What to Expect When You’re Expecting

Starring: Cameron Diaz, Jennifer Lopez, Elizabeth Banks, Chace Crawford, Brooklyn Decker, Matthew Morrison, Anna Kendrick, Dennis Quaid, Chris Rock, Rodrigo Santoro, Ben Falcone, Joe Manganiello, Wendi McLendon-Covey, Rob Huebel

Directed by: Kirk Jones

In Theaters: May 11, 2012 

Rhys Ifans

Ifans, whose heavy Welsh accent is one of his most recognizable trademarks, had his doubts that he’d be cast as the Earl of Oxford because of his accent. He explains that when he was sent the script, “They weren’t offering me a part, but he cleverly said, ‘Which part – if I were to offer you it – would you like to play?’  I said, ‘If you were a lazy director, you’d offer me the part of Shakespeare and if you’re a brave director, you’d offer me the Earl of Oxford.’ He [director Roland Emmerich] very kindly and courageously let me read for the Earl of Oxford, which I don’t necessarily think that an English director would even have dared to do, so I have a lot to thank him for.”

It’s interesting that Ifans would chose to take the role of the “real” Shakespeare since the actor didn’t particularly care for Shakespeare in his younger years. Of Shakespeare, Ifans says, “We didn’t have a great relationship, because it was kind of academic and it just felt distant and alien, so I felt no connection at all.” 

But his opinion changed while at London’s Guildhall School of Music and Drama and working with teacher Patsy Rodenburg, who works with the Royal Shakespeare Company.  While working on the opening monologue of Richard III, Ifans had a revelation.  He remembers, “It was one of those extraordinary moments. It just all made sense and before that moment, Shakespeare made me feel stupid.  I spoke those words and worked with her on it and I wept. I thought, ‘Oh my God!’  Shakespeare is kind of a bastion for an actor.  Until you get Shakespeare, especially in England, you’re not a real actor. It was like a coming of age for me in a way. It really freed me up and it made me brave, particularly that speech.”

In the horrible film, One Day, he was absolutely the best actor on-screen besting Anne Hathaway and Jim Sturges by a million miles. I actually wish the film focused on his character more. In Anonymous, you’ll walk away wanting to see more also. Check out the 4th clip and you’ll see what I mean.

If you don’t know, the film is another theory on whether or not William Shakespeare actually wrote the plays he’s been credited for. It also focuses on the politics of the time, illicit romances with the Royals and the schemes of greedy nobles who lust for power.

It stars Rhys Ifans, Vanessa Redgrave, Joely Richardson, David Thewlis and Spall and is directed by Roland Emmerich. Yup, Independence Day and Godzilla‘s Emmerich.

It’ll be in theaters on October 28th.   

Queen Elizabeth (Vanessa Redgrave) is presented with a play

Edward de Vere (Rhys Ifans) orders Ben Jonson (Sebastian Armesto) to stage one of his plays as his own

Princess Elizabeth (Joely Richardson) talks about her love of the stage

William Shakespeare (Rafe Spall) really just wants to act

Ben Jonson (Sebastian Armesto) gets shot at

Barrett Foa

It’s a fun, quick interview and you can tell the two have great chemistry together and it absolutely comes out in their scenes on the show.

NCIS: Los Angeles airs on CBS, Tuesdays 9/8c

Check out our other NCIS: Los Angeles interviews: LL Cool J and Chris O’Donnell

For the full interview, click the audio link above or download it from iTunes

When do you guys get your scripts for the show?

Renee Felice Smith: Probably the day before. We generally have a table read.  So, I would say, generally, we’ll get the script a day before and the table read is a day prior to shooting, so maybe two or three days in advance to shooting, that’s it.

Barrett Foa: Max.

Renee Felice Smith: Sometimes, it’s a day of table read.   Barrett, so what was it like getting a partner now?

Barrett Foa: I would say, I love having her because we get to play off each other.  I feel like more is revealed about my character instead of just being like, I’m a talking head giving out the information before the crime starts, you know? I can do that but then also like have a conversation with her or have a flirty moment with her or have a rivalry or whatever it is we’re like doing that week.  So, that’s fun for me for me.

Renee Felice Smith: It makes it more interesting, I think. Even just watching the show before I even auditioned, I feel like now, Eric, he has conversations, he communicates with other human beings.  He’s not just, you know, computers all the time. So, I like Eric as a partner.

Barrett Foa: It adds a human element.

Does any of the tech actually work?

Barrett Foa: No, what you’re seeing is totally live.  We’re actually interfacing with programs that have already been set up.  We don’t program them. [laughs]

Renee Felice Smith: We don’t program them but we do operate them. So if you see a photo, we’re really expanding it.  A lot of people ask, “is that screen, is that all put in in post? Is that screen, like, completely blank when you’re working it?”

Barrett Foa: It’s a lot of fun but it’s also a challenge because you’re doing your lines. It’s kind of, you could say, a choreographed routine.

What’s your advice to actors?

Barrett Foa: I think just preparedness. Know your lines, know your research, your background. And then also, just tenacity.

Renee Felice Smith: Yeah, stay with it, you know.

Barrett Foa: Be prepared and then keep with it.

Renee Felice Smith: I think the majority of people who are working have been auditioning for three to five years before you finally see them working.  I know it’s kind of the case with me.  So, if I would have quit in that first year or so, “Oh well, nothing really happened.”  I mean, you know, I wouldn’t be right here with Barrett today.

Barrett Foa: And you know, if you do think that you can do something else or if you are like…

Renee Felice Smith: Yeah.  If you enjoy something else…

Barrett Foa: This is not for me or I want to wait another year, then stop because it’s too hard.

Renee Felice Smith: Then don’t, then do your thing. You know, yeah. But if you love it…

Barrett Foa: It’s worth it.

Is there security in being in one of the top rated shows or do you think they could kill you off at some point?

Barrett Foa: It feels good but, you know, it is a CBS crime procedural, and like that has been done before and 12 episodes into our first season, one of our series regulars got shot and killed so, yeah.  It was kind of crazy but it keeps us on our toes.

Renee Felice Smith: You have to kind of just trust and have faith in the serendipitous nature of things.

Barrett Foa: Be in the moment.

Renee Felice Smith: And if it’s your time to go, maybe it’s your time to go.

War Horse

Director: Steven Spielberg
Cast: Emily Watson, David Thewlis, Peter Mullan, Niels Arestrup, Tom Hiddleston, Jeremy Irvine, Benedict Cumberbatch, Toby Kebbell
Writers: Richard Curtis, Lee Hall

In theaters: December 25th, 2011

LL Cool J

LL is currently starring in NCIS: Los Angeles as Special Agent Sam Hanna, a former Navy SEAL who now works in the undercover unit of NCIS in LA. At the beginning of this season, he and co-star Chris O’Donnell are are in eastern Europe to rescue Hetty (Linda Hunt), who is trying to convince the Comescu crime family that Callen (O’Donnell) is dead.

I talked to LL at Comic-Con about the bromance he has with O’Donnell, how his character is still a bit of a mystery and how he feels about doing his own stunts.

Follow LL on Twitter!

NCIS: Los Angeles airs on CBS, Tuesdays 9/8c

For the full interview, click the audio link above or download it from iTunes [There is some irritating noise that goes on througgout the interview, I apologize]

Your partnership with Callen is pretty well established by the first episode.  How did you guys create that amongst yourselves?  Did you guys create a back-story?

LL Cool J: Well, we didn’t create a back-story. I mean, you know, the back-story obviously, you know, Shane is dealing with that but I think that’s about just chemistry in general.  I think when you get in a room with people that you like to talk to usually there’s a vibe or there isn’t, you know? You can’t create a vibe.  The vibe is there.  You go on a blind date, either the vibe is there or it isn’t.  So, we just kind of clicked.  The chemistry is there.  The energy is there.  It made it easier, you know?  

Did you guys hang out any before filming?

LL Cool J: I never met Chris before we started filming the show.  I met him at the table read and then, you know, 15-20 minutes, we were laughing and joking, and it was like we knew each other a long time.  I think that that is the interesting thing about it.  It just really clicked.  I couldn’t engineer it.

So has the bromance evolved into real-life?

LL Cool J: [laughing] The bromance, oh my God.

Yeah, we’re cool, we’re cool.  I mean it’s not like, you know, Chris, we’re totally different though.  You know, Chris is on the golf course and I’m in the gym and the studio.

No golfing for you?

LL Cool J: I mean, yeah, every now and then.  Every now and then in between jelly rolls but yeah, we, you know, we’re very different but we connect and we click, and I think that that’s the interesting thing that we bring to the screen as well.  I think that that makes it kind of interesting because it’s not like him being from the north side of Chicago and Illinois out there in that world and I’m from New York, from New York City so it’s a different thing that we have but it kind of works together.  1+ 1 = 3 when you put us together.

Will we be getting any more back-story on your character this season?

LL Cool J: You know what, I don’t know.  I kind of like the fact that Sam is a mystery.  There are advantages to that.  I get that question a lot right now.  I guess, for the last couple of seasons, we have been focusing on Callen’s back-story but you know, I kind of enjoy the fact that we don’t know a lot about Sam.  For me, it’s just bringing this role to life.  I get to play a former Navy seal, have fun, you know, busting my guns, jump over cars, explode, blow stuff up.  So, I’m good with that.  If we get to find out more about Sam, but I don’t think we need to rush that because hopefully, we want the show to be around for a long time and at some point, you know, we will need somewhere to go.  So, you know, the longer we don’t deal with that now, hopefully, we will be able to deal with that later.

What would you say the biggest difference between season 2 and season 3 are?

LL Cool J: I would say the comfort level and understanding the technical aspects of where we need to be when we’re actually doing the scenes, you know, that part of it.  The tactical aspects of it, handling the weapons, dismantling the weapons, cleaning the weapons, those little things, you become more comfortable and that helps.

In terms of tone or in terms of action, are we going to see any more or less of any of that?

LL Cool J: Well, I think that you can’t win this year with what you did to win last year. I think that you kind of got it always keep it fresh and kind of approach every situation like it’s a new situation.  So, I think that that remains to be seen.  We’re just gonna have fun and hopefully allow the show to flow based on how people respond to the world, you know what I mean?

What has been your favorite scene to shoot so far, if you have one?

LL Cool J:, Well, the other day, I had a cool… I like sliding over hoods. [laughs] I’m not talking about Queens, New York either.  The other day I got to like slide over a trunk of a car chasing this bad, this girl, and she is in a Benz and I’m like sliding over the trunk.  It was crazy.  That was kind of cool.  That was a lot of fun, a lot of fun.

Do you do a lot of your own stunts?

LL Cool J: Yeah, I do most of them.  You know, if a horse or a mule needs to kick me in the head I’ll use a stuntman.  Let him go into a coma but I try to do the majority of my stunts because I want people to know that I’m invested in the character and I want to give them the real experience, you know.  I wouldn’t have a stunt person on the stage rapping for me, you know what I’m saying?  “Yo, go on tour for me. You look like me!” So, I’d rather do my stunts when I can.

NCIS: Los Angeles

The casting of stars Chris O’Donnell and LL Cool J helped with the success of hit CBS show that is always in the Top 10. The chemistry between the two is undeniable and is definitely a reason why people keep tuning back in.

Chris plays Callen on the show that starts its third season tonight, right where last season finale left off. He talks about his chemistry with LL (or Todd as he say’s in the interview), if they created a backstory and his advice to actors.

And if you want to hear something hilarious, check out the audio interview. It was a roundtable interview at Comic-Con and there is a guy who tells Chris that Batman and Robin “has been praised as the best one of the four.” The guy was totally serious or trying to kiss some major butt but Chris, laughing, says, “that’s not true!” Check it out if you have the time.

Follow Chris n Twitter!

NCIS: Los Angeles airs on CBS, Tuesdays 9/8c

For the full interview, click the audio link above or download it from iTunes

Well, you’re on the beach when you start off this new season?

Chris O’Donnell: We are.  It’s funny.  We literally picked up right where we left off last season where I’m kneeling in the sand and I turned around there is this little boathouse behind us, I took a picture of it, put it on Twitter, and within minutes, there were so many responses.  Everybody knew exactly where we were just from. I said nothing I just put a picture out there and fans know.  They watched it so closely.  It’s amazing.  

The relationship between Callen and Sam is one of the best things about the show. How do you create that chemistry?

Chris O’Donnell: We, in general, Todd (LL Cool J) and I have a lot of fun with each other. We BS with each and give each other a hard time but at the same time, there’s a real mutual respect.  We’ve got different upbringings and come from different cities but we both have been in this business a long time and have an appreciation for hard work and knowing when we’ve got to work and when we can have fun.  Both have big families and, I don’t know, I think we just, we like to give each other a hard time, and there’s something about that that kind of rubs off on the characters.  Because a lot of the show is, you know, us having fun and also being serious in working together as a team.  Then it’s up to the writers to make it work.

Do you create any sort of back-story?

Chris O’Donnell: No, we really didn’t.  We just kind of launched into this thing and I think that the writers know how we get along on the set and how we needle each other and I’m sure they observe that.  That’s what great about shows when they go on for a long time is that the writers, they get very familiar with what we’re going on for in the characters, they get more familiar with us and they are able to incorporate things.  It just becomes, you know, it fits like a nice warming glove or something.

What’s your advice to actors?

Chris O’Donnell: Well, I think it’s different for everybody, you know?

 A lot of times, people come out to me that are in high school or something, or just getting out of college, and sometimes, you will have people that are my age that are saying, “You know what, I’m sick of my job. I’ve always wanted to try this.”

I think that if you’re in school, get involved in anything you can at school in productions and that sort of thing. I think that obviously, the work is in Los Angeles and New York.  What I tell people that really want to try and make a career out of this, get to New York or L.A. and do whatever you can do.  Take acting classes, to try to get in plays, small films, to meet other people that are struggling like you because it’s… The way they find out about opportunities and jobs is through networking with people that are in the same boat as you.

It’s the same thing for people that are trying to become executives in the film business and agents, that sort of thing.  Los Angeles is just filled with people just trying to get a foot in the door.  It’s really hard and all you can really do is work at your craft and make sure that if and when that opportunity presents itself that you can seize it and take advantage of it. You’ve got to put yourself in a position to be successful, really.

Starring Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Seth Rogen, Anna Kendrick, Bryce Dallas Howard and Anjelica Huston, the film is inspired by the friendship of Rogan and screenwriter Will Reiser. 

Take a look at the clips and if you see me in the theater with misty eyes, I was just yawning.

It comes out September 30th.

Adam (Joseph Gordon-Levitt) tells his mother (Anjelica Huston) some bad news

Adam (Joseph Gordon-Levitt) is fine

Kyle (Seth Rogen) talks about the odds

Adam (Joseph Gordon-Levitt) gets a dog

Adam (Joseph Gordon-Levitt) looks to score

Adam (Joseph Gordon-Levitt) meets Katie (Anna Kendrick)

Adam (Joseph Gordon-Levitt) shaves his head

I talked with Malin Akerman, Lake Bell and Erinn Hayes and I kept this my last because it was incredibly hard to transcribe! The back and forth banter was quick, funny and writing it down just didn’t capture the spontaneity of the interview.

I’d listen to the audio portion if you want to get the full feel of the interview. There was a lot of things I couldn’t include here because most of it would look ridiculous in print.

From talking about having each other’s children, their outrage at Rob Corddry for not inviting them to go to Brazil to film a 10-second-scene and having their characters die and come back to life, the conversation was definitely a highlight.

Children’s Hospital airs on Adult Swim at midnight on Thursdays. 

For the full interview, click onto the audio link above or download from iTunes.

Children’s Hospital is not the kind of show where you go, “What is my arc?”

Lake Bell: None, there’s no logic.

Is that a challenge as an actor or is it more freeing?

Erinn Hayes: It was awesome.  All you have to do is show up and be like, “what am I going to do today?”  You don’t have to think about it or like do a whole lot of prep other than, like, what’s going to make this the funniest for this particular episode. 

Is there a lot of improv?

Malin Akerman: Yeah.

Erinn Hayes: Yes and no.

Lake Bell: I would say no, not at all comparatively.

Malin Akerman: Really?

Erinn Hayes: Well, I mean, it’s very tightly scripted show.

Lake Bell: Yeah, all the like, funny bits, I mean they are definitely written in the script but yes, there is playfulness in it.

Malin Akerman: Yeah, but I think we do a lot of what is written and then I think… There’s a lot of stuff on the day.  But it is all written very well.

Lake Bell: Yeah, on the day. Indeed, indeed.

Erinn Hayes: I think people have this idea that, you know, we kind of go in with a loose idea of what the scene is going to be but it’s not like there…. there are lines to learn and they write very funny lines.  We do them and then throw in some other stuff when we get to that.

Lake Bell: But it’s not like an improvised show.

Erinn Hayes: We really nailed that question, huh?  We win guys, we win.

You guys are all busy. How do they even start to schedule when you’re going to shoot the show?

Erinn Hayes: It’s really hard because I have a doctor’s appointment in November but I feel like I can move it.

Malin Akerman: We’re trying to fit her in our schedule. 

Lake Bell: I think it’s just been, like, luck.

Malin Akerman: We’ve been lucky that everyone’s been available and also doing it around Christmas and New Year’s is really smart.

Erinn Hayes: Yeah, we only filmed like for a month and a week.  Our whole shooting schedule for the whole season is about, like, five weeks, five or six weeks.  We film an episode in two days so if you film it around the holidays usually other shows are on hiatus.

Mailn Akerman: Like some people would be in certain episodes and not in others because you have to go work. Which is great.

Lake Bell: And characters are interchangeable.

Erinn Hayes: Yeah, very honestly, like that’s the thing about the continuity thing is that you get a script and you’re like, “Oh my God, that’s so fun” and then you get the revised script you’re like, “Oh, that’s not me anymore.” They just changed over all the lines now and it’s like Rob Huebel doing it and they didn’t change any words.

Lake Bell: W1hat’s cool about it is that the ladies and the men are also interchangeable.  

Erinn Hayes: And then there was also something that was like somebody got pulled out of an episode and then Rob Corddry was going to do it and then he was like, “that’s not good,” it was then it was me. It went from three different people and none of the lines changed.

How would you guys compare shooting this to do anything else? How fast is it?

Malin Akerman: It’s super fast. I like it though. I think also it’s nice because we’ve all found a rhythm together so it makes it easier to come in and shoot quickly.

Erinn Hayes: Although, I have to say it, between the first and second seasons, it felt so different.  Because the first season was the webisodes. I mean, I was there for only two days and I was in almost every episode. We were just like running around the hospital.

Lake Bell: So much running, so much running. I lost a lot of weight. It was great cardio.

Erinn Hayes: It was great for the metabolism. And so then, the second season we came back with Adult Swim and we actually had like, are we really taking our time with this episode? Two days for a whole episode?

Now you guys are on Adult Swim but are you ever surprised at what you get away with?

Lake Bell: Yeah, I mean I think at first when it was a web series obviously, you know, you can do whatever you want and then it was interesting to see that that didn’t’ shift that much.

Erinn Hayes: Yeah, but I bet if it started out as a show on a network, we would not, I think, had not been able… it’s different I think when you start out and you make something work and they go, “oh it’s working.” I don’t know what I’m trying to say, honestly.  Let’s all take a nap.

Lake Bell: No, but I think that Adult Swim does give you the allowance to be pretty irreverent.  I mean that’s kind of their brand so, you know, it doesn’t surprise me that Adult Swim would allow that.

Lake and Erinn, both of your characters were killed off and then brought back.

Erinn Hayes: I faked my own death.

Lake, you were off for a while and brought back. Was that planned?

Lake Bell: Yes.  I had to go do, and speaking of when things are scheduling issues, that was a perfect example. I do a show How To Make It In America and a initially there was a conflict and they had to figure out how to do that. 

Now, being funny ladies, do you like it when you get to do something more dramatic? And do you seek that out just for a change?

Lake Bell:  I really do.

Malin Akerman: I love it.  I definitely, definitely seek it out and definitely have to fight for those roles that are more dramatic just because a lot of stuff that people see is comedy. But I think independent films are great for that too. That’s where people take chances on you.

Erinn Hayes: Could you get me one of those?

Malin Akerman: Yeah, sure.  I’ll write you one right now. [laughter]

Andrew Garfield

Of course, preparing for the role and dealing with the fame fallout might prove to be far more difficult that acting in the movie itself.  In an interview with the Los Angeles Times, Garfield opened up about the preparation he underwent before filming and how he plans to come to terms with the significant fame he’ll doubtlessly receive once it appears in theaters.

When asked if he intentionally avoided anything while preparing for the role, Garfield admits he didn’t feel that way, saying, “I didn’t really think about avoiding anything. I just didn’t come at it that way. I wanted him to have fun. I wanted it to feel like Peter Parker could have some fun and wasn’t just trying to save the world. He could have fun even after the responsibility has been thrust upon him and he has to save the city. I really wanted to do something physical that was genuine and authentic and inspired by the different artists over the years. His physicality is something which I’ve been obsessed by and I’ve loved.”   Nonetheless, because of the character possessing spider blood Garfield decided it would be helpful to study spiders, explaining, “I studied spiders, I studied their movements and how they operate in the world and I tried to incorporate as much of that as I could. He’s a boy/spider in terms of how he  moves, and not just in the suit. It also shapes the way he interacts with people. A spider is so sensitive; their skin is sensitive to everything. That’s the thing with the spider sense and the way he takes in everything. Imagine all of your skin was as sensitive as a spider, the slightest gust of wind would feel like a tornado going by. You’d always be rushing, that rush. What does that do to you? The idea of how he adjusts to that. And I looked at the idea of having more legs, more arms, and the spacial awareness. A spider moves up, down, side-to-side, all around. He’s not linear and with the knowledge of that  spatial awareness and the fact that he can be here and then over there incredibly fast. The stillness of a spider and the lightness I found all of that very interesting to explore as well.”

The interviewer points out to Garfield that like his fellow cinematic superheroes, he better prepare himself for having his image plastered over all kinds of advertising.  Surprisingly, Garfield isn’t looking forward to that, confessing, “I don’t like to think about it. It terrifies me. I don’t want that, actually. I just saw that I was given an opportunity to play a part that I’ve been wanting to play since I was a 2-year-old. I don’t see it any other way. I don’t want the rest of it. The visibility thing — the being a more visible actor or just a more visible person in the world — was the one thing that deterred me. That was absolutely the one thing I questioned. Do I want to do this? I thought about it for a month, constantly. I knew there would be a change in my life to an extent. I’m going to do everything I can to make sure I stay  part of the world. I want to be able to walk around in this world. I love being alive and I love being a person and I love being able to meet people, meet strangers without them having any preconceived notion of who I am. I love meeting people. I love being me. I don’t want to be anyone else. Of course this comes with a certain life change but I’m going to do everything in my power to hold on to what’s important, which is I am a guy who does a job for a living that comes with some periphery stuff that I’m not interested in. I did take the role, I took it on, and i don’t regret it. It’s meant something to me for all of my life. But I’m going to do my best to remain me.”

One thing is for certain — based on his well-received appearance at Comic-Con, Garfield is as ready as he’ll ever be!

Megan got on most of our radars playing Karen on Will & Grace but she’s also been on Broadway (Grease, How To Succeed, Young Frankenstein) and other hit shows like Party Down and plays a recurring character on Parks and Recreation.

Ken has been involved in so many great comedies over his career; The State, Wet Hot American Summer, Party Down and Role Models to name a small few.

This was the first time I’ve talked to either of them and they were probably my favorite interview at Comic-Con. Both were just flat-out funny and just really warm, nice people.

We talked about Children’s Hospital, a Party Down movie, female body parts and more! Check out the full audio interview, because it’s hilarious!

Children’s Hospital airs on Midnight, Thursdays on Adult Swim. 

For the full interview, click onto the audio link above or download from iTunes.

Before we talk about Children’s Hospital, is the Party Down movie going to be the new Arrested Development movie or do you think that it’s actually going to come together as the point?

Ken Marino: The script for the Party Down movie is basically, it feels, it read like the next episode of Arrested Development, so yeah, we’re going to do the Party Down movie we will be playing…

Megan Mullally: I’m playing Maybe.

Ken Marino: Yeah and I’m doing [Jeffrey] Tambor’s part.  So, it’ll be good. 

Going back to Children’s Hospital, because the comedy is so out there, are you still ever surprised what they come up with, and that you get away with it?

Megan Mullally: I know.  I guess at this point, I’m not really surprised.

Ken Marino: I guess for me, I feel like I don’t even think about how offensive the show is. I just think it’s funny and so like….

Megan Mullally: I think when I read a script and there is something really crazy in it and/or offensive, I think “Oh, this is going to be a good one.” If there’s not one of those, I’m like, “hmm, maybe they need to go back to the table.”

Ken Marino: Yeah, I guess I just feel like we’re so immersed in it that I can’t, I don’t see how other people perceive it, you know?  I guess it is slightly edgy in that sense. But for us, I think it’s just kind of a fun, ridiculous show and it’s harmless because it’s so ridiculous.

Megan, are we going to see you on Parks and Recreation?

Megan Mullally: Yes, soon. And then I think I’m going to do a few episodes of Happy Endings.

Ken Marino: How did they get away with that?

Megan Mullally: With what?

Ken Marino: Calling a TV show Happy Endings?

Megan Mullally: Because not everybody… children, tiny children, don’t know that it has a double meaning. So they can get away with it.

Ken Marino: Oh, so the show is for tiny children?

Megan Mullally: You know, on ABC you can say penis but you can’t say vagina?  Why is that? I that’s discriminatory. 

Ken Marino: You can say penis but you can’t say vagina?

Megan Mullally: I’m gonna put that in my contract the next show I do. “I’m going to say vagina or I’m walking.”

Ken Marino: If penis is said, I have to say vagina on the same show. Even if it doesn’t have anything to do with the story.

Megan Mullally: Equal rights for body parts.

Ken Marino: Wouldn’t that be great if you had like your new show you did and you’re character was like… you know how Norm would walk into the bar, you’d have some sort of like a comment and every time you walked in, you just say “vagina” because that was in your contract.  I guess it wouldn’t be that great.

Megan Mullally: It doesn’t sound funny to me.

Ken Marino: Once it came out of my mouth…I didn’t know how to abandon skit, you know what I mean?

Megan, do you have any desire or plans to return to Broadway again soon?

Megan Mullally: I don’t know.  I mean, you know, to do a musical, you have to commit for a year but it’s really more than a year because you go out of town. And so I’m not sure if I want to give that much time to something.  It would depend on the thing.  I mean, it’s sort of a case by case. I had a bad experience with Lips Together, Teeth Apart, so I don’t know.  I’m kind of like loving Los Angeles right now.

I mean to me, they always talk about, “Oh Hollywood, it’s so, you know, vicious.”  To me Hollywood is like an ashram compared to Broadway.  Really, because I think Broadway is too small and here, I just feel like everybody is much more supportive and creative, and I don’t know, especially in the comedy community.  There’s just a real genuine, sincere feeling of community and support, and everybody, it’s kind of like, if one of us is working, its’ great for all of us. And everybody brings other people into their projects and… caring and sharing.

Ken Marino: It’s all about caring and sharing in the comedy community.

What would your advice be to actors?

Megan Mullally: I would say learn how to follow… learn how to listen to your own instincts rather than trying to like… when I was younger, I had a problem of trying to emulate people that I really like and so it didn’t work as well.  So now, I just do what I think is funny. But also just in general, don’t listen to anybody who says there’s too much competition, you’ll never get an agent, all that stuff because really, if you’re talented and you have a passionate drive to do it, then there’s room for everyone. And it doesn’t always happen in the timing that you would like, like if you’re not a superstar by the time you’re 22, don’t worry about it, you know. Persevere.

Ken Marino: Yup.

Megan Mullally: But you have to have a genuine passion and drive to do it.  It has to be like a burning desire.

Ken Marino: I guess I would say for comedians, I would say surround yourself with people who you think are creative and funny, and who you appreciate and make you laugh, and try to make them laugh and create things with them.

Megan Mullally: Yeah, yeah, now it’s different.  When I was younger and starting out, this did not exist, like you couldn’t create your own thing.  You weren’t allowed to. 

But now, you can drum up your own anything.  I mean, you can write your own movie or you can get together with your friends and come up with an idea, pitch it to a network. You can do all that stuff now. You can put a web-series together for very little money that can be spun off to a television series.  None of that stuff existed 20 years ago.

Ken Marino: And I would say there’s no secret to it.  It’s just basically like hard work.

Megan Mullally: Yeah.

Ken Marino: And trying to put yourself out there again and again, and again, and again.

Dorian Brown

If you’ve ever planned a trip and had an audition right before you leave, I’ll bet you almost 90% of the time you’ll get it. It’s happened to me a couple of times and it happened to Dorian. “I was a lot looser,” she said.

Three weeks later, she came home, they called her in again and “it was meant to be.”

Wilfred is one of my favorite new shows and Dorian is great as Kristen, Ryan’s (Elijah Wood) sister. 

I talked to her at Comic-Con about the audition process, how she didn’t want her character to be a “one-note bitch” and more!

Wilfred airs on Thursdays on FX at 10pm.

For the full interview, click the audio link above or download it from iTunes.

How did the project first get presented to you?

Dorian Brown: I got the audition the day I was leaving for Africa which I think it led me to get so far into it because I was like, “Who cares about an audition. I’m going to Africa.”  So I was a lot looser but the script was so funny when I got it, I would walk into the other room and tell my husband the jokes. Like, I would read the lines and I was like, “listen, listen to this” and he was like, “that’s funny.  You should go out for that.” and I’m like, “Right, I know.”  So I went in and I got nervous because the ones that you love the most are the ones that you never get.

But then I was like “I’m going to Africa.  It’s fine.  I’ll forget about it” and luckily they were still looking for people three weeks later. So it worked out.

It was meant to be.

Dorian Brown: Yeah, it was truly meant to be.  It was bizarre. Because I wasn’t in the original so then they came back to me and they were like, “Can you read for Kristen?” and I was like, “ah, I guess?”  I mean, I didn’t connect with this character at all plus I’m pregnant.  So, yeah it really worked out.

So how did you tap into the character?

Dorian Brown: Yeah, well, it really worked out because even when I was reading it, I was like I don’t know how I’m going to pull this character off without just sounding like a one-note bitch.  I just didn’t how I was going to do it but I still went in though and Elijah was in the room, and then they kept giving me this note… and Randall [Einhorn] and David Zuckerman, they said, “You know, she is really in the brink of a breakdown.” 

So I was having morning sickness and kind of was like I’m newly pregnant, nobody knows.  I think I can get there.  I think I can have a mental breakdown in this room.  So I took a moment, had a mental breakdown and got it. I mean, that was it. So it’s really cool.  So, I probably I wouldn’t have gotten the show if I weren’t pregnant.

So career wise, how have things changed for you?

Dorian Brown: You know, I’m just about to find out because I just had the baby. So I’m going back to auditioning and reading and stuff next week, so we’ll see.   I don’t know.  I have been out of commission.

Corddry, who created the show (and also produces, writes and directs) stars as Dr. Blake Downs, a member of the “clown race” who happens to believe in the healing power of laughter instead of actual medicine.

I talked to Rob at Comic-Con on why 15 minutes is the perfect length for the show, how they are planning a stage play of one of the episodes and the demolition of the hospital they use as their set.

Children’s Hospital airs on Midnight, Thursdays on Adult Swim. 

For the full interview, click onto the audio link above or download from iTunes.

Your show is funnier than most shows and you can do so much with your 15 minutes. I guess it’s kind of liberating to be able to do whatever you want every week and not have to adhere to, okay, this character and to this last episode and all that.

Rob Corddry: Well, it’s perfect.  15 minutes is perfect for our format, our sort of relentless show barrage, you know what I mean? And yeah, there are probably some shows out there, some half-hour shows that would be a lot better if they were 15 minutes.

You want to name any of them?

Rob Corddry: [laughs] If I can think of one, sure.  I guess nothing comes to mind but you know, it’s like, I guess you can say that about anything. There are certain shows that probably just don’t, they don’t have the right set, you know what I mean? They don’t have the right this or right that. There are so many factors.  That’s one of them, I think, the form. The actual duration of the show.

A couple of years ago, you appeared in Oliver Stone’s W.

Rob Corddry: Yeah, I know right? I have questions for you about that.

Did that kind of work appeal to you or do you want to stick with comedy going forward?

Rob Corddry: Working with Oliver Stone just did not appeal to me at all.  No, it was awesome, man.  I’ll do anything as long as it’s cool, you know?  I don’t care what it is.

I came up doing Shakespeare and drama, and like now, it’s just not as fun as comedy. So, yeah, that’s where I’ll live for sure but if Oliver Stone wants me to be in W2, I’d be happy to be there.

What’s your crew on the show like? Is it pretty small?

Rob Corddry: Well, we run two cameras but it’s fairly big.  I mean, I was surprised how big the crew for the web series was to tell you the truth.  When I got there the first day, it was my first time directing, I was like, “Oh my God, there’s like trucks here and there’s a lot of people.”  But you know, it’s pretty big. It’s like an indie film sized crew, yeah. And everybody’s union.

The hospital is being gutted and is it gonna be gone when you shoot next season. Are you searching for a new hospital?

Rob Corddry: No, I think we’re going to do it in the rubble of that hospital and then probably if they build up condos there or something, we’ll just do it in those. And I hope people are cool about it.  I hope fans of Children’s Hospital end up living there. 

Yeah, we’re looking for a place.  We’re looking for a new hospital. And I’m glad too, that place was a shithole and be kind of Scrubs-y for my tastes.

I’ve never really watched Scrubs and I just caught an episode a couple a couple of weeks ago. We tried to disguise the hospital now of course, I didn’t know what that meant because I have never seen Scrubs and like, it’s the same thing.  It’s just a different coat of paint.

We heard that you might actually do the show on a stage next season?

Rob Corddry: We’re hoping to put together a live tour.  Actually, it might be, I think, probably the episode we aired called the Children’s Hospital Play in 3 Acts.  The concept being this is the play on which the show, Children’s Hospital, is based.  And so we might take that, add some music to it.  

It’s kind of tough to schedule.  I mean, it’s hard enough to get this cast together to shoot a season so we’ll see what happens but we’re into it.

Are we going to see Michael Cera?

Rob Corddry: Yeah, we are searching for the… we really want to do it right.  I don’t want to blow this one because people have definitely started asking about that. We’re trying to think of the best way to do that, we have some ideas.

It’s just a joke right now though, right? He’s not actually in the show.

Rob Corddry: Yeah.  He’s in every episode.  He’s the only actor that has been in every episode. I’m not kidding.  He’s the P.A. announcer.

Oh, he’s the PA announcer.

Rob Corddry: His name is Sal Viscuso who’s actually the actor, the name of the actor that did the P.A. announcements in M*A*S*H, Sal Viscuso. And he actually got in touch with me on Facebook. That was really cool.

You guys get a lot of big guests on the show. How does that work?  Is it people want to be part of this thing or you just called your friends…?

Rob Corddry: It happens differently every time we do it, yeah.  People that we write for, people that we like, friends of ours. Some people ask and we’re not afraid to start to shoot for the moon, too you know?

I’m trying to get, I have an idea to get Lady Gaga on the show. A perfect idea for her. I mean, why not?

But mostly though, I don’t want to be one of those guest star centric shows because we have such a great cast and I want to make sure that my energy is put into their characters rather than somebody that’s just walking in for four days, you know?

When do you start writing in the season?

Rob Corddry: We’re writing right now.  We’ve been writing for about a month or so and we start shooting in, hopefully November or December.

While Linda Emond will appear as Willy Loman’s wife while Andrew Garfield, star of the upcoming Amazing Spider-Man, will star as Willy’s son Biff, the one-time sports hero whose life has not amounted to much of anything since. 

It’s a difficult role to balance, especially for someone just about to turn twenty-eight, yet Garfield brings with him an English theatrical background (Death of a Salesman would be his first appearance on the Broadway stage).  It’s easy to write Biff off as a meathead jock who peaked too early, but anyone familiar with Miller’s plays knows that the character has far more dimensions than that. In the New York Post, Dennehy was asked about his portrayal of Willy Lohman in his Broadway run of Death of a Salesman, and Dennehy offered advice that Garfield might fight useful, explaining “Everybody starts off doing a great part the same way. They wrestle with it. And they wrestle, and they wrestle and they wrestle. Sometimes the part wins, sometimes you win. But at some point you have to stop and relax and let the part unfold. That’s easy to say, but very hard to do. It took me six months before I got that way in ‘Salesman.’ “

David talked about the casting of Elijah Wood and Fiona Gubelmann and how not doing table reads leads to them “not second guessing” themselves.

Randall, a former director of It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia, discuses how he came on board the series and how he finds the beats in the scripts.

Oh, and if you didn’t know, David is Casting Director Dori Zuckerman‘s brother.

Wilfred airs on Thursdays on FX at 10pm.

For the full interview, click the audio link above or download it from iTunes

You guys don’t do table reads for the show. Do you think it helped as far as the show feeling very spontaneous, very real, and very kind of in the moment? Do you think that it helped because the show doesn’t seem too rehearsed?

David Zuckerman: Well, I don’t know.  I mean, there would have been time for rehearsal.  I think it helped in the sense that it didn’t allow for any second guessing. 

We did the scripts the way we thought they should work. And sometimes after a table read, you know, people will second guess.  We did table read for the first six episodes because we did them all in one day and they just went so extraordinarily well but then after that point, there just wasn’t time. And there was very little improvisation, I know that it kind of looks like there was. Everything was very tightly scripted and adhered to very closely because the scripts were written in such a way that a lot of plot points were interwoven, and if you pulled one thread it could have dire consequences down the line.  We made changes on the set when something wasn’t quite working or when we were anticipating that we would need a cut, a time cut, but otherwise, it really was carefully scripted and carefully adhered to.  We didn’t have to second guess ourselves, which is something that you end up doing a lot when you do table reads.  You know, because if somebody reads the line wrong and then suddenly, “Oh, the story doesn’t work! No, they just read the line wrong.  In the moment, somebody just made a mistake, or was up or didn’t get it.  So, it was nice to not do that actually.

When you were writing the character of Wilfred, you’re not only writing for a canine, you’re also writing for an Australian. Do you write in Australian… phraseology?

David Zuckerman: You know, we were very fortunate to have Jason in the writer’s room.  Jason was a writer on the show, wrote two of the first episodes himself, and contributed to every script. And I asked him anytime he could use Australian slang to throw it in because I don’t know any Australian slang.

And also, he has been writing and playing this character for 10 years so he has a pretty clear idea of what Wilfred would say, what Wilfred would do.  So, I always defer to him on that and one of the things that we try to do is maybe lighten his character up a little bit, make him a little more playful and a little more fun than in the Australian version.  There was this air of menace about him that I think would have made it hard for American audiences to warm up to him. But Jason is Wilfred and Wilfred is Jason and we couldn’t have done this without Jason, without his input in the writer’s room.

Casting Fiona and Elijah, how long did that take to find them?

David Zuckerman: It seems like forever. I mean we read a lot of actors, really good actors, and everybody was sort of divided.  There were a lot of opinions and people were sort of divided, and then I got word that Elijah might be interested.  He had read the script and liked it.  I thought someone was putting me on.  He has got a feature career, he works whenever he wants. But I met with him and he really sparked to the character.  He had great ideas.  He liked my ideas and then we heard him read it and it was a different way than I had envisioned the character.  I had envisioned him to be a little more, maybe a little more New York energy, but what Elijah brought to the character was he brought this vulnerability and that is, I think, what makes the show work because you would really care about this guy and you really want the best for him.  You understand what he wants.  He is extraordinary.  He and Jason together, first time they read together was like, the chemistry, you could feel it.  It was amazing.

Randall, when you first got the scripts, what did you think?

Randall Einhorn: Holy shit. [laughter] It’s really refreshing to see stuff that is so new and like nothing else.  I mean, there’s so much of the same gak on TV that, you know, there’s a lot of great stuff but just seeing something that is so, like nothing else, pretty inspiring.

How did they contact you to direct pilot? Did you know people associated with the show?  

Randall Einhorn: Well, I knew FX.  I’d done a bunch in It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia, two seasons of that so I had them, you know, recommending me for it. And then I met the rest of the producers and David Zuckerman, the creator, and I basically had to convince them I could do it.  This was my first pilot.  It’s kind of a challenging pilot to take on because I think the margin for error is enormous. I could have really messed it up.

Now you said you directed It’s Always Sunny. How do you compare that to Wilfred? 

Randall Einhorn: Sunny is like, it’s this freight train that’s moving.  You’ve got to eek out the comedy and punctuate it because the guys are on their way.  It’s really cool.  I really love doing that.  I love that show.  I love those guys.  Wilfred is like… “Okay, I need to read the script 10 times.” 20 times, you know, probably 3 times stoned to get it to be able to figure what it is, you know.  Sunny is a little bit more straightforward storytelling. 

How do you break down the beats for Wilfred?

Randall Einhorn: Its funny, because the writer writes some screen direction and he writes something like, “and the war begins.” And it’s an eighth of a line but it takes you a day to shoot it.  So, Wilfred was really, really dense. Really dense storytelling.  There is an episode coming up, episode 11, with Dwight Yoakam in it and there’s one scene that takes… it’s this montage and it just took so long to shoot it but it’s a quarter of a page.  So the studio looks at the quarter of the page, they say, “Oh, okay. You’re doing five and a quarter of a pages today, what’s wrong?” Well, one-quarter of that page is going to be 100 shots to be able to tell the story, whereas Sunny is a lot more straightforward.

If you don’t know by now, Wilfred is a comedy about a depressed man who thinks his neighbor’s dog is an Australian guy in a dog-suit. Watch 2 episodes and you’ll be hooked, I promise!

This time around we talked how Jason got the original idea for Wilfred, his little black dog nose and Elijah answers questions about The Hobbit!

Wilfred airs on Thursdays on FX at 10pm.

For the full interview, click the audio link above or download it from iTunes

When you got the original idea, you were completely stoned, right?

Jason Gann: I was a little bit stoned.  The first 30 seconds of the short film, Wilfred, offered the guy a bong.  He said, “Want one of these?” and when we wrote the short, we verbatim wrote it the way the way we improvised it at first. So yeah, there was bong there when we wrote it.  So, yeah, I’m not saying I’m not saying pro-drugs.

Not at all.  Oh no. 

Jason Gann: People say, “Is it real pot?” It’s like, have you been on a professional set? I actually did a short film, my first short film that I made, I played this dude who was smoking weed and he was sleeping on a mattress in the garage of his parents, his mum’s place. And I had  set up this brick as his bedside table, and in this scene, I just like, fall down half asleep back on to on the pillow. And my mate was shooting, he said, “I didn’t believe ya.  I didn’t believe ya.  Let’s do it again.”  I got up and did it again.  He was like, “I didn’t believe it.”  I’m like, “are you serious?”  “I didn’t believe it. Do it again.” And I went head first in the brick and split my head open.  For the rest of the short film, I’m like concussed. So that’s what happens when you perform stoned. Elijah, you said you haven’t seen like a full episode of the show yet but do you want to see it in order? 

Elijah Wood: I’ve watched some episodes. I’m not actually able to sit down at home and watch an episode.

Jason Gann: I’ve seen all the episodes, obviously, before they have gone to air and I need to see it… I can’t watch something for the first time with people. I need to be on my own so if I’m devastated I can deal with that torture. And fall to pieces in front of the mirror and not in front of people. But there’s definitely something different about when you watch a show and you know it’s on TV live to if you’re watching it on a computer or on DVD.

Elijah Wood: You’ve just got the energy. You can feel the fact there are a lot of people watching the show.

Jason Gann: Yeah, you can feel it.  That’s why, when people are talking about it’s all going to be Netflix one day, people would just access the show, I’m like, there’s always a community experience.

So you’re little black nose, is it something you pop on?

Jason Gann: It’s adorable.  It’s adorable.  I’ve actually got, naturally a very cute nose.  I’ve always had it.  I’ve always had it. And often people think, is it put on and it’s not. I’m very particular about it shooting in the contours of the nostril. It can’t be up too high or it will look like a koala.

At one stage, recently, the makeup artist said, “Look, I think can get them mold done. It’s a rubber one that just comes on and off.” And for years I’ve wanted that, but now, like with the cute extras on the set, they really like the nose and so I’m like, “We don’t need to rush the rubber one.”

Elijah Wood: Yeah, let’s put this out for a little bit longer.

Where do you see Ryan’s character arc going?

Elijah Woods: Well, I mean, I think I’d like to see, and it sort of does start to happen, where he starts, the natural process of recovery.  It does start to get better and we will see that.  In terms of where we want it to go?

Jason Gann: Well, I mean, recovery doesn’t always necessarily go on an incline. So, we’ve got a lot of twists and turns and stuff that we think would be really exciting to explore.  Hopefully, we’ve just started.

Elijah, what do you list the most looking forward to for The Hobbit?

Elijah Wood: I don’t know.  I think I’m looking forward to having the experience of seeing everyone again and being back in New Zealand.  In terms of the actual films?

I mean, I’m looking forward to seeing Smaug and how they realize Smaug.  I think that’s going to be very interesting as a character.  I’m looking forward to seeing the 13 dwarves and their characters come to life. 3D, all of that.  But just great storytelling. I think I’m looking forward to seeing the scripts come to life.  Peter, Fran and Phillip write incredible stories that are incredibly compelling.  You know, their obviously based on this incredible source material, for sure, but they write really beautiful, they weave in a lot of beautiful humanity and you can really empathize with the characters that they create.

Jason Gann: [interrupting] A lot of people think it’s rubber, it’s not. [laughter] You guys think I just drawn it on.  It’s not, I used to do it with a pen so…

Elijah Wood: Next season it’s going to be CG.

What are the discussions about picking out the bong for Wilfred and what bear he would have sex with?

Elijah Wood: Those are pertinent questions!

Jason Gann: Yeah, and with the bear, there were a lot of cuddly toys brought for us to see and we looked at them and it’s kind of like, “Oh, the head’s too big on that but it’s got a better ass.”

Elijah Wood: And the bongs, there were multiple bongs.

You know what I love, by the way? I read a comment in response on, it was in response to one of the episodes. And someone was like, “You know I’m already seeing some problems.  That makes no sense.  How does Wilfred get a lighter?  Where did he get the lighter from?”  I’m like, “where did he get the lighter?  Where did he get the bong, dude?  What do you mean?”

Jason Gann: Where did he get the human face?

Elijah Wood: Yeah, and with that, we’re done.

Evan Glodell, the writer, director and star originally started working on it in 2003. He had cast most of the roles but through the fate of filmmaking, it never happened. Cut to 2008: They start filming; editing took two years and once they were done, everyone they screened the film for shot it down.

Finally, with no money, Evan scrounged the fee together to submit the film to Sundance and it became one of the ‘go see’ movies at the festival.

The film is about two friends (Glodell and Tyler Dawson) who spend their free time building flamethrowers and a working on a souped up car named Medusa in hopes of a global acoplyapse. When Milly (Jesse Wiseman) enters the picture, things take eventually take a turn for the worse.

I talked to Evan, Tyler and Jessie along with the rest of the cast – Rebekah Brandes and Vincent Grashaw –  at this year’s Comic-Con where they talked to me about getting into Sundance, how their acting careers have changed and how they’ve finally found a “home” in Hollywood by working together.

For the full interview, click the audio link above or download it from iTunes

I want to ask you about casting. Evan, were you the guy who cast the film?

Evan Glodell: Yes.

Did you know the actors prior or to filming?

Evan Glodell: Yeah, everybody has a different story where they came from.  It’s a long process because I originally thought I was going to make this movie in like, late 2003-2004 on a camcorder with my brother. Me and him we were making short films together.  I’d started trying to cast the main roles back then. So these two both [Tyler Dawson and Jessie Wiseman] were on the project, since like 2004.  It didn’t happen.

Tyler and [Rebekah] went to school together. And so Tyler recommended calling her in for an audition on a short-film that me and Tyler worked on years ago and then we were stoked on with her. And after I worked with her, I was like, “Oh shit, that’s going to be Courtney.” And then Vince came on last even though I knew him longer than almost everybody.  Just because I knew Vince as a filmmaker and the idea came up very late to ask him to come on to play a part. Because I was so close to everybody else, to the remaining cast, I wanted to find someone else that I was close to, to play the other part, but I didn’t know.  I was like, “Who am I going to cast as essentially one of the bad guys?” To my character in the movie.

And so someone suggested Vince.  When I first heard it, I was like, “No, that would be rude.  I’m not going to ask Vince.  Vince isn’t an asshole.” But then I thought about it and I was like, “He could play that part.”  And then I called him and then we had the full cast.

You mention working together on other projects. Did that help a lot in this film?

Tyler Dawson: Oh my God, immensely, yeah.  It was like super important.  Just in the sense, like Evan was saying, we had originally met to make this movie in 2003, 2004, and we didn’t shoot until 2008.  So during that time, we actually just became very good friends and had all worked together.  Our whole crew, we all met working together but we’ve actually become like a little nucleus. Like a little family.

And so I don’t think we would have been able to shoot this movie… because we were put through a lot, you know, there were a lot of trying times and if we weren’t that close, I think it would have fallen apart long ago.

And as far as acting goes, it just made it so much easier because when we had the script for so long and I know we had all talked, like the three of us had talked extensively about preparing for that…

Evan Glodell: We never stopped talking about it the whole time.

Tyler Dawson: So, by the time we got to shooting, it was just like we knew each other. We worked together so much that we knew how we worked and we knew the script so well that intrinsically, we could just show up and no matter what chaos was going on, you knew the scene, you knew what you’re supposed to be doing, you knew what the characters wanted.  So, having that experience of really being close and working all the time together made it possible to even make this movie.

Evan, are you going to pursue acting now?

Evan Glodell: No, I don’t have any intentions of pursuing acting.

Jessie Wiseman: Really?

Evan Glodell: Yes, I don’t.

And you guys getting more auditions now?

Vincent Grashaw: I’m not even an actor, that’s the thing.  I met Evan because we were both filmmakers and I had seen a short film he made and I had wanted to meet him after that.  It was just an insane short film and so that’s how we met, like eight years ago, I don’t remember how long, 2004.  I’m a filmmaker as well, so I’m not really going out on auditions like them.

Tyler Dawson: I just got offered the lead role in the next movie that we’re making so things are looking good! [laughter]

Jessie Wiseman: It’s just crazy. People that wouldn’t ever talk to you before are now calling you.

Rebekah Brandes: Oh yeah, and like the auditions… I go into auditions and I do the exact same thing that I did before and look the same and everything, but they’re so much more…

Jessie Wiseman: Receptive.

Tyler Dawson: I also think that one of the reasons that we all ended up together working as a group was almost because we couldn’t find our place in Hollywood or whatever that is. Because I auditioned, like, extensively for years, and never… I always do well, get call backs, book things here or there but nobody ever really knew what to do with me. So I feel like we all sort of realized that we’d have to do our own thing to hopefully get in the door and for me, I hope that now, when people see me, they will have a better concept of what to do with me.

Rebekah Brandes: I always knew besides just how fun it was to film, I was always like… this is the goal as far as actually having the ability to have a career based on… you have to find a group of people that are talented because that’s always how it happens.  If you look at the really talented people, they know each other from way back and they have worked together.  And when I met Evan and Joel [Hodge] and everybody, it’s like, “Ohh, it’s a group! How can I get in there? This is perfect.” [laughter]

Tyler Dawson: Does anybody read Kurt Vonnegut? I forget if its Cat Cradle, but he talks about how you have to meet your group of people to travel through the world with and grow and live your life with.

Jessie Wiseman: Your misfit, your crazy group. When you’re in the group, you don’t feel crazy.

Tyler Dawson: So we like being in a gang, I guess, that’s what we’re getting at.

Look for Bellflower in theaters!

Cowboys and Aliens

Eben thought I’m totally bitter about not being invited, I won’t let that color my review. Because I liked it. It’s not going to win any awards but the film definitely lives up to its title, delivering not only cowboys and aliens but also indians, bandits and the best performance Harrison Ford has given in years.

The film starts off with Jake Lonergan (Daniel Craig) lying on the ground, waking up in the middle of nowhere with a metallic gizmo on his wrist. He’s got no idea where or who he is but he’s got no time to figure anything out because he’s soon surrounded by a gang of desperadoes out to kill him. A scuffle ensues (i.e., he kills ‘em all!) and, thanks to a preacher, finds his way to the town of Absolution.

In town, Jake watches Percy Dolarhyde (Paul Dano) bully the townsfolk, including the saloon owner (Sam Rockwell). When it’s Jake’s turn to get Percy’s rile, he doesn’t take too kindly to it, knocking him down within seconds. That puts him on the radar of the Sheriff (Keith Carradine) and Percy’s father, cattleman and unspoken leader of the town, Woodrow Dolarhyde (Harrison Ford), who realize that Lonergan is a wanted man.

But when, out of nowhere, several alien ships swoop through town and snatch up a bunch of townsfolk, those matters are set aside. Lonergan and Dolarhyde gather up a posse and head out to kick some alien butt.

The film does have it’s faults, particularly Olivia Wilde‘s character. She is part of a major plot twist (which I won’t reveal) that doesn’t really have any pay off or explanation. When it happens, the film seems to brush it off within moments. And in the scene, she’s naked… so I was hoping it would last the rest of the movie.

Daniel Craig is perfect in the film as is Rockwell, who gives us a crowd-pleasing moment towards the end of the film. And like I said, this is Ford’s best role in ages. This is the kind of part I want to see him in! You can’t fault him for wanting to do films like Morning Glory or Extreme Measures but come on, he belongs in a hat battling evil. Midway through the film, he gives a speech to the little boy about being a man. It maybe lasts for 1 minute but for me, that was the best part of the movie. I could watch that moment over and over and never get tired of it.  For that one minute, I recommend this.

Rhys Ifans

Ifans, who plays the film’s main villain The Lizard, immediately began his rant by stating that he wanted to come to Comic-Con to see if comic book fans were anything like Comic Book Guy from The Simpsons.  His conclusion?  Real-life comic book fans are worse.  Ifans said, “I wanted to see just how much truth there was to the parody. Come to find out, it’s not a parody at all. If anything, it’s a whitewash. You people disgust me, with your self-important justifications for your stunted development and your elaborate, mask-ridden drag shows. It’s sad wretches like you who have made it well-nigh impossible to earn a living as an actor without either making dick jokes or putting on fetish wear and calling it a ‘superhero costume.’ Poor Bobby [DeNiro] and Al [Pacino] might as well be wearing clown noses every time they get in front of a camera these days, and here I am getting ready to impersonate a character known for dragging out his ‘s’s and wearing a lot of purple.”

Huh.  While you could argue that Ifan’s rant has several valid points — superhero films used to be considered the death knell for an actor’s career, but now it seems like every Hollywood A-Lister jockeys to be in as many as possible — it’s sort of odd for Ifans to take it out on the crowd since he is, you know, going to be in a comic book movie next summer.  Nobody forced Ifans to take the role, and he can hardly blame the “stunted development” of comic book fans for that.
Ifans ended his rant with an explanation for his behavior: “In short, I’m 44 years old today, drunk as a Lord, and, thanks to this role, completely bereft of dignity. I hate you all. Good night.”  Looks like somebody has a little pent-up self-hatred, hm?

No word if Ifans meant his comments to be tongue-in-cheek or if he was trying to be a “villain”, but yikes, he probably should choose his words more carefully in the future.

Ifans next appears in the lead role of the Shakespeare thriller (I never thought I’d type those two words together!) Anonymous opening in October.  The Amazing Spider-Man opens July 3, 2012.

Andy Serkis

While Serkis will also appear in the motion-captured Adventures of Tintin and reprise his Gollum role in the two-part Hobbit movies, Serkis will next be seen in a motion capture role in next month’s Rise of the Planet of the Apes as the chimpanzee Caesar.  At this past weekend’s Comic-Con, Serkis went into detail about how he became a chimp with the Wall Street Journal.

While to most it would seem obvious that watching chimp behavior would be the first start, Serkis actually explains that it’s actually a very limited resource.  “There’s only so far you can get watching generic chimp movies. That was only the first rung on the ladder for me. And I needed something more solid, so I watched a lot of footage of this particular chimp named Oliver but known as humanzee. In the 1970s, there was a lot of experimentation done on this guy because he was brought up with human beings and displayed this phenomenal human like qualities in the way he sat, the way he stood. He was bipedal and whenever he walked into a room, everybody was breathless.”  Since Serkis is playing a very intelligent, very domesticated chimp as Caesar, it seems like he tried to find the most “real life” model.

Additionally, since Caesar is a “gifted” chimp with mental abilities far beyond those of the average chimp, he also studied gifted children.  “When I played Caesar as a young chimp, I was looking a lot of footage of gifted children. Children that can play concertos when they’re four-years-old or are brilliant at mathematics. Then I worked with Rupert [Wyatt, director] to chart out the changes.”

Serkis even elaborates that much of the performance actually comes from small gestures, explaining that he was sure to use subtle hand movements like “The dexterity of the fingers of the chimpanzee. The way that he holds things or the way he twiddling a straw in his fingers” to indicate the difference between human and chimp body language.  In fact, one major difference between the original Apes films and this upcoming film is that Serkis believes that while the make-up of the original series is “iconic and amazing,” its rigid nature prevented the subtle facial expressions that motion capture allows.  Serkis credits much of this ability to convey subtle movements as an ultimate tool for his performance.

Rise of the Planet of the Apes opens in theaters on August 5.