Jon Hamm plays J.B., the agent who goes on this quest, and his pool-house tenant Brenda is played by the lovely Lake Bell. A comedic actress unafraid to bare both her soul and plenty of flesh on a slew of recent magazine features, she's a welcome component to the film's narrative, providing both grounding for the characters and also a bit of wit and charm that's infectious. Bell has been busy of late with loads of film and television work, including her recent writing/directing bow with the fabulous "In A World", a love letter to those trailer voices that promise us the upcoming film in question may be the best thing in the history of ever.
Moviefone Canada spoke with an open and talkative Bell by phone as she was being whisked to the airport.
What specifically drew you to the project?
I've never been in a family film! Starting out that was super appealing. The amalgamation of cool, creative people that were involved with this particular project was also enticing. Jon [Hamm] and I have been friends for many years and we wanted to make something together. Then [there was] Tom McCarthy writing the script - I'm a huge fan of his, and my ears were perked. To have Craig Gillespie ["Lars and the Real Girl"] of all people to direct it is such a creative choice and I loved the cocktail that was this film package.
My character, Brenda, she's a force and even though she's a supporting role, she's very much present and integral to J.B.'s spiritual journey. That makes her a really refreshing depiction of a female character in these kinds of films.
You must now be getting a tonne of these scripts - what set this one apart?
It's a testament to Tom McCarthy and how he structured this character. It could have been far more peripheral, on the side lines, and he decided to give those characters, all of the characters that helped inform J.B.'s past real weight.
With Brenda, she has been called by her husband "a bad ass". She is strong and direct and is not afraid to say "hey, you're being a real jerk" when the protagonist is in fact being a jerk, which is nice to see a female character. Usually the female character would be stereotypically doting.
As a writer yourself, when you're looking at a script by somebody like McCarthy, are you seeing little "writer-ly" things and being pumped by a clever way of structuring the story?
Absolutely. In a way, I think the more you write, the more you're appreciative of the writing, you see things and you think, oh, that's an interesting way to solve that problem or help that storyline.
In the same way, did you find yourself learning from different temperament of performance from the Indian characters in the film?
Those guys are tremendous, and I was in awe of how effortlessly they could access emotion so quickly and then in the same breath be acutely aware of what's comedic about the scene.
Is it substantially different to capture a character based on someone still very much alive versus one that's completely fictional?
It's looser when you're depicting a story, a true story, vs. a depiction of someone iconic, if that makes sense. These are real people, the story is known, and you want to adhere to that and be true and honest and representative of what happened, what the message is and the thematics involved with the story.
That doesn't mean that we're all mimicking or transforming into the very people that make up the story.
Do you have a passion for sports?
That's outside my normal comfort zone. I don't have anything against sport, but I know diddly about i. I think that makes me all the more appreciative and moved by this story, because often I was wondering to myself why I love sport films so much but I don't like watching live sports necessarily.
I think it boils down to that undeniable raw talent that a successful athlete exudes when he or she is doing their thing. There's something infectious about getting behind someone who would use their human machine in a way that has confronted all obstacles and persevered.
Well, what is something you get excited about?
Movies. 100%. I'm a movie fanatic.
I geek out to [everything] from classics to films that I see today, [all of them] make me excited and inspired. I just served as a jury member for the Tribeca film festival and that was movies 24/7 and that was a dream job!
You have a film that you love that some people should check out?
"Fireman's Ball", Milos Foreman's first film.
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