Release Date: September 25th 2009
Director: Jonathan Mostow
Starring: Bruce Willis, Radha Mitchell, Rosamund Pike, James Francis Ginty, Boris Kodjoe, Ving Rhames
Plot: FBI agents (Bruce Willis and Radha Mitchell) investigate the mysterious murder of a college student linked to the man who helped create a high-tech surrogate phenomenon that allows people to purchase unflawed robotic versions of themselves—fit, good looking remotely controlled machines that ultimately assume their life roles—enabling people to experience life vicariously from the comfort and safety of their own homes. The murder spawns a quest for answers: in a world of masks, who's real and who can you trust?
Thoughts: This movie reminds me of a combination of Die Hard and I, Robot, both of which I love, and I also am a fan of most Bruce Willis movies so right away I’m on board. I don’t know anything about the graphic novel, but I have heard good things. I am really curious to see this movie when it comes out, and depending on reviews and peoples’ reactions to it this may be one that I see in the theater.
Friday, May 29, 2009
Wednesday, May 27, 2009
Cooper, Helms and Galifianakis on The Hangover
Some people just can't handle Vegas and Warner Bros.' raunchy and hilarious new comedy The Hangover shows you what can happen if you party just a little too hard. In the Todd Phillips-directed film, Bradley Cooper, Ed Helms and Zach Galifianakis play three guys who go to sin city for a bachelor party. When things get out of hand and they lose the groom (Justin Bartha), they are desperate to do anything to find him and save the wedding.
ComingSoon.net recently went to Vegas and talked to the guys about their new film and what it was like for them playing such outrageous characters.
Q: Was that the greatest CGI in the world, or did you really lose a tooth?
Ed Helms: No. There was no CGI at all. This is an implanted tooth that my dentist was able to take out for the run of the movie.
Q: How did you lose it?
Helms: It's a birth defect, actually. I never had a tooth there.
Q: Really?
Helms: Yeah. I never had a tooth. So I don't have any kind of cool story.
Bradley Cooper: You had a baby tooth though, didn't you?
Helms: I had a baby tooth. When the baby tooth fell out, I never had an adult tooth that came in.
Q: Did Todd know that, or was that already in the script?
Helms: It was in the script. Todd didn't know it. And we actually tried alternatives first for a while. We tried to black it out. We did some screen camera tests blacking it out. And they made a prosthetic for me, and they gave it to me, and I was like, "This is like the worst joke ever. This is my first big part in a movie, and I look like a horse!" It waslike a picket fence with a gap in it that fit over my normal teeth. And I was like, "No. This is vetoed!" And then they came up with the implant, and I talked to my dentist, and he said, "Yeah, we can do it."
Q: Anybody else have any birth defects that helped their role?
Zach Galifianakis: I was born with this beard.
Helms: That's a skin condition. That's not an actual beard, it's a fungus.
Q: Zach, how much of your character was in the script, and how much did you invent?
Galifianakis: Well, the script was very well written, but you take a little bit of your own things that are in your mind for the character and kind of add it. But a lot of it was there already. But Todd Phillips let us add to our characters and improvise, and it worked. I think it worked. I haven't seen the movie.
Q: So was it your decision or was the script that he idolizes Bradley's character?
Galifianakis: That was something we kind of came up with as we were doing it. Because I myself fell in love with Bradley Cooper as an actor, so I thought, "Well, we'll just put that in the movie." And yeah, I don't think that was in the script.
Cooper: No, it wasn't. Yeah. I just remember us talking about it like halfway through, we thought...
Galifianakis: Yeah, it would be funny...
Cooper: Because the three of us are together the whole movie, and it'd be great to sort of see what happens. Because if you spend the time with each other, your dynamic will change. So Stu and Phil sort of reconnect, because they were obviously friends years ago, because they were best friends. So they reconnect. And then Alan and Phil, we just came up with this idea that he starts to sort of idolize Phil. And Phil sort of starts to really appreciate Alan, too. Even from the beginning when he swerves the car into the truck where everybody's flipping out, Phil loves it.
Helms: That's one of my favorite traits of Alan's, is how much he idolizes Phil. [laughs]
Cooper: When he says it like, "Does my hair look like Phil's?" at the end.
Helms: At the end, he wanted his hair to look just like Phil's.
Cooper: We pitched that to Todd, remember?
Galifianakis: That was a last minute thing. We changed it. Right before we shot the closing scenes.
Helms: And then another thing that was totally Zach and not in the script was your character's penchant for saying the word "classic."
Cooper: Oh, that's right!
Helms: Which became like...
Cooper: ...a tagline.
Helms: Our cast and crew gift at the end was a hat that said "classic." And that actually came up with the hair moment at the end, too, when you're like, "Does my hair look like Phil's?" And we were like, "How do I respond? Do I blow him off? Do I just kind of like call him an idiot?" And I was like, "No, it should be something warm that shows a connection." So we agreed on "classic" Phil. It was a little tribute to Alan.
Galifianakis: It came together really well.
Q: What was it like shooting in Vegas and spending such a long time at Caesar's Palace?
Cooper: It served the movie very well, because you sort of can't fake that feeling of what it's like to be here for a month and a half in a casino. So it really fueled everything. Because there's a grittiness. Vegas is sort of the fifth character of the movie. And luckily, we shot the Vegas portion first, and then the L.A. portion second. So we sort of brought what this town does to you to L.A. But yeah, you know, you feel like you're in this sort of crazy other world when you're here for so long.
Q: Did it normalize at a certain point?
Cooper: Absolutely. Yeah. I have a lot of anxiety coming to Vegas all the time. I'd get off the airplane and I'd hear the slots and I'd sort of get panicky. And now it's like home. I can't believe it. It was really true. It's sort of comforting, all the sounds. [laughs]
Helms: Yeah. I've always thought of Vegas as a sort of like dark wonderland. Like it's sort of like a sort of f*cked up amusement park. And then when you spend five, six weeks here--and we were shooting all over the city, like places where tourists never go--this city actually becomes normal. Like you start to see the things that really are normal about the city, like little league baseball teams, and a library. [laughs] And like all these things that you just never associate with Vegas. Like, "Wow, people live here. And function here. Pretty normally."
Cooper: And Zach would go... You went to a lot of little league games in your time.
Galifianakis: [sarcastically] Yes, Bradley, I went to a lot of little league games.
Cooper: Alan has this thing where he can't be like 500 yards in front of a Chuck E. Cheese. So like Zach, in order to study his character, would go...
Galifianakis: Can I just say, because I've said it before, that that does not come from... That can't be near a school or Chuck E. Cheese or a food court has everything to do with the character Alan wants to hang out with 12-year-olds and skateboard with them, not because he wants to do anything malicious.
Helms: But let me tell you something: I love that you keep throwing that disclaimer out there, but to a parent, there's no difference.
Galifianakis: Yes! But if you knew the true intentions, you would not be offended by it.
Q: Were there lines in the script that implied that?
Helms: No, this is a retro-fitted explanation. [laughs]
Galifianakis: And that wasn't in the script, the hinting that he's had some problems being around children. And then he ends up with a baby. [laughs]
Reporter: You'll be happy to know that in my notes, I put "Zach wants to hang out in schools because he is a 12-year-old."
Galifianakis: Right. Can you please...Instead of "Zach," can you put "Alan"? [Everyone laughs]
Q: Out of all of the adventures you guys go on in the film, do you have a favorite?
Helms: These are some spoilers I guess... I loved the whole sequence of drugging the tiger all the way through [Mike] Tyson's house. That's the one glimpse of the night before that you actually see which is Tyson's security footage.
Q: Which was more intimidating - Tyson or the tiger?
Helms: The tiger was scary as sh*t. Tyson was really cool actually. He was incredibly gracious.
Galifianakis: Tigers kill things and eat their young. That never left my mind.
Q: When Mr. Chow jumps out of the car, how many takes did you do of that scene?
Cooper: Too many. We did a lot. It wasn't just Mr. Chow. It was the stunt guy too who would jump on my neck. He wasn't naked though. Mr. Chow was.
Galifianakis: They did a lot of takes with Mr. Chow and the stunt guy, but Bradley was in every take. He caught the guy.
Helms: I can't believe your spine held up.
Cooper: I know. I don't understand it. God was good to me that day.
Q: What kind of special relationship do you have now with the guy that jumped crotch first on you?
Galifianakis: You have nut neck.
Helms: You actually got jockage on your cheek.
Q: Were you guys pleased with the level you could take this movie to or did you want to push it even further?
Cooper: There is no level that you could push farther than what Todd Phillips wants to push. You could murmur an idea that you think is outlandish and he'd go, "Yeah, yeah let's do that in the movie."
Helms: Todd has no boundaries.
Cooper: He has a very dark sense of humor at times. The whole tone of the movie is suitable to that. It's really kind of his vision. I realized two weeks in that all I had to was pretty much play Todd. "Oh, I'm just pretty much playing you."
Q: Can you talk about the tasering scene? Todd really wanted you to be shocked right?
Cooper: Yeah, he did want us to be shocked. Luckily Warner Bros. said that was illegal. So we didn't do that.
Helms: He's so funny, Todd, because he's like, "We really want to taser you because I just want you to have something to react to. I was like, "No, you can't taser me. I'm an actor." I can act like I'm being tased. He's like, "You know we dialed it down from 50,000 to 30,000 volts so it won't be as bad."
Cooper: He's like, "Look at this YouTube footage. See the guy's fine."
Helms: The guy looked like he was in a lot of pain. He's paralyzed on the left side of his body. That was a fun one to shoot because it was just so extreme. Also Rob Riggle is one of the funniest human beings on the planet and thank God he gets a chance to really pop in this movie. Rob Riggle is the cop. I've known him for years and I just adore him.
Galifianakis: I was getting ready to say that the other good thing about that scene was there were kids in it, but given what we talked about earlier I realized we should not talk about it. It was fun though to have kids reacting to tasering because tasering by itself that's funny, but if you add the element of kids there it's just extra funny. Then they're clapping and they're tasering us.
Q: Are you actually spitting on a baby?
Helms: No comment. We did a couple of takes where I… I don't think spit is the right word. Sprayed maybe a little bit of water at a baby. Oh boy.
Galifianakis: It was actually bleach.
Helms: What you see in the movie is what we shot. It is what it is.
Q: Ed, you work in an ensemble cast as well on "The Office" so is that something you can bring from the show to a film like this?
Helms: Yeah well I don't know. I think every part is different and Stu fits in with these guys very differently than Andy Bernard fits in with the cast of "The Office." I guess in terms of understanding a group dynamic, maybe having the eagerness to be playful with other people. The generosity too I would think - that's a huge thing on the set of "The Office." Everyone wants to give everyone else a lot of space to shine and be funny. And that crossed over here too. One of the really fun things about this movie is that we are as people really different and then our characters are also very different from each other so there wasn't any sense of competition because what was funny for Zach wasn't funny for me or Bradley. We could all be ourselves and not feel threatened. That's the hallmark of a good ensemble and that's a testament to Todd's casting.
Q: Can you talking about the song you're singing in the movie.
Helms: Yeah totally. That was the day of. Todd said, "let's get the song in the movie," so I went off and wrote it. Todd and I did the words together and we shot it right away.
Q: Brad, you've been rumored to be in "Green Lantern" for a while. Is there a reason playing that character would be especially meaningful for you?
Galifianakis: Oh was that to Bradley?
Q: Have you been in talks with the studio?
Cooper: No, it's a great character. But I don't know.
Q: Are you a fan of the comics?
Cooper: Sure. Yeah.
Q: Have you been trying on rings?
Cooper: No.
The Hangover hits theaters on June 5th.
ComingSoon.net recently went to Vegas and talked to the guys about their new film and what it was like for them playing such outrageous characters.
Q: Was that the greatest CGI in the world, or did you really lose a tooth?
Ed Helms: No. There was no CGI at all. This is an implanted tooth that my dentist was able to take out for the run of the movie.
Q: How did you lose it?
Helms: It's a birth defect, actually. I never had a tooth there.
Q: Really?
Helms: Yeah. I never had a tooth. So I don't have any kind of cool story.
Bradley Cooper: You had a baby tooth though, didn't you?
Helms: I had a baby tooth. When the baby tooth fell out, I never had an adult tooth that came in.
Q: Did Todd know that, or was that already in the script?
Helms: It was in the script. Todd didn't know it. And we actually tried alternatives first for a while. We tried to black it out. We did some screen camera tests blacking it out. And they made a prosthetic for me, and they gave it to me, and I was like, "This is like the worst joke ever. This is my first big part in a movie, and I look like a horse!" It waslike a picket fence with a gap in it that fit over my normal teeth. And I was like, "No. This is vetoed!" And then they came up with the implant, and I talked to my dentist, and he said, "Yeah, we can do it."
Q: Anybody else have any birth defects that helped their role?
Zach Galifianakis: I was born with this beard.
Helms: That's a skin condition. That's not an actual beard, it's a fungus.
Q: Zach, how much of your character was in the script, and how much did you invent?
Galifianakis: Well, the script was very well written, but you take a little bit of your own things that are in your mind for the character and kind of add it. But a lot of it was there already. But Todd Phillips let us add to our characters and improvise, and it worked. I think it worked. I haven't seen the movie.
Q: So was it your decision or was the script that he idolizes Bradley's character?
Galifianakis: That was something we kind of came up with as we were doing it. Because I myself fell in love with Bradley Cooper as an actor, so I thought, "Well, we'll just put that in the movie." And yeah, I don't think that was in the script.
Cooper: No, it wasn't. Yeah. I just remember us talking about it like halfway through, we thought...
Galifianakis: Yeah, it would be funny...
Cooper: Because the three of us are together the whole movie, and it'd be great to sort of see what happens. Because if you spend the time with each other, your dynamic will change. So Stu and Phil sort of reconnect, because they were obviously friends years ago, because they were best friends. So they reconnect. And then Alan and Phil, we just came up with this idea that he starts to sort of idolize Phil. And Phil sort of starts to really appreciate Alan, too. Even from the beginning when he swerves the car into the truck where everybody's flipping out, Phil loves it.
Helms: That's one of my favorite traits of Alan's, is how much he idolizes Phil. [laughs]
Cooper: When he says it like, "Does my hair look like Phil's?" at the end.
Helms: At the end, he wanted his hair to look just like Phil's.
Cooper: We pitched that to Todd, remember?
Galifianakis: That was a last minute thing. We changed it. Right before we shot the closing scenes.
Helms: And then another thing that was totally Zach and not in the script was your character's penchant for saying the word "classic."
Cooper: Oh, that's right!
Helms: Which became like...
Cooper: ...a tagline.
Helms: Our cast and crew gift at the end was a hat that said "classic." And that actually came up with the hair moment at the end, too, when you're like, "Does my hair look like Phil's?" And we were like, "How do I respond? Do I blow him off? Do I just kind of like call him an idiot?" And I was like, "No, it should be something warm that shows a connection." So we agreed on "classic" Phil. It was a little tribute to Alan.
Galifianakis: It came together really well.
Q: What was it like shooting in Vegas and spending such a long time at Caesar's Palace?
Cooper: It served the movie very well, because you sort of can't fake that feeling of what it's like to be here for a month and a half in a casino. So it really fueled everything. Because there's a grittiness. Vegas is sort of the fifth character of the movie. And luckily, we shot the Vegas portion first, and then the L.A. portion second. So we sort of brought what this town does to you to L.A. But yeah, you know, you feel like you're in this sort of crazy other world when you're here for so long.
Q: Did it normalize at a certain point?
Cooper: Absolutely. Yeah. I have a lot of anxiety coming to Vegas all the time. I'd get off the airplane and I'd hear the slots and I'd sort of get panicky. And now it's like home. I can't believe it. It was really true. It's sort of comforting, all the sounds. [laughs]
Helms: Yeah. I've always thought of Vegas as a sort of like dark wonderland. Like it's sort of like a sort of f*cked up amusement park. And then when you spend five, six weeks here--and we were shooting all over the city, like places where tourists never go--this city actually becomes normal. Like you start to see the things that really are normal about the city, like little league baseball teams, and a library. [laughs] And like all these things that you just never associate with Vegas. Like, "Wow, people live here. And function here. Pretty normally."
Cooper: And Zach would go... You went to a lot of little league games in your time.
Galifianakis: [sarcastically] Yes, Bradley, I went to a lot of little league games.
Cooper: Alan has this thing where he can't be like 500 yards in front of a Chuck E. Cheese. So like Zach, in order to study his character, would go...
Galifianakis: Can I just say, because I've said it before, that that does not come from... That can't be near a school or Chuck E. Cheese or a food court has everything to do with the character Alan wants to hang out with 12-year-olds and skateboard with them, not because he wants to do anything malicious.
Helms: But let me tell you something: I love that you keep throwing that disclaimer out there, but to a parent, there's no difference.
Galifianakis: Yes! But if you knew the true intentions, you would not be offended by it.
Q: Were there lines in the script that implied that?
Helms: No, this is a retro-fitted explanation. [laughs]
Galifianakis: And that wasn't in the script, the hinting that he's had some problems being around children. And then he ends up with a baby. [laughs]
Reporter: You'll be happy to know that in my notes, I put "Zach wants to hang out in schools because he is a 12-year-old."
Galifianakis: Right. Can you please...Instead of "Zach," can you put "Alan"? [Everyone laughs]
Q: Out of all of the adventures you guys go on in the film, do you have a favorite?
Helms: These are some spoilers I guess... I loved the whole sequence of drugging the tiger all the way through [Mike] Tyson's house. That's the one glimpse of the night before that you actually see which is Tyson's security footage.
Q: Which was more intimidating - Tyson or the tiger?
Helms: The tiger was scary as sh*t. Tyson was really cool actually. He was incredibly gracious.
Galifianakis: Tigers kill things and eat their young. That never left my mind.
Q: When Mr. Chow jumps out of the car, how many takes did you do of that scene?
Cooper: Too many. We did a lot. It wasn't just Mr. Chow. It was the stunt guy too who would jump on my neck. He wasn't naked though. Mr. Chow was.
Galifianakis: They did a lot of takes with Mr. Chow and the stunt guy, but Bradley was in every take. He caught the guy.
Helms: I can't believe your spine held up.
Cooper: I know. I don't understand it. God was good to me that day.
Q: What kind of special relationship do you have now with the guy that jumped crotch first on you?
Galifianakis: You have nut neck.
Helms: You actually got jockage on your cheek.
Q: Were you guys pleased with the level you could take this movie to or did you want to push it even further?
Cooper: There is no level that you could push farther than what Todd Phillips wants to push. You could murmur an idea that you think is outlandish and he'd go, "Yeah, yeah let's do that in the movie."
Helms: Todd has no boundaries.
Cooper: He has a very dark sense of humor at times. The whole tone of the movie is suitable to that. It's really kind of his vision. I realized two weeks in that all I had to was pretty much play Todd. "Oh, I'm just pretty much playing you."
Q: Can you talk about the tasering scene? Todd really wanted you to be shocked right?
Cooper: Yeah, he did want us to be shocked. Luckily Warner Bros. said that was illegal. So we didn't do that.
Helms: He's so funny, Todd, because he's like, "We really want to taser you because I just want you to have something to react to. I was like, "No, you can't taser me. I'm an actor." I can act like I'm being tased. He's like, "You know we dialed it down from 50,000 to 30,000 volts so it won't be as bad."
Cooper: He's like, "Look at this YouTube footage. See the guy's fine."
Helms: The guy looked like he was in a lot of pain. He's paralyzed on the left side of his body. That was a fun one to shoot because it was just so extreme. Also Rob Riggle is one of the funniest human beings on the planet and thank God he gets a chance to really pop in this movie. Rob Riggle is the cop. I've known him for years and I just adore him.
Galifianakis: I was getting ready to say that the other good thing about that scene was there were kids in it, but given what we talked about earlier I realized we should not talk about it. It was fun though to have kids reacting to tasering because tasering by itself that's funny, but if you add the element of kids there it's just extra funny. Then they're clapping and they're tasering us.
Q: Are you actually spitting on a baby?
Helms: No comment. We did a couple of takes where I… I don't think spit is the right word. Sprayed maybe a little bit of water at a baby. Oh boy.
Galifianakis: It was actually bleach.
Helms: What you see in the movie is what we shot. It is what it is.
Q: Ed, you work in an ensemble cast as well on "The Office" so is that something you can bring from the show to a film like this?
Helms: Yeah well I don't know. I think every part is different and Stu fits in with these guys very differently than Andy Bernard fits in with the cast of "The Office." I guess in terms of understanding a group dynamic, maybe having the eagerness to be playful with other people. The generosity too I would think - that's a huge thing on the set of "The Office." Everyone wants to give everyone else a lot of space to shine and be funny. And that crossed over here too. One of the really fun things about this movie is that we are as people really different and then our characters are also very different from each other so there wasn't any sense of competition because what was funny for Zach wasn't funny for me or Bradley. We could all be ourselves and not feel threatened. That's the hallmark of a good ensemble and that's a testament to Todd's casting.
Q: Can you talking about the song you're singing in the movie.
Helms: Yeah totally. That was the day of. Todd said, "let's get the song in the movie," so I went off and wrote it. Todd and I did the words together and we shot it right away.
Q: Brad, you've been rumored to be in "Green Lantern" for a while. Is there a reason playing that character would be especially meaningful for you?
Galifianakis: Oh was that to Bradley?
Q: Have you been in talks with the studio?
Cooper: No, it's a great character. But I don't know.
Q: Are you a fan of the comics?
Cooper: Sure. Yeah.
Q: Have you been trying on rings?
Cooper: No.
The Hangover hits theaters on June 5th.
Monday, May 25, 2009
Get Him to the Greek Set Footage
MTV got a chance to visit the set of the Forgetting Sarah Marshall spin-off, Get Him to the Greek. The story, written and directed by Nicolas Stoller, follows a fresh-out-of-college record company intern named Aaron Greenberg (Jonah Hill) who is assigned the job of transporting an out-of-control rock star named Aldous Snow (Russell Brand, reprising his role from Sarah Marshall) from London to a gig at Los Angeles’ famous Greek Theater.
I’ve embedded footage below of Brand giving a tour of the set, where we get to see the behind the scenes antics as Hill shoots a scene with and his angry record company boss Sergio (played by Sean “P-Diddy” Combs) in a club.
I think Forgetting Sarah Marshall is a really funny movie and Jonah Hill's interaction with Russell Brand is one of my favorite things about it so I have high hopes for this movie. Get Him to the Greek will hit theaters in April 2010.
I’ve embedded footage below of Brand giving a tour of the set, where we get to see the behind the scenes antics as Hill shoots a scene with and his angry record company boss Sergio (played by Sean “P-Diddy” Combs) in a club.
I think Forgetting Sarah Marshall is a really funny movie and Jonah Hill's interaction with Russell Brand is one of my favorite things about it so I have high hopes for this movie. Get Him to the Greek will hit theaters in April 2010.
Tuesday, May 19, 2009
Ben Stiller Talks Zoolander 2
Ben Stiller talked to Screenrush about the long-in-development sequel to Zoolander. While it doesn’t sound like it will be happening anytime soon (Stiller says he’s been “working on a script over the years and HOPEFULLY it will happen”) we at least have some details of what the sequel might involve.
I am not a huge fan of Ben Stiller, but Zoolander is one of my favorite movies, regardless of how dumb it is, and I would be interested in seeing a sequel if it is as good as the first.
More about this movie
I am not a huge fan of Ben Stiller, but Zoolander is one of my favorite movies, regardless of how dumb it is, and I would be interested in seeing a sequel if it is as good as the first.
More about this movie
Wednesday, May 13, 2009
Christian Bale on Terminator Salvation
His dark and menacing performance as the caped crusader helped resurrect the Batman franchise and now many are hoping that Christian Bale will successfully revive another iconic character - John Connor. The long-awaited Terminator Salvation is finally here and Bale stars in the Warner Bros. flick that's set a few years into the future.
ComingSoon.net talked to the in-demand actor about what it was like to be John Connor and why he had to be persuaded to play the role.
Q: We just talked to Sam Worthington and somebody asked him if you were intense. He said, "I hate that f*cking word now. People call him intense, but he's just passionate." How do you feel about the intense label?
Christian Bale: I hate that f*cking word. I said it first alright.
Q: Do you feel like your intense?
Bale: I don't really analyze each word. People can label me whatever they want to label me. That's their prerogative. I don't actually have the same passion of feelings as Sam does about the word. I'm like whatever. I don't care. Call me an a-hole. I'm alright. I'm fine. If that's what you think of me then that's your right to think that.
Q: It's an interesting choice to go into another franchise. What did you see in this movie that you really wanted to be a part of?
Bale: I didn't go straight into it. I did "Public Enemies" in between. I felt like the franchise was done so when I first sent it, I didn't have an interest. Then I [heard an] idea that really was something good that could be told here. If that was going to happen then absolutely, I wanted to be on board. I like mixing it up. I like doing a "Dark Knight, "Batman Begins," "The Machinist" and things. Doing "Public Enemies" and then doing "Terminator." I enjoy that mix.
Q: How does the physicality of these roles change your life?
Bale: Not so intense on this one. Not nearly as intense as it was on "Batman." It's probably more intense for Sam because he's somebody who could actually have a fist fight with the Terminator. So for me, it was mainly just weapons handling and preparation for that. We had a great advisor who I spent a lot of time with, but the physical challenge was not nearly as tough as I thought it was going to be.
Q: Can you talk about how you collaborated with McG on your character?
Bale: Initially collaboration was just me saying, "No, I didn't want to do the movie." Then it was, "Why?" When people look at the franchise mythology and think it's over, you've got to come back with something that really knocks people out. I just didn't feel like it was there, but that wasn't just me. Everybody felt that. I really couldn't see that it wouldn't be able to get there. It just seemed crazy to me, like it wouldn't be possible. So I took a leap of faith because it was the right strike in everything they were saying. So alright, let's have a few points that we want to get across in another script that we want to be written and fine. Let's go after that. Of course a movie is collaboration, but a director has to have his own point of view. That is a director's job. He creates the point of view and he must have a strong point of view. He has to. He can't be wishy washy. He creates a rhythm. You can't have too many chiefs. He's obviously very open to ideas, but I like it when I'm hearing great ideas and then I'm just adding onto it making it something extra.
Q: What was your reaction when you saw it all put together?
Bale: I saw a few different variations like any movie. It goes through a lot of different shapes. Ultimately, the last one I saw I really felt satisfied. The public will decide. This isn't a movie that you sit down and watch as a personal 2AM viewing. It's not something in which you sort of gaze into the human soul and speak to you that way. It's a movie that's meant to be watched with a lot of different people and get that common energy. Movies like this are much like sports. It's that feeling of a common excitement throughout the theater. That's what I loved about seeing "T2" I felt like I think we might have a chance here. People will decide, but I think we might have a chance here of maybe revive this and be able to move on. We'll see what happens with any future movies if this one does well enough.
Q: If you do another "Terminator" movie, can you talk about where you'd like to see your character go emotionally?
Bale: No.
Q: Any chance we might see you in another Batman film?
Bale: You know, after making a number of blunders, I've learned that I do not answer that question until Chris Nolan has answered that question.
Q: Can you talk about the "I'll be back" scene?
Bale: That was actually something which a friend of mine who knew came on as a writer for awhile. I would have liked him to be around longer throughout the movie, but it was actually when Jon Nolan was on it briefly. He called me up and said, "Christian, I have this good idea I want to run by you because you might just say no way." I thought you know what, let's try it. We can always cut it out. My aim was to attempt and you can tell me if I did it successfully or not. My aim was to kind of have it be such a logical answer that hopefully people didn't go in that second, "What's he doing an Arnie impression for?" I didn't want it to come across as an impression. Ideally for me, a few seconds later people who know the other movies go, "Hey he just said the same line." That way I felt comfortable.
Q: You and Anton Yelchin have this weird time travel relationship. How was that to develop?
Bale: You know what, I solved it by just not thinking about it too much. That's really the answer to it. As soon as you start getting into any kind of time travel, which we don't have in this one. It's before the days where that has been discovered. You can get into a complete mess with the movies. It just becomes limitless and completely confusing. That one was fairly straight forward. I just don't think about it that much.
Q: Was the helicopter scene done in one take?
Bale: Well that would be great wouldn't it? Imagine that if it was done in one take. That would be fantastic. The camera didn't ever pan off. I'm having a tricky time remembering that one, so I guess it must have been one take.
Q: What's the most dangerous stunt you did in this? The helicopter scene looked horrifying.
Bale: If it had been done in one take then it would have been. (Everyone laughs) The biggest adrenaline rush was actually a dive I had to make down into a caverness space and I had to drop a fair distance for that, but I have worked with all the stunt guys, the riggers, the stunt coordinators before on a number of movies and I know how good they are. It became just a heart pounding rush. I've got to say, the stunts in this one, I didn't find real tricky.
Q: Are you fearless? I remember asking you on Batman when you were on a ledge of a building if you were nervous and you looked at me like I was crazy.
Bale: I'm sure there are things I have a fear of, but just not standing on the ledge of a building.
Q: How are things going with "The Fighter"?
Bale: I hope that we'll be making it.
Q: You've been an actor a lot longer than you've been a star. With the TMZ culture, are you concerned about it distracting people from your character onscreen? Does it distract from your performance?
Bale: Not for me it doesn't because I don't know what things are being said of gossipy stuff. My life is much happier when I ignore that. As for other people, that's their choice. If they want to embrace that then they're probably going to sacrifice enjoyment in the movies. I really believe that, but it's their choice if that's what they love looking at. I don't get it, but it is what it is.
Q: Can you talk about the scenes that got cut and that aren't in the theatrical cut?
Bale: I hate all the extras that you get on DVDs like the deleted scenes. They're deleted for a reason. Why show it? There's that expression you've got to kill your babies sometimes. That happens. You do get some very good scenes, but they just don't work with the rhythm of the movie. I'm pretty satisfied with what you see in this movie.
Q: Anymore scenes with you and Bryce that we didn't see?
Bale: Yeah, there were a few, but you'll have to speak to McG about that. He's the one who made the call.
Terminator Salvation hits theaters on May 21.
ComingSoon.net talked to the in-demand actor about what it was like to be John Connor and why he had to be persuaded to play the role.
Q: We just talked to Sam Worthington and somebody asked him if you were intense. He said, "I hate that f*cking word now. People call him intense, but he's just passionate." How do you feel about the intense label?
Christian Bale: I hate that f*cking word. I said it first alright.
Q: Do you feel like your intense?
Bale: I don't really analyze each word. People can label me whatever they want to label me. That's their prerogative. I don't actually have the same passion of feelings as Sam does about the word. I'm like whatever. I don't care. Call me an a-hole. I'm alright. I'm fine. If that's what you think of me then that's your right to think that.
Q: It's an interesting choice to go into another franchise. What did you see in this movie that you really wanted to be a part of?
Bale: I didn't go straight into it. I did "Public Enemies" in between. I felt like the franchise was done so when I first sent it, I didn't have an interest. Then I [heard an] idea that really was something good that could be told here. If that was going to happen then absolutely, I wanted to be on board. I like mixing it up. I like doing a "Dark Knight, "Batman Begins," "The Machinist" and things. Doing "Public Enemies" and then doing "Terminator." I enjoy that mix.
Q: How does the physicality of these roles change your life?
Bale: Not so intense on this one. Not nearly as intense as it was on "Batman." It's probably more intense for Sam because he's somebody who could actually have a fist fight with the Terminator. So for me, it was mainly just weapons handling and preparation for that. We had a great advisor who I spent a lot of time with, but the physical challenge was not nearly as tough as I thought it was going to be.
Q: Can you talk about how you collaborated with McG on your character?
Bale: Initially collaboration was just me saying, "No, I didn't want to do the movie." Then it was, "Why?" When people look at the franchise mythology and think it's over, you've got to come back with something that really knocks people out. I just didn't feel like it was there, but that wasn't just me. Everybody felt that. I really couldn't see that it wouldn't be able to get there. It just seemed crazy to me, like it wouldn't be possible. So I took a leap of faith because it was the right strike in everything they were saying. So alright, let's have a few points that we want to get across in another script that we want to be written and fine. Let's go after that. Of course a movie is collaboration, but a director has to have his own point of view. That is a director's job. He creates the point of view and he must have a strong point of view. He has to. He can't be wishy washy. He creates a rhythm. You can't have too many chiefs. He's obviously very open to ideas, but I like it when I'm hearing great ideas and then I'm just adding onto it making it something extra.
Q: What was your reaction when you saw it all put together?
Bale: I saw a few different variations like any movie. It goes through a lot of different shapes. Ultimately, the last one I saw I really felt satisfied. The public will decide. This isn't a movie that you sit down and watch as a personal 2AM viewing. It's not something in which you sort of gaze into the human soul and speak to you that way. It's a movie that's meant to be watched with a lot of different people and get that common energy. Movies like this are much like sports. It's that feeling of a common excitement throughout the theater. That's what I loved about seeing "T2" I felt like I think we might have a chance here. People will decide, but I think we might have a chance here of maybe revive this and be able to move on. We'll see what happens with any future movies if this one does well enough.
Q: If you do another "Terminator" movie, can you talk about where you'd like to see your character go emotionally?
Bale: No.
Q: Any chance we might see you in another Batman film?
Bale: You know, after making a number of blunders, I've learned that I do not answer that question until Chris Nolan has answered that question.
Q: Can you talk about the "I'll be back" scene?
Bale: That was actually something which a friend of mine who knew came on as a writer for awhile. I would have liked him to be around longer throughout the movie, but it was actually when Jon Nolan was on it briefly. He called me up and said, "Christian, I have this good idea I want to run by you because you might just say no way." I thought you know what, let's try it. We can always cut it out. My aim was to attempt and you can tell me if I did it successfully or not. My aim was to kind of have it be such a logical answer that hopefully people didn't go in that second, "What's he doing an Arnie impression for?" I didn't want it to come across as an impression. Ideally for me, a few seconds later people who know the other movies go, "Hey he just said the same line." That way I felt comfortable.
Q: You and Anton Yelchin have this weird time travel relationship. How was that to develop?
Bale: You know what, I solved it by just not thinking about it too much. That's really the answer to it. As soon as you start getting into any kind of time travel, which we don't have in this one. It's before the days where that has been discovered. You can get into a complete mess with the movies. It just becomes limitless and completely confusing. That one was fairly straight forward. I just don't think about it that much.
Q: Was the helicopter scene done in one take?
Bale: Well that would be great wouldn't it? Imagine that if it was done in one take. That would be fantastic. The camera didn't ever pan off. I'm having a tricky time remembering that one, so I guess it must have been one take.
Q: What's the most dangerous stunt you did in this? The helicopter scene looked horrifying.
Bale: If it had been done in one take then it would have been. (Everyone laughs) The biggest adrenaline rush was actually a dive I had to make down into a caverness space and I had to drop a fair distance for that, but I have worked with all the stunt guys, the riggers, the stunt coordinators before on a number of movies and I know how good they are. It became just a heart pounding rush. I've got to say, the stunts in this one, I didn't find real tricky.
Q: Are you fearless? I remember asking you on Batman when you were on a ledge of a building if you were nervous and you looked at me like I was crazy.
Bale: I'm sure there are things I have a fear of, but just not standing on the ledge of a building.
Q: How are things going with "The Fighter"?
Bale: I hope that we'll be making it.
Q: You've been an actor a lot longer than you've been a star. With the TMZ culture, are you concerned about it distracting people from your character onscreen? Does it distract from your performance?
Bale: Not for me it doesn't because I don't know what things are being said of gossipy stuff. My life is much happier when I ignore that. As for other people, that's their choice. If they want to embrace that then they're probably going to sacrifice enjoyment in the movies. I really believe that, but it's their choice if that's what they love looking at. I don't get it, but it is what it is.
Q: Can you talk about the scenes that got cut and that aren't in the theatrical cut?
Bale: I hate all the extras that you get on DVDs like the deleted scenes. They're deleted for a reason. Why show it? There's that expression you've got to kill your babies sometimes. That happens. You do get some very good scenes, but they just don't work with the rhythm of the movie. I'm pretty satisfied with what you see in this movie.
Q: Anymore scenes with you and Bryce that we didn't see?
Bale: Yeah, there were a few, but you'll have to speak to McG about that. He's the one who made the call.
Terminator Salvation hits theaters on May 21.
Saturday, May 9, 2009
Trailer: Woody Allen’s Whatever Works
Release Date: June 19, 2009 (NY, LA)
Director: Woody Allen
Starring: Larry David, Evan Rachel Wood, Ed Begley Jr., Patricia Clarkson, Henry Cavill, Kristen Johnston, Michael McKean
Plot: An eccentric New Yorker (Larry David) abandons his upper class life to lead a more bohemian existence. He meets a young girl from the South and her family and no two people seem to get along in the entanglements that follow.
Thoughts: Woody Allen does roughly one movie per year, and I don’t think there has ever been one that I cared about, but I might actually enjoy this one. I love LD on Curb Your Enthusiasm, but this is pretty much his first real acting role since that show is mostly improv and by the looks of it he is doing a decent job. This seems like the kind of role that Bill Murray would be doing these days, maybe because it is a similar plot to Lost in Translation, but I am curious to see how Larry David does with it anyways. Chances are high that I will never see this movie, however if the opportunity arises I will not turn away.
Director: Woody Allen
Starring: Larry David, Evan Rachel Wood, Ed Begley Jr., Patricia Clarkson, Henry Cavill, Kristen Johnston, Michael McKean
Plot: An eccentric New Yorker (Larry David) abandons his upper class life to lead a more bohemian existence. He meets a young girl from the South and her family and no two people seem to get along in the entanglements that follow.
Thoughts: Woody Allen does roughly one movie per year, and I don’t think there has ever been one that I cared about, but I might actually enjoy this one. I love LD on Curb Your Enthusiasm, but this is pretty much his first real acting role since that show is mostly improv and by the looks of it he is doing a decent job. This seems like the kind of role that Bill Murray would be doing these days, maybe because it is a similar plot to Lost in Translation, but I am curious to see how Larry David does with it anyways. Chances are high that I will never see this movie, however if the opportunity arises I will not turn away.
Sunday, May 3, 2009
The Expendables Behind-the-Scenes Video
The production Blog for Sylvester Stallone's The Expendables has posted this new behind-the-scenes video featuring several scenes being filmed for the action film. Opening April 23, 2010, the movie follows a team of mercenaries on a mission to overthrow a South American dictator.
Stallone, Terry Crews, Randy Couture, Eric Roberts, Mickey Rourke, Jet Li, Jason Statham, Dolph Lundgren, Charisma Carpenter, Giselle Itie, Brittany Murphy and David Zayas star in the Lionsgate release.
Stallone, Terry Crews, Randy Couture, Eric Roberts, Mickey Rourke, Jet Li, Jason Statham, Dolph Lundgren, Charisma Carpenter, Giselle Itie, Brittany Murphy and David Zayas star in the Lionsgate release.
Friday, May 1, 2009
Trailer: Duncan Jones’ Moon
Release Date: June 12, 2009 (NY, LA)
Director: Duncan Jones
Starring: Sam Rockwell, Kevin Spacey, Dominique McElligott, Rosie Shaw, Kaya Scodelario, Benedict Wong
Plot: Sam Bell (Sam Rockwell) is nearing the end of his contract with Lunar. He's been a faithful employee for 3 long years. His home has been Selene, a moon base where he has spent his days alone, mining Helium 3. The precious gas holds the key to reversing the Earth's energy crisis.
Isolated, determined and steadfast, Sam has followed the rulebook obediently and his time on the moon has been enlightening, but uneventful. The solitude has given him time to reflect on the mistakes of his past and work on his raging temper. He does his job mechanically, and spends most of his available time dreaming of his imminent return to Earth, to his wife, young daughter and an early retirement.
But 2 weeks shy of his departure from Selene, Sam starts seeing things, hearing things and feeling strange. And when a routine extraction goes horribly wrong, he discovers that Lunar have their own plans for replacing him and the new recruit is eerily familiar.
Before he can return to Earth, Sam has to confront himself and the discovery that the life he has created, may not be his own. It's more than his contract that is set to expire.
Thoughts: I have been hearing mutterings of this movie for a few months now, ever since it premiered at Sundance, and right away it sounded interesting to me. Now that I have finally seen the trailer I am even more interested. I think Sam Rockwell is a very underrated actor because I cannot think of a movie that I do not enjoy him in. Based on the trailer the movie may be a little boring because it is basically a guy alone in space, but I am very interested in seeing it when it comes to DVD.
Director: Duncan Jones
Starring: Sam Rockwell, Kevin Spacey, Dominique McElligott, Rosie Shaw, Kaya Scodelario, Benedict Wong
Plot: Sam Bell (Sam Rockwell) is nearing the end of his contract with Lunar. He's been a faithful employee for 3 long years. His home has been Selene, a moon base where he has spent his days alone, mining Helium 3. The precious gas holds the key to reversing the Earth's energy crisis.
Isolated, determined and steadfast, Sam has followed the rulebook obediently and his time on the moon has been enlightening, but uneventful. The solitude has given him time to reflect on the mistakes of his past and work on his raging temper. He does his job mechanically, and spends most of his available time dreaming of his imminent return to Earth, to his wife, young daughter and an early retirement.
But 2 weeks shy of his departure from Selene, Sam starts seeing things, hearing things and feeling strange. And when a routine extraction goes horribly wrong, he discovers that Lunar have their own plans for replacing him and the new recruit is eerily familiar.
Before he can return to Earth, Sam has to confront himself and the discovery that the life he has created, may not be his own. It's more than his contract that is set to expire.
Thoughts: I have been hearing mutterings of this movie for a few months now, ever since it premiered at Sundance, and right away it sounded interesting to me. Now that I have finally seen the trailer I am even more interested. I think Sam Rockwell is a very underrated actor because I cannot think of a movie that I do not enjoy him in. Based on the trailer the movie may be a little boring because it is basically a guy alone in space, but I am very interested in seeing it when it comes to DVD.
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