I hate to say mise-en-scène, but how important is the visual setup of the opening scene where you reveal Downey’s on a bluetooth?
Todd Phillips: "Yeah, yeah. I’m glad you noticed but you’re always smarter than everybody else. I remember that. You are. You appreciate film and that’s what I love about you. A lot of these mother***ers that do this sh** in your business, they don’t even like movies. They don’t even like it. They just like being haters."
Or they start out happy and become haters.
Todd Phillips: "Maybe because that gets them more hits, but there are certain people that actually like the cinema and you happen to be one of them. But yes, it is an important part and it is a good little reveal. I love that moment and I also love what he’s talking about. I just love Downey."
So for that shot, did you have to find the smallest earpiece possible?
Todd Phillips: "Yeah, yeah, that was part of just talking to the prop guy and saying, 'No, smaller, smaller.'"
Was that carefully storyboarded or scripted to make it work visually?
Todd Phillips: "Not storyboards. It’s not something we storyboard. I don’t really storyboard. That would require way too much forethought that I don’t have, but we talk about these things and it’s all important."
How carefully was the situation that gets them kicked off the plane orchestrated so it makes sense and it’s not contrived?
Todd Phillips: "It makes sense to a point. You have stupid Ethan talking about terrorists and bombs. He goes, 'Will you not say that word?' 'Which word, terrorist or bomb?' It’s just the dumbest guy on the planet and then Robert, of course, being a little ultra-aggressive with the air marshal doesn’t help. Yeah, all that stuff’s important. It’s setting the story on the road."
Are they both equally to blame for the mess they’re in?
Todd Phillips: "I think so. Yeah, I think that’s a good way to put it, although Ethan put Robert in a hostile mood from the beginning. He had a hard time getting out of the car and then going through security because of Ethan, so I don't know that any of that would’ve happened had he never met Ethan. Obviously Robert would’ve just got home and been fine and been back with his lovely wife, but Ethan comes in and just f***s everything up."
Certainly being hostile makes it funnier, but doesn’t make it go any smoother.
Todd Phillips: "Yes, I’ve learned that myself through my own personal experiences."
So you save it for the movies now?
Todd Phillips: "Yeah, I try."
Have you known an Ethan?
Todd Phillips: "I have not really known an Ethan. I wish I knew an Ethan because Ethan is really just a love bug and Ethan just represents, to me, pure love. I think if you handle him correctly he’d be a great asset and a great friend. But, I don't know that I know anybody that beautiful. I think he’s a beautiful guy."
You have another comedy with heroes who get battered. How do you make each battered hero different?
Todd Phillips: "It’s not even about battering heroes. It’s about putting your actors through paces. I love, 'You’re going to come work on this movie and you’re going to get put through the ringer and you’re going to look like sh*t at the end of it but it’s going to be f***ing cool and you’re going to have earned where you have to be.' I think a guy like Downey, Bradley Cooper, Ed [Helms], Will Ferrell, Vince [Vaughn], they like that. I think an actor likes just going to hell and back."
And they all do it their own way.
Todd Phillips: "They do, yeah. They do."
Have you ever gone back-to-back with productions before?
Todd Phillips: "Like this, no, and I’m going back-to-back-to-back. I mean, we did The Hangover, immediately into Due Date, now immediately into Hangover 2 so it is exhausting. To do three movies in three years, I think, for anybody is a little bit exhausting."
Did you ever expect to have such controversy over a cameo casting?
Todd Phillips: "No, and it’s just sort of the day and age. Listen, if the Mike Tyson cameo was leaked, there might have been controversy about that. That’s the shame in it all because people would go, 'Why are they putting Mike Tyson in a movie?' The fact is when the trailer came out and they saw Mike Tyson, everybody thought it was genius. Had the Mel Gibson thing been kept under wraps like our intention, who knows what the reaction would be. But it’s hard to fight that in the middle of making a movie."
With him specifically, do you think there are more personal feelings involved because of the things he’s said about various groups?
Todd Phillips: "I mean, maybe and maybe it’s the fact that it’s more recent and maybe there’s a lot of things. I just think, 'He’s an actor, I’m a filmmaker, let me do my thing and then judge it.' Don’t judge it before we had a chance to do our thing."
Will you use the same format where they wake up and fill in the night before?
Todd Phillips: "I want to play it a little closer to the vest this time. It’s not because I don’t trust you and love you and I love your site and About.com and what you do, and you’ve always been a fan and a supporter. It’s just that comedy works so well when it surprises."
It’s only because we’re excited about it. I try to have vague questions.
Todd Phillips: "I know and by the way, I also understand why people ask and I’m flattered that people are excited about it, believe me, but I just want to leave some stuff for the f***in’ surprise."
After this run of three, will you take a break?
Todd Phillips: "Yes. I’m going to take a break. At least six months, disappear."
What does a 'Todd Phillips comedy' mean to you?
Todd Phillips: "It means just a little bit of irreverence, I think, and a little bit of taking chances. I think any comedy means that, any good comedy. When I like a comedy that’s not my own, and I do love them, it’s because it’s irreverent and it takes chances. I think that’s what people come to expect from comedy, and it’s a weird time that we live in when the PC police get involved with comedy films. It starts getting me a little worried."
Irreverent with the format too?
Todd Phillips: "Irreverent with the format, irreverent with the storytelling, irreverent with the way you shoot it. We shot Due Date 90% handheld. You never see that in comedies. It’s just any kind of choice we make, we always try to do it a little bit in our own way."
It still wasn’t hard to see what was going on. It wasn’t like Bourne.
Todd Phillips: "I don’t mean that. I just mean giving it a little life and actually thinking about the cinematography in a movie like The Hangover or Due Date. I think those movies have a very clear look to them and I think sometimes a lot of comedies don’t."
Will you one day try other genres?
Todd Phillips: "For sure. I mean, I shouldn’t say for sure but maybe. I love all kinds of movies. Right now I just have such a good time making these movies that it’s hard."
There’s also if you’re good at it, we don’t want you to stop and do something else.
Todd Phillips: "Right, you’re like, 'We’ve got enough guys doing that.' I know what you mean though. It’s true. I’m like, 'Wait a minute. Why are you not doing that? That’s your thing.' I feel like that a lot of times with comic actors, quite honestly. It’s like, 'Really? You want to go do that? You’re so f***in’ funny and good. Just do that.''
What’s going to be on the Due Date DVD?
Todd Phillips: "Right now we’re not done with the DVD, but we do have deleted scenes. We have the typical kind of stuff, but we’re not entirely done with it yet."
Have you done the Blu-ray transfer?
Todd Phillips: "I’ve done the Blu-ray transfer of the actual movie, yeah, and it looks great. I think it looks great. I love Blu-ray. I just love the way it translates. I love the way the blacks translate, which you just never really got before so I love it."
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Due Date hits theaters on November 5, 2010 and is rated R for language, drug use and sexual content.
