Danielle Panabaker (Sky High, Yours, Mine and Ours) braved the huge red carpet at the World Premiere of Disney’s Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End to not only take in all the piratey pageantry but also to talk about Mr Brooks, a dramatic movie starring Kevin Costner and directed by Bruce A Evans.
Panabaker plays Kevin Costner’s daughter in Mr Brooks, a film she describes as a real twisted thriller. “Mr Brooks is the story of a man who’s really made himself, worked hard, created his own company. He’s a wonderful husband and worker and father by day, but by night he is a tormented serial killer. It’s this illness that he basically has and he’s struggling, during the course of the movie, to get rid of it. It’s really interesting. Demi Moore plays a cop who’s out to get him. Dane Cook plays a really interesting role in the movie.”
“I think all the different characters, and specifically the actors who created them, they’re all so compelling that it’s just so interesting to watch the whole thing,” said Panabaker. Everyone is extraordinarily talented and has such great, interesting characters.”
Kevin Costner’s face is probably not the first image that pops into your mind when you think ‘serial killer’ but Panabaker believes Costner completely captured the character. “He’s fantastic. There’s a certain intensity to Kevin and the way he works. You can see him thinking on camera and that’s why he’s such a wonderful movie star. You see all these thoughts going through his head and that’s why he’s so great.”
Panabaker definitely enjoyed working opposite Costner, noting the Oscar-winner was extremely professional on the set. “Kevin was wonderful to work with. He takes his craft so seriously and just does such an incredible job making movies. Rehearsals are so important and it’s really great to work with him.”
The two even managed a little father-daughter sort of bonding prior to shooting. “We actually shot the movie in Shreveport and I was out there almost two weeks before we started shooting and spent every day at the house they rented for him,” explained Panabaker. “Just rehearsing, but also getting to know him. He hung out. His house was right on the lake so we’d take the boat out for a spin. He has a dog; he has a Golden Lab named Wyatt and I love Wyatt because he’s awesome. (Laughing) I bonded with his dog as well.”
Panabaker’s currently busy balancing film with TV and that’s just the way she likes it. “Both are fun. They are completely different mediums,” said Panabaker. “I look forward to having more time, being able to get back into movies but working with Jimmy [Woods] on Shark is a lot of fun. We have great material there so it’s great.”
* * * * * * * * * *
Mr Brooks hits theaters on June 1, 2007 and is rated R for strong bloody violence, some graphic sexual content, nudity and language.
