The series follows a dysfunctional family that moves from the city to a small town after Patricia “Pat” Phelps (Cox), a former “wild child” who became famous through writing raunchy female empowerment novels, is caught cheating on her husband (Kinnear). The house the family moves into is a place where terrible atrocities have taken place. But nobody seems to suspect anything odd except for Pat, who’s convinced she’s been possessed by a demon.
Moviefone recently had the opportunity to speak with both Courteney Cox and Greg Kinnear about their work on ‘Shining Vale.’
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You can read our interview with Courtney Cox and Greg Kinnear below, or click on the video player above to watch all of our interviews for ‘Shining Vale’ with Cox and Kinnear, as well as Mira Sorvino, Merrin Dungey, Dylan Gage, Gus Birney, and Judith Light.
Moviefone: To begin with, Courteney, what was your first reaction when you read the screenplay for ‘Shining Vale?’
Courteney Cox: I thought how lucky I would be to get this part. So, I could play all of those different facets of Pat’s personality and what she’s going through, from the depression, to the mental illness, to the possession, a mom of a teenage daughter, which I have, to marital strife. The whole thing, it just was a character that I’ve never experienced before, and never played. I was so excited.
MF: Greg, what was your first reaction to the script?
Greg Kinnear: I loved it. I wasn’t sure what it was, truthfully. I didn’t know if it was comedy with horror or horror with comedy. And a mystery with both. It’s a lot of different things. But at the end of the day, it seemed like a family in peril and if we could kind of tap into that and make that real, I felt like the show could have a really interesting tone. I think it does.
Listen, I hadn’t worked with Courteney before and it was wonderful. She’s wonderful in this role. I knew she was going to be. I just knew it was going to work. It was going to be great and kind of effortless working with her. I guess that could have surprised me, but it didn’t. I had a blast and we had some spooky times doing it too, which was great.
(L to R) Greg Kinnear, Gus Birney, Dylan Gage, and Courteney Cox in Starz’s ‘Shining Vale.’
MF: Courteney, can you talk about Pat’s writer’s block and why she has been unable to write her second novel for 17 years?
CC: I think that she got depressed. She just felt lonely. She felt trapped. Every day was the same for her. She stopped drinking so she her life is just you’re going through that phase where you’re having a midlife crisis and menopause, all of it. Probably the menopause got the midlife crisis going, but I think that she just was just dried out.
MF: Finally, Greg, can you talk about the family’s move from the city to the country? Does Terry think the move will help improve his marriage?
GK: It’s a Hail Mary pass. He’s a man whose wife has had an indiscretion and I think he’s trying to heal all these wounds. It’s interesting, right? In the middle of COVID, I think that also the show is very timely. There’s a lot of families in big cities that have said, “I’m going to go. We’re just getting out of here. We’re getting out.” They move out to these far and away places. I tend to think your problems follow you. If anything, I think the problems that follow the Phelps are bigger than they started with. So that’s a problem. But ultimately, I think he’s trying to find salvation in another place.
Debuting on HBO Max March 3rd is the new television series ‘The Tourist,’ which stars Jamie Dornan (‘Belfast’).
In the series, Dornan plays a man who wakes up in Australia with amnesia after a car accident and has no idea who he is. As he begins to discover clues about his former life, with the help of a local police officer (Danielle Macdonald), he learns that there are people trying to kill him and that he might not like the person he used to be.
Moviefone recently had the pleasure of speaking with Jamie Dornan about his work on ‘The Tourist.’
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You can read a full transcript of our interview with Jamie Dornan below, or click on the player above to watch a video of our interview with Dornan and actress Danielle Macdonald.
Moviefone: To begin with, can you talk about the challenges of playing a character with amnesia who wakes up in a world where he doesn’t know who to trust, including himself and his own memories?
Jamie Dornan: It’s a big challenge, to be honest with you, like the biggest challenge of my career for so many reasons. For the hostility of where we were shooting and for the madness of the predicament he finds himself in, it all getting pieced together for him, and the fear that would bring upon you.
But also, it’s a different way of working. It’s like the opposite of how you usually work in building a backstory and trying to discover and understand how your character reacts, and why they react to certain scenarios. It’s none of that. It’s the opposite of that.
Acting is all about staying in the present, but it’s doing it in a very different way. Where you’re trying to block out knowing what was in the past, because it’s going to be told to you in the future, it’s a very strange way of working. But it was exciting and challenging, and for me, that’s what it’s all about.
MF: The series deals with the theme of “who are we?” Are we what we’ve done in our past? Or are we what we’re doing in the present, and what we can do in the future? Can you talk about that theme and what did you think the answer is?
JD: Yeah, I think it calls into question all of those things. Judgment is a big, big part of it. We’re talking about a journey that he goes on, that the audience go on with him, and he discovers as the audience discovers, and it’s not all good. It gets to the point where you’re hoping the audience are on his side and they’re feeling his predicament, and they want only good things for him. But then morally horrendous stuff is revealed to the audience about who this guy is. It calls into question all kinds of stuff.
But then, there’s also a whole thing of which it’s revealed to him in episode five. He’s under the influence of a different force, and how much of that you can even fully believe and how much you can play with that. So, it’s asking a lot of questions, but I thought that was a really interesting aspect of it.
Jamie Dornan in HBO Max’s ‘The Tourist.’
MF: Can you talk about the relationship between your character and Officer Helen, and why does he choose to trust her?
JD: Well, how brilliant is Danielle McDonald? She’s just so brilliant in it. She comes at a time where she’s someone who’s showing an interest in him, showing she cares, and showing she’s willing to help. When he has nobody, and it’s an unlikely combination of people. Where they begin to where they end is nuts.
I love that about them. It’s such an unexpected, odd relationship. On the surface sits different energies between them, but they have this sort of commonality with each other. You are, as an audience, as involved in Helen’s story as you are in the man’s. She is the audience. She’s the relatable one in many respects. You can relate with the madness of what he’s going through her. But you can truly relate with what Helen’s going through.
MF: Finally, what was it like working with Danielle Macdonald on the relationship between those two characters?
JD: She was just fun. I think for both us, it was just knowing where to pitch it. When the show plays with tone so much. When she turns up and starts talking, you’re like, what is this? Who’s this person? This isn’t the world I thought I was in, you know? But she does it so brilliantly, with such a proper laugh.
A lot of my stuff was either with Shalom (Brune-Frankilin) or it was with Danny. There’s only one scene where the three of us are all together. But I just got lucky, as I feel like I have so often in my career. I’ve been surrounded with people who have come to play. I have a great affinity with them and a lot of fun with them, and Danny was certainly no exception. I think she’s just so brilliant in the series, and I loved every minute we had together.
The movie stars Naomi Watts as a woman who is desperately racing to save her child after police place her hometown on lockdown due to an active shooter incident.
We recently had a chance to speak with actress Naomi Watts, as well as director Phillip Noyce, about their work on ‘The Desperate Hours’
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You can read a full transcript of our interview with Naomi Watts below, or watch the video of our interview with Watts and Phillip Noyce in the player above.
Moviefone: To begin with, what was your first reaction when you read the screenplay?
Naomi Watts: I just was like, how would I be in a situation like this? This is the most horrendous nightmare that a parent can imagine, that your kid is not safe in their own school. Unfortunately, it’s a story that seems to play itself out oh too regularly in news feeds, and it just keeps happening.
I wanted to know what it would be like to be a parent in that situation, and how would my nervous system handle it? It is confronting. It is hard stuff to take in, but hopefully it connects with people, and this is the world we’re living in right now, which is not okay.
It’s the wrong thing for anyone, no matter where you are. It just shouldn’t happen. It’s senseless. Not everyone’s story plays out like Amy’s, but it’s just one little tiny way into know what it might be like. Lives are being lost in a senseless way, and that’s just, again, not okay.
Naomi Watts in ‘The Desperate Hour.’
MF: Finally, he movie has a very small cast, and most of the scenes revolve around your character. What was the process of making this film like for you?
NW: It’s a big piece of it, and we worked as a team. That’s always the case with filming, but the intimacy and the size of it made it so that we were very connected to one another. Sometimes, when I was running, they were all on the truck and everything was being operated from there. Other times they were running too alongside me, or in front of me, and even backwards at times.
So, sometimes the man went down because he tripped, and I had to just keep running and the show carried on, but it was quite an interesting piece physically. I anticipated that it would be difficult, but then you get there on the day and you’re like, “Oh my God, this is far more difficult.”
My body, even with the preparation that I gave myself in the lead up, it just wasn’t as strong as I wanted it to be. I’m not in my twenties anymore. I used to be someone that could run for miles and miles, but it all worked for the story to play out, to be physically exhausted, to be broken down, to have aches and pains, and the breathlessness. The emotions definitely come more easily when you’re exhausted.
(L to R) Pat Smear, Nate Mendel, Rami Jaffee, Chris Shiflett, Dave Grohl, and Taylor Hawkins in ‘Studio 666,’ an Open Road Films release. Photo Courtesy of Open Road Films.
Opening in theaters on February 13th is the new horror comedy from the rock band the Foo Fighters called ‘Studio 666.’ The movie follows the band as they move into a haunted house to record their new album, and stars frontman Dave Grohl, drummer Taylor Hawkins, guitarist Pat Smear, guitarist Chris Shiflett, bassist Nate Mendel, and keyboardist Rami Jaffee as themselves.
The cast also includes Whitney Cummings (‘2 Broke Girls’), Will Forte (‘Nebraska), Jeff Garlin (‘Curb Your Enthusiasm), Leslie Grossman (‘American Horror Story’), and Slayer guitarist Kerry King. The result is a purposely cheesy horror comedy that is super entertaining to watch for both fans of the genre as well as fans of the Foo Fighters, and features fun performances from Grohl and the rest of the band.
Directed by B. J. McDonnell, ‘Studio 666’ begins with a flashback to decades ago, and introduces us to a haunted house in Los Angeles, where a band is completing their new album. But, when the lead singer is possessed by a demon, he kills all his bandmates in a brutal murder. Years later, Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inducted band Foo Fighters are discussing where they will record their new album and Dave Grohl suggests a mansion in Encino, which just happens to be the same house from the prologue.
However, once the band moves in, they soon learn about the mansion’s unusual history when Grohl becomes possessed by a demon. The musician becomes obsessed with finishing the 45-minute-long song that the previous band which occupied that house was unable to complete. As Grohl’s behavior becomes more and more uncontrollable, the band begin to suspect something is wrong and investigate. But, will they discover the truth too late to save their friend … and their own lives?
(L to R) Nate Mendel, Taylor Hawkins, Chris Shiflett, Dave Grohl, Pat Smear, and Rami Jaffee in ‘Studio 666,’ an Open Road Films release. Photo Courtesy of Open Road Films.
To begin with, you really can’t take ‘Studio 666’ too seriously. While it’s not exactly great filmmaking, it is a really well made and funny little horror comedy. On the surface, combining the Foo Fighters with the horror comedy genre may seem like an idea out of left field, but if you’ve ever watched one of their music videos, you’d know that this is actually right up their alley. Foo Fighters have always been a fun band, full of personality, and this movie was a perfect vehicle for them as the horror/comedy situation is wonderfully suited to their sensibilities as performers.
While the band plays themselves, it’s certainly an exaggerated version of themselves. Grohl, Smear and Hawkins are arguably the best-known members of the group, so their characters were pretty close to what you’d expect (until Grohl becomes possessed). Since Chris Shiflett, Nate Mendel, and Rami Jaffee are the least public members of the band, it allowed the script to have more fun with their characters. Shiflett plays his role as an instigator and a tough guy, while Jaffee is depicted as a sexed-up stoner, and Mendel as a quiet genius. Smear and Hawkins continue their public personas, with Smear as the group’s elder statesman and Hawkins as the surfer-styled “cool guy” in the band.
But what comes across is that all of the Foo Fighters were willing to commit to the project and have fun. Grohl has the hardest role in the film, playing himself, and then playing himself possessed by a demon. He’s at his best when he is just playing himself, but there is something fun about watching the drummer from Nirvana acting like a demon has possessed him. Grohl and the entire band give really fun performances that work in the context of the movie.
Dave Grohl in ‘Studio 666,’ an Open Road Films release. Photo Credit: Courtesy of Andrew Stuart/Open Road Films.
The film is really about the Foo Fighters, so the other members of the cast are not all that important, but I did think Leslie Grossman gave a strong performance as the band’s real-estate agent. Whitney Cummings has nice chemistry in her scenes with Jaffee, while Will Forte adds comedic flair in his sequence with Grohl. However, Jeff Garlin is too over-the-top, even for this movie, as the band’s record producer. The comedian seems to be pushing too hard in his scenes, and even indicates his character’s true intentions too early in the film.
Director B. J. McDonnell does a good job with the material, never taking it too seriously, and letting the band be the real star of the film. I’m not really a fan of horror, but I do like horror comedies like ‘Evil Dead II’ and ‘Army of Darkness,’ and ‘Studio 666’ is definitely in that wheelhouse. But I’m a huge fan of the Foo Fighters, and for me, they were really the winning ingredient in this project.
There is a long tradition of rock bands starring in their own movies, both good and bad. For every ‘A Hard Day’s Night,’ there is a ‘Kiss Meets the Phantom of the Park,’ and I’d like to say that ‘Studio 666’ falls somewhere in between. In the end, ‘Studio 666’ is what it was meant to be, which is a fun, genre-blend starring the Foo Fighters, one of the greatest rock bands of all time. That is exactly what it is, no more, no less.
(L to R) Wendi McLendon-Covey, Joe Lo Truglio, Kerri Kenney-Silver, Thomas Lennon, Niecy Nash, Cedric Yarbrough, and Robert Ben Garant in the Roku Channel’s ‘Reno 911! Defunded.’
Premiering on the Roku Channel beginning February 25th is the ‘Reno 911!’ revival series, ‘Reno 911! Defunded.’ The series will serve as the eighth season of the show, which originally ran on Comedy Central from 2003-2009, and then on Quibi in 2020.
Moviefone recently had a chance to speak with Thomas Lennon, Robert Ben Garant, and Kerri Kenney about their work on ‘Reno 911! Defunded.’
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You can read the full transcript of our interview below or watch the video in the player above.
Moviefone: To begin with, there were 11 years between season 6 and season 7, when the show moved from Comedy Central to Quibi. What was it like to return to these characters after such a long break between seasons?
Kerri Kenney-Silver: I think we were afraid at first. Like, is this going to work? This has been a big break. But then we quickly realized, oh, that’s right, this genius cast has only gone out in the world and gotten bigger, and stronger, and better. We came back, put on the same outfits and within five seconds, we were back. We started the show 20 years ago in the year 2000. So, we had been doing this. This was in our DNA. It was quick, and it was such a joy.
Robert Ben Garant: It’s crazy. It’s been a long time and it’s all improv. So, it’s a lot to rely on your cast to do. We have some jokes for them, but mostly everybody is creating their own dialogue in every situation. So, if people had been rusty or if the chemistry wasn’t there, we wouldn’t have anything at all. That very first day after coming back, it had been more than 10 years and Wendy and Kerri were just in it. The biggest problem is people laughing and that’s a great. So, it was great. It was very scary until it happened. As soon as we took off, it was a total blast.
MF: The series is completely improvised, so when other actors come on the show, how do you explain to them exactly what you need them to do to make the scenes work?
RBG: It would depend. Because sometimes, like Michael Ian Black, we tell him he’s trying to sell us body parts, illegal organs. Then we don’t really know what he’s going to say or the character he’s going to play. We didn’t really know the look he was going to do until we saw him on set.
Then at the other end of the spectrum, Jamie Lee Curtis reached out to us and said she wanted to be in short shorts like Tom and with an eye patch. That’s all we knew. She came in and started bossing us around. So, it really is improv. Like we have a structure sometimes, but with Jamie Lee Curtis, we didn’t have anything. She came in and just started yelling at us and making Kerri go under the table.
KKS: Generally, with guest stars we’ll ask them like, what do you want to wear? Who are you? Who do you want to have in the scene with you? Do you need an explosion? Is there any, and then it’s improv.
(L to R) Wendi McLendon-Covey, Kerri Kenney-Silver, and Thomas Lennon in the Roku Channel’s ‘Reno 911! Defunded.’
MF: Thomas, is there any subject that is off limits?
Thomas Lennon: As far as I can tell, it doesn’t seem like there is. Like on paper, there’s an astonishing number of inappropriate things that no TV show could or should talk about that we sort of do very casually.
RBG: We made the decision, because it was a big decision, no COVID. We talked about it, like are the background people wearing masks? Are we going to do any of that? And we just said, “No, this is a universe where that’s not existent.” We also made the decision, no Trump. So, we had Weird Al Yankovic play Ted Nugent. So, any of our political energy went to that.
KKS: We weren’t doing those things because they were taboo. We didn’t want to date a season. We wanted you to be able to watch years from now. But also, we wanted people to have a break from that. It felt like everything was about COVID. Like, who wants to look at masks anymore? Who wants to hear about Trump right now? So, that was really the reason. It wasn’t because like, oh, that’s too hot a button.
MF: What can fans of the original series expect from ‘Reno 911! Defunded?’
TL: We got sort of lucky in that the police were in the headlines every day, all day. So, if you’re in the business of writing a comedy show about cops, they just kept giving us three by five cards to put up on the wall of` more crazy stuff. But I mean, it didn’t really change the kind of stuff we do, but some stuff got a little specific.
There’s way more material we started doing about Karens and the idea of Karens, that became a big thing. Then also, one of our running jokes was to see who would say what our lowest salary was. If you watch episodes of ‘Reno 911!,’ the cops are always like, “Well, I made almost $9,000 last year.” We never had a lot of money, but I think we took it really far with this season.
RBG: I was playing to our strengths. I mean, we have always talked about how we don’t have enough money. We’ve always talked about how everybody hates this. We’ve always talked about how we are under trained. I think the one thing that you’ll notice is that it was actually really lucky because it was COVID, so we couldn’t have guest stars. But this last season is more about cops than it is about perps.
I think that’s twofold, one because there was COVID and we couldn’t really have that many guest stars, but also there was so much subject material just about police trying to get through their day without toilet paper. There’re all these new rules, and you got to take away our tank. It was a lot of us playing to our strengths with material that was fresh in everybody’s mind. We didn’t have to pretend we were good at something, which was a relief. I don’t know what we would’ve done.
KKS: We had never done before the concept of a riot. That was so big in the news at that very second. So, that was sort of tailor made for us being locked together in a space, like what happens when there’s a riot outside the station?
TL: Well speaking of, that was another thing that is one of the trailers for ‘Reno 911! Defunded’ is Kerri and I just improvised a PSA about please be nice to us. That sort of became part of the trailer. Us just crying in our riot gear saying, “Please, please be nice to police officers, please.”
‘Reno 911! Defunded’ premieres on the Roku Channel on February 25th.
(L to R) Wendi McLendon-Covey, Joe Lo Truglio, Kerri Kenney-Silver, Thomas Lennon, Niecy Nash, Cedric Yarbrough, and Robert Ben Garant in the Roku Channel’s ‘Reno 911! Defunded.’
Opening in select theaters and On Demand beginning February 18th is the new action movie ‘Pursuit,’ from director Brian Skiba (‘Flowers and Honey’).
The film stars Emile Hirsch (‘Speed Racer’ and ‘Once Upon a Time in Hollywood’) as Rick Calloway, a ruthless hacker who’s trying to save his kidnapped wife from a drug cartel. Pursued by the police, Rick must put his trust in his estranged gangster father, Jack Calloway, played by John Cusack (‘Grosse Pointe Blank’ and ‘Being John Malkovich’). Now the two must work together to elude the police and the drug cartel, if Rick has any hope of ever seeing his wife alive again.
Moviefone recently had the pleasure of speaking with Emile Hirsch about his work on ‘Pursuit.’ The actor discussed his new movie, how he got involved with the project, reuniting with actor John Cusack, how his performance was inspired by Elon Musk, face tattoos, stunts, and working with Quentin Tarantino on the Oscar-winning ‘Once Upon a Time in Hollywood.’
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You can read the full transcript of our interview with Emile Hirsch about ‘Pursuit’ below, or you can watch a video of the interview in the player above.
Moviefone: To begin with, can you talk about how you got involved in this project?
Emile Hirsch: So originally, I got involved with the film when they sent me the script and I found out that John Cusack was attached. I had worked with John Cusack on this film, ‘Never Grow Old.’ I just had an amazing experience with him. He’s such a great actor and he was so good in ‘Never Grow Old.’ But this was a change of pace for us. This was making an action film, where it was more of a potboiler, kind of pulpy action genre film. I just thought we could have fun with it.
I wanted to bring a sense of humor and a sense of lightness to the character, and a goofiness. Because whenever I watch these action films, I like at least one of the characters to be the comic relief in a way. I think that Rick turns into that at a certain point. At first, you think he’s this normal guy. Then you realize just how demented he really is. He has no morals. He’s a cold-blooded killer. He’s not a very good guy. I think when you realize just how off-the-reservation he is, it’s a lot more fun. I knew that it would be a good experience working again with John.
MF: What do you like about working with John Cusack, and what have you learned about acting from working with him over the years?
EH: One of the things that John is great at, is he’s very experimental when he does scenes. He’s constantly willing to try new things and to go down a way in a scene, and just sort of explore that and then try something totally different. He likes to try different beats until he finds one that he really likes, which is great. It’s like mining for gold. You can stumble upon greatness.
He also has a really good logic to the way he breaks down scenes. He understands script analysis really well. It’s one of those innate things. He’s just a talented actor. Sometimes you can’t even necessarily describe what that is, but when you’re in the scene with someone that’s like that, you just know it.
John Cusack in Lionsgate’s ‘Pursuit.’
MF: Do you like working like that? Do you enjoy having a lot of takes, as you put it, “to mine for gold?”
EH: I’ve been doing it so long now to where I find every different way of working, and there’s something fun about it. So, I’ll work with a director who only wants to do two takes. That will become exciting. That will become, “Oh, my gosh, we got to get it,” or, “What is it going to be?” There’s a certain pressure and a thrill to it. I’ll work with directors who want to do twenty takes. Then the excitement is, “Okay, we are going to master this. We’re going to try it so many different ways. We are going to find the exact, perfect, weird, most nuanced take we can think of.” So, I think it’s more about having a positive attitude to where you’re able to enjoy whatever process comes at you.
There’s a lot of actors out there that if it’s not the process and the way that they exactly want to work, then maybe they have an issue or they’re not as happy. But my philosophy has always been embracing the process that the project is going to be done under, whether it’s from the schedule, the time you have, or the director, or the producers, or whatever, and you have the most fun with it in the way that you can. Don’t go on the Goliath rollercoaster, expecting it to be the Mad Tea Party ride and vice versa. Have a good time on whatever ride you’re on.
MF: I understand that you pulled inspiration for your character Rick Calloway, from CEO of Tesla Motors Elon Musk. Can you talk about how that inspiration helped you to create the character?
EH: I had read the script. It was a little bit of deadpan humor, kind of an offbeat character, a nerdy hacker guy. I was watching that famous Joe Rogan interview with Elon Musk. It was in the news and everything. I had never actually seen Elon Musk talk before. So, I’d always seen these very dapper, svelte pictures of him. Then when I actually saw him talk, I realized how intelligent he comes across. Nerd is probably not the right word, but something in that ballpark, where it’s like, “Okay, I can see this guy’s like a rocket scientist, very easily.” But I also really appreciated his deadpan sense of humor a lot.
So, I didn’t put a bunch of posters of Elon up in my bedroom and play the tapes back of how we talked between takes or anything like that. I just watched that one interview. Based off of that, I said, “That’s a direction. That’s a flavor that I want to try to capture a little bit.” But he was definitely the inspiration for it, which is kind of funny. It’s this crazy pulp action movie, ‘Pursuit’. It’s like, “Do you want to see this guy try to play Elon Musk? Then check this movie out!”
Emile Hirsch in Liongate’s ‘Pursuit.’
MF: Can you also talk about creating the specific look for your character?
EH: The character in the script comes across almost like ‘The Boy with the Dragon Tattoo,’ where he’s this hacker. He’s got all these tattoos. So, I said, “Well, we can’t just give him a bunch of tattoos or piercings, because that’s too much like Lisbeth Salander in those books. So, let’s give him some face tattoos. Let’s go full Mike Tyson and Post Malone, and make it kind of weird and shocking.”
There was something strange about a hacker with face tattoos. But there are a lot of these guys, now. I mean, face tattoos are more popular than ever. The kids these days are, if you haven’t noticed, out of their minds, and the face tattoos, a lot of them have them. So, I was like, “All right, let’s just give him some face tattoos.”
MF: You have a lot of action sequences and stunts in the film. Is that fun for you to do when you get an opportunity to do those types of scenes on a project?
EH: Getting to do stunts, it’s a challenge. You want to do it right, especially when you’re doing a lot of weapons work with Uzis and full blank rounds. With the Uzis, there’s an element of danger anytime you do these types of extended gun fight sequences with these really powerful weapons. But it’s also a lot of fun. It’s undeniably a blast. It’s a great time. I’m kind of a dude with a “capital D” in a sense, where I like watching an action movie. I like firing my crazy Uzi with my circle-framed sunglasses on in slow-mo. I’m like, “Yeah, that looks pretty cool!”
Emile Hirsch in Lionsgate’s ‘Pursuit.’
MF: Finally, what was it like for you to work with Quentin Tarantino on his masterpiece, ‘Once Upon a Time in Hollywood?’
EH: I mean, working with Quentin was a lifelong dream of mine. I grew up watching his films, loving his films. I met him years and years before. I think I met him at the premiere of ‘The Green Mile,’ when I was 14 years old. He wouldn’t remember this. But he knew a woman that was there and said, “Hi.” I was with her daughter and I got to say hi. I said, “I love ‘Reservoir Dogs.’” He asked, “Who’s your favorite dog?” I didn’t understand what he meant. I said, “A Dalmatian.” He said, “No, no, no. Your favorite ‘Reservoir Dog.’” And I went, “Oh, oh, oh, Mr. Blonde.” Then he said, “Oh, yes, Mr. Blonde.”
Then years later, I get to know him. I think one of the reasons why Quentin and I originally got along is that he was the guy that always worked in the video store growing up and was the video store master. Growing up as a kid, I was always in the video store, renting every genre film and watching films. He’s a way bigger film nerd than me, but for an actor, I’m a film nerd, as far as that scale goes.
So, we always got along over the years based off of that similarity. Then when he gave me the role of playing Jay Sebring in ‘Once Upon a Time in Hollywood,’ every day I was pinching myself, because I was so grateful to be there. I knew what an amazing opportunity it was to get to be a part in his filmography, really. I mean, he doesn’t make very many films. So, that’s pretty cool.
The movie stars Academy Award nominee Andy Garcia (‘The Godfather Part III’) as the eccentric Floyd Deveraux, who is involved in a car accident with fledgling writer Samuel Liston (Emory Cohen). Floyd soon takes Samuel under his wing as his biographer, and introduces him to his wife and children, before his deepest secrets are revealed.
Moviefone recently had the pleasure of speaking to Andy Garcia about his work on ‘Big Gold Brick,’ as well as his thoughts on Frances Ford Coppola’s recently released director’s cut of ‘The Godfather Part III.’
The iconic actor discussed his new film, his unusual character, working with Oscar Isaac, the difference between performing in a comedy or a drama, and his reaction to ‘Mario Puzo’s The Godfather, Coda: The Death of Michael Corleone.’
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You can read the full transcript of our interview with Andy Garcia about ‘Big Gold Brick’ below, or watch our interviews with Garcia, Lucy Hale, Emory Cohen and writer/director Brian Petsos by clicking on the video player above.
Moviefone: To begin with, how would you describe this movie to our audience?
Andy Garcia: It’s a very unique movie and encompasses many different genres, twists and turns in a way that’s unique to Brian (Petsos), the writer and director. This is his absurdity and sense of humor. What I can tell you, is that I play a gentleman who has an encounter, an accident with someone on the street, and hits him with his car. That relationship happens because of that, what ensues after that, as I begin to try to take him to heal and I bring him home to my house to get him well, because I feel responsible.
But that relationship quickly turns into other needs that I have, I would say. In that process, the relationship begins to formulate and take different turns. It’s very hard to explain the nature of what it is because immediately you’ll start anticipating things that, certainly, I don’t want you to anticipate.
MF: I thought Floyd was a perfect role for you as an actor. Did you recognize that when you first read the screenplay, and what was your approach to playing this character?
AG: Thank you. I mean, I’d recognize something because, obviously, I got all the way through the script and said, “What the hell did I just read?” I called Oscar Isaac, who had sent it to me, who was a producer on it and was going to play a part in it. He had worked with Brian Petsos on several shorts they did together.
So, I was aware of their relationship and the shorts. I said, “Oscar, this is really a bizarre script, and I’m trying to figure out what it’s all about and who this guy is.” I think, we started talking and I said, “Is it this? Is it that?” He would say something like, “Oh, I don’t know. I don’t know how you see that, but maybe.” Then finally I said something like, “I think it’s like that.” He said, “Yeah, that’s it.” I went, “Oh, okay. I’ll do it.”
Oscar Isaac in ‘Big Gold Brick.’
MF: You have a wonderful scene in the movie with Oscar Isaac, what was it like acting opposite him?
AG: Well, we’ve worked together before. We did a movie a while back ago called, ‘For Greater Glory: The True Story of Cristiada.’ Listen, Oscar’s an actor I admire, tremendously. He’s A wonderful actor. We’ve only had wonderful times working together in the past. We had a desire to work together and to work together, yet again. So, whenever I’m with him, we have a good time, and it was a joy. His character is so inspired, and the juxtaposition of putting Floyd in this man’s world there and how Floyd deals with it, also gives insight into how comfortable Floyd is in the most unique and dangerous situations.
MF: Can you talk about working with Emory Cohen on Floyd and Samuel’s unusual relationship?
AG: Well, Emery was great. He came on the first scene we did, where already I could tell that he was locked into a very specific character that he was committed to, and a state of mind and a state of angst. Also, the physical choices with the hair and all that. My job is to support that idea and engage in that idea, and have Floyd have to deal with it. I said, “Okay, I got this guy I just hit with a car,” and then he brings him home and then he goes, “Oh, you’re a writer.” Then the movie begins. Anyway, it’s a movie that encompasses so many different genres.
(L to R) Andy Garcia and Emory Cohen in ‘Big Gold Brick.’
MF: As an actor, is there a difference for you between doing comedy and drama?
AG: Well, I mean, it’s an art form. The sense of comedy and understanding how it works, and the timing of it all, and the choices you can make, depending on the tone of the comedy, have many different styles. But they always have to, I feel, be rooted in a real sense of truth, which it makes it even more poignant when you laugh. So, with Brian, that came from Second City and an improv background. I studied with a lot of people earlier out in my career and did a lot of improvisational theater.
So, we had a nice way of language, that if I would say, “Let me try something” and then I would just do it. Then, he would engage and laugh, and that’s part of the creative process, I think, it’s important, whether it’s a comedy or drama. Because you just want to take all the raw material you can to the cutting room and let the movie then tell you, even if the director goes, “I want it to be this.” The movie over here is going, “No, no, no, no. You got to go over here, because that’s the take you should use.” Then you go, “Yeah. Okay.”
MF: Finally, I was curious if you’ve had an opportunity to see ‘Mario Puzo’s The Godfather, Coda: The Death of Michael Corleone,’ which is Frances Ford Coppola’s director’s cut of ‘The Godfather Part III’ that was recently released. What were your thoughts on his new version of the film?
AG: I thought it was beautiful. I loved the movie the first time. I love it again the second time. I was aware of the sort of narrative structures and choices he made, to take out and restructure, which I thought was great. To me, that was a great privilege, obviously, to be a part of that world and to share that time with Francis.
So, like I said, I really enjoyed it, but more importantly to me, if this is what Francis wants to do, and that’s what he perceives, he’s the man. So, I want him to be happy and content. You know what I mean? And finish the ideas that he originally wanted to do. That’s what’s most important thing as a filmmaker, to leave that legacy the way he wanted to leave it.
Because he explained a lot, why the first version came out and sense of time and all that stuff. So, I think it’s great. There’s the 50th anniversary of ‘The Godfather’ happening this week at Paramount. They’re naming a street after Francis. Unfortunately, I’m leaving town and I’m going to miss it, but I’ll be there in spirit, for sure. He’s a very special man and a very special director.
Director Frances Ford Coppola at the 50th Anniversary of ‘The Godfather’ event and historic street naming ceremony at the Paramount Theater in Hollywood, CA on February 22nd, 2022. Photo by Frazer Harrison/Getty Images for Paramount Pictures.
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(L to R) Chris Shiflett, Taylor Hawkins, Rami Jaffee, Nate Mendel, Pat Smear, and Dave Grohl of Foo Fighters at the World Premiere of ‘Studio 666.’
Opening in theaters on February 25th is the new supernatural horror comedy ‘Studio 666,’ which stars the Grammy Award winning rock band the Foo Fighters.
Moviefone recently had the pleasure of speaking with Dave Grohl and members of Foo Fighters, including Pat Smear and Chris Shiflett, about their work on ‘Studio 666.’
Grohl, Smear, and Shiflett discussed the new movie, how it came together, Grohl’s original idea for the story, Shiflett’s acting lessons, what it was like for Smear to play an exaggerated version of himself, and the truth behind the “Pearl Jam high five.”
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You can read the full transcript of our interview with Dave Grohl, Pat Smear and Chris Shiflett below, or watch a video of the interview in the player above.
Moviefone: To begin with, Dave can you talk about how this project came together? Was it always the intent to make a horror movie with members of the band playing themselves?
Dave Grohl: It really started about three years ago. I have a friend that went to have a meeting with some movie studio. He came out of the meeting and texted me and said, “I just got out of this meeting with these people that want to make a horror film with the Foo Fighters.” I texted back, “That’s the stupidest thing I’ve ever heard in my life. We will never do that. That’s too ridiculous. No way. I don’t think any of us are even huge horror fans.”
Then we moved into this house, the house in the film. We moved in there to make our new record, ‘Medicine at Midnight.’ While we were in there writing, I thought, oh, well, wait. We have a creepy house, and we could just do it really quickly. Once we’re finished with the record, we’ll just film some ridiculous thing.
Then I just came up with this stupid idea that was, okay, we move into a house and the house is haunted and I become possessed and stuff goes wrong. Then I kill everybody. We actually talked about a bunch of different ideas for the band members.
It was really fun, just riffing. Then we got screenwriters to come in and really write it, then we had a table read, and then added special effects. That was when we started to realize, “Oh my God, hold on a sec, this isn’t a long form music video. This is a full-length feature film!” It just ballooned and snowballed from there, to where we’re like, “Oh my God, we made a movie. What?”
Dave Grohl in ‘Studio 666,’ an Open Road Films release. Photo Credit: Courtesy of Andrew Stuart/Open Road Films.
MF: Chris and Pat, how did you both feel about acting in the film and playing exaggerated versions of yourselves?
Chris Shiflett: It was nerve wracking going into it. I don’t know if we’ve talked about this, but I took some acting lessons. You got to understand when somebody puts a camera in your face, you get weird and twitchy, and your face does weird stuff. This was pre-pandemic, bro. A friend of mine, who’s a director connected me with a great acting coach and I went to her with the script.
It was fucking amazing because she sat there and read, line by line, and l got into, like what’s the motivation? It was amazing. It really, really helped. It made me so much more comfortable. And, I want to go on the record, because it is like these heightened versions of ourselves, but I have never made fun of Dave’s barbecue skills. Not one time. That is fiction!
Pat Smear: I’m just going to dispute your claim that this is an exaggerated version of ourselves. Clearly, it’s not. There’s nothing there that I wouldn’t do normally. So, what can I say? I don’t know. It’s awkward. It’s easy, but it’s awkward.
(L to R) Chris Shiflett, Rami Jaffee and Taylor Hawkins in ‘Studio 666,’ an Open Road Films release. Credit: Courtesy of Open Road Films.
MF: Finally, the movie shows the band repeatedly participating in the “Pearl Jam high five,” which is a reference to that band’s first album, ‘Ten.’ Is that something the band does in real life, or was that just added for the movie?
DG: That was an improv moment in the boardroom scene, where someone said, “Okay, let’s do it.” I went “Pearl Jam high five up top.” No, it’s not something we’ve ever done before.
PS: In fact, didn’t we do like five different high fives? Every time we had to do that scene over, we did a different dumb thing, I think. Then, that’s just the one they picked.
DG: I didn’t really think anyone would notice. I mean, of course I’m referring to the cover of their debut album, ‘Ten.’ Where they’re all high fiving. So, we did it once in that boardroom scene, and then, later on we filmed another scene in the driveway of the house, where I did it again. It’s in the movie twice. But the first one was great. It was a “Pearl Jam high five,” and we did that, and I go, “’Jeremy’ has fucking spoken.” Then we high five in the driveway, and then I go, “Break. We’re still ‘Alive.’”
PS: Wow. See, I got to see this movie.
DG: Pat hasn’t even watched the movie yet, God damn it! He’s like Johnny Depp, he won’t watch his own movies.
Pat Smear in ‘Studio 666,’ an Open Road Films release. Credit: Courtesy of Andrew Stuart/Open Road Films.
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Opening in theaters on February 18th is the new comedy ‘Dog,” which stars Channing Tatum and was co-directed by the actor, and the writer of ‘Magic Mike,’ Reid Carolin.
The film follows U.S. Army Ranger Briggs (Tatum), as he travels down the Pacific Coast with a Belgian Malinois military working dog named Lulu, in time for her to attend her handler’s funeral in Arizona.
We recently had the pleasure of speaking with Channing Tatum and Reid Carolin about their work on ‘Dog.’
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You can read the full transcript of the interview below or watch the video in the player above.
Moviefone: To begin with, Reid, can you talk about why this was the movie you wanted to make as your directorial debut?
Reid Carolin: Well, it was a long time coming for us to direct a movie together. We’ve been wanting to do it for a long time. One of the things we learned in that process, which took many years was that it’s really true, it’s better to create what you know. It’s better to creatively go into your backyard to find the things that are really instinctively clear to you so that you don’t have to think about them too much.
A road movie was something that Channing and I wanted to do. There were things that we do in our spare time, like going on road trips and adventures with our dogs. We also wanted to honor our relationships with our dogs. Channing in particular had a really beautiful and heartbreaking story, that was the end of his story with his dog.
But we really wanted to shine a light on the bond that they had and the adventures that they had together, really at the beginning of their relationship. I felt a bond with my dog. So those were important attributes of the film. Then also the community of Army Rangers that we met making a documentary for HBO called ‘War Dog.’ We wanted to shine a light on the incredible bond between these guys and their dogs, where the line between animal and human gets really blurred.
You start to realize that the word dog or animal doesn’t really encapsulate what these beings are. They’re like brothers, sisters, family members, and they’re really humans. So, it was important for us to take people on that type of a journey, seeing a dog as a dog, and then discovering they’re so much more than that.
MF: Channing, making a movie with a dog can be difficult. Was this a challenging film to shoot?
Channing Tatum: Yeah. There was a lot of things that I think took place that made it only possible. We worked with Andrew Simpson, the most talented and the most premier dog handler. He specializes in Belgians and wolves. He did all the wolves for ‘Game of Thrones’ and all the Belgians in ‘John Wick.’
These dogs are very specific. They’re not like other dogs. They just aren’t. That’s why they’re used in the military. It’s why they’re used in police work and things like that. They’re very delicate in a way that you need to know their personalities and what they’re capable of to be able to use them safely. But our dogs were superheroes.
We had three of them on the movie and Brita was our hero dog. We got them at a time where we were about to start shooting in the two weeks before the pandemic, and we got to shut down. All of our dog handlers on Andrew’s team, took their dogs to their homes for the entire pandemic and kept working with them. Then I would work with them as soon as the pandemic was done and leading up to our movie.
So, I think by the end of it, we almost had a year before we actually went to picture, and we really needed it. We needed to understand these dogs on a really intimate level to be able to get the performances that we got out of them.
Ben Schwartz from Netflix’s ‘Space Force’ Season Two.
Premiering on Netflix February 18th is the second season of the popular comedy ‘Space Force.’ The series is a workplace comedy that revolves around a group of people tasked with establishing the sixth branch of the United States Armed Forces, the United States Space Force.
Moviefone recently had the opportunity to speak with actors Ben Schwartz, Jimmy O. Yang, Diana Silvers and Tawny Newsome about their work on ‘Space Force’ season two.
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You can read the full transcript of our interview below, or watch all the interviews in the video played above.
Moviefone: As season two begins, the US Space Force is really having to prove its worth. Ben, as the social media director and the publicist, what is Tony’s biggest challenge this season?
Ben Schwartz: By the way, you’re exactly correct, that is what is happening. Tony’s biggest challenge is trying to spin this thing into something that looks positive. He has to spin this thing into showing that Space Force is worthwhile and keeping these people who work there is worthwhile.
Somehow, now he is the underdog trying to keep the story of what’s happening as positive as possible, to give people hope that this thing could actually be wonderful for our country and things like that. So, there’s a lot more on his shoulders, but also failure is just a skip away. He is very aware that he may have to start looking for another job.
MF: Jimmy, what is Chan dealing with personally and in the workplace this season?
Jimmy O. Yang: I’m not sure of the Chan and Angela possibilities. Will they, or won’t they? Relationships can cause HR complaints, but you know, it’s happening. So, I think he’s a capable scientist. He approaches everything like science, like a math problem. So, he really has to learn how to grow as a human being with his interpersonal relationships.
But it’s not just with Angela. It’s also his bromance with Tony, Ben Schwartz’s character, him being a mentee to John Malkovich’s character, almost mentoring this new intern, all while under the family umbrella of General Naird. It’s all very, very fun with very relatable human family dynamics and circumstances, even though it’s set in the very high stakes and grand scale of ‘Space Force.’
MF: Tawny, does Captain Ali have a larger role this season than she did in the first season?
Tawny Newsome: Yeah, for sure. You know, I think the writers did a great job of not ignoring the fact that she did this wild thing. She literally went to the moon. She was the first black woman on the moon. Then to just come back and kind of jump into everyday life is a big ask. So, she definitely has some tumult going on. I think we got to play with it in a really fun way.
You know, (producer) Greg Daniels had asked me, do you have like something that you do? We need an outlet for her or whatever. I was like, well, I play the drums. Could she be drumming somewhere? He’s like, yes. So, the writers ran with that. Then when I got the scripts later, I was like, oh wait. So, she’s drumming in the middle of the night in an apartment complex. That’s a serial killer move, who does that? That’s truly insane to drum, even to drum in a house, in a regular neighborhood, or in an apartment. So, that told me a lot about where she’s at and the amount of F’s she was giving at that moment, which is less than zero.
MF: Diana, your character has matured a lot between season one and season two. What happened to her between seasons that helped her to grow so much?
Diana Silvers: I think especially at that age, everything is kind of life or death. Because your emotions are heightened, you’re hormonal and there’s just a lot going on. You truly are the center of everything that revolves around you. You are the center of your universe. I think in season one, Erin felt like she wasn’t. She felt like a side character in someone else’s life. I think when, that big event happened with her mom and General Naird, she actually sees that she does matter.
She means something, and she is kind of like the center of not just her universe, but her family’s universe. I think it allowed for her to get grounded again and reground herself. So, going into Space Force and finding a parental figure in Mallory and having like two parents in a way again. Having a support system and being around other adults that genuinely care about her, she was able to explore her own identity and figure out what she wants for herself and where she wants to go with her life.
‘Space Force’ season two premieres February 18th on Netflix.
(L to R) John Malkovich, Tawny Newsome, Lisa Kudrow, Steve Carell, Jimmy O. Yang, Ben Schwartz, and Diana Silvers in ‘Space Force’ Season Two. Photo Courtesy of Netflix.
