Video:Couples Retreat - Jon Favreau, Carlos Ponce, and Kali Hawk

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Transcript:Couples Retreat - Jon Favreau, Carlos Ponce, and Kali Hawk

Rebecca Murray from About.com Hollywood Movies at the American Premiere of Universal Pictures' Couples Retreat.

Jon Favreau – Co-Writer and 'Joey' in Couples Retreat

How has the process of working with Vince [Vaughn] changed over the years?

Jon Favreau: "You know Vince is a real producer now and a real filmmaker. It's fun to be an actor in his films. And then to be hired by him to write on this film and then collaborate with him was a big treat."

And why was the story of these couples getting together to go to this island so appealing to you?

Jon Favreau: "It was an idea that Vince came up with. He thought it was a cool idea for a studio comedy. He approached me about doing a take on it because I had been married and I had a perspective on it."

What's your best sob story about working in Bora Bora?

Jon Favreau: "It's a long flight. It's the most remote place, pretty much. I think it's the furthest place from any land mass, from any continent, in the world. So it's quite a… You have to take a plane and then another small plane, a propeller plane, and then you take a boat. But once you get there, it's fantastic. There's not really a lot to cry about there. It's all good news once you get there."

Carlos Ponce – 'Salvadore' in Couples Retreat

How quickly did you sign on once they said where they were filming?

Carlos Ponce: "Oh I was onboard 100%. I fought for this. I go, 'Give it to me. I want it – I want it. Give it to me now.'"

So the costume, that didn't matter at all?

Carlos Ponce: "I didn't know."

Oh, really?

Carlos Ponce: "Yes, really. I did not know. They told me, 'Wear a tank top and yoga pants to the audition.' So I said, 'Okay, that's going to be pretty much the bulk of it,' no pun intended. And, yeah, I ended up wearing nothing. A tiny little thing and sometimes nothing."

Is that pretty easy to do?

Carlos Ponce: "No, not at all. Believe it or not, I'm extremely conservative, shy – a lot shyer than you can imagine so it was weird."

What was it like working with all these guys?

Carlos Ponce: "It was awesome. They are great people. They're funny. They allow you to be funny. They encourage it. They want you to be funny. It's such a breeze to work with people like that."

And it didn't matter, the embarrassing scenes or anything like that? It was still fun?

Carlos Ponce: "I saw the movie once, I'm dying to see it again so I can enjoy the movie without having my head down and being red, you know, at shame. But it's another guy – it's a character."

Is it something you can show your family?

Carlos Ponce: "Well, my kids have seen the previews and I've had to do a lot of explaining because we're a very conservative family."

What are you working on next?

Carlos Ponce: "A couple of animated flicks, voices, and I'm doing a little project in Spanish so I'm psyched about that."

Kali Hawk – 'Trudy' in Couples Retreat

Kali Hawk: "Oh man, I can't wait to get inside and see the movie with everyone and feel that excitement. It's a lot of excitement out here."

Are you getting used to this now?

Kali Hawk: "I don't know if you ever get used to people shouting your name and knowing your name. That's kind of weird. Usually it's like, 'Hey girl! Hey tall girl! Hey freckle-face!' So the fact that they're shouting my actual name is kind of weird, but I like it."

You can adjust to that, right?

Kali Hawk: "Oh, yeah. I can get used to it, but I'll never take it for granted."

Bora Bora has to be like the worst place on Earth to film, right?

Kali Hawk: "I've got to tell you, if I can just be real with you, Bora Bora was just..it was such paradise. I don't know. I mean, after that movie, after we were done shooting Couples Retreat in Bora Bora I decided I wanted to give up acting because I didn't want to work in a beautiful location anymore and it really just made me sick. And it was actually Jason Bateman who said to me, 'You know, give it another try because maybe your next movie will be in Los Angeles, and that's a real location to be in.' So, yeah, that's it."

And the improv in this, how easy was that for you?

Kali Hawk: "It was pretty fun. You just watch and respond. The rule of improv is to listen and respond, so a lot of listening, a lot of responding. These guys are all seasoned players. They say that your game gets better when you play with the best, so I definitely had the best to play with this time."

More on Couples Retreat:

Couples Retreat Photos

Couples Retreat Poster, Interviews, Credits, and Trailer

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