Anjelah Johnson – Our Family Wedding

Funny girl Anjelah Johnson has been keeping busy in the entertainment industry for the last few years. From her performances as a stand-up comedienne to her short stint as an NFL cheerleader, it’s all been a natural progression for Johnson, who moved to L.A. in 2003 to pursue an acting career.

In “Our Family Wedding,” the second wide-release film of her career, Johnson, who is of Mexican and Native American descent, plays Izzy, the tomboyish sister of America Ferrera’s character who surprises her traditional Hispanic family when she tells them she is engaged to a black guy.

During an interview with me, Johnson talked about her time as an Oakland Raiderette, what kind of advice she got from Carlos Mencia, and what it means to “sleep like a princess.”

You were in one episode of “Ugly Betty” last year where you interview Betty about her blog. So, I’ll ask the same first question you ask Betty on that show: Who are you dying to bitch out?

Yoohoo! Man, nobody! I’m on good terms with everyone right now, so it’s all good. (Laughs)

What did you think about “Ugly Betty” getting cancelled?

I’ve been a fan of the show since the first episode. When I heard it was cancelled, I was sad. I’m friends with America and we talked about it. I told her it was a blessing that she was able to be a part of such an amazing show. I’m happy for her and the show because it did get to run for four seasons, but I’m sad to see it go.

Was it your idea to mention a manicure in one of your first scenes in “Our Family Wedding” since that is a big part of your stand-up routine?

When do I talk about a manicure?

At the beginning of the movie, you talk about someone getting a manicure.

Oh, when I shake Lance’s [Gross] hand I say he has soft girly hands and ask if he got a manicure. I didn’t even correlate the two! That’s pretty funny. (Laughs)

I thought it was a reference to your stand-up.

No, not at all. I try to veer away from that as much as possible.

I heard you in a past interview saying you’re a lot like your character Izzy. Would you consider yourself as much of a tomboy as she is?

(Laughs) Yes, I do, definitely. I’m not over-the-top to where it’s like butchy, but I’m definitely a jeans and tennis type of girl with my hair in a ponytail. But I don’t like to get dirty. I hate it when my hands are dirty. That’s one of my pet peeves.

What would you consider the girliest thing about you other than getting manicures?

The girliest thing about me is that I sleep like a princess. I have like seven pillows all around me in a big U shape. When I toss and turn I always have a pillow to hold onto. I have a huge king-size bed just for me.

Other than sleeping like a princess, you don’t seem to fit in that princess mold. But I read that you were a professional cheerleader for the Oakland Raiders, and that, to me, sounds really girly.

Well, I grew up doing competitive cheerleading where it wasn’t so girly. It was more of a sport. We were competing and doing a lot of tumbling and stunts. We would get injured. We were tough cheerleaders. But when I went to the Oakland Raider, that was a totally different story. It was very girly and showy. That was different for me. When my friend first asked me if I wanted to audition for the Raiders I was like, “No way. That’s so not my skill set.” But it ended up working out.

You only did the pro cheerleading thing for one year. Why did you stop?

Well, it was at this time in my life where I didn’t know what I wanted to do. I knew I wanted to act, but I didn’t know how to get started. So, I used the Raiders crew as my sign. I told myself if I make the team I would use it to pursue a career in the entertainment industry. So, I made the squad, cheered for one year and went to the Super Bowl that year, and then came home at the end of the season and packed my bags and moved to L.A. and have been here ever since.

How did you and Carlos Menica get along since both of you come from a stand-up background?

He and I get along great. We’ve worked with each other before. We did a show together where it was me, Carlos, Cedric the Entertainer, and a lot of other comedians on the bill. He actually pulled me to the side and gave me a pep talk. My career in stand-up had moved so fast. I’ve gotten where I am in such a short amount of time. He gave me the heads up and told me, “You know, there’s going to be some haters…People are going to say this and say that.” It was almost like a fatherly-type talk. When we found out he was playing my father in this movie, it was an easy transition because we already established that relationship.

Speaking of haters, both you and Carlos have been criticized for some of your stand-up material. Some people say it’s racist. What do you think when you hear things like that? Are people being oversensitive?

I could say people are oversensitive, but to each his own. What offends me might not offend somebody else and vice versa. None of my material comes from a mean spirit or a mean heart where I’m trying to hurt somebody’s feelings. All my comedy is observational. I just talk about things that I see. A lot of the time it’s true and truth hurts. I guess that why people sometimes get upset.

Is film something you want to focus on now?

Yeah, I moved to L.A. to pursue acting and stand-up kind of fell onto my plate. It’s been a blessing and I enjoy stand-up, but acting is definitely what I love to do and what I came here to do. I’m looking forward to growing and flourishing in my acting career in film and TV. Stand-up will be there, too. It’s like a creative outlet for me where I can write my own material and perform.

Can you tell me about your role in the upcoming “Marmaduke” movie?

I play a voice of one of the dogs. She’s like the ditzy dog. It was a lot of fun for me. I was able to improv a lot.

On your website, you sell a t-shirt that reads, “I Have a Big Butt.” Can a guy get away with buying that for his girlfriend or wife or would you advise against that?

I’m sure they can if that’s a joke they they’ve talked about and laughed about. I’ve had a bunch of guys buy that shirt for their girlfriends. They’ll come up to me and say, “Oh, this is so perfect for my girlfriend!” I’m like, “Uh, well make sure she feels the same way!”

Angelic Zambrana – Precious

Actress Angelic Zambrana knew she was part of a special film when “Precious: Based on the Novel Push by Sapphire” started winning award after award at the beginning of 2009 and continued to receive accolades throughout the year. It wasn’t until last November, however, when the film made its premiere in Los Angeles when Zambrana felt like her life had changed.

“That’s when I first met Oprah and she knew who I was!” Zambrana told me during a phone interview. “I also met Sidney Poitier and he said I did excellent work. Will Smith even sent a letter to my house. After that I told myself, ‘I am an actress and I’m never looking back.’”

In “Precious,” Zambrana plays Consuelo, one of the more caustic classmates enrolled in the same alternative school as actress Gabourey Sidibe’s title character. The film tells the story of Precious, an overweight, illiterate teen who is abused by her family, but strives to do something with her life. This past Sunday, “Precious” won two Oscars (Mo’Nique for Best Supporting Actress and Geoffrey Fletcher for Best Adapted Screenplay). “Precious” was released on DVD March 9.

During our interview, Zambrana, who is of Dominican and Puerto Rican descent, talked about growing up in Queens with aspirations to be an actress, where she found the inspiration to play Consuelo and why her big confrontation scene with Sidibe could not have been more realistic.

How did you get involved with “Precious?”

I had gone in to audition for one of the other roles and even got a call back for it. When [director] Lee Daniels saw me, he was like, “No, I want you to read for Consuelo.” He wanted me to schedule another appointment to read for the other character, but I was like, “No, I’ll read for it now.” So, I did it and [Lee] was like, “Excellent!” That’s how I got the role.

Since you weren’t actually ready to read for that specific character, where did you draw your inspiration?

I knew girls like Consuelo and the other characters. They are all outcasts of the education system. I knew how I should play her – her attitude and all her insecurities. I knew where to find the truth in Consuelo right away.

Did you ever think an independent film like “Precious” would get so much acclaim when you first started working on it?

We knew [the novel] “Push” had a following and that we were working with something substantial. I always hoped that it would reach the status and success it has now, but we really didn’t know. We just hoped we could make a good film. You can’t think, “We’re going to win an Oscar” when you first do it. We just wanted to tell a good story.

Was it more evident how far this movie could go after Sundance last year?

Yes, that’s exactly the time when Oprah and Tyler Perry stepped in and said they wanted to promote the film. During the [Sundance] awards ceremony, we were winning award after award. Then it came down to the most important award, which is the Grand Jury Prize for Dramatic Feature, and when they called our name, we all jumped up. That’s when it all started.

In your big scene in the film, you and Sidibe get into a physical fight in the classroom. What was Lee looking for in that scene and how were you able to deliver it?

Lee wanted a fight to happen. No one is supposed to like me in the movie. I didn’t know I was going to get hit. I was in character and being really disruptive in the classroom. Lee whispered to Sidibe to knock me on my feet. When she came up to me, I was playing Consuelo and acting like I was hot shit and thought, “She’s not going to hit me.” But she was like, “Wham!” and hit me. I was shocked, but I stayed in character and I got up and started fighting back as an impulse. It was all genuine.

She’s Out of My League

Starring: Jay Baruchel, Alice Eve, T.J. Miller
Directed by: Jim Field Smith (debut)
Written by: Sean Anders (“Sex Drive”) and John Morris (“Sex Drive”)

While it might remind you of the reality show “Beauty and the Geek,” there is a lot more heart and plenty of hilarious moments in “She’s Out of My League” that propels it past mindless TV fare and similar types of recent comedies like “I Love You, Beth Cooper.” It actually feels more like 1987’s “Can’t Buy Me Love” with rougher edges.

In “League,” Jay Baruchel (“Tropic Thunder”) plays Kirk, a nerdy airport security officer who gets the shock of his life when Molly (Alice Eve), a gorgeous blonde bombshell genuinely takes an interest in him. His buddies – Stainer (T.J. Miller), Jack (Mike Vogel), and Devon (Nate Torrence) – can’t believe a girl like Molly (described here as a “hard 10”) would lower her physical standards and give Kirk (a 5 or 6 depending on who you ask) a chance.

Kirk is a nice enough guy, but aside from his average looks he’s not very aspiring or self-confident. Molly, on the other hand, doesn’t just flaunt her outer beauty. She’s an all-around girl who likes sports, has a law degree, and owns her own event-planning business. It’s a dream come true for Kirk from the start until his mind starts playing games with him. He is begins to wonder how long something this good can actually last. More importantly, how can he live up to this fantasy when everyone around him is dumbfounded by his new relationship?

While there is enough frat-boy humor to keep the R-rating fresh, “League” packs more than just lowbrow antics you’d normally get from a juvenile comedy like this. Sean Anders and John Morris, who penned 2008’s surprisingly funny “Sex Drive,” might not be the next Judd Apatow just yet, but there’s a lot to be admired in a story that refuses to take the easy route and run over all the obvious clichés time and time again.

Instead, the comedy hits a couple of potholes and moves on smoothly. With a lead character that you can root for in Kirk, it’s easy to be charmed by “League” no matter how unrealistic the geek in all of us knows it really is.

Remember Me

Starring: Rob Pattinson, Emilie de Ravin, Chris Cooper
Directed by: Allen Coulter (“Hollywoodland”)
Written by: Will Fetters (debut)

If British actor Robert Pattinson has proven anything to us during his six-year career in Hollywood it’s that there are many ways to look forlorn without showing any real emotion.

Pattinson doesn’t need to be a bedazzled vampire hunk to get his pout on in “Remember Me,” a drama that exhibits a slew of characters feeling sorry for themselves for nearly two hours before the surprising albeit gimmicky twist at the end tries desperately to be affecting.

In “Remember Me,” Pattinson plays Tyler Hawkins, a NYU college student with daddy issues who continues to struggle with the death of his older brother. First-time screenwriter Will Fetter writes Tyler’s father (Pierce Brosnan) as a cold and distant lawyer with little time for his family. It’s a personality trait that infuriates Tyler mostly because his pop pays little attention to his youngest kid Caroline (Ruby Jerins, the best part of the film). It’s also a plot point Fetter flip-flops on later without much motive.

While “Remember Me” likes to flaunt its dysfunctional family elements, this is a love story…mostly. After Tyler is arrested one evening by Sgt. Neill Craig (Chris Cooper), his roommate Aidan (Tate Ellington) somehow talks him into asking the cop’s daughter Ally (Emilie de Ravin) out on a date as some type of lamebrain idea for revenge. Here, too, Fetter offers no real purpose behind these characters’ decisions. Tyler gives no evidence that he is the type of person who would do something like this, so why set it up that way?

Nevertheless, the courting begins as Tyler and Ally lean on each other for emotional support (Ally’s mother was murdered in the subway a decade prior to her fling with Tyler and her overprotective father has suddenly become abusive). The time can’t pass fast enough as Tyler and Ally exchange sob stories as well as tacky and cliché dialogue from Fetter. He seems to be writing for the prejudiced tween audience who is simply trying to pass the time until Pattinson’s Edward Cullen returns for “Eclipse.” Words such as “Fingerprints don’t fade from the lives we touch” might read like a genuine sentiment if it was etched on a tombstone, but no one says stuff like that out loud.

Tweens may love the way Pattinson dishes out “freaky, poetic crap,” a phrase Aidan uses to describe his misunderstood and sensitive friend, but this unrealistic romance is built on unstable concepts, overacted melodrama and limited chemistry from the leads. Even Pattinson can’t charm his way out of this one.

Our Family Wedding

Starring: America Ferrera, Forest Whitaker, Carlos Mencia
Directed by: Rick Famuyiwa (“Brown Sugar”)
Written by: Wayne Conley (“King’s Ransom”), Malcolm Spellman (debut), Rick Famuyiwa (“Brown Sugar”)

Movies featuring racially diverse casts and themes are hard to come by these days (unless you’re rubbing elbows with the overrated brand name known as Tyler Perry). But if future projects aimed at underrepresented minorities are anything like the grating “Our Family Wedding,” studios should keep them tucked away at least until George Lopez’s dubious “Speedy Gonzalez” idea comes to fruition.

Not only are the distasteful stereotypes what make “Wedding” a chore to sit through, director and co-writer Rick Famuyiwa (“Brown Sugar”) just doesn’t have the comedic chops to deliver entertaining material for an entire feature film. While a goat hopped up on Viagra is the unfunny low point of the movie, “Wedding” sinks close to that level before and after the farm animal starts dry-humping Forest Whitaker in the bathroom.

Using the same structure as 2005’s “Guess Who” (a less than stellar remake of the Oscar winning 1967 film “Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner”), the film follows two families as they prepare for a big wedding celebration for their son and daughter.

Lucia Ramirez (America Ferrera) and Marcus Boyd (Lance Gross) may be in love, but that doesn’t mean their dads have to like each other. The animosity between father of the bride Miguel (Carlos Mencia) and father of the groom Marcus (Whitaker) begins when Miguel, the owner of an auto repair shop, impounds Marcus’s sports car and exchanges verbal jabs with his daughter’s future father-in-law even before he knows who he is.

The set up is a tired one. Most of the jokes play the race card without remorse and each one is less amusing than the last. When Lucia and Marcus break the news to their families about their interracial relationship, no one bothers to tell Lucia’s grandmother (Lupe Ontiveros) who falls over when she sees a black man walk into her kitchen. The racial profiling continues as Miguel calls Marcus “bro’” and Marcus retorts with “hombre.” The families bicker and clash about wedding traditions, culture, and religion while Lucia and Marcus stand idly by having claimed a nonsensical mantra to help them get through the weeks before the big day: “Our marriage, their wedding.”

Directed gracelessly by Famuyiwa, “Our Family Wedding” is an unfortunate mess of a movie that skips all the tender moments and authentic family ordeals for dull slapstick comedy and ham-fisted put-downs. If you’re looking for something as endearing as “Father of the Bride,” you’ve come to the wrong ceremony.

Alice in Wonderland

Starring: Johnny Depp, Mia Wasikowska, Helena Bonham Carter
Directed by: Tim Burton (“Charlie and the Chocolate Factory”)
Written by: Linda Woolverton (“The Lion King”)

Director Tim Burton’s visual sensibility is once again at the forefront of another dark spectacle full of big ideas but ultimately hollow at its core. This time it’s “Alice in Wonderland,” a beautifully-realized take on the popular 19th century Lewis Carroll tale, which has been remade numerous times in the past 100 years.

In the newest version, “Alice” takes the best of what Burton does and buries it under an incoherent narrative by animated film screenwriter Linda Woolverton (“Beauty and the Beast,” “The Lion King”). It’s not so much that the magic or overall look has been squandered. The twisted tale of a Mad Hatter, a waist-coated white rabbit, and Cheshire Cat is quite stunning with the characters going through a computer-generated makeover. Burton’s version, however, must overcompensate on imagination when the sluggish story sucks all the adventure out of what could have been an epic reimaging of a beloved classic.

Fresh-face Australian actress Mia Wasikowska (“Defiance”) is entrusted with the role of the title character. In a sort of sequel to any of the preceding films, here Alice is actually returning to the fantasy world most people know from the trippy Disney film of 1951. In this adaptation, Alice is an unconventional 19-year-old who visits a place called Underland after she rejects a suitor who has asked for her hand in marriage.

Bothered by nightmares of her first journey down the rabbit hole (an event she hardly remembers), Alice stumbles yet again into a land where flowers talk, frogs are royal servants, and oversized facial features are signs power. Woolverton’s script even finds room for Carroll’s Jabberwocky, a monstrous character first introduced in his novel “Through the Looking Glass.”

Since her last visit, the vile and bulbous-headed Red Queen (Helena Bonham Carter) has taken over. Alice does her best impersonation of the kids from “The Chronicles of Narnia” to try to stop her and her loyal army. A prophetic scroll shown at the beginning of her second coming reveals Alice to be the one who will put an end to the queen’s reign. Most of the characters, however, think she is the “wrong Alice” and won’t be able to help.

Cast near-perfectly especially with Johnny Depp as the eccentric Mad Hatter, Crispin Glover as the sinister Knave of Hearts, and Alan Rickman and Stephen Fry lending their voices for the hooka-smoking Blue Caterpillar and the hypnotic Cheshire Cat respectively, “Alice” definitely transports us to the world we all new Burton could create. It’s unfortunate, however, that the digital enhancements outweigh a story that is more aware of its dreamlike marvels than before. Because Alice is older, that childlike sense of wonderment is absent. Woolverton (off with her head!) compounds the problem by fashioning a whimsical yet convoluted tale that often becomes dull and gaudy all at once.

Brooklyn’s Finest

Starring: Richard Gere, Don Chedle, Ethan Hawke
Directed by: Antoine Fuqua (“Shooter”)
Written by: Michael C. Martin (debut)

Someone really needs to start a Save the Squibs campaign in Hollywood. Those tiny little explosive devices used in the movies to pop packets of fake blood and create the effect of someone getting shot are being wasted. While squibs are fairly cheap in comparison to other special effects, the cost can add up if you use them as gratuitously as director Antoine Fuqua does in his latest dirty-cop film “Brooklyn’s Finest.” It’s a violent, mind-numbing, and generic cop flick that kicks down the door with guns blazing and has nothing new to say.

Despite the overemphasis on the brutality of life in the hood, the blood spurting is not the real problem. Fuqua filled Denzel Washington with bullet holes at the end of his Academy Award-winning performance in “Training Day” in 2001 and that violent scene was shot to perfection. What doesn’t work in “Finest,” however, is Fuqua inability to detach himself in any way from first-time screenwriter Michael C. Martin’s horribly clichéd script and his failure to differentiate intense performances with overacting.

In “Finest,” three New York City police officers play the pawns of this wannabe gritty drama. Richard Gere (“Nights in Rodanthe”) is Eddie, a veteran cop with an alcohol problem who is only a week away from retirement. You get a sense of who he is when he rolls out of bed and into a bottle of Jack. He’s also in love with a prostitute, but the script doesn’t really explain why. Don Cheadle (“Traitor”) is Tango, an undercover cop who is caught up in the criminal underworld and hope he can soon transfer to a cozy desk job. His last assignment: to put the sting on a criminal friend (Wesley Snipes) who just happened to save his life. Ethan Hawke (“Training Day”) is Sal, a crooked cop who starts stealing drug money so he can buy a new home for his growing family.

As Gere, Cheadle, and Hawke hobble through the motions, Martin’s haphazard story structure quickly falls apart before it even begins. If there is supposed to be some kind of statement about the injustices in black America or how faith can’t always heal a reckless soul, Fuqua and Martin miss the mark. “Finest” becomes a hopeless narrative sew together with weakly-written characters with nothing to live for and no reason to change.

Without any emotion invested in any of the officers, there is not much to be concerned over when bodies begin to hit the floor and Fuqua starts thinking he is Francis Ford Coppola and Martin Scorsese. Even when his stock was at it’s highest nine years ago, he still didn’t come close.

The White Ribbon

Starring: Christian Friedel, Burghart Klaussner, Leonie Benesch
Directed by: Michael Haneke (“Caché”)
Written by: Michael Haneke (“Caché”)

There is certainly a reason that the German film “The White Ribbon,” which won the top prize at last year’s Cannes Film Festival, is the favorite to win the Academy Award for Best Foreign Film this weekend. It’s a haunting, metaphorical drama that speaks on many different levels, none more importantly than the idea of inherent evil and the loss of innocence.

Set in a small, Northern village in Germany at the start of World War I, Austrian director/writer Michael Haneke (“Caché”) builds the film’s tension on the mysterious accidents that begin to plague the villagers. When a doctor is injured after his horse trips on some wire and a boy is tied to a tree and tortured, the strange occurrences no longer seem like accidents as much as they do cruel pranks.

But who is to blame for what is happening in the once-peaceful village? Slowly, Haneke draws back the curtain as we watch the expressionless characters shot in cold black and white put a major dent in the history books. In doing so, Haneke once again explores the dark areas of human nature as he did with 2007’s sadistic “Funny Games.”

Most of “Ribbon” is narrated by a young school teacher (Christian Friedel), who is trying to find meaning behind his country’s fascist ideals and moral deficiency. His thoughts take him back to the small village where he remembers the children and the strict upbringing some of them became accustomed to.

Actor Burghart Klaussner is chilling as a pastor and the father of a handful of these children, who linger in the background of almost every scene like entities. The white ribbon he ties to his son’s and daughter’s arms is supposed to remind them of their purity. As you being to understand Haneke’s unpleasant viewpoint, “Ribbon” becomes all the more disturbing and intriguing.

While he never spells it out for the audience, Haneke’s message is a profound one. Even when he does allow us to see more of the heartlessness of these characters, “Ribbon” never becomes as unsettling as when these moments are happening behind closed doors.

Lee Toland Krieger – The Vicious Kind

Director/writer Lee Toland Krieger knew the type of movie he was making when he sat down to write “The Vicious Kind,” a character-driven drama that follows Caleb Sinclaire (Adam Scott), a heartbroken and sardonic man who falls in love with his younger brother’s girlfriend when they come home from college for Thanksgiving break.

The movie would be small, inexpensive, and a hard sell in the Hollywood market. Krieger didn’t care. This was the type of film he wanted to make.

“Last year, audiences were clearly looking for an escape movie like ‘Avatar.’” Krieger told me during a phone interview. “We knew it was going to be an uphill battle.”

After debuting at the Sundance Film Festival last year, no major studio stepped up to buy the rights to the film. (It’s unfortunate since “The Vicious Kind” was No. 7 in CineSnob.net Top 10 movies of 2009). For the entire year it floated in cinematic limbo until the film earned two Independent Spirit Award nominations this year (Krieger for Best Screenplay; Scott for Best Actor). “The Vicious Kind” was also just released on DVD last week.

The 25th Annual Independent Spirit Awards airs on March 5 at 10 p.m. on IFC.

First, let me just tell you that I loved this movie. What inspired you to make this film?

For me it was a product of seeing a lot of these independent films in the last couple of years. Don’t get me wrong, I liked “Little Miss Sunshine,” but I wanted to see the type of independent films we were seeing in the early and mid-90’s like “Buffalo 66” and “Welcome to the Dollhouse.” These weren’t indies only because of their small budget; they had filmmakers who wanted to tell a story that wasn’t your by-the-numbers drama. I’m a big John Cassavetes fan like a lot of indie filmmaker. His films certainly carry that spirit. One of my favorite movies is “Faces” and clearly he wanted to create a piece where the actors could turn themselves lose. I wanted to make a movie in that spirit. Two more contemporary films that also caught me by surprise were Jonathan Glazer’s “Sexy Beast” and Paul Thomas Anderson’s “Punch-Drunk Love.” I started with the Caleb character. It’s a character that – like him or not – I feel there were a lot of young actors out there that would like to sink their teeth into something like that.

The idea of an independent film has changed so much over the years. Twenty years ago, a filmmaker could get noticed with a good $10,000 film. Now you need $10 million. As an indie filmmaker, has the trend affected you?

Yeah, it’s starting to. In the last year, look at all the specialty division studios are shutting down. Now you’re either making a movie for a studio or maxing out your credit card and asking the doctor down the street for $100,000. You look at Neil LaBute’s first film “In the Company of Men;” that film was made for $25,000. I feel there were a lot more examples of that at Sundance in the mid 90’s than there are now.

If someone gave you $100 million would you know what to do with it? Would you make one huge movie or 100 indies?

(Laughs) I think I’m like every filmmaker that has a couple of big ideas that you might have to have a big budget for, but I would rather make a bunch of small movies than one big one. Beyond the practical reason of if you fuck a $100 million movie up you’d be sent to director’s jail for a long time, I’m draw to character-driven stuff. You look at the work that Paul Thomas Anderson is doing. I want to write something like that where you can get an actor like Daniel Day-Lewis to come out of pseudo-retirement to give a world class performance that will go down in history. That movie will have a longer shelf life than the $100 million studio film.

I see we share a love for Paul Thomas Anderson’s work. He’s my favorite director working today.

He’s arguably the best director alive. I’ll watch anything he does. I think he is one of the only filmmakers working who is incapable of making a bad movie. He might make a movie that doesn’t make money, but I don’t think he’ll ever make a movie that’s not interesting and well done. I don’t think you can even say that about Martin Scorsese. (Laughs) I know that blasphemy. It’s hard to deny how brilliant [Anderson’s] work is.

Recently, Adam Scott told New York Magazine that he’s never had an entire film rest on his shoulders like “The Vicious Kind.” Did you feel like all the pressure was on him?

I agree with him 100 percent. When you write a piece for a tour-de-force performance, it has to be all or nothing. We don’t have any big set pieces to distract the audience. The movie hangs on Adam’s work. If you read Caleb on the page, he could be this totally unlikable character. He had to find a balance between the dark and comedic elements of the character. I knew Adam had a great sense of humor and could do it. When we first sat down and talked Adam said, “I think this is really funny. Is it supposed to be funny?” I said, “Yes, thank God you get it!” Without that element that Adam brings to it, you’re sort of hopeless.

It must have been daunting to give the script to someone and they didn’t think it was funny. But not everything reads funny on the page like “The Squid and the Whale.”

That’s funny you mention that movie because I own that script. It’s one of my favorites. I didn’t read it before I saw the movie, so now I’m wondering if I had read it beforehand would I have thought it was funny as it is now. I think you just have to have a perverse, darker sensibility and humor to laugh at those sorts of things. My dad read [“The Vicious Kind”] script and said, “I think this is really fucking dark. I think this it’s really upsetting and I think you need to see someone.” He didn’t think any of it was the slightest bit funny. That was kind of disconcerting. There are some people that probably feel the same way as my dad, but we knew we weren’t making a movie for everybody.

Has he seen the movie since?

My mom and dad saw the movie at Sundance, yes. It’s hard to tell, but I think they are both bigger fans of the film than they were of the script. I think a lot of people that didn’t get it right away get it now. That’s really a testament to Adam understanding the balance. That charm and charisma he brings to his character is something I take no credit for. He made my job incredibly easy. He was Caleb from Day 1.

Tell me about shooting the supermarket scene. It seems like as a director you just need to step out of the way and let the actors do their work and hope they get it right because it would be hard to recreate that emotion over and over again.

Yeah, we didn’t have much rehearsal time, but we were able to go over some of the scenes that I thought where going to be the tougher ones and that was one of them. That was one scene where I felt it was really close to the way I wrote it and pictured it in my head. Adam and Brittney [Snow] had really settled into their characters and we had all really gotten into a groove. I think I was trying to stay out of the way and thinking, “How do we get him to that place.”

I know Adam called you up because he wanted the role. How did Brittney Snow get on board?

We were talking about Adam and a couple of other guys for the role like Paul Schneider and Jeremy Davies. I felt we wanted to switch it up with her. We like the notion of turning the role on its side and doing something people wouldn’t expect. A name we were really talking about was someone like Olivia Thirlby because she was and is such an indie darling. We didn’t really want to do something that was obvious. To me, Brittney was one of these pretty actresses that is really underrated. I met with her and we got along really well. Fortunately, she like the material and I think was looking for something to shed those studio roles she had been known for. She wanted something to challenge her.

What about J.K. Simmons?

He’s been able to work in such a wide range of movies. One of our producers was scared of J.K. because he only knew him as the guy from “Lost.” Then other people just wanted to give him a hug because they knew him from “Juno” or “Spider-Man.” Then the TV junkies love him in “The Closer.” He’s got TV, he’s got studio movies, he’s an indie darling. His simple take on it was that he only does what he likes. It seems so simple, but it’s obviously worked for him. Fortunately for us, he liked “The Vicious Kind” and wanted to come out and work for little money and spend a week in the freezing cold.

This is only your second film, but you are already getting some comparisons other directors (Neil LaBute, David Gordon Green). Is that OK with you or would you rather stand on your own this early in your career?

(Laughs) I guess it depends on what directors you’re comparing me to. I don’t really put too much stock in that stuff. I know what kind of movies I want to make. Someone like David Gordon Green – “George Washington,” “All the Real Girls,” “Undertow” – had a really big influence on me. Whenever I read something that says I’m like David Gordon Green meets Neil LaBute I can’t help but feel a bit flattered. Ultimately, I hope I can make more movies and that they will stand alone. I hope I can be a voice that is original.

You bring up David Gordon Green, who did some great indies, but then he went on to make a bigger film with “Pineapple Express,” which is good in its own way. Do you think there could be a natural progression for you into studio films like this or would you consider that selling out?

I think about this all the time. If you were to have asked me that question six years ago when I was in film school and my folks were paying all of my bills I would have said, “I’m going to do indies all of my life.” Look at Todd Solondz’s work. He truly doesn’t care about making other types of movies except the ones he wants to make. Give him $2 million and he’s probably just going to make the money back. I think I would like to find some middle ground. I love David Gordon Green. I liked “Pineapple Express.” I don’t know if that’s a movie – even if I’m given the opportunity – I would jump to make. Sure, making money is great, but if you’re not proud of your work, no one really cares. As a filmmaker you have to spend a bare minimum of two years with a film. For me, if it’s not burning inside me and consuming my every thought, it’s not going to work. I like money, but not that much. But I don’t have a mortgage or a family to worry about yet, so we’ll see what happens in a few years.

Breck Eisner – The Crazies

During a phone interview with me, director Breck Eisner spoke about his new film “The Crazies,” a remake of the 1973 horror film of the same name by George A. Romero, why he decided the movie needed to be remade, and whether or not he thinks he could survive a global pandemic. If you don’t know, Breck is the son of former Walt Disney CEO Michael Eisner.

One could say that the reason we’re seeing so many horror remakes is because Hollywood is running out of ideas. Original scripts are a rarity in the industry. Would you disagree with that assertion?

You know, I totally understand the frustration with all these remakes. I would share that same frustration if every remake was a piece of junk. If a remake is great and people are making them for a reason and there’s something to tell, then go for it. But if a remake is just there to exploit a property and make money it’s no longer a reason to make a movie. With “The Crazies,” I saw a movie that had relevance when it was first made in ’73 and a relevance that existed today. It’s a different world, a totally different audience, and there are still things to say about the core conflict that makes the original work. For me, the idea of writing off all remakes is wrong. If it’s good then it’s no different than remaking a book or a graphic novel. Do it because there is a purpose.

Why do you think directors like George A. Romero and Wes Craven are open to the idea of their movies being recreated? I know you’ve said in a past interview that you would only remake a movie if you saw a flaw in the original. Do you think they see some of those flaws, too?

I think the flaw – if you can call it that – of [1973’s] “The Crazies” is a lack of resources. Obviously, having more money doesn’t mean you are going to have a better movie, but in a movie like “The Crazies” it’s a movie about the government taking over a town. When scaled to that, it’s kind of expensive if you have the desire to do it right. Romero was very limited in what he could do. One of the things I wanted to push against and try to scale up was to depict the military in a realistic way. In terms of their openness to make movies, I can talk specifically about Romero. He owns the rights to this movie. He benefits financially from selling it. It was his decision to allow the remake to happen, which gave me confidence in getting into this project. His point of view on it is this: here it is guys, be true to the original but I want to see your version of it. This is your movie. Go ahead and remake it.

While “The Crazies” has some gory moments, I wouldn’t necessarily say it focused on that element like a lot of horror movies do these days. Was not overdoing the gore something you did intentionally?

For me I just wanted to make a movie that I would want to see and the style of horror that I like. I certainly recognize that there are gorier movies out there. What I like in horror is a strong concept and good characters that you can invest in so when things start going horrifically wrong for them you have an emotional connection to them. My thought on gore is that it should service the movie itself. It’s fine when it’s in a scene where it’s appropriate. But don’t put gore in a movie for gore’s sake. Don’t just make it graphic because you think that’s what people want.

You’ve said in a past interview that the horror genre is something you hope you can keep doing. You said you’re not mucho of a romantic comedy type of guy. What’s the last romantic comedy you saw?

(Laughs) Oh, gosh, what is the last romantic comedy I saw? Is “Wedding Crashers” a romantic comedy? I love comedy. I love what the Coen Brothers do and I love comedy with a male point of view. If I was going to do a romantic comedy it would have to have some kind of dark comic take on it. But I love movies and appreciate them so to get the opportunity to make a good one, I would certainly take it.

Do you personally think you would be able to survive something apocalyptic like what we see in “The Crazies?”

I would absolutely go down in the first page of the script. I would like to think I would survive but I think I would be one of those guys that didn’t make it out alive.

What is something that drives you crazy about the film industry? About life in general?

What drives me crazy in the film industry is just the uncertainty of it. You’re never employed. You’re always looking for your next job. It’s a really unstable life. It can drive you mad. In life: traffic. Sometimes traffic can push me to the brink of insanity.

Ana de la Reguera – Cop Out

In 2006, actress Ana de la Reguera’s first opportunity to act in the U.S. came when she played Sister Encarnación, a nun at an orphanage who catches the eye of Jack Black’s monk-turned-luchador character in the comedy “Nacho Libre.”

Since making her American film debut, de la Reguera has worked mostly on Spanish-language projects in Mexico, Argentina, and Colombia, including films such as “Sultanes de Sur” with Jordi Mollá (“Che: Part Two”) and “Paraiso Travel” with John Leguizamo (“Nothing Like the Holidays”).

Now, de la Reguera, who was born in Veracruz, Mexico, stars in her second American comedy “Cop Out” alongside Bruce Willis (“Live Free or Die Hard”) and Tracy Morgan (TV’s “30 Rock”). The movie was directed by Kevin Smith (“Zach and Miri Make a Porno”). In the film, de la Reguera, 32, plays Gabriela, a woman who escapes from a group of killers in Mexico and ends up under the protection of two New York City cops (Willis and Morgan).

During an interview with me, de la Reguera talked about why it was hard not to laugh during the shoot and what she added to the script to make her character a bit more mischievous.

Have you been looking forward to the next opportunity to star in an American movie since your last one was four years ago?

Yes, but I love my career in Mexico, too. I’ve been doing amazing projects there. I work all over the place. I just chose things that I like and things I think I can do well. I’ve been trying to get more opportunities in the U.S. This was my next big one.

Was it a lot different only speaking Spanish in “Cop Out” since everyone else is speaking English?

Yeah, I don’t speak any English in the movie so there are lots of misunderstandings between characters. That’s what makes it funny a lot of the times. They don’t know what is going on with me or what I’m doing or saying.

There is a scene where you are locked inside the truck of a car. I’m guessing you’re not claustrophobic.

I’m not claustrophobic at all. I was happy because it was very sunny outside and it was comfortable, so I could take a little nap (laughs).

Did you get to teach Bruce Willis or Tracy Morgan any Spanish?

Bruce knows a little bit of Spanish. Tracy really has no idea. I didn’t get to teach them too much. We were just working and having fun with the scenes. I think it was better that they didn’t know Spanish because they weren’t supposed to know what I was saying. For me it was harder because I had to pretend I didn’t know what they were saying to me and sometimes they were saying something funny and I was supposed to be scared or crying. It was hard to keep a straight face when they were saying all these funny things.

Is it easier to act in English or Spanish?

It’s easier for me to act in Spanish, but as soon as I get the lines in English and I know them by heart it becomes really easy. You don’t have to worry about the language anymore. It just takes more time. In Spanish, I can learn lines in 10 minutes. In English, it’s going to take an hour.

What was it like to work with Kevin Smith? This is the first movie he’s directed that he didn’t write himself.

I was a huge fan and we connected very well. We had a lot of fun working together. He really takes care of the actors and has great ideas all the time.

Did you have to stick to the script or did he give everyone some freedom with his or her characters?

Actually, my part was written in English on the script. I had to translate my own scenes. I asked Kevin if I could give her a dirty mouth. People that don’t know Spanish aren’t going to know what I am saying, but I am saying some terrible things. Kevin loved the idea, so we changed that.

So you added all your own curse words?

All of them. She didn’t have any bad words, so I put all of them in.

Hopefully, they paid you a little more for writing and translating your scenes.

(Laughs) No, they didn’t, but I was happy to do it and I was happy that they thought it was a great idea. We had fun with it and they trusted me. It felt really good.

The Crazies

Starring: Timothy Olyphant, Radha Mitchell, Joe Anderson
Directed by: Breck Eisner (“Sahara”)
Written by: Scott Kosar (“The Amityville Horror”) and Ray Wright (“Pulse”)

With as many mediocre horror movies that come out of Hollywood in any given year, there is bound to be some apprehension when a remake of 1973’s “The Crazies” rears it’s ugly, infected head at theaters.

First of all, things don’t look too promising when screenwriters Scott Kosar and Ray Wright are attached to the project when they’ve already penned three unmemorable remakes between them in the last seven years (“The Amityville Horror” and “The Texas Chainsaw Massacre” belong to Kosar; Wright remade a Japanese horror movie into 2006’s yawn-inducing “Pulse”). Secondly, although director Breck Eisner has some talented genes (his father is Michael Eisner, former CEO of Walt Disney), he didn’t make much of a statement when he dropped the cinematic bomb that was the action/adventure “Sahara” in 2005.

Funny thing is, with nothing much going for it, “The Crazies” somehow works rather well. Produced by the original film’s director George A. Romero (“Night of the Living Dead”), “The Crazies” is a stimulating blend of chilling moments, solid characters, and enough violence and gore to make aficionados of the genre screech in delight.

Set in the small, fictional town of Ogden Marsh, Iowa, “The Crazies” – if you want to get technical – isn’t part of the zombie culture Romero’s name is usually tied to. This follows a story more in the realm of “28 Days Later” than “Dawn of the Dead.” In the film, townspeople have become infected by something that is turning them all into aggressive, murderous pyschopaths. Unless the military can quarantine the population, the mysterious sickness will eventually infect millions and lead to a global pandemic.

Timothy Olyphant (“A Perfect Getaway”) plays David Dutton, the sheriff of Ogden Marsh who is trying to uncover the reason his neighbors are becoming raving lunatics. Along with his doctor wife Judy (Radha Mitchell), his deputy Russell (Joe Anderson), and his wife’s assistant Becca (Danielle Panabaker), the foursome maneuver their way through town on survive mode and become aware of something more frightening than the virus-plagued antagonists who are after them. There is something inherently wrong with the way the soldiers are sweeping through the farming community and rounding up the sick for testing that points to a government conspiracy.

While “The Crazies” doesn’t offer much in groundbreaking plot or character motivation, it does something so few horror movies do these days: avoids undermining the audience. Instead of cheap thrills created by deceitful editing and lame scare tactics, “The Crazies” stays engaging through its tone and attention to detail. It all makes for an entertaining zombie-type movie featuring military cover-ups, apocalyptic scenarios, and a paranoid cast of characters you can actually root for.

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