Post by Dianne on Nov 2, 2008 9:05:51 GMT -5
www.wjfk.com/pages/1475942.php
Big O and Dukes
Interviewer: Gerard, what’s going on man?
Gerry: Ummm… I’m trying to speak with you guys pretty unsuccessfully so <mumbles>….
Interviewer: Ahhh…I’m sure you’re doing a bunch of these so it’s no big deal, man. We’re going to talk first of all we’re gigantic fans of yours. When we first started seeing the trailers when you were doing a Guy Richie movie, I mean we loved Snatch we loved Lock stock and this looks like it’s building on those two. What was it like being teamed up with Guy Richie because both of you guys have such a loyal fan base?
Gerry: Ummm… W…w…what was the question, the last bit?
Interviewer: What was it like teaming up with a guy like Guy Richie and making this movie?
Gerry: Oh, you know what? He’s… he’s a great guy and…and, you know… the stuff that he does you know its going to be a lot of fun. This movie was just a blast. The rest of the cast was just great. We knew we were making something zany and hilarious. So we all kind of went in there with that attitude so I had a good time making this…
Interviewer: Gerard, I’m sure you get so many projects thrown at you and when a Guy Richie project comes to you, you probably have to take it because he does such great work. You also have to decide what you’re going to do and what you’re not going to do so what was it about Rock-n-Rolla that brought you back?
Gerry: Ummm… Well… one it was Guy Richie, and two it kind of felt like this was him back on farm and I read the script and I kind of thought you know what this reminds me of one of those movies. I didn’t speak to anybody that didn’t love Snatch or Lock Stock so I kind of felt we were making something in that vein so if nothing else I felt we were going to have a great time. So I’ve made lots of movies and every movie I’ve loved for lots of different reasons but some of them have been a struggle and they’ve been heavy and required a lot of training where as this just turn up, throw some personality in there and have a great time.
Interviewer: One of the things is what Guy Richie does well and what I’ve noticed from watching your films is you do it well as well is you mix violence with humor and that’s a very tough thing to do and do it well and pull it off and have the audience buy in. Is that something you picked up by working with him because those two movies you mentioned for every action scene there was great action and a hilarious script and just from the trailer alone which we just watch on Rotten Tomatoes you seemed to already have that in Rock-n-Rolla.
Gerry: Yeah, yeah pretty much. That’s what he does is turn this whole gangster crime caper concept on his head because you have those characters to identify with because who’ve seen those movies before, but you see this human side of them. Characters that don’t necessarily know what they’re doing. They’re confused and not as tough as they think they are and that’s what I liked about my guy On Two is he’s a good guy you like him and he’s a little bit hapless when it comes to crime but that to me is so much more appealing than the perfect criminal.
Interviewer: Gerard, you’ve talked about your past projects and you’ve been doing this for ten years and you’ve been working hard and as far as our show is concerned we love all your projects but one of the biggest ones for us was 300 and what went into making that movie and we have posters with just you in the studio here with us and we play music from that movie all the time and that and… it had to be one of the hardest projects you had to work on just physically.
Gerry: Yeah, absolutely. I started training about four months before that movie even started um and I went straight in to playing with <garbled> and the film trainer was <mumbles> so uhh I bouncing around between all these guys and I was often doing six hours a day. And I made sure that I pumped weights and did push-ups the whole time on set so umm during the filming. So that was four months of doing that as well. It was kind of great because you get to the point where you go, “I wanted to look like I could stand off against a million guys which is an insane concept but it worked in terms of motivation.
Interviewer: yeah, yeah absolutely, but after that movie was over there were all these rumors that there is going to be a sequel and a prequel people said you were going to be Snake Plisken and you were going to be Conan the Barbarian. How many of those offers came around and how many did you consider and how much of that was just internet nerds like us going crazy because you had just made this movie?
Gerry: Well uh… Conan was never true although they are talking about making that movie uh.. but I never signed on to that. Snake Plisken was true. I signed onto <someone> from New York but we couldn’t get the script right so that didn’t work out so umm… a lot of those offers came my way but what I was I was surprised is a lot of other movies came my way like thrillers and comedies came my way as well which is something I hoped for but which I didn’t necessarily expect would come to me via 300 so I guess that’s what’s the advantage and that’s how I always worked my career is always mixing it up and trying too and trying to work in all different genre and different personalities and characters so I guess that’s what finally paid off eventually because I just didn’t get the Conan’s or the Snake Plisken’s so like I got offers from all over the place.
Interviewer: You worked so hard and it kind of has to be a roller-coaster ride as far as a career goes I mean it’s one in a million to actually become a superstar in Hollywood and once you get there
Gerard and you end up on Jay Leno and you do all this press is it kind of overwhelming or is it like finally, finally its working.
Gerry: Umm… I guess there is a bit of both there is definitely uh… a buzz to it uh.. when you have worked for all these years um… attention is being paid. You are getting great movie offers, everyone wants to speak to you and that’s great but on the same hand you’re are getting all these movie offers and everyone wants to speak to you and you just want to put your head in the sand and go NO…NO! I WANT TO BE SOMEWHERE ELSE I DON’T WANT TO BE HERE…. <LAUGHS>
Interviewer: I got to ask what is it like to get back into a film like Rock-n-Rolla where you don’t have a lot of CG You were in Rain of Fire with Mathew Macanahey and Christian Bale which was heavy CG and I can’t hardly imagine what it was like the blue screens and green screens you were working on in 300 and then in this movie it looks like there is a lot of action and a lot of action scenes being filmed and a lot of human interaction what was that like compared to making a film which is so special effects laden and what you’re doing now in Rock-n-Rolla?
Gerry:Well it’s a breath of fresh air…but there are things… When you’re doing something like 300 it was very bizarre and it’s hard for people to appreciate and I’m glad you brought that up because sometimes you have to turn it on and do some of your best acting and you are literally looking at a photograph of somebody stuck on a pole or you know you are looking at a little cross that has been taped to the ceiling and sometimes you had to take on five of them in one scene. So when you…so at the same time when you’re doing the action sequences and pulling off some of the coolest stuff you can ever imagine and the testosterone and it was just so exciting but when you get into the Guy Richie world and its great because you don’t have to worry about any of that and its all about…well…uh.. great characters and different situations and it all feels very cool and zany and umm.. that’s really a breath of fresh air.
Interviewer: There must be so many great projects you’re looking forward to doing? Is there something we should be look forward too? Of course we all need to check out Rock-n-Rolla. Is there anything that you really want to do and you are being a part of?
Gerry: ummm… umm… I got a bunch of stuff. I’m about ready to start filming a thriller with Jamie Foxx in Philadelphia, and I uh..uh.. have a really funny romantic comedy coming out with Katie Heigl called The Ugly Truth, and a little action flick called Games. It’s like twenty years in the future and it’s about humans and game and virtual reality its going to be awesome.
Interviewer: Well Gerard you have a million fans who all love you and we’re going to see the movie tonight and we really appreciate your time man.
Gerry: Well thank you guys that was very cool, I had fun.
Interviewer: Take care… Gerard Butler of course in Rock-n-Rolla, Guy Richie’s film… We had a few speed bumps there but we had to get that dude on definitely. I guess I guess I understand his point Oscar where he doesn’t want to be type cast as the action hero. He wanted to get more rolls, but I hope he does revisit that genre who know? He needs…There are just so few people who can do a roll like Leonitis and not seem cheesy and hold the camera and come across as a complete and total bad ass. We don’t have any of those guys anymore. And he did it. So if he comes out and does a part like Snake Plisken or he does a prequel to 300 or something like that I don’t think he’ll regret it.
Other guy: Oh no… not at all but his first credit on IMDb was in 1997 so you grind, and grind, and grind, and grind, and then it happens and you are just trying to make sure you have a long career.
Interviewer: I tell you, I am probably the only one that thinks this was a great movie but that dragon movie he was in with Matthew Macanahey once and I brought it up with him. If you go back and watch that movie now because I think because I think it was 2000 when it was made and you see skinny Gerard Butler being this side-kick walking around and then you watch 300 and it’s like… I can’t even imagine that’s the same guy because up until that movie he was just a bit player. I think he played Beowulf in some Beowulf remake before the big one, but you didn’t see that coming from this guy and he becomes the biggest actor of the planet and he well… If you had a little more time I would like to grill him a little bit because his first roll after 300 was PS I Love You I think…
Other guy: Yeah it was... and I was like, “Oh my God dude… I know you want to branch out but come on?”
Interviewer: Well there is no mistaking the big action star when you go see PS I Love you. And I will never forget the movie poster and its like him up on his elbow smiling at some chick and he’s got all these weird bracelets on and I’m looking at him. And I’m at the movie theater and I’m staring, just staring and umm that’s f’ing Leonitis. But he looks funny in this new movie and it looks like its more action related so I’m going to see it, Guy Richie rules!
Big O and Dukes
Interviewer: Gerard, what’s going on man?
Gerry: Ummm… I’m trying to speak with you guys pretty unsuccessfully so <mumbles>….
Interviewer: Ahhh…I’m sure you’re doing a bunch of these so it’s no big deal, man. We’re going to talk first of all we’re gigantic fans of yours. When we first started seeing the trailers when you were doing a Guy Richie movie, I mean we loved Snatch we loved Lock stock and this looks like it’s building on those two. What was it like being teamed up with Guy Richie because both of you guys have such a loyal fan base?
Gerry: Ummm… W…w…what was the question, the last bit?
Interviewer: What was it like teaming up with a guy like Guy Richie and making this movie?
Gerry: Oh, you know what? He’s… he’s a great guy and…and, you know… the stuff that he does you know its going to be a lot of fun. This movie was just a blast. The rest of the cast was just great. We knew we were making something zany and hilarious. So we all kind of went in there with that attitude so I had a good time making this…
Interviewer: Gerard, I’m sure you get so many projects thrown at you and when a Guy Richie project comes to you, you probably have to take it because he does such great work. You also have to decide what you’re going to do and what you’re not going to do so what was it about Rock-n-Rolla that brought you back?
Gerry: Ummm… Well… one it was Guy Richie, and two it kind of felt like this was him back on farm and I read the script and I kind of thought you know what this reminds me of one of those movies. I didn’t speak to anybody that didn’t love Snatch or Lock Stock so I kind of felt we were making something in that vein so if nothing else I felt we were going to have a great time. So I’ve made lots of movies and every movie I’ve loved for lots of different reasons but some of them have been a struggle and they’ve been heavy and required a lot of training where as this just turn up, throw some personality in there and have a great time.
Interviewer: One of the things is what Guy Richie does well and what I’ve noticed from watching your films is you do it well as well is you mix violence with humor and that’s a very tough thing to do and do it well and pull it off and have the audience buy in. Is that something you picked up by working with him because those two movies you mentioned for every action scene there was great action and a hilarious script and just from the trailer alone which we just watch on Rotten Tomatoes you seemed to already have that in Rock-n-Rolla.
Gerry: Yeah, yeah pretty much. That’s what he does is turn this whole gangster crime caper concept on his head because you have those characters to identify with because who’ve seen those movies before, but you see this human side of them. Characters that don’t necessarily know what they’re doing. They’re confused and not as tough as they think they are and that’s what I liked about my guy On Two is he’s a good guy you like him and he’s a little bit hapless when it comes to crime but that to me is so much more appealing than the perfect criminal.
Interviewer: Gerard, you’ve talked about your past projects and you’ve been doing this for ten years and you’ve been working hard and as far as our show is concerned we love all your projects but one of the biggest ones for us was 300 and what went into making that movie and we have posters with just you in the studio here with us and we play music from that movie all the time and that and… it had to be one of the hardest projects you had to work on just physically.
Gerry: Yeah, absolutely. I started training about four months before that movie even started um and I went straight in to playing with <garbled> and the film trainer was <mumbles> so uhh I bouncing around between all these guys and I was often doing six hours a day. And I made sure that I pumped weights and did push-ups the whole time on set so umm during the filming. So that was four months of doing that as well. It was kind of great because you get to the point where you go, “I wanted to look like I could stand off against a million guys which is an insane concept but it worked in terms of motivation.
Interviewer: yeah, yeah absolutely, but after that movie was over there were all these rumors that there is going to be a sequel and a prequel people said you were going to be Snake Plisken and you were going to be Conan the Barbarian. How many of those offers came around and how many did you consider and how much of that was just internet nerds like us going crazy because you had just made this movie?
Gerry: Well uh… Conan was never true although they are talking about making that movie uh.. but I never signed on to that. Snake Plisken was true. I signed onto <someone> from New York but we couldn’t get the script right so that didn’t work out so umm… a lot of those offers came my way but what I was I was surprised is a lot of other movies came my way like thrillers and comedies came my way as well which is something I hoped for but which I didn’t necessarily expect would come to me via 300 so I guess that’s what’s the advantage and that’s how I always worked my career is always mixing it up and trying too and trying to work in all different genre and different personalities and characters so I guess that’s what finally paid off eventually because I just didn’t get the Conan’s or the Snake Plisken’s so like I got offers from all over the place.
Interviewer: You worked so hard and it kind of has to be a roller-coaster ride as far as a career goes I mean it’s one in a million to actually become a superstar in Hollywood and once you get there
Gerard and you end up on Jay Leno and you do all this press is it kind of overwhelming or is it like finally, finally its working.
Gerry: Umm… I guess there is a bit of both there is definitely uh… a buzz to it uh.. when you have worked for all these years um… attention is being paid. You are getting great movie offers, everyone wants to speak to you and that’s great but on the same hand you’re are getting all these movie offers and everyone wants to speak to you and you just want to put your head in the sand and go NO…NO! I WANT TO BE SOMEWHERE ELSE I DON’T WANT TO BE HERE…. <LAUGHS>
Interviewer: I got to ask what is it like to get back into a film like Rock-n-Rolla where you don’t have a lot of CG You were in Rain of Fire with Mathew Macanahey and Christian Bale which was heavy CG and I can’t hardly imagine what it was like the blue screens and green screens you were working on in 300 and then in this movie it looks like there is a lot of action and a lot of action scenes being filmed and a lot of human interaction what was that like compared to making a film which is so special effects laden and what you’re doing now in Rock-n-Rolla?
Gerry:Well it’s a breath of fresh air…but there are things… When you’re doing something like 300 it was very bizarre and it’s hard for people to appreciate and I’m glad you brought that up because sometimes you have to turn it on and do some of your best acting and you are literally looking at a photograph of somebody stuck on a pole or you know you are looking at a little cross that has been taped to the ceiling and sometimes you had to take on five of them in one scene. So when you…so at the same time when you’re doing the action sequences and pulling off some of the coolest stuff you can ever imagine and the testosterone and it was just so exciting but when you get into the Guy Richie world and its great because you don’t have to worry about any of that and its all about…well…uh.. great characters and different situations and it all feels very cool and zany and umm.. that’s really a breath of fresh air.
Interviewer: There must be so many great projects you’re looking forward to doing? Is there something we should be look forward too? Of course we all need to check out Rock-n-Rolla. Is there anything that you really want to do and you are being a part of?
Gerry: ummm… umm… I got a bunch of stuff. I’m about ready to start filming a thriller with Jamie Foxx in Philadelphia, and I uh..uh.. have a really funny romantic comedy coming out with Katie Heigl called The Ugly Truth, and a little action flick called Games. It’s like twenty years in the future and it’s about humans and game and virtual reality its going to be awesome.
Interviewer: Well Gerard you have a million fans who all love you and we’re going to see the movie tonight and we really appreciate your time man.
Gerry: Well thank you guys that was very cool, I had fun.
Interviewer: Take care… Gerard Butler of course in Rock-n-Rolla, Guy Richie’s film… We had a few speed bumps there but we had to get that dude on definitely. I guess I guess I understand his point Oscar where he doesn’t want to be type cast as the action hero. He wanted to get more rolls, but I hope he does revisit that genre who know? He needs…There are just so few people who can do a roll like Leonitis and not seem cheesy and hold the camera and come across as a complete and total bad ass. We don’t have any of those guys anymore. And he did it. So if he comes out and does a part like Snake Plisken or he does a prequel to 300 or something like that I don’t think he’ll regret it.
Other guy: Oh no… not at all but his first credit on IMDb was in 1997 so you grind, and grind, and grind, and grind, and then it happens and you are just trying to make sure you have a long career.
Interviewer: I tell you, I am probably the only one that thinks this was a great movie but that dragon movie he was in with Matthew Macanahey once and I brought it up with him. If you go back and watch that movie now because I think because I think it was 2000 when it was made and you see skinny Gerard Butler being this side-kick walking around and then you watch 300 and it’s like… I can’t even imagine that’s the same guy because up until that movie he was just a bit player. I think he played Beowulf in some Beowulf remake before the big one, but you didn’t see that coming from this guy and he becomes the biggest actor of the planet and he well… If you had a little more time I would like to grill him a little bit because his first roll after 300 was PS I Love You I think…
Other guy: Yeah it was... and I was like, “Oh my God dude… I know you want to branch out but come on?”
Interviewer: Well there is no mistaking the big action star when you go see PS I Love you. And I will never forget the movie poster and its like him up on his elbow smiling at some chick and he’s got all these weird bracelets on and I’m looking at him. And I’m at the movie theater and I’m staring, just staring and umm that’s f’ing Leonitis. But he looks funny in this new movie and it looks like its more action related so I’m going to see it, Guy Richie rules!
.. Being tough doesn't mean you can't laugh
He was smoldering as Leonidas. 
EWWWWWWWWW nastiness!