27 Dresses ... Malin Akerman with Ed Burns / supplied
NEWS.com.au has this exclusive interview with former supermodel Christy Turlington`s hubby.
In the movie Jane Nichols`s (played by Katherine Heigl) whole life is defined by the kiss and knowing it is the right person, was it like that for you in real life?
The first kiss …? I think we met at a party and then went to another bar, so we were pretty loaded for the first kiss.
No I meant does it help weed people out?
I guess it could, bad breath would weed it out. I am sure I lost a few due to that.
Was this film a learning experience for you personally?
This film - no. What I got from this film was a handful of great new relationships. Anne Fletcher, the director, is a phenomenal woman and after sitting down with her I didn’t care what the script was. I knew I’d be going to Providence for three months and be laughing my ass off. So I got to know Katherine and Jimmy Marsden and I became really close. Just to get to work with three women as funny as Katie, Judy and Marin. It’s rare to work with one actress who can be so natural and effortlessly funny, but we had three in this film. But there was not a lot required of me in the part of George. I play prince charming with my daughter all the time and the set of this movie kind of felt the same. He’s a pretty one dimensional romantic comedy archetype of the idealised male, so when you are playing that you kind of show up for work and do what you are required and enjoy yourself.
Is it flattering to be thought of that way?
It had less to do with me and more to do with that he is an environmentally friendly guy, a considerate boss; he does charity work. Oh and he happens to be a multi-millionaire. And he’s kind.
Do you think men prefer looks over kindness?
Yeah I do - or brains.
You must have had people enamored with you over the years - did you know, or were you oblivious like your character?
I think you could be oblivious and Katie’s character is not doing anything that would make George aware that she is in love with him. And like with a lot of guys I think he is taken with Tess’s beauty in the beginning and doesn’t listen to a word she says or dig any deeper than he should. But it is a romantic comedy and with the genre there are certain expectations the audience has. With these types of films I tend to not look too deeply into the motivation, because it really has to serve the audience’s expectations which are they want to laugh and feel good at the end of the movie. And that is sort of what your job is. I had conversations with Anne, but this is not George’s film, it’s Katherine’s. Would I have liked to make him more real? Absolutely, but does that help Anne tell the story? No. He is there to do a certain thing so that character can go on her journey and fulfill her arch. There are those jobs that is what you are required to do and there are other jobs you do for very different reasons. Where there are explorations of the character, not to take anything away from in the job. Movies are made for all sorts of different reasons and this movie was not made for a deep examination of the soul.
You are a writer and a director, is it refreshing at times to just do a movie and not have to think and just enjoy yourself?
Absolutely. I am pretty fortunate that I have carved out three careers for myself and depending on the kind of year I have had you kind of look for certain things. I was coming out of directing two movies back to back, so called my agent and said I want something for this spring, close to home because I have two young kids, and I wanted to do something kind of light and be done by this summer because my daughter will be back in school. That was my motivation here, very practical, but that being said I am almost a year into trying to get another film made that I want to make as a filmmaker and that is my passion project that I would basically bleed for. That’s what you have to do in this business, it’s very difficult. It is a juggling act and I have been in it for 12 years now, which is about 11 years longer than I thought I would be, and then the priority there is thinking how can I stay somewhat irrelevant so that you can continue to survive and can continue to work and put yourself in a position to get to do the work you are truly passionate about.
Well you are relevant; take Purple Violet, a movie you decided to distribute yourself directly to iTunes which was very ballsy?
And it turned out incredibly well for us. Look at the last two movies I directed that are smaller dialogue and character driven pieces and the landscape of art house cinema has changed dramatically from the late 90s `til now. Attendance is down due to various reasons and five years ago you didn’t have Netflix, or Tivo or flat screen TV’s or Youtube or iTunes. People that went to art house theatre have more options, I used to go, but now think any movie can be delivered in a red envelope three months after it’s released so why not watch it on my flat screen in the comfort of home. We had an offer to release it but I wanted this film to reach the people that want to see it at its highest public awareness. So we looked at things and saw Tower had closed and iTunes was doing incredible numbers so we approached them and said what do you think? They loved it. After six months of figuring out how this distribution might work, it worked incredibly. The number of downloads we have had … well I have had more people download that film than watched my last three films in theatres, just in the first four weeks. There are no overheads, so we are already seeing a return. If it had gone to a major distributor we might still be waiting to see it, like some of the films I did eight years ago I am still waiting for the first check to show up. It’s not for all films, but it’s a new real option for smaller films.
Are you a fan of romance?
Yeah I think I am enough of a fan, if I see a good romantic comedy I like them. I am a big fan of the old Howard Hawks films from the 30s and 40s, I was a big Hepburn and Tracey fan for a while and Woody Allen films that are a very different kind of romantic comedy.
This film is all about marriage, what do you think of the institution of marriage?
Honestly I have given it no thought at all. I had to go through it once and my wife was clear in that she would ask me if I like something and I knew I should say yes, because my opinion really didn’t matter and I was cool with that because floral arrangements and tablecloths have never been of interest to me, so it worked out well. We were both on the same page, I just needed to show up and make sure that I had brushed my teeth. And no, I wasn’t just signing the cheque, Christy does all right.
Your character is an adventurer, are you?
Yeah I am a pretty active guy, I snowboard and surf and some exotic fly fishing trips. I have never climbed any mountains.
But do you have to alter doing anything because you are a father?
Well I have parachuted in the past and certainly wouldn’t do that now, but that is it. I was never really an extreme sports guy, the worst you can do snowboarding is break a leg.
Are you an environmentalist like your character?
Some, I have a hybrid car and recycle and try to drink not so much bottled water which they say is bad. Apparently what it costs to bottle and ship around the world is one of the worst things we are doing to the environment. You will be hearing a lot about that, and the bulk isn’t even recycled. The tap water in New York is fine anyway.
Do you see yourself more as a Spielberg or DeNiro in 10 years time?
A Spielberg without a doubt. I was a kid who went to film school and fell into acting. After putting myself in my first movie it morphed into this career I have, but my love is filmmaking and that is what I am passionate about. Hopefully in 40 years I will still be doing this.
Do you still see a lot of movies?
Not as much as I used to, since having kids. I used to be a real film buff but now I pick and choose.
Do you have any bad clothes in your closet like Katherine’s character?
I have nothing but bad clothes. I am still going through my bad fashion period.
* 27 Dresses is out now on DVD.
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