My Movie Mundo meets JACK BLACK, BILLY CONNOLLY, JAMES CORDEN, and EMILY BLUNT, the stars of GULLIVER’S TRAVELS, a modern 3D take on the Jonathan Swift classic.
Black is Lemuel Gulliver, a mailroom clerk at a New York newspaper who bluffs his way into writing a travel feature about the Bermuda Triangle. However, on his way to Bermuda, Gulliver’s transported to Lilliput where he finds he’s giant-sized compared to the people who live there, including Emily Blunt (princess), Billy Connolly (king), and James Corden (Jinks).
MMM: What was the appeal of adapting Jonathan Swift‘s Gulliver’s Travels for the big screen?
Corden: It might be an awful thing to say, but the appeal for me had very little to do with Jonathan Swift’s book, because I’ve never read it, so…
Black: What? No! So much for the opening weekend!
Corden: For me, I met Rob [Letterman, director] and, you know, here’s the opportunity to be in a film with Jack Black, Billy Connolly, Emily Blunt, Jason Segel and Chris O’Dowd [IT Crowd]. It’s such an amazing cast that it was a no-brainer to want to be involved in any capacity, to be honest. So that was the reason for me – it was a great script with a great director and a great cast.
Jack Black plays Lemuel Gulliver, a lowly mailroom clerk at a New York newspaper
MMM: Billy, you of course have read the book…
Corden: He had it with him on set at all times and would reference the book.
Connolly: I’m seldom far from the book. And Catherine Tate gave me a copy when the movie was finished, as a present.
Corden: That’s a bit of a snub to everyone else who didn’t get a gift!
Connolly: She told me not to tell you.
Corden: Yeah, I bet she did!
Connolly: Which was good, because she was the reason I did the movie, Catherine Tate. The rest of the actors I couldn’t give a shit about.
Blunt: I did the movie for every reason other than Billy Connolly. No, I did it because I heard that Jack was involved and I really liked the script and it was very witty and charming and I think that’s quite hard to find with comedies – it often veers into being quite crass.
And I’d never been in a family movie and I just loved the dialogue and that heightened way all the Lilliputians spoke, I thought it was really funny. I was charmed.
Black: I was drawn to the project because I loved the fantasy adventure elements – it’s my favourite genre. And the comedy, there was lots of rich potential. And I just liked the challenge of updating a classic.
There’s a lot of pressure there, but there’s also a lot of fun opportunities to be part of the great history of a 300-year-old, enduring piece of literature. Me and Jonathan Swift will go down in history together.
Jason Segel as a commoner who tries to woo a princess played by Emily Blunt in Lilliput
MMM: Jack, do you embarrass your kids more than most dads because all your antics are up there on the big screen?
Black: Not yet. They’re only 2 and 4 years old. They’re not embarrassable yet. Soon, perhaps. They’re pretty funny themselves though. We’ll see who embarrasses who first.
MMM: Billy, to misquote Mel Brooks, is it good to be the king? And secondly, as a devout football fan, what do you think of England’s failure to get the World Cup?
Connolly: It’s terrific to be the king. It’s a joy. So little is asked of you. You get the sparkliest uniform and sword and you just swan around, it’s fabulous. I tried to be a sort of Prince Charlesy king. I think if he was the king, he would be a jolly, casual kind of king. I rather like him.
As for the football, I think it’s a shame that England never got the World Cup. I’d forgotten it’d been so long until adults – like Cameron, the Prime Minister – were saying it didn’t happen in their lifetime. And when Qatar’s getting it? I mean, good on them, but come on! Give me a break. I would have been really happy for England to get it.
MMM: Billy, all those years ago when you were making films like Absolution, did you ever think you’d have the film career you’ve had?
Connolly: Yes. As a matter of fact, I thought I would have more than I’ve had! Yeah, it’s the kind of thing I’ve always wanted to do, but I’m kind of a wee bit limited. So I’m not surprised it’s gone the way it has. I try not to tell people I was turned down as a penguin [in Happy Feet] – I wouldn’t go to Australia to talk about it, so I didn’t get it – and stuff like that but them’s the breaks. But I’ve had a wonderful film career, when you consider where I come from and what I do. I’m delighted; I have absolutely no complaints whatsoever.
MMM: Emily and Jack, how did Chris O’Dowd measure up as a villain because he’s certainly not known for those kinds of roles over here.
Blunt: That guy’s a genius. He is so funny it’s weird. I found it impossible to get through a scene with him because he’s bad, he pushes you really hard – it’s sort of like a game for him, just to see if he can make you laugh and I’m really easy prey. So it was pretty difficult to do a scene with him. He’s kind of known for being more of a slacker, isn’t he?
Black: Well, he’s known for being kind of a loveable slacker – you don’t think of him as a villainous guy, but he’s a tremendous actor and he was able to tap into some evil. But it’s always really funny evil and while he’s being horribly male chauvinistic and just downright dastardly, you’re laughing the whole time. I think he’s going to get an Oscar some day and he’d better give me a shout-out, because I feel like I was there for the discovery…of the man. He won’t give me a shout-out – I’m going to pull a Kanye though, if he doesn’t. I’ll jump up there and grab it.
Jack Black doesn't quite get the welcome he was hoping for when he's shipwrecked in Lilliput
MMM: Jack, you always manage to squeeze a lot of music references into your films. You’re obviously part of Tenacious D – is music your first love?
Black: No, it was acting first and then music shortly after, a close second. I don’t know, I loved them both. It’s all the same to me – acting, music, I’m going to throw painting in there as well. Yeah, that’s right. All of the arts. A lot of people don’t know about my painting career that’s coming, soon, to a gallery near you. But yeah, music and comedy have kind of always gone hand-in-hand. I did a lot of musical theatre in my high school.
MMM: With the effects scenes, were you acting with the rest of the cast as much as you would have liked, or were a lot of the scenes were shot independently on different cameras?
Black: Well, because of our new technology developed for this film – the DualMoCo [a groundbreaking camera; the MoCo is for Motion Control] – we were able to act simultaneously and interact. We couldn’t look at each other, of course, because they’re looking up at the sky and I’m looking down at a speck on the ground, but we could hear each other live, in real time and have real interactions and you can tell, you can feel it in the improvisational moments of reality.
MMM: Jack, you’ve made some brilliant kids’ films, like School of Rock. Which films inspired you when you were a child?
Black: Well, obviously The Wizard of Oz, that was my first favourite. And Willy Wonka And The Chocolate Factory, yeah. That’s probably my favourite performance in a kids’ film – what’s that guy’s name? Gene Wilder. He had an insane intensity along with his comedy that was magnetic.
Will Black win the heart of travel editor Darcy Silverman, played by Amanda Peet?
MMM: Did you ever imagine you’d be displayed in three dimensions on screen?
Connolly: It never crossed my mind. Having said that, I think the 3D in this film is fantastic. I didn’t know quite what to expect. I’m a wee bit bored with 3D, with people riding on geese, shooting towards you. Blue people shooting into valleys, I’ve really had it, enough already. But in this film, nothing flies towards you, there’s none of those 3D tricks, nobody throws anything that’s [makes dodging gesture] ‘Wooaah’, none of that. The whole thing just glows and I love it. I think artistically, it’s outstanding.
Blunt: Do you wear your glasses and the 3D glasses? Because that’s what I have to do and I find it an uncomfortable experience.
Connolly: It wasn’t for me.
Corden: We don’t want to put people off seeing the film if they have glasses. It’s still very much an experience. I would say, go and see it anyway and then complain about it. Don’t say, ‘I’m not going to go because Emily Blunt’s uncomfortable’. [Laughter]
MMM: Jack, is this the first time you’ve appeared in a girl’s nightdress?
Black: This is the first time I’ve appeared in a girl’s nightdress and a diaper too… infantilisation and cross-dressing, all in one.
***GULLIVER’S TRAVELS is in cinemas from 26 December
By Jan Gilbert
