A Single Man is simply great; everything most critics are saying is one hundred percent true. It’s nothing short of brilliant. If you happen to also be a fan of Colin Firth and Julianne Moore then it’s definitely a must-see — it ranks among their best works. Another reason to see it: Nicholas Hoult. You’re sure to remember him from the fantastic About A Boy and the highly underrated The Weatherman. Now he’s taken on a completely different role and has struck a cord of pure success. Luckily, I was able to do a quick on-phone interview with Nicholas where we mostly discussed the themes of A Single Man and I even got in a few questions about the upcoming remake of Clash of the Titans. As a forewarning though, this interview is filled with heavy spoilers so I recommend reading it after you’ve seen the film. A Single Man is now in theaters and I can’t recommend it enough.

How was the AFI festival?

Nicholas Hoult: It was fantastic, the screening went very well. Everyone went to the Venice and London film festivals with the film and so far all the responses have been fantastic. It’s great because it’s something I’m very proud of.

I noticed Chris Weitz was credited as a producer, was that how you got involved?

Nicholas Hoult: No, it wasn’t. He wasn’t really involved with how I got involved. I just got a call from my agent saying they were casting the next day in L.A. while I was in London. He just said I should get on a plane for this role… So I sent a tape over of me doing a scene and got an email back from Tom [Ford] saying how he liked my audition. It was all a very quick process.

Why do you think George is so infatuated with Kenny?

Nicholas Hoult: I think it’s something to do with how George has been living in the past. He’s lost a loved one, he’s dwelling on it, and [Kenny's] just so full of life and vibrant. Kenny drags him out of it and makes him have fun in life.

Maybe it also had to do with how Kenny is somewhat similar to George. They obviously both pretend to be something they’re not.

Nicholas Hoult: Yeah, they’re both very precise too. Kenny also has this girlfriend who he has a connection with, unlike George.

He’s also the only one who really notices that George is really hurt.

Nicholas Hoult: Yeah, exactly. He’s the only one that notices George wasn’t being himself and that something may not be right. He was the only person looking out for him and he’s kind of like a guardian angel. He just brightens up most of the film and that’s kind of what he symbolizes.

It’s sort of ironic though how Charlie really doesn’t see anything is wrong with him even though she’s known him for quite a long time.

Nicholas Hoult: Yeah, well Charlie is still caught up in the whole idea of them still being a couple.

The relationship Kenny has with that girl is also a little similar to what George had with Charlie when they were young.

Nicholas Hoult: Yeah, definitely. Kenny practically sums it up that he’s not interested by her. I think that’s also where George gets his intrigue from what he’s trying to understand in the world around him: to have a connection with someone. He’s striving to feel life.

You can see that when George is gazing into people’s eyes that he’s trying to make a connection of some kind.

Nicholas Hoult: Yeah, he’s making major connections and seeing new things.

Tom did a great job with having the colors and even the score also represent his emotions.

Nicholas Hoult: He did a great job with adapting the book as well. He did a remarkable job.

Were those techniques in the script?

Nicholas Hoult: No, we weren’t aware of that. That was a nice surprise.

It’s quite beautiful seeing that play out on screen.

Nicholas Hoult: Yeah, it’s a great way portraying how George is feeling with the voiceover and all those sort of things. With the combination of the score and the color separation you can really go on a journey with him. Colin is such a fantastic actor and he really makes you want to feel his emotions.

You never see dramas shot that way either…

Nicholas Hoult: That was obviously one thing everyone knew right at the beginning, that the film would be beautiful. A lot of people probably thought it wouldn’t have the substance to back that up, but gladly they were proven wrong. It’s a very personal story for him and he put a lot of time, effort, and care into it.

The shoot was of course very short, the film had a pretty low budget, and it was obviously aspiring to do so much. Was there any second thought about jumping on?

Nicholas Hoult: There wasn’t really any second thought. People say that… I don’t really understand that bit because it’s an offer to play a great character along with great actors. There was never any hesitation.

I didn’t mean that regarding the story at all, but about how the production was limited and yet it was so ambitious.

Nicholas Hoult: I don’t believe that you need… Sometimes I think there’s a lot wasted during production. I don’t think you need huge budgets and a huge amount of time. It never felt particularly that we were under pressure on this, timewise. Everyone was very happy and we never felt pushed or under pressure. You can’t judge a job by its budget and time.

Death is obviously the running theme throughout the film: coming to terms with it, coping with it, and even the beauty of it. Is there anything particular that you take away from that core theme?

Nicholas Hoult: Yeah, very much… That’s one of the main themes of the film with love, loss, and understanding it all. I certainly take away a lot from the film especially at the end when George is laying there and just like that it came. It kind of sums up how the end of all life is death.

Aspects like that make the film very accessible and easy to connect to. Even the smaller moments like George’s narration explaining how he’s pretending to be something he’s not. People can relate to, can understand themes like that.

Nicholas Hoult: Yeah, Colin also has this perfect tone of voice to show that sadness.

It’s quite crushing but also heartfelt how he sort of gets redemption towards the end before he goes.

Nicholas Hoult: That’s kind of a great thing how he ends with that happiness and love.

One thing that’s great about the relationship between George and Kenny is that it never comes off as creepy or predatory. In the wrong hands it easily could have.

Nicholas Hoult: Yeah, obviously in the wrong hands it could have gone horribly wrong. It could have been seedy and I think the way it’s shot makes it work.

Well not just that, I think you and Firth made it work so well.

Nicholas Hoult: We did have a good relationship and that’s very much due to Colin with finding the right tone.

If you don’t mind I’d love to ask you about The Clash of the Titans remake…

Nicholas Hoult: (laughs) Oh, yeah.

I’m a big fan of the original, but I’m perfectly fine with it being remade since it is pretty outdated.

Nicholas Hoult: Yeah.

So what was your experience working on that?

Nicholas Hoult: It was fantastic. It was my first time working on one of those action adventure films. It was very exciting to me and it was a big learning curve trying to figure out how those things work. To be a small part of it was very entertaining. I’m excited to see it and I was there a good amount of time… so much in those films gets done during post-production and it’s very exciting.

How was it working with Louis Leterrier? I’m a big fan of his work.

Nicholas Hoult: He was fantastic. He’s a top man and has nothing but respect for actors. He’s a very funny and very relaxed man. There’s a lot of special effects there…

I’ve heard Leterrier used a good amount of practical effects too.

Nicholas Hoult: Yeah, there was. There wasn’t a whole lot of green-screen work as well and they built a lot of sets. That’s great for us as actors to have an environment to act around instead of being in front of a green screen having things there you can’t see.

Did you see that teaser they just put out?

Nicholas Hoult: I did, there’s a lot more of the film that wasn’t shown.

It was pretty impressive.

Nicholas Hoult: It was. It had the rock music and everything. When we did it I literally felt like I was back in my garden back home when I was seven years old playing around. It’s insane, getting paid to do that as a job.

It was a little ironic though sine I saw that right after I saw the trailer for A Single Man which was also great, but they’re both very different.

Nicholas Hoult: (laughs) Yeah, they’re both very different things. It was perfect for the film; it didn’t give a lot away.

When I was offered to participate in a roundtable with the (overseas) famous pop star Rain I didn’t really know anything about him. Didn’t know he was a musician or the fact that he has some intense fans. To me, he was just the minor character in Speed Racer and the upcoming star of Ninja Assassin. That changed a little bit when Rain arrived at the screening I attended. It became obvious that he was quite popular due to the plenty of rabid fans that were there, which all came off as quite creepy. With all that said, here’s what Rain had to say about Ninja Assassin, which is now in theaters.

I believe you were at comic-con last year, was that fun?

Rain: Yes, it was fun. It was [a] great experience. I love comic-con.

Since you worked with James on Speed Racer was that were the idea came about of you guys doing this together?

Rain: He’s a great director as you know. When we were working on Speed Racer we had [a] good relationship… When I finished  Speed Racer I said,”I wanna work with you again.” Then dreams came true and we made it. He’s always humble to everyone. He’s [a] good man.

You’ve done a good job transitioning from music to film and has it been helpful being able to work with directors like the Wachowski brothers, James McTeigue, and Park Chan-Wook?

Rain: Yes, right. Thats right…

Have you been learning something new with each director?

Rain: Yes, I learned a lot when I was working with James and Park. They’re the best and I love them.

How was it shooting in Berlin?

Rain: I love Berlin! There’s so many girls (laughs), a lot of food, the people were great, and everything is perfect. I love Berlin.

The Wachowski brothers are producers on this, but how involved were they? Were they on set a lot?

Rain: When we [were] working on Speed Racer Larry and Andy offered me [Ninja Assassin], how could I say no to that? I [was] always with the Wachowski brothers when I was filming.

On Speed Racer you worked mostly with green screens, was this an easier experience?

Rain: Almost eighty-percent was green screen. It was [a] good experience, but Ninja Assassin is better… for me. (chuckles)

I’ve heard the Wachowski brothers have an idea for a sequel, are you signed on for one? Would you want to do one?

Rain: Yes, but I wanna work with the Wachowski [brothers] again. If people like the movie then we will make Ninja two, but I don’t know.

A lot of people think you’re attached to the Enter the Dragon remake, so you’re not signed on?

Rain: No, I haven’t decided yet.

Who would you play though? Bruce Lee’s character?

Rain: Actually… I don’t know, because I cant tell you. Yeah, I haven’t signed [on] yet.

Is there any particular reason why you haven’t signed on?

Rain: Its not green light, its red light.

If it gets green-lit will you sign on?

Rain: Yeah.

Cormac McCarthy’s The Road is one of his best books and is simply pure greatness. Now, his masterwork is making its way to the big screen thanks to director John Hillcoat. Hillcoat’s previous film, The Proposition, was obviously inspired by McCarthy’s work so it made plenty of sense when he signed on. He’s now delivered a very faithful adaptation that any fan will most likely enjoy. The Road is now in theaters.

One theme that I really enjoy in your films is the idea of what extreme environments do to people. What is it about that idea that appeals to you?

John Hillcoat: Just that it puts people under pressure and I’ve always believed that the essence of drama is conflict — when people are under pressure that creates conflict. I also think that a lot of these worlds are extreme and I think a lot of genres that appeal to me are like that with gangster films and also westerns. There are other times and other places and I think those other worlds and places have always appealed to the imagination since they’re full of adventure. Basically, for me, its revealing and a way to reveal what’s under the surface.

One thing about the book is that its very episodic and has a loose narrative which worked great in that medium. Can you talk about the challenges of adapting a book that doesn’t have the most cinematic narrative?

John Hillcoat: Well, that was a challenge and the real challenge. That worried me about the book, but again when you scale it down there’s still key turning points and beneath it is a very strong and simple story. In terms of a father and son where the father is the teacher and then the son becomes the teacher, there is a clear shift and change. The father is actually trying to save the son and the son actually ends up saving the father. So it becomes a complete… There’s a clear journey, there’s clear changes and they come against clear dramatic obstacles. So in that sense even though it’s episodic there’s a narrative structure there because there’s a continual… But I know what you’re saying. It was a real lesson as well that I always knew but not to this degree which is basically that: in a book repetition can be an amazing rhythm in your head bouncing around from endless pages while on film its just magnified a hundred times. It’s a different headspace, if that makes sense. So we actually filmed being slightly conscious of this but in the editing it started as…

Four and a half hours?

John Hillcoat: (laughs) It was boiling it down and even in the book it had that feeling of things coming down to an essence. It’s kind of stripped bare even though it has this grueling, sprawling and repetitious thing. All those beats and changes are within it. It was really with all the boiling down and as soon as things felt repetitious they had to go. To put it in a different way, that’s all it was and it was precisely the episodic repetition that was the bit we had to keep. That was a key, how to get to that final point.

Can you say what was in that extra two and a half hours? Will we ever be able to see that footage?

John Hillcoat: It was the first assembly so that’s such a crude stage for a lot of films. It varies, but the average is three to four hours for every film. That’s also the very first time… and I’m not even involved in the edit. The editor puts together whatever we’re shooting and that’s what that is. So, I would never let that go out since it’s such a crude work in progress. You’re always aware that certain scenes may not be as good as others. On the DVD extras we will include whole scenes and whole chunks that will be on the extras. Some of those [scenes] are deliberately not put on, because I think they’d be misinterpreted. There’s a certain quite graphic scene in the book that I fought like hell to put in…

Was it the fetus scene?

John Hillcoat: (laughs) I fought like hell and I said going into this film, “we can’t shy away from anything,” but I ended up fighting like hell to have it removed, because it was one of those things that came in the part of the story that was totally redundant in terms of boiling it down. At that point it was all about meeting the old man and the boy starting to turn things around. All that did was go back to the beginning of the film so that was…

Back tracking.

John Hillcoat: Yeah, a back track. When you visualize that it was too much while in your head it has sort of a taboo power to it, but in reality it’s more like, “give me a break.” Some of those things took the spotlight off what we’re always trying to show — the journey and the relationship.

I think Nick Cave and Warren Ellis are fantastic composers and did a great job here, could you talk about your collaboration with them?

John Hillcoat: We go back a long way. With Nick, I’ve known him since I was a teenager. He’s scored every single film I’ve worked on and now he’s writing films. I’ve worked on a lot of his music projects, it’s an incredible collaboration. Warren Ellis is one of his great collaborators and likewise I’ve formed one with both Warren and Nick on my past couple of films. We start talking about the score sometimes even before the script is written. In this case, I told them about how the new McCarthy book landed in my lap and we started talking about that. With The Proposition, that’s how he came into writing it. He talked so much about the score of this outback western that we both got fed up with the time it was taking because we went to other writers. So I asked him to try it. It’s a great collaboration, there’s a very organic thing since it starts so early. There’s always all this preparation and discussion, but the thing that’s great about Warren and Nick is that they watch the film fresh. I don’t show them any rushes. They watch it and once it started to form shape that’s what they react off of. It’s kind of an unusual process, its nothing like how most films are traditionally scored.

What were the four lines that McCarthy wanted put back into the film?

John Hillcoat: Its when the boy says, “what would you do if I died?”, and the father says, “I’d want to die too so you can be with me and I can be with you.” Which is just a beautiful thing to say, but it also prefigures what’s to come. Then Cormac made some really helpful notes with the voiceover and he’s just so precise. He just talked about four lines and single words; he didn’t miss the baby or any of that stuff.

It didn’t feel needed.

John Hillcoat: Oh no, in fact he knew it worked much better as this stripped down form. He’s seen it a couple of times and he’s coming to New York to see it again. I keep him up to date and it’s quite a personal and important book to him.

Can you talk about what else is going to be on the Blu-ray? Will you do a commentary?

John Hillcoat: That hasn’t come up yet so I don’t know what’s going to be involved in all that.

Will To Have and Hold and Ghosts of the Civil Dead be released on DVD anytime soon?

John Hillcoat: Ghosts of the Civil Dead will be released in America within two years. It’s been held up for lots of different reasons. It’s kind of strangely more relevant now than it ever was.

I know you’re circling a few projects right now; can you give a few updates?

John Hillcoat: Well, one touchwood that’s most likely to…

The Wettest County?

John Hillcoat: Yeah its West Virginia, moonshine, backwoods and Prohibition. Nick Cave has written the script and we’ve got a phenomenal cast. Hopefully, but — it’s really tough out there.

Who’s attached to that?

John Hillcoat: Um… Ryan Gosling and Shia LaBeouf. But yeah, I shouldn’t really talk about it cause it’s in the middle of all sorts of stuff.

And what about The Death of Bunny Munro?

John Hillcoat: We’re going to turn that into television. We’re going to try and wake up the BBC and — or actually Channel 4. We’re trying to say to British television, “look at HBO, I mean what the hell are you doing?”

And are you involved with the remake of La Bonne Année?

John Hillcoat: No… That’s very misleading, all that stuff.

Recently I had the chance to participate in a roundtable with the Korean pop star Rain to discuss his upcoming film Ninja Assassin. During this short time I questioned Rain about the possible remake of Enter the Dragon, which he’s been rumored to star in. While he was tight lipped for the most part, he did reveal that wasn’t attached and that the project isn’t green-lit just yet. 

A lot of people think you’re attached to the Enter the Dragon remake, so you’re not signed on?

Rain: No, I haven’t decided yet.

Who would you play though? Bruce Lee’s character?

Rain: Actually… I don’t know, because I cant tell you. Yeah, I haven’t signed [on] yet.

Is there any particular reason why you haven’t signed on?

Rain: Its not green light, its red light.

If it gets green-lit will you sign on?

Rain: Yeah.

Jarred Hess is the man behind the much-loved Napoleon Dynamite and the Jack Black wrestling comedy Nacho Libre. It’s been over three years since Libre and he’s finally back to bring another offbeat comedy to the big screen. His latest film Gentlemen Broncos deals with a young writer’s ambitions, crappy science fiction and an at-the-end-of-his-career sci-fi writer. To help promote his latest film I was given the more than fantastic opportunity of interviewing Mr. Hess to discuss Broncos and here’s the result. Gentlemen Broncos is now in theaters.

I always like how your films carry an underdog theme. What is it exactly that appeals to you about that?

Jarred Hess: You know, I guess… I moved around a lot growing up and I guess I just identify with the outsider guy — trying to fit in, pursuing his dream. I don’t know, it’s kind of fun to see those stories about forgotten people that are trying to make magic happen.

There’s also always that same comedic sensibility with uneasy characters in uneasy situations. How do you make sure you keep that same way of storytelling fresh? 

Jarred Hess: Yeah, well that’s a great question. We draw so much from what we do in real life with experiences. Most of the characters in our films are based off family members or people that we know. I think living in Utah near the Rocky Mountains keeps it fresh. We never know who we’re going to bump into that’s going to inspire our next film.

What’s your and Jerusha’s writing regiment?

Jarred Hess: Yeah, we… when we’re done with a film we’ll just start talking about ideas. Once we have an idea or a character we like we really talk through it for a long time whether we’re in the car or whatever. Then we jot things down on a notebook and once our notebook gets full we get a babysitter and go to the office.

Can you talk about walking that tightrope of showing nostalgia for crappy sci-fi and also making fun of it?

Jarred Hess: For me, all my favorite movies growing up were science fiction films. I tried to make them as a kid and wasn’t very good at it. I always wanted to be a special effects guy and work for ILM. It’s funny, not until I was older did I see or become aware of the more obscure or low budget sci-fi stuff. Which still has a lot of charm and character, because they were really trying to bring to life these fantastic worlds. But they didn’t have the dough so it was a lot of strings and paper UFO’s. To me, that stuff is still fun. I have a lot of love for all of those real high end Blade Runner [films] too and also…

Turkish Star Wars.

Jarred Hess: Turkish Star Wars! Man, you gotta love that film. Its got the best training sequence ever put on screen. It’s such a good sequence. It’s unbelievable.

How was it working with special effects for the first time?

Jarred Hess: Yeah, it was fun. I had read a lot about it as a kid and I felt like I knew what I was doing. I read about green screens and motion control! (laughs) It was fun. I kind of got to nerd out because we had models built and the battle stags were all animatronics. So it was fun, we got to blow crap up and do some composite work. It was pretty sweet. 

This was also your first time staging action too.

Jarred Hess: Yeah, yeah. It’s totally different…

Its new territory for you.

Jarred Hess: Yeah, it is new territory for me. I’m not used to shooting with multiple cameras. But when you blow something up you’ve gotta have a bunch of stuff rolling on it since it takes a lot of time to reset and do. So that was a lot of fun. We filmed all the science fiction stuff out on an island in Salt Lake. It was cool, it was fun, got to play with a bunch of toys and blow stuff up.

I know you generally storyboard everything, how much would you say of what’s on screen is exactly what you originally envisioned?

Jarred Hess: Yeah, pretty much. We really like to know exactly what I need to make a scene work. Its good. Once you’ve got something storyboarded and you know what shots you need then you can show up and you might realize you don’t need a few shots. But it kind of liberates you while shooting because you just don’t go, “gosh, how am I going to shoot this?” So you got it already figured out and you just go ahead and do it.

Were you intending to try to switch up your style? Here it’s a little different from your past films because there’s a lot more camera movement and a few really well-composed shots.

Jarred Hess: Yeah, it’s funny because when we filmed Napoleon everything was so locked off since we couldn’t afford a dolly. We didn’t have a dolly so our resources kind of dictated the aesthetic. So now that I’ve been able to do films that actually have a budget we can do fun things. Like afford a crane! So yeah, it’s fun being able to change it up and do things that help the storytelling.

Yeah there are a few shots that stood out to me, especially since you shoot your films in 70′s fashion with all you quick zooms.

Jarred Hess: Yeah, I’ve never met a zoom I didn’t like. A lot of my favorite kung fu and martial arts films have a lot of great zooms.

Where did you find all those covers for the opening credits?

Jarred Hess: We found them… We tracked down some of the authors and a lot of them had died so we talked to their wives and stuff. They were from existing science fiction books and my production designer just scanned them and changed the titles and everything.

I don’t know if this was intentional on your part, but Chevalier actually a very depressing character.

Jarred Hess: Yeah, he is depressing. He’s having this midlife creative crisis, he’s very desperate and he’s sad. Even though he’s kind of the bad guy you feel bad for him.

Not only that though he’s basically at the end of his career and he seems to be completely friendless.

Jarred Hess: Yeah, he’s also ego-tripping the whole time too. He’s a bit of a narcissist.

How did you come up with his look?

Jarred Hess: The look of Chevalier… I worked as a camera assistant during college and I remember one time I was working on a movie and I was the focus puller. One day the screenwriter visited the set and he looked just like Chevalier!

Like I said earlier, I think you’ve sort of grown in a visual sense. How do you think you’ve grown as a director?

Jarred Hess: Oh cool, yeah, I mean, you approach things by, “what’s the story?” and what type of style is necessary to convey the right tone. So with each different project that I do depending on what is required to help tell that story better you kind of conform your style and change it up as you go.

I’ve heard you don’t read reviews…

Jarred Hess: I don’t, I really don’t.

Is that because you think it’s harmful to the creative process?

Jarred Hess: No, I don’t spend a lot of time on the Internet really. I mean I check my email. Its not just with reviews; I just don’t spend a lot of time online. I don’t have a MySpace, a Facebook, or a Twitter. I feel like technology is taking over. I got two kids and I spend most of my time playing with Legos. Life’s too short. I think in a way, I’ve heard from a lot of different people… It’s not going to influence me creatively one way or another; it’s just life’s too short man. I think you can get consumed by that sort of stuff.

Can you talk about some of the music choices? With all the ambient music and the great use of 2525.

Jarred Hess: We had a great music supervisor named Randall Poster who put the soundtrack together. He did such a great job. We have a bunch of different and weird characters in the film that it kind of warranted a very eclectic soundtrack which all works very well.

Since your films always have uneasy characters in a string of uneasy events, how do you make sure that doesn’t feel contrived?

Jarred Hess: Yeah, I think you have to have affection for the characters that you’re portraying. If you don’t then I think it feels…

Mean-spirited.

Jarred Hess: Yeah, mean-spirited. I think we identify so closely to the main characters in our films that we want their lives to end happily. We only want them to get what they’ve been trying for.

What advantages came from being an executive producer?

Jarred Hess: Dude, it’s just kind of credit (laughs). It doesn’t mean anything! It just means that I found more locations… I don’t know, it doesn’t really mean anything. It’s just more power and glory. (laughs)

I think many executive producers will cry when they read this.

Jarred Hess: (laughs) For me, it didn’t really mean anything. It does mean a lot for other people though who have that credit. When a director gets that credit it’s just more glory and thunder!

Would you ever want to work on someone else’s script? Or just what you and Jerusha write?

Jarred Hess: Yeah, I hope that I can find something that I don’t have to write someday. That would be ideal to just roll right into production. That would be sweet, but it just hasn’t happened yet.

Last night at the Q and A you mentioned how you didn’t have final cut on Nacho Libre and you also said something about casting. Did you have problems on that film?

Jarred Hess: No, no, no. I mean there weren’t any problems. The great thing was that I had a lot of cool producers that protected my vision on that film, but I still didn’t have final cut. So you’d have to take studio notes and try something in this or that form. Yeah, there weren’t any problems. I didn’t have full control, but I did to a degree, which was really great. Ultimately I got to cast the people I wanted to, but it was a process in the beginning trying to convince people in the beginning that it’s okay to cast unknowns. We had Jack [Black], but we really wanted to populate the film with real people who’d be in Nacho’s life.

Is there another cut out there?

Jarred Hess: Of Nacho? Yeah, I mean there were early ones but I don’t know if they exist anymore even though someone may have it on DVD. I don’t know, I think a few things ended up on the DVD. We had a really weird emperor scene that got cut and there’re some other fun things.

How much would you say those early cuts differ though? Because that film still feels very much like you.

Jarred Hess: Yeah, yeah, yeah it does. I think just different scenes that were very funny to me and also very amusing and entertaining while other people would just kind of scratched their heads. That’s the stuff that usually gets cut, but I actually think it helps the pacing of the film and makes the storytelling a little leaner.

What will we see on the Blu-ray/DVD for Broncos?

Jarred Hess: We’ve got a lot of fun scenes, that I love, but people were just, like, “huh?”

Didn’t you have final cut?

Jarred Hess: Yeah, yeah, yeah I did. They were ones that I cut just for the pacing of the film and the film is better because of it. They’re still really entertaining scenes to me, but they just didn’t work in the body of the film. We have two very funny deleted scenes: one with Bronco and the other with Brutus. 

I heard you may be doing some TV work, is that true?

Jarred Hess: Yeah, possibly.

Can you talk about that or is it too early?

Jarred Hess: Yeah, probably too early. I might be doing some TV stuff, but I’m not sure.

I presume it’s going to be a comedy.

Jarred Hess: Yeah, comedy junk. (laughs)

Film wise; do you know what you’re working on next?

Jarred Hess: Film, yeah. Probably too early to talk about that as well. I got some other things cooking, but I want to do a western someday.

Like a straight western or a comedic version?

Jarred Hess: Yeah, granted it will probably be silly in some places. But I love a good western.

Yesterday I had the great opportunity of speaking to director John Hillcoat to discuss his latest film The Road. During this period John was nice enough to confirm casting on The Wettest County in The World and that The Death of Bunny Munro will most likely be made into a television series.

I know you’re circling a few projects right now, can you give a few updates?

John Hillcoat: Well, one touchwood that’s most likely to…

The Wettest County?

John Hillcoat: Yeah it’s west Virginia, moonshine, backwoods, and Prohibition. Nick Cave has written the script and we’ve got a phenomenal cast. Hopefully, but — it’s really tough out there.

Who’s attached to that?

John Hillcoat: Um… Ryan Gosling and Shia LaBeouf. But yeah, I shouldn’t really talk about it cause it’s in the middle of all sorts of stuff.

And what about The Death of Bunny Munro?

John Hillcoat: We’re going to turn that into television. We’re going to try and wake up the BBC and, or, actually Channel 4. We’re trying to say to British television,”look at HBO, I mean what the hell are you doing?”

And are you involved with the remake of La bonne année?

John Hillcoat: No… That’s very misleading, all that stuff.

Make sure to check back later this month for the full interview.

After all these years the Boondock Saints sequel is finally coming out. After years of rumors and all the die-hard fan’s heartaches, it’s now actually making it’s way to the big screen. In light of this, here’s what one of the film’s stars Norman Reedus had to say about the original, the sequel and what can be expected.

How was Comic Con?

Norman Reedus: Comic Con was nuts! I mean when we got on stage there was a lot of screaming people and the line for our panel was like a mile long.

Did you know before how die-hard some fans are? There are some insane ones.

Norman Reedus: Yeah, I have had experiences with people coming up to me with tattoos on their arms and some crazy stuff. I knew that we were in for quite a ride.

Yeah, those fans are in many ways similar to the Twilight crowd at Comic Con.

Norman Reedus: Yeah, both Boondock and Twilight were big ones this year. I didn’t see any of the Twilight stuff, but I did a film up here called Meskada and I met Tyler [Lautner] who’s one of the Twilight guys and he said to me, “Oh my god, Boondock Saints! I love that movie!” So I ended up giving him a sweatshirt. (laughs)

Did you actually ever think the sequel was going to happen?

Norman Reedus: I thought it would, but I just never knew when. I couldn’t see how it couldn’t happen since it has a big fan base.

When the first film was made was there actually ever talk of doing a sequel?

Norman Reedus: Yeah, of course. We all talked about it and we even talked about doing a third one while shooting this one. There was always talk.

Was it odd jumping back into character after all these years?

Norman Reedus: Yeah, it was really weird. I mean it’s like riding a bike, we were really excited to be there doing it. Especially for Troy since it’s his vision and his script — this is great for him.

What do you think fans will be most pleased with in the sequel?

Norman Reedus: I think in the first one there were some loose ends that were kind of left out. A lot of those things are now tied in. I keep getting asked a lot of questions about this stuff and I have to keep my mouth shut. (laughs) There’s a lot of surprises — there’s going to be dozens of surprises.

It’s certainly tough to live up to some expectations and top a first film. Do you think the sequel will do that and be better than the first?

Norman Reedus: Better, it’s got all the same elements plus a hundred more. It’s stronger, heavier, the music is better and everything is bigger and better about it. It’s going to be better. I know that’s hard to say since I’m not a fan of sequels, but this one is actually better. There are new elements in this one. It’s still a Duffy movie, has the same sense of humor and the same vigilante attitude. It’s bigger and badder.

You have already been in a good sequel too — Blade II was pretty good.

Norman Reedus: Yeah! I thought Blade II was better than Blade… It’s funny, because I did Deuces Wild after Blade II and Stephen Dorff was kind of like my enemy in that movie. We would always be making jokes about which Blade is better. When Blade II came out it blew it out of the water. It made more money and was much cooler. Guilermo [Del Toro] is such a cool director.

Yeah, you also worked with him on Mimic.

Norman Reedus: I did. Mimic was my first film and he got me my first part. When he was going to do Blade II he said he wanted to have a meeting and he told me, “I know you like to do these weird little indie movies that nobody sees.” I was like, “what the f*** are you talking about Guilermo?” (laughs) Then he asked me if I would do it and he told me I’m Skud, showed me some sculptures, then I became Skud. I would do anything for Guilermo.

What do you think makes Boondock Saints different than most action movies?

Norman Reedus: Well, I think that the fan base — I think when people tell other people about a movie, especially since it didn’t really go to theaters, they feel as if they’re discovering something. It was like an underground hit and I’ve actually seen people pass it to friends. It’s the fans that allowed us to do part two and it’s the fans that made the first one big. They feel like they’re a part of it and they are.

As a director from a storytelling standpoint and visual sense, how has Troy changed?

Norman Reedus: He’s really been fined tuned since the first one; he’s really become a better director. He was a good director to begin with; he’s levelheaded and sees things from every angle. He’s matured, he’s ten years older and he’s been in this business. I think Troy has learned a lot of lessons and has tackled this one head-on.

You’ve worked with some pretty accomplished directors with Ridley Scott and Del Toro, would you say working with talents like that you learn something as an actor?

Norman Reeuds: Yeah, the thing with working with Del Toro is that he’s like a big kid. He’s behind the monitor always moving around shouting “pow, pow,” during the action scenes. He’s a lot of fun and the enthusiasm that he brings is great. Ridley Scott is a pro; you definitely learn something from him. You even learn from some of the bad ones.

Do you there’s any chance of a Boondock Saints fan being disappointed?

Norman Reedus: No, not at all. I think they’re going to be blown away by it and at the end of the movie they’re going to flip out.