Interview with Paul Feig and Joey McIntyre, the Director and co-star of The Heat
The new Sandra Bullock and Melissa McCarthy comedy The Heat arrives in theaters this Friday. The film is a feminine take on the buddy cop genre, which isn’t all that odd considering the film’s director is Paul Feig, the man who made the female-driven comedy Bridesmaids in 2011. Feig was recently in town promoting The Heat, along with actor Joey McIntyre, who is perhaps best known as a member of New Kids on the Block. McIntyre has a brief but memorable role in the film as a member of Melissa McCarthy’s character’s family.
Director Paul Feig on the set of “The Heat.” Photo: Gemma LaMana – TM and © 2013 Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation. All Rights Reserved.
Michigan-native Paul Feig sports an impressive pedigree, having created the cult-classic Freaks & Geeks. He has also directed episodes of such diverse shows as: Arrested Development, 30 Rock, Mad Men, Nurse Jackie, and The Office. The Heat is a follow-up to the hit Bridesmaids which gained Feig A-List clout and afforded him the opportunity to work once again with star Melissa McCarthy.
Feig and McIntyre sat down with a group of Detroit-area film writers to discuss The Heat among other topics. Those in attendance included: Cornelius Gross (The Real Hustler), Kurt Anthony Krug (Ambassador), Chris Azzopardi (Between the Lines), Scott Hunter (WXOU), Tom Santilli (Examiner.com), and yours truly (Mike Tyrkus from CinemaNerdz.com). What follows is a transcript of that discussion.
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After the success of Bridesmaids, do you feel any added pressure with The Heat in terms of how people receive it?
PAUL FEIG: Yeah, you know, you always do. When you have a movie that does really well you’re always afraid to follow it up with something that doesn’t do as well. At the same time, I’m really confident with this one. First of all, the amazing cast that we have and the amazing writing – it all just came together. Also, when I’m putting a movie together, very early in the process of editing, I’ll start doing test screenings for off-the-street audiences. We do about ten test screenings over the course of months while we’re editing, so I know by the time we’re done if it works in general, so that’s nice. I know people will have a good time when they go, but who knows? You just hope they show up to the theater. I think with Sandra and Melissa that people do love them and rightfully so. So we’ll see. Please come out.
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Were you worried to make another female buddy comedy?
FEIG: No, if I can make movies only with funny women the rest of my life, I’ll be very, very happy – as long as Joey is in there at some point. I love working with strong, funny women. I think they haven’t gotten their due in comedy for a long time, so I would like to right the record over and over again. I really want to get to the point where it’s not about men or women in a movie; it’s just about funny people and just break down the gender barrier.
Sandra Bullock and Melissa McCarthy in “The Heat.”
This is your second movie with Melissa. So, you have a little chemistry together, what is it like working with her?
FEIG: Oh, she’s the greatest. She is really one of my comedy heroes. We’re neighbors, so we have just really become close friends since Bridesmaids. So, I’m always looking for opportunities to work with her. Her energy is just infectious on the set. She’s such a home run all the time. I’m always amazed while we’re shooting, like “Wow! Where did that line come from?” Or, “Okay, that joke … I didn’t expect that and that’s hilarious.” She makes my job easy, is basically what it is. I just sit there and try not to laugh or ruin the take.
Joey, you have done some acting over the years, how did you get involved with The Heat?
JOEY McINTYRE: I play one of the crazy, Mullins Family characters. Two of those characters, Jamie Denbo and Jessica Chaffin (the two actresses who play girlfriends of the Mullins brothers) – [both] great Boston actors – were friends of Paul already, and we did a spoof of Mad Men called MA Men (for “Massachusetts Men”). It’s sort of a filthy parody; it was on Funny or Die. You never know in this business. You can do a bunch of guest spots on TV shows, letting people know you’re acting, and then just one little thing comes along that leads to something else. I got more heat – no pun intended – off of that [one thing] than anything else. [Jamie and Jessica] probably put in a good word for me – Boston actors sticking together.
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FEIG: Well, I can tell you. I saw that video and I was like, who? Is that Joey McIntyre? He’s hilarious! Literally, at that point, it was done. It was a done deal. He was in the movie.
McINTYRE: And that’s how it happened. When I read the script, and I found out when I got the call from the casting director, I said they probably saw that parody. It was just a blast to be involved. We just had so much fun – being in my hometown [Boston], with all of these funny, funny people. It starts at the top. Paul is such a pro, such a nice guy. Then you have Sandra and Melissa who are just so cool and get along so well, it sets the tone every day. Funny, funny stuff.
Sandra Bullock in “The Heat.”
FEIG: There were no divas on the set. Everyone there was in it to win it. Nobody had any hang-ups whatsoever. The fact that they could all say that Sandra Bullock looked like a man to her face, and she thought it was hilarious, was very funny; because, clearly, she does not look like a man.
Joey, being that you’re from the group, New Kids on the Block, how was the transition from singing to acting?
McINTYRE: In some ways, it can really be the same thing. It’s just bringing yourself to whatever you’re doing – being honest. I think honesty is important. You can kid them for a little while, but after awhile it’s not going to work. It’s better to be honest. You pull that from singing and making a connection. But it is a different craft. I think you either have it or you don’t and I’m trying to put myself in position …
FEIG: He’s got it. He’s got it.
McINTYRE: Singing is natural. Acting, I’ve always done it and I’ve gone back and forth. Acting is kind of a journey in its own. I’m looking forward to having more time to take those opportunities.
FEIG: One of my favorite moments [during production] was, we had a party on a boat and we were all out there having fun with the cast, then we came back to the hotel we were staying at. I remember we were in the lounge and there was a little jazz combo playing. All of a sudden, Joey gets up and starts singing with them doing these Frank Sinatra songs. We were all swooning. It was the most magical thing I’ve ever seen.
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Is it true that the writer of the film, Katie Dippold, thought she was being pranked when she was told that you were interested in doing the movie?
FEIG: She shouldn’t feel that way because she is one of the most talented writers I’ve ever met in my life.
Is it true that you’re going to be working with her again on her next movie?
FEIG: Well, she’s currently writing a sequel to [The Heat], just in case it does well. Don’t want to jinx it. Just so we have it. Then she’s writing another movie, an original idea that she pitched about a mother and daughter going on a very crazy vacation. If I can do nothing but work on anything Katie has written, I would be a very happy man.
Was there anything in particular about the script that drew you to it?
FEIG: The minute I opened the envelope. It was originally called, “Untitled Female Buddy Cop Comedy.” I was like, these haven’t been around. I always wanted to do an action comedy. Then you say, I hope the script is good because a lot of times, they’re terrible. But I was reading this one on an airplane and I was laughing out loud. The minute I landed, I want to do this and I told them to send it to Melissa immediately. I wanted her to read it. Sandra was already interested in doing it. Then it just all came together.
Wasn’t it true that Melissa was interested in doing the film, but it was a time thing, and decided with Sandra involved, she would film it on weekends from Mike & Molly?
FEIG: It was very hard. She and I were trying to figure out a movie to do after Bridesmaids, and we just couldn’t get the timing right. So then she went off in the summer on her break to do Identity Thief. Right when she was in the middle of doing that, this script gets sent to me and I wanted her to do it. But she didn’t have any time. Literally, when she was going to finish that, she had six weeks before she had to go back to Mike & Molly, and I can’t shoot a movie in six weeks. Not this one. But she wanted to do it so much and I was so motivated to get her to do it that she agreed for the last two or three weeks to … work seven days a week [and fly back and forth to shoot this and Mike & Molly]. But that’s how committed she was to doing [the film]. The poor thing was exhausted by the end.
McINTYRE: Yeah, she was phenomenal. I remember one scene we did … it was four in the morning. Melissa has been working since god knows when, and it seemed like she just got on the set.
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FEIG: She’s a pro. But, honestly, there were no divas on the set. Everybody was just great. It made it nice because we were still on sort of a tight schedule even though we made it so that we would have enough time to improv and have some looseness.
So, what was the on-set dynamic like between everybody? Did the stress of scheduling affect the film?
FEIG: We are very good about keeping it behind the scenes and not letting it leak out to everybody but at the same time [Melissa] was great because it wasn’t an issue. If anything I was more concerned, wondering “Is she going to be okay.” Then she would show up and would be fine. But we would try to be sensitive and not make her go crazy. It was really one of the happiest sets I’ve worked on. This and Bridesmaids are the two kind of happiest things I’ve ever been on.
Director Paul Feig.
You also directed a few episodes of Arrested Development, a show that wasn’t very popular when it was on, but has since found a huge following which actually spurred its revival. Another TV series that didn’t do too well on the air, but has since found a massive following is a show that you created, Freaks & Geeks. Is there any chance that we will see a resurgence of that show with your involvement?
FEIG: I’ve always kind of just not wanted to do it. But more recently, I don’t know. I’ve overheard some of the cast members saying that they’d be open to it. The bottom line is it would have to be great. There’s nothing worse than when something comes back and it’s not as good, then it just kind of ruins the legacy. It’s doubtful, but never say never.
Freaks & Geeks was recently named one of the best TV shows in history by TV Guide and the WGA. What do you think gives the show such staying power?
FEIG: I think it’s just honest. It’s not about a “time.” It’s not about any specific cultural things. It’s really just about growing up and the awkwardness of that, which are very universal themes. So I just wanted to make it like that. I’m sure teenagers two-thousand years ago were going through the same emotional issues. I feel like, thanks to all of the amazing people that were involved, we sort of captured that. But you always want something you do to sort of live beyond the time it was on, especially for a TV show that got cancelled after only 18 episodes. I’m still kind of amazed that we’re still out there.
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See Paul Feig’s new film The Heat everywhere on June 28th!
Mike Tyrkus
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