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BY DAVID SERVER |
Hey X-Fans! David Server (aka Typhon24) here, with some mutant treats
for all of you. I recently got a chance to sit down with the cast of
X2 at the press junket in Pasadena, and over the coming weeks in anticipation
of the release of the mutant sequel, well be posting the various interviews
I had the privilege of participating in. First off, heres a transcript
of the interview with the X-Kids, aka Aaron Stanford (Pyro), Anna Paquin
(Rogue), and Shawn Ashmore (Iceman)!
Q: Youve worked with some great independent directors, as well as
some more on the mainstream Hollywood side whats Bryan
Singer as a director on a big budget film?
Paquin: Well, he is kind of like a really cool independent film director,
and this is the only mainstream movie Ive ever done
Q: Did it feel like a big mainstream movie?
Paquin: Yeah, because theres these enormous sets and crazy blockbuster
huge movie stuff going on, but I think the main reason most of us wanted
to do it was because we had someone steering the whole thing who we all
knew from his work in smaller movies like Usual Suspects and stuff
like that, but we all know hes really talented, and that hes going
to make a really cool movie if youre going to do a big blockbuster
movie, it may as well be with someone from our world.
Q: For the rest of you, working with Bryan Singer, whats the main
thing he gave you in terms of guidance?
Ashmore: Well, the thing that I like about Bryan is that he knows exactly
what he wants to do, and on a film like this, thats important to have
everything under control and know where you want to go. The other thing
I like about Bryan is that if somethings not working, if somethings
stale, hes not afraid to change it. And if it doesnt work, he lets
you know, and if it works, he lets you know. So just knowing where you
stand and feeling comfortable to change things is what I like about Bryan.
Stanford: Yeah, flexibility. Just to remain malleable and flexible,
in any situation to create what you have to for the scene. Hell change
the script to fit the scene and fit the story.
Q: Would there often be a lot of takes to sometimes just to accommodate
the special effects for later?
All: Yes.
Q: Anna, when you first got involved in this, were there any anxieties
about saying to yourself, oh, Im going to be in this big boys movie
Paquin: Its not a boys movie. When I first heard what it was, theres
this movie X-Men, its a comic book movie, I was like oh, reallythats
cool I didnt know anything about comic books, but there are female
characters in it, and I was one of the more interesting characters in
terms of the first movie, and it felt like it was a real story that happened
to be set against the backdrop of lots of action and crazy stuff, like
big fights and explosions, and its very extraordinary kinds of events,
and it kind of felt like the best of both worlds.
Q: Shawn, your character was in the first movie for just a few seconds,
did you have any clue then that the character would have a much more
prominent role, and were you sure you would be back?
Ashmore: No to both of those. I was only around for a couple of weeks
on the first one, so I had no idea. I didnt know until probably about
a month and a half before this one started shooting that the character
was going to be in the film and that I was going to be playing it, so
yeah I didnt have any expectation, I didnt hold my breath. I obviously
wanted to be involved again, so it was a pleasant surprise to be involved
again, and have a character a little more important to the story this
time.
Q: Shawn, were you cast in Toronto for the original?
Ashmore: Yeah, it was actually sort of similar to the way Aaron [Stanford]
auditioned for this film, it was like, theres no scenes releasedtheres
a couple lines here and there, and I went in and auditioned and got a
couple callbacks, and finally went in and auditioned for Bryan and Lauren
[Shuler Donner] and got the part. It was a long process, though, five
auditions or so.
Q: Youve actually done a lot of science fiction fantasy kinds of
stuff, between Smallville, Outer Limits, Earth: Final Conflict, youve
done a handful of these types of projects.
Ashmore: Yeah, and I think it comes down to what Anna said before, I
dont know why I happen to do a lot of stuff like that but it just happens
that theyre interesting characters. The character I got to play in Smallville
was sort of like a duel character, I think sci-fi stuff just magnifies
normal situations; it puts normal people in extreme situations, which
I always find interesting. Ive been lucky to have characters like that.
Q: Did any of you guys know the comic books, or were you fans of
it when you got involved?
Anna: We are now!
Ashmore: I read X-Men and watched the cartoon beforehand, so I was aware
of all that stuff.
CountingDown: Aaron, What made you want to get involved with this
franchise and this character?
Stanford: All the people involved, that was really the keythe key attraction
was the chance to work with people like Ian McKellen, Brian Cox, Alan
Cumming, people that Ive looked up to for a long time. Just to have
a chance to be on set with them and possibly even have scenes with them,
I wasnt about to turn that down.
Q: Are the three of you signed for X3, if there is one?
Paquin: We dont know!
Aaron: We dont know whats going on, if its happening you guys seem
to know more than we do.
Ashmore: That seems to be one of the most asked questions, and were
like, we dont know!
Q: If there is an X3, what would you like to learn about your characters
in the next one?
Stanford: Where do our lives go, like where did these characters come
from. Iceman, you see where he comes from, but my character
Q: Plus, youd want the hair [from the comics]
Stanford: Yeah, the hair, and the yellow and orange spandex outfit,
and flamethrowers on my arms! Thats from the comic books
Ashmore: I think that in this film, you see a bit of family life, where
my character comes from, and theres an unresolved issue with that, so
Id like to go back and maybe figure out whats going on with his family,
and I think maybe his relationship with Rogue is an interesting one is
that it has definite room to grow, theyre comfortable with each other
but they dont know how to deal with each other in a relationship, and
I think that would be interesting.
Q: And you think theyd be full fledged superheroes by that time?
Paquin and Ashmore: Oh yeah!
Paquin: Theyd have to be! It would be number three for me, Id have
to allowed to fight. Id want to kick some butt.
Q: Was that something you wanted to do in this one, get a little
more action?
Paquin: Yeah. Well, in this one Im not a damsel in distress on the
tracks in handcuffs, and I was pretty psyched about that.
Q: The other thing that would strike me is that on a movie like this,
on the set would there be a lot of fun, are you in awe of whats going
on with this big film, or is it still like focused and it doesnt really
matter?
Ashmore: Yeah, I think theres a little bit of both. I mean, at the
end of the day you sort of get used to the whole pacing and set and the
scale, but its still when you walk into a new set
Paquin: The first day you walk onto the set, its kind of
Ashmore: Unbelievable. The first day I took a tour of the sets, and
you see familiar stuff like the plastic prison, and the jet, but theres
new stuff like the White House, the huge reproduction which is unbelievable. So
thats always pretty fun to walk onto something like that. The work that
goes in, and the time and the talent to create this world that were
going to get to play in is pretty amazing.
Q: So what do you guys learn when you do a big movie like this?
Stanford: Well, you find out that a job that it would take one person
to do on something smaller like Tadpole, there are a lot more people
doing it on X-Men 2, and it takes a lot longer.
Q: Does that get tedious?
Stanford: It can be tedious, but thats part of it. Especially when
youre stretched out over this long period of time, youll be working
on a very action packed sequence, but it will take 20 seconds, and its
a very long drawn out, not very exciting process.
Ashmore: Probably the most exciting scenes in the film are the slowest
ones to film, so its sort of deceiving. When Aarons blasting the front
yard, to me thats one of my favorite sequences, and yeah, it took forever
to film.
Stanford: Which is why its so amazing to see afterwards, to actually
see it put together because you have no idea.
Q: Which scene did you think worked best for your characters?
Ashmore: There are a couple scenes, I like the scene with my parents
because it gives you some background and you sort of connect to where
hes coming from, and another one of my favorite scenes is my introduction
to Wolverine as Rogues boyfriend, I feel like hes standing up, hes
no longer a kid, hes trying to become a man a little bit, Bobby trying
to become a man a little bit, so that was cool.
Q: And Anna, for you?
Paquin: My X-Jetcrash stunt. That was so fcool. Cause I got to train
doing wirework for like 2 months, all this very Cirque de Soleil kind
of stuff. For hours and hours, from the basic rudimentary stuff to how
to control yourself during acrobatics and stuff, and as you get a smaller
and smaller harness, you feel less and less secure. But you have to learn
all that technical stuff first. It was one of my only stuntsand I did
it myself.
CountingDown: Was there a lot of practical joking on the set?
Ashmore: There were a couple of things, Hughs sister actually showed
up on set one day, and got in full costume as Wolverine
Paquin:with the chops and the wig, like the whole thing
Ashmore: and this was to fool Bryan, so she went in for a take, and
Im sitting behind the monitor, I know this is happening, and Im watching
Bryans face, and you can see him going, the performance is not good,
and he doesnt even realize, so he cuts and he walks over to give Hugh
direction or something and then realizes that it was his sister in the
Wolverine makeup, and that was kinda fun, so yeah there was stuff like
that.
Q: How did you guys fill those hours between takes?
Ashmore: Brought my X-Box, lotta cards
Q: Do you learn anything that Ian McKellen and Patrick Stewart do
on camera, especially Ian McKellen who's becoming sort of the person
at the top of most of these films
Stanford: Hes great, the thing that struck me most is that Ian McKellen
has a huge level of commitment that he brings to the role and he takes
it really really seriously, but at the same time, hes still playful,
and he has such a good time between takes and everything, and it keeps
him really really loose and really able if he ever has to do anything.
He has a lot of fun with it.
Q: Anna, you were talking about the development of the romantic themes
in the movie your character is developing her sexuality quite a bit are
you comfortable watching that on the screen?
Paquin: Completely. I mean, most girly roles at some point involve some
degree of being in your underwear, which used to completely freak me
out more cause you have like 30 guys staring at you in your underwear,
like people holding camera equipment, but Im comfortable, I like my
job, and thats just part of it sometimes. And this is a pretty PG-13
kinda sexuality. Plus, she needs to have a love life at some point.
Q: Shawn, in Canada these
days, this is presented as the biggest film to shoot up in Vancouver.
What was the perception from a Canadian standpoint of this huge movie
choosing to shoot in Vancouver?
Ashmore: Obviously I think Vancouver definitely enjoyed our time there,
a lot of money was brought into the city, and it was just exciting.
Q: Was there a buzz among Canadian actors early on, this is coming?
Ashmore: Absolutely, absolutely, I actually had a lot of people that
I hadnt heard from in a while who then found out I was going back for
this film going, so, if there are any young mutants And I actually
had people request that I read with them for their audition, and I was
like, I dont think its going to matter that they hear my voice on the
thing, I dont think thats going to get you the part any quicker, but
so there was definitely a buzz, especially because you never know. For
instance, my part in the first movie was just a couple weeks and I was
lucky enough to be brought back, so theres definitely sort of an awareness
of that.
Q: Whats next for each of you?
Ashmore: Right now Im looking for the next thing, Im taking my time
finding something that really fits for me, I want to try something different
from X-Men.
Paquin: I have a couple things coming out this year, but at the moment
I am kind of doing a lot of nothing, just relaxing and hanging out. I
really really want to do another play really really soon.
Stanford: Yeah, Ive been working on some stuff. I just got finished
with a movie called Rick, which is kind of a dark corporate satire
with Bill Pullman.
Q: Shawn, in a perfect world, what will X-Men do for your career?
Ashmore: Ultimately, I think its just going to get you that exposure,
get you in that door, get you that recognition that will hopefully get
you opportunities. For me, anyways.
CountingDown: Shawn, thats pretty cool that you got to wear one
of the X-Men uniforms in this movie
Ashmore: Yeah! Yknow, if X-Men 3 happens, I want to get my suit again. |
