Interviews »
'Going The Distance' Co-Star Charlie Day On Being Relatable and Not Sleeping with Jennifer Aniston
Filed under: Comedy, Romance, New Releases, Warner Brothers, Fandom, New in Theaters, Interviews
Anyone who has seen It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia even once knows Charlie Day. His character on the show, also named Charlie, is an unforgettable combination of vulnerability, rage and abject stupidity, and virtually every episode includes at least one or two choice "Charlie moments" in which Day offers an observation, idea or even just a shriek or two that is idiotically, irresistibly hilarious. This week marks Day's first major opportunity since Sunny started to bring his Charlie-style charm to the big screen, as he plays Dan, a predictably dim-witted buddy to Justin Long in the romantic comedy Going the Distance.
Cinematical sat down with Day at the recent Los Angeles press day for Going the Distance. In addition to talking about the shades of difference between Charlie and Dan, Day talked about maintaining a balance between characters that are empathetic and just plain idiotic, and examined the challenges of expanding his repertoire to include a larger variety of roles both in films and on television.
Interview: Michelle Rodriguez on 'Machete'
Filed under: Action, Sci-Fi & Fantasy, New Releases, Sony, Warner Brothers, New in Theaters, 20th Century Fox, Interviews
Michelle Rodriguez has literally fought her way to stardom, starting with Karyn Kusama's boxing drama Girlfight. Rodriguez came away with an Independent Spirit Award for Best Debut Performance and the start of a unique career as one of Hollywood's action heroines. In the past ten years, Rodriguez has driven with The Fast and the Furious, fought zombies in Resident Evil, rode the waves in Blue Crush, got Lost, and piloted one of James Cameron's futuristic ships in Avatar.
Rodriguez's latest role as Luz in Robert Rodriguez's Machete takes the action star to a whole new level of kicking ass. Deep in the heart of Texas, Luz runs a taco truck that feeds the local day laborers home-style food, comfort, and hope for a better future -- as well information about jobs, how to get papers, or even cash in a pinch. Luz's alter ego is Shé, a revolutionary, gun-totin' mama who runs an underground network that helps immigrants once they've crossed the border into the Texas. Luz ends up being a much-needed friend to Machete (Danny Trejo), a former Federales who escaped a Mexican drug lord by the skin of his teeth and keeps finding himself in increasingly messy situations on the Texan side of the border. He's got a machete, but Luz has got, well, a lot more than a taco truck on her side.
Rodriguez took some time out of her busy day to talk to Cinematical about self-stereotyping, playing with politics in Machete, and the outer space kind of aliens she'll be fighting in Battle: Los Angeles.
Interview: 'Mesrine' Star Vincent Cassel
Filed under: Drama, Foreign Language, Thrillers, New Releases, Magnolia, Fandom, New in Theaters, Interviews
I remember the hype surrounding La Haine at the time of its release in the mid-1990s, and I also remember thinking that much of the adulation offered for Mathieu Kassovitz' feature directorial debut was a little excessive. But what I remember most is its star, an oddly handsome young actor who, perhaps not unlike his character in the film, was in the process of defining himself, and for better or worse left an indelible impression. Fifteen years later, Vincent Cassel has become one of the most acclaimed and successful actors in the world; not only did he go one to become one of France's best-known leading men, he has worked the world over in everything from genre films to harrowing dramas to breezy Hollywood thrill rides. And in his latest, the epic, two part true-crime French film Mesrine, he seems to combine all of those experiences into one epic performance that shows him at his most charming and terrifying, intelligent and animalistic, grandiose and understated, but as always, unforgettable.
Cinematical recently sat down with Cassel at the Los Angeles press day for Mesrine, where the actor waxed poetic about playing the on screen version of one of France's most notorious criminals. In addition to discussing the challenges of tackling a role based on a real-life person, Cassel examined his ongoing process as a performer, and reflected on an eclectic career that continues to grow and expand with each new effort.
Eli Roth and Daniel Stamm Explain Why 'The Last Exorcism' Is Not the Horror Movie You're Expecting
Filed under: Horror, Interviews
Expectations are a fickle thing. If a film exceeds someone's low expectations, it can be a halo effect. If it fails to meet one's expectations, they can muddy the entire film. I bring this up not to subvert anyone's expectations for how good The Last Exorcism is quality wise (though I do think it is damn good), but because I want to usurp any expectations regarding the film's documentary style.I think most people, and for valid marketing reasons, are expecting The Last Exorcism to be just another entry in the recent swell of "found footage" horror movies. It is not. At all. Director Daniel Stamm's documentary approach is not capitalizing on any trends, it's not trying to convince the audience that it's fact. It's used expertly as a means of lowering the fourth wall, of delivering a frightening story and experience that would not be matched in any other style.
Cinematical was recently given a chance to talk to Stamm and producer Eli Roth about the film and while I had a ton of questions to ask the duo, most of our time went straight to talking about the film's mindset. It's something that can't be prepackaged in a trailer or TV spot. The Last Exorcism is flat out not your typical horror movie. And I can't think of a better embodiment of that than how we spent several minutes of our all-too-brief time together chatting about a character's shoes. That is not a topic of conversation people are going to expect from a movie whose predominant marketing component is the name Eli Roth-- and that's just one of many, many reasons I think The Last Exorcism is going to blindside (in a brilliant way) a lot of people when it opens on August 27th.
Interview: 'Piranha 3D' Director Alexandre Aja
Filed under: Horror, New Releases, New in Theaters, The Weinstein Co., Interviews
It isn't everyday that "disgusting," "gratuitous," and "over the top" are used as cinematic superlatives, but they qualify as the top three reasons to see Piranha 3D. Alexandre Aja, the fellow largely responsible for bringing French horror stateside (with High Tension) and subsequently reimagining both domestic (The Hills Have Eyes) and international (Mirrors) horror for America, makes what may literally be his biggest commercial splash to date with the 3D opus, a spectacle of nudity, gore and all-around excess for which the term grand guignol was practically invented. And though the film is undoubtedly best appreciated as camp, Aja has been head counselor since it was first conceived, and wants audiences to have as much fun watching it as he obviously had making it.
Cinematical spoke to Aja earlier this week via telephone to discuss Piranha 3D, which opens nationwide Friday, August 20. In addition to talking about the comedic tone of the film, Aja discussed his personal preferences for the sorts of sex and violence he likes to see on screen, and examined the challenges (and opportunities) of building a career for oneself in a Hollywood that's more interested in remakes, adaptations and sequels than something original.
Jerry O'Connell Answers Our 'Sliders' Questions (and Talks 'Piranha 3D')
Filed under: New Releases, Fandom, New in Theaters, Interviews
Over the span of two decades and change, Jerry O'Connell has gone from kid thesp (Stand By Me) to successful TV and film veteran ("Sliders," "Crossing Jordan," Jerry Maguire, and, uh, Kangaroo Jack) -- I mean, "Hollywood treasure" -- with an unfailing effervescence disappointingly uncommon in most Hollywood actors. So when given the chance to speak with him on the occasion of his appearance in the year's most unapologetically crass wide release, Piranha 3D, there really was no choice. I had to do it.
On hiatus from law school, which he took up last year in the evenings while working as a stay-at-home dad to his daughters with wife Rebecca Romijn, O'Connell is now prepping a new fall TV series (CBS's "The Defenders"), in which he plays, ironically, an attorney. Said show is produced by Davis Guggenheim, husband of O'Connell's Piranha 3D co-star, Elisabeth Shue. Piranha 3D also features Richard Dreyfuss, who played "The Writer" in Stand By Me. O'Connell's world is a strangely small place, but he takes the peculiar twists and turns in stride.
In fact, Jerry O'Connell may be the realest celebrity Hollywood has to offer. As evidence, I present to you the following conversation in which he talked Piranha 3D (and how his character's TOTALLY NOT based on "Girls Gone Wild" creator Joe Francis), reminisced about filming Stand By Me, shared "Gossip Girl" dish, and answered a burning question that, years later, could still very well shake the "Sliders" fan community to its very core.
'Scott Pilgrim' Co-Star Kieran Culkin: "You Either Get It Or You Don't"
Filed under: Comedy, Sci-Fi & Fantasy, New Releases, Universal, Fandom, New in Theaters, Interviews, Comic/Superhero/Geek, ComicCon
Breakthroughs are tricky business for actors, because they can define an actor as easily as they can establish them. But Kieran Culkin has been around for years, doing terrific work in lots of different kinds of movies, so his latest breakthrough feels like more of a reminder than the arrival of some unknown quantity. That said, it may still feel like people are seeing him for the first time – as an adult, anyway – as he steals scenes from Michael Cera in Scott Pilgrim vs. the World as Wallace Wells, the roommate, critic and sometime conscience of the title character.
Cinematical sat down with Culkin at the Los Angeles press day for Scott Pilgrim just days after the film premiered at a secret screening in San Diego during the 2010 Comic-Con. In addition to talking about his character's camaraderie with Scott and the rest of the ensemble, Culkin examined his own approach to playing such varied roles throughout his career, and reflected on the prospect of putting himself into the public consciousness with his high-profile appearance in the film.
Interview: 'Scott Pilgrim vs. the World' Director Edgar Wright
Filed under: Action, Comedy, Romance, Sci-Fi & Fantasy, New Releases, Universal, Fandom, New in Theaters, Interviews, Comic/Superhero/Geek
In retrospect, it seems appropriate that I spoke to Edgar Wright for this interview via telephone as he rushed from one place to another, dropped the call at one point, and was generally pressed for time during the entire conversation. Mind you, that isn't a complaint at all; rather, it's an indication of how hard-working, committed and most of all energetic Wright is. That he would devote whatever spare minutes he had to field a few questions from yours truly about Scott Pilgrim vs. the World, his terrific new film, is a testament to his generosity, and that he would provide such interesting, insightful, and thought-provoking answers is one to his febrile intelligence and the completeness of his filmmaking vision.
Scott Pilgrim is of course an adaptation of the Bryan Lee O'Malley graphic novel series of the same name, and it seems tailor-made for Wright's leapfrog, pop-culture-saturated sensibilities. The film version is full of references to video games, movies, TV shows, even technological benchmarks, although all combined into one exhilarating pastiche that manages to celebrate and send-up its influences all at the same time, and more than that generate a sincere and substantive connection to its characters. In addition to talking about that foundation of media and technology that fueled his creativity, Wright discussed the characters and feelings beneath all of that visual flourish, and examined the film's ability to work both as a timely chronicle of contemporary relationships, and a reflection of the filmmaker's own evolving maturity.
Interview: 'Scott Pilgrim vs. the World' Co-Star Mary Elizabeth Winstead
Filed under: Action, Comedy, Romance, Sci-Fi & Fantasy, New Releases, Universal, Fandom, New in Theaters, Interviews, Comic/Superhero/Geek
Thanks to the abundance of stories about feckless twentysomething guys and the women they fetishize, the manic pixie dream girl is almost a prerequisite archetype for any romantic comedy made these days. But as Ramona Flowers, the object of the title character's desire in Scott Pilgrim vs. the World, Mary Elizabeth Winstead is given a lot more to do than change her hair color, look gorgeously wounded and watch her co-star flounder around at her feet. And it's her substance, her character's actual own problems, that not only distinguish Ramona from her manic pixie counterparts, but highlight just how talented Winstead is as an actress.
Cinematical recently sat down with Winstead at the Los Angeles press day for the film, where the actress shed her character's Technicolor hair for classic brown. In addition to talking about bringing dimensionality to the woman who drives Scott Pilgrim to battle seven evil exes, Winstead discussed the challenges of finding real and substantive opportunities as an actress, and reflected on the possibility of becoming part of the pop-culture benchmark that Scott Pilgrim promises to be for its attention-deficient, hopelessly romantic generation.
Interview: Roger Corman
Filed under: Horror, Sci-Fi & Fantasy, Fandom, DIY/Filmmaking, Movie Marketing, Interviews
Roger Corman has spent over five decades making movies -- and during that span, he's earned the title The King of the B's. During the course of his career, Corman has done the seemingly impossible: made movies that make money while promoting the art of filmmaking at the same time. The producer's ability to find new talent and give them their first big break is the stuff of legend. Scorsese, Cameron, Ron Howard, and countless other filmmakers who went on to become Hollywood players all worked under Corman's tutelage.
Through the years, his films have lived on -- finding new audiences to delight in their camp charm and entertaining social commentary. With the release of Shout! Factory's Roger Corman's Cult Classics Collection, many of his best films are appearing on Blu-ray, where another generation can discover them for themselves.
I recently had a chance to chat with Roger Corman, and I found him to be gracious, charming, and an absolute delight. We discussed a lot of things -- and if you ever wondered who the producer wishes he'd had a chance to work with, what he thought of Vincent Price, or who he'd bet on in a fight between Dinoshark and Sharktopus -- hit the jump and find the answers you've been seeking.
Why You're Not a "Moron" If You Enjoyed 'Machete'
Can a Sex-Free Movie Like 'Twilight' Sell Sex?
Trailers and Clips: Buried, Due Date, and Let Me In
James McAvoy and Tom Cruise Consider Trip to 'Mountains of Madness'
How Important is a Film Title to International Audiences?
_thumbnail.jpg)
_thumbnail.jpg)
