HELENA BONHAM CARTER: When I read the screenplay I thought it was a complete gift. It is so beautifully written. The book is full of the ideas, but John August really took the book and made it whole in a way, more complete. I thought it was a gift. I also thought it was going to be a perfect marriage between director and writer. But then when I saw it, I thought he’s more than fulfilled the promise. But I’m biased… I started crying on the opening credits. It was a very tricky thing to navigate, too. You’ve got all those stories, you’ve got all those characters, but still he’s got the main through-line. He filled it with a lot of heart. It’s a huge thumping heart at the core of it.
STEVE BUSCEMI: To me, and this I don’t find a lot in movies, especially studio movies, it is genuinely entertaining and genuinely moving.
HELENA BONHAM CARTER: And honestly so – not manipulative.
STEVE BUSCEMI: I see a lot of movies trying to do that. I think a lot of other studios or directors who would have tried to make this and it could have left me absolutely cold. But they brought together the right people, starting with Tim, and he just set the tone for the whole film. I feel so proud to be in the cast, that he brought me along.
HELENA BONHAM CARTER: Same here. We’ve only got tiny parts, but we were more than happy to do it because it was such a great screenplay. It is so original and truly imaginative. There are so many films that are just so generic of one thing or another. They are much easier to sell because you can say, “Oh, it’s a kind of this or that…” This one genuinely is pretty hard to describe.
Danny, what’s happening with the “Get Shorty” sequel?
DANNY DEVITO: “Be Cool?” It’s going to start filming in February.
Is The Rock in it?
DANNY DEVITO: Yeah I think The Rock is going to be in it with Travolta. I play Martin Weir, a little part in it. I make an appearance.
What happened to finally make it come together?
DANNY DEVITO: It’s a quick story but… They weren’t making a deal, they weren’t making a deal, they weren’t making a deal, and I was doing this movie with Martin Lawrence up on in Boston called ‘What’s the Worst That Could Happen.” I can tell you what’s the worst that could happen (laughing). But they needed a day of shooting - it was an MGM movie, it’s really one of these great stories – and I didn’t owe it to them. I didn’t owe them a day in my contract and they needed a day for some new ending that they were going to do. I was in Toronto working and they were going to do it in California, because of Martin. I said, “Well, I don’t owe you the day and you want me to fly all the way to California to do this thing. So if you make the deal for ‘Be Cool,’ I’ll do it.” So they made the deal for “Be Cool” and now we’re making the movie.
Who is directing it?
F. Gary Gray.
“Big Fish” is about leaving a legacy. Do you think about your work living on?
DANNY DEVITO: I think this film is going to live on forever and ever and ever, and we’re so lucky to be in it. We’re just blessed to be part of this magical experience that’s going to be thought of as one of the classic films ever made, I think.
HELENA BONHAM CARTER: H – Everyone agrees with you, Danny. I do. I think it’s a wonderful film.
DANNY DEVITO: I was in “Cuckoo’s Nest,” I felt that way. “Terms of Endearment” was like a lasting motion picture. This film will be thought of in many, many years to come as one of the great Tim Burton movies.
Additional “Big Fish” Cast Interviews:
Albert Finney/Jessica Lange and Ewan McGregor/Alison Lohman
ADDITIONAL RESOURCES:
"Big Fish" Photo Gallery
"Big Fish" Soundtrack News
"Big Fish” Trailer, Credits and Movie News
