Video:Ray Liotta and Jody Hill Interviews - Observe and Report

Transcript:Ray Liotta and Jody Hill Interviews - Observe and Report

Rebecca Murray from About.com Hollywood Movies at the LA Premiere of Observe and Report.

Ray Liotta – 'Detective Harrison' in Observe and Report

You're playing opposite Seth Rogen. How easy is it to fall into a rhythm with him?

Ray Liotta: "It's great. You know, I challenged him – he challenged me. When I'm in the scenes he tries to be in control but I don't care. The whole thing was, everybody in this movie was great to work with. Jody Hill, the director, was really loose and very encouraging in terms of taking chances and throwing out the script and just doing whatever we wanted to do."

Is it easy to work with someone who is a writer/director? He lets you be free with all of this?

Ray Liotta: "Yeah. He was really open about it. It was great, and he's got a really great attitude. He's very excited about making movies. It's fun. It's exhilarating to be around someone who likes to play pretend."

Now you've done the bad guy and the good guy, the cop and the villain. Which is better for you, which is easier for you, and which do you like more?

Ray Liotta: "I really like both. You know, I've never really been in a fight so it's always fun to play someone who's aggressive since I'm not. But anything you do, it's all pretend. It's not you so it's all fun."

And you also reunited with Tim Allen for a new movie [Crazy on the Outside]. How was that?

Ray Liotta: "It was great."

He was your director?

Ray Liotta: "He was a really good director. Yeah, he really knew his stuff. He was really open and free. The same thing, trying… I haven't seen the movie yet but I've been hearing really good things. But, yeah, Tim was great."

Writer/Director Jody Hill

Tell me about the inspiration for this. Did you run into some mall cops that left an impression on you?

Jody Hill: "My dad used to own coffee stores in malls and he was always parking his car in the loading zone to make deliveries and the rent-a-cops were always giving him warning tickets. He used to always yell at them and scream at them."

And that left an impression and it became this movie?

Jody Hill: "Yeah. One time he almost broke his hand banging on the steering wheel." Your characters all have that same thing where they want something more, they think they're better than they actually are. Where does that come from?

Jody Hill: "I don't know. I think everybody thinks that they are the star of their own movie. It's not interesting to see the guy that everybody really hopes wins. It's better to have the guy that maybe makes you angry."

Like the guy from your TV series Eastbound and Down.

Jody Hill: "Yeah. There's kind of enough of that stuff."

He really gets me mad.

Jody Hill: "Great!"

Did you write this with Seth Rogen in mind?

Jody Hill: "I did. I met Seth on the set of Knocked Up. He had seen Foot Fist Way and I was a big fan of his for a long time, and so we made friends and he wanted to do it."

Was it easy to control him on the set because we know he likes to improv, we know he likes to go off? How did you rein him in?

Jody Hill: "Oh, I didn't rein him in. I would just try to wind him up and like kind of set him free."

So you're not at all precious with your words?

Jody Hill: "No. I write the script with the idea that it's a blueprint. You have to see it happening in front of you in order to get something interesting. That's how I work at least."

I know it's a comedy but I keep hearing it's a dark comedy. So how do you take it dark, especially with Seth Rogen who everybody loves and wants to hug?

Jody Hill: "I don't know. It wasn't my intention to take it dark. I just wanted to make a character piece so I think it works better if you look at it kind of as a drama than if you do as a comedy. Maybe then the jokes are funnier because it doesn't fall under those same preconceived notions that comedies do."

What are you going to write next?

Jody Hill: "I don't know. We'll see. Maybe another season of Eastbound."

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