Moviefone Editorial

Tag: interview

  • ‘The Girl in the Spider’s Web’ Unscripted With Claire Foy, Fede Álvarez, Sylvia Hoeks, and Sverrir Gudnason

    ‘The Girl in the Spider’s Web’ Unscripted With Claire Foy, Fede Álvarez, Sylvia Hoeks, and Sverrir Gudnason

    It’s been a great year for bad-ass female leads, and the trend continues with the newest iteration of literary hero Lisbeth Salander hitting the screen in “The Girl in the Spider’s Web.”

    While in Italy for the Rome Film Festival, Moviefone caught up with the latest actress to take up the mantle, Claire Foy, along with her co-stars Sylvia Hoeks, Sverrir Gudnason, and director Fede Álvarez for an episode of our signature series “Unscripted.”

    Despite the serious tone of the film, there was no shortage of laughter and good rapport from the cast and director. Items discussed include Foy taking a stab at a formal super hero role, impromptu on-set barbecues, and which scene Fede secretly wishes he could’ve performed in himself.

    “The Girl in the Spider’s Web” also stars LaKeith Stanfield, Stephen Merchant, and comes to theaters November 9th!

  • ‘Halloween’ Unscripted With Jamie Lee Curtis, David Gordon Green, and Jason Blum

    ‘Halloween’ Unscripted With Jamie Lee Curtis, David Gordon Green, and Jason Blum

    40 years ago, high schooler Laurie Strode faced off against murderous psychopath Michael Myers, and we’ve been terrified ever since.

    Now that we’re heading back to Haddonfield, Illinois for a new chapter of terror in “Halloween,” Moviefone sat down with one of the OG Scream Queens herself Jamie Lee Curtis for an episode of “Unscripted.” She’s joined by the two people that helped bring this latest iteration of “Halloween” to life: Director David Gordon Green and super producer Jason Blum.

    With all talent spoiling us with such a wealth of information across the acting, directing, and producing fronts, things picked up quickly. They discussed the possibility of a Michael Myers crossover film and what being a “scream queen” really means.  Curtis also shared a very moving story from the set of the movie.

    “Halloween” also stars Judy Greer, Andi Matichak, and Will Patton, with Nick Castle returning as Michael Myers. Make sure to check it out when it hits theaters October 19!

  • ‘Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom’s’ Jeff Goldblum on Returning to the Franchise and His ‘Simpsons’ Episode

    You don’t talk to Jeff Goldblum as much as you hold on for dear life.

    The actor, who just received a long-overdue star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame — and has been having something of a career second-wind thanks to well-placed roles in movies big and small — returns to the franchise that made him a household name with “Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom.” And you can feel that electricity running through the legendary actor while talking to him.

    For Goldblum, who once more plays the role of scientist and chaos theorist Ian Malcolm in the newest installment in the series, the performance feels just as important as it did the first time around, even if the total runtime adds up to little more than a cameo.

    And that kind of effervescent energy is infectious. In our conversation, we talked about returning to the franchise, his many roles as a wacky scientist, whether or not he’s seen his Marvel-approved mural in Disneyland, and what he remembers from his excellent performance on “The Simpsons.”

    It’s a wild ride. Hang on.

    Moviefone: When you signed on to the first “Jurassic Park” 25 years ago, did you ever think you’d still be playing the character?

    Goldblum: No. It’s all been lucky, to keep going, you know? I don’t think we thought that there’d be any more than just the one. I certainly didn’t think about it. And then there was that second one and, here we are, 25 years later, holy cats! It was a total surprise to me.

    What was your reaction when they called you and said they wanted you back for “Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom?”

    I was very, very thrilled because I have nothing but rosy associations with all my experiences with them … Michael Crichton’s book, I loved. And I love that part. Steven Spielberg was a once-in-a-lifetime — or, in that case, [a] twice-in-a-lifetime experience, working with him. And in the ensuing years, people have come up and I realized how thrilled people were with those movies. And when they called me and said J.A. Bayona — because I had seen all of his other movies and I was a fan of his — I wanted to work with him. Colin Trevorrow is just wonderful. He wrote and directed the last one, and wrote this one, and he’s just great. So I was thrilled. I love this current cast. Chris and Bryce are spectacular. I was just delighted.

    You’ve kind of become the “Jurassic Park” ambassador — you’re part of the videogame that is coming out, too, and you have made appearances at the theme park.

    Yeah, that’s true. Well, the videogame, they were very nice. They wrote a lot of Ian Malcolm-esque lines for me. I said a lot of them; probably more than in any of the movies. I met with them for a couple of days and recorded stuff. But I know that’s got fans, so I was happy to do that. They did a state-of-the-art job with that kind of stuff.The end of this movie leaves things pretty open — would you be interested in coming back for the third film?

    Well, I am enjoying life. I want to keep going and keep waking up and taking nourishment and having my oatmeal and everything. This is a thrilling part of life. On one hand, I’ve done so much with these and I feel so satisfied, so if nothing else happened I’d feel grateful and lucky. But, if anybody felt like I could contribute something, I’d offer my humble service to anything that I might do to continue telling the story.

    I think it should be you, Sam Neill, Laura Dern — you should all be back in the next one.

    Ooooh, well — I love those actors. Who knows what will happen. They’re cooking it up right now, I think. They’ve said publicly that, by summer of 2021, they’re hoping to have something out. (Editor’s note: the third “Jurassic World” movie is currently slated for release June 11, 2021.)

    Colin Trevorrow and Emily Carmichael are writing the script now. And this character is so rich, I must say, it was delicious to try and reinvestigate [Malcolm’s] thinking and feeling, which is kind of rich on the issues of making the planet work for everyone and being passionately anti-greed and anti-militaristic. He’s an interesting cat.

    You’ve played a lot of wacky scientists. Is Ian Malcolm your favorite?

    Well, it’s tough to play favorites. Now that I’m a father, I know that’s not the coolest thing to do. Let’s see … Ian Malcolm, well, I’m immersed in the world right now so I’m particularly fond or a little bit in love with that character and that world, that’s true. Who are the others?Well, Seth Brundle from “The Fly.”

    Oh, yes. Love Seth Brundle.

    Your character in “Independence Day” wasn’t exactly a scientist, but he was scientifically minded.

    Yeah, some kind of smarty pants, some kind of MIT-trained man of technology. Hey, I have something in the can where I played a scientist. I played, in this movie called “The Mountain,” directed by Rick Alverson, who made “The Comedy” and “Entertainment,” two movies that I really like, and I play — in 1954 — a kind of version of the real-life character who pioneered pre-frontal lobotomies in America. He’s a doctor and he’s fallen from grace in our story, and he goes on a drunken adventure in the Pacific Northwest with Tye Sheridan under his wing. And Udo Kier is in it. It’ll be an artful offering and I had a great time doing it.

    I ran into Udo Kier in a furniture store in Palm Springs a few weeks ago.

    Oh, really? Yes, he lives in Palm Springs, yes. He worked with Andy Warhol and Lars Von Trier. What a career he’s had.

    Recently, you entered another great franchise as the Grandmaster in “Thor Ragnarok.” What was that experience like?

    I loved it to pieces. Taika Waititi is very brilliant and a comedic force of nature, and we had a great time together. We laughed up a storm. We improvised a lot. He made up stuff and I made up stuff. And all of the people at Marvel are really great to work with. They’re very brilliant and creative and have great integrity. They want to make popular movies, but they want to make good movies. And they have newfangled ways of doing it and I enjoyed them to no end.

    Do you think you’ll come back in that Marvel Cinematic Universe?

    Who knows. I have no idea. But I can imagine. The Grandmaster is immortal. You can’t kill him. I think he played some game with the devil, and I think — for he and his brother — they got immortality. And he has more superpowers than anybody we’ve ever seen, but just amuses himself with games, as we’ve seen. It’s fertile ground.Have you seen your mural at Disneyland?

    That’s so funny. I haven’t seen that mural in person, but I’ve see it on Instagram. I like that. I’ve having an ecstatic moment, wiping all the pieces off the board. And I’m in my sandals! My feet are on display, too! I always like that.

    Before I go, I have to ask you about your episode of “The Simpsons,” which is one of my favorites ever.

    Well, thank you so much. Those people are so great. It was fun and funny to do. Yes, to be the agent and manager and advisor to Troy McClure — and to get him to resurrect his career with some sex scandal with a fish — it’s always a good idea! Yes! Good advice! I haven’t done that myself, but I have it up my sleeve.

    “Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom” stomps into cinemas everywhere this week.

  • Peter Jackson Reveals Why He Decided Not to Direct ‘Mortal Engines’

    The Beatles Eight Days A Week - The Touring Years premiere - LondonSince 2008, Peter Jackson has been trying to bring “Mortal Engines” to a theater near you. It’s been a decade, but that dream is finally becoming a reality — albeit in a different way than Jackson originally intended.

    Unlike previous passion projects, Jackson didn’t take the director’s chair this time around, and last year, Moviefone and other reporters visited the New Zealand set to find out why. We also learned what drew Jackson to the book in the first place.

    So, the film’s director, Christian, was saying that one of the earlier plans was for you to direct the film. Can you talk about that evolution? And why did you decide to not direct?

    Peter Jackson: It was probably one of the movies I would’ve done, you know, during the time that “The Hobbit” was being shot, but I ended up directing that and sort of took me out of commission for five years. And coming out of it, we were faced with a situation where the rights to the books — which we’ve had for, you know, probably nearly a decade or so — they were due to expire and we had to move fast.

    Christian is a filmmaker I want to support. He’s worked with me for 25 years and he needed to direct something soon. Also, Fran [Walsh] and I ended up, after five years on “The Hobbit,” with so many other projects that we wanted to write and develop ourselves.

    What was it about this story has kept you hooked for so long?

    Peter Jackson: This is one movie where I hope it’s successful enough that we get to do the other stories because the other books are really — I mean, this story mushrooms in such unexpected ways in the future books. So, I really hope we get to make those films.

    It’s a love story. It’s an unlikely love story. It’s about a young woman who doesn’t really think that she will ever find love and she finds it through a very unexpected way in the middle of this chaotic, strange world that we’re in. And I also just like the idea of seeing big cities eat other. It’s going to be pretty amazing.

    Can you talk about some of the stuff that you’ve been shooting on the second unit?

    Peter Jackson: I’ve just been doing odd bits and pieces. Just doing it a bit here, a bit there. I get told what to do. It’s quite good. I mean, Christian gives me a list of things that he wants shot and I can shoot them.

    It’s actually, you know, it’s fun to do! To shoot some of the stuff that, if I was a director, I wouldn’t get to shoot. Plus, I get to use a camera, too, because I haven’t been able to do any camera operating for years and I always loved doing that. So, if I ever am doing anything on the second unit, I usually get a third camera. I’m the third camera and I find myself a place to shoot and I get to shoot some stuff. Which is also fun.'The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey' Premiere - New YorkWe’ve talked to a lot of the cast and they’ve all talked about the collaboration on making this film. You know, talking with everyone in developing the characters in their own way. What’s that been like as producer/writer? And also, how has that shaped what you think things might go in the future?

    Peter Jackson: Well, we always like to collaborate with the actors. I mean, we’ve always done that in a way, you know? We write a draft of a script — or several drafts of a script. You want to write something that’s good enough for a studio to see it and green light it.

    But, when you’re casting it, now [you are dealing] with actors who you didn’t necessarily imagine, or you didn’t even know would be playing these roles when you wrote the initial draft. So, we were able to then, write it with their voices in mind and sit down and talk with them. Because there’s a point in time, too, where you realize that, as a filmmaker — or as directors, writer, producer, whatever –you’ve got everything on your mind. Whereas an actor is focused on their role and their character. We’ve always found it really rewarding to sit and talk with them about their character. They sort of take ownership of the character in a way. And in a sense, you’re sort of handing it over to them.

    We often get emails from actors, saying: “Oh, we’re shooting this scene next week and I thought I could say this, or we could change this line, or I have this idea.” Sometimes the ideas are good, sometimes they’re not. But, we’re certainly always happy to encourage it and sit and meet with them.

    And even if the idea isn’t necessarily the right one, perhaps the thought behind it is great. So, we sit there and talk with them and figure out a way to achieve what they’re trying to do with their character.

    It seems a little bit, based on what Philip Reeve has kind of said in the past, that there are some things that he wanted to fit into “Mortal Engines.” For example, more details on the hierarchy that goes on in the city. Did anything that didn’t make it into the book make it into this movie just by virtue of your conversations?

    Peter Jackson: We’ve changed the book a bit in places. But, not really for those reasons. We’ve aged it up. The book is written for quite a young audience, to some degree, you know? And I just don’t think anybody wants to see another dystopian-teenage movie any time soon.

    So, it’s one of the reasons why we’ve aged it sort of up… We had to make it a little bit more adult. And so, in some respects, it differs from the book in quite a few places, but not really for those reasons. Although, Philip came out here and we always send him script revisions as we do them and he always seems to be very pleased with them.

    You know, having written the four books that he did, he said that he wished he could go back to the first one again and revise some parts of it because you certainly you see his confidence in his storytelling kind of grow as these four books progress.

    If you do more of them, would you want to have the same sort of level of involvement?

    Peter Jackson: Yeah. I have to see if Christian wants to direct some. That will be up to him. He might go off and do other things. I mean, I’d like to direct. I thought I was going to direct. I’d love to direct the last one if we got that far. But, by then, if he’s directing them, I’ll let him decide. We’d produce them for sure, and obviously, Christian would have the first offer to direct and hopefully he would.

    Mortal Engines hits theaters December 14, 2018. Watch the trailer here.

  • Dwayne Johnson Reveals Why ‘Rampage’ Isn’t Just Another Video Game Movie

    Dwayne Johnson is no stranger to action-packed blockbusters, but “Rampage” is a whole new ballgame for the popular movie star.

    Not only was it his biggest physical challenge to date, but it’s also his second time appearing in a movie based on a video game. (The first being the misfire that was 2005’s “Doom.”)

    Recently, Moviefone, along with several other outlet, visited the impressive set of “Rampage” in Atlanta. Here, Johnson revealed his secret sauce for a successful video game movie, what being BFFs with an albino gorilla is like, and more.

    MOVIEFONE: Out of every arcade game that could be made into a movie, what makes “Rampage” the perfect game for adaptation?

    Dwayne Johnson: Well, I can only speak for me … I just know from my taste and my experiences in playing the game. I loved the game when I was a kid, and when I got a little older, I had it on Nintendo. It’s such a simple premise, so the challenge was to take this fun, simple premise and try to build it and, hopefully, make a cool movie out of it.

    I think we’ve been doing some good stuff on set here that might lend itself to a pretty good movie. And you know, again, there are just some really cool elements that if you do it right, hopefully, it can turn into something that’s really cool. You’ve got three gigantic monsters who’ve been mutated through genetic editing — and you have a hero in Naomie Harris‘ character — and then you have some big, bald, brown guy running around, shooting s**t, and trying not to get killed.

    You did an amazing description of this movie’s plot on Instagram, in which you described the friendship between your character and George. What is it like to have to genuinely establish that rapport onscreen?

    I think there’s layers to it. I’m an animal lover, I have a lot of dogs and horses up in Virginia, and I raise fish. So, the idea with the first part about it was: What’s a great relationship with an animal in my life that I could apply to it. And I have a little Frenchie named Hobbs, named after the character from “Fast and Furious.” And the idea that, amidst the calamity, it still comes down to this core relationship — and that’s one of the reasons that really attracted me to begin with to the movie and to the script.

    The element and the anchor of the relationship between man and his best friend, and his best friend happens to be an albino gorilla. That was what sealed the deal for me, because I was thinking: “Okay, we have these cool elements, great CGI, a great director who I’ve worked with twice already in Brad Peyton, who I know can deliver on a big massive scale, but what’s, like, the anchor? What is the heart?” And the heart is in this relationship.

    So you and Brad have done the big destruction movie before with “San Andreas,” so what is the difference between making a disaster movie and a giant monster movie?

    What I’m finding as we move along and we’re shooting these scenes is that, unlike with “San Andreas,” we had time between earthquakes. We have a sense that something was coming, that something else was coming, the big one was going to happen. We had a little bit of time.

    In this, with three gigantic monsters, especially at their height of the serum taking effect, there’s no time. Everything happens very quickly, and everything’s happening from different angles. Not only are you dealing with the destruction and the collapsing of buildings in all of Chicago, but then you’re dealing with alpha animals who are trying to do everything they can to kill everything around them.

    With the game, you’re playing as the monsters, your goal is to destroy everything. So when we see the movie, are we the audience rooting for you to defeat them? Or are we rooting for them to destroy everything?

    I think it’s a combination. It all depends on what you like! I know when I watch a movie, I’m going to be rooting for the monsters, because I love the monsters. I’m also rooting for the relationship and just taking myself out and watching as a fan, but I think everybody’s going to be satisfied. There’s something for everybody.

    The fun of the destruction of “Rampage,” which is completely destroying everything, that’s in here. There are also some easter eggs in here, too, that I think people are going to like.There are a lot of bad movies that are based on video games. So what’s the secret of making a good movie adaptation of a video game?

    I’m not quite sure what the secret is. I can tell you what we wanted to do, which was we wanted to collectively get together and put together the best team possible to execute on the script, and that means bringing in all the great department heads. We had a great studio who does this very well, we’ve got a team in Brad Payton. Yes, we’ve done “San Andreas.” Before that, we’d done [“Journey 2”]. That’s when I found how talented Brad was.

    I think it all starts with story and I think it all starts with characters. I can tell you the idea of making “Rampage” I thought was interesting, just because I love the game. So you love something, it’s like, “Yeah, let me see!” But you’re always a little bit cautious, especially when you know it’s a video game, and it’s an interpretation of a video game, and you always want to try and study, and see video games in the past that didn’t do well. And a lot of those filmmakers who made those video game movies that I know, and we all know, because we’re all in the business, right? We talk to them and get as much information as possible.

    And I think it goes back to actually finding an anchor. So, yes, we had the CRISPR science that’s rooted in a reality which is happening today. The love of animals, me being a primatologist, and also the anchor of a relationship. There’s the calamity and there’s the craziness, and everything that’s happening. But it all kind of boils down to just me and this silverback gorilla, which you guys will see, we have not only this awesome relationship, but we do sign language. He tells me, “I love you,” I tell him, “I love you back.” He shows off in front of pretty ladies, I tell him don’t do that. We do some funny stuff.

    Did you work with any real gorillas? Did you have time to do that?

    We did. I spent a lot of time at the Atlanta Zoo here, with primatologists there, and also the Dian Fossey Foundation — which, when you want to root something in a reality, especially in Hollywood, you want to do your best to be authentic as possible and have some roots in a foundation that people feel good about seeing. As opposed to being just a big commercial movie with three monsters.

    So, we spent a lot of time with scientists and scientists from CRISPR. I personally spent a lot of time with primatologists. I spent a lot of time with the people from Dian Fossy, the people from Atlanta Zoo, and I spent some time in the Primate Department. You can’t go in and actually touch these gorillas, because they’re not your best friend. But they’re very friendly, they come up to the cage, by the way, and I was able to feed them, I was able to spend time with a silverback named Taz. And, you know, another fascinating aspect is our motion-capture aspect… [Jason Liles] is fantastic. As you guys will see, he studied gorillas for months, and months, and months. Getting their emotions, getting their facial expressions.

    Naomie Harris came out of “Moonlight” and had a big year. What’s it been like working with her?

    She’s been the best. She’s been amazing, I love that woman, love working with her. I’ve been really lucky — I was just thinking about this the other day — I’ve been really lucky to work with just some amazing women over the years. And Naomie, she really takes the cake. She’s just so incredibly committed and disciplined and phenomenal with her work, and you immediately can tell, “Ah, this is why you were nominated for an Oscar. I wouldn’t be surprised if you’re nominated for two or three more at some point in your career.” Really wonderful.

    And the best part about Naomie is, she’s just an awesome girl. Like, really cool, down to earth, fun to talk to. And before every take, I’ll come up to her and say, “Okay, I need the Oscar performance.” Or I’ll be, “You know what? We don’t need the Oscar performance, just do a little bit.” [Laughs]We’ve heard that the flipside of your character is he loves animals, he’s great with George, but he’s not great with people, maybe.

    Yeah, just like me in real-life. [Laughs]

    But with Naomie’s character, and other people he’s encountering, how does that play out?

    Well, it makes it very challenging. Here’s a guy who’s been around the world. He’s fought in wars and he’s been an anti-poaching human in Rwanda, which is based off Dian Fossey, and some of those anti-poachers that I had the opportunity to spend time with. And he’s seen a lot of the grim parts of the world, he’s tracked down a lot of bad people. So, for him, the interpretation of what a good human being is is a bit skewed, but he is justified in his ways in how he feels.

    So it makes any relationship with somebody very, very challenging. That includes Naomie, that includes the people he works with, that includes how he views the world and how he views people. And, also, he feels like the one thing that draws him to animals and especially to George is you always know the truth with them. You always know the truth with animals, and there’s a great quote in the movie — I think it’s a great quote — we’ll see how people respond to it, and it’s very simple. “If animals like you, they lick you. If they don’t, they eat you.”

    So this is obviously not your first rodeo, but was there anything physically challenging about this that was different?

    Easily the most physically demanding role I have ever done. Easily. And I didn’t really anticipate it, because I knew it was going to be physically demanding, because you read the script — and you know that things start to happen at a catastrophic level — things are going down all around you, and you’re flying a helicopter, because you’ve got to fly a helicopter. But, it wasn’t until I got to the set that you start to realize that it is constant. Unlike “San Andreas,” where a little tremor would happen, a little bit of rumbling, we’d have a little bit of time, this is just a constant onslaught. So, I think we’re going to make a movie that really, truly feels like a ride with amazing twists and turns, and ups and downs, and your heart will beat really fast and then we’ll slow it down just a little bit. Add a little bit of humor at certain places, which you need, and then you’re on it again.

    The “Fast and Furious” movies can be very physical, because there’s always a fight, you have to fight with somebody. But in this case, there’s a lot of running and there’s a lot of almost being eaten.

    “Rampage” hits theaters everywhere April 13.

  • 11 Things We Learned on the Set of ‘Rampage’

    In less than a month, “Rampage” will smash into theaters.

    In the Summer of 2017, Moviefone got to visit the set of the monster movie (based on the 80s arcade game) and talked to stars Dwayne Johnson and Naomie Harris, director Brad Peyton, and producers John Rickard and Hirame Garcia. Johnson plays Davis, an ex-military type who has a skyscraper-sized, genetically-engineered albino ape for a best friend. Naturally.

    Things get real complicated when super-sized monsters — in the form of a wolf and alligator — join the city-smashing melee and Johnson and his furry pal get caught in the middle. Here’s everything we learned!

    1. They aren’t too worried about being lumped in with other video game movies.

    “It’s a great opportunity because the game is so old that, at the time, it was just ‘you drink a potion and become big,’” producer Hirame Garcia said. “So it gave us a lot of opportunity to really root it in science and something that’s really happening, and get to the rampaging monsters in the most realistic and authentic way.”

    2. The action is intense. And we mean intense.

    We’ll let Naomie Harris explain: “I mean, from, like, being in a helicopter — you know, they actually created a helicopter on a rig so that when we were crashing, it actually feels like you’re crashing — to creating this huge government plane inside, where we’re on harnesses and pretending that the back of the plane is blown out, and we’re being strung up from the ceiling.”

    3. They used WETA for the special effects.

    When asked why they decided to use the effects house that also worked on films like “Lord of the Rings,” Dwayne Johnson said: “Find those filmmakers who really did it right, those department heads and those companies who did it right, see if they responded to the script, which they did.”

    4. The plot of “Rampage” could actually happen! Well… kind of.

    “So, everything that’s happening in this movie is actually real,” producer John Rickard revealed. “There’s one piece of it that is science fiction, that may become real in the next five to ten years, that they’re working on now. So, Crispr is real. It’s the ability to take attributes — like, it’s really unzipping DNA, pulling out bad attributes, putting the good ones in. And also, if you wanted to, you could take attributes from other animals and plug those into them.”5. Dwayne Johnson really cares about delivering for his fans.

    When asked what would surprise people about her co-star, Harris answered: “He has such a level of passion and an understanding of what his fans love and what they need, and he’s really careful about that. So many stages in the movie, he’ll say, ‘Okay, I don’t think the audience will really like this, or they’re not gonna be moved by this, or they’re gonna love this particular moment.’ He’s really in-tune with what his audience wants. I’ve never seen anybody as in-tune as that.”

    6. They got a lot of weird pitches.

    “Let’s just say I said no to ‘Rock-zilla,’” Brad Peyton said with a laugh. “It was presented in a room much like [the one we’re in], and I was like, ‘That’s a hard pass from me.’ That sounds really not grounded at all. It’s like a ‘Saturday Night Live’ skit a little bit.”

    7. They decided to change George’s color from the video games to set him apart from other famous primates.

    “We’re very aware of the landscape. You have ‘King Kong,’ you have ‘Planet of the Apes,’ but the fact is, in a story like this, George does have the greatest capacity, the mental capacity, of any of those creatures,” Garcia revealed. “One of the things we wanted to do is, even being aware of the dynamics out there, [with] a story like this, is to try and separate it from the others as rooted in a real heart connection between Davis and George. They’re essentially best friends.”

    “In that attempt of how do we make this feel fresh from what’s happening in ‘Apes,’ and what’s happening in ‘Kong,’ what about an albino gorilla? On paper, it’s kind of daunting at first. You’re like, ‘Oh, is he going to look fluffy?’ But when we started to get mock ups, and you see how badass he looks and get in it, you’re like, ‘Wow, this is striking, I’ve never seen this.’ We felt like it was a great opportunity.”

    8. Jason Liles, who wears a motion capture suit to play George, is the real deal.

    “When he comes on set, he comes on as George — with his emotions and with his facial expressions, and with his grunts — and there are modulating grunts that gorillas have for different meanings,” Johnson told us.

    “His sign language, when he’s in pain, especially when the serum is taking effect, and he knows that something’s wrong with him. I was really blown away, and really captivated, by his performance — which really reminded me of how remarkable motion-capture acting is. And now, after being on set with Jason, someone’s who’s committed to the role, months and months of studying gorillas and being on these apparatuses where he’s a silverback for weeks and weeks and weeks, running up and down the Santa Monica stairs. It’s really just spectacular.”

    9. Brad Peyton really, really wanted Naomie Harris in the movie.

    “Look, I just wanted her in the biggest way,” Peyton said. “You get pressure from all different places to look at different actors and different things, and my goal is to make the best movie with the best acting possible. And she is a fantastic actor and really wanted to do it, and I was not gonna get off the phone until thought I heard a ‘yes.’”

    The director went on to say: “I just thought this is really like a… she’s really intelligent as a person. She’s really intelligent, she’s really sweet, she’s really passionate, and that’s exactly what the characters need to be. I thought this is the way to go. I haven’t seen an actress like this do this character, in this type of movie, ever. And she’s so honest and hardworking, and I was like: ‘That’s the type of person I want on my set. That’s the type of person I want to work with.’ That’s the kind of person I am, so I really related to just talking to her. That’s when it becomes fun and easier, and I knew she was right, and, so, I kind of pushed everything aside and was like, ‘I gotta get her on the phone! I gotta talk to her!’ And yes, it was a long call on her way to, like, a “Moonlight” Q&A, so I could hear the cabbie in the background — in London — talking to her the whole time. Yeah, I just really, really wanted to work with her, so I held her hostage on the phone.”

    10. You might end up rooting for the monsters.

    “Davis [Johnson’s character] was the head of an anti-poaching unit for a military unit in Rwanda, so he’s coming from a place where he’s an animal lover,” Garcia told us. “He’s actually not a big fan of humans. He has a hard time trusting them, because he’s seen what they can do. Part of his arc is really learning through Kate that he can start to trust people again. But George is his family and his best friend. We wanted to make sure that we’re sensitive to the fact that all the animals are victims in this.”

    11. Unlike most monster movies, this one isn’t all about “taking out the monster.”

    The Rock went on to say: “One of the things that we like about our [movie’s] dynamic is, even though they’re trying to stop these creatures, our heroes, it’s always about killing the monster, stopping the monster. Here, we’re actually trying to save the monster. Our story is essentially about a man trying to save his best friend. That’s our journey and, ultimately, Davis is doing everything he can while everyone’s freaking out and, unfortunately, these creatures are being triggered to rampage out of their control. To that end, Davis is trying to save them. And he’s still trying to save the world, but, ultimately, he just wants to save his friend and bring his friend back — because his friend never asked for this.”

    “Rampage” hits theaters everywhere April 13.

  • ‘Star Wars: The Last Jedi’ Unscripted

    One of the hidden benefits of “Unscripted” is its ability to transform into free group therapy. A place where stars can vent, grow, and unite over the concept that sometimes parents just don’t understand.

    John Boyega, Gwendoline Chrisite, Mark Hamill, and Kelly Marie Tran stopped by to answer your questions (and posit some of their own) about “Star Wars: The Last Jedi” and it was blast right from the get-go. Topics discussed include a Captain Phasma/Brienne of Tarth team-up, J.J. Abrams‘ birth name (Jar-Jar, obviously), and one of the most famous lines in cinema history.

    “Star Wars: The Last Jedi,” directed by Rian Johnson and starring Mark Hamill, John Boyega, Gwendoline Christie, Kelly Marie Tran, Carrie Fisher, Adam Driver, Daisy Ridley, Oscar Isaac, Andy Serkis, Lupita Nyong’o opens in theaters everywhere Friday, December 15th.

  • ‘Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle’ Unscripted

    “Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle” features four teens trying to survive as video-game avatars in a dangerous jungle. So it only makes sense that the cast (Dwayne Johnson, Kevin Hart, Karen Gillan, and Jack Black) continued their battle against the forces of nature in the latest episode of “Unscripted.”

    The stars of the movie weathered the Hawaiian winds to answer your questions — and some of their own — in Moviefone’s signature series … and things go off the rails quick. Topics discussed include explosive manure, their favorite movies featuring their co-stars, and Kevin Hart almost burning his face off!

    Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle,” directed by Jake Kasdan and starring Dwayne Johnson, Kevin Hart, Jack Black, Karen Gillan, and Nick Jonas opens in theaters everywhere Wednesday, December 20th.

  • ‘Olaf’s Frozen Adventure’ Directors Reveal How They Pulled Off This ‘Frozen’ Short Film

    While the wait continues for “Frozen 2” (2019! We swear!), those wanting to get their Arendelle fix can scratch that itch this weekend when attending Pixar’s wonderful “Coco.”

    Preceding that film is a brand new, 22-minute “Frozen” short film entitled “Olaf’s Frozen Adventure.” In the new film, everyone’s favorite snowman (once again voiced by Josh Gad) goes out hunting for seasonal traditions for Anna and Elsa (Kristen Bell and Idina Menzel). And, of course, things go awry, lessons are learned, and some very catchy songs are sung (they’re by Elyssa Samsel and Kate Anderson and they’re fantastic).

    Ahead of “Olaf’s” release with “Coco,” we attended a special presentation at Walt Disney Animation Studios and sat down with directors Prep & Landing” specials.

    During our chat, we talked about the weight of expectations entering this franchise, what makes them the de facto Christmas filmmakers, and the one character that they couldn’t fit into the featurette — a goat named Mr. Jingles.

    MOVIEFONE: You’ve done so many Christmas things. What makes you the holiday experts?

    Stevie Wermers: We don’t know.

    Kevin Deters: We’re the most joyful people you’ll ever meet.

    Wermers: I think it just started with “Prep & Landing.” Then we got the second one. Then we got the short. And I guess John [Lasseter] just figured, “Well they’re good at holiday stuff.”

    Deters: But it’s cool. Christmas is my favorite time of year. So we’ve been living Christmas 24/7 for a while.

    Does it get any easier?

    Deters: They’re all different. The “Prep & Landing” stuff was a little bit of a different animal altogether because it was more of a modern family. But, with this, we knew the world of “Frozen” and the characters and that was really helpful. And I think it was like: “What is the natural story to tell with this character of Olaf?” We wanted to say something with it that would resonate.

    Wermers: When you’re given the holiday, there are parameters that narrows down what something can be about, which is a huge help. There are only so many things that you can do when you think about the holidays. And tradition is a huge part of that. It was easier in that regard.

    Did you ever hit a wall and think: “Why can’t this be a Halloween special?”

    Deters: [laughs] Every day.

    Wermers: Oh yeah.

    You guys were brought on in 2015. What were the initial discussions? Was it always going to be a theatrically exhibited film?

    Deters: The two of us met with John in January 2015, right after the holidays. So. we were fresh from Christmas.

    Wermers: It was perfect timing.

    Deters: The idea was, originally, that it’d be a television special like “Prep & Landing.” And as it got into development, John got wind of what we were doing and recognized that it could be more special playing on the big screen. In a nutshell, that’s what happened. As far as our initial meeting with John, he was excited to have a story that was centered around Olaf. That was his only ask of us — to have a story centered around Olaf. Obviously, the other characters would be involved, too. But that was it.

    Well, I imagine that could present some unique challenges, too. You don’t want it to be like the later seasons of “Happy Days” where it’s just all about the Fonz.

    Deters: I agree with you. And Chachi was long in the tooth.

    Wermers: That was one of the challenges, too, when you’re doing something with sidekick characters. If they’re on the screen for too long, because they’re the sidekick character, they have a tendency to wear out their welcome. We were really conscious of that. Hopefully, we struck the right balance.

    Deters: Being a supporting character, he’s designed with that in mind. So, to put him center stage is risky because he’s a guileless character — he doesn’t get mad at anybody — so, dramatically, you have to have conflict. That was a unique challenge. We just realized that he was a child and it’s the holidays and he’s wide-eyed with wonder.

    Wermers: Josh Gad said it, too — he sees Olaf as a child and he’s going to be growing. In the first “Frozen,” and in this one, we agreed that he would have to hit an emotional low. He’s never been all that low. We want to push him. I think it’s going to be a lot of fun to see the character grow.

    The other challenge has got to be that this is part of a huge ecosystem. Did you feel pressure taking that on?

    Wermers: Yeah, for sure. We had fun while we’re making it and had all the help of everyone at the studio who made the original movie. So, they were there to help guide and support us and let us know that we were on the right track.

    Deters: And we’ve been there for the development of the feature and we had a lot of insight in that respect. Even if you’re not directing a project, all of the directors are pretty involved in the development of all the features.

    It must have also been fun to expand that world.

    Wermers: Absolutely. I wish we had more time! There was another character that we tried to introduce but we ran out of time. Maybe in the sequel!

    Deters: One of the things that was cool was that, because it takes place after the feature and Anna and Elsa are reunited and together and everyone is happy, it afford us the opportunity to have Elsa be funny. Obviously, in the feature, she’s much more angst ridden. It was fun to see Elsa laugh a little bit.

    Did we ever cut away to Marshmallow and the Snowgies?

    Deters: In various versions, we tried.

    Wermers: I remember doing a drawing of Marshmallow and Olaf in a local pub, drinking root beer floats. I thought that’d be a funny little moment.

    Deters: We knew, from “Prep & Landing,” how much story we could tell in 21-ish minutes.

    Wermers: It’s not a lot.

    Deters: We knew it was Olaf doing something for Anna and Elsa. And we figured Olaf and Sven were the dynamic duo. We thought that if we could squeeze them in there, then great — but if it’s just tangential to the narrative spine, then we can’t get sidelined.

    Can we talk about this deleted character?

    Wermers: We did a bunch of research and in Scandinavia, at Christmastime, one of their traditions is to make a goat. I forget where it comes from but it goes back thousands of years.

    Deters: It goes back to the Festival of Yule, which would celebrate Thor; his sleigh was pulled by two goats.

    Wermers: And you probably saw on Anna’s dress that she’s got a little motif of goats. They’re peppered throughout. And we had an actual live goat. I forget how he entered the picture, but he was going to go on the adventure with Olaf and Sven. His name was Mr. Jingles. He didn’t have any lines.

    Deters: But he swallowed a jingle bell. Olaf called him “Mr. Jingles.”

    “Olaf’s Frozen Christmas” plays in front of “Coco,” in theaters Nov. 22.

  • ‘The Last Tycoon’s’ Matt Bomer Is a Perfect Fit for Classic Hollywood

    Premiere Of Amazon Studios' 'The Last Tycoon' - Red CarpetIf anyone was born to play a leading man from the Golden Age of Hollywood, it’s The Last Tycoon” instead.

    In the lavish adaptation of F. Scott Fitzgerald’s unfinished 1941 novel set deep within the film industry of 1930s Hollywood, Bomer is, in fact, the story’s leading man, playing the hard-driving, impeccably tailored film executive who’s determined to put his artistic and personal principles ahead of the studio’s mercenary bottom line. And as he reveals to Moviefone, it’s an era that he’s starting to feel almost as at home in as the modern day movie capital he lives in.

    Moviefone: Does this this kind of period costume help you get to where you need to be to be this guy in this place and time?

    Matt Bomer: Absolutely. I think [costume designer] Janie Bryant is brilliant. What she brought to the show in terms of wardrobe that is not only evocative, and immersive, and the time period, but also that forces you to carry your body a certain way, or posture a certain way, hold yourself a certain way. It’s all part of helping the actors dip back into that time period.

    Give me that moment when you were looking around and almost felt like you had traveled back in time.

    A lot of scenes are quite piecemeal, so you’re stopping and starting. In scenes like [the one I shot today] where the atmosphere is so grand, and so broad, those are the most immersive for me.

    We’ve recreated a very specific moment in time: the 1937 Oscars. There are hundreds of extras here, all decked out in period attire. Everyone’s speaking with the verbiage of the time and carrying themselves in the manner of that age. Moments like this that are bigger group moments are always the most immersive for me.

    What did you see in this material that spoke to today, as well as to the time it’s set in?

    It’s interesting. When I first heard from [series creator] Billy [Ray] about this project, I had just recently finished “The Day of the Locust,” the Nathanael West book. I was revisiting a lot of those themes in my head, a lot of the complexity of Hollywood being very much a business — all the things that these artists struggle to hold our identity within the context of a real business structure.

    So I was kind of dealing with all those themes when he called me and brought up the project. At the time, I had been thinking about how much has changed, and how much really hasn’t changed at all. And how, at the end of the day, it’s largely about dollars and cents, as much as it is about art, and what kind of creative sacrifices do you have to make for commercial success, and what kind of commercial choices do you have to make to have creative success, another adventure.

    I think a lot of those things are still things we’re dealing with, and probably always will on some level. But I’ve always been interested, I think we all have. We all go to see films, and at a certain point, we think, “How did they do that? What was the choice? Why did that actor get that role? Why is that director the director?” We all want to know about the machinations behind the curtain. This role is a great glimpse into that.

    What was the intrigue for you with the character? What was it about his story or his journey that intrigued you?

    I like the stakes of his life in general. He’s someone who has a ticking clock on his life because of his heart condition. His whole MO is legacy. How do I achieve some type of stamp on the world, and some type of immortality with these stories I’m trying to put together, in the very limited time I have? I think there’s an inherent conflict and drama to having those stakes in one’s life.

    I also love the fact that he’s really trying to bring creative integrity to a business, the business of Hollywood, and is willing to wheel and deal with Pat to get that done, Pat Brady, Kelsey [Grammer‘s] character, to get that done, and to maneuver and shift to try to bring as much art and integrity to the pieces he works on as he can. He’s also someone who has extreme abandonment issues. When faced with abandonment, can be blinded, can be blinded by his wounds. He’s incredibly warm, intelligent, he’s a taskmaster. He’s very cold at times. And he wasn’t all good. He was a lot of different things.

    Where is your interest in Hollywood history and lore and the legacy of this town?

    Honestly, I didn’t know a great deal about how the studios were run back in the day. I knew about the studio system, and how it affected certain actors, and how people like Montgomery Clift decided to rebel against it.

    But I didn’t know a lot of the specifics, so that’s been one of the really fun aspects of this job, is getting to do the research, and have an appreciation for whose stand on today in the industry, and who created what, and why, and how certain things worked, and why they changed, or didn’t change, why they are how they are now. Getting to dive into the whole lore of Hollywood.

    Especially, we get to film a lot on Formosa, which was Mary Pickford and Douglas Fairbanks‘s old place. So you go back to the year, this starts in 1936 — it’s 1937 in the story now — but “Dodsworth” was filmed on the same stage we’re filming on now. All these great pieces, “The Little Foxes,” were all filmed in this space. You really do feel a sense that you’re kind of communing with the spirits of Hollywood in this piece.

    And that’s the same room where the 1937 Oscars actually happened.

    There’s actually an infographic around the corner where you can see who sat where. So yeah, you do definitely feel the spirits, and you definitely want to do your best work to pay tribute to them, and humanize them in a way that makes them accessible and relatable today.