The two actors talk about the fairy tale film, and being directed by Terry Gilliam
Matt Damon has done the action star with Bourne Identity and Supremecy. And so he decided to take it easy for The Brothers Grimm - a sweet fairy tale movie. Yeah right - think again. The Brothers Grimm is filled with action, and sprinkled in there are some really funny laughs.
Matt plays Will Grimm and his brother, Jacob, is played by Heath Ledger.
The two sat down with Movieweb for the film; you could really tell the two got along on set; throughout the interview, they were cracking jokes at each other and laughing together.
Here's what they had to say:
So what do you two have in common, like brothers do?
Matt Damon: Nothing, we hate each other! (laughing) No, we have a lot in common. We have a similar outlook on work and our careers and how we approach it. He's got a great sense of humor, we had a lot of fun on set during breaks.
What was the attraction to do this film; was it Terry Gilliam?
Heath Ledger: No, it was definitely him. He's just got an enthusiasm and passion for creativeness, it's just infectious and it bleeds through.
Did you grow up with the Grimm fairy tales?
Matt Damon: I had a copy when I was a kid and we were read them and maybe my mother didn't read all of them, but they were pretty dark. Depending on your translation in some of them, Rapunzel jokes that as the guy climbed up her hair, she started to develop a bump on her stomach and that's because he's climbing up her hair for so long, she's having sex and she gets pregnant. They're kind of dynamic.
Heath, what drives you to work so hard?
Heath Ledger: The reason I chose to do four films in the last 18 months was because it was hard to find good material. I just wanted to show what I could do, the colors of myself. So I really chose four different stories and characters.
After this movie got held up, were you worried it wouldn't get released?
Matt Damon: No, because at the end of the day, it's an $80 million movie and I knew they weren't just going to let it sit and bring it out. Miramax had all these movies they're releasing before they end their ties with Disney. But I knew the movie was fine and it was going to come out.
What are the differences between Terry Gilliam and Ang Lee?
Matt Damon: Probably the two most polar opposites in movies today! (lots of laughing)
Heath Ledger: Terry knows everything about me and Ang knows nothing about me. The only conversation you have with Ang are small little insights about your character. They were also two completely different movies. In Brokeback Mountain, my character is supposed to be kind of lonely and I think I carried that through the entire experience; they're both wonderful directors. But sometimes Ang would say ‘Drag cigarette, look at mountain, turn head, look at feet.' (in his best Ang Lee voice) I tried to do that and look natural. Terry does that too, but it's in a different direction.
Were there any scenes you were shooting that you were really excited to see on screen?
Heath Ledger: Yeah, for me, a really cool kind of moment that Terry and I had to do inside the tower. There was no mirror; they built the same set on the opposite side of the room and the cobwebs. So after shooting a scene on one side, we then had to turn and shoot the exact same scene but opposite, like when I'm running into the mirror I had to do that and then run to the other side and do the mirror image. So we set up a tv on the other side so I could see.
The Brothers Grimm is of course directed by Terry Gilliam so you will be able to see some Gilliam-isms in this film. It's rated 'PG-13;' and will live happily ever after when it opens in theaters August 26th.
Top Stories
24 Comments
