Director Todd Phillips and actors Bradley Cooper, Zach Galifianakis, and Ed Helms spoke to The MUSE about their new movie ‘The Hangover .’ in theaters June 5, the movie follows a soon-to-be-groom (Justin Bartha) who gets lost in Vegas at his bachelor party with his best men who wake up and have to piece their night together in order to find him for the wedding.
The MUSE: What’s the movie like?
Bradley Cooper: ‘Bachelor Party’ meets ‘Memento.’ People who go into it expecting <
MUSE: Were there any obstacles shooting in Vegas?
Todd Phillips: Any time you shoot a film in a semi-public place like a casino that insists on staying open is difficult. The city of Las Vegas and the hotels are really in the movie and helped us a lot, but one security guy tried to shut us down because one actor tried to run naked through the parking lot. That apparently is the limit in Vegas.
MUSE: How was it working with Mike Tyson?
TP: We’d written the script, he got it. Working with him as a director, I was honored to meet him. He’s an incredible guy and, the things he’s been through, I was surprised how light and how fun he was and how easily f—ing around with the comedy was.
Ed Helms: The first day of shooting with Mike [Tyson] nobody knew what to expect. His experiences are so different from what I can relate to. We could laugh and have a good time after a few days.
MUSE: What do you like about work and what adventures did you get into working?
Zach Galifianaki: Showing up to work every day is a pleasure.
BC: Finding out what kind of personality Zach [Galifianki] would bring to set. (Laughs)
ZG: People see the movie and expect that the movie is crazy.’
The MUSE: How do you collaborate and also work with such different kinds of humor in movies?
BC: Zach [Galifianki] told me what to do and I’d just listen to him. We all sort of lend rhythms to each character. We didn’t have to do re-shoots because the script was tight, Todd [Phillips] knew what he wanted. It’s hard to make a good movie. Like on ‘Wet Hot American Summer,’ people share a similar sense of what one thinks is funny. I loved being at the lunch table on those movies. There’s no difference between that and the ‘Stella’ shorts and ‘The Hangover’ and ‘Wedding Crashers.’
EH: I love comedy for some reason I’m genetically wired to enjoy acting like a jackass, almost more comfortable; the stupider I look the more fun I’m having. Down the road I’m open, I think any talent I’m excited about, but you probably won’t see [me working in other genres] in the near term.
TP: Any comedy director will tell you it’s all about the casting. We picked guys who came from different places comedically who are funny but funny in entirely different ways. It’s so much about casting and I’m super proud of this cast.
MUSE: How was this different from working on a TV show?
EH: Well it’s largely the same skill set, but TV is different because a TV show is a protracted nine month period and you get into the character and the world. A movie is one month, one shot to pick who your character will be. In a movie everyone has their place, it’s a little more chaotic, jumping back and forth between the movie and the production. Both are so damn fun I couldn’t complain.’
MUSE: How does this compare to working on ‘Old School’ or ‘Road Trip’?
TP: They’re all centered around male friendships going through something ridiculous and bizarre. There’s something inherently awkward in the way heterosexual men relate to each other. I play a character named Mr. Creepy. He’s my alter ego who only works in R-rated pictures. At the end of the second act break of ‘Old School’ and ‘Road Trip’ we do a slow motion scene. My directing style is fairly loose . . . on comedies. Keep it light and allow a lot of room for improvising. As a whole we let these things play out with a plan and kind of mess around. A bad comedy director is one who hires guys and tells them to stick to the script like that.’
MUSE: What projects do you have coming up? Is there anyone you want to work with?
BC: All I care about is working with great people that I admire and can learn from in any genre . . . I would love to do an action movie and work with Daniel Day Lewis. I’m kind of a broken record about Daniel Day Lewis. That is a dream.
ZG: [Working with] the Pope would be nice.
TP: I hope to work with Ed [Helms] again. I like to work with the same people over and over — you know how to work with them and write for them. I don’t know of a the project now, I think we’d work together again.
EH: I hope so. I’d love to work with Todd [Phillips’ again. But this was a painful and trying experience.
TP: (Laughs) That’s not true.
EH: (Laughs) I’m writing a movie right now about civil war re-enactors who go back in time. And more ‘Office’ starting up in July.
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