Last week I had the chance to sit down with Dave Franco and talk about his new movie NERVE, Pokemon Go, as well as MASTERPIECE, a collaboration with his brother James inspired by Tommy Wiseau's infamous film THE ROOM. NERVE, is about a high-stakes online game where "watchers" around the globe follow "players" who participate in increasingly bold and sometimes even dangerous dares in order to earn cash and internet fame. I hope to post my thoughts on NERVE soon, but in the meantime I hope you enjoy my interview with the film's leading man.
Rebecca Elliott: You have been in two wild goose chase movies this summer.
Dave Franco: That’s right, that’s right.
RE: As an actor, what are the challenges of working on such a complex story?
DF: It’s fun! It’s definitely a different kind of experience though where you have to remind yourself before you go in every scene- you need to go back to the script and remind yourself, “Alright, what just happened before this? Wait, what am I actually feeling before this scene? Or am I pretending to feel one way but really feeling a different way.” So, I like it. Those are the most complicated roles, and this is the most complicated character I’ve ever played.
RE: The two directors (Henry Joost and Ariel Schulman) you worked with on NERVE have a background in documentary film making as well as found footage films. Did they provide any special insight as far as a character who operates in an online world?
DF: Not necessarily. The way we approached this character…(to himself) how did we do it, how did we do it? The directors are extremely collaborative, and they wanted me to bring as much of my own personality to this role as possible. I feel like this [type of] character in most young adult movies is the kind of guy who is brooding and takes himself very seriously. We’ve seen that before. It’s not that interesting anymore. And so they wanted me to bring a little bit of lightness to it, and that’s how I am in my real life. So, I just feel like that makes it more apparent why Emma’s character is more willing to go along on this journey with me instead of going along with this dark, brooding man.
RE: So, this is a total cheeseball question.
DF: Yeah?
RE: Pokemon GO is now suddenly such a phenomenon and you just happen to have a movie coming out about a game that people are playing on their phone all over town…
DF: It feels similar right?
RE: Right? I mean, I know it’s vastly different…
DF: Right. Of course, of course, but there’s that parallel…
RE: Do you think this might play into the release of the film? Do you think it may help the film in any way?
DF: I mean, I would love anything that would help our film out, because I love this movie, and it’s going up against these huge summer blockbusters. I don’t want it to disappear because it works, and it has a message. It’s rare for me to be this excited about a film that I’m in. I’m super critical about everything I do, and I just want to do everything I can to help it out. So, yeah if we can somehow partner up with PokemonGo (we both laugh), hey I’ll play that game as much as they tell me.
RE: There are a lot of tech-visuals that are added in post in this film. From the book and the original script, is it the same as you envisioned it originally, or is it totally different? Have you ever worked on a film where…
DF: The final product was so different after post production?
RE: Yeah…
DF: Honestly, it’s beyond what I hoped it could be. I knew while we were filming that individual scenes were coming out really well, but you never really know how it’s going to all come together. These directors- they’re just smart and have really great taste. What they did with the graphics felt completely new. I mean, how many times have you seen text messages and emails and everything presented in a movie…and they found a way to present it in a new way. And then on top of that the music is incredible, the way it’s cut together the energy never lets up. It’s like a Danny Boyle movie to me in that way. i just love these directors and I give them [the directors] so much credit.
RE: Yes, I definitely had to wait until the very last frame so I could check out all the music credits.
DF: Right?! Exactly!
RE: I heard that Spotify has the soundtrack, so I still need to check that out.
DF: That’s right, that’s right.
RE: A majority of your work has been comedic.
DF: Yeah.
RE: This is definitely a dramatic turn. Do you have a preference? Or is there another genre that you’d like to work in that you haven’t?
DF: I don’t think that I have a preference. I’ve done mostly comedies like you say, and I think that’s why people maybe were a little bit more hesitant to cast me in a role that was more dramatic. But I love doing this stuff just as much. Comedies have a certain appeal to them. Inherently you’re having a good time trying to make each other laugh, but we’re kind of doing the same thing on this one. I love everyone involved in this movie, and even though some of the subject matter is pretty serious, we were laughing all day and just trying to keep things light. In terms of genres that I’d like to do that I haven’t explored…I’d love to do a full on action movie. I’d love to do a horror movie.
RE: Right on. I mean, you got to do a little action in this one.
DF: Definitely.
RE: So, what is next for you? Anything you can talk about?
DF: Yes! So, I have a movie that is in the can that is called THE MASTERPIECE. It's inspired by the movie THE ROOM, which is known as the best worst movie ever made. And for those of you who don't know what THE ROOM is- there's this guy named Tommy Wiseau who looks like a vampire.
aka Annette Kellerman
