Women, very little clothing, lobotomies, threats of sexual assault, and guns.
Lots of guns.Sucker Punchhas all that, wrapped up in a 12A rating.
Likewise Isaac, whos so relaxed and laid back on a plush hotel sofa that hes almost horizontal.
His big, bad villain, Blue, is nowhere to be seen.
We caught up with them last week, in an afternoon slot that can always go either way.
Would they be exhausted from a mornings worth of interviews?
Or would this, their latest sit down of the day, find them in more verbose mood?
Luckily, it was the latter.
Carla Gugino:Its the end of the day before the premiere, yeah.
So, you will get us in a slightly delirious, but Im sure completely vulnerable, state.
Do you want anything stronger than water, then?
We can order in.
CG:We did just order espressos, actually!
Was there any envy on your part at that?
CG:[Looking at Oscar] You were a little jealous.
Oscar Isaac:I was a little bit jealous.
I was fine just with my dancing partner, day in and day out.
It was a larger sequence in the movie and it will probably be in Zacks directors cut.
And so we really did do quite a bit of rehearsal for it.
But we just had a lot to do.
OI:Yeah, we had a lot of stuff to work on.
Are there quite a few scenes that youve done that arent in the finished film, then?
CG:Yeah, theres a few.
OI:Even within a scene theres little bits that have been cut out.
OI:Like, Oh, yeah, thank God they cut that!
CG:There really are some significant scenes that are really interesting that will be in the directors cut.
Did the script change much from when you first read it, then?
OI:Yeah, the script was written as an R-rated script, you know?
And then once I got there I realised, All right.
Were doing something slightly different than that.
[laughs] The ends not going to be about your flaccid penis.
Its going to be about something else.
CG:Which I feel okay about, actually.
OI:Maybe thats okay.
[laughs]
So, it immediately starts to change and some of the structure has changed.
I think the whole beginning of the film is quite different than what the original thing was.
But that actually happens a lot in films.
Is that what gets you to you sign on with someone like Zack?
The script is one part, but its his vision as a director?
And I do think that its an old saying, but a movie is made three times.
Its made in the script form, in the filming, and in the editing room.
On a very superficial level, your characters have some obvious traits.
With Madam Gorski, its the Russian accent.
With Blue, its the kind of cheap, flashy suits.
OI:Theres nothing cheap about those suits!
Come on, those suits?
I tried to steal like two of them!
Okay, Ill rewind!
Flashy, flashy suits.
But they are very bright and show him trying to be someone hes not, in a way.
OI:Thats exactly right.
How much do you both feed into that?
It did mention some kind of white tuxedo that he has.
And I thought of, like, De Niro inCasino.
And I thought that might be an interesting character trait.
And even down to the moustache.
So he has this little moustache.
And its exactly right, its a projection of who he wishes he was.
Someone who is charming and authoritative.
And hopefully we are reinventing them to some extent.
And in this particular case she was originally written she was Mrs. Schultz and she was German.
Maybe she could just be American.
And then I was also intrigued.
I thought, How did this woman get over here?
How did she get to the Northeast of the United States?
Did she have a mentor?
And oh, okay, well if she had a mentor then maybe that mentor… Do you play on that?
Do you think about the layers when youre playing the character?
CG:I think about it.
Whats your take on it?
Carla, you obviously worked with Zack onWatchmen.
CG:I think that Zack is a director who has a kind of provocative nature.
Its just sort of in his bones.
And yet, that is done in a studio system and on a larger budget scale.
But I think that people expect it to be…
I think any movie that makes you kind of slightly wonder about those two things…
But because its women, it brings up a lot of those kinds of questions.
So, I have mixed feelings about it in that kind of regard.
I dont have mixed feelings about the movie.
Thats a much more interesting movie to me.
What do you think?
So, I think he is actually asking for all of this.
OI:And there are a lot of self references in the film to that.
This is not what people want to see.
They want to be titillated.
They want to do this.
She says, All that gyrating and moaning.
I want to talk about something thats more expressive about who I am.
And so, it is all done with a kind of subversive, intentional kind of eye.
I think a lot of it is on purpose.
It is to kind of provoke some of those things.
[laughs]
And I grew up drawing comic books, and they had huge tits.
But that was less about Yeah, huge tits!
It was more about thats just the comic book aesthetic.
And the dudes have huge pecs and cod pieces.
And granted, there is a more sexual element in this film, because theyre at a brothel.
Most of it takes place within a brothel.
And I wouldnt say its done in an unthought of way.
Like, its by accident we made a sexist movie.
You know what Im saying?
Which I think some people would dismiss it as such.
And I think thats not an intelligent dismissal.
And Zack Snyder is obviously famous for his visual style.
But how is he to work with, for you as actors?
That doesnt get talked about so much.
And I have to say, though De Palma and Zack are very different filmmakers.
I find that the two…
Certainly Zack is not one of those.
Debbie Snyder, who produces his films as well, they create this amazing family environment.
Its like a tapestry.
You have to have someone who is really at the helm.
But he allows us so much room for creating and for bringing stuff to the table.
Its a really nice balance.
CG:Yeah, thats what I mean.
It seems that that is the case with people who are visually very dynamic as directors.
And I think sometimes that happens.
But these guys they are just…
I think maybe you might look at some other directors and go, Oh.
OI:I think everyone is entitled to their opinion.
When you had downtime on theSucker Punchset, did you compare war stories from your Ridley Scott experiences?
CG:Yeah, but we both love Ridley.
Its more of a mutual admiration society.
OI:Hes a general.
He works in a very different way, because right afterRobin HoodI came intoSucker Punch.
Both of these very big movies, but shot in very different ways.
Ridley shoots with eleven cameras and a wall of monitors.
And hes just like, A hundred horses here.
And behind the scenes, people are running around doing everything he says.
And then coming to this film, Zack, single camera.
It was a much more slower paced process.
It felt a bit more intimate.
OI:Yeah, yeah.
Theyre both very collaborative.
CG:I think its a lot about casting.
It is sort of getting the people that they know are going to deliver.
And then Ridley would be much more… And then he left and I was like, Okay.
And then when I did I was like, That was so much better!
[both laugh] You know what I mean?
But it was such a simple, sort of like he had been pondering.
He wasnt sure, but, Yeah, maybe just this.
[laughs]
OI:Its true.
I did it, Cut.
I did it three times, and it felt a little funny.
So I was, like, Hold on a second.
[both laugh] Im like, Okay!
and run back up.
So, youre kind of working without a safety net a little bit.
Can I ask about some of the smaller movies youve done?
But it hasnt come out in the U.K. since.
CG:Or in the U.S.
Do you follow your films after youre done?
Do you look at that situation where a great little film like that just hasnt been picked up?
OI:Yeah, absolutely, you wonder.
It got nominated for all these awards down in Australia.
I was lucky enough to get one for the supporting actor down there.
Unfortunately, Im not in any place where I can be like, This is my movie.
Why dont you guys distribute it or something?
But that was one that I was definitely incredibly proud of and completely shocked with.
And thats the thing.
You never know how it comes out.
So, its always a leap of faith.
Have you seen it, Carla?
CG:I have not.
I really want to see it.
Its a hard film to track down.
OI:Yeah, its one of these very… its like an underestimated…
Rob Connolly directed it.
You know, you underestimate it at your peril.
Its a very emotional and incredible true story.
CG:I feel I have already seen it, because we have spoken about it a lot.
CG:Which is again so frustrating.
Yeah, that is interesting.
But interestingly enough,Elektra Luxxcame out in the United States on March 11th through Samuel Goldwyn.
And I would say that probablyElektra Luxxwill have a life on Netflix, which we have.
You folks dont have Netflix?
We have something similar, a DVD rental service I might not be able to name.
CG:And well be lucky if five thousand people see it before that phase starts.
I think thats the thing about independent films right now: how do you get them seen?
Because we are in a culture now where theyre playing at megaplexes.
I think its actually kind of an exciting time.
I do think that theres a place.
It is going to have to happen.
People want to see them.
OI:In much the same way as music.
The whole things changed.
It requires quite a lot of creativity now.
Its like being a band now.
Getting a record deal is a meaningless thing now.
Because, inSin City,a lot of people will remember you as missing an arm.
CG:Exactly, exactly.
Or you know orSpy Kids, orNight At The Museum.
OI:Is that what they remember you from, inSin City?
Carla:[Laughs] That was polite, that was kind and I appreciated it.
Do you both find that?
I guess its tough to favour one over another.
CG:I love them all.
I love doing theatre for the same reason, and television.
I really like to mix it up, because I think one informs the other.
OI:Its also tough to judge it.
Is it by the experience of doing it or the result?
Because thats a tough one.
Because as far as experience and result, I guess I would saySucker Punch, to a certain extent.
CG:And I do feel that way as well.
I really do love that the characters and their dynamics.
OI:All the stuff that we had intended and worked on.
CG:Yeah, is there.
Have you seen then the Directors Cut ofSucker Punchthat is maybe in the offing?
There is a bit more Jon Hamm.
Thats something to look forward to, then?
CG:I know.
You have to tell people also to wait for the end titles, because people dont know…
The Busby Berkeley routine…
CG:Exactly!
Carla Gugino and Oscar Isaac, thank you very much.
Sucker Punchis out now in cinemas.
