Ahead of the films release, he spared us some time for a chat.
It didnt take long for Stathams name to crop up either…
I was watching Tom HanksThat Thing You Dothe other day, oddly enough.
Its you in that, isnt it?
[Laughs] Yes!
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I finally watched the extended cut.
Have you seen that version?
Ive always liked the movie.
And Tom Hanks, of course, directed the film, having come from an acting background like yourself.
What kind of tips do you pick up from someone like him?
But it never changed.
I got to the set, and I still had that long scene.
What was cool was just watching him with his DP and how they set up the shot.
Then they did the last take, and said thats it.
Suddenly the whole crew was gone, they ran off to the next location.
They did it as a one-r, which I dont think Id be brave enough to do!
To shoot it in one take.
In comedy, I need to be able to control things too much.
WithSpy, what I really liked is you didnt cop out.
You didnt do it as a spoof, orMr Bean-style.
Your central character, Susan Cooper, has a core of competence.
Thats what makes it work.
This is obviously your script, your idea, and utterly you from start to finish.
So what was the seed of it?
I love spy movies.
When we were doingThe Heat, it was so much fun doing the little bit of action we had.
I love action movies and stunts, so wanted to do something with a lot of that.
Ive also always been a fan of the Bond films, especially when the Daniel Craig series started.
I was like, thats how they should look.
It all added up to wanting to do something like that.
And I took it from there.
A woman who becomes a spy, the brains behind the real spy.
How do you write it, then?
Do you write the spy movie first, then put the jokes on top?
The spy movie has to work, or the film doesnt.
I didnt want it to be a spoof or parody.
I wanted to do a real spy movie with real stakes.
That how I write everything I do.
Even the scripts that I dont write and come in and work on.
Treat it like a drama.
Certain things you think could be funny.
I was putting myself in her shoes when she has her first kill.
What would happen if I did it?
So then she does.
You find the moments, and then you start putting the jokes in.
You want a plot that really works.
Youve hinted there that youve gone in and done script work on other projects.
Im guessing its not onTransformers?
No, no, no!
No, more thatBridesmaidsandThe Heatwere credited to other people.
Although I did do some work on the first remake ofSpider-Man.
I did some of the high school scenes.
Which was… fun.
We talked in the past about how geek culture has changed, and has become popular.
Spyseems to be the extension of that.
Is going against expectation still what interests you the most?
Its not even like a conscious thing.
Its just if everyone is off doing one thing, its less interesting to me.
This one came from a lot of things.
I keep making movies about working class situations, but I love style, and I love travel.
I wanted to do something just in that world.
Itd be nice to have a wardrobe person!
Howard Hawks is one of my favourite directors, because he worked in so many different genres!
And you go, I get it now.
Itll be fun to dip into this, and put my spin on this.
Then go, okay, Ill try this over here.
Kind of a kid in a candy store a little bit.
But I still think theres a thread of positivity that underpins your movies., and theyre free of snark.
How hard do you work at that?
Its how I see the world.
I dont like snarky stuff.
I like a positive attitude.
Were having fun with negative characters and stuff, but still, I want it to be buoyant.
Lifes too short to have this darkness.
I think its why I love working with women, and making comedy using funny women.
Mens comedy can get very aggressive.
I can only assume that youre taking your casting dues from us.
So, for the next one: how about Dolph Lundgren?
That he told Steven Knight that he has something in him that nobody had yet discovered.
Hence, he got theHummingbirdrole.
Did you feel the same way when you cast Jason Statham in a comedy?
Im as big a fan as you guys are of Statham.
I have seenLock, Stock.
Ive seen every one of his movies.
But it was when I saw the firstCrankmovie that I was like, hes funny.
He has to know its bananas.
Hes in on the joke, but hes playing it dead serious.
So I became absolutely obsessed.
I have to put him in a comedy, but it took years to figure out what it was.
When I was writing this, I thought I need this kind of testosterone-laden rival spy for her.
Finally, I can write something for Statham.
I put it together for him, but then thought hell never do this.
You dont know Statham.
He could be as hes like in his movies.
He could beat me up.
But he comes in with this big smile, and we hit it off.
I put it to him, and he went for it.
Have fun with it, but youve got to play it dead straight.
The character is a great spy, but hes made a bunch of mistakes.
He quits, so hes lost that perspective on the world.
He basically recites the plots to half of his films!
Blake Edwards always approached the character of Inspector Clouseau as very pure.
That in Clouseaus eyes, he believes what hes doing is the right thing.
And thats the only way to do comedy.
Lets laugh at him.
Youve got to love these characters, even if theyre ridiculous.
But what does success do to that?
Does it make it worse or better?
It makes it worse in a way.
I have a weird perspective on it.
It keeps you on track and working hard.
But its so much angst.
But I do think why cant I just enjoy this?
Do you find yourself running into conflict as a result of that?
Its like the end of level boss.
Theres no comfortable choice.
There are ones with less outside pressure on things.
But Ive always done this in my career.
Ill get an idea, and before I can really weigh out the odds against, Ill commit.
Like jumping into a pool.
I have to get myself into the middle of something.
Then, when Im half way through, Ill go why the fuck did I do this?!
But then youre figuring it out.
You then have to extract yourself from those.
But when you have that initial I know how to do this, that should carry you through.
Youre always up against it.
But then you realise its an organic thing.
Its what you make it.
It makes you slowly panic less!
Ive directed a lot of stuff, in television too, and Ive been on a lot of sets.
Ive always gone into it with a bit of dread for the first day of production.
Then you get in it, and it happens.
You hire great people.
I hire these great actors, this great crew.
Problem solving will then happen.
You will get something.
You may get something 180 degrees away from what you thought, but youll get something.
Its worked over the course of entertainment, but I dont think its a good way to do stuff.
You cut off all the natural talents of all the good people around you.
When you get on that set, thats when everything should happen.
You work your ass off to get to that set.
But then youve got cameras going, youve got talented people, you want them to do their thing.
So what strange magic was sprinkled on theFreaks & Geeksset?
Now, its directors!
Is it a filmmakers union going on there?!
But not that much really.
I just spoke to John Francis Daley during an interview, but I hadnt spoken to him in years.
But you know what?
They were all such smart people.
We were all so into it, there was an indie film spirit.
I think they picked up on that, we brought them into the process.
You want to change a line, you cant do it.
But we wore our hearts on our sleeves.
They saw the process, they saw how organic it could be.
It wasnt like we were an improv-heavy set, but scripts came out of playing around and watching them.
Something they said behind the scenes would end up in a script.
I think it just demystified the process for them.
Youve talked in the past too about how the most interesting stuff is happening in television.
But now it seems that online services are usurping television, which are in turn usurping film.
Youve doneOther Spaceyourself now.
But with your own career youve not been pulling the ladder up.
Youre using the influence that you evidently have now to get other peoples projects made.
The stuff you do along those lines, is it material you just dont have time to do yourself?
And is it rewarding to hold that ladder in place for people?
Thats why I was so excited to doOther Space.
I didnt want to cut myself off from anything, I wanted to create things.
And I also wanted to create these farm teams of people.
Then let them go, and see who pops up.
Then importing them into my films.
Again, the only thing you want to confirm is you dont overextend.
You dont want to produce something thats not good.
Ive seen that happen with people who have big names, and then their names are on everything.
And then you go thats not so good.
So basically, this is a Paul Feig movie universe!
[Laughs] Exactly!
Well, youve got a post-credits sting on this one, youre getting the hang of this!
Two quick questions before Im chucked out then.
Firstly, your next book: are you going to find time in your schedule somewhere to write it?
Ive got a lot of stories collected.
I will finish it, I will finish it!
Do you want to commit to a date here and now?
I need a deadline.
Ive nearly finished the book Im reading at the moment, so Tuesday week is good for me.
And finally, apart from your own, whats your favourite Jason Statham movie?
Oh man, oh man.
The last one Ive seen!
Its really hard to say, but I do think the firstCrank.
Oh my god, its just so nuts.
But then the second ones hilarious too.
Its nut, its nuts.
Paul Feig, thank you very much!
