimate Twilight film, the werewolf love bond is enacted, and between Jacob (Lautner) and an interesting partner. Check out his thoughts on that and his non-denial about working with Gus Van Sant in out interview…

Also, check out our video version of the press conference (plus some Twilight clips) below…

Lautner has a sense of humor about his role as he joked about being shirtless often for his part (I guess it goes with being a werewolf), and acknowledged the fun and difficulty of doing so in less than friendly climates. He also didn’t want to talk about crazy fans, as he likes to call them “passionate” and talked up how some people want their body signed to have his signature turned into a tattoo (something Peter Facinelli also mentioned, and he wanted no part in it).

When a project involving Gus Van Sant came up, Lautner gave it a very classic “I can’t say anything” denial:

He is a very, very talented director who I’ve always looked up to and I’ve always wanted to work with. It’s very premature, so I really don’t have much so say now other than the fact that I really, really respect and would love the opportunity to work with him.

When pressed about the subject matter he added “there is a project like that floating around somewhere on this planet.” I guess that’s how you handle it when there’s no names on the dotted lines.

He also talks about the fame and wanting to keep your face out there, but finding it difficult to let go of the role, and his friends that he’s made through the shooting of the series. This was a common thread in the interviews, as everyone emphasized their sadness on the thing being over.

He also spoke to the challenges of playing a CGI werewolf and working with a new director on the series, and how protective he is of the character he made famous. Working with Bill Condon (the fourth director in the series) sounded very pleasant and Condon was open to the casts ideas if they felt their characters weren’t behaving as they had been established.

And though the cast have another year to wait until everything is said and done – and who knows if there might be some reshoots – the tone of the event was that everyone knew the big party was over.

The Twilight Sage: Breaking Dawn Part 1 opens November 18, and should quickly become one of the most successful film of all time.

Are you excited for Breaking Dawn Part 1?

Interview: Robert Pattinson on the End of Playing Edward in Twilight

Damon Houx — Fri, 18 Nov 2011 00:00:34 +0000

For Robert Pattinson, there is now an end to playing Edward Cullen. In the latest film he marries Bella Swan (Kristen Stewart) against Jacob’s (Taylor Lautner) objections, and the film ends with a cliffhanger, but though Breaking Dawn is the final book in the Twilight franchise, it was broken into two halves for the big screen and both parts were shot at the same time. So even though we’ll have to wait until November, 2012 for the conclusion of the series, Pattinson’s work is almost all done except for possible reshoots and doing the press tour. He sat down at a press conference to answer questions about the film and other things.

Also, check out our video version of the press conference below…

It’s interesting that for many of the cast the journey of the films aren’t entirely over because they know they’ll be back doing publicity next year. That’s the final end to all of this. Pattison in person has a certain cool, the good kind, he seems amused by his fervent fanbase, and he was happy to answer questions from what was on his iPod, to filming the birth scene in the new movie, and we did talk a bit about the new film and the new challenges of playing a husband and an expectant father. He was also happy to talk about working with David Cronenberg on the film Cosmopolis.

Also a subject of interest for Pattinson was his music, and he talked about his nervousness about putting out something for the world to judge. It’s probably the best answer he gave. When it comes to movies, there are so many other people who help shoulder the blame if something sucks, but when it’s just you, that’s a world of difference.

But shyness doesn’t seem all that becoming for the actor, who’s been able to use the Twilight films to find other work successfully, and he’s smart to work with a talent like David Cronenberg. But it’s Twilight and team Edward for which he’ll be remembered, and he talked about how hours previous he, Lautner and Stewart were immortalized at Grauman’s Chinese theater, where the three left their hand and footprints alongside such luminaries as Tom Hanks, Rita Hayworth and Fred Astaire. Robert Pattinson has a head on his shoulders and he should be working for years to come, it seems. He’s got it down.

The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn Part 1 opens November 18, and should quickly become one of the most successful film of all time.

Are you excited for The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn Part 1?

Interview: Clint Eastwood and Leonardo DiCaprio on J. Edgar

Damon Houx — Wed, 09 Nov 2011 22:37:14 +0000

When you’re Clint Eastwood, you don’t have to try too hard with certain things. It comes with being a living legend. Want a hot screenwriter? Check: Oscar winner Dustin Lance Black. Want a hot cast? Check: Leonardo DiCaprio, Naomi Watts and Armie Hammer are ready to work with you. And with J. Edgar, Eastwood assembled this dream team. We got a chance to talk with Eastwood and DiCaprio about the film, check it out…

Did you have more than two or three takes on any one scene that you did?

Leonardo DiCaprio: We actually did a lot of takes on this movie. I never left the set wanting more, that’s for sure. Clint is very adaptable and has his process and what he does is expect you to plant your feet and speak the truth like James Cagney says. That’s what we tried to do our best on this movie, and he gave us everything we could possibly ask for as actors.

Clint Eastwood: What I do is whatever it takes, it takes. Sometimes you see a scene right away and a take looks great so you might print that and you might print a couple more and take elements of all three. You’re looking for the best elements of the scene, but preferably you’d like to have one good take that would go all the way through. But I’m always trying for it on the first take.

That was Don Siegel’s favorite thing. He says I may not get it but I’m always trying for it. I’ve got this reputation for shooting one take which is a wonderful reputation to have but hard to live up to. If I did it, it would be kind of shoddy.

What did you learn about J. Edgar that may have altered your perception of him?

Leonardo DiCaprio: I think the screenplay that Clint and I initially responded to by Dustin Lance Black was a very fascinating portrait of this man, and these characters that had devoted their life to government service and that meant not having any kind of personal life whatsoever. They were representation of the FBI. That was their church. It’s a hard concept to wrap my head around – to completely sacrifice any sort of love in your life, to never experience that on a personal level. All three of these characters lived a life of service to their country.

What I was fascinated by was his take on entering J. Edgar Hoover’s career during a time of almost a terrorist invasion by Communists, the Red Scare, that sort of paranoia that was infused in our country, and the lawlessness of these bank robbers that were going from state to state and becoming free men when they crossed state lines and how J. Edgar Hoover really transformed the police system in America and created this Federal Bureau that to this day is one of the most feared, respected and revered police forces in the entire world. This story goes on to his later years where he became a political dinosaur who didn’t adapt to the changing of our country. It’s very much about the Kennedy years and the Civil Rights movement and Martin Luther King.

The one thing that was prevalent throughout his entire career was his staunch belief that Communism was an evil thing. He wanted to retain the fundamental principles of democracy in our country, but when the Civil Rights movement came along he saw that as an uprising of the people. He stayed in power way too long and he didn’t listen to his own critics and he was a staunch believer in his moral beliefs and his beliefs about what was right for our country. His career ended on a failed note in my opinion. You can’t deny that he wasn’t a patriot but at the same time his tactics were pretty deplorable.

You did a magnificent job in terms of the whole aging process. Did you take a closer look at older people and how they move or is it something that just comes naturally as part of the acting?

Leonardo DiCaprio: Thankfully Clint set that up for the last two weeks of filming so we got to prepare for that and we got to get our footing in our characters and then come to set and the last few weeks we sat in the make-up chair for 5 or 6 or 7 hours and I think a lot of us had our own research on how to do that, but there was a lot of prep time.

The challenge was not just the prosthetic work and how to move like an older man would move but more so how to have 50 years of experience in the workplace and talk to a young Robert F. Kennedy as if he was some political upstart that didn’t know what the hell he was talking about. That was the big challenge for us as actors.

Clint creates an environment for all of us to really focus on the acting and the drama and the interaction with the characters. I keep talking about his style of directing but it’s so catered for actors because he has almost like this splinter cell unit of people on set, the bare minimum. It’s like an elite squadron of Marines that are there and they sort of fade away and then that third wall sort of disappears and you start to feel like you’re actually submerged in reality and you’re really there. For doing difficult stuff like that, it’s incredibly helpful as an actor to feel like you’re immersed in that environment.

Clint Eastwood: Having an 81-year-old director right in front of you is something. I think the best example we had was when we did J. Edgar Hoover going in to see the President, we pretty much duplicated both shots so you’d see Leo going in as a young man and then coming at the final one when he goes into see President Nixon, he goes in and he does the exact same gestures but just as an old man. If you put those two pieces together, you see a dramatic change.

Mr. Eastwood, it’s great that we get to see a new movie of yours every year and now it’s exciting to hear that we might see you in front of the camera again acting. What does it mean to you to have a chance to have an acting role again?

Clint Eastwood: I could say…I could say a lot of things. I could say boredom. Actually it’s kind of based on material. I was just telling somebody a few minutes ago that I’d been trying to retire to the back of the camera for quite a few years. And then, in 1970, when I first started directing, I said you know, if I could pull this off, I can some day just move in back of the camera and stay there. I never was able to pull it off because somebody offered me a role.

Once and a while they come up with a grumpy old men thing and they say “Okay, let’s get Eastwood for that.” Regardless of what age you are, most actors would all agree that it’s all based upon material and the material has got to spark with you. It may be great material, but you think it’s great material for somebody else. Or it’s great material and I’m perfect for it. So, you just have to make that judgment and if you feel in the mood to do it.

Clint, can you talk a little bit about the non-linear nature of the storytelling and the way it shifted through the different time periods? Why did you think that was an important or an effective way to tell the story?

Clint Eastwood: It was an interesting way to go back and forth in time and show him and his present day attitude and how he was when he was younger and just starting out with all kinds of vinegar and ready to roll. I think we stuck pretty well with the formula and it seemed clever to me. By the same token, it helped to go to what everybody is referring to here to justify all these characters.

Hoover, I’m sure, felt that he was right in everything he did and even the things that we don’t like about his character. Everybody always feels that they’re right even if they’re wrong and that’s what a whole actor’s career is built around rationalizing your way into whatever character you’re playing. So it was great fun.

And Helen Gandy, for instance, I’m just deviating a little bit but I’ll get back to it. When I went to the FBI, she was sort of legendary as far as running the place, and even Robert Mueller who’s the director today says “Oh yeah, Helen Gandy, she ran the place.” She was one of those women that would come into a job and pretty soon everybody was relying on her. We listened to the tapes of her talking to the Congressional Committee after Hoover passed to the whereabouts of all of the so-called files. She stood her ground and you could tell she was somebody who was very confident after 50 years of being on that job. Nobody could burn her down. She had her story and stuck to it. Those kind of characters all made it interesting. You get this collage of people that all come from a different place. You ask yourself about Hoover and his relationship with Helen Gandy and his relationship with Tolson, where did it come from? With Tolson, was it just because of lack of trust? Other people come and go and rumors fly in a big organization like that. He had one or two people that he trusted and that was the extent of it probably.

Throughout your careers you’ve come into proximity with people of enormous power, politically and otherwise. How did you take those observations that you’ve made from your own experiences and applied them to Hoover’s story?

Clint Eastwood: Well, with people in high office, the old – they go into the extreme, which is absolute power and absolute power corrupts and what have you, so there’s always the corrupting thing with the 48-year stint as the director of the Bureau of Investigation. And because he formed it all and he had the trust of various executives along the way they just relied on him and nobody could remove him.

There are so many parallels in society today that you can use, whether it’s the head of studio or a head of an organization, a major newspaper, a major factory or company, of people who stay too long, maybe, and overstay their usefulness.

I have great respect for the FBI, and I knew there have been some rumors lately that the FBI was disenchanted because of what we were doing in story, or doing a certain take: that’s not true. Actually the FBI was tremendously enthusiastic about us doing this film. They didn’t read the script, though. They know nothing about it. Their philosophy is ‘Go ahead and make the story you want to make, and hopefully we’ll love it.’ So that’s that.

Your screenwriter was born after Mr. Hoover passed away, while Mr. Eastwood, you lived through some of the Hoover era. Did that inform how you went about the material, having experienced some of that period?

Clint Eastwood: Well, I just kind of had my own impressions growing up with Hoover as a heroic figure in the 40s – actually the 30s, 40s, and 50s and beyond – but this was all prior to the information age so we didn’t know about Hoover except what was in the papers. This was fun, because it was a chance to go into it. And Lance had gone and done stuff from autobiographical material and biographies from other people, and it was fun to delve into a character that you’d heard about all your life but you never really knew and try to sort that out.

We never knew too much about the Tolson, the Gandy…any of his close confidants, but through researching this movie that was what was fun about making the movie: you get to learn something about people. And then watching the other actors and everybody – we’re all just kind of learning history, or putting our stamp on history, our interpretation of it. Sure, a lot of things probably didn’t happen exactly the way they happen in this film, but they’re pretty close, and Lance had done a great job of researching what time certain events happened in history so they could coincide with other events.

How did making this movie and learning this story affect how you think about the idea of privacy? Something that Hoover went about destroying for people when they met his hands.

Leonardo DiCaprio: It’s interesting in this day and age to do a film about political espionage and wiretapping. I don’t think that those kinds of secrets that J. Edgar Hoover was able to obtain and keep for such a long period of time would be possible in today’s world, with the Internet, Wikileaks…It doesn’t seem like those kinds of secrets can be kept for that long period of time.

This is a different day and age, and there were huge, catastrophic events that were going to happen if we didn’t have a federal police system like that investigating a lot of activities that were going on in our country. It still goes on to this day, obviously. I mean, it’s an argument or a topic that people could talk about until they’re blue in the face, whether that type of information being released to the public is a positive or a negative thing. I suppose it depends on the particular event or subject matter. But I don’t think that J. Edgar Hoover would be able to do the same job in today’s era with all this massive distribution of information in a matter of seconds. It was a different era and time.

Clint Eastwood: He sure would be able to store the material easy. Just go around with a little iPad and have everybody in there.

Aging, has it affected you—

Clint Eastwood: What was that again?

Leonardo DiCaprio: Has aging affected you?

Clint Eastwood: I haven’t heard it. I haven’t (laughs)…I think aging, so far, has been okay. I think it’s been good. A lot of people regret, because we live in a society that reveres being at the prime of life and everything, but you have certain primes at certain times, and mine happens to be…

Leonardo DiCaprio: Happens to be right now.

Clint Eastwood: …It happens to be, I think, now. I think I am doing better at certain things right now than I have in the past, and maybe not so good at others.

Leonardo DiCaprio: From an outsider’s perspective, it’s amazing what he does. If he’s not directing a film, he’s acting in it, or rather he’s composing the music for that film. His commitment to what he does is astounding. For all of us to witness. It’s inspiring, actually.

Clint Eastwood: I do believe if one keeps busy it’s very good for a person. In fact, people are always rushing into retirement and we read in Europe people there are talking about their retirement age and moving it to 67 or something. Well, back when they started retirement funds and everything, the average age was 70 or 60, and then all of a sudden now it’s 80, and so… Oh, I’ve passed it, haven’t I? And so you keep in shape, you keep yourself mentally in shape. And if you keep yourself mentally in shape, chances are physically it will follow suit.

How do you think the myth of J. Edgar Hoover informs Dirty Harry?

Clint Eastwood: I don’t think Hoover conforms to Dirty Harry at all. Dirty Harry was a mythical character that came along. Don Siegel and I approached it as an exciting detective story, nothing too much except it. The writer of that, Harry Julian Fink had written it that he was a man concerned with the victim and this came about at a period of time when everyone was obsessed with the rights of the accused. So all of a sudden we come out with a detective story with a lot of violence and stuff but it was also concerning the rights of the victims. Shortly after that, there became all kinds of victims’ rights organizations, so we felt maybe we were ahead of the curve on that.

Maybe I haven’t the parallel though because Hoover was an administrator. Even though this congressman in the picture is giving him a hard time and this all happened in real life so he ended up making arrests and stuff, but he was an administrator. He administrated a very large organization so why would he be out on the street making arrests? That’s what he has his agents for. He was just under scrutiny from people because they disliked him or he was aggressive or whatever.

Leo, why are you drawn to characters involved in social/historical stories?

Leonardo DiCaprio: I think Lance put it best when he said, “Look, if we can better understand these people and their motivations and how this event manifested itself to their politics, we can learn from them. We can learn from history.” To me, you couldn’t write a character like J. Edgar Hoover and have it be believable. I mean, he was a crock pot of eccentricities. We couldn’t even fit all his eccentricities into this movie. We could go on and on.

The fact that this man was, like he said, if not the most powerful man in the last century, one of the most in our country and he lived with his mother until he was 40 years old. He listened to his mother for political advice. The more I dug deep, you understand the history of the child and what motivated these people at a very early age, she wanted the Hoover name to rise to great glory in Washington so he was this incredibly ambitious young genius that really transformed our country and created this federal bureau that to this day is revered and feared. Yet he was a mama’s boy. He was incredibly repressed emotionally. His only outlet was his job. He wasn’t allowed to have any kind of personal relationships, or he felt that.

No matter what his sexual orientation was, he was devoted to his job and power was paramount to him and holding onto that power at all costs was the most important thing in his life. He should’ve retired much sooner than he did and many presidents tried to oust him later on in his career as depicted with Nixon as well. That was everything to him and he didn’t adapt or change to our country and that is one of the most important things a political leader can do. For me as an actor, I just loved researching this stuff. So much about – - we got to take a trip to Washington and I got to meet people who knew him and really understand and capture this guy to the best of my abilities. That’s half the fun of making a movie for me.

Was this an education for you?

Leonardo DiCaprio: Yeah, it is. It’s an incredible education. It was like I did a college course on J. Edgar Hoover but not knowing and understanding the history and reading the books, but understanding what motivated this man was the most fascinating part of the research.

Do you worry this will hurt your career?

Leonardo DiCaprio: No, not at all. I don’t have to sympathize or empathize with a human being in order to be able to portray them. I mean, some of the greatest roles that actors have been able to play haven’t been the most endearing on screen.

Clint Eastwood: It’s been historically actors have been made very famous for roles that were something that was far – - Richard Widmark could come to mind or something like that, where you do some famous role and everybody imitates you for the rest of your life. But obviously it’s much more fun to play something you’re not than it is something you are.

J. Edgar opens November 11.

Interview: Stephen Moyer for The Double

angelbaker — Thu, 27 Oct 2011 19:36:29 +0000

British actor Stephen Moyer has an extensive resume but Stateside, he’s best known for his role as the soft-spoken Bill Compton on HBO’s “True Blood.” In a recent departure, his latest character in Michael Brandt’s directorial debut The Double, isn’t so friendly. Moyer brandishes a stellar Russian accent and a nasty facial scar for his intense portrayal of Brutus, a link in a convoluted chain of gangsters with a faceless leader. We recently got a chance to speak with Moyer about his prisoner performance, his love for Danny Zuko, and how to properly execute a “twist” ending.

Check out our full interview below…

One of the things we like about The Double is its homage to multiple genres. You’ve got the perfect mix of the buddy and spy-cop thriller with a real Silence of the Lambs vibe. What about this project spoke to you?

Stephen Moyer: I think you hit it on the head in many respects. My favorite stuff to watch if I’m looking on Netflix or iTunes is still the same. I go to thrillers. I want to see thrillers. I love the Bourne movies, The Conversation, Three Days of the Condor, and right back to 39 Steps. I love those films. I love the way they’re constructed. I love the way they make me feel. [I love] edge of the seat stuff, you know? So when I read this I was very attracted to that aspect of it. And the fact that it was written by the guy that did 3:10 to Yuma. I love that movie. Also, that Richard [Gere] was attached. I’ve always been a fan of Richard’s so for me, that was a big part of it. And also, there was this really great character that I could really get my teeth into and play with and bring craziness to.

Richard Gere plays a common type of character. He’s a retired old guy that just wants to live his life and watch little league baseball. But he’s distraught about something that he may or may not have done in his life. What do you think he brought to the character that was nuanced and original?

SM: I think what Richard has is this kind of enigmatic quality. He doesn’t need to say a great deal for you to sort of wonder what’s going on behind his eyes. I’ve always thought that when he’s really at his best, is this stuff where you’re trying to read him. You’re trying to see what it is that he’s thinking. It was just so great watching how confident, how relaxed, how comfortable he is on a film set. I spent a lot of time trying to get information out of him. I’d pull up my director’s chair next to his and ask him hundreds of questions. I’m sure he was bored rigid with me by the end of the shoot.

Was there anything particular that he said to you that stuck or was it more just watching his performance?

SM: Richard began in musical theater and I did too. I asked him a little bit about how he started out and I think he rather enjoyed going back over it a little bit. I don’t think its something he gets asked very often. So once we set up that common ground, we rather enjoyed going over it. He played Danny Zuko (from Grease) many years ago, and I played Danny Zuko when I was 17, so we talked about that and it was a lot of fun.

We see a lot of “Russian Gangster” character types in film. There is something so great about the it that it’s recurrent. Why do you think that is?

SM: I think that one has to remember, without being stereotypical is [that character] comes from a very different place to our own understanding of the world. Most of the people who have been portrayed or we are portraying have grown up under the iron curtain. It’s only in the last 20 years (1991 or something) that there was a kind of Glasnost and freedom of speech. They represent to us, in a way, a world that we don’t understand or know about. As much as we’ve read about it, it is obviously very interesting to view stuff we don’t know as much about. Where we can understand the reasoning or the ethics or the moralistic side of a Westerner in a similar gangster situation. There’s an enigmatic quality to somebody from the East in the same boat.

With your character Brutus, you’re obviously a gangster. You’re hard. You’re in jail. You’re isolated. You’re ruthless. But you’re also very fragile when you find out Cassius’ identity. Was that something you brought to the script or was it something Michael Brandt asked of you? How did the dichotomy of that character come out?

SM: I think that that’s something that I tried to instill in him – the idea that he’s this monster, but he has one Achilles heal and it’s one person. That would be this character, Cassius. He’s like a father figure to him, but also a terrifying icon that he’s grown up with. I wanted to set up this monster who’s not afraid of anything other than that. I spent a bit of time in the prison cell. We were working in a working prison in Michigan so that was very interesting because we had to get through a lot of security to get into the prison. The floor we were filming on had some solitary cells so I got put in one of the solitary cells for a while. I liked it. I liked the way it made me feel. I made them lock me in there in between takes. It was a lot of fun, but I wouldn’t want to spend much time there. I tried to use that as an idea of him. In that first scene, he has the ability to leave his cell and I based the idea on the fact that the character doesn’t have a chance to do that very often.

With most spy thrillers, we know we’re going to get a twist when we watch. We know that something’s coming or that someone’s lying. How do you think The Double makes good use of that without having a M. Night Shyamalan kind of moment?

SM: I think that our story [pays] a lot of homage to everything from Three Days of the Condor all the way to No Way Out. What you don’t want to do is something so unbelievable that the audience doesn’t buy it. You want to make it as believable as possible. I remember reading somewhere or being told somewhere along the line that you have to have told the audience about every single character within the first ten minutes. In a whodunit, the person that is the killer has to have been revealed within the first ten minutes of the movie, otherwise people won’t buy it. I think that’s something The Double does. It’s almost like you have to create the end and then you pick it apart until you have the ending.

(Possible spoiler territory)

Did you really swallow the batteries?

SM: I’m rather proud of that shot.

It’s incredible but also disgusting.

SM: I don’t think Michael will mind me telling you that I came up with how to shoot it. It was one of those things. There were lots of ways discussed of how to shoot it. I said the only way to make this truly work is if we do it in one shot. Film and theater and magic are about slight of hand and misdirection. And that’s all I’m going to tell you. I don’t want to give too much away for people reading this.

The Double hits theaters October 28, 2011.

Interview: Director Roland Emmerich for Anonymous

Mali Elfman — Wed, 26 Oct 2011 18:30:57 +0000

The man behind the CGI curtain, reveals a new side to his filmmaking — director Roland Emmerich, known for his amazing special effects, is soon to be thought of for his heart and knowledge of Shakespeare. Anonymous, his up and coming film is a sexy way of giving people a possible history lesson, that somehow manages to also hold a great deal of meaning.

He took his time making this film, earning his stripes as a director over the past decades with numerous big budget hits. This is a risky film in a number of ways, one that I’m sure needed convincing, but something that Emmerich has quite obviously wanted to make for some time and believed in. He was right to take his time, because in doing so he was able to make this film in the right way, get the right script, with the right cast, be in a position to make bold calls and have people listen, and in the end, he was able to deliver the right message.

Roland Emmerich film in terms of look and scale, but with an extraordinary amount of heart, how do you start with all this?

Roland Emmerich: You start with a great script. We worked very hard on the script for 3-4 years and there were many, many tries and many, many revisions, until we came to this script. And then you try to find the best possible actors and I was very fortunate, that everyone was in agreement that it should be an all English cast. It was very nice to be very free with everything from casting who was best for these characters.

It certainly seems like you have a cast of all “first choices”!

RE: Yes, though it’s also about schedules. Most of these actors they work out of the theater, so you have to figure out how to manage all that.

Well Vanessa Redgrave is a legend and rightfully so, and both her and her younger counterpart Joely Richardson were just amazing. How did you work that parallel?

RE: They’re both amazing actors and that’s what counts in this kind fo story. Especially Vanessa, she has to be convinced of what she plays. She’s not only acting she has to understand and be able to breath what the script says which is quite challenging because this film is a very extreme view and she wanted to have an even more extreme point of view, she believed very much in it.

That must be such a joy to work with, and great actors can make anything real, even green screen!

RE: Yes, everyone asks me, “is it hard to shoot in front of green screen” and I always say “not at all” good actors make you forget that there is even a green screen there!

Where did the inspiration for the prologue come from?

RE: For the longest time it was not there. We would send out send the script out for people to read it, we always gave them 1-2 pages of facts about William Shakespeare of Stratford, and at one point this is not going to fly. It was important that people got this piece of paper because if they didn’t, they were always asking “What is true? What is not true? I didn’t even know that there was a problem!” I knew that we had to do something and I was editing in England, and I was walking in my house in Knightsbridge to Soho where our editing room was, and where the theater district also is, and I was walking past these theaters and then one day it suddenly hit me — open in the theater! Pretend this is all a theater play! It’s a very Shakespearen device to have a prologue, which he did for his plays, so it was a very appropriate device to have.

There are a number of theories behind Shakespeare’s plays, how did you settle on this theory?

RE: Well the script, which inspired me, but now, after about 10 years of reading about it all, I would say that Oxford is the most likely. He was a theater man himself, an actor, he was a collaborator, he was all these thing, and did many of the things Shakespeare must have done. And there are a lot of things in his life that just match the plays. But Stratfordians don’t want to see that, “why a noble man”? And I would say, wasn’t Shakespeare the biggest snob of them all? He wrote only about kings and queens, even his comedies mostly took place in a court setting. It’s not the point of view of a commoner. Walt Whitman said that, all of Shakespeare’s works are from the point of view of an Aristocrat.

This is definitely a sexy, history lesson for people to get at the theaters!

RE: Exactly! I just hope that the people have an open mind about these things because it gives you a different version of William Shakespeare and a different version of the way that his plays were performed and written. For me, the theme that “the pen is mightier than the sword” is for me, the most important message of all. I think in general for our day and time, people are battling with that. And all the politics, everyone always thinks that politicians are benign, they can’t be benign otherwise they wouldn’t be successful, it was important for politicians especially in that time to be working with every possible tool.

See Emmerich’s film, Anonymous in theaters starting October 28th!

Interview: Rowan Atkinson and Director Oliver Parker on Johnny English Reborn

Laura Aguirre — Thu, 20 Oct 2011 19:57:22 +0000

Rowan Atkinson has one of the best and most memorable faces out there. With a slight change of expression he can go from serious to goofy, from Mr. Bean to Johnny English. Eight years ago, Atkinson gave life to Johnny English, a spy parodying, as Atkinson would say, Roger Moore‘s James Bond. English director Oliver Parker, whose credits include An Ideal Husband, The Importance of Being Earnest and Dorian Gray, took on the task of reinventing this outrageous character by adding a cast that he imagined would actually be cast in a Bond film. We got to talk to both Atkinson and Parker about Johnny English’s humor style, the film’s tone and more. Check it out.

What is it about your brand and style of humor that transcends different cultures?

Rowan Atkinson: [Mr. Bean] is a relatively easy sell on the international stage because he doesn’t say much. There’s very little verbal dimension to what he says and does. Johnny English is a little more complicated because he’s a bit more verbal but there’s still very strong visual elements to him. I think the tone of the comedy is very similar, it’s very simple, it’s very accessible. It’s not very sophisticated, occasionally it’s slightly sophisticated, but not very much. And it’s clean. It’s family comedy. Johnny English movies are that rare thing. It’s a family comedy which isn’t animated. In this day and age, there aren’t many of those. So much comedy in the last 5-8 years has been far more adult – American Pie, Hangover. We’re definitely not in that tradition.

Does Rowan’s comedy style mesh with your own idea of what’s funny?

Oliver Parker: Yes, he’s extremely rigorous mind, Rowan. He trained as an engineer at Oxford and was apparently a superstar at it. Really superior being in terms of the intellect. He could analyze anything, he was fascinated in the mechanics of anything, whether it’s a car or a joke. He really likes to break it all down. When I took the job, one of the things was the script and then meeting Rowan and seeing his absolute relentless pursuit of trying to raise the standard of every joke that he’s doing. It’s quite fascinating. In some ways, he’d been surfing a comedy wave for decades in the U.K., he’s been up there playing different characters, not many of them, but he keeps at them and keeps refining them. In some ways I think he’s honed a particular approach to it. There’s never really any improvisation for him. Occasionally I would try to sneak a few frames without him watching. He would do a lot of improv in the writing process because Hamish, Rowan and I would sit around an try to different things and start all over again. Sometimes it would just be him playing, things would come out and Hamish would jot it down, we did quite a lot of work there and that’s always fun.

I think one of his golden moments was “Blackadder” when he was working with Hugh Laurie and Stephen Fry. I think that collegiate environment was something that completely suited him where people were bouncing ideas off one another. He really enjoyed that. I think he had a good time, as much as he allows himself to be a good time. He’s got a puritan ethic in terms of really focusing on the work. He has a great sense of responsibility to achieve what is his best. He has to carry so much of this stuff. People sometimes think, “Is he a humorless guy?” No, he’s not humorless at all. Take him out of that environment, he can be extremely witty and very dry, but when he’s working he’s pretty serious. There are times when you want to try different ways around it and I think you can get that once you nail the bit as he’s perceived it or imagined it. Then there’s a little room to play a bit more. Dominic West is an extremely free actor, very loose and open and spontaneous. It’s very exciting putting those two together. Rowan likes to nail it and Dominic would just be, “Throw it at me, and I’ll come up with something else.” That might not work, but they were really good and respectful towards each other.

Rowan, you’re funny in your movies even when you’re serious, what about in real life, are you funny?

RA: No, I’m not a naturally funny man. I find I can only be funny if I become somebody else, that’s what I need to do. I need to act a part and then I can be funny. I can reasonably funny, reasonably lighthearted when I’m in the company of good friends, but I’m not a Jokesmith. I tend to be quite serious.

When you’re playing Johnny English, do you get a sense of being that spy, being that guy?

RA: You’re bound to get a sense of any character that you play. It’s not something you often do in comedy because one’s characterizations or the situations that you’re presented with are fairly facile or silly or shallow or fun. If you’re a serious actor, it’s when you know you’re going to die tomorrow which is when you really start to feel it – You’re bound to feel the dilemma of the character that you play. If you don’t feel it then you’re probably not acting the part as well as you might. He’s an enjoyable character to play. He’s fun and rather human. He’s rather realistic, perhaps a more realistic and believable character, in many ways, than James Bond because James Bond is just Superman. It’s rather fun to play someone with more faults than foibles.

Can you talk about working with Daniel Kaluuya and developing that dynamic between your characters, and what was it about his humor as Tucker that was the perfect compliment to yours?

RA: It’s a very difficult role to play, the sidekick. It’s not an enviable role and yet it’s terribly important. The role of straight man, in many ways, is as difficult if not more difficult than the role of funny man because you’re dancing around a situation – Tucker has to make his relationship with Johnny English believable and yet he’s got to have a character of his own. He can’t just be a sap, a ‘yes’ man, he’s got to have a personality of his own, which Daniel has in spades. We auditioned 40 or 50, 20-something male actors, for the part, and he was the only who was absolutely right. He’s got a fantastic face. He himself is naturally very funny and very able, but also tremendously empathetic. My only regret is that we didn’t do more with him. I don’t think his character is well introduced. There were a couple of scenes at the beginning of Hong Kong that were cut for the usual reasons (the movie just felt too long), but the regret was that that meant that Daniel didn’t get off to the strongest start as he would’ve done if we would’ve had those scenes in. But by the end of the movie, he establishes himself extremely well and that was gratifying.

What was it like to work with Gillian Anderson? What did you think of her English accent? Was there ever any thought of hiring a U.K. actress to play her part?

RA: We didn’t think of her as not being English. I think maybe she was born in Britain and then moved to the U.S. I think that’s what she did. She has a very good English accent and she does a very good American accent as well. I thought it was funny when we went to Australia for the premiere, sometimes when she was talking to Australians or Americans, she was talking to them in an American accent and when she was talking to English people she was talking to them in an English accent. It was quite extraordinary how she tended to adapt. We all tend to do that is adapt to our way of speaking to those with whom we’re speaking. But it was great to have her. She was very good, very strong. One of the reasons why we wanted to cast her because she’s strong, but also a very attractive woman.

There was a scene, ironically from the movie, at the end when Johnny English first walks into her office at the beginning of the movie, and his old sidekick from the first movie (Buff) is in the room and he assumes that it’s his office and Gillian is his secretary, so he comes on to the secretary. And says, “Oh what are you doing for dinner tonight?” and not knowing that she’s actually the head of MI7. Then it’s all revealed. It was funny, but yet again we felt it was holding up the story so it was cut – but like Dominic West and Rosamund Pike her challenge, like any challenge of a serious, proper actor coming into a comedy movie is how much are they going to be lent on to provide the comedy. It’s sometimes very difficult. Are they suppose to be funny? Are they suppose to be obviously funny? Are their lines funny? Are they not funny? They look straight and serious as they read them and you have to convince them that even though it is a comedy, we hope it’s a truthful character story comedy… All you have to do is play the part straight and serious.

Also, you’ve got to fit in with the story. You can’t appear to be too detached from Johnny English. You can’t pretend he’s not there or pretend that he’s not doing what he’s doing. You’ve go to find your own reality. They all did it extremely well. One of our ambitious was to cast the movie as if we were casting a James Bond movie and I think all those people, including Rosamund who was cast in a James Bond movie, would do extremely well in James Bond movies. I always believe that the more serious and believable our British Secret Service world, the funnier Johnny English’s mistakes would appear in contrast to them.

How did the casting of the other characters contribute to the tone of the film?

OP: When I read the script I saw that Hamish was trying to do something perhaps a little more ambitious [than the first one]. Trying to create an authenticity to the environment which would put genuine pressure on the character and hopefully allow small varieties to the responses so that we root for him at certain moments. We want him to do well rather than slip on the banana skin occasionally to duck it and then run into the wall. You give a little more surprise. It seemed more and more important really that we had to construct a world where we believed this secret service worked. Gillian Anderson who isn’t actually a Brit but we’ve adopted her and Rosamund Pike had been a Bond girl herself, but all these characters, in particular Dominic West playing Agent Ambrose, you feel like he could’ve have a shot at Bond at a certain point. All of these characters create a world where in some sense there is genuine pressure exerted on the main character. I think with that there’s more chance for us to feel for him, as well. Hamish had a phrase, “Make sure we’re not nibbling on the comedy cake.” It’s quite hard to act with Rowan unless you’re secure in your performance because you’re thinking, “This is a comedy film, am I meant to be funny here, what do I do?” In fact, the discipline I was trying to place on it was that no, you don’t have to be funny. Comedy comes into the response to what he’s doing and how you have to move on despite what’s going on in the corner of the room with the cat going out the window or whatever it might be. It felt like the only one who had a little room for that was Tucker because he seems to breathe the same air as Johnny. On the whole, the intention was to keep this as credible environment as possible.

Can you tell us about the process of casting old Chinese woman?

OP: She lives in Shropshire, England, a very pleasant county. We looked in different directions for that character. There was a time when I thought there was quite a lot of physicality so do we have a physical actress who has done a lot of physical comedy or circus. How much do we give her to do? We met various people, but when I came across her, I liked the slightly exotic feel married to the sweet old lady that she was. I think this was the last question I asked her because you’re talking to a lovely older woman and how you’re going to take this on, the acting was good, but I thought she’s got to throw herself around so just as she was leaving I said, “Quick jump on my back!” And I turned away and she ran after me and jumped on my back. I thought, “Okay, she’s up for it.” That nailed it really.

Rowan, which Bond character is your favorite and do you take anything from them?

RA: My favorite Bonds are Sean Connery, Pierce Brosnan and Daniel Craig, but the character from which I think Johnny English takes more is probably Roger Moore. There’s something about Roger Moore’s Bond which is that slightly smarmier, more eye-brow raising, just more smug character that I think is more Roger Moore. I always felt that first Johnny English movie was a bit like the Roger Moore James Bond movie with more jokes. What interesting, what’s happened in the last eight years since the first Johnny English movie, the spy genre has moved on a bit. Jason Bourne movies have come and established a different style. We were going to do something a little more Jason Bourne at one stage and then we decided not to. Jason Bourne is a different character, more of an American character, less of a British character. Also a lot of the distinguishing features of Jason Bourne is the editing and the shooting style which is very energized, very dramatic. I never thought that that would suit comedy. Comedy, I think, needs oxygen, needs space and time. A wider shooting style and less cutting… We had all sorts of ideas of parodying Jason Bourne but we kind of abandoned them. Jason Bourne has also moved Bond into a more serious realm. The new James Bond movies are more serious in tone, which I think was a good decision for them, but what it’s also quite good for us because it’s left the arena of more lighthearted espionage to us. We can have more fun because so few other people are being funny or even witty with the spy genre.

When did you finally decide that you were going to make Johnny English more based on Bond than Bourne?

OP: I’m not sure we ever really decided, let’s just go for Bond. We just went for Johnny English. Bond was always there. I think it’s in our grain really, but the Bond reference was a little more contemporary in style, some of the action sequences have a little bit more of that green grass feel. His character is much more connected to the classic English spy.

Was there a lot of improvisation?

RA: Unless Oliver Parker remembers it differently, [there was] very little improvisation on the floor of the studio actually. There was improvisation in the writing meetings. Most of the writing took place with myself and the writer and Oliver Parker, and the three of us threw around ideas, deciding on the funniest bits and trying to put them into a story. Sometime you started with the story and tried to find some funny bits to go with the story. On the studio floor, not much improvisation – The only thing I feel sorry for Oliver for, and he was fantastically patient and brilliant as a director, in my opinion because he was so tolerant of me and my peccadilloes, the wost once being is that [I'm] never happy with what I do. Whenever I did anything I wanted another take. I wasn’t sure whether it was good enough. It’s very difficult for a director who can see when something working well and the actor just says, “No.” He was very patient with that particular challenge.

Which gag exceeded your expectations?

OP: The chair scene certainly does. We spent a lot of time trying to get the plot right. Nobody listens to the bloody plot at all when we get to that scene. You know it’s a good idea you just don’t know if it’s going to pay off, not until you’re actually shooting it do you get a sense of that. Rowan was quite surprised on the day we had this lovely moment where you’re asking if you’ve got it. The first take of it on a relatively wide three-shot. Rowan was working with absolute typical dedication to the moment and we worked very hard in getting the layout, this chair had to be drilled into the ground. At the end of the take, the other actors hadn’t scene any of it, just burst into hysterics. Rowan was quite taken back, he had no idea. He was saying, “Was that funny then?” He was so involved in keeping it absolutely authentic to the moment, which is what his real approach is, you have to buy that the pressure is on the character. He’s always conscious of comedy, he’s not conscious of the comedy in the room, that was a huge bonus. It surprised Rowan too. There were several. I think beating up granny was always fun. There was a moment of electricity when we set about that scene and suddenly, although Rowan does most of his own stunts, there’s a particular jump that the stuntman does, and it launched the room into a kind of chaos, “Can he do that to granny?” We didn’t say cut once or twice just to see how far they would take us. That added an exhilaration to it. There is an element of magic in the shooting which does take it further off the page than you imagine.

What’s the risk of cracking up?

RA: Not me, I don’t have any trouble at all, sadly, which is why whenever they are trying to produce a bloopers reel for movies that I’m involved with they have a lot of difficulty because I never really laugh at anything on set. I’m like that I’m afraid. But there are some, they scraped together a few lighthearted moments for the bloopers stuff which will be on the DVD. Others do. Sometimes I couldn’t understand what they were laughing at and then I saw that they were laughing at what we were doing, at what I was doing. But yes, not much of that for me.

OP: I found [Rowan] fascinating to work with. You can’t help but admire that inexhaustible energy in turning over every stone in pursuit of another little joke or one other little nuance. It really is astonishing. More dedication that any other actor that I’ve ever worked with, in that respect… He would keep going at the same thing, wanting to try another few takes and sometimes we’re all thinking we’ve got this. Sometimes he would go, “Okay, let’s move on,” but other times he would come up with something which none of us could see or sense. It’s snuffling for truffles occasionally. It’s lovely when it happens. It’s undoubtedly hard work because that level of rigor is taxing on a lot of people. It’s very rewarding though.

Johnny English Reborn opens in theaters October 21.

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