Lou Diamond Phillips & James C. Clayton (who also directs) star in the new action movie Get Fast.
Plot: When his partner in crime is kidnapped after pulling off a massive money heist, a notorious professional thief tracks the abductors into the territory of a merciless drug lord, pursued by dirty cops, low-level cronies, and the crime syndicate’s deadliest hitman, a gun-loving and coldly charming sociopath known as The Cowboy. But with millions of dollars and multiple lives at stake, how long will loyalty amongst thieves actually last when the bullets start flying?
Lou and James stopped by to chat about the film.
Hey guys, thanks for joining me today.
James: Is that a JCVD cap?
Yeah!
James: Oh awesome, I love that movie.
Me too. I met him a few years ago actually in LA, at the premier Pound of Flesh, so it’s like my uniform that I wear anytime I do any interviews.
James: Nice. Yeah, that end monologue is tremendous.
Oh it is one of his best performances.
James: Yeah, I agree.
Thank you both for joining me today, much appreciated.
Lou: Oh, and that accent’s coming along, it’s really fantastic (laughs).
Oh yeah, oh thank you very much. I’m from Scotland.
Yeah, I gathered (laughs).
First of all, I just want to say thank you for Get Fast; I felt like it was written just for me. Within the first few seconds, I was like, wait, is that Stan Bush? It’s Dare by Stan Bush!! and then I loved the film immediately. Why did you choose Dare? Are you a big Transformers fan?
James: Well yeah, I mean, I’m a Transformers fan, absolutely. I’ve always loved that song. I was talking with Lou about it earlier. I really feel like the film’s about fun and actually having hope, and Dare is one of the most hopeful songs I remember from my childhood, and it also gave me an excuse to meet Stan Bush. Online, of course, not in person, but he’s the nicest guy ever. It’s kind of one of those little, like, check marks, which is really cool.
I met Stan a few months ago; he was here in Mississauga, outside Toronto, and I got to meet him, and that was just a childhood dream, and he was great.
Yeah, because, he also sang You Got the Touch, which my son sings now. My three-year-old, which is pretty fun.
Oh yeah, that’s awesome. So, Lou, for you, what was it that appealed about the script?
Lou: Well, the script (laughs). I mean, that’s what it starts with, and beyond that, the character. I very rarely, these days, especially at my age take on a character if I don’t think the entire script is worth it. There were times in my youth where, not to sound self-serving, but yeah, I was the best thing in a bad movie. I’m done with that. I’m no longer interested in that. I like being good in something else that’s good, and that isn’t to say that, every film is going to be a blockbuster or Academy Award winner. I mean, a film has to know what it’s trying to achieve, and this film did that in spades. I thought, okay, this is going to be a fun action film with a character that really entertains me, and I have to say it delivered. It delivered, everything it promised, but when you’re first reading the script, you’re taking a leap of faith. It’s like, okay, this guy says he’s going to do this, and he says he’s going to do that, and he’s going to achieve all this, and James did it, you know?
ScreenshotYeah. What I loved was within the first few minutes, just seeing real action, like there’s real helicopters in it, and it was so nice to see that again. Was it important to keep everything as practical as much as you possibly could?
James: A hundred percent. I mean, and I think it’s part of the whole, making a 90s homage style film is you want to go back to the way they made films like that in those days. Also too, to me, part of the feeling of the momentum, and the adrenaline of the film is keeping it as real as possible, and you’re fortunate enough to be surrounded by some of the most talented stunt people around. I mean, I think it would have been criminal to try and do CG otherwise, and it’s not as fun. I mean, not that I do all the driving, but jumping into a car and ripping around is not a bad day job. It has that whole George Miller, Mad Max thing. I mean, it’s some practical stuff, man and there’s some magic about that.
Lou: You have to have a massive, massive budget to make the CGI work. Otherwise, it just looks cheap. To me, this was certainly the way to go.
Yeah, absolutely. I particularly loved the look of your character, The Cowboy. How was the wardrobe and makeup instrumental in getting into the role?
Lou: Yeah, I’ve said this a lot. I mean, there are certain characters, especially when you’re doing a Western or something like that, and this is not necessarily Western, but he’s an iconic character. My wife literally said, “wow, he looks like he stepped right out of an anime, book or something (laughs), because he is that iconic. And so, you got to get the look right. Otherwise, it just doesn’t feel organic. And you have to be able to wear it well, otherwise it just comes off as stereotypical. And I have to say, James and Ivana, our costume designer, that outfit that I’m wearing is the first thing I put on. It was literally just like, put all that on. And it was like, done! Okay, I’ll buy it! It’s because she had a great concept of what James had written in the script and was able to very quickly put that together.
James: Well, I think you hit the nail on the head with wearing it well, because I vividly remember I had some apprehension, as you always do – is this going to work? When we’re doing the fitting. That was the first time we had seen each other in a number of years, too, when you showed up at the wardrobe and when you came out, it was like immediate. I was like, “holy smokes, we got The Cowboy”. I mentioned this to Lou earlier, too, he’s very formidable to stand in front of when he’s in the full thing. And then all of a sudden, now, he’s in the scene. I wouldn’t mess with him. I just wouldn’t.
And yet, as a role, I still kind of like the character, though…
There is something very likeable about him, something very entertaining about him. It’s like in the scene with Vic, in any other situation, we might be trying to kill each other because we understand each other and respect each other. And that’s one thing that I thought was also really interesting about the character is that he was not one note. That comes from the script. That’s not necessarily something I injected into it. This was a guy who had a code and he had honor and he had integrity, and even in some of the reaction shots, which, by the way, James, thank you for putting those in the edit. You see what he thinks about it when somebody’s just a freaking mad dog. It’s like, that’s not cool, you know?
Absolutely. One thing I loved, there’s this quietly profound line of dialogue “that’s what life’s about – doing things”. The movie actually like inspired me to do things at the weekend and live life more. Where did that come from?
James: That that actually just came from my life. It’s something that I say, but I brought it into the script, because it really plays into the journey of Tom’s character as an orphan, right? Because, his character is basically, kind of stuck, because he doesn’t have a support structure. He doesn’t have family. He’s so angst ridden; he can’t do anything. It really comes down to literally being like, the language of life is doing, that’s what life is all about. You just got to do it, you got to get outside of yourself. I’ve found, over the years, I need to remind myself that. But it’s also something that I say to people as well, too, when they asked me for advice, and it just seemed kind of perfectly reasonable to put into the film. Because, again, I want people to have fun, but I want them to feel hopeful as well, too.
So, what about jellybeans? Where did that come from?
Oh, jelly beans (laughs). You know what? That was another thing that I came up with, where I really wanted to present something that was kind of silly and innocent, but then turn it on its side, by, going, oh, there’s, there’s actually a deeper meaning for it. It’s because things in life are not really what they seem to be on their surface. I wanted something endearing for that character. I went through a few different variations of what it could be. And I can’t remember, I think it was bubblegum at one point, too. But it just seemed like it was just jelly beans. It just made sense. Yeah. I don’t know.
Lou: It was too hard to say.
James: Yeah, yeah. So true.
Lou: Trident. This is just life trident, right? (laughs)
Let me just put you on the spot, even though he’s like sitting here right now. But how was James to work with as a director?
Lou: I’ve said this a bunch of times, and I’ll say it again. I’ve been around the block a time or two and this young man has a ridiculous future ahead of him. Like I said, I liked the script, I knew it was going to be fun. But what I witnessed over the course of filming was somebody who loves this business, is having a blast doing it, but put in the work. I think James has an amazing career ahead of him. I would show up anytime, anywhere for him, which is not something I would say about every person I’ve ever worked with. And, beyond all that, it’s funny, because my wife and I met in Vancouver; she’s part Canadian, and after she watched the movie, she said “Wow, that was really fantastic but how is he?” I said, “He’s a really nice guy” and she goes, “Okay, that’s the most important thing”. It’s great to see good guys win. I really do believe that he’s got all of the tools in his toolkit to create a formidable career. You better stick with it, Mr.
James: I will. Wow.
Yeah. I agree, actually, just like in front and behind the camera, as I want to see more of you in the future.
Lou: So, definitely a breakthrough. He’s kind of the roadshow Ryan Reynolds right now (laughs) but yeah, he’s a little too cute. He will come into his own.
James: Well, I just had my second son. So just give it a few more months and it’ll wear me down, all the hours (laughs).
Lou: Yeah, we’ll get rid of that shiny veneer.
James: Well, thank you for the kind words, though, gentlemen. I really appreciate that.
Did either of you get to keep any props from the movie? Did you keep the hat or anything?
Lou: No, I gotta say once again, speaking of my wife, and I did a little irony in Young Guns, just a bunch of, like Western stuff. It’s like she gets so angry sometimes. “Everybody thinks you wear cowboy boots and flannel. You don’t. You read Shakespeare. You’re a restaurateur. You’re a gourmet chef”. So, yeah, I know that those aren’t really things that I that I walk around with in real life. It’s fun to put them on for a while but no, my image is not always the reality.
James, do you have any potential sequel ideas because I’d like to see your character a lot more?
James: Oh, well,I welcome to hear that. Yeah, we’ve got a storyline fleshed out for what happens in the next adventure. I’ve got to be tight lipped about it. We’ll see what happens in the next couple of weeks with the reception of the film, but the next one is just as colorful. Let’s just say that.
*spoiler alert* Lou should come back and it’s just a flesh wound.
Lou: Yeah, there are a number of ways that could be accomplished, so I’m just going to leave it at that. I mean, Emilio Estevez is trying to do a Young Guns 3 so believe me, it can be done.
That would be awesome.
Lou: I would love to see that.
Yeah. How would you like the film to resonate with audiences?
James: Oh, as I said earlier, I would love them to just have fun and make them feel like they did when they were kids. If they’re someone of our age or if they were a younger audience member, just to be able to just take a load off, have fun, feel like they maybe felt something by the end of it and feel hopeful too. We’ve got enough serious stuff we have to deal with on a day-to-day basis and my intention with the film was really just to make people feel like they were having a good conversation with me at home and then they can go off after. They just had a chill hang.
Lou, what about you? Any last comments?
Lou: Yeah. Hey, just thanks for the opportunity. I’m holding a book in the middle where you can see the title (below). This book is about to come out that I wrote and it’s a collaboration with my wife, the Tinderbox: Underground Movement, which is a sequel to Tinderbox: Soldier of Indira. And so, yeah, I actually am smarter than I look (laughs).
I’ve written a couple of books that are both available on Amazon and Barnes and Noble, collaborations with my wife who did all the illustrations. They’re amazing, so I have that. Werewolves coming out with Frank Grillo, December 6th in theaters. I’m on the current Call of Duty, which is crazy. I did the whole motion capture thing, which was a brand-new experience for me. But yeah, the people who have hit me on X or Twitter, I still call it ask “Is that you?” It’s like, yeah, that’s me. A lot of fun stuff going on.
I’ll pick up those books. So, you’ll see there I’ve got Renegades and The Big Hit there behind me.
Lou: Oh, nice. The Big Hit is one of my favorites; shot in Toronto too!
Yeah, shot right here in Toronto. Awesome. Thank you so much for having the chat and good luck with the film. I look forward to speaking with you again in the future.
James: Absolutely. Thanks for the time.
Lou: Thank you so much.