Jonathan Levine directs and writes "The Wackness"
(Sony Pictures Classics, in theaters now)
Jonathan Levine has directed two high profile independent films in the last three years. Pretty impressive for a guy that used to be Paul Schrader's personal assistant. With a horror film and a coming of age period piece in the can, what's next for him?
We asked the director and writer when he was in town to promote his new film "The Wackness". Taking place in the summer of 1994, the film follows Peck's character as he bonds with a therapist over pot, copes with parent's financial woes and falls for his first love. Read on for more in our EXCLUSIVE 1 on 1 with Jonathan Levine...
MPF: These characters felt so complex and real. Were they based on real people?
Jonathan Levine: You know, what I did well was cast the right people for the roles. As a director that's one of the biggest things you can do, cast the right people, prepare them and then let them do their thing. Then they feel like these characters are their own and they create these fleshed out people. Yes, on the page we tried to make them as three dimensional as possible and be as true to life as possible but for instance, Stephanie's character could have very well come across as a cold heartless girl and Olivia's so good you can kind of sympathize with that character. So it's a combination of what's on the page but it's really a credit to all the actors in the film too.
MPF: You worked as Paul Schrader's assistant?
JL: Yeah, not for very long. Right after college I worked for an internet company and got laid off. Working there was my way to make a lot of money, it was sort of my own version of drug dealing. Then I started to work for him and I was a huge fan, but I also wanted to see what it was like to be a director. I had always been really interested in it, I had been directing films since forever and he's just awesome. I'd read all these books about how he was crazy or whatever and it's not true. He's down to earth, really really funny and a very disciplined hard working guy. He hasn't seen "The Wackness" yet, I'm kind of nervous to have him see it. But I hope he likes it. But anyway I became his personal assistant for six months and then I was like I have to go to film school. But the things I learned there just from listening to him were amazing and every once in a while when he was out of the office I would sneak into his files and see hand written notes for "Taxi Driver" and "Raging Bull", it was pretty awesome.
MPF: What's your fascination with drug use? You did a short film called "Shards" about crystal meth and "The Wackness" is all about marijuana.
JL: (laughs) For me it was definitely a part of my adolescence. There are a lot of themes you can investigate and use it as a device to look at that stuff, what is your reality and what you want your reality to be- and how you want to live in this world and what is your coping mechanism. It also really gives me the opportunity to do some funny shit but next movie I'm really going to try to avoid drugs. I think it's so important to challenge yourself and for some reason I tend to gravitate towards that material. "Shards" is like "Requiem for a Dream", raw and real.
MPF: How do you go from being almost unknown to directing two hot independent films?
JL: Well I went to film school and I met these producers who produced my first film "All the Boys Love Mandy Lane" which is supposed to be coming out later this year. I can't remember when we did that, whether it was 06 or 05, it feels like a long time ago. For me it's been like working, working, working and now that the movie is finally coming out it pays off. I've been working for a long time, at least it seems like it. I'm still young but I'm lucky to have met these producers. Because you can work as hard as you want but if no one is in love with the movie it's never going to get made. Hopefully other filmmakers will get an opportunity like that too.
MPF: What is happening with "All the Boys Love Mandy Lane? I feel like it's been in limbo for a long time.
JL: I've separated myself from it. There has just been so many release dates, I think they're picking a good date. I don't talk to them on a day to day basis though like I talk to Sony Pictures Classics. I don't know when it's coming. I know it's going to be before the end of the year. I think they're waiting to see how this does and then do something then.
MPF: What happened with the Weinstein's picking it up and then not releasing it?
JL: What happened was it became apparent that they just weren't as passionate about it as we wanted them to be. We brokered this sale to Senator and they haven't really started distributing yet. I think they're getting their legs under them. It sucks for me but forget about me man, it sucks more for the producers, the DP, the production designer and every actor who doesn't get the opportunity to have their work seen and get more work because of it. That's why for me it's really important to get it out there and seen.
"The Wackness" is in theaters now.
Actor Josh Peck, "The Wackness" junket, 6/26/08, 3:55pm.
What happened to Josh Peck? A Nickelodeon fixture on "Drake and Josh", the young actor grew up on TV through his teens in kid oriented, family friendly entertainment. Most knew him as the 'chubby' kid back then, cute but not really a heartthrob. Now that's all about to change. At twenty one, he's slimmed down, looking good and making his name known outside the boob tube.
Getting naked and playing a drug dealer in a breakthrough performance in the new film "The Wackness", Peck is turning a lot of heads. We sat down with Peck a month ago to talk about the new film, his new found sexiness and how much of the character was similar to him. Read on for more in our EXCLUSIVE 1 on 1 with actor Josh Peck...
MPF: How much of you is in the character of Luke?
Josh Peck: I think it's one of these divine gifts you're allotted as an actor that I am very close to who this kid was. I think the line that sums it up is "I was the most popular of the unpopular.
MPF: I could not believe your character was supposed to be uncool, he was so the opposite.
JP: I know! I think it was dope though, that he was secure with the things that he liked, the music that he loved, the way he carried himself and what he did. But I think we shared the same sort of disillusionment and sometimes a bit of cynicism about life. That torture, that philosophical question "what is happiness?" as it applies to me. It's a philosophical inquiry and searching that out, not wanting to be the masses or the sheep, wanting to be able to have semblance of who I was as an adolescent as I get older. I remember being nine years old and sitting in the bath tub and going "remember this moment, remember when you're twenty one that you loved action figures and comic books and power rangers" you know? Growing up with a mom that was single and not really having met my pops- I understand not having the traditional support system and I don't think that Luke has it in the movie either. Even though both parents are present, he has to go to external sources to find that validation.
MPF: Did Jonathan Levine approach you for the role? Because Luke is the complete opposite of the character you're most known for on "Drake and Josh".
JP: Right. I had to battle it out with the usual suspects which will go unnamed, but they're cats who are really talented and we right for parts they've been brilliant in. They're people in my age group who are doing very truthful, honest work in movies that highlight their ability, so really when you know who's in your wheelhouse and five or six guys that are going to be heavy contenders, you find the right part that inevitably works out for you if you're bringing your A game to every single audition. You have to suit up and show up, but John and I were two hip hop heads from New York so we instantly clicked like kindred spirits. I think he wanted to see if people were exuding the character and less about just the audition proper. Because that's just three minutes and then that's all you have to draw from.He wanted to get a feel for who we all were and I just felt that I could bring a lot of truth and honesty to who this cat was. I had just gotten my heart broken by my first real serious girlfriend so I had a lot to draw from.
MPF: Jonathan had never seen you on "Drake and Josh"?
JP: He had never seen me, it was just based on the audition. I was blessed in that sense because I didn't have to worry about battling any preconceptions. Now he says he can't fucking get away from my show, whenever he's at the gym it's on reruns and there's a "Drake and Josh" marathon-
MPF: Will there be a theatrical film version coming soon?
JP: There will be a Christmas TV movie and I'm glad it's going to be on TV because you go to theaters and do a big motion picture and it becomes something different than what we've established as the brand. We're comfortable in this setting and our producer Dan knows our characters so intimately and knows how to write for them. I think his strength is really in TV- it will be a cool, big TV movie.
MPF: I think it will be bigger than "Camp Rock" which was the highest cable rating TV movie this year-
JP: No way. Those Jonas Brothers man, they're dreamy (laughs) and they're from Jersey!
MPF: The sex scene in the film was one of the hottest, realest scenes I've scene in a while- and it was pretty ballsy on your part to go through with the nudity in the scene-
JP: My balls were actually in a cock sock. (both laugh) Man, it was petrifying filming that- everyone has body issues but growing up on TV and being a heavy set kid growing up it was absolutely petrifying.
MPF: Puleeze! You looked good!
JP: (laughs) Well thank you man! What I did was (pauses) it was for me, just the part of a lifetime and I knew I had to do it. I felt comfortable though, John (the director) was there and he said it was going to be a closed set and we're going to do it and you'll be done. So we saved it till the ladder portion of the day because we wanted that beautiful sort of sunset and our cinematographer/DP had such a distinct vision of the movie and was able to capture those moments. Even on the ferry ride over to fire island was so gorgeous. Anyway, I didn't eat anything for lunch because I didn't want to get bloated (laughs).
MPF: Well the response to you and that scene has been great, so no worries. Although, your ass will be all over the internet within a matter of weeks.
JP: God bless em! Do with it what they will. I basically did a hundred push ups before the scene and when I dropped the robe I thought the world would come down with it, but thankfully it didn't. It wasn't choreographed either, it was rather natural. You always want the female to choreograph anything that goes on in those scenes so it was easy. I was pretty in love with kissing her. Unfortunately her boyfriend is so much better looking than me but yeah, for movie purposes it was great that I was crushing on her because then it could really translate into the character. You start living their dreams anyway, you start living in their skin so now that the movie is finished we've become great friends.
MPF: Is there any dream role you want to play?
JP: I would really love to play Beethoven not the lovable dog (laughs) but the composer. That's a dream of mine, that's something I'd like to write and eventually make.
MPF: What do you say to those who say this will be your breakthrough role?
JP: I feel like if I'm alloted the privilege of playing parts like this where I feel like I can really exercise this muscle and what my deep passion is- which is to play these parts, inevitably all I ever wanted was to be an actor and to be respected and to do things that turn me on. My favorite actors are people like Sir Ben Kingsley, Morgan Freeman, Benicio Del Toro and Jeffrey Wright. I feel like they're so committed to the craft so to have a tenth or one percent of what they have would be a dream.
"The Wackness" is in theaters now.
(L-R) Matthew Goode, Haley Atwell and Ben Whishaw star in "Brideshead Revisited" (Miramax, in limited release today)
No it's not the critically loved, highly watched, always mentioned 1981 BBC miniseries all over again, this is the first feature film version of Evelyn Waugh's novel. Sure the miniseries before it was 11 parts long and had Jeremy Irons and Diana Quick in it- but this separate, different interpretation is layered, elegant and thrilling all its own. Directed by "Becoming Jane" helmer Julian Jarrold and starring Matthew Goode, Haley Atwell, Ben Whishaw, Emma Thompson and Michael Gambon- there is plenty of star power and rising talent to entice audiences this weekend as the film begins to roll out in limited showings.
Goode has some great upcoming projects opening soon including the superhero franchise hopeful "Watchman" (already all over magazine covers and hyped to the roof) and Atwell has another star studded Oscar hopeful opening later this year called "The Duchess" with Keira Knightley and Ralph Fiennes. Both stars were in New York last week for a press junket to talk with us and the rest of the NY press about the film. Read on for more with "Brideshead" stars Matthew Goode and Haley Atwell.......
MPF: How familiar were you with Evelyn Waugh's book and the story before shooting the film and had you seen the mini series?
Haley Atwell: I'd heard of the book, hadn't read it, hadn't heard of the series and just decided not to look at it. I thought it's got to have some kind of integrity as a stand alone film and as would my take on Diana Quick's performance. So I didn't and I'm glad I didn't because I think I would have bought into the pressure of it being such a melancholy piece.
Matthew Goode: I had read the book and seen the series and I understood it. The series I saw about five or six years ago because my agent gave it to me as a gift and told me I should watch it and learn from it. There is a different narrative structure and characters in the mini-series so you can't look at it the same.
(spoilers) MPF: Do you think the relationship with Sebastian in the film is more apparent in this version?
MG: Ever so slightly. It stills touches upon the ambiguities of it all which we wanted to uphold with integrity. It would have made no sense saying: well, here we are now in an era, as opposed to it being made in 1981 where we can. We haven't come far enough in our views of homosexuality, it's much more interesting to think- well maybe because Charles is so lonely he would question his own sexuality. But at the same time the idea of male love is more interesting if it's platonic from one of them and not from the other and obviously the complications of bringing in Julia earlier into the story-
HA: It's kind of a Shakespearean love whereas marriage was seen as a business partnership and it was often arranged, specifically in the aristocratic classes. So then you have the meeting of these two who can't have it with other women, especially in this all boy's environment in Oxford- so it kind of puts the ingredients together to make a strange kind of intimacy that's not titled as 'gay'. But it has within in it a beauty for Sebastian though, it goes to an entirely different place. It's very much a coming of age for all of them, over two or three decades of understanding what the impact of your first romantic love has on the rest of your life and the choices that you make in pursuit of your own happiness.
(spoilers) MPF: How do you think "Brideshead" speaks to an audience today, especially with its concerns with Catholic guilt, sin and redemption?
MG: I think it's as much about those things as it's about bad parenting.
HG: Absolutely. You can't really escape that which are born into. Sebastian and Julia are isolated the moment they're born, their life is destined for them. I imagine what's it like for the Royal family maybe. So within that, you have all these constraints of how can any of them pursue happiness with their freedom and letting go of the baggage that comes with that. It's as much about them being in this innate Catholic family as it is about the oppression that the mother instills upon them. The passions of the flesh versus their faith, which ultimately for Julia the decision she has to make at the end. It's been interpreted many different ways but for Julia I felt it was quite a positive thing for her. She couldn't fight her background, she couldn't fight her past and so by the end of it, she turns around and embraces it, finding it miraculous with her father's miracle on his death bed. Now she's able to actually liberate herself from her chains by embracing the church and not going for the romantic love which maybe she can see is something less.
MPF: Matthew, what is the main difference for you as an actor starring in something like "Watchmen" which has a global audience and already is getting huge buzz versus "Brideshead" which has a more less mainstream art-house buzz?
MG: An ever so slightly larger codpiece really (laughs). No, in a way "Watchmen" is still a period piece, it's in the 80's. I was done with that at the end of February. I don't know if it's going to be career changing, I saw the trailer the other day and I was like- "fucking hell that looks alright."
MPF: Who do you think Charles first love was?
MG: Sebastian, but Brideshead as well. In a sense that you think of two people who never had a childhood and never been happy, the reason Charles is so, so in love with Brideshead is that it's the only place he's ever been happy. And in a way, you're like- don't go back there, for Christ sakes, huge mistake, here we go (laughs). But if anyone should be the owner of and looking after it, it's easily Charles because it is crumbling and it is going to go in the wrong hands, let's be honest: down the shitter. With him there, it wouldn't ever.
MPF: You both have been directed by Woody Allen in his two back to back films, how was it?
MG: I was much more central to the story in this film, I had more to do here, conversations and so on- with Woody it was more "get on with it".
HA: Yeah, I'd agree. I was less than a year out of drama school when I made "Cassandra's Dream" and I really didn't know what I was doing. (laughs) And not that I'm comparing myself to Lauren Bacall in anyway, but you know the iconic look where she has her head down and she looks up? How iconic that was? I read in her audio biography how she was so terrified that was the only way she could control her body. So with Woody Allen, especially since it was my first film and he didn't really talk and there was no read through, no rehearsal period, there was nothing. It was literally say your lines and fuck off- but kindly. (laughs) Very engaging socially, but he has no interest in the psychology of the character and coming from the theatrical background of drama school where everything is analyzed, it was weird territory for me. So I spent the whole time calming by nerves by remaining really in control of what I was doing. But I was terrified.
"Brideshead Revisited" is in playing in limited release now.
Actor Gilles Marini, restaurant in Studio City, LA. On Father's Day (see the T-Shirt), 3:49pm.
So readers, aren't you glad you waited? How could we cover "Sex and the City" and not have an interview with the reason the movie is sexy in the first place? Gilles Marini aka: 'The Naked Shower Guy' in "Sex and the City: The Movie" is much more than just a gorgeous face and body. A dedicated father and actor on the rise, he's dealing with his new found fame while still looking for the next role that will continue to expand his flourishing career.
Meeting up with Gilles in LA during our stay, he had to move from the Starbucks we were at originally because the female attention grew a little too intense. Settling in a restaurant near by, we finally got to talk about everything from the movie the whole world has seemed to have seen to what he is all about. Read on for MPF's EXCLUSIVE 1 on 1 with Gilles Marini...
MPF: What do you think of this new found fame?
Gilles Marini: I think I’m enjoying it. To tell you the truth, it’s very surprising to me. At first I was like “whoa, what’s going on here?” The fans and the people that enjoy the part- I found them to be very sweet and understanding instead of “oh look, there’s this beautiful guy!” The messages I’m getting from people are very flattering and a lot are saying they want to see me on other things. That makes me feel good everyday. Every time I open emails I get so much love and I love it.
MPF: Take me from where you were career wise before hand, to where you are right now.
GM: Right before I started acting I was doing some modeling and stuff. I don’t think I got big roles right away because believe it or not I don’t have the ‘big’ agent yet. I have managers but it’s really difficult for them to find the right lead role for me, knowing where I’m from and my background- all I needed was a shot and I got one.
MPF: Did you always want to be an actor?
GM: Yes. It was whenever ‘American Gigolo’ came out. My mother was a big fan of actors and she said to me “acting is what you’re going to do.” Something, a scene, stuck in my mind in the film where he’s driving around in his car and the wind is blowing in his hair and life is good. That’s what I remember anyway, I was seven. And I said “that’s a good job, to make believe.” Since that day I really wanted to be an actor, then modeling came up and well, the rest is history.
MPF: How were you cast in ‘Sex and the City’? Did Michael Patrick King just say “drop em!”?
GM: (laughs) Michael is much smarter than that. I did my first audition in LA in a hotel- it was pretty much shirt off, some lines and such and they sent it back to the producers and Michael in NY. A couple of days later, I got the ‘big call back’ and my manager said “this is important, this is it.” I was like “wow!” I wasn’t really watching the show at the time. I was counting my pennies so to speak, so HBO wasn’t a priority. I had never seen the ‘real show’ only the one on TBS, which is so different. I believe a fan of the HBO version could not be a fan of the TBS version. So when I got to the next audition, I was brushed up more on the show and knowing I was doing scenes with Samantha, made me feel different. I’ve been really lucky.
MPF: Do you mind that millions of people have seen you naked across these huge screens?
GM: Thank god for the huge screens. (laughs) If they were smaller, than who knows, right? I don’t mind though, because what a nice payback for all the male and female audiences who like to see that. It’s always the woman as the object of the movie, boobs bouncing around- I thought it was a very good idea for them to do what we did and now it’s different. Dante, my character is the mirror of what Samantha was before, so we tried to really portray that as close as possible. It never really crossed my mind to ask what was going to be shown, I didn’t care though. And what everyone saw in the movie was nothing compared to what we shot. It’s so funny everyone says full frontal, it was a side shot. We did a lot of full frontal. Not that he really asked me too, but I was. When I hear “rolling!” it’s like I’m hearing “action!” and I just block everything out of my eyes. Kim Cattrall was there when she was giving her lines and I was just completely naked in front of her but I didn’t care, you know?
MPF: Everyone is saying you’re the ‘Sex’ in ‘Sex and the City’-
GM: Yeah, this is what Sarah Jessica Parker said and that sentence made my day. And the movie is still kicking- I’m getting messages from all around the globe. It’s quite funny too, I go to school and models come up to me and they’re looking at my face but sometimes they look down, two weeks ago they weren’t.
MPF: Is there a certain type of role you would like to tackle now that you’ve done this?
GM: Sure, I would love to play someone who is mentally challenged or even a bad guy. These two things I would really love to play.
*spoilers* MPF: One thing a lot of people are asking is why there isn’t a scene with you and Kim Cattrall together when the movie ends-
GM: I think it was great not having the scene because it was more than her being attracted to me. Dante reminded her of her old self. That is the trigger that makes her leave, that’s the trigger to a lot of things. Sure I would love to have the scene you speak of ‘getting on with it’. Why don’t you go to Michael Patrick King in the sequel and that will be one of the first thing she does. I would be so down to it. I talked to him on the phone before the opening and he said “Take credit for yourself, you made Dante come to life. Enjoy it.” I was really thankful to him. I think there should be a trilogy, right? But they should really get to it.
"Sex and the City: The Movie" is in theaters now.
Actor Ben Barnes, The Mandarin Oriental, 5/3/08, 12:42pm.
From Indie flicks and stage productions to a starring role in a multi-million dollar kids franchise, what is going through the mind of twenty six year old UK native Ben Barnes? After being whisked away from obscurity to sitting on the couch with Jay Leno it all must seem a little bit surreal. The actor had just been on stage in the UK production of "The History Boys" when he was called up to audition for "The Chronicles Of Narnia" sequel and soon enough he was chosen to headline the film in the role of Prince Caspian.
How did every young actor's dream happen to Ben Barnes? We found out when we sat down with him and the rest of the NY press for "The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian" junket earlier this month, where he seemed like an old pro at charming everyone. Read on for more with actor Ben Barnes. You might just be seeing a lot of him in the near future.
MPF: Is it surreal to see yourself on billboards all over the world? Disney is using your face as a major selling point, which makes sense considering you're so good looking...
Ben Barnes: Well thanks man, I appreciate that. LA is a really dangerous place to be if you're me, just don't drive down Sunset Boulevard because it's dangerous. The advertisements just leave me completely breathless. You get this slight tingle of nerves and you're not quite sure why, it's this eight-story man on a building looking down at you. You know it's you and you know it's character you've played, and yet there's a part of you which refuses to acknowledge that, and you think, 'Who's that guy?' It's a very, very difficult emotion to explain. It's almost quite confusing to see yourself on those things and then you rationalize and think it's a marketing campaign, it makes sense. They put on hair extensions and they look good. It's a tan; it's not really me. So yeah, it's surreal. A few weeks ago I met a journalist and he said, 'hi' and slammed an action figure in front of me, and said, 'what do you think?' Someone says there's going to be an action figure and you think, aw, amazing, I played with the Transformers, and you realize what you did with them, which is smash them against each other and chew their arms off. You think it's cool to have an action figure if it's a collectible in a box, but what they're there for is for people to smash them up, which is kind of weird again.
MPF: What did you think of your first big screen performance?
BB: For an actor it's difficult to watch yourself, to suspend your disbelief that far to not see yourself in the character you're playing. My heartbeat rate was heightened every time I was on screen, which is about the ego, isn't it? It is what it is. I was nervous I hadn't done myself justice because it seems like such a long time ago and such a different world.
MPF: Did the kids from the first film welcome you when you started the job?
BB: Completely. When I got the part, I got the DVD of the first and watched all the extras. I listened to Georgie sit there and go 'William (Moseley) is like my brother. And Andrew (Adamson) is like the dad when the dad's not there, and it's all nice,' and I'm like, 'Get me a bucket. I don't believe you.' Then I walked in the production office on the first day and they were playing table tennis with each other and they were sitting on each other's laps and sharing ice cream. It was something out of a Disney film. It really was a family atmosphere on set. They were all very welcoming and Anna and Will were a little emotional last night watching it, knowing this film was their last one. What people don't realize is that Anna is now nineteen and Will is twenty one, and they were thirteen and fifteen when they first auditioned for these movies. It's a big part of your childhood to give up to a project of this size. I think it's a hundred percent worth it though. They've got something really to show for it. It's emotional for them. It's hard for him to give me the sword at the end of the movie. You can see.
MPF: You have a Spanish accent in this film that was quite good...
BB: Thank you. It was interesting because they started off saying they wanted a Spanish-sounding Mediterranean accent and they said they would cast all Spanish actors. After one week of filming, they cast an Italian, a Spaniard, a Mexican, a Flemish actor and some Czech actors. I just thought, this is not going to work out. We're not going to sound the same. So we worked on adapting the Spanish accent to make it more Mexican and a little bit Italian sounding even, to smooth it out a bit so it wasn't too intrusive, I believe it worked out though...
MPF: Are you now a master swordsman and horseman?
BB: Hell yeah.
MPF: What was the training? And how will you use it?
BB: Winning the hearts of damsels in distress on the streets. (laughs) I did some solid horse training when I got there because I hadn't gotten any experience on a horse even though I might have suggested I did. I was literally on a horse five or six hours a day. I bought some padded cycling shorts to ease the comfort. And I had these great Spanish teachers who went through everything with me and eventually after a couple of weeks it clicked into place and as you can see I'm going through rivers and riding with flaming torches up and down ramps and through trees and it was amazing. It's totally exhilarating. It's like a ride at Disneyland. It's fantastic. The Sword training I actually had to do more throughout filming. The battle sequences were at the end so we knew we had time. The sword fighting is as fun as it looks and I can't lose because, well you know, I'm in the next film.
MPF: How many Narnia films are you signed on for?
BB: We're definitely making Dawn Treader, but beyond that I don't know. The character of Caspian is in the Dawn Treader book and then he's much older, much older in The Silver Chair. He's like seventy. So who knows what they'll do with that.
MPF: Did you know that Caspian means Dandruff in Spanish?
BB: Oh no! That's a Head and Shoulders campaign coming my way.
MPF: You're shooting the next movie in October.
Do you have time to shoot anything else before then?
BB: I shot a film with Colin Firth and Jessica Biel called "Easy Virtue"; it's a Noel Coward play adaptation. It's a very different British farce, kind of a posh "Meet the Parents". It's very different again. And I hope to be doing something in the summer. I don't know exactly what yet.
"The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian" is in theaters now.
Thanks to Brad Balfour for his contribution to this post.
Thomas Dekker stars in Tribeca Film Festival selection:
"From Within"
2008 started off with a bang for Thomas Dekker. His starring role as John Conner in the hit Fox TV series "Terminator: The Sarah Conner Chronicles" has brought him millions of fans. His face is seen everywhere the show is advertised. From Times Square billboards to full page ads in Entertainment Weekly and People, in the month of January when the show premiered, you couldn't walk a block, change a channel or turn a page in a magazine without seeing the face of this young actor or his co-star Lena Headey.
But who is Thomas Dekker and why does everyone have such a strong opinion of him? On his short stint on "Heroes" fans buzzed about his sudden departure. On his MySpace profile members of all ages swoon over his obvious good looks, while others viciously attack him. What does the twenty year old actor think of his new found fame and the celebrity madness that comes with it? I spoke to Dekker over the phone a week ago in an EXCLUSIVE 1 on 1 to talk about his new film screening at the Tribeca Film Festival, a horror movie co-starring Rumer Willis titled "From Within". Sure Dekker might look like just another pretty face, but did you know he's also a director, editor, singer, writer and lyricist? There might be more to him than your first impression. Read on for more with Thomas Dekker...
MPF: Brad Keene the writer of “From Within” wrote a movie that played Tribeca a few years back called “The Gravedancers” and is also writing the third “Grudge” movie. Is that one of the reasons you chose to do this film?
TD: Brad’s a really great guy and I like his body of work but it wasn’t his work that got me interested in doing the film. It was more Phedon Papamichael and talking with him about it. Also it was the role. I thought it would be a challenge. I usually approach the characters I play very much not as characters but as real people. I think that if you approach a role like you’re going to play just a character it can become very one dimensional. What I liked about Aidan is that when I read the script he didn’t seem like a person to me, he was like a walking fist of rage. We don’t know much about him except that obviously he’s really unhappy, so some days I would just go off and cry because I wanted my eyes to be incredibly red all the time. He doesn’t cry at all in the film till the last scene but I wanted to it to look like he was upset.
MPF: It’s funny you say that because in the production stills from the film he looks like a bad ass.
TD: (laughs) Yeah, it’s funny. In that one shot I just pointed the gun at the photographer as a joke and they ended up using it.
MPF: Based on just that still, it has gotten a lot of people I know to check out the film- probably because it looks exciting and they recognize you from “Terminator”.
TD: Yeah but I really wanted Aidan to be different from John Conner and I hope people don’t see any real similarity. Sometimes I think it’s real easy to just say ‘oh look there’s his long hair and he’s grumpy and young’ I really tried for it to be different. And don’t get me wrong I’m proud of “Terminator” but there are some other really great actors in the film and I hope people go see it because of them too.
MPF: How well do you know Rumer Willis who co-stars with you in “From Within”?
*spoilers* TD: I met her while we were shooting. I had never met her before that. We shot the film in this isolated part of Maryland for a month and a half and there was just nothing there. So we really bonded, we spent a lot of time together. At the same time while we were filming, I was writing my film “Whore” and a lot of the time when I was writing she would come and just hang out in the hotel room. Eventually she ended up in it as well but she doesn’t have any dialogue, it’s a cameo role. In “Whore” I purposely made it so that everyone that is well known in the public eye has very tiny roles, it’s kind of comment on (pauses) well at the premiere of “From Within” is an example. All the reporters cared about was Rumer and course she dies in the first five minutes of the film. But it’s hard, because of who she is suddenly she feels guilty that all of her friends in the film are being trumped. None of us feel that way but that’s why “Whore” is an attack on the way Hollywood and everything that goes with it is looked at.
MPF: Let’s talk more about “Whore”. Megan Fox is in it?
TD: That’s true- she also doesn’t have a real big role. The only person who has a big role in it is Lena Headey (also on “Terminator”) it’s an important part.
MPF: In terms of writing and editing along with directing and starring in “Whore”, how do you manage to have the control of being in charge of something as demanding as that?
TD: A lot of hard work. When I was six years old I did a film called “Village of the Damned” with John Carpenter and he kind of became my mentor. Ever since that age I knew I had to direct. Eventually I think I’ll take a long break from acting and just direct films full time. There are things I can’t escape, from a passion point of view. I took all the money I had earned when I was sixteen and I made a Dogme 95 picture that really didn’t go anywhere but it was a learning curve. I also made a short film with Brad Rowe that went to a bunch of festivals and did well. Finally when I presented a very loose script of “Whore” to a bunch of people, they gave me some money and I had investments of my own- luckily the big names that came on board were people that I knew personally. Everyone did it virtually free which was a plus.
MPF: Is it done?
TD: It will be completed in a few weeks. It’s a very culty underground, difficult art film. Don’t get me wrong, it has a story, it has a narrative. Hopefully we’ll find some festivals that are interested. The plus is from all the attention on “Terminator” and the great cast I got people are interested, my DP even won at the Venice Film Festival. It also got a lot more expensive than I first anticipated so it looks great. It went from partially an experiment to a fully fledged film. Hopefully one day I can meet you again at a festival for that film.
MPF: People know you from “Terminator” and some people also know you from “Heroes” but they go on your music MySpace page your quote is “Don’t Fuck With Me”-
TD: (laughs)
MPF: People must go ‘Who is this Thomas Dekker and why is he saying not to fuck with him?’ Why say that, is it a defense?
TD: You’re alright, you can fuck with me.
MPF: (laughs) Ok.
TD: It’s just a joke. I guess what it is really is I’m trying to show that I’d rather be criticized than pretend to be me. I don’t like this attitude that young Hollywood has had painted on it. We’re not allowed to have opinions, we’re not allowed to have feelings, we’re supposed to smile everywhere we go and say everything that is told to us by our agents, managers, lawyers etc and I don’t like that…A lot of the time I say stuff on purpose that I know is going to get me in trouble. You should always speak your mind. I’m not interested in being one of those petulant, fuck you, eat the birds, punk rock, Avril Lavigne kids. I don’t have angst or anger, I don’t have any defense. It’s almost an intellectual attack on perception. I’m a friend of Rumer’s and I read some of the stuff they write about her and they’re just heinous things. I don’t know why we have the desire to be so mean to people we don’t even know. I think if you’re clever you can make a double edged sword and point it right back at them.
MPF: Ok here come the “Terminator” questions…
TD: (laughs) ok.
MPF: So how many seasons are you officially signed for now? Can we expect you to be on the show for a long time?
TD: I think I’m signed on for six seasons if we go that long. I’ve managed in the last season to start up a couple of things so that if we keep on going we can continue with that.
MPF: Are you worried about being typecast as a John Conner type character?
TD: That’s a hard question. Some people say ‘oh look, its John Conner kid!’ and there is a part of me that doesn’t mind that because I love the role and I love the show and I love being in it. I’m not going to be one of those people that say: ‘This is so annoying, I’m on a great show but I hate that people associate me with this.’ I don’t like when an actor becomes a character. I’m happy to be known as John and happy to not be known as John.
MPF: Let’s talk about your music career. You have a ton of songs available to listen to now and I got a very rebellious, metal kind of punk vibe from all of them. How would you describe it?
TD: Wow, you have such good questions! My music is tough to define because I was raised very classical, working with Orchestras. I wasn’t planning to be a songwriter I was planning on being a composer, but my skills got very strong (pauses) the album and the things that are online are more catchy, beat driven, electronic, mainstream, accessible kind of stuff. One song “Red Hot Fantasy” which has been out for a week has been getting a lot of criticism from women saying it’s aggressive. The funny thing about me is I’m always getting in trouble for doing and saying things because people aren’t seeing the irony or sarcasm. I wrote that song to show up male chauvinism and misogyny. It’s an attack in a way on my own sex and that’s why it’s called “Red Hot Fantasy”. It’s what we’d like to be but really we don’t because we don’t have the balls. People aren’t taking the obvious route and that’s the biggest frustration I have with things. I’m infuriated right now with the whole Miley Cyrus thing, it really bothers me man (pauses) But the album- is about fourteen tracks that runs on everything from ambient to rap, to death metal, to 50’s to folk- it’s all over the place. The whole album has a lot of very different stuff on it. I made it so every song is a completely different genre. It’s basically a comment on a society of restrictions we put on ourselves that we basically have to be one thing and I really don’t think we are.
MPF: Thanks Thomas, all my best to you!
TD: Thanks, this is the coolest interview I've ever done! Great questions.
"From Within" is playing the festival circuit now.
Writer/Director Harmony Korine, The Soho Grand, 4/23/08, 4:45pm.
Shocking the world at age eighteen, Harmony Korine has never been someone who plays by the rules. In 1993, Korine wrote the now infamous screenplay for "Kids", which went on to become one of the most controversial films of the 1990's. The film, was which was picked up by Miramax Films at the Sundance Film Festival for $3.5 million gave Korine instant industry clout. With his new found fame, you would surely think the writer/director would want to make an instant jump into bigger Hollywood films, but instead Korine decided to stick to smaller, independent projects following up "Kids" with two cult directorial efforts: "Gummo" and "Julien Donkey Boy". Then, suddenly, he was gone.
Korine vanished from the film world and stayed away for almost ten years. Now he's back, and people are talking about the writer/director once again. His new film "Mister Lonely", an exploration of self identity and celebrity impersonators may seem like a return to his now trademark weird, eccentric films but some are calling it his most mainstream project to date. I sat down with Korine for an EXCLUSIVE 1 on 1 interview to talk about everything from "Kids" (he talks about a sequel) to the state of Indie film today. Read on for more in our EXCLUSIVE 1 on 1 with Harmony Korine...
MPF: People use many favorable words to label you. ‘Brave’, ‘Fearless’, ‘Wunderkind’ and ‘Visionary’ are only some of the many I’ve read. I have my theory on the choices of these words, but why do you think people use them to label you?
Harmony Korine: You tell me, I’m more interested in your theories.
MPF: I suppose it’s because your films are just so different from what’s out there now.
HK: Yeah. I think it’s because I always made a specific kind of movie with images coming from all directions. You’re right for the most part. My movies are different from what you see at the theater. They have a different rhythm. There is a different idea behind them, you know?
MPF: Do you think they’re bleak?
HK: I think it’s like life, there’s bleakness in it, sure. But I also think they’re just as comedic.
MPF: But this film is different, I found it to be more hopeful.
HK: I would hope so. Long ago I stopped predicting what the reaction would be from audiences or the way people would take it because I was always wrong. I realize that everyone sees the movie in their own way. Some people get nothing out of it, some people get moved. But I definitely knew when making this particular movie that it had been so long, almost a decade- the idea of making a film that was just totally without any hope or that was perceived as being bleak was something I didn’t want to do. I find there is a kind of unique pull, a strangeness and poetry, a rhythm to things.
MPF: Do you feel that the attitude towards experimental cinema has changed at all in ten years?
HK: I think that there is just more stuff out there now. With digital technology it’s easier to have your stuff shown. I make movies for the theater though.
MPF: Are you against people watching your films on their IPods or computers?
HK: No, I’m just happy that people watch them and in the end you can’t stop technology. I’m not really frightened by it, it is what it is. It actually doesn’t even scare me, it excites me. It presents new possibilities, you know? In the end all anybody wants is to be told a good story, to laugh or to feel something, whether it’s thirty seconds or thirty hours. We want to be entertained. My next film could even be on a camera phone. In the end, it’s about the subject.
MPF: It’s not everyday someone says “I’m going to make a film about a Michael Jackson and Marilyn Monroe impersonator”, so where did this idea come from?
HK: I spent time on a commune in Peru with a cult of fisherman called ‘Malingers’. We were searching for this golden fish or carp with these three dots on the side of its gills and if you pressed them in a certain order they would play the sound of a toy piano. There hadn’t been one photograph since the beginning of the last century. They were wise men, about 20 of them, mainly Columbians and Peruvians. One day I got into an argument with one of the guys there because I had heard he was doing it for the reward money that these Japanese guys were offering him. So his wife who was autistic, handed me a leech with an invisible dog she used to hang around and I took it, flew home to Nashville and hung it on the wall. Three weeks after I got there, I was asleep one night and I just heard barking sounds coming from this leech and it kind of opened the flood gates-and all of sudden I felt it was time to make movies once again.
MPF: So why the huge creative gap between this and “Julien Donkey Boy”?
HK: Because I was messed up in the head. I was debased and living like a tramp. I had very little to give and wanted to live a life that was totally separate from the film world. I wanted to live life outside mowing lawns, swimming, even rob a bank. I just wanted to do something different.
MPF: Everyone probably says this to you but when I was a teenager, “Kids” rocked my world. That’s a movie that never leaves your brain. So what I want to know is, is there any chance of a sequel?
HK: I don’t know. It would almost be a reunion tour.
MPF: I would love that!
HK: (laughs) It’s nothing I’ve ever thought about. The difference now is I’m not a teen anymore. (pauses) So maybe I’d call it “Adults” and it would be the after effect of all that’s happened. Larry (Clark) and I never discussed the possibility. I don’t know, the original is out there, I don’t think I’d tamper with it.
MPF: Would ever consider doing a bigger budget, even mega blockbuster movie if given the chance to?
HK: I doubt it. Not because I’m opposed to those kinds of films, I think they’re fine and every once in a while you see something that’s good, but I really don’t think that way. Maybe if I ever had a story that came close to that crossover appeal. If I had a hundred million dollars offered to me to a make a movie, I’d make a hundred million little ones.
"Mister Lonely" is in limited release now.
Director/Writer Christophe Honoré, The Sofitel, 3/3/08, 12:22pm.
Christophe Honoré walks into the hotel room where I'm waiting anxiously to meet him. Sure we met briefly the night before at a Q&A he was doing and we spoke over the phone for thirty minutes or so last year, but this would be my first real time sitting face to face with one of my new favorite directors. “I know you!” Honoré says playfully when he sees me. I'm kind of surprised, did he recognize or remember me from the night before?
We shake hands- it turns out he was told we had already spoken over the phone. It's funny because only after that interview was over did my obsession with seeing "Love Songs" really start. Sure it was there already, but I became a real supporter for the film as the months went by, checking in with festivals and other people making sure the movie was picked up and ready to be shown in the U.S. almost every week. Soon enough, I heard that IFC picked the film up and it would be shown in 2008.
Speaking through a translator, I sat down with Honoré for an EXCLUSIVE 1 on 1 to talk about the long overdue U.S. release of "Love Songs", his many influences and a very possible sequel to one of the best films of the year. Read on for more with director/writer Christophe Honoré...
MPF: I’m so excited to be sitting here with you, face to face at last talking about the film that I’ve been following for over a year.
Christophe Honoré: Thank you, yes I know you’ve been writing about it.
MPF: So when did IFC get involved? I know I was pressuring a lot of studios to pick up the film since last August.
CH: The discussions began around May of last year at the Cannes Film Festival. As you know, IFC also picked up “Dans Paris”. Eventually it was picked up, I don’t know when exactly.
MPF: It’s incredibly hard to find your films in the U.S. I’m constantly forced to import most of your work and a lot it doesn’t even have English subtitles-
CH: It’s true. I sort of trust my French distributors; I don’t really know how to get my work over seas. I’m often not even told if the films are being shown or coming out.
MPF: I’ve seen “Love Songs” five times now, seeing it with all different kinds of crowds and every time I do see it- there is an audible nervous laughter during the love scene between Louis and Grégoire. What has the reaction been like in France to that particular scene?
CH: In France it wasn’t seen as a gay movie. You’re talking about the scene in bed and they’re singing, right?
MPF: Right.
CH: I can understand the reaction but I think that the scene has a certain sensuality which isn’t aggressive. In France the movie has a cult following, I’d say with High School students. But not really in the Gay community, I don’t even think it was seen much by them. It was quite popular in the age bracket of 15-20 year olds. I’ve done other films as I’m sure you know, that are much more explicit sexually (like "Ma Mere"). So in fact now I feel I’m blasé. Maybe it’s because it’s a scene that is both sung and intimate at the same time. I think the reaction its had is because Louis’ character has had a relationship with many various women and then he takes a sudden turn. There is something that disturbs the audience on that level.
MPF: Is it true a lot of the film’s dialogue is from Adam Thirlwell’s book “Politics”?
CH: Yes, very good. Coming from a literary background, I always borrowed a lot from novels in my screenplays. In fact in a clandestine fashion, you could say I stole. It’s true that there is this American author Adam Thirlwell and he’s at the same publishing house that I belong to in France. What I found interesting about “Politics” is that it was sort of a English variation of “Jules and Jim”. Starting from this English version, I came back to a French version of this kind of ménage a trois. So the film is this mixture of Truffaut, Thirlwell and me. But it’s really only in two little scenes where I borrowed something from his novel.
MPF: I keep on hearing about your next film-
CH: It’s called “The Beautiful Person” and I shot it in a High School with mostly adolescents. Half the actors weren’t professionals, they were amateurs. The other half are some people from “Love Songs”. Grégoire Leprince-Ringuet is one and Louis (Garrel) plays an Italian professor. The movie is a very loose adaptation of a novel from the sixteenth century called “The Princess of Cleves”. It’s a story of absolute love between a young woman and a man that’s a little bit older. It’s a real drama. I’m a big fan of pop music as well and in this new film I used a lot of Nick Drake music.
*spoilers* MPF: Is the film’s last piece of dialogue: "love me less but love me a long time" open to interpretation at all?
CH: I think that it’s not a happy ending. Even if Ismaël is in the arms of a boy he loves he has the awareness to know that he’s only 17. At 17 you fall madly in love but it can last a week. That’s why I ended the film on a ledge, they could almost fall off. So when he says “love me less but love me a long time” he knows it’s not going to last a long time.
MPF: Why leave the film so open? Is there a possibility of a sequel at all or is that just me having wishful thinking?
CH: (laughs) In three years or so, you know- there could be the possibility of a sequel.
MPF: Seriously? Don’t tease me Christophe, I’ll go crazy if that’s true.
CH: (laughs) The story is very personal in terms of me and Alex (Beaupain, the songwriter). I myself know what happens next; but Alex is continuing to write the music and it’s very much apart of his life. So yes, there are songs for a sequel. I’m just worried about doing it and it being thought of as just a commercial venture. It’s very possible we’ll find Ismaël again and see how he has evolved in his life so far.
MPF:Thank you so very much for sitting down with me Christophe.
CH: Thank you Scott, good luck with your website.
"Love Songs" is in theaters and on demand now.
Actor Nick Stahl, "Sleepwalking" Junket, 3/11/08, 11:57am.
Actor Nick Stahl has had a interesting career thus far. Jumping from Hollywood films ("Terminator 3", "Disturbing Behavior" and "Sin City") to relatively unknown indies ("Twist", "Bookies" and "Bully") he's never stuck to one genre. After giving a tour-de-force performance in Larry Clark's "Bully" and playing the main victim in Todd Field's "In The Bedroom", Stahl's vast talent finally began to be noticed.
His biggest project to date was the popular "Terminator" franchise where he took over the role of John Conner from Edward Furlong. He also starred in HBO's "Carnivàle", a show that ran for two seasons and gained a monumental cult following. Topping it all off, he starred in Robert Rodriguez's "Sin City" playing the memorable villain 'Yellow Bastard'. Now, Stahl has landed somewhere in the middle. He stars in the new Indie/Hollywood film "Sleepwalking" with co-star and producer Charlize Theron. I sat down with Stahl for an EXCLUSIVE 1 on 1 to talk about the new film, his career and his numerous great performances. Read on for more with actor Nick Stahl...
MPF: So what was it about “Sleepwalking” that made you want to do it?
Nick Stahl: Well, it kind of chose me in a way. Charlize (Theron) called and wanted me to be involved and it was pretty much that easy. I read it, liked it a lot, then we met and talked about it. We were having lunch and she basically said “will you do it?” and I said “yes, of course!” I expected to put up more of a fight for it. So it happened pretty easily in that way.
MPF: Talk about your character James. To me, he was like a grown up child. Anna Sophia Robb’s character was more of an adult than he was-
NS: That’s a good point. My character really has become emotionally stunted in some ways. I think that’s what happens if you suffer from abuse or a lot of times addiction as well, you kind of cease to grow and you’re stuck in that place. He’s a character that’s retreated from the world, beaten down into submission and has learned not to ask for anything more than he has in life.
MPF: Hands down, my favorite performance of yours is in “Bully”. What a tour de force that was. Such a scary, dark and deep performance--
NS: Thanks man. Yeah, as I mentioned, some roles are harder to get than others and you have to fight for them. That film I didn’t have to as much, Larry Clark just kind of gave it to me. It was probably one of the more intimidating things I’ve had to do as an actor. It was just so far from who I am and I didn’t know if I could be convincing doing that. The story was fascinating and it reminded me in a less extreme way, of the suburbs where I grew up and some of the violence that goes on there. The frustrations that take place when you’re a teenager and you’re trapped in the suburbs, that story really rang true to me. Sometimes more people come up to me talking about that role then “Terminator”.
MPF: Speaking of “Terminator”, MCG is apparently directing the next installment with Christian Bale-
NS: It doesn’t look like I’m going to come back for the fourth one. I haven’t been approached. But the new TV show is great and I was happy to be a part of the franchise. It was a really great time for me to be in a movie like that. I was such a fan of the first two. It seems like now that they have to kind of reconceptualize the franchise, which I think was necessary for it, the first three really followed a specific pattern.
MPF: I want to talk about some of your other roles- “Disturbing Behavior” was another one of my favorites. You had a chance to play two extremely different kinds of people. First the rebel, loner guy in the corner, then this preppy Stepford jock-
NS: Yeah, that was kind of around the beginning, but I’ve been acting since I was ten years old.
MPF: Would you consider that film your ‘breakout hit’?
NS: I guess- it didn’t really break out (laughs). It’s more of cult film. I guess that’s kind of what happens. As an actor, you try to choose the best films that you can and then once you’re done with it, the life it has after it’s made is kind of voodoo science.
MPF: Speaking of some of the more cult projects you’ve been apart of - how about "Carnivàle?" It was a series that was cancelled before its time. I heard rumors about a made for TV movie being made to wrap everything up. Is there any truth to that?
NS: No, no. Some people ask me about that sometimes. I think that rumor started on the internet or something. If they are going to do it, I sure haven’t heard anything. We did two seasons and it didn’t seem to be enough for the die-hard fans. They wanted it to continue.
*spoilers* MPF: Going back to “Sleepwalking”, people came up to me confused about the ending. Sure Dennis Hopper’s character was evil, but your character kind of gets away with murder in the end. What do you think the message is?
NS: I never saw him really getting away with it. It’s inevitable that he’s going to be caught. That’s my assumption though, it’s not like he’s booked a flight to Brazil and really stealthily trying to get away- he’s in some old pickup truck tooling along the road. It’s a kind of paradox in the movie that’s interesting to me. The idea to stop the cycle of violence in his family he has to kill for it and (pauses) it’s complicated. It’s heavy stuff. Every time you try to attempt to say something so different in filmmaking, a lot of times it turns out to be darker, heavier material.
"Sleepwalking" is in theaters now.
Drake Bell stars in "Superhero Movie"
(Dimension Films, In Theaters Now)
Sure there are many teen heartthrobs out there, but actor/singer Drake Bell tries to stay away from the spotlight. Getting his start on Nickelodeon, costarring in Amanda Bynes' "The Amanda Show", he and his other costar Josh Peck, soon grew popular enough that they were offered a spin off of their very own: "Drake and Josh". Both actors are making huge breakthroughs in feature films this year, Peck in "The Wackness" and Bell in "Superhero Movie".
Peck will talk with me in a few weeks, but for now- how is his friend Drake Bell dealing with his own new found mega stardom? Not only does he have a huge movie coming out, but he gains legions of fans each day through his blossoming music career. I spoke with the actor/singer over the phone a week or so back and we talked music, his first big starring role in a parody film and how at his age, he manages to stay out of the tabloid headlines. Read on for more in my EXCLUSIVE 1 on 1 with teen star Drake Bell...
MPF: Hey Drake!
Drake Bell: Hey Scott!
MPF: So this must be amazingly exciting for you. Your first huge lead role in a very heavily promoted movie…
DB: Yeah, it’s exciting. It really is the first time I’ve been in every frame of a movie. As for the main lead role, it was lots of years on Nickelodeon with a hectic schedule. We were working so much on “Drake and Josh” that to actually get out of it and do something where you have to be on set everyday was incredibly difficult. I was also working on my music and I just finished a tour last summer so this has been the only time to get down and do a film where you’re in every frame.
MPF: I remember reading early on that David Zucker was originally the director for “Superhero Movie” and Craig Mazin was just the screenwriter. What caused the change?
DB: It was always originally Craig. They work very closely together. Whenever one of them is there the other one is too. That’s how the set for the movie was- it wasn’t like one guy driving the ship. He was very collaborative with us. To have David there just too just to bounce ideas off of- to have a great comedic mind like that was awesome. I don’t know Harvey Weinstein that well but Bob was there. He came and visited the set a lot making sure we weren’t screwing up. I can tell why he’s where he’s at now. He’s a work horse. He never stops and that’s what I love. I was really impressed with Craig though, he worked so well with the actors and it was just his first time directing.
MPF: Was there anything special about “Superhero Movie” that made you want to choose it as your first lead role?
DB: Yeah, sure. I grew up on parody movies like “Airplane”, “The Naked Gun” and “Top Secret” and I’m a huge fan of Leslie Nielson. To be able to do one of these spoof movies is an amazing honor.
MPF: Are you a fan of the “Scary Movie” series and what are your thoughts on the other spoof movies like “Meet the Spartans”, “Epic Movie” and “Date Movie”?
DB: I’m a fan of the “Scary Movie” series for sure. I’m not a big fan of the other parody movies like you mentioned. Those movies are not really spoofing anybody, they just put Napoleon Dynamite in there with a shirt that says ‘don’t vote for Pedro’ and that’s their joke. That's basically just doing an impression- you’re no longer spoofing anything anymore. Jason Friedberg and Aaron Seltzer (writer/directors of “Meet the Spartans”, “Epic Movie” and “Date Movie”) pretty much put a dagger into the heart of these awesome comedies because everyone expects- “oh, it has the name ‘movie’ at the end of it so it’s got to be like the others!” but it’s not. David Zucker invented that genre. I think that it’s kind of a bummer as well that it’s called “Superhero Movie” now and not just “Superhero!” like before. But it’s ok because the “Scary Movie” series was great. It’s just that people confuse the Friedberg and Seltzer movies with our movie. If you go back and watch “Scary Movie 4” it’s really funny- there’s some really great stuff in there. If you go see “Meet the Spartans’ you’re like “what in the world is going on here?”
MPF: You also have “College” coming out in August and it’s interesting to see you in R rated movie like that, geared towards the seventeen and up crowd. Is this a sign of you choosing more adult roles in the future?
DB: Yeah, “College” was originally supposed to come out sometime in April but it’s been pushed to August 29th. But yeah, of course I’d love to have some more adult roles in the future. I don’t know how much of an adult movie “College” is though; it’s pretty juvenile in the humor. It’s kind of like “American Pie”, “Porky’s” or “Revenge of the Nerds”. Doing that film was a lot of fun. I wanted the experience of going out to New Orleans and I got to live in the heart of all that and see what went down there and meet some amazing people, it was an incredible experience. I really don’t want to get away from these types of roles now. They’re fun, you get to go and play all day on set- especially “Superhero Movie”. In terms of the adult roles, you do want the challenge of going out and doing that but I love making people laugh, I love people walking out of theater just feeling good.
MPF: Is it surreal at all to be this huge teen star now? I was researching you earlier today and there are all these little things like people obsessing over you cutting your hair, the fact that you have a beard now and even a tattoo-
DB: Yeah it gets a little weird sometimes, but I just kind of try to separate myself from that whole world and stay as normal as possible you know? I try to stay out of the tabloids- I never really go out and if I do, it’s to dinner with some friends, it’s not like I’m Britney or Christina… I can’t get into this class of Chihuahua carrying, Paris Hilton type girls. We’re breeding in a terrible, terrible generation. There are girls getting plastic surgery at fifteen, it’s like you haven’t even grown into your body yet. They’re glorifying it too. If you go and read any of the teen beat magazines they’re like “Ashley Tisdale gets plastic surgery, how it made her life so much better!” What are they telling the twelve year olds in Kansas that can’t get plastic surgery but all the girls in school tell her she’s ugly? And she’s reading this magazine (groans) it’s just terrible. But yeah, moving on- I’m not into that lifestyle, I love the work, I’m more excited about doing that tomorrow morning than going out and getting recognized.
MPF: I wanted to ask about your music. Is this something you want to concentrate on more now or are you going to continue balancing between movies and your music?
DB: I pretty much have been balancing between the two and will continue to. With “Superhero Movie” finished, I can finally get into my third record with Universal and that’s what I want to spend most of my time on now.
MPF: I have to ask since a lot of your fans want to know- will there be a “Drake and Josh” movie?
DB: The whole “Drake and Josh Go to New York” thing is just a rumor. Very recently I was talking with the “Drake and Josh” producer and were both saying how we missed the gang and the cast. So I think we’re going to get together this summer and do a TV movie for Nickelodeon.
MPF: Are you signed on for a “Superhero Movie” sequel?
DB: No, but there was so much talk on the set. Hopefully it goes over well with people because there is definitely room for more jokes and more craziness.
MPF: Thanks Drake, good luck with the movie!
DB: Thanks!
"Superhero Movie" is in theaters now.