Saturday, March 27, 2010

Chris Evans Hacks Into 'The Losers'


by Elisabeth Rappe Mar 26th 2010

Who would have ever thought Cinematical would get to meet the future Captain America on one blistering hot day in Puerto Rico? Only a few short months ago, Chris Evans was "that guy we wanted to see more of" and had a very promising part in a very cool looking movie called The Losers.

Many set interviews become a little bit of a relic by the time we can post them, but Evans' is especially interesting. After appearing in four movies (Fantastic Four and Rise of the Silver Surfer, Scott Pilgrim VS The World, and The Losers) he seemed a little weary of the comic book trend, but optimistic about finding new material to adapt. When he first read the script for The Losers, he was unaware it was even a graphic novel. He was just hungry to make some good movies. Evans is really engaging, a sweet guy and a true gentleman. He wanted to make sure everyone was comfortable in his trailer. He's funny, but he's not the wisecracking Johnny Storm people have him pegged as. He became so emotional talking about his dog that you just wanted to give him a big hug. Are these the qualities of a good Steve Rogers? I hope so!

In The Losers, Evans plays Jensen, a sarcastic computer hacker who is the brainiac of the gang. From the sound of it, he gets to skip on a lot of the action and probably winds up with a lot of the most memorable lines. Evans is eager to prove himself, and it will be interesting to see how audiences respond to him in an action-comedy before seeing him ship out to World War 2.

But enough from me. Get to know Evans for yourself.



So where are your injuries? Where are you banged up?

Chris Evans: Umm, I don't think I have any injuries, really! I don't have anything, really. We did a stunt today where – did you see the car, the van that we're all in? The glass window blew out that wasn't supposed to blow out. The passenger window. Got a few cuts on my face. But that's about it. But I felt pretty tough. That's it. I'm injury free. They've been much more physical with their stunts than I have. My guy's kind of – usually sitting behind a computer.

Which is weird because superficially, when you hear that you're in this movie and you look – you're one of those go-to guys that you can do action, and it's convincing. You're playing that [nerdy] character, which would have been the last choice, I thought.

Evans: Sure, yeah yeah. He's probably the least physical of the group. He's more of the nerdier, kind of bookwormish guy.

A lot of fun, though.

Evans: Yeah, it's great. He still cracks a lot of jokes, and it's fun playing The Smart One. I don't always get to play guys with too much brains.

How familiar were you with the graphic novel?

Evans: Not at all. So, went out and bought a bunch and did research.

Did you get to do any of the filming in the jungle?

Evans: Yeah, we did. The first ten days or so in the jungle. And it was hot. And muddy. But we were glad to get that out of the way. I'd rather do the tough stuff first, at the beginning, and have smooth sailing from there on out.

What's it like shooting in Puerto Rico compared to a place like Hong Kong? Just as difficult?

Evans: Mmmm! Tough. I didn't like either place! I'm having a tough time. I get homesick very easily. I didn't get to bring my dog to either one of these locations. And I know it sounds ridiculous but when I'm away – for anyone who is a dog lover, or a dog owner, I really don't like being away from them. I'll be sitting in my apartment, and I'll look in any doorway and be so convinced that he's going to come around the corner any minute. He doesn't. And it's tricky for me. Most times I take him with me whether it's New York or Vancouver or Toronto, places like that. Hong Kong, this, it would have been too tricky. If anything goes wrong, I just don't like the language barrier. I like having vets that I know.

Pick up a dog here, like Jeffery did.

Evans: I was gonna! I swear to God! I saw that little puppy running around, and I was like "That is a cute f***ing puppy!" And then I heard he got hit! And the next day, they put out a little memo, "If anyone wants to pay for the medical bills ...." I came in the next day with my money. "I will pay for it! And is anyone going to take him?" And our wardrobe guy was like ohhhh, Jeffery already got him. He's paying for him, and Jeffrey's taking him home. But I see a lot of them running around. If one's friendly enough, I might just scoop him up.

What about the human members of the cast?

Evans: Oh, the human members! Pfft!

How have you all been getting along?

Evans: Fantastically. That's what I will say. I love this cast so much. It's so important when you're working far away from home that you get along with your cast because you're forced to kind of mingle offset. You don't have a built in support group when you need comfort zones. So you're forced to kind of hang out. And I really really can't say enough. It makes things like this [press time] so much easier to do when you don't have to, uh, [laughs], choose your words carefully. The cast is ... interesting. Different! Challenging! The cast is phenomenal. I get along with all of them. Not only are they fantastic actors, but we all get along incredibly well.

Jeffrey said you guys were a little bit like your characters.

Evans: Sure. I suppose so. Ummm, I think I may be the least like my character. Probably the least like my character. But I can see why Jeffrey would say that for sure. Absolutely.

We also heard that at the end of the movie, there's this huge drop off a tower that some of the cast are taking part of? Are you one of those, or no?

Evans: A huge drop? Drops off a crane? I don't think I have to do that. Dodged that bullet.

This is kind of a return to form for the fun action films, kind of a throwback. There's a certain – there's a gap. We got very cynical for awhile with action films, and went to the everyman kind of stuff. In terms of tone, how would you compare this?

That's a good question. That was kind of one of my big questions at the beginning, because when I initially read it, I didn't know it was based on a comic book. I just kind of knew that Peter Berg wrote it at Warner Bros, it was a war type movie, and by page 20 I was a little confused as to what they were going for. Because there were a lot of jokes. There were times of high drama, shoot-outs, and then someone's cracking a line. And I thought what is this? Because nowadays I think we want our action, with things like the Internet, we know what everything look like, it's not ... we want Bourne Identity. We want very raw, very real, very authentic stuff. And it's not – the days of the Die Hards and the Lethal Weapons, those movies where there was room for some humor, you just don't see a lot. And so I put the script down on page 30, and I called my agent and I said "What is this? What am I missing? I gotta go back and start over, and get the right tone in my head because I'm not thinking clearly on it."

And he said, this is Joel Silver, it's based on a graphic novel, why don't you read the graphic novel first and then crack the script. So I went back and started over, and it made a whole lot more sense. I really thought, there's room for this. Because if this was just another movie that took itself very seriously, and made its action as raw, and as real, and as – and there's nothing wrong with that. I gotta say, movies like The Kingdom, those movies are fine, but there's a lot of them. And there aren't a lot of these. There was a time when these movies were king, and in my opinion a lot of them hold up. I saw Die Hard last week. And it's still a great f***ing movie. It's still great. And you can have room for a little bit of fun in movies like this if [there is] chemistry among the actors, and the writing works. You go for the ride. And I think this script has all that.

It's also an ensemble, which is also great. In the 1970s and 1980s, you had those people go on a mission kind of movies. Nowadays they focus on marketing around a particular actor and dealing with the high concept of it all. This seems kind of loose, and like an ensemble piece.

Evans: Yeah. Absolutely, absolutely. That's kind of – I think that will be a big piece of this puzzle as to whether we have a good final product if the chemistry among the actors works. If that doesn't work, I don't know if the plot will save us. I think what you need to really walk out of there liking is the relationships. Fingers crossed.

When we were watching the scene, you had a little exchange with Columbus behind a dumpster. We couldn't hear the line before, but you say something like "That sounds like a good pirate name!"?

Evans: Yeah, well he gets shot in both legs earlier [in the film]. After he first gets shot, I pick him up and I call him Legless Pooch. His name is Pooch. And I call him Legless Pooch two or three times in the film after he gets shot, and he says "Call me Legless Pooch one more time and you're gonna be Headless Jensen." And I say "That's a cool name. I sound like a pirate."

So do you know what you're shooting this afternoon?

Evans: Oh yeah. More -- this is kind of the final action sequence where ... I don't know how much of the premise you guys know, but we've been betrayed, set up, framed, and we track down the guy who did it to us. And this is kind of the final shoot out with him.

Do you get any shoot outs on the yacht?

Evans: I don't actually get to go on the yacht. It's a nice yacht though.

Should we ask the inevitable question? Fantastic Four reboot ...?

Evans: Oh, right!

Your feelings about it, if you're not going to be involved with it?

Evans: I don't think I'm going to be involved with it. I would imagine a reboot would be ... a reboot! I think they're going to start from scratch. And you know, that's the way those movies go. They're doing Red Dawn, too. It seems like sometimes they happen quicker than others, you know. Batman, there was a big chunk of time, but the new Batman movies are fantastic. Superman. Incredible Hulk. Sometimes there's a big gap, sometimes it's a small gap. If there's room to reinvent a franchise in a different tone, and they could make a good film out of it, so be it. I'm not going to have anything negative to say about it.

It won't feel weird to watch it? Someone else playing the same role?

Evans: Well, of course. That's the – I've done plays and then I go see someone else do the same play and be like "Hmm. I did it differently!" Of course it will be weird. But let's not confuse weird with bad, or weird with negative. Weird is in no way, no way would I have anything ... I welcome the new franchise. I hope it's fantastic. I like good movies. I'm sure Michael Keaton felt the same way, I'm sure Christopher Reeve felt the same way. If it's a great movie, let's make it. Let's put it out there. There's not enough of them.

Is there another graphic novel character you'd like to play?

Evans: To be honest, I don't know much about graphic novels or comic books. I wasn't a comic book reader, I wasn't a graphic novel reader. So I don't know if I could pull a character from that kind of [world].

Jeffrey said something interesting when we were talking to him earlier, and he said if you want to be in action movies, comic book movies are the ones they're doing now. It seems to be inevitable.

Evans: Yeah. Absolutely. The well will run dry eventually. This comic book wave has been going on for awhile. I guess as long as they don't start making bad ones they can just keep on going. But if they keep going to that well, so be it. It's a great starting point. There's just some really great – just visually. Just artwork alone. They were going to do Akira awhile back. You look at that, and the color palette alone. You think man, what an exciting film to be a part of, just to have that as a blueprint. It's exciting to make movies that were novels, that as an actor, you have something to go to and do your research. So any type of a graphic novel or comic book, it's great [for] blueprints.

When you get back to the States, do you know what you're doing next?

Evans: I don't. I've read a few things. I just don't want to make any more ... I'm in no rush. I really want to try and make a good movie. Because it's no fun working your butt off to have a final product that you're not proud of. I would just as soon be patient and wait for something really great to come along.

Are you looking for something that's more in the straight-up drama, straight out comedy realm?

Evans: I will say that I tend to have a bit more fun doing drama. I enjoy drama a bit more. But at the end of the day, I'm mostly interested in making good movies. And I think good movies come from good directors. So you could have a fantastic, dramatic script with a fantastic character that you're dying to play, but if the director isn't who he or she should be, it's just not the right move. By the same token, you could come off this and Spielberg said all of a sudden "Chris, I'm going to do a graphic novel where you play a computer hacker!" I'd say "I'm in! I'm in!" There's no way I'm gonna say no. So at the end of the day, no matter what genre or character I'm looking to do, you really just want to make good movies. And that's all you can do.
Source:Cinematical.com

Thursday, March 25, 2010

The Losers set visit: an interview with Chris Evans


Source: Silas Lesnick
March 25, 2010
On the set of The Losers, the crew breaks for lunch and Chris Evans is gracious enough to welcome us into his trailer for an interview. Star of two "Fantastic Four" films and the upcoming Scott Pilgrim vs. the World, Evans is no stranger to the world of comics but has found an all-new take with his character, Jensen, a spikey-haired Hawaiian-shirt wearing computer expert who gets a lot of the story's best one-liners.

Q: So tell us a little about your character in this.
Chris Evans: I play Jensen. Jensen is a - he's the computer expert. He's the hacker in the bunch. Kind of the, you know, he cracks the jokes and I guess provides the comic relief in the comic book and they kind of try to translate that into the script. We'll see.

Q: Is it in your contract that you'll only do comic book movies right now?
Evans: (Laughs) I know, right? Isn't it ridiculous? It really is ridiculous. I know. There's been a string of them. It seems like that's what everyone's making, you know? There's a surplus of them around Hollywood. They make great movies, you know?

Q: Does that weigh into your decision at all? Any sort of hesitancy when you got this and you found out it was based on a graphic novel?
Evans: Not really. I mean, it's such a broad category, you know what I mean? Yes, it's a comic book movie but that's like saying if you've done one drama you don't want to do another drama. It's such a different comic book. All the comic book movies I've done have been so radically different. They happen to all be, you can find them all in the comic book store but I think they're all incredibly - they're all different families.

Q: With so many different ones what helps you or what makes you decide certain ones over others to choose?
Evans: It really has nothing to do with the comic book, really. It comes down to… it's a movie. I look at it as a movie. Whatever it comes from whether it comes from a novel, whether it comes from a previously made film; it's about this movie. Who's the director? Who's the producer? Who's the cast? That's all that matters. If it came from a comic book, so be it. If it came from anything else, it doesn't really matter to me.

Q: It seems like it's almost a throwback to a fun 80's movie.
Evans: Absolutely, yeah, yeah.

Q: Can you talk about maybe some of your favorite 80's films and how do you think it compares to some of them?
Evans: Sure. Well, that was kind of… that seems to be the tone that they're going for especially with Joel Silver, you know? All the"Die Hards" and the "Lethal Weapons" and those movies were just they were great. They had action, but the character charisma - the character chemistry rather just was fantastic and it left room for jokes and laughs and it didn't take itself too seriously.

Q: Do you have any favorites from the 80's?
Evans: Well I loved "Die Hard." Bruce Willis was my hero for awhile. What else did I like? I mean, my favorite 80's movie is probably weren't action films to be honest. Do you want favorite action movies?

Q: Whatever you want to talk about.
Evans: When was "Ferris Beuller's Day Off," That was 80's wasn't it? I was huge fan of "Ferris Beuller's Day Off."

Q: Can you talk a little bit about what scene you were doing today?
Evans: Sure. This is towards the end of the movie. I don't want to give too much away. We've been captured by the man who set us up and we think we're about the kick the can. And I don't want to give too much away but I'll say Zoe [Saldana] comes and saves the day and kind of gets us out of a hot situation.

Q: All the characters have these very unique costumes. What's your look?
Evans: Well, if you've seen the comic book, Jensen is pretty crazy. He usually wears very bright colors and like Hawaiian shirts and he has the bleach blonde hair and this ridiculous facial hair that I have and he's definitely a little more wild. I don't think we went as extreme as the comic book is but this is probably the most tame outfit I have. He's usually in, you know, ridiculous reds and pinks and greens and oranges and things like that. It's fun. It lends itself.

Q: Jock, who did the art in the comic did a poster with all you guys when they announced the cast. Do you think he got you pretty well when you saw the version of you with the glasses in there?
Evans: Yeah, I think so. I didn't see too much of a difference between that and the comic book. You know what I mean? I think they tried. He has such a specific look in the comic book. I think if you put anyone in the right sideburns, facial hair and Lennon glasses, you know, he'll look like Jensen.

Q: How much humor is there to your character?
Evans: They try to give him a decent amount of jokes, you know? He's the goofy one. He doesn't take things too seriously. He's the one that kind of loves life and he's always looking for a joke so they give him a pretty decent amount.

Q: You're the computer hacker. Do you know much about computers in real life?
Evans: No, I can barely check my e-mail. It's so funny doing fake computer acting, you know? There's a couple scenes where I have to. It's so funny. I know d*ck about computers, but I really have to - the props they give me it's not just a simple laptop. It's really hi-tech computer stuff. These, I don't even know what they're called, just kind of like hand-held screens with these little pencils and touch-screens and really advanced sh*t. I'm just clunking around like I know what I'm doing, but I think I pull it off.

Q: Are there any sort of prep things you had to do with anyone? Someone that came in and showed you don't do this or do that so you look like…
Evans: For computer stuff? Oh no, no, no. It's so quick. I mean most of those scenes are pretty… the stuff we wanted to look like we know what we're doing was the military stuff. They had someone come in and we had military training for a few weeks. That's the stuff that's probably a little bit more in-depth in the movie and if you look like a rookie that won't sell.

Q: Which city are you enjoying more? Toronto or San Juan?
Evans: I love Toronto. Nothing against San Juan. I mean I'm not built from the heat, you know what I mean? I'm from Boston. [To fellow Bostonite, Collider's Steve Weintraub] You and I are the palest people on the island, man. I've been here for f*cking two months and I look like this.

Q: You've made it out without the burn though.
Evans: Oh no I get the burn. I get the burn. There's a little burn on the nose right now. It's covered up with makeup. Yeah, I'm out there with like SPF 90 everyday. I'm just not built to for the heat. I'm not built for the humidity. I love Toronto. I had a really good time up there so I'll take the cold over the hot any day.

Q: You were in Toronto for another film. What was your experience like on "Scott Pilgrim"?
Evans: It was fantastic, man. You always say this and I want to say it's the most fun I've ever had on a movie, but it's probably that's it's the most recent movie and it feels like it was the most fun. But if that's an indicator so be it. It was fantastic. The only problem was that I only worked for three weeks. That movie was five to six months and it was just heart-breaking having to leave. I was up there before they started shooting doing some physical training and stuff like that with the cast, and everyone was just so awesome. Just so nice, you know what I mean? It's so nice working with. I know it sounds obvious and basic but just nice people. And they're incredibly successful, phenomenally talented - everyone. Michael Cera and Jason Schwartzman and Mary Elizabeth Winstead. They're all just amazing people and just the kindest, funniest most wonderful people to work with and they just wrapped. They just wrapped a couple weeks ago. [Bryan Lee O'Malley] is another phenomenally nice man. A phenomenally nice man.

Q: You play Lucas Lee who is in a way a flip version of Jason Lee, who is a professional skateboarder.
Evans: Right, yeah.

Q: Did you think about that? Do you know Jason at all?
Evans: No, I don't know Jason but someone actually mentioned that. The thing about Jason is although they do have the similarities of skateboarding and acting, Jason--from the interviews I've seen--seems like a very modest, down to earth guy and he's incredibly funny and incredibly likeable. Lucas Lee is kind of a guy you'd want to smack in the face. He's a horrible actor. Jason Lee was hilarious. Jason Lee is a phenomenal actor. Lucas Lee is like the Steven Segal school of acting. One of the things about the way how Edgar Wright makes movies is that he does these quick cuts and there's all these little bits.

Q: Did you have to do a lot of that like turn on the skateboard 30 times and get all those kind of film things?
Evans: Yeah, well there's a lot of quick cuts. It's not necessarily quick cuts it's that he just has the movie edited in his mind already. He knows exactly what he wants. He knows exactly what he needs. You could do one take and he can come up and say, "Look I got what I needed. If you want another one you can have it but I'm good." And you just trust him. I've never felt so secure with a director. He gets his days because, you know again, there's no fat. He's not working anything out in the day. He's done his homework. He's on-set like a machine and I've never seen producers give him so much - give a director so much freedom. They really let him do - they have so much confidence that he knows exactly what he wants and he does. And it's funny you try and… the lines will be written in way that's very informative and it definitely indicates a certain line reading and you try and say "well, I'll try something outside - out of the box" or you give a suggestion and he's like "Okay" and he'll let you do it but then he always says, "Well just try it the other way" and he's always right. His direction is always spot-on. What he initially wanted is always the right thing. I feel completely safe in his hands. And actually I have a lot of confidence and faith in that movie. I really think it's going to come out pretty cool.

Q: Do you get much improv from this one?
Evans: Sometimes. Sometimes. Not as much as I have had in other movies. Joel and Akiva have been very involved--Joel Silver and Akiva Goldman--have been very involved in the script process and we did a lot of rehearsals with them and I think we got the script to a place that everyone was happy and agreed upon. And I think going off book a little bit, you know, you just want to say look we all agreed on a certain script. Let's stick with that script and that's fine. That's fine. Sometimes that's the way you make movies and that's fine. I'm totally okay with that. Akiva and Joel know what they're doing and I'm with that. And it's okay. It's actually… it actually exercises different muscles. Sometimes ad-libbing can almost be a little bit of a crutch and it can be something that could develop, could develop into a bad habit, I'm not saying that it is. Sometimes ad-libbing is the key to magic but sometimes when you have to secrete the words are sacred it's very healthy.

Q: In preparing for this role in "The Losers," did you go back to the graphic novel? Was there anything you were able to find there that helps you with your character or was it simply from the script?
Evans: Sure, well you know they were very similar. A lot of scenes from the script were taken right out of the graphic novel so the hardest thing was you see a scene in the script that was from one of the comic books and you'd say "well okay. This is the tone I should have and this is the way it's going to be shot" and that's not necessarily the case. You'd think, dwell I have a complete idea of what this scene's going to be based on the fact that I've kind of already seen it in comic book form almost as a storyboard. When you go out on the set it'd look much different or have a different tone or a different feel. You'd say "okay. I have to stop using the graphic novel as a reference. That was that. This is this. Let me get direction from my director and I'll go from there."

Q: Did you find that's almost a crutch in some ways doing that?
Evans: You know, it's a starting point for certain scenes. You just have to ask. You just have to talk to Sylvain. Sylvain is, you know, I know there's scenes in the movie - is like the comic book? And he could say yeah, it's actually going to be… even the shot where you do this and the shots through the hand and that's what this shot will be. So okay great. Or he could say no, forget the comic book completely and say you just tell me what you want and you're the painter. I'm the paint. Tell me what you want.

Q: With a film like this which could lead to other sequels, is it for you as an actor are you a little nervous when you sign onto something that might be a multi-picture kind of thing?
Evans: Well, that's the problem. You think they'd only make it if it's good. The problem is they only make it if it makes money and that's good and making money are not synonymous. That's why you avoid those multi-picture contracts. Sometimes you have to do it, you known, movies like "Fantastic Four," those massive movies. They say, look if you don't want to sign a multi-picture contract we'll find somebody else. Movies like this you can negotiate. I think most actors would avoid trying to do multi-picture contracts just because you never want to have your arm twisted in any way. Even if it's a fantastic movie, even if you can't wait to make the sequel it's just always better in any respect, in any aspect of life to not be forced to have to do something.

Q: How does it work, exactly, when you sign on for a multi-picture deal?
Evans: Yeah, like it'll be a studio deal so, you know if you had a 3-picture deal for "Fantastic Four" for example, let's say they didn't want to make another "Fantastic Four," Fox could say well, we got you for another movie. We can put you in any movie we want to put you in. And it's more about locking you in at a price for each picture they say we'll pay you this for number 1, this for number 2, this for number 3. So "Fantastic Four," let's say they didn't want to make a sequel, but for some reason one of the actors became quite famous off of it, Fox now has the advantage to take that actor and put them in another movie at a set price. That actor can't say well now that I'm enormously famous I want $10 million. You could say well, we got you in a 3-picture deal and we got you locked in at this much cheaper price and you've got to do it. So it doesn't always have to be. But I don't have a 3-picture deal so it doesn't even matter. If I did, though and "Losers" went away, they could put me in another movie at a set price.

Q: Is that risky for you as an actor?
Evans: To get locked into a 3-picture deal? Well, you know like I said you lose control and the problem is let's say you have a terrible experience on a film. Let's say you don't want to revisit the character. Let's say you don't like the new director they hired. Let's say - there's a million elements that could come into play where you're just out of the driver's seat. It's not a bad thing. You're working. The fact is, especially nowadays as an actor, you're lucky to even be working. I know so many amazing actors who aren't working because there's not a lot of work. So, I guess it's not the worst problem to have to be forced to go to work, but if you want to try and maintain creative integrity it's just you lose that control.

Q: Fox has gone on record now that they're re-booting "Daredevil." They going to re-boot "Fantastic Four." What are your thoughts on that?
Evans: I think it's great. I'm sure it'll be a great movie. They do that with a lot of movies. Sometimes sooner, sometimes later. "Batman," "Superman," "Incredible Hulk." Sometimes it's a 10-year gap, sometimes it's 5 years, sometimes it's 20 years. I think there's room to readjust the tone in "Fantastic Four" as it was for "Batman." You know, "Batman" took on a very cartoony feel towards the end and even in the beginning. It was a lighter movie, even though it was Tim Burton. It was still a lighter film and the newer Batman's have just been amazing, so I'm all for good filmmaking. If they can go make a good dark edgy "Fantastic Four," right on.

Q: Would you object to going back to doing "Fantastic Four" or do you feel you've permanently moved on?
Evans: I guess it would depend. I mean I'm never against revisiting, well I guess I should say not yet, I'm never against revisiting genres or character types. If I played a doctor in one movie, I wouldn't be against playing a doctor again if the director was the right director. I think at the end of the day you've got to work with the directors. I do what I do because I like making good movies. It's fun to act but if you just loved acting alone you could sit in your room and act. You could act in a vacuum. You want to make good products. You want to make good films. I love movies and good movies come from good directors and like I said since there isn't this massive surplus of films out there, if a good director offers you a chance to make a good movie, you take it even if you say well I just played a character like that. Who cares? You're a great director. "Scott Pilgrim," I played characters similar to that guy but then there was no f*cking way I was going to say no to this guy. I'm doing your movie. So if "Fantastic Four" got rebooted and Christopher Nolan was going to direct it and said, "Do you want to play Johnny Storm again?," I'd be in those blue f*cking tights.

Q: You worked with Edgar Wright, so do you like "Shaun of the Dead" or "Hot Fuzz" more?
Evans: I'm going to say -- well that's a tough one. I liked "Shaun" for awhile. It was first experience with Edgar Wright and I loved it. I thought it was fantastic. The more I see "Hot Fuzz," the more I think it's a great movie. They're just brilliant movies. They're so well thought out. The guy's just a wizard when it comes to filmmaking. There's nothing by accident. There's nothing that you have to imagine in the post-period of filmmaking - A lot of things have to happen spontaneously. A lot of things don't go as planned. If you have to cut and paste plot points, if you have to. Sometimes you have to edit on the fly and re-think things as they happen. I can't imagine any of that sh*t happens in Edgar's films. There's no room for it. There has to be a plan from the beginning and it is executed perfectly and whatever ends up in the theatre is exactly what he had planned from day one. This is brilliant.

Q: You seem to hold directors in very high regard, would you ever want to try your hand at it?
Evans: Absolutely… I have hard time sitting on-set keeping my mouth shut half the time. I just want to be in charge. I just want to take control. That's the problem, I read scripts all day and every single script I read I'm like "This is great!" I see a great movie. I think this is an amazing movie and my agent will always be like, "Chris, it's a terrible script. You don't want to do this movie." "Are you sure? I think it's great." But yeah, I'm dying to. It's a tricky thing to transition into. I didn't go to any schooling for it. It takes a lot to have somebody trust you, so I do love acting but like I said earlier I love movies. I love movies during the day and as soon as if I can climb the ladder enough in the acting world maybe get someone to be stupid enough to trust me with a little movie—in a heartbeat.

Q: Peter Berg, who wrote the script for this is a guy who started as an actor and then started writing, producing and directing. He's a great filmmaker now.
Evans: Yeah, unbelievable. It's amazing how many good actors are good filmmakers. There's a lot of actors that you don't even realize direct movies. You're like "Hey that guy directed that movie? It's a fantastic film. He's a great f*cking director!"

Q: Is there a certain type of role or script that you get more than all others that you're kind of putting aside for when you're looking for something different?
Evans: I don't know. Not really… I don't know. It's so funny, my agent and I always joke about this. It's so funny the climate or whatever the opinion is of me within the acting world. My agent said it's so funny how hot and cold it gets. You know, sometimes he'll submit me for a comedy and they say, "Chris Evans? Does he do comedy?" And he'll say, "Of course." But then submit me for a drama and they say, "Does he do drama?" And he says, "Well, yeah. He's done like 5 of them." Not really, to answer your question in a very round about and vague way. Not really. It's all across the board, you know? A lot of times I'm going into rooms with people really only knowing me from "Fantastic Four."

Q: Do you have a dream role?
Evans: Not a dream role. There's dream directors, because again at the end of the day you could have the greatest script, you could have the greatest role, you could have the greatest cast. It doesn't mean sh*t if you don't have a good director. I've seen amazing scripts that I was like, "This is going to murder when the Oscars come out" and turns out to be a dud. And I've seen scripts that were very, very average and mediocre come out and be sleeper hits because it begins and ends with the director.

Q: It might be a little early, but are you already thinking about a next project? Is it affecting you at all because Hollywood has slowed down? There's a lot fewer movies being made.
Evans: Yeah, there are. You know, you never want to - I think you're only allowed so many mistakes and perception goes a long way in this town. It funny, you could - I don't know if Hollywood always does their homework. I think the public does their homework and I think within Hollywood, if you've booked a classy role, I think it's rare that people actually go out and see those movies. They just hear the name. They hear the director and they've got to get that guy. You could be brilliant in "Final Destination 7" but you're in "Final Destination 7." No thank you. You could be f*cking amazing, but it doesn't matter. Or you could stink up the joint in a Woody Allen film and you're going to have work. So, unfortunately, I've had a few movies that have just not been successful and perception, like I said, is a current seed that you need, so I'm just watching my step right now. I'm in no hurry. I think when I first started making - when the ball started rolling and I actually was in a world where I could make movies continuously, I think you're just in a hurry to make movies. You're just excited that it's even happening. You just want to make movies, but then you make a few bad ones and you see how they can go awry and how man, this is just a giant collaboration and it's not easy to make a good movie. There's a lot of creative people coming together dealing in a world of intangibles and semantics and it's not easy. So now I just want to make good movies and there's a lot of pieces of the puzzle that have to fit together in order for that to happen. So I'm in no rush and I'm just trying to find the next right one.

Q: To follow up on what you were saying, are there choices that you've made that you maybe in hindsight wish you hadn't?
Evans: I'm not going to - I've probably already said too much. I would never want to bash any specific movie that I've done. Yeah, of course. It's always a learning process. Every movie you make you learn a little bit more about how you need to approach each set. How you need to approach your meetings, you know, when you sit down with someone to talk about a project, what questions need to be asked? And, you know, the importance of the different people on-set. For example, I used to think what does a producer really do? But now you realize that, well, the producer does a f*ckload. So, you know, it's all a learning process and I'm still learning. By no means am I some salty vet. I'm still figuring this sh*t out as I go.

Scott Pilgrim vs The World Trailer!!



Wow! This looks so cool! I'm so excited! Can't wait to see the movie! Yahoooo!!

And here's Chris Evans as Lucas Lee




So very evil...



Tuesday, March 23, 2010

Chris Evans is Captain America

(a fanmade pic that circulates on the internet)

Chris Evans accepts 'Captain America' mantle

Chris Evans will play Steve Rogers, also known as Captain America.
Sources tell us the actor has not only accepted Marvel's offer, first detailed on Friday, but that the dealmaking moved so fast it's now all about dotting the i's and crossing the t's.
Marvel would not comment on the development, and CAA, which reps the actor, declined comment.


Evans was offered the role in Marvel Studios' production last week, but there was some question of whether he would accept. Factoring in to the choice was the fact that Evans played Johnny Storm, the flame-covered superhero known as the Human Torch in Fox's "Fantastic Four" movies. Was he ready to play another superhero and take on the trappings that come with such a high-profile part?


Evans took a few days to think it over, and once he decided he was willing to wield the shield, negotiations moved quickly over the weekend.

Source: The Hollywood Reporter

Monday, March 22, 2010

A new movie poster for The Losers again

Don't understand why Chris's photo is so small?!

Saturday, March 20, 2010

Chris Evans offered role of Captain America


Chris Evans is one step closer to the role of Captain America.
Sources tell us the actor, who once donned superhero garb in two "Fantastic Four" movies, has been offered the role of Captain America.
Marvel has not confirmed the development and CAA, which reps the actor, declined to comment.
Evans' offer would include starring in up to three "America" movies plus "The Avengers" movies and appearances in several other Marvel movies. While an offer to star in "America" may seem like something you don't have to mull over too long, one possible complication is that Evans is committed to co-starring in the Anna Faris romantic comedy "What's Your Number?" Both are scheduled to shoot this summer.

The role of Captain America and his alter ego Steve Rogers has been one of the most heavily scrutinized parts by the industry, the media and the comic book fandom in recent memory.
Evans wasn’t in the initial round of actors being considered, which for the most part leaned to the newcomer side. Michael Cassidy, Patrick Flueger, Scott Porter, Wilson Blethel and Mike Vogel, on top of John Krasinski and Chace Crawford, were those testing and reading. Garrett Hedlund was also someone Marvel was interested in.
Evans, who did not screen test, already has a relationship with Marvel, having starred as Johnny Storm, the fire-covered superhero in the two “Fantastic Four” movies that Fox released in 2005 and 2007. There is some question whether fans would be accepting of an actor who already played a Marvel superhero just a few years ago, but given that the movies were not well embraced, with no one faulting the actors, Evans might have a clean slate with moviegoers.
Joe Johnston is directing “America,” which shoots in England.
Evans, also repped by 3 Arts Entertainment, has the DC Comics adaptation “The Losers” in the can and also appears in “Scott Pilgrim vs. the World,” Edgar Wright’s adaptation of the popular Oni Press graphic novel series.
Source: The Hollywood Reporter

Friday, March 19, 2010

Chris last night at Boa




(All photo's from prphotos.com)

Chris NOT answering questions while waiting on his car (video)

Here's a funny video of Chris waiting for his car at Boa in West Hollywood.

Wednesday, March 17, 2010

Chris leaving Industry night club







(All photo's from X17online.com)
It's good to see Chris enjoying some free time in L.A. after finishing filming Puncture in Houston last week.

First view at Scott Pilgrim movie poster


Saturday, March 13, 2010

Puncture new title for Safety Point?

According to Culturemap.com the title for Safety Point has changed again into Puncture.
Read the following article about Puncture by Sarah Rufca.


On the set for rare Houston movie making: Filming Puncture in the Heights

By Sarah Rufca
March 12th, 2010 at 5:42 PM

With the exception of the series of sparkling white trailers parked on the corner of 17th Street and Durham, there's no evidence that a quirky green bungalow on a small block of 18th Street in the Heights has been the site of a movie shoot for the past week.


Puncture (currently listed on IMDB as Safety Point) has been filming in and around Houston for over a month. It's based on the true story of Houston lawyer Michael Weiss as he fought medical supply companies to establish use of retracting safety needles in a struggle to save lives in the age of AIDS — all while fighting his own inner demons.


When I showed up at 5 p.m., about an hour after the beginning of a 4 p.m. to 4 a.m. shoot, rehearsals were talking place in a closed set in an upstairs bedroom. Co-producer Jordan Foley still showed me around where he could, including the kitchen, staged as a disaster for a party scene, and a corner of the backyard set up to represent Africa in a vignette. Apparently Africa = pile of trash.


Even though I couldn't watch the actors in their emotionally heavy (and naked) scene, I learned a lot just by talking to the crew, who were set up mostly on the lawn and in the garage. Here's ten interesting Houston tidbits about Puncture, the shoot, and the cast and crew:


1. The last day of shooting was set to be a quick transition scene at Hobby airport on Monday, which would represent Reagan Airport in Washington, D.C., but while I was there Foley and production supervisor Erin Charles were weighing the benefits of sending a skeleton crew to do a half-day of shooting in DC instead. "A shot of the airport looking onto the Potomac, a shot of the capitol, and boom, you're in D.C.," Charles said.

2. Production Designer Christopher Stull had his first film job as an assistant art director on Reality Bites, which has probably the most iconic images of Houston in film to date. "The house we found was on Dallas, I think, and it was this great shot with the downtown skyline set over the street. But that's disappeared now, they built an apartment complex there or something."

3. Many scenes in Puncture take place in a courtroom or a hospital. Court scenes were shot in a real Harris County Civil Court, and the production was given several floors by Park Plaza Hospital. "We were literally filming and through the doors in the next room was a working emergency room. It was crazy," Foley said.

4. To portray the home of a big-shot lawyer, the crew filmed at Mark and Becky Lanier's opulent mansion. Lanier also appears in the film in a small role — as himself. "Actually he was playing an actor playing Mark Lanier. He did a great job," Charles said.

5. Those looking for recognizable pieces of Houston in the film should keep their eyes peeled for Irma's Tex-Mex joint downtown as well as some popular taco trucks.

6. The non-local cast and crew were set up in condos at Post Midtown Square, and named their favorite off-shoot hangouts as Cyclone Anaya's and Front Porch Pub.

7. When I was there a wrangler was watching a huge iguana and an incredibly sweet golden retriever. I was told I missed by a day four more animal actors: Two boa constrictors and two crocodiles.

8. Set designer Stull went out of his way to include items from the real Michael Weiss in the movie. The desk in the home office once belonged to the real Weiss. Stull found a gallery director who remembered Weiss and the art pieces he'd bought, so Stull could get similar styles to be placed around the house set.

9. The 18th Street house set-up was scheduled to be four days, but was shortened to three when the owner accidentally locked them out for a day. The interior is essentially removed of all personal objects — even painted — rendering the space almost unrecognizable. But contracts require the crew take copious pictures and return everything to it's original state "as if we were never here," Foley said.

10. Foley's last film, The Open Road, was also shot partially in Houston, while directors Adam and Mark Kassen's last film, Bernard and Doris (for which they served as executive producers) earned Emmy and Golden Globe nominations. Other notable actors in Puncture include The Fantastic Four's Chris Evans as Mike Weiss, Law & Order's Jesse L. Martin and Vinessa Shaw.

Source: Culturemap.com

Wednesday, March 10, 2010

Chris Evans for Captain America?


Who wields the shield? 'Captain America' casting update

Who will wield the shield?
The answer of whom will hold Captain America’s shield and play alter ego Steve Rogers is still in Marvel’s hands, but the list of actors is being whittled down.

Wilson Bethel, who starred in HBO’s “Generation Kill” and currently appearing in “The Young and the Restless,” is still in the running as is Mike Vogel, who appeared in “Cloverfield” and CBS’ “Miami Medical.”

Meanwhile, Chris Evans, currently shooting "Safety Point" in Texas, has read for the part and has a test offer which may come to fruition next week. Garrett Hedlund has not tested yet though Marvel is very keen on him.

Actors previously reported as testing including John Krasinski, Michael Cassidy, Chace Crawford, among others, are no longer on the list.

The part calls for a nine-picture deal, the second of which would be the “Avengers” movie. That project could start shooting as soon as January 2011.

Taking a shot on relative unknowns such as Bethel and Vogel is not out of the realm of possibility as many tentpoles and franchises are handing out the keys to up-and-comers. Paramount and J.J. Abrams took a chance on Chris Pine to play Capt. Kirk while James Cameron put his trust in Sam Worthington.
Source: The Hollywood Reporter

Tuesday, March 9, 2010

What's Your Number?


Anna Faris And Chris Evans Ask 'What’s Your Number?' In New Rom Com

Is Anna Faris the new go to girl for female focused versions of male-driven comedies? Two weeks ago we learned the “House Bunny” actress will co-star with Jennifer Garner in “The Bachelorette Party,” a comedy pitched as a female version of “The Hangover."
She remains a rumored choice for the role of the first female Ghostbuster in “Ghostbusters III.” And now she’s set for an R-rated rom-com titled “What’s Your Number?” that sounds loosely like a woman’s take on “High Fidelity.”

According to Variety , Anna will play a woman who realizes she’s had too many sexual partners and so pays a visit to all her ex-loves in order to “find the man of her dreams.” Basically, she’s desperate to settle down and believes one of these former boyfriends was the one that got away. She’s just not sure which. Along for the personal journey is her playboy neighbor (Chris Evans). Who wants to bet she falls for him rather than on one of the exes?

Anna and Chris are a promising pairing. Both are underrated performers who make their fair share of Hollywood fluff (she’s best known for the “Scary Movie” franchise, while he’s best known for “Fantastic Four”), yet each has shown real acting talent in dramatic films like “Brokeback Mountain” and “Sunshine,” respectively. Anna is still primarily a brilliant comedic force, even in serious fare, so it’s not like this talent is wasted on romantic comedies. If anything, she raises the profile of the genre.

“What’s Your Number?” is based on Karyn Bosnak’s debut novel “20 Times a Lady,” which was first adapted by Bosnack and then polished by sitcom writers Jennifer Crittenden (“Seinfeld”) and Gabrielle Allan (“Scrubs”). “Entourage” producer and director Mark Mylod will begin shooting the movie this May.
By Christopher Campbell
Source: MTV.com

New updated movieposter for The Losers