INTERVIEW BY TERRENCE HOWARD
PHOTOGRAPHY BY JUSTIN TYLER CLOSE
STYLING BY JENNY RICKER
GROOMING BY ROSIE JANE JOHNSTON

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To some TV viewers, Bryan Cranston will always be Dr. Tim Whatley – Jerry’s Jewish-joke-cracking dentist on Seinfeld, others couldn’t pass him in the street without screeching “Hal!” but it’s his most recent televisual turn as Breaking Bad’s meth-making chemistry teacher Walter White that’s got fans and critics wagging their tongues like super-excited spaniels. Currently in its fourth season, Cranston’s against-type casting as a nerdy high-school teacher who learns he has advanced lung cancer and turns to drug dealing to secure his family’s financial future has earned him Emmy wins three years in a row (which just about makes up for his three misses for Malcolm in the Middle). With upcoming roles in this year’s Contagion, and 2012 flicks Total Recall and Rock of Ages, he’s also making himself at home on the big screen. Here he tells Terence Howard – his co-star from World War Two movie Red Tails, which is being produced by George Lucas and is due out next year – about his happy marriage, his unexpected rise to the top and how he leaves Walter White’s crazy life in the make-up chair.

Terrence Howard—I was a little taken aback that you wanted me to interview you.

Bryan Cranston—Why would you say that?

TH—You’ve done a lot, man. I was honored.

BC—And I was honored you accepted. Have you heard anything about Red Tails?

TH—Yes I have. They actually sent me some trailers to look at – they were great. I think we’re about to have a great movie.

BC—Terrific.

TH—I’m a little nervous now. I’ve never been in this position. I could ask you stuff that some reporter would ask, but that’s really not what I want to ask about. I want to ask about how you’ve maintained such a beautiful marriage for 22 years in this business.

BC—That’s a great inside question. It’s tough. Our work schedules are demanding and invasive to a relationship and you just have to make exceptions. When I shoot Breaking Bad for six months in New Mexico, we don’t go more than two weeks without seeing each other. We have our daughter at home, but she’s on her way to graduating and going off to USC next month, so it’ll be a little easier for Robin to come and visit me when I’m on location.

TH—My daughter’s heading off to college in a month also.

BC—No kidding! What major does she want to do?

TH—She wants to do something with medicine, but I think she’ll end up becoming a publicist. What does your little girl want to do?

BC—She wants to act. And she’s got it; she’s got that something. She’s very sincere about it, even though she’s been around the environment and Hollywood and the trappings of all that. That’s why she wanted to go to a liberal arts college as opposed to a conservatory so by the time she gets out she’ll have a well-rounded education and I’m thrilled.

INTERVIEW BY LULU GAINSBOURG
PHOTOGRAPHY BY JODY ROGAC
ASSISTED BY AMANDA HAKEN
STYLING BY MICHAEL ANGEL
ASSISTED BY DENISE PICHARDO

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In 1999 a fresh-faced Laetitia Casta took her place on one of David Letterman’s greying couch chairs to promote a beautiful book of her modelling photography. At 21 she may have been young enough to be Letterman’s daughter, but by then she was already an industry veteran with six years of polished portfolio under her belt. When Letterman said, “You’re just a kid, for God’s sake,” she rose to her feet protesting to the audience, “I am a woman!” Twelve years later, there’s no denying that the stunningly beautiful Casta is all woman. The Corsican native is still modeling like a pro but has also stepped adventurously into the world of cinema. While some models are more than happy to play ‘confused-looking sexy girlfriend of guy who tries to save the world from robots’, Casta has opted for juicy roles, art-house directors and looking hot in raunchy Rihanna music videos. Her most recent performance is as iconic actress Brigitte Bardot in Gainsbourg – an award-winning French biopic about the life of musician Serge Gainsbourg. Here she discusses the legend’s life, his loves, his music and her experience making the film with Serge’s son, Lulu. Laetitia may be all grown up, but that doesn’t mean she’s slowing down. And Letterman? Well, he’s still old enough to be her father.

Lulu Gainsbourg—Hi Laetitia.

Laetitia Casta—Hi Lulu.

LG—I heard that Gainsbourg, in which you play Brigitte Bardot, is out in New York in September. How do you feel about that?

LC—At the beginning of the project I wanted to say no – I didn’t want to do it. I thought playing Brigitte Bardot was quite risky. She’s still alive and she’s such a big icon and I thought if I took the role I wouldn’t be able to work after. I didn’t want to go back to simply being an object of desire. So initially I declined the role. But I eventually changed my mind and when we started filming in Paris I thought it was quite complicated because playing her was like playing a child, and I didn’t know it was going to be like that – I was scared the film’s director [Joann Sfar] would turn her into a caricature, so now that the movie is coming out in the US, it’s quite funny that I considered not doing it at all. As Serge’s son, what did you think of the movie?

LG—Watching it, I felt like it was like something out of reality. I liked the way that Joann created this character of my father and that was funny. The story is different from real life because he created something new. He tried to show Gainsbourg’s life in a dream way, in his way.

LC—How old were you when your father died?

LG—Five.

LC—Do you have any mementos from your time with him?

LG—Yes, of course. I have many. I used to watch Disney films with him, so I still have those.

LC—Disney cartoons? Which ones?

LG—Oh, all the old movies, Peter Pan, Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs…
I really like the way you perform in Gainsbourg. In fact, I think your performance as Bardot was my favorite in the movie.

LC—Thank you. I see around your neck you have a necklace that looks familiar. Is it yours?

LG—It’s mine. This is a sapphire and my father used to have a sapphire necklace, too.

LC—I thought it was your father’s because I’ve seen a similar necklace on him in some old photographs.

INTERVIEW BY DAVID FINCHER
PHOTOGRAPHY BY ANDREAS OHLUND @LUNDLUND
ASSISTED BY THERESE ZETTERHOLM
STYLING BY NIKE FELLDIN @ AGENT BAUER
ALL CLOTHES STYLISTS OWN + VINTAGE

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It’s official: Sweden is hot. From the fresh musical stylings of Robyn and Lykke Li (interviewed on page 110) to Stieg Larsson’s best-selling Millennium trilogy, right now the world is feeling the need for Swedes and that’s quite alright as far as Stellan Skarsgård is concerned. A Scandinavian native hailing from Gothenburg, the accomplished actor has been embracing that international love for quite some time with roles in Good Will Hunting, Angels & Demons, Thor and two of the Pirates of the Caribbean movies as crustacean-coated villain Bootstrap Bill Turner. He’s currently keeping his American blockbuster status in check, filming scenes for The Avengers, but this winter fans will see him return to his homeland in David Fincher’s interpretation of The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo – the first of Larsson’s books. Set in Stockholm and the hoary Swedish countryside, Skarsgård plays a suspicious CEO at the heart of the thriller opposite Daniel Craig’s investigative journalist. Fincher was more than happy to catch up with Skarsgård for The Lab and ask him all about his process, their shared work ethic, and of course what they both love about Sweden.

David Fincher—How and where are you?

Stellan Skarsgård—I’m very well. I’m in Sweden right now, but I have a small role in that Avengers film so I’m flying back and forth to Albuquerque [New Mexico] for filming, which is an interesting place.

DF—That’s a very polite choice of words.

SS—Is this a safe line?

DF—I think we’re good. I wanted to talk to you mostly about your process, because I would love more actors to be like you.

SS—I wouldn’t like that competition.

DF—How can you exist with so little insecurity and so much ease? How do you do it?

SS—I’m incredibly insecure and afraid. For a couple of years I had total camera fright. I couldn’t function in front of the camera. That was about thirty years ago. Sometimes this panic cloud can come over you then you freeze up – it’s really horrifying. So I spend a lot of energy not being afraid.

DF—How does that work? Do you decide I’m just going to go to the office today in my underwear, so to speak?

SS—Sometimes I imagine myself without pants on, because if I’m that ridiculous nothing is dangerous anymore. But basically, I prepare a lot and I don’t spend that much time in my trailer. I’m on the set because I want to become a part of the process of making the film, part of the crew.

DF—I loved that and I think it’s infectious for everyone. There’s so little time in the process of making movies to actually spend time making the movie. So being around on set a lot does create community.

SS—It also builds the focus around what we’re actually there to do. It heightens the importance of what we’re doing. I feel I’m a part of this huge organism, which is the film crew and the project and that makes me feel safer.

INTERVIEW BY JEREMY RENNER
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PHOTOGRAPHY BY FRANK W. OCKENFELS 3
PRODUCER BY CASSIA HOFFMAN
GROOMING BY DAVID COX @ CELESTINEAGENCY.COM
STYLING BY DAVID THOMAS @ OPUSBEAUTY.COM

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Hollywood has committed a crime. For twenty years, in a town that tosses superlatives around like balls in a dog park, the great unwashed have failed to fully recognise the burgeoning talents of one Sam Rockwell. 
The man who has given the world a lawn-mowing loaner (Lawn Dogs), game show host/CIA assassin Chuck Barris (Confessions of a Dangerous Mind), an unbalanced astronaut (Moon), journalist James Reston Jr. (Frost/Nixon) and a greedy handful of other oddballs, inmates, and stubbly scene-stealers, has been left out in the Californian cold by AMPAS and Hollywood Foreign Press voters and frankly, it just won’t do. Thankfully, Rockwell isn’t in it for the accolades and keeps making movies – most recently he’s been doing the press rounds for Hilary Swank-headliner Conviction, in which he plays wrongfully convicted Bay Stater Kenneth Waters. His performance is meaty, edgy, heart-breaking and oh, so, Sammy. Oscar or no, this underrated actor is at the top of his game. Hollywood, how do you plead? Guilty as charged. One of his biggest fans, fellow thespian and 2011 Oscar nominee Jeremy Renner – that hard-core bomb-diffusing nut-job from The Hurt Locker – was more than happy to catch up with his buddy on behalf of The Lab.

JEREMY RENNER—Hey man! So the last time I saw you was in Toronto. Have you been on a press tour for Conviction since then?

SAM ROCKWELL—Yeah. We’ve been doing a lot. It’s a grass roots tour. We went to London and San Francisco, Mill Valley, DC, Philly, Washington. Trying to get everybody excited.

JR—Because you didn’t have a big release, right?

SR—We started slow. Fox Searchlight’s really smart about that. They did the same thing with The Wrestler, and Slumdog Millionaire. They’re really good about getting it out there in the right way, and making sure the right people see it. I took my dad to London – that was cool. I barely saw him or London, though. We had some fish and chips and went to the park.

JR—That’s the sad part of the whole process; you don’t get to really enjoy anything because you’re working.
SR—Yeah and as you know your brain is scrambled eggs, and you have to go have a drink or go to the gym or something to relieve all that stuff and then you get up in four hours and get on a train or whatever.

JR—We did it for 18 months on The Hurt Locker so I know what it’s like. You have no life. And you really want to be out there and support the movie because you should be proud of it. You’re fucking tremendous in it, by the way.

SR—You saw the movie?

JR—Yeah, but I had to watch it on my computer. Watching it on the small screen was good enough but ridiculously enough the movie had my name printed across the whole screen like they do on scripts, which was kind of annoying. All through the whole movie it just said “Jeremy Renner”. I felt like I was in the movie with you.

SR—Well I’ll re-enact it for you next time I see you with a sign on my chest that says “Jeremy Renner”. And I’ll do it without any pants on.

JR—I remember you told me some of the film got screwed up or something and you had to do a reshoot?

SR—All the film from a very big 16-hour day was destroyed; it was put through an X-ray at the airport by a security person. It was a scene where I find out that I’m not the blood type of the killer and I’m going to get out of prison and then a scene where I also find out it doesn’t matter because Martha Coakley’s going to try me as an accomplice anyway – she doesn’t care that I’m not the blood type. All the prison stuff was shot in four days and it was really emotional. The last day was the 16-hour day that was destroyed and I think one of us said, “I’d hate to do that again.” The next day Tony Goldwyn, our amazing director, takes us into Hilary’s trailer and says, “I’ve got some bad news, I have to talk to you guys,” and I was saying, “Tony, you know that scene yesterday where I fight with the guards? I feel like it could’ve been more violent, I wish we could’ve done it more,” and he says, “Well you may get another chance.”

JR—At least you didn’t feel really good about what you’d done and you had the chance to improve it. But you’re neurotic that way you always think you can do something better.

SR—We did make it better. But it’s funny what stress does to you. When he said we had to do it again my back seized up and I started getting nauseous. Not to be overly dramatic but it was kind of like a death. Hilary [Swank] was trying to problem solve, being the optimist, and I just walked out and had a cigarette. It was so depressing.

JR—Did you get diarrhea?

SR—I think probably. And then the whole day it was like somebody died. They were going to re-shoot it at the end and then Hilary said, “No, we’ve got to get back in there right away.” So we went back to the prison the next day, and brought the whole crew back. We were walking to the trailer in the morning and Hilary pointed two fingers at her eyes and then at me as if to say, “You and me, all day, you and me.” In other words, let’s stay connected.

]]> http://thelabmagazineonline.com/2011/03/sam-rockwell/feed/ 0 http://thelabmagazineonline.com/2011/03/michael-shannon/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=michael-shannon http://thelabmagazineonline.com/2011/03/michael-shannon/#comments Tue, 29 Mar 2011 17:31:16 +0000 Justin http://thelabmagazineonline.com/?p=1994

INTERVIEW BY PAUL SPARKS
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PHOTOGRAPHY BY WALTER CHIN @ MAREK & ASSOCIATES
STYLING TIMOTHY REUKOFF @ ARTISTS BY NEXT
GROOMING BY RHEANNE WHITE @ SEE MANAGEMENT

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Michael Shannon is good at being unhinged. The memorable characters of his career have a deep, disturbed air that he radiates with ease and style, leading many to believe he is as unnerving and eerie in real life. Don’t let that fool you, though. In real life he’s witty, intelligent and dedicated to his craft. The fact he couldn’t be further from the characters he portrays speaks volumes of his talent, which has earned him kudos from film buffs, theatre lovers and industry greats; he earned an Oscar nomination for his show-stealing performance in Revolutionary Road. Shannon prides himself on working (often repeatedly) with writers, directors and other actors who he respects and admires. One partnership of particular rapport is with Paul Sparks. They have worked together on many occasions including off-Broadway play Lady and most recently appearing in Terence Winter’s [The Sopranos] new HBO series Boardwalk Empire, which is also produced by Martin Scorsese. Set in 1920s Atlantic City Shannon stays unhinged as federal Prohibition Agent Nelson Van Alden while Sparks tries to steer clear of the law as gangster and bootlegger Mickey Doyle. The two friends have much in common: both skilled actors of the same ilk, gigging musicians and fathers. With such camaraderie between the two, who better to catch up with Shannon as he prepares for a theatre run in New York?

PAUL SPARKS—Get ready because this is going to be all “gotcha” journalism. I’ve got a lot of questions written down in my notebook because I know you’re not particularly verbose.

MICHAEL SHANNON—No.

PS—To prepare for this interview I read another interview that Tim Blake Nelson and Steve Earle did in this magazine and they talked about Robert Frost and the paradoxical duality of humanity, so no pressure.

MS—Well that’s a lot to live up to.

PS—Even though we’ve been friends for 10 years, I have very little knowledge of who you are, so I Googled you.

MS—It’s because I don’t say much.

PS—I found out that you were born in Kentucky on August 7th 1974. 
Is that correct?

MS—What are you, a parole officer?

PS—Did you know that’s the same day Philippe Petit walked on a wire between the Twin Towers?

MS—I was born the same hour he did it. While he was on that wire I was being born into the world.

PS—How long were you in Kentucky before you moved to Chicago?

MS—It’s kind of hard to say. When I was five my Dad moved to Chicago so then I was going back and forth between Kentucky and Chicago, particularly in high school. But then after high school I stayed in Chicago and started doing plays.

PS—What was the first job you remember thinking, man, this is going to be big for me?

MS—I didn’t really look at it that way. I just saw acting as a good opportunity to act out. If you did plays you could act how you felt and not get into any trouble and you could make people laugh. I did these two short plays when I was really young called Fun and Nobody by Howard Korder, who coincidentally is a writer on Boardwalk Empire where we’re both currently employed, and the guy who played my dad was Tracey Letts who at the time was just an actor, but then he started writing plays like Killer Joe and Bug and those became very important. The guy who directed the play was Dexter Bullard who I’m still working with today. Twenty years later I’m going to rehearse with him, so those plays were the first pebble in the pond, I guess.

PS—You’ve worked with all these playwrights: Tracey Letts, Craig Wright, Adam Rapp, Sarah Kane, Howard Korder, and some of them you worked with over and over again. Why is that?

MS—I have a lot of respect for writing and I’ve always wanted to do new writing; I’ve never wanted to do A Streetcar Named Desire or Death of a Salesman. I’ve always wanted to do whatever’s happening at the time so I really seek that out.

INTERVIEW BY BENJAMIN MILLEPIED
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PHOTOGRAPHY BY CARLOTTA MANAIGO @2B MANAGEMENT
ASSISTED BY RUGGIERO CAFAGNA
STYLING BY AKARI ENDO-GAUT @ MICHELE FILMOENO
ASSITED BY FREDERIC CHANE-SY
GROOMING BY FREDERIC KEBBABI @ B AGENCY

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There aren’t a lot of French actors strolling down Venice Beach slurping Starbucks protein shakes. Either they’ve all found some faux Parisian café a few blocks away where they sip cafés au lait while doing meticulous impressions of Marcel Marceau or there just aren’t enough good parts for French actors in Hollywood. The latter sounds more plausible. Problem is Hollywood already has their go-to French guys – if you want the frumpy, funny uncle you phone Gérard Depardieu; if you’re in need of a serious assassin with a hint of sarcasm, Jean Reno’s your man; then there’s Vincent Cassel: suave, mildly eccentric, cult movie gravitas – oh, and did you see those moves he pulled in Ocean’s Twelve?
Since his big break in 1995’s French classic La Haine Cassel has swiftly become one of France’s best-loved actors and most successful movie exports. With turns in Elizabeth, Joan of Arc, and Birthday Girl as well as French hits Irreversible and the Mesrine films, he’s proved he’s an actor worth his salt in roles of all sizes. This year he’s done it again in one of the award season’s hottest tickets – Black Swan – working alongside Natalie Portman and Mila Kunis in a thrilling tale of psychological terror. He plays Thomas Leroy, the artistic director of a ballet company, who pushes Portman’s character to the toe-bending brink as she struggles to take on the demanding lead role in a new production of Swan Lake.
Amidst the tutus, pliés and media craziness surrounding the film, Cassel found some quiet time to sit down with renowned ballet dancer Benjamin Millepied – the film’s choreographer and Natalie Portman’s fiancé – to discuss his passion for movement, his father’s dancing feet, and what it’s like to be a French actor playing the Hollywood game

Benjamin Millepied—In preparation for Black Swan I sat with you while we watched [legendary ballet dancer and choreographer] Mikhail Baryshnikov rehearse a young dancer at the Paris Opera, which is something that he rarely does. I think that rehearsal had a significant impact on you. What do you remember from watching him, and what did you learn from that experience?

Vincent Cassel—That was a wonderful moment, first of all, because to be able to see Mikhail Baryshnikov work in a private session is already a gift, but even more so at a time like that when I was preparing for the movie. That young dancer was obviously very technically skilled but he was doing too much, he was pushing everything; everything seemed hard for him even though he was doing it pretty well. When Baryshnikov started to do it, even though he wasn’t pushing the physicality of the movements to the fullest, it was a thousand times more interesting because it was simple; it was actually more acting than dancing in a way. I guess that moment really helped me in the scene with Natalie [Portman] where I was coaching her and it becomes a more sexual scene. I really thought I would I have to dance more but after seeing Mikhail Baryshnikov I realised you could just walk around and be very low profile and it worked even better.

BM—It was great that you saw that dance because the ease of it is something I think you could relate to and understand through the tap dancing of your father. Your father was a wonderful dancer – did he pass the joy of dancing to you while you were growing up at home and did the opportunity to play a dancer draw you to this film?

VC—He danced a lot. I remember literally sleeping and hearing my father tap dancing every day, without the shoes, just to train. I grew up with the ‘tikata-tikata-tikata’ in my head, so I think he gave me the taste for movement and physicality, even more than dancing itself. What drove me to the film even before that, was the opportunity to work with Darren [Aronofsky] and Natalie; that was very attractive to me. I didn’t really think about the relationship with my father because I didn’t know really what it was about until I got involved.

BM—Your father clearly influenced your career and helped you to express your artistic side – have you and your wife [Monica Bellucci] done the same for your children?

VC—Totally. I guess that’s a good start in life, to be able to speak different languages, to be able to enjoy what you are artistically. I grew up in a multi-lingual environment and I always danced and juggled and had different types of trainings. That’s what we do. My daughter already speaks four languages, and she’s six. And she dances!

BM—And how did you find working with Darren? Did it live up to your expectations?

VC—Let’s say two words – easy and organic. His films are fun, they’re always visually rich and in that sense they are very accessible, too. From the start, from Pi, I always kept an eye on him because I was really blown away by his first feature.

BM—I really felt he was so much in control of the environment in which the movie was shot. I was always very impressed with how he directed the actors, very simply, but always pushed the emotions to really get what he wanted. What was your experience as far as his direction?

VC—The wonderful thing about Darren is he’s very technically skilled, but at the same time, he’s very open. When you show up on the set each morning, you know things might change from what you’re expecting. He’s also very sensitive. If he feels something suddenly he’s going to dig for it and go further and further. That’s why he does so many takes. And I think he gives us the impression he’s in control of the environment but I’m sure he’s not. It feels like he knows how to adapt to that chaos and make something out of it.

]]> http://thelabmagazineonline.com/2011/03/vincent-cassel/feed/ 0 http://thelabmagazineonline.com/2011/03/michel-gondry/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=michel-gondry http://thelabmagazineonline.com/2011/03/michel-gondry/#comments Tue, 29 Mar 2011 16:54:35 +0000 Justin http://thelabmagazineonline.com/?p=1969
INTERVIEW BY EVAN GOLDBERG
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PHOTOGRAPHY BY AUTUMN DE WILDE
STYLIST SHIRLEY KURATA @ REP’D BY GIANT ARTISTS
GROOMER  YUJI KOJIMA @ REP’D BY THE REX AGENCY
PRODUCER MEGHAN GALLAGHER
PHOTO ASSISTANT ALISON BERNIER & NOAH JASHINSKI

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When Sony announced French director Michel Gondry was their chosen man to helm superhero flick The Green Hornet a few people probably did a Disney-style double take. At that point, his most commercially successful film was Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind – the critically applauded Jim Carrey and Kate Winslet picture that dealt with a couple’s failing relationship and the memories they shared – hardly a popcorn and coke blockbuster for teenage boys. Hollywood raised its collective eyebrow as the film went into production.
Also on board as producers and co-writers were Superbad boys Evan Goldberg and Seth Rogen (who also stars in the film) and they believed Gondry had the goods to pull off the picture they’d envisioned. They weren’t the only ones. Back in the 1990s Gondry was hired to make the same movie for Universal Studios because of his unique camera work and fight sequences in his memorable music videos and TV commercials. NB: He was the dude who invented the ‘bullet-time’ filming technique later used most famously in The Matrix. Finally getting to make the action movie he wanted over ten years later, odd choice or not, Gondry was more than ready to take on the explosions, big cars, buddy-comedy and blockbuster budget of Hornet.
The result which has already eclipsed the total box office receipts of Gondry’s previous films combined, is nothing like Eternal Sunshine, The Science of Sleep or even Be Kind Rewind. It is a Michel Gondry film, but admittedly you have to look a little harder for his footprint. Here, talking to Evan Goldberg, Gondry reveals the films that inspired him to stick with the project, how he adjusted to this new directorial experience, and what he learnt from working with high kicks, Chryslers and comedians.

EG—When we hired you to do this movie we hired you off a fight sample video. Were you hired off a fight sample the first time or not?

MG—I had done a fight sample – I will show it to you one day – where I was combining the bullet effect and the guys would turn each other into statues and keep fighting. It was pretty awesome. We were supposed to shoot it with Jason Scott Lee who had done the Bruce Lee impersonation in the biopic film but he didn’t show up so we had to use this other guy who was a lot older. He could barely kick or anything so it looks funny. It was a combination of this technique of frozen time and the stuff I came up with for you later.

EG—Can you explain what you showed us that made us want to hire you so much?

MG—Raffi, one of the co-producers of The Green Hornet, and I got together two stunt guys one morning and we shot with a Phantom camera at super-high speed. I remember this effect where one guy would grab a chair and try to smash the other guy with it and I asked him to do it twice. In the meantime the other guy could change positions. I would cut the double action, so in the same frame you would have only one action with the chair while the other guy would switch across the frame and be behind the guy and kick him right away. We also created an effect by shooting each character in a different speed so one would be very slow and the other super fast and then we would reverse that in the same shot, and then on top of that we would move the camera. It was really difficult to achieve and I think that’s what made the effect so cool.

EG—What kind of superhero stuff did you grow up on? What inspired you to make this and what is your comic superhero background?

MG—I like films such as Ghostbusters and Robocop, which is my favourite superhero and action hero movie. With this I was hoping to do a crossover between Robocop and Back to the Future, which I think we did. I was also influenced by 80s buddy action/comedy movies where the guys, in the midst of the action, keep arguing about trivial matters. In terms of pure superhero movies my tastes are a little weird. For instance, I very much like Superman 3, especially because Richard Pryor is in it and I think he’s hilarious. I don’t mind the campiness sometimes but we didn’t go this way with The Green Hornet, and even though Seth [Rogen] is in it, it’s much more like Eddie Murphy’s performance in Beverly Hills Cop where he made the step from a great comedian to be an action hero. The comparison with Eddie Murphy is quite fitting because there is something a little off in those guys. They’re coming from a place that’s a little bit crazy and that will remain with them. Comedy is the hardest form of acting and it’s very underrated. You guys worked your asses off to write lines that make people laugh. It’s much easier to write a character that’s super smart like in The Social Network, which was great by the way, but I think it’s harder to do something that’s really going to come off as funny.

]]> http://thelabmagazineonline.com/2011/03/michel-gondry/feed/ 0 http://thelabmagazineonline.com/2011/03/malin-akerman/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=malin-akerman http://thelabmagazineonline.com/2011/03/malin-akerman/#comments Sat, 26 Mar 2011 01:49:32 +0000 Justin http://thelabmagazineonline.com/?p=1945

INTERVIEW BY PAUL RUDD
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PHOTOGRAPHY BY FRANK W. OCKENFELS 3
MAKEUP BY COLLIER STRONG @ L’OREAL/CLOUTIER REMIX
HAIR BY ROBERT STEINKEN @ CLOUTIER REMIX
STYLING BY ILARIA URBINATI @ THE WALL GROUP

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At first glance Malin Akerman seems like a cinematic commodity we’ve already stocked up on: blonde, beautiful and funny; the perfectly unbelievable girl next door. It’s an easy assumption to make – she’s featured in the likes of Couples Retreat, The Proposal, 27 Dresses… And then, in a moment of crystalline clarity we realise – she played Silk Sceptre in Watchmen; she was the funniest thing about Ben Stiller’s 2007 rom-com The Heartbreak Kid; 
she used to be in alternative rock band The Petalstones, oh and did we mention she speaks four languages? Noomi Rapace she’s not but the Swedish/Canadian actress is no Katherine Heigl either. Our LA-LA-land label larder doesn’t appear to have a Malin Akerman at all. Workhorsing her way from project to project, Malin’s doing it all to prove herself as a Hollywood hot property (she’s even rumoured to be playing porn star Linda Lovelace in a new biopic). She’s just wrapped filming on the Judd Apatow-produced movie Wanderlust with funny man Paul Rudd who was psyched about stretching his bulging journalism muscle to interview her for The Lab. Perfectly unbelievable she may be, but we’re not complaining, and neither’s Paul.

PAUL RUDD—I reckon everyone starts these things saying, “Oh, I’m a terrible interviewer! I don’t know what I’m going to ask you.” I’m not going to do that. I’m an incredible interviewer. And I hope you’re prepared to be stripped emotionally naked.

MALIN AKERMAN—Well, I don’t know about getting emotionally naked, but you can try. I can get physically naked, that’s a lot easier.

PR—To be honest, I’m more interested in the emotional nakedness.

MA—You don’t want gratuitous nudity. What guy ever wants that?

PR—So this is for The Lab Magazine? They’re my favourite type of dog.

MA—That was my first dog ever – a golden Lab named Leia, after Princess Leia.
PR—Who was your favourite Star Wars character?

MA—I don’t really know, because I’m not the biggest Star Wars fan. I’ve seen some of the movies and I think they’re good but I won’t be the first person at the movie theatre to go see it.

PR—What do you think of science fiction in general – the same thing?

MA—If there’s been a lot of hype around something I’ll probably go see it. I got a little bit more into science fiction after I did Watchmen because there’s so much love and commitment in the work, and the fans are really true fans. I gained a greater respect for the sci-fi world after being at ComicCon and doing such a fantastic film but it’s still not my number one genre.

PR—Did some of the fans creep you out a bit at ComicCon?

MA—They were all really nervous and shaky and I just wanted to take them in my arms and give them a hug and say, “It’s OK. I’m not really Silk Sceptre. I’m just a girl named Malin and I just play her.” They were the cutest people in the world. I loved them. I’ve heard there can be some creepy experiences, but I didn’t have any. I did have an experience on a set once when I was barely in any clothing, which happens to me in a lot of my roles, and I was freezing because it was an air-conditioned studio. There was an older guy working as an extra and one day I get to my changing room and he’s standing outside the room with a bag and he’s like, “Here, I brought this for you. I saw you’ve been cold.” Inside the bag there was a dirty blanket with stains all over it. It was a beautiful thought, but that was kind of creepy. I don’t want to know what kind of stains those were.

PR—How much longer did you have to work together after that moment?

MA—Only a couple more days so it wasn’t so bad. Unlike our experience with the nudists on our movie recently!

PR—That is true. We had nudists. That was a strange thing, wasn’t it?

MA—We weren’t prepared for it. All of a sudden they’re about to call “Action!” and all of these people start taking off their robes and there’s nothing under them. And I think all of us became like five-year-olds. It was so unusual. I don’t know about you but I don’t really hang out with nude people all the time. Some of them were quite nice but it’s just weird.

PR—Did you ever get caught by any nudists looking at them?

MA—Every time. That was so embarrassing.

PR—All of the nudists were totally shaved.

MA—They had to recast a few to get some with some real bush.

INTERVIEW BY STEVE EARLE

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PHOTOGRAPHY BY RAINER HOSCH
STYLING BY KIM JOHNSON
GROOMING BY RHEANNE WHITE
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You can take the man out of the South but you can’t take the South out of the man. Since Tim Blake Nelson’s memorable portrayal of Delmar in the Coen Brothers’ critically acclaimed O Brother, Where Art Thou? he has become a go-to guy for unusual Southern characters, appearing in movies as diverse as The Good Girl, The Incredible Hulk and Syriana. To become the accomplished actor, writer and director he is today, the Oklahoma native bid farewell to Dixieland, ropers, and Wrangler apparel to walk the Hollywood line, but if his latest directorial effort is anything to go by, it’s as if he never left. Set in his hometown of Tulsa, Leaves of Grass sees Edward Norton playing diametrically opposed twins Bill and Brady – one a Classics professor, the other a pot grower – the former forced to return to his redneck roots to help his brother out of a shady spot. The movie is full of humor, hard work and heart, so it makes sense that Tim brought some of his good friends along for the ride. One man who scored a role and is featured on the soundtrack is country rock singer and Tim’s lifelong pal Steve Earle – no wonder he was more than happy to take time out to put a few questions to his fellow Southerner.

STEVE EARLE—Hey man, what’s up?

TIM BLAKE NELSON—How are you? Were you on a red eye?

SE—Yeah, I just got off… How are you sir?

TBN—Steve, I’m sure you’ve been up all night researching questions.

SE—I actually have a handful of questions, and they should work just fine, and both of us can talk the ears off a wooden Indian… So Leaves of Grass… There are two Edward Nortons in this movie, how many Tim Blake Nelsons are there?

TBN—Well there’s the Steve Earle fan, the director, the writer, the actor, the producer and the … no let’s just actually say there’s the Steve Earle fan and the giddy actor/filmmaker getting to realize his eccentric vision of the world with some of the best actors around. How’s that?

SE—Cool. That’s actually the answer to my second question, which means you’re fucking clairvoyant on top of everything else. It looked like a lot of work, doing all those different jobs. But I’m not so much asking about job descriptions as I am interested in how much of you is in these characters. I think to some degree both of Ed’s [Edward Norton’s] characters are you, some part of you, and I’m from the same part of the world you’re from and I definitely recognized some of the characters in this movie…

TBN—Well I think that any of us, and I would certainly include you on this list, who’ve left the Southwest or any truly specific region of the country for another specific region of the country, have an inherent duality, because while being strongly rooted in where we’re from, we’re also seeking a place that will nourish other aspects of our identities. I think it’s certainly true that the professor character and the pot-growing character are both versions of me. The simplest way I can put it is that I am a father with three kids and a wife, who travels all over the country and sometimes the world making movies as if I weren’t tied to a home life at all. Like most people who do what we do, I live a duality, and so the movie is hopefully a funny but also poignant exploration of that and how difficult it is to balance the strong forces that one can have in a single life.

INTERVIEW BY KEITH HEGER

PHOTOGRAPHY BY JAKE CHESSUM
ASSISTED BY KEVIN TRAGESER
STYLING BY MICHELLE CAMERON
IMAGE RETOUCHING BY PRIMARY PHOTOGRAPHIC

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The Arctic isn’t at the top of most people’s holiday destination list. Whether you picture a treacherous, frozen wasteland or the spot where Santa’s elves get everything ready for Christmas, chances are you’ve never planned on going there. But for environmental advocate Sebastian Copeland, who visited frequently in his childhood dreams, the Arctic means something else. The North Pole was the destination for a real-life exploration to mark the centennial of Admiral Robert Peary’s 1909 expedition and to experience the rapidly vanishing environment first-hand. This remarkable endeavor was captured on film by Sebastian and can be seen in Into the Cold: A Journey of the Soul. This cinematic account of his four-week, 400-mile frostbitten trek sees Sebastian and adventure junkie Keith Heger trade civilization for the physical challenge of minus fifty-degree temperatures and the mental hardships of isolation and endurance. Through stunning visuals and ambitious musical accompaniment, the documentary captures the tragic beauty of this desolate place while delivering a poignant message about our gas-guzzling, RIP-planet lifestyles. Sebastian continues to convey that message with his most recent kite-skiing adventure to Greenland. Arctic pilgrimage partner Keith caught up with Sebastian while he was packing up for the expedition to talk environmental impacts, internal peace and their incredible (and incredibly cold) journey.

KEITH HEGER—Sebastian, how are you doing?

SEBASTIAN COPELAND—I’m good, buddy. How are you?

KH—I’m well. Where are you at, right now?

SC—I’m in LA.

KH—How is it there?

SC—It’s fantastic. I’m in the final stages of preparation for the Greenland trip, so I’ve got clothes hanging all over the house and packs of food, technology and camera equipment. It’s a mess out here. I leave in a couple of days… How are you doing?

KH—I’m very well. I’m here in Chicago. It’s warm and sunny and I’m wearing my Canucks shorts and thinking about Into the Cold and your next journey to Greenland.

SC—I’m bummed that I’m not doing this trip with you. You’re going to be missed on this one. We had such an amazing time in the Arctic.
It was as amazing a time as you can get while you’re trekking across, you know, frozen icescape.

KH—Yeah, it definitely was amazing.

SC—It’s time to do an expedition to Los Angeles, Keith, and come visit.

KH—I know it’s about time. Some place warm.

SC—But now you’ve got another little kid coming and I can’t help but think of the responsibility that this means in terms of climate change and the responsibility we have to the generations of the future. I want to have a child, and hopefully in the next couple of years it’ll be on the table, but I can’t disassociate the responsibility of a child with the responsibility that we have for advocating on behalf of the planet.

KH—Every time I go traveling in the Arctic with team members, there’s no stronger sense of purpose in me than encouraging people to be ambassadors. When they go home, they can share the story of the Arctic, however they make that story up. Certainly with Into the Cold you told a compelling story. You’re so focused on the journey and the accomplishment, the hardships and the daily challenge. It takes a moment to step away and recognize your sense of place. That’s the question I have for you: How does traveling to the Arctic and these inhospitable corners of the world strengthen your space in LA? How do you relate the two to each other?

SC—I come back with rich content about these places, which are often perceived as the corners of the world. They seem so far away and almost otherworldly, and the reality is that they’re very much part of our world. They’re an inherent, necessary, symbiotic part of our existence on this planet, and as we see the melt occurring – as we see these regions being impacted so dramatically by climate change many see that as a sentimental tale, but in fact it’s really a cautionary one, because as the ice goes, so goes humanity.

KH—I’ve never been as cold as holding that metal body of the Canon camera. It goes all the way right through you. How fitting is the name of the movie? We were immersed in the cold.

SC—We really were, and really digging deep into the depths of the soul for all kinds of answers and internal peace. One of the things that I value so much about these trips is that they’re sort of monastic and mostly silent. It takes a certain type of partner to really find complete harmony in that kind of isolation; that’s really what I take back from Into the Cold. This whole North Pole trip with you has just been a really synergistic, harmonious and monastic type of journeying.