Edward Norton, Tim Blake Nelson on their film, “Leaves Of Grass”

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Edward Norton playing twins in a movie that’s directed by Tim Blake Nelson? How could that not be great?

And guess what? Leaves Of Grass is great! Edward Norton plays twins Brady and Bill. Brady is a small-time pot grower and Bill is an Ivy league professor. Tim Blake Nelson who also wrote the film plays Brady’s redneck friend Bolger.

I saw the premiere at SXSW and the movie is funny, violent and at times, you have no idea where the story is going to take you, which for me, makes the film.

This was another roundtable interview (my question is here) and the interview ran longer than most, so I’ve cut it down a bit. If you want the whole interview, you can listen/download the whole conversation above or click here for iTunes.

On a side note: I’ve been interviewing people for a while now and I have to say, Tim Blake Nelson is truly one of the nicest guys around. The day after this interview, I was in the hotel lobby when Tim and I saw each other. He said, “Hi” and we started to have this 5 minute long conversation. It wasn’t anything about his movie… just a normal conversation… about BBQ. You gotta love SXSW.

Tim, I was wondering as actor and as a filmmaker do you involve yourself with films that act as a corrective and not go straight towards the stereotypical easy laugh?

Tim Blake Nelson: Yeah, I certainly do.  I do grow tired of intelligence having such a limited manifestation in movies.  And so when I wrote this I knew immediately that the wisest and smartest characters, two characters in the movie in this movie would be the ones who either remained in Oklahoma or returned there.  So, the smartest guy in the movie is Brady.  I think that’s evident and it’s also stated by the mother.  And the wisest character is Keri Russell’s character, and she’s chosen to return and write in Oklahoma, and I think she gives the Bill character the wisdom that allows him to begin to move forward in his life as it’s collapsing around him.  So, in answer to your question, I was eager to debunk certain stereotypes about Southern characters in this movie.

This question is for both of you and it has to do with that obviously to believe in the duality of it you have to have this suspension of disbelief, and I’d like to hear from you how you achieved it through filmmaking and how you achieved it through your acting.

Tim: Yeah, suspension of disbelief in a story like this is pretty essential, although that said, I think you have to be responsible to your story as a storyteller.  To make it feasible enough, and I hope that this story is feasible enough.  There are details peppered throughout that I didn’t want to bang the audience over the head with it.  I mean, an obvious question would be well, hang on, wouldn’t folks know they were twins, but they didn’t grow up in Ida Belle, in the Ida Belle, Broken Bow area.  They grew up in another town, Hugo.  And Brady is moved to Ida Belle.  But these stories are all far-fetched, but the antecedent material for the movie, like in Menander and Plautus and Shakespeare, you know, it’s a retelling of a twins genre.  And the main character in the movie is a classicist, and so that’s all very intentional.  It’s meant to reflect on those earlier works.  The character, Bill, has done a translation of Plautus’ play The Menaechmi, which is a Roman twins play.  And so suspension of disbelief and that whole question is part of the fun of the movie.  Alright and now he’s going got say thanks for referencing Menander (laughter).

Edward Norton:  Well, no, actually I was going to say that any questions I had about whether a redneck from Oklahoma could actually go and become a Brown classical philosophy professor were ended when I met Tim because I think as you can see one conversation with Tim and you kind of realize, ‘Oh, Bill is a believable character.’

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Life Unexpected‘s Brittany Robertson on her new film, Cherry

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If you’re a fan of the CW show, Life Unexpected, then you already know Brittany Robertson.

I interviewed her at SXSW for her new film, Cherry. The film is about a college student named Aaron. He gets involved with an older woman who has gone back to school to straighten her life out. Things start to get complicated when he meets the woman’s daughter, Beth, who begins to  develop feelings for him.

Brittany plays Beth and she is perfect in the role. She’s a terrific actress who is definitely doing things right. Check out the interview where she talks about how she got her start, her love of acting and how she goes to her acting coach 4 times a week. Yes, 4 times! How many actors do you know who can honestly say that?

As always, listening to the interview is always better!

Daily Actor: Tell me about your character in Cherry.

Brittany Robertson: My character Beth; she’s a 14-year-old, inappropriate young woman who’s very misunderstood as the movie so pleasantly says. She comes across Aaron Milton (Kyle Gallner) and finds an affinity for him, and becomes attached to him. I think that’s where you get to see her softer side. She has this wall up because of her experiences with her mother and people coming in and out of their lives. I think he brings her into a softer side and you get to see the real 14-year-old whose just chillin’ up in there. She’s a sweet, vulnerable 14-year-old who’s just had a bit of a rough life.

You’ve been in so many great projects already. Where are you from and how did you get started?

I’m from South Carolina originally, a Southern chic. I got started when I did a convention in Hilton Head, South Carolina with an agent who’s in South Carolina. She brought agents from New York and LA down to see us and observe our acting. I did a monologue and a commercial, and the agents from LA were like, ‘You should come out and we’ll represent you.’ I was like “Okay, cool. Sweet.” So, then I moved out there when I was fourteen for pilot season. And I actually meet this kid (Kyle) here during that time.

Did you stay at that Oakwood apartments?

Yup, that’s where I met him. So I did that and I moved out there permanently when I was 16.

What was your first big thing when you got out there?

For an actor, booking a pilot for a TV show is so hard, but it’s a big. It’s a big deal. I did two back to back; neither of them got picked up. But it was still a big deal for me nonetheless. And then I did a film called Dan In Real Life for Disney, and I think that was probably my biggest thing that I did, the biggest opportunity for me. Working with the great actors in that movie was such a standout.

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SXSW Interview: Patrick Wilson and Judy Greer on their new film, “Barry Munday”

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Patrick Wilson and Judy Greer star in the hilarious new film, Barry Munday.

I got a chance to see the film and interview them at SXSW and both were so much fun. This was by far the most fun I’ve had at an interview yet! If you get a chance to listen to the interview, you really should – you’ll see (uh, hear) what I mean.

The film is about a guy who wakes up in the hospital after being attacked in a movie theater, only to realize that he is missing his… his testicles. To make things even worse, he finds out that he’s knocked up a woman he can’t even remember hooking up with.

Patrick plays Barry and he is the worlds greatest douchbag – Barry, not Patrick. Judy plays Ginger; Patrick described her in the interview as a “crabapple”. I said she was socially retarded but you can be the judge of that when you see the film. Which I absolutely recommend – Patrick and Judy are fantastic as usual.

So, Patrick at what point did you go, “ouch?”

Patrick Wilson:  Oh man.

Judy Greer:  Did you read the script?

Patrick:  Yeah, you know it’s funny.  I have had a history of some type of emasculation in movies.  This was the first time it actually was quite literal.  But, what I loved about it was… once they established kind of who he was, I just thought it was the most outlandish circumstance. But the coolest journey for a story essentially about becoming a man.  To have that completely stripped away, that was exciting.

Patrick, it was pretty widely publicized that you put on a lot of weight for Watchmen, and it looked like you still had that on for this.  Was it hard to put on that 25lbs and then take it back off to where you are today?

Patrick:  You know, I just really took my time, to be honest with you.  The first time I got the script, I was shooting Watchmen, so luckily, it just sort of fit with this guy.  My whole theory, because I’m sure we all know these types of guys, he’s sort of still hanging on to the 90s when he thought he was cool, and hung out at the Bennigan’s After Dark bar.  And you know, I also thought there was something incredibly cool about not being vain about it, and just actually the fact that you did get to see a shower scene and a love scene and just have him still be doughy.  So, I didn’t necessarily try to keep it on, but it wasn’t until after Barry Munday that I said, alright, let me get back in shape.

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“Skateland” star Shiloh Fernandez: “I’ve learned more on this film than I’ve ever learned about acting in my life”

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Shiloh Fernandez is currently starring in the film, Skateland with Ashley Greene.

I saw Skateland at SXSW and it’s a cross between Sixteen Candles and Dazed and Confused. I liked the movie a lot and Shiloh was a big part of that reason.

He’s got a really good story on how he got started and how he got the role of Ritchie Wheeler in Skateland.

He was such a nice guy, loves the craft of acting and I’m sure you’ll be hearing more about him in the future.

So tell me about your character in Skateland.

Shiloh Fernandez: It’s funny because I’m the worst person at explaining things.  Well, I guess that’s not funny (laughter).  That’s terrible.  I play a kid named Richie Wheeler, I think he’s like 19, 20.  Just kind of complacent in his life.  He’s had this job at the skating rink since he was 14.  He’s become the manager and it’s kind of an easy life.  He doesn’t have to deal with the hassles of responsibility in any kind of widespread arena.  But he is a talented kid and he’s got a good heart.  Everybody around him is kind of rallying to make him understand that he should test the waters outside of this small town in his, not mundane, but his normal life.  And I related with some of the, there’s some family problems, some friends, friends that want to stay in town, friends that have gone off.  I guess I kind of identified with that.

How do you approach a role?

Shiloh: This was a part where I felt really connected to this kid.  A lot of the parts that I’ve gotten in the past were very, not necessarily one-dimensional, but the go-to for me to get the job was to be very intense and kind of, not hardcore, but just… I don’t know, not super light-hearted or friendly or smiley.  If that’s a word.  And so, I really just wanted to bring a lot of who I am in real life.  I mean, at the same time it takes place in East Texas and I’m from Northern California.  Obviously Tony, the director, whenever I felt kind of out of place or like I didn’t know what I was doing, I’d look at him because he is similar to Richie Wheeler.  So it’s good to have your director to look at.  It’s like this good old boy, he’s funny and he’s friendly and he’s genuine.  So just trying to bring out the best traits of myself.  Ashley Greene plays my friend/love interest, so that wasn’t hard.

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Ashley Greene on “Skateland”, acting and how she got her start

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Ashley Greene is starring in the new film, Skateland.  It’s a coming of age story that also stars Shiloh Fernandez.

I’d never seen Ashley in anything other than the Twilight films so I was curious to see her in this while I was at SXSW. She plays a totally different character and she was great!

Ashley was incredibly sweet, I loved talking to her and if you’re a young actor you’ll love her answers.

Tell me about Skateland and your character in the film.

Ashley Greene: I play Michelle Burkham, and she is a bit of a love interest, really best friend to Richie Wheeler, and who is [played by] Shiloh Fernandez.  And Brent Burkham [Heath Freeman] is my brother, and we’re all this kind of trio in the film.  And it’s the 1980s small-town Texas.  And basically, it’s kind of this girl and this coming of age film and everyone’s trying to figure out who they are and what they’re doing, and I’m certainly one of those people.  But, I’m also one of the people that pushes Richie to find himself and grasp for higher things and she’s a great character to play.  She’s very vulnerable, very strong.  A lot of emotional ups and downs.

When you first look at a script and decide you want to do the part, how do you go about approaching a role?

Ashley: The first thing is, of course, reading the script and seeing if the script holds my attention and then more importantly, does the character… is it something I haven’t played before, and something that I actually care about and I’m passionate about.  I feel like if you’re reading a script and it doesn’t hold your attention and you don’t care about where these characters are going next and what they’re doing and you don’t care what they’re thinking and how they’re affected, then it really shouldn’t be something you’re doing because never ever doing I want to be in a film where I don’t care.  And so, I think that’s the biggest thing.  I think it’s kind of a gut thing and follow your heart and it works out.

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SXSW Audience Award Winner, “Brotherhood”: Exclusive Interview With the Star And Director

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The audience award at this years SXSW was the film, Brotherhood. It’s about a college student on his last night as a pledge for a fraternity. He finds himself blindfolded in the back of a van and made to rob a convenience store for his final initiation. Then, things go horribly wrong. (Of course, right?)

It’s a really good film and I was happy to interview the star, Jon Foster, and co-writer/director, Will Canon.

Jon plays Frank, the senior frat brother. He’s currently starring opposite Jenna Elfman in the CBS show Accidentally On Purpose but this role is 1,000 miles away from that character.

And for Will Canon, this is his first feature film. He’s had several award-winning short films that have been seen on Showtime and shown at Sundance.

You cast the film, did you have people in mind already?

Will: When we first started, I didn’t know a lot of the age group.  And so, once we started to see the work that these guys had done, it was pretty much like these are the guys we have to have.

Did you see it in person or see it on tape?

Will: We kind of did a little bit of everything.  I tried to meet with the guys whenever I could.  Then like Jon, for instance, we were in different states.  When we were going through the process of to lock everything in, so we just did a lot over the phone.  The first time I met him was when he flew in to do the movie.

As soon as you saw the actor, were you like, ‘this is the guy I want?’

Will: For the most part, yes.  For me, for a lot of these guys, it was very instinctual.  It wasn’t something I could necessarily articulate, but I saw him and I was like he’s got the thing that is Frank and he’s got the thing that is Adam, you know?  And I couldn’t tell you what it was necessarily.

Jon: Also what helped was, too, was the three of us have been friends for a really long time.  But he wasn’t quite aware of that until, I guess Trevor [Morgan] was the first one cast, and then he was like what about Lou Pucci for this part because they’re best friends.  And that’s how that started.  And then Pucci and I are roommates.  It’s all very incestuous.

Will: And it helps.

John: Yeah it helps being able to do the film with friends.

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The Duplass Brothers: “Honest and real and really unpredictable is what we’re really looking for”

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Jay and Mark Duplass (The Duplass Brothers) are hot right now. They have Cyrus (starring John C. Reilly, Jonah Hill & Marisa Tomei) and are currently in pre-production on Jeff Who Lives At Home (with Ed Helms and Jason Segel).

To be honest, I’d never seen one of their films till Cyrus. I’d heard about them, especially once I got to Austin for SXSW, and was excited to see the film. The film is both hilarious and touching and you will love seeing John C. Reilly and Jonah Hill in different roles than you’re familiar seeing them in.

I got a chance to talk with them in a roundtable interview so most of the questions aren’t mine. I did ask some casting questions regarding John and Jonah. And check out the audio (above or on iTunes) portion for the whole discussion.

(For more on Cyrus, click here for my interview with the stars John C. Reilly and Jonah Hill)

How long have you guys been working on this script?

Jay: Good question. You know, we normally write our scripts pretty quickly when we it’s just us producing them because we know we’re gonna improvise the dialogue a bit so once the structure is rock solid we know we’re production-ready. But you know, this was a script where you have to write it well and make it attractive to actors and to the studios so that they want to greenlight it. So we just spent a little time making it look pretty, you know? The bells and whistles. We were, I think we worked on it for like a year or so on and off. We were doing other things at the time. But on and off before we actually got the greenlight.

Do you have any experience as children as of single parents dating again or knowing people in those situations?

Mark: No, none really. We are good little Catholic boys and our Catholic parents have been married for 42 years and are still together.

Jay: What we do have a lot of experience with is desperation (laughter). We have that in spades.

Mark: Inter-personal dysfunction.

Along those lines, when you guys have the photograph of breastfeeding (laughter), it was terribly icky, I was dying laughing. Were there other things like that that you took out because you were like, you know what, that’s just too icky? Or was that about it?

Mark: The level of ickiness was about what we had hoped it would be. There’s an ick-ometer that we have on set.

Jay: We were riding high at about a 3.8 the whole time. If you stay right there, if you go over, people start crying and it gets weird.

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MacGruber Interview At the SXSW IFC House

Here is the MacGruber interview I sat in on at the IFC House at SXSW.

14 Acting Tips From Jeffrey Tambor’s SXSW Workshop

Jeffrey Tambor gave his annual Acting Workshop at SXSW this year and no matter what, I was not going to miss it.

I arrived an hour early and was the 5th person in line. When Tambor got on stage, he brought out  the stars of Bryan Poyser’s Lovers of Hate – Chris Doubek and Heather Kafka. The idea was to have them do a scene from the film and he would direct it.

Over the next 90 minutes, he would have them act the scene in different accents, make Doubek act like a child, sing their lines and finally do the scene as an opera.

And it made the scene better once was all said and done. His idea is to destroy the scene before you can build it.

Tambor has acting classes in Santa Monica and from what I saw, his style totally inspired me. Watching him is one of my SXSW highlights. I highly recommend taking his class. Click here for the website.

I took a massive amount of notes and below are the best of the best.

1. “In Meet Joe Black, they gave me size 13 shoes. I’m a size 12. I was on my way to do a scene with Anthony Hopkins and I was walking to the set from my trailer. Walking and I just started to sway a little bit. I had been working on the role for a couple of months. On that, maybe, 1 minute walk, he became a lush. And by the time I hit the set, I said to Marty [Brest - the director], “Lets make him about 5 drinks into this, shall we? [Pretending to be the Director, he puts his thumb and gives the 'OK'] That came, literally, from some kinetic thing that I learned to listen to.”

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South By Southwest: The Good, The Great

I’m back from South By Southwest (SXSW) and let me tell you, it was an experience! If you follow me on Twitter, you’ll know what I mean.

In five days, I saw 10 movies and interviewed 19 actors and directors.

And now, I’m exhausted!

I interviewed:
Edward Norton and Tim Blake Nelson for their fun and incredibly entertaining film, Leaves Of Grass.

Kyle Gallner and Brittney Robertson for coming of age story, Cherry.

Jon Foster and Director Will Canon from the great film, Brotherhood. How good was it? Well, it won the SXSW Award for Narrative Feature.

Patrick Wilson, Judy Greer, Chloe Sevigny and Director Chris D’Arienzo for the hilarious, Barry Munday.

John C. Reilly, Jonah Hill and directors Jay and Mark Duplass for the also hilarious, Cyrus.

Lee Turgensen, Paul Fitzgerald and director Joe Infantolino for the incredibly acted, Helena From The Wedding.

Ashley Green and Shiloh Fernandez from Skateland. I loved this move… what more can I say?

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