Hey all. Capone in San Diego here, with the first of many reports from Comic-Con 2009 in lovely San Diego.
Wednesday was preview night, and the truly big preview of the night was of THE GREEN HORNET's Black Beauty, a tricked-out, fully-loaded, dual-machined-gunned Chrysler Imperial that shined like a black diamond.
On hand for the grand, after-hours unveiling was GREEN HORNET star and co-writer Seth Rogen, co-writer Evan Goldberg, and director Michel Gondry, who posed for sexy photos in front of the Beauty and then talked to me briefly about the film, which is due to be released next summer, despite not having cast an actor to play Kato yet.
I truly cannot wait for this film, not because I'm some huge Green Hornet fan (although I did watch the show), but because I think Rogen and Goldberg have consistently surprised me with the quality and tone of their other films (SUPERBAD and THE PINEAPPLE EXPRESS), and I believe GREEN HORNET will offer some unexpected elements of action and comedy. But don't take my word for it, read on for a few more details from the creative team behind THE GREEN HORNET.
First up is Mr Goldberg…
Capone: Hey Evan, how are you? Good to finally meet you.
Evan Goldberg: How's it going? Nice to meet you.
Capone: I'm gathering you guys are going for full-bore action with this film, would that be an accurate statement? How will this compare to what was featured in PINEAPPLE EXPRESS?
EG: Oh, we're definitely going to surpass PINEAPPLE EXPRESS action. I mean, personally, PINEAPPLE EXPRESS being one of the greatest films ever made, I love that movie and I love the action in it. But, we had budgetary restrictions, and we did what we could within them. With David Gordon Green, we came up with some creative shit, but on this movie I hope that we're going to go balls-out and really do some crazy shit.
Capone: But there's not way this is going to be R rated, right?
EG: Ah, I wish. Me and Seth both know that if we want to make a movie for everyone, we can't make it rated R, and eventually we'd have to. But honestly, I think having to do a movie PG-13 has force us to be more creative and come up with funnier stuff than we would have. We've done stuff with the word 'shit' that I never thought one could accomplish, because 'shit' is much more allowed.
Capone: Absolutely. Did you pick this particular character to write a movie about a character that neither one of you was a huge fan of because it seemed like the most ridiculous guy to make a feature about?
EG: No, no, no. We both loved Batman, always have, all the Batman movies--well, most of the Batman movies--are spectacular, and the last two have been really awesome. And we watched "Batman" when we were kids, and after "Batman" was "The Green Hornet," or maybe that was only in Canada. Was that the case in America?
Capone: I'm a little too young to remember that. I do remember Green Hornet and Kato popping up in an episode of "Batman."
EG: I don't even know, but I assume they were produced by the same people, because the were very similar productions. But "The Green Hornet" was a little more serious. But what we loved, what brought us to it, was that we always wanted to make a movie about a sidekick and a hero, and this is the ultimate sidekick-hero combo, because this is the only story where the sidekick actually had more attention than the hero. Because even though the hero was rad, Van Williams was rad, Bruce Lee is Bruce Lee. There was a lot of appeal in that for us, and it allows us to play around and make some comedy but still keep it serious and full of action.
Capone: What date do you absolutely have to pick a Kato by.
EG: We're getting close. The date it has to be by is 10 days ago [laughs]. We're really close. We're narrowing it down, we're doing a lot of auditions, and it's hard because there are a lot of guys from China, Korea, Japan who are amazing. There are a lot of American guys who are amazing. The one thing none of us were expecting were some of the Americans are doing Chinese accents. That really through us for a loop. We're close.
Capone: Great. Thanks, man.
EG: Yep, great to meet you.
Next us is the wonderfully creative elf from France, Michel Gondry, director of such wonderful films as ETERNAL SUNSHINE OF THE SPOTLESS MIND, THE SCIENCE OF SLEEP, and BE KIND, REWIND. Also if you haven't seen Gondry's shorter film, "Interior Design," part of the TOKYO! anthology, go rent it now; it's great. Here is THE GREEN HORNET's director, Michel Gondry…
Capone: Good to see you again.
Michel Gondry: Ah, I remember you from Chicago.
Chicago: That's incredible. Thanks for saying so. What was it specifically about Seth and Evan's script that you thought would make a good fit for you?
MG: It was the relationship between Britt and Kato that really touched me in the screenplay. That was a element that was always missing in the different succession of projects based on "The Green Hornet." And I really felt that when I read this draft that it was really something that could be done and a solid structure of a great story.
Capone: I'm sure they love your movies, but did you have to convince them that you were the right person?
MG: I had to, yes, but it was not so hard. I did a storyboard of one fight sequence, based on the screenplay, and I did a video test of visual technique to shoot fights, mixing different films speeds without using blue screens or wires, using just fighters, people who fight for real. And when they saw that, they went, "Okay you got the job."
Capone: Are you excited to be doing some big action sequences?
MG: Yeah! I can't wait.
Capone: Just like the real Hollywood director you always wanted to be.
MG: [laughs] That is true. I'm in the David Lean Building on the Sony lot. It can't get better.
Capone: There you go. Thanks. I love the new DVD, by the way. It's magnificent.
MG: Oh, thank you so much. Great.
Finally we have Britt Reid himself, Seth Rogen…
Seth Rogen: Hey, you're Capone, right?
Capone: That's correct, and you are even more svelte than when I saw you in Austin a few months ago.
SR: Exactly, it never ends. [laughs]
Capone: So you're dealing with a character who hasn't been in the public eye for decades, are you going to make an effort to get people familiar with the old material, or does that not really play into this movie at all?
SR: I think if you're a big fan of the original material then you will be very pleased with what we're doing with it. I think we're honoring it in many ways and commenting on it in many ways. But we also had a mandate that if you'd never seen the original in any way, shape, or form, that you would like this movie. We just knew that this was how it had to be.
Capone: And how are you mixing the comedy and the action, because Evan made it sound like this was balls-out action film?
SR: It really is. We looked at movies with awesome action where the comedy comes from the character interaction, movies like TRUE LIES or movies that we've talked about a lot where the action is played as real as any action movie, but it's the people you choose to put in those situations that makes it play as a comedy at times.
Capone: When do you have to have a Kato chosen?
SR: [laughs] We got a few weeks until we're in real trouble, I would say. Most of our movies, we cast a lot closer to the gun than this. We like to be real sure. It's a long shoot, so we can work things out.
Capone: Has Michel introduced any elements or ideas at all that have resulted in you changing the script significantly?
SR: Oh, we spent all day with Michel going over everything. He comes to us with ideas, and some of them we work into the script and some of them, we explain, are impossible to understand and no one will get them [laughs].
Capone: Too Gondry-esque?
SR: Exactly. But at times--I mean, we love him, we constantly feel blessed that we have a guy with as many amazing ideas as him and pouring them into our movie. We think it's thrilling. I mean, you watch his videos and you think, "That stuff's going to be in our movie?" It's awesome, just looking at the storyboards and the pre-viz that he comes up with, it's truly exciting.
Capone: Alright, thanks a lot, Seth.
SR: Thanks a lot, man, I really appreciate it.
-- Capone
capone@aintitcoolmail.com
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