|
16 March 2000
Q: Will Professor Xavier's name be pronounced correctly? Xavier is
supposed to be pronounced "ZAY-vee-er", yet for years now it's
been mispronounced "ex-AY-vee-er" It's not hyphenated like
"X-ray," so the X is pronounced as a Z. You don't play the
"exylophone;" you don't make photocopies on the "exerox"
machine.
A. You will be relieved that the X-Men cast pronounces
Xavier "correctly." But then how should "Magneto"
himself be accented? In the movie they say "Mag-NEE'-to",as in
the TV cartoon version. But I suspect it would have made more sense,
considering his powers, to call him "MAG'-net-o".
Xavier and Magneto meet
Q: Is the film making process as grueling as everyone else in your
industry says it is, because to be honest from our (the audience) point of
view it seems very fun (although long and tedious).
A. "Long and tedious fun" about sums it up. Actors get
driven to and from work mainly so they don't disrupt the shooting schedule
by having accidents. We get up before dawn and get home maybe 15 hours
later. At work we are fed for free and relax in our personal trailers. On
the set we are kept warm if it's cold (as it was shooting X-Men in
Toronto) or kept cool if it's hot (as it is currently in New Zealand on The
Lord of the Rings).
All this attention is to prepare for the vital moment when the
camera turns and we actually earn our salaries by acting. How do we
prepare in the meantime? Personally, nothing too distracting a daily
crossword (if I can find the London Times newspaper) or a book (currently
"Harry Potter" by J. K. Rowling) or snoozing or even answering
e-mail, like right now. And I read and re-read whatever scene is being
shot next.
Q: Does it affect you negatively when you are portraying especially
nasty characters?
A. Playing fully-rounded villains, like Richard III and
Iago, I
have learnt that bad guys can often feel good inside or at least have a
psychological self-justification for their ill-doings. So the worst that
happens (and it may be the best) is to discover one's own capacity for bad
behaviour. Widening knowledge of humanity is a happy outcome of acting
well-written parts.
Q: Are you signed on to do sequels for "X-Men"?
A. It's too early to think about any sequel, which will depend on
the success of the movie's release. As far as I know, there are no plans
for one. On the other hand, The Lord of the Rings is a trilogy and
all three films are being shot concurrently in New Zealand. Now that's
planning!
Q: Is Mr. Singer is directing the green-screen scenes with
post-production in mind? Has he passed along the idea of what might be in
store or what to imagine was really there. What mutant power effects will
there be?
A. Are you expecting an ageing actor to explain the technology of
modern cinema? Actually, I do know how a green screen works but I can't
remember just now!
Of course I'm interested in it and, as Magneto, I worked a bit in
front of a green screen. But there was mostly some quite substantial
scenery to chew in the foreground so it was backgrounds mainly. Bryan
Singer was always keen to explain everything about a scene and did it
graphically.
Q: What was it like to work with Rebecca Romijin-Stamos, Tyler Mane,
and Ray Park?
A. Rebecca is that rare sort of person who is genuinely and
effortlessly friendly with everyone. I wish we had had more to do together
in the film she is spellbinding.
Tyler Mane the long-suffering Tyler, who endured his daily
hours of make-up with good humour. He looked so like Sabretooth that I was
very glad I didn't have to have a scrap with him.
My third member of the Brotherhood was Toad/Ray Park, they are
one and the same. Without recourse to silly faces or prosthetics, Ray has
a knack of physical characterisation. As good an actor as he is an
athlete.
Athleticism is a vital attribute for actors. My hero Laurence
Olivier boasted that he had over a hundred scars from his fights on stage
and screen. Remember his flying fall in his movie Hamlet? He did an
equally spectacular nosedive as Coriolanus, which I saw at
Stratford-upon-Avon when I was a boy.
8: Do you know anything about the score of the film? Will the theme
song be the same as in the animated TV series?
A. I am sure composer Michael Kamen (The Iron Giant, Lethal
Weapon) will will write and score music especially
for the movie.
Q: How come [insert favorite X-Men character here] is not going to be
in the movie? He/She has to be.
A. If everyone's favourite character were to be in the movie, it
would have to be as long as the comic. Are you prepared to sit through a 35-year-long film?
For more about X-Men be sure to read Magneto's Lair.
More
X-MEN THE MOVIE
|
