So how was working with the skateboarding dog?
Pell James: “Oh God…the f***king dog!” I’m glad there’s no camera [here]. It’s like, ‘So how’s the puppy?’ [In a sing song, parody voice of being super sweet and sappy] ‘I love the dog. He’s so much fun, so cute.’ Like he’s a d**k.”
Steven Strait: “You may want to call the dog’s publicist.”
[Laughing] The dog didn’t do the press interviews so we can talk about him.
Steven Strait: “The nerve, really. The dog actually, it’s really quite amazing. He would bark at these skateboarders. They actually lived in Venice and they brought in the skateboards and went down the street so the owner was like, ‘I’m just gonna throw a skateboard in the backyard, maybe he’ll get used to it.’ An hour later, he was on the skateboard, self taught, doing these circles. He’ll literally – if there’s a skateboard in front of him, he’ll go insane.”
Pell James: “And he wipes out on it, he picks it up, he brings it up the hill and goes back down.”
Steven Strait: “It’s unbelievable – and he’s flying! He’s hitting people, and he’s going around things! Amazing.”
Pell James: [Laughing] “He’d be really good if he didn’t have a drug problem!”
Who’s the better skateboarder?
Steven Strait: “The dog.”
Pell James: “Have you ever seen me?”
Steven Strait: “I guess I shouldn’t jump to any conclusions!”
Steven, if you had to choose, which would you pick - music or acting?
Steven Strait: “You know, I’ve always looked at myself primarily as an actor. I studied it for many years and it’s something that I went to school for. This whole music thing kind of fell into my lap and it’s always been more private to me. A lot of people, even in my family, didn’t even know I sang. And I’ve never invited people to gigs and stuff like that…”
What happens now that they have seen "Undiscovered?"
Steven Strait: “Well they heard the soundtrack and they were like, ‘Wow, when did you learn how to do that?’ I was like, ‘In the shower.’”
Pell James: “That could be a movie! [Laughing] I’m going into producing.”
Steve Strait: “I would have to say that I would pick acting over music. Because I do music in my free time anyway and it’s always going to be something – it’s always going to be a passion. It’s moving forward very quickly and hopefully I can do both.”
Pell, all the other young actors sing in this movie. Why didn’t you give it a try?
Pell James: “I tried. I tried but they kicked me off. That would be awesome one day. Maybe part two, like Brier gets the itch to sing, you know? Maybe if you [nodding at Steven] don’t have the game to step up to be rock star, maybe this girl would. I’d be like Lita Ford. [Looking at Steven] You don’t even know who Lita Ford is, do you?”
Steven Strait: “Yes I do.”
Pell James: “Okay, just checking. The song I played in my trailer every night, remember that? Kiss me once, kiss me deadly? I had that on my answering machine. Like, ‘Had a few beers, got in a fight…’”
Pell, your character is a model who wants to become an actress. Have you ever modeled before?
Pell James: “I was in ‘Seventeen’ once and had cucumbers over my eyes. It’s really like, ‘Guys, you really have to read Seventeen…’ I was like, ‘Yeah, I’m under the cucumbers.’”
What’s next for both of you? Have you shot anything since completing “Undiscovered?”
Pell James: “This is it, we’re done. No more, we’re going back home. I just got a David Fincher film [‘Zodiac’] yesterday that I’m really excited. I’m so excited. I get hacked, which is really exciting. The coolest thing is that I have to go get a full body cast, which is amazing when you work with the special effects people.”
Fincher can be very secretive. What can you say about your role?
Pell James: “Okay, let me tell you where we’re shooting, post it on the Internet… [Laughing] I play, s**t, well I play Celia Shepard, one of the girls who gets murdered. But I’m really excited about the whole thing. And then I’m shooting another movie with Todd Williams, opposite Seann William Scott called “Train Wreck” which shoots in New York in the fall. And Steven over here, can I tell them what you’re doing? [Steven shakes his head yes] Steven is about to start production in October on ‘The Covenant.’ I know his life now!’ ‘The Covenant’ is...it’s a dirty movie [laughing]. He plays a Dirk Diggler-like character…”
Steven Strait: “I’m doing this movie called ‘The Covenant’ starting in October with Renny Harlin over in Montreal. And then in January I start with…”
Pell James: “John Polson is directing…”
Steven Strait: “John Polson is directing ‘Deal.’”
Pell James: “Which I’m really excited for. I know the other one’s cool, too, but I’m really excited about ‘Deal.’”
What’s “Deal” about?
Steven Strait: “‘Deal’ is about a sort of a high-end heroin [deal]. It’s a big, big drug scam. I don’t want to give away too much of it.”
Who do you play?
Steven Strait: “It’s the lead. It’s the point man who basically gets the clients to come in from out of town to sell them the drugs.”
Page 3: On Fame and Women
