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Capone Talks with Human Torch Chris Evans About His Other Guy-with-Superpowers Movie, PUSH!!
Hey everyone. Capone here, with my third and final PUSH interview, this time with FANTASTIC FOUR star Chris Evans, who plays a "mover," otherwise known as a telekinetic, who can move shit around with his mind. Obviously, Chris is best known as the Human Torch (during the PUSH panel this somewhat large contingent of Japanese attendees kept yelling "Flame on!" whenever Chris spoke), but it's his post-FF work that has interested me in films like FIERCE PEOPLE, Danny Boyle's SUNSHINE, and David Ayer's dirty-cop drama STREET KINGS. Hell, I even dug him in THE NANNY DIARIES. Chris has started pulling together a nice body of work in recent years, and he returns to the super-powered being arena with PUSH. Here's Chris Evans…Flame On!
Capone: I spoke to your Fantastic Four co-star Ioan Gruffudd [Mr. Fantastic] a while back, well before the SILVER SURFER movie came out, and I think he let spill a few secrets about that film he wasn't supposed to.
Chris Evans: Uh oh. Loose tongue?
Capone: That's what it was. So I know this film hasn't exactly been on everybody's radar yet, but we're still months away from a release. Can you just start with the basics and tell me a little bit about who you play?
CE: Sure. I'll give you the nutshell version. PUSH is about individuals who have special powers. And there's a branch of the government called "Division" that wants to find these people and test their abilities and essentially turn them into weapons. For the most part, having these abilities tends to put a target on your back, so it's kind of not something you're proud of. You tend to keep in hiding, so a lot of these people we meet in Hong Kong are in hiding. It's an easy place to get lost. It play Nick, who is a "mover," like a telekinetic. Nick's father was a mover, a very powerful mover, and his father was killed right before his eyes when he was nine years old. So Nick has kind of turned his back on everyone, and chose to not let anyone else in. He's gone to Hong Kong to escape and doesn't use his power very often.
Capone: As a mover, you have an advantage visually in film that yours is one of the few powers we can actually see.
CE: Exactly. And the cool thing was, Paul [McGuigan, the director] said that we could do special effects, but he wanted to make things look as real as possible. So when I things like that, they actually have a table hooked up to wires and are launching it across the room, so that gives you a lot as an actor to play off of.
Capone: What did you think about immersing yourself in the Hong Kong culture for so many months?
CE: Well, the coolest thing about Hong Kong is that it's a character in the film. Paul did a really good job of shooting it incredibly stylistically. Hong Kong has so much great architecture and great people. And the smell, you can't smell it, but the smell is real interesting. It just gave me as an actor an tangible world to play off of. It's a character unto itself.
Capone: I like the idea that these young people don't see themselves as heroes. They use their powers for self-defense.
CE: That's right. No blue tights, not special names [laughs].
Capone: But you are returning the world of playing a person with special abilities. What's the difference in your mind?
CE: Especially in FANTASTIC FOUR, one character is welcoming the opportunity to be a hero and relishing it and making up names, and using it for good trying to save people. In this film, having these powers gets you in some trouble. For most of these people, these powers have causing them grief in the past and made them the black sheep, you're kind of ashamed of it. For the most part, these are people just trying to lead their lives and not use their power if they don't have to.
Capone: And as a result, many of you don't know how to control your powers.
CE: Exactly, we're very clumsy. That was the best part. You kind of get to see everyone's growth with their ability. In the movie, I can barely lift a gun off a table, but by the end shooting the table across the room.
Capone: Do you have a favorite object you get to move with your mind?
CE: You know what was really fun? I got to have a real fight scene. Most of the fighting I've done has been CGI, where you make a face and they do the rest. There's one scene at the end of the movie where I get to have hand-to-hand combat and go home with ice packs. It was the first kind of physical combat I've gotten to do on film. It was work, but it was a lot of fun.
Capone: These kids living these kind lives, they are very isolated people and they find a camaraderie with each other.
CE: The great thing about this movies is that a lot of the relationships are created and formed in the movie. So, for example, like in FANTASTIC FOUR, they knew each other from the beginning of the film and you get to see an existing relationship got through turmoil. In this movie, a lot of the characters are meeting each other for the first time, so you get to see the growth from strangers to somebody you're willing to make the ultimate sacrifice for.
Capone: I wanted to say that I've been genuinely impressed with your non-FANTASTIC FOUR work as well, especially what you did in SUNSHINE and STREET KINGS.
CE: Thanks, man, I appreciate that.
Capone: I spoke with Danny Boyle quite a bit about SUNSHINE when he came through Chicago…
CE: I love Danny Boyle. God he's so brilliant. He's the nicest man in the world; he was going to be a priest. He's honest, sincere, genuine, he speaks from the heart. It's got to be about directors, that's what I've realized. You could have a great script, it could be a great part, it could be a great vehicle for you, but if you don't have a good director, you're not going to have a good movie. There's nothing worse than busting your ass on something and having the movie just suck. So since the last FANTASTIC FOUR, I've just been trying to work with good directors.
Capone: What do you have coming out besides PUSH?
CE: I have a movie after PUSH called THE LOSS OF A TEARDROP DIAMOND. It's by Tennessee Williams. It's a screenplay he wrote; he only wrote a few screenplays. But it's never been made. It's so funny, my English teacher from high school, who I'm still pretty close with, I told him I was doing Tennessee Williams, and he knows everything by him. And I told him the title, and he'd never heard of it. It's nice; it's like finding a lost Beatles album. It was a real nice time.
Capone: He's one of those writers that people haven't revisited much in film; they do on stage, obviously, but not much on film.
CE: How are you going to follow Brando? He did it, and he did it right. [laughs] Leave it alone.
Capone: Well I appreciate it, Chris. Thanks for you time. Are you going to have time to make it downstairs at all?
CE: Great talking to you. Thanks a lot. Yeah, I'm so curious [about Comic-Con].
Capone: But you've been to one of these before, right?
CE: Yeah, for FANTASTIC FOUR, but it was so quick--in and out. I kind of want to just wander and poke around.
Capone: Good luck with that. Thanks again.
-Capone
capone@aintitcoolmail.com
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... if all you can push around with your mind is shit? I mean nobody would like you, would they? Except maybe scarab beetles.
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case in point: paul did a great job "stylistically" - what does that even mean? Another MTV beefcake idiot.
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the amount of interviews he does. 1st i've seen with him and feel like i've heard too much about him already.
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was such a good flick. Awesome soundtrack.
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thought he was excellent in Sunshine, and that one about the mobile phones with the Stathe in it. And FF2 wasn't the stinking pile of wank I thought it would be :) Go, Chris then :)
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comes across well and played johnny storm perfectly. he was quite good in sunshine, haven't seen street kings as yet.. any good?
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I actually kinda liked Jumper. Better than the FF movies put together.
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He talks about busting his ass and having a film turn out to be crap. Then he says: "So since the Fantastic Four films, I've been trying to work with good directors."
I loved him in Sunshine and now with that quote, I can say I like this guy and wish he had some better roles. -
Didn't we get a script review of this about a year ago? Strangest thing, this sounds so familiar, a telekentic kid hiding out in Hong Kong after his fathers death, etc....
I swear, someone posted a review of the script. -
true story.
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not his fault about act 3. how a movie could almost be one of the top 25 sci-fi films of all time for 2 acts and then crash and burn off the list in act 3.. is pretty much the exception to the rule.
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Jul 31, 2008 9:02:39 AM CDT
just what is the difference with xmen???? seems a ripoff
by seth brundle
bunch of people with powers - cant really control those powers - powers get them into trouble - rejected by families - sounds like a script for XMEN BEGINS
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Brief interview, but I liked it. Evans is way underrated. He's got a lot going for him too, so I hope he continues to find good roles. Loved him in Sunshine, and yes he was the best part of the FF movies.
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could be good. Still, his quote about by the end of the movie, being able to mentally throw a table across a room . . . that's the culmination of a telekinetic's power in the movie's big climax? Tossing a table? Really?
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You were great in Sunshine, but stunk as a Torch. Just pretend that you are ALWAYS being directed by Danny Boyle, and the rest of your career should be on cruise (you were actually the best part in Street Kings).
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He has charm, even in not another teen movie he was good, in F4 he was good. And i totally agree that sunshine started really good, great premise, and suddenly went to shit
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Same plot except instead of the ability to "push" they magically teleport around the world. Cast a well known actor with a white fro as the antagonist, and you've got yerself a hit!!
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sad.
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Thats so random. Anyways I loved Street Kings for some reason,it was pretty decent. Atleast Evan's is admitting that FF2 sucked as and that Tim Story sucks as a writter and director of that kind of film.
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Good thing Danny Boyle became a filmmaker! He'd be in jail by now..
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Otherwise, cool interview. I've liked this guy even through two horrible FF Films.
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Spell check doesn't fix everything you nob. Learn to proof read. AICN is pretty bad for spelling, but this was horrible!
Besides that the interview seemed pretty casual and honest.
And when are you guys going to post the awesome terminator poster? Its on the movies web page. Looks sick! -
That is by far the greatest talkback post I've ever read.
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I don't even think that movie got released, but he was great in that too.
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can be seen at http://gordonhikara.blogspot.com
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There should be a comma after the word "everything" and also after "Besides that"; "noob" - although not really a word but more of a leet slang expression should at least be spelled with two O's; starting a sentence with the word 'And' is not really great; and "Its on the movies web page" should be "It's on the movie's web page".
We could do this all day. Correcting other people's mistakes is fun, yeah? -
He might be SLIGHTLY too old for the part, but his personality suits Yorick to a tee.
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I always have. I always will.Or is it that he agrees with me?The point is clear and simple: PROOFREAD, MUTHAFUCKAS! Who types "It" when it should be "I"? I'm not your fuckin' teacher so why do I always have to pull out my little red pen and re-write your accursed review just to understand it?! Excuse me for learning how to read and write the English language properly!
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