CLIVE OWEN SHOOT EM UP INTERVIEW
You've been known as the man who could've been Bond. Did choosing to star in Shoot 'Em Up, a non-stop action vehicle, have any connection to almost being 007?
It relates in terms of it's a film that sets itself up very quickly and says we're going to have some very wicked action set pieces and you're going to enjoy it on that level. It's similar to Bond in that way, but that's the only way. I mean I did it because I've never done an all-out action film and I thought this was a genuinely original one.
Do you see this film as a sort of cinematic version of a video game?
I would certainly agree that one of the ways Michael [Davis, writer/director] likes to make the film is to make you feel like you're the guy doing it, and maybe that's similar to a video game. That's just his angle on action. He thinks you want to feel like you're the guy in the middle of it all. He's an action geek. He loves action movies. He can talk about every action movie. For him, it's at its best when you feel like you're in the middle of doing it. Maybe that's similar to a video game.
You and Monica Bellucci get it on in the movie. Is there going to be an unrated version of this on DVD or overseas?
No, I think you've pretty much seen enough. It's not a porno. [laughs]
Was the whole crew there during that scene?
There were always other people around because, for instance, that sex scene is incredibly technical. Everybody had to be there because we're doing a full blown shootout. It was like shots and, you know, doubles, and technical people. But again, it's one of the wittiest things in the movie.
In the movie, if you're not firing a sidearm you're munching on a carrot? What's the deal with the produce?
Let me tell you. That was the challenge of the movie. Trying to make carrots cool.
How did they manage to get such an impressive trio of A-list stars together for the project?
Monica, Paul and myself were his first three choices and he got them all. We all read the script, and obviously, in our own ways, we're in our own countries sitting there reading that script. We were like, "This is just so wild!" It's rare to get a genuinely original script. I seriously thought it was. Is Sin City 2 still going to happen?
You know as much as I do.
No start date?
Not that I know of. If there is I'm not in it. [laughs]
Is it true Michael Davis already wrote a potential sequel to Shoot 'Em Up?
Let me tell you. Honest to God. He gave me a script and said I just want you to look at this. It's the next one. On my life, the first paragraph, I had a belly laugh and said this guy is absolutely insane. He takes the style and feel of Shoot 'Em Up and pushes it to such a disturbing level. It's like, you know, I can't believe he can actually get it made.
What was it like going from an adrenaline flick like this one to the dramatic period piece Elizabeth: The Golden Age?
It was like different planets. To be honest with you, it's one of the things I'm very pleased about. Keeping the things so varied. I look at the last three films Children of Men to Shoot 'Em Up is pretty radical. And then Shoot 'Em Up to Golden Age. They're all so different. I don't actively go out and say, "It's got to be different from the last one."
What attracted you to the project?
I was a huge fan of Elizabeth. Really big fan. Thought it was a really extraordinary film. I thought Cate [Blanchett] was extraordinary in it. They had been trying to get this film off the ground for awhile and trying to get Cate to do it. Then they sent me a script that was fantastic. Cate was definitely back in. Geoffrey Rush was back in. Shaker was coming back. It was like a no-brainer. It was a really lovely script and I think it's going to be a pretty amazing film.
Was there a romance between Elizabeth and Sir Walter Raleigh?
They were incredibly close. There was never any evidence of any romance, but he was a very favored courtier who was very tight with the queen for a very long time.
Is it true it was your idea to bring Frank Miller aboard the Marlowe film?
It was my idea, yeah. I knew Frank well from Sin City, and I know Frank is completely obsessed by Chandler and Marlowe. If you look at Sin City, it's from there. It's all derived from those classic things. I knew that if you're going to do Marlowe again, you need to make it relevant. You need to bring it to an audience today, but at the same time it's crucial to be faithful to the source material. You don't want to start messing with it too much. You need to respect it because that's why it's so amazing. The original books and that style. Frank will give it an edge and make it relevant and also be incredibly respectful.
Is he going to do this after he does The Spirit?
Yeah, as a sort of running thing. He's going to write the thing, yeah, but as an ongoing thing. It's a long term project. We're not rushing out. We've already had a number of meetings. He's already started the process.
As an actor, how do you change your approach for the very different and distinct worlds of your films?
Each of those universes are dictated obviously by the script and what the script's about and the directors. Ultimately you go in there and try to deliver for a director. So you look at Children of Men, you've got this most ambitious, visionary director trying to achieve this extraordinary film. You look at Shoot 'Em Up, and it's an incredible sort of action thing with Michael. It's complete action excessive, and then Golden Age which is a very beautiful, abstract, sort of unusual period film. But each time, in each of those movies, in each of the scenes in each of those movies, your job as an actor is to try to achieve what the director wants. Of course they're completely different in their styles, but the same things are demanded of you as an actor which is, try and fulfill what this director wants.
|