Val Kilmer co-stars as Gay Perry, a gay detective (hmmm, bet you could have figured part of that out for yourself) who is hired to teach Harry how to act like a real detective. After the two cross paths with Harmony Faith Lane (Michelle Monaghan), they become entangled in a real-life murder mystery.
Val Kilmer Couldn't Keep a Straight Face on the Set of "Kiss Kiss Bang Bang:" Kilmer says he had a hard time keeping it together because Robert Downey Jr kept cracking him up while they were shooting. "I blew more takes than any movie I’ve ever done. I couldn’t stop laughing. He’s just funny. I’m not kidding, every single scene. Every scene he would do something that would bust me up. And sometimes he’s talking two pages a minute, we’re babbling away."
Kilmer recalled one scene in particular where he lost it repeatedly. "I think maybe the middle of the night when we were way out past Valencia and I hit him and I hit him in the head with a briefcase about 30 times. That was a funny night. That made me laugh."
Val Kilmer on Working with Writer/Director Shane Black: "Shane Black has been on a lot of movie sets as a writer. For some reason, writers in Hollywood don’t collect that much respect. Very quiet, calm sensibility, very well prepared - extremely well prepared."
Black makes his directorial debut with "Kiss Kiss Bang Bang" and also wrote the script, which Kilmer described as very refined. "He’d worked on it on and off for five years and if we had an idea – Robert and I, usually we’re together - we’d go ask him. If he liked it, we’d go play it out. And when you work with a director who is really prepared, like Shane was, you just trust them. Movies are the director’s spirit. It’s what they think, what they feel. Their hopes and fears all come out, whether they want them to or not. That’s why Shane’s so happy," said Kilmer.
Robert Downey Jr on the Appeal of "Kiss Kiss Bang Bang:" "The script is great. Everyone who sees it goes, ‘God, that’s the kind of movie we want to see, where they don’t treat us like we’re stupid and we’ve kind of got to catch up but you don’t have to be an MIT graduate to get the jokes.’ The kind of movie I like to see."
Robert Downey Jr on What "Kiss Kiss Bang Bang" Says About Los Angeles: "It’s kind of a love letter with a lot of backstabbing on the way. But ultimately they’re all staying here at the end. That’s the funny thing. People love talking smack about LA but we’ll all be going home to our places here at night."
Val Kilmer on the Film's Tone and Hollywood: "Ultimately it’s hopeful because it’s a love story. Robert plays a character who comes out from New York and stumbles into a screen test and meets the love of his childhood. He ends up saving the day and inspiring my character.
Hollywood is the center of a lot of dashed dreams because it’s the fantasy factory. People come out here having been the most popular person in their little town and get their hopes dashed. But every now and then dreams can come true. They did for me, even being from the San Fernando Valley. Except I left as soon as I could…"
Val Kilmer on the Film's Stunts: "I think the only time there was any pain on the set was when Robert asked me to grope him and I refused and he cried – a grown man crying. And Michelle really jumps around she flies and jumps off a bridge. Spiders crawling all over her... It’s practically her first film and she’s fantastic."
Val Kilmer's Been Looking for a Good Comedy: "I just couldn’t find anything that was this interesting. This is a really original screenplay and Shane is very – he’s risky. A lot of the jokes in it or the set-ups could not work if it were in the wrong hands. He understood what he wrote really well. And Robert, who’s the lead and carries the movie, is spectacular. He’s really great."
Val Kilmer on the Pacing of "Kiss Kiss Bang Bang:" "It’s very, very ambitious and an aggressive pace. It’s really fast. And there are several parts in the story where you kind of get lost as an audience and then suddenly Robert as the narrator says, ‘Wait a minute. I forgot something,’ and he rewinds the film. Nice."
To Sum It Up: Actually trying to interview Kilmer at a movie premiere is about one of the toughest assignments around. Kilmer would spot people in the crowd and wander off for a few minutes, only to come back and pick up on the line of questioning. So needless to say, getting Kilmer to give me a good in-depth analysis of the appeal of "Kiss Kiss Bang Bang" at the film's Hollywood premiere just wasn't going to happen. However Kilmer did sum it up nicely by saying, "It’s the funniest darn movie you’ll ever see."
Interview Video - Play the Video
