Q. What was your reaction when you were
offered to be in Couples Retreat?
Accepting a role in this film was an absolute
no-brainer for me. Never has there been an easier decision in my
life! Think about it -we were in one of the most beautiful places
in the world, and we even got to make a funny movie. I am so
grateful to the studio and to Vince Vaughn, Peter Billingsley and
Jon Favreau for asking me to be in this movie. It was a
dream.
Q. And Bora-Bora seemed to provide the
perfect location to shoot it!
Bora-Bora is every bit as beautiful as it appears
to be on screen. They didn’t have to add or tweak
anything.
Q. How would you describe the couple that
you and Kristen Bell form?
Jason and Cynthia are two people thoroughly
convinced that the best way they can get through life is with deep
analysis, pragmatic responsible decisions, and by staying within
the lines marked by rules. Ultimately I think it has all
contributed to a very stagnant relationship that has lost a lot of
its spontaneity, so they need to loosen up before they decide to do
anything about it. And what better place to loosen up than on a
tropical island, surrounded by your best friends.
Q. What is Kristen
like?
Kristen Bell is a great friend of mine and we had
an incredibly good time working together on this film, and almost
more fun off set than on it! Q. What kind of fun did you have off
set? As it was an ensemble cast and we were all on this island, we
could actually see the crew working from the restaurant while
Kristen and I were maybe eating or playing Scrabble during our down
time or our day off. It was like being in camp, with different
people doing different activities –some of which are work and
some of which are fun.
Q. And what was the energy like during
the shoot?
At times it almost felt as if we were making a
movie out of a vacation. I think we all worked together really
well, and Vince established a sort of “there are no bad
ideas” tone on set –which made us all contribute. But
every single day, on a movie like this and with such talented
people, you have to be 100% ready because anything can take off if
the opportunity comes up. Q. Vince is known for being a master at
improvising. Vince is a master at keeping the dialogue very loose
and appropriate to whatever the mood of the film is, and as a
result of that he changes the words to whatever the rhythm of that
specific take is. So, you have to be ready, flexible, and really
know what your character is supposed to be doing in the scene.
It’s a very healthy exercise after which I think you become a
better actor.
Q. It must have been difficult to keep a
straight face at times?
Yes, especially when the camera is on Vince,
because after doing his scene a couple of times the way it is
written he will go off and do four or five takes with made-up
words. And each one of them is different and just as funny or even
more than the last. It is really remarkable to watch this guy do
what he does! I would crack up with each one of his takes; but he
is smart enough to make you laugh when he knows the camera
isn’t pointing at you, so you don’t ruin it. You just
have to kind of turn your face to avoid him seeing you laughing, as
you don’t want to distract him.
Q. There must have been a lot of footage
to pick from in the end...
Yes, and I don’t know how the editor
managed to do it, especially when you have so many funny moments to
choose from. I am sure that Vince and Peter were in constant
communication about what would make it in and what would
not.
Q. Did you swim with
sharks?
Luckily the sharks that are in the scene where
they surround Vince and I are fake, but during our free time we did
swim with real sharks, as it’s one of the things you can do
in Bora-Bora. The first time you see one coming at you is really
frightening, but as there is nowhere you can go you just hope they
show no interest in you and swim away, and they do. It’s
actually scarier when your head is above the water and you
can’t see them, because you imagine where they could be,
which is worse. I prefer to have the mask on and watch them in
their own environment. It’s a cool experience; but believe
me, there is a transition period from fear to enjoyment.
Q. Jean Reno plays the director who
orchestrates this peculiar retreat, and he is in the scene where
you and Vince are circled by sharks. Did he surprise you with his
talent for comedy?
I don’t think it would be fair to say that
he surprised me, because he is so talented, though I was very taken
by how classy and nice he is. But that is many times the case with
veterans, as you find that people that have been doing this for a
long time are usually the nicest.
Q. Couples Retreat marks Peter
Billingsley’s debut as a director, though he has been in the
business for years.
This was quite a big project for him to take on
–being shot on an island with 8 main characters. So, Peter
had a lot of stuff to figure out, but knowing Vince and Jon as well
as he did helped him understand that they were capable of changing
things last minute. He was very well prepared, stayed light on his
feet, and at the end of the day did an incredible job.
Q. Would you like to be directed again by
Peter in the future?
Of course! We actually started working together
when we were very young (he was eight and I was ten) as actors on
The Little House on the Prairie. Peter is such a sweet and decent
man, and he is incredibly good at his job. I honestly don’t
know what else you could ask from a director.
Q. What did you think of Couples Retreat
when you saw it completed?
I just couldn’t stop laughing! It was
everything I thought it could be. Q. But many say comedy is a tough
genre, if not the toughest of them all. And it’s probably
true, because not only do you have to be believable –like in
drama- but also funny.
Q. And this is a comedy that works on
different levels, for both male and female
audiences.
Jon and Vince were always very clear about
wanting to make a film for everyone: men and women; young and old.
It is a very relatable topic with a bunch of relatable characters.
Q. And the fact that there are four different couples helps extend
its universality. You have four couples, so you’d like to
think there is enough in there for everybody. Q. How important is
humor in our lives? I think we all go through challenging periods
in our lives, but we have to enjoy the day!
Q. What does a comedy like Couples
Retreat have to offer then?
It doesn’t give you a History lesson, but
if you are looking for a couple of hours of fun it is well worth
the money. Q. Has this film put into your mind or taken away the
idea of maybe going on a retreat with your couple one day? It has
actually destroyed it for me, because I don’t think I could
ever afford to go to a place this nice again and spend so much time
there!
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