With the box-office success of films like "Spider-Man" (2002), "Batman Begins" (2005), "The Dark Knight" (2008) and "Iron Man" (2008), the latest film based on a graphic novel, "The Losers" (2010), is sticking it to the man and proving you don't have to be a superhero to save the day. The Tufts Daily got the chance to catch up with actors Chris Evans and Columbus Short to talk about bringing back good old-fashioned "mama" jokes on set and what makes "The Losers" stand out from the crowd in this comic-book film trend.
Question: You've been in a lot of movies based on comic books and graphic novels. Why do you keep on taking these?
Chris Evans: It just seems to be what Hollywood is making right now. Comic books translate to film incredibly well. There's obviously the built-in audience that I'm sure the studios are fans of. It's nice having this kind of foundation to reference, so I think it's an easy transition from page to screen.
Q: What was the most difficult part of doing this movie?
CE: I'd say the heat. I'm Irish from Boston, and I'm not built for warm weather.
Q: How did you decide on doing this particular project?
Columbus Short: The script was refreshing. We haven't had the fun action movie since like, "Lethal Weapon" [1987] and "Bad Boys" [1995]. So I just thought it had that tone, but was new and fresh. And then I went and read the graphic novel and thought it was really cool. I thought maybe I could bring something to it.
Q: I read that the cast went through a lot of rigorous military training. What was that like?
CE: It was pretty intense. We had a guy named [Haley Humphrey] who is the real deal. This guy had bullets in his leg, and he's trained before. The best part of movies like that is that you get an education in a world that you would otherwise never touch. It was a lot of fun. It was like summer camp for the military.
Q: How does director Sylvain White make it to where this film is going to stand out from anything that's ever been seen before?
CS: This movie is going to stand out [because of] the source material. Sylvain did an excellent job of translating what was on the page of the graphic novel to screen, and I think it's some of the closest translation I've seen from graphic novel to film, and that alone is going to set it apart. You know, when you're stuck with material that is a little more mainstream, you're going in with people having depiction of the characters already, so it's really hard. With this, they've never seen these characters really speak and talk, only in their head, so it's going to be refreshing for people, I think. And people who don't know "The Losers," they're just going to be like, wow, this is just freaking cool.
Q: Were there any interesting anecdotes you might have about the filming of the movie?
CS: It was good to go back and do some old-fashioned "mama" jokes. We had a lot of mama jokes on set started by the director, and it kind of keyed in on us finding our chemistry and our camaraderie. Now it sounds silly, but it did. So yes, bringing on the good old-fashioned mama jokes would bring a cast together any day.
Q: Columbus, your character Pooch is the driver of the group. Did you get to do any stunt driving in the film?
CS: Whoa, whoa, whoa. [I'm] not the Morgan Freeman of the group. My stunt driver is amazing, and he was doing some crazy stuff. But Pooch is [transporting] heavy weapons. I got to do some stuff.
Q: A lot of action movies might rely on a couple of big stars, but what was it like to work with everybody in such a big ensemble cast?
CE: It was fantastic. Even if the script is great, even if the direction is great, if you don't care about the characters and the relationships they have with one another, then I think we miss the ball. But everyone got along incredibly well. Certainly in this movie, since there were no gigantic movie stars, there were absolutely no egos. It doesn't necessarily means there will be egos if there is a movie star, but luckily for us, no one was, you know, all over US Weekly every week. So there is this kind of humble nature in everyone, and everyone really clicked.
Q: On what level do you guys relate to your characters?
CS: I relate to my character in many ways. I think the care for brotherhood and [Pooch's] loyalty to his compadres in a tight situation. And also, the love of a man's family, how far he will go and what he would do to ensure their safety and to be with them.
CE: I think with Jensen, he likes to crack a lot of jokes. I certainly like to crack jokes and laugh with my friends. He's got a positive outlook and tries to stay enthusiastic about everything, and I certainly try to do that in my life. And I think he's endearing in a sense that he's pretty self-deprecating.
Q: Are there any scenes you filmed that got left on the cutting-room floor that you guys wish had made it into the film?
CS: There was a scene at the end of the movie that did not make it where Chris and I have some more crazy mama jokes...
CE: Yes, the director's right.
CS: You can't get them all.
