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BY DAVID SERVER |
The X2 pre-release coverage of the mutant sequels junket continues,
with Rebecca Romijn Stamos, aka Mystique, and Alan Cumming, aka Nightcrawler!
Q: The second you first got onto the set, did Rebecca tell you all
sorts of blue horror stories, about how awful this was going to be?
Cumming: No, she very kindly didnt do that, but she was just there
as a shoulder to cry on when it all kicked in. And also it was really
great to have someone else who understoodblue. Because she was in it
in the first one. So we would sit together in our trailers and it was
like our little support group.
Q: They talk a lot about putting it on, but whats the process of
taking it off like?
Cumming: It was like a good hourwed wrap and everybody would be like oh
hey!, and wed be all oh [looks depressed]. In the mornings youd
go into the little shower shed, and itd be deserted. It wasnt as long
to take off as put on. We had this shower trailer, we sort of had a compartment
for each of us.
Q: Whats it like as an actor to have that much makeup on in terms
of whether its an immediate automatic help to your performance? How
does it shape your performance?
:::Rebecca comes in:::
Cumming: And the thing about her crack is
Rebecca: (Laughs)
Cumming:its so big they needed to bring in like, big buckets of
paint for it
Rebecca: Was he talking about my crack? [laughs] Its not really a secret,
its kind of out thereexposed for everyone
Q: I guess in other words, as an actor, do you forget youre blue?
Rebecca: You never forget.
Cumming: Its kind of hard, because you from inside it feels like a
building in front of you before the audience, so its kind of difficult
to know if what youre trying to do is coming over. So in a way thats
why its good to be physical, because you can act with your whole body.
But then you get used to it, you forget
Rebecca: I had the silicone prosthetics all over, like the face piecesits
like botox without actually getting the injections, your face is frozen,
you dont know if youre actually conveying what youre trying to
Q: Would you look at dailies more as an actor at the beginning of
this kind of a performance to see if its working or not working, or
do you just rely on the director?
Cumming: In a way you dont watch dailies so much, you watch playback
after each take or after each scene, so yeah, you get the idea. And also,
the first few weeks that I was on the film, I was shooting the action
in the opening sequence solike I could care what my face was doing!
CountingDown: Alan, how much of the stunt work and the wirework
in the opening scene did you do yourself?
Cumming: Oh, all of it.
CountingDown: Wowwas it really strenuous work? Cause that
must have been really complex! It looked great, but it must have taken
forever
Cumming: It takes forever, and I shot two weeks on it
Rebecca: And no one else was there!
Cumming: no, just little old meit was my first two weeks on the movie,
hanging out in wires, flying around, contact lenses, and theres no other
actorsthere was no Rebecca to council me
Rebecca: we had a support group
Cumming: And I was like boo-hoo-hoo, and also just doing this, I kind
of trained a bit, I had to get strong in [my stomach area], because the
harness makes it so you have to be strong like that, and Id been working
with the movement guy, but basically, it was like pull him up! And
it just takes a long long timeand then youve got to also work with
the stunt people cause theyve got to move like you and do things with
youthey were really lovely, though, and the other thing is that when
you have a stuntman, they usually have a totally different body shapes,
and theres no stuntmen with my body shape, most of their arms are the
size of my waist, so itd be really funny when you see people who look
like slightly inflated versions of you. And the gymnast double, I liked
him, he was very good.
Q: How much did you know about your character beforehand?
Cumming: I knew nothingI actually knew nothing, until I got asked to
be in the film of course, cause then I kind of tried to find out, but
Id never seen the first film, and Id never read an X-Men comic. I knew
nothing about them.
Q: How did you learn about them?
Cumming: Well, I read the script, but also the Marvel people sent me
things and they sent me kind of key comics, famous ones about him, when
he was introduced, and stuff that showed his powersand then I got to
be a part of them making up the look of him and stuff like that. Because
I came a lot of times to Vancouver before the film started, there was
lots of tests[to Rebecca] Did you have to do a lot of that in the first
one?
Rebecca: Oh yeah, yeah.
Cumming: The first time we did it, it was this 12 hour thing
Q: To your thinking, who is this guy and whats his role in all this?
How much background did you give yourself on the character?
Cumming: Well, its kind of weird because ultimately youre a teleporting
superhero, but theres the whole sort of religion thing, why hes religious,
and I like the fact that he doesnt hate the people who hate him. And
thats why that scene with Halle worked so welland the whole thing with
being in the circus, so hes obviously been like a freak in the circus,
with all his acrobatic stuffand hed probably cheated, because he could
teleport, Ive actually just thought of that. (laughs) And also, what
I like is that you see him at the start of the filmwhen he opens a can
of whoop-ass
Rebecca: Ha ha ha ha ha ha!!! He just learned that yesterday, hes been
trying to work it into every single conversationbut I had to spell whoop
ass for him, hes all how do you spell whoop-ass?
Cumming: Is it whup or whoop? So he does all that stuff and you
think hes really nasty, and then it turns out hes this little sensitive
thing, and I like that, and its nice to have some substance.
Q: Being in a comic book and playing this character, do you go over
the top and not worry about it or do you underplay?
Cumming: I never worry about going over the top. Subtletys so last
millennium
Q: Rebecca, from the makeup on down, you are not a regular female
character, can you comment on her power as a character?
Rebecca: First of all, I was happy to have a little more to do with
her this time, and I sort of turned her into much more of a sexual predator
who, I feelI feel shed do em as fast as shed fight em (laughs).
Shes totally in charge of that, and I loved it! Shes angry, and shes
got her reasons for being angry, and she doesnt really apologize for
being a bad girl.
Q: Are you happy with the character?
Rebecca: Oh I love the character, are you kidding? Shes a supervillain!
I mean its just so great to play a supervillain!
CountingDown: So would you be open to the possibility of coming
back again and undergoing the torture of the makeup another time?
Rebecca: Im contracted to come back again. So is he.
Cumming: So am I.
Q: So what would you guys like to learn in a third film?
Rebecca: First of all, Mystique is Nightcrawlers mother in the comic,
so weve been talkingwe would like a flashback, like a flashback of
Mystique nursing, and Alans face superimposed on a tiny body(laughs)
CountingDown: Like the great Gazoo [from The Flintstones
in Viva Rock Vegas]!
Cumming: Yeah! Yes! But Ive got pointy teeth, so shes going Ow, ow,
ow And someone said he could just teleport from one boob to the other(laughs)
Rebecca: Bamf! Bamf! Bamf! (laughs)
Cumming: That would be hysterical, wouldnt it? With his little tail
swinging back and forth
CountingDown: What was it like working with a tail? Was that
hard at all?
Cumming: Well, its a tail yknow, this metal boingy thing on your backits
weirdI would slap people in the face, I would turn around to fast and
slap peopleIt was better not to walk anywhere with the tail, actually
Rebecca: And during the scene sometimes, [Gordon Smith], who was in
charge of special effects, would have to lay on the ground and work the
tail from the floor behind him, and wed have to do take after take after
take cause the tail isnt passing through the frame at the right moment.
Cumming: Yeah, it was hystericaland then I would have no tail a lot
of the time because it was on the computer, and then sometimes Id have
like this little stumpy thing, that looked like a big black strap on
dildo on the wrong sideand Halle loved that
Rebecca: Ha! Halle loved that(laughing)
Cumming: She did! So when we were like going through all the corridors
together towards the end, she would be all like, Helloooo And I would
back up into her(laughing)
Q: With this type of movie, when did you guys actually see it, and
what surprised you most about it when you actually saw it?
Rebecca: We saw it Friday night. Oh my god, we were freaking out! We
were so excited! Its just tremendous! And also, I usually hate watching
myself, its just really hard, but its such an ensemble piece, you cant
really take all the responsibility, even if your part sucks, at least
theres a bunch of other people carrying a lot of the weight of the film.
And everything is just so over the top, we just couldnt believe it.
Q: And whatd you make of it, Alan?
Cumming: Well, I was just shriekingI was just laughing my [ass] off,
I mean, Im like this superhero teleporting through the white house and
sniffing the president, its just ridiculousAnd its much easier to
enjoy it to not have the usual critical faculties cause youre blue and
its so ridiculous
Q: Alan, how different are these gigantic films from smaller things
that youve done?
Cumming: Well, theyre like in one level, the plot of this, having super-powers,
and all that stuff, youre on like this whole different level, and also
on these big films its kind of like can be more impersonal cause theres
so many people involved, hundreds of crew, like 50 or 60, and because
it takes so long and its so compartmentalized, you dont always have
as much of a family atmosphere as you do on a smaller film. But it was
like 120 crew.
Q: Alan, are the Spy Kids films as fun to do as they are to watch,
and will you be in the third one?
Cumming: Yeah, I am Ive just done it Spy Kids 3, so I do a little cameo.
Q: How much fun are those to do with director Robert Rodriguez?
Cumming: Fantastic. I was only in the second one for a couple days,
but the first, one, I had a ball, and its one of those things where
I loved the script, I did it, I liked the people, we had a nice time,
it went well, and then it came out and made a kazillion-billion dollars.
And I love my character, and also kids really, it strikes a chord with
kids because hes sort of childlike himself. So Im like a hero for my
nephews and nieces.
Q: Alan, do you have any plans to write or direct again, especially
on digital video after The Anniversary Party?
Cumming: I do, Im writing a film, Ive sort of written it but Im not
quite ready to give it to them yet, about a group in London over the
last ten years, and its sort of about how you become depoliticized as
you get older.
Q: Are you using any of the same cast?
Cumming: No, because theyre all British people and I dont trust that
lot with the English accent. (laughs) Nah, Im gonna use people in Britain,
Im actually going to use a couple people who are my friends who are
actors, as well. But I dont know yet, Ive still got to finish it and
then shoot it.
Q: Do you think youre going to shoot again on digital video?
Cumming: Yeah, I do. Because I think with certain types of film, if
you get a good DP and it doesnt look [bad], it actually helps, because
you can just keep going, and theres sort of a tension on a film set
when you go for a take, everyone clenches their buttocks, and when you
dont have that and you just keep rolling and tape, it makes for a much
more relaxed atmosphere with the actors and you feel a bit more like
youre eavesdropping.
Q: For both of you, what impresses you most about Bryan as
a director?
Cumming: His zeal.
Rebecca: Hes so childlike himself.
Q: Would he use this enthusiasm on the set?
Cumming: Well yeah, it is this whole big ridiculous thing, and doors
are exploding and la la la, and then also he never forgot that its about
people the relationships are whats important.
Rebecca: Right, he made a point to make all the characters very real.
And make them all real people
Cumming: though some of us appear more real than others, lets face
it (laughs)
Rebecca: But he would come in with just one comment and change the direction
of a scene, hes just a brilliant filmmaker.
Q: Would you have an example of that?
Cumming: He came in and said, Do it better. (laughs)
Rebecca: (laughing) And that was amazing, totally changed everything.
Q: Alan, how did they break it to you that you were going to be doing
so much makeup, and what were your expectations going into it?
Alan: I did sort of think playing a blue superhero is going to be a
lot of makeup. And then I was a little, Eh, Ive done prosthetics before,
and I know what its about, and then it was so much harder and longer (laughs)
Rebecca: Yeah, he didnt know what he was in for, and I knew from the
first one how bad it was, so I think, just when reality hits
Cumming: Its so nice to have someone else go, I know
Rebecca: And I knew what I was in for, and for me, it was 8 hours the
first time every single day and this time they got it down to 5 and a
half, so I was thrilled, I was so happy that they shaved a couple hours
off the process. So I was ok, but I think he had it worse because he
just wasnt prepared.
Cumming: You start, and the first two weeks I was shooting that opening
sequence, I was doing that I thought, oh my [God], Im not going to
be able to do this, its day three, Im exhausted, my skin is like bleached
with color, my back is sore
Q: When you see it on screen, do you see yourself, Alan Cumming in
blue, or do you see Nightcrawler?
Cumming: Its actually easier, in a film like this to completely disassociate
yourself from it, I mean its just hilarious, you see this bizarre, blue
superhero, and being German, and all that stuff.
Q: Rebecca, were you surprised that we got to see you without the
makeup in one scene?
Rebecca: Otherwise known as my favorite two days on the movie? (laughs).
Q: Did you know about that coming in?
Rebecca: Yes, I did know that coming in. They wrote that and I was so
happy, I with there could have been more. It was really nice.
CountingDown: Were you surprised that you were one of the
only villain characters to come back?
Rebecca: Well, I was signed on for three, so
Q: How do you guys feel about being part of this whole mythology,
with these rabid fans out there?
Rebecca: I love it! It was scary on the first one, I didnt realize
how many rabid fans there were, they really came out of the woodwork
Alan: Its not really nice to call them rabid
Rebecca: Im just repeating what she said! (Laughs) But most of them
are my friends though! Were talking about my friends here, and they
came out of the woodwork and the thing is you get on the internet and
you see them freaking about the casting and the makeup and the costumes,
and you dont want to let anyone down, you really want to live up to
their expectations. So it was a little scary, but I think people were
pretty happy with the first one so we had a lot more confidence on this
one to do more.
Q: And your thoughts on that, Alan?
Cumming: Well I think obsession is attractive and frightening.
Q: So do you have your own action figure now?
Cumming: [Proud] Theres two, theres a 6 inch and a 12 inch. The tails
completely posable and bendy
Q: So how much fun is that part of it?
Cumming: Its great, I really love that, and actually over the last
few years, my brother has had a few kids and Ive kind of done films
for them, like I did the Spice Girls film, and the Spy Kids ones, and
now theyre getting a little bit older with them. And hopefully when
they grow up Ill be able to do more normal films(laughs)
Q: And whats next for both of you?
Rebecca: I have a movie coming out in the fall called Godsend with
Greg Kinnear and Robert DeNiro about a couple that clones their child.
And Im the mommy. Im just a normal mom, no makeup.
Cumming: Youre just a normal mom with a cloned child (laughs)
Rebecca: It started off as science fiction! But apparently theyve done
it now, so now its just sciencescience-non-fiction. |
