Can you talk about the decision to use a special lighting process for this film?
We decided to do Digital Intermediate technology on this movie because it all has to take place in the same light in a 12-hour day. We’re shooting in 3 different cities, crazy different lighting scenarios, and we really wanted to have control of our image and be able to match it all to one beautiful blue sky, sunny day.
Was this Warner Bros. first time using the technology in a movie of this type?
Warner Bros. has used it with a lot of films but this is the first full-length comedy that’s used it. They’ve used it mostly in their big special effects dramas. In “Troy” they’re using it, they used it in a film called “Gods and Generals.” This is the first one where they said, “Okay, top to bottom, let’s go.” So we’re really excited. The technology is really starting to pop. I think that in a lot of ways the technology isn’t 100% there yet, but it’s definitely where it’s going.
My team and I really wanted to get our feet wet and go through this process with our movie. We did stuff we couldn’t have done any other way, so we’re real excited about it. It’s definitely where the movie industry is going.
I read in the production notes that you actually did the stunts with Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen, including the stage dive. Is that true?
I did. Here’s the thing: I think a lot of directors make these deals with their actors but I told the girls that I would do whatever they had to do because I didn’t want them to be afraid. So I got in the sewer with them and we held hands and walked up and down in the sewer. I did a drop from the window rig. I felt like I had to do everything just to show them that if I could do it, they could do it. When it came to the stage dive, I was scared. I had my stunt coordinator show me how to do it into a bag. I freaked! But I had to do it but once I did it, it really broke the ice and then they went off and did it like 15 times.
Was it tough directing them when they haven’t done an action movie like this before?
It was really hard. I mean, the action stuff was all new to them. But the best thing you can have with stars who are in a first time action movie, is actors who are just brave and game. They really wanted to go there. They were real excited about doing a lot of their own stunts. They really wanted to experience it so they were stoked. But yeah, I think the first few weeks of production they were shell-shocked. It’s like, “When do we get to catch our breath?” “When we wrap.”
I didn’t want them to put their producer hats on too much while they were shooting. But I could go to them when things were getting gnarly and say, “You’ve got to call the studio and get them off my back here.” They wanted to just really focus on the matter at hand as actresses.
Would you do another teen comedy? Are you always up for another teen comedy?
Teen comedies come to me. I’m like the ‘go to’ girl for a lot of these teen comedies. I think for me, it’s a very crowded marketplace with teen comedies. I don’t want to do just any old teen comedy. It would have to have a special piece of casting or have a really wonderful concept. I think there’s just a glut of so many teen movies right now. I made a movie last year called “What a Girl Wants” and then this year there was “Ella Enchanted” and “The Prince & Me” and “Cinderella” coming up and it’s like, “Enough already.” The girls are definitely over the Cinderella glass slipper trip. It has to be fresh. My next movie is PG-13 – I’m going to have adults. I’m going to have sex and I’m going to be smutty (laughing)!
INTERVIEW WITH ANDY RICHTER ('Bennie'):
Could you tell Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen apart?
On the set it was easy because of wardrobe. It was back at the hotel standing by the elevator coming in from dinner and bumping into them [that was hard]. But that was only like the first couple of weeks, and then you actually can. There’s differences in just the shape of their faces and their noses. I couldn’t tell you exactly what it is… There’s a lot of twins in my family. I have a brother and sister who are twins, but then there’s other relatives too who are twins.
Did you ever have to deal with the Olsens as producers?
Because they cast me – they were my bosses – and they were great in the sense that they said do not be afraid to suggest things, to rewrite lines. They gave me a lot of freedom that way.
Did you do a lot of that?
Yeah, I did, actually. I got to do a lot of that. Dennie Gordon and Alison Greenspan, one of the producers, they were so open. They made me feel real clever.
Other than the fact that it stars twins, what sets “New York Minute” apart from other teen comedies?
The other ones don’t really have Eugene Levy in them, you know? I think there was a lot more effort here to talk to a broader audience than just kids.
