Heading into UK cinemas today is the ultra-violent, surprisingly sweet ice hockey comedy,Goon.
Andhe sat down with us for a natter about it…Lets start withGoon, then.
Its a nice surprise of a film, and a breathtakingly violent one!
Can you give us a flavour of how you went about capturing the sheer intensity of the matches themselves?
Real credit to the director, whos a hockey fan.
And also to Jay Baruschel and Evan Goldberg.
When they were writing it, they really wanted to capture that.
Even though I grew up in Minnesota, I didnt play hockey.
I played three other sports.
So they knew all the little details and the things that were crucial to making it feel real.
That felt pretty real, even when we were doing it.
Credit to the director, again.
I was kind of, Id seen how other films had shot fights.
You break it down.
This one, they wanted to keep it moving, and make it feel like it was on skates.
I thought man, this feels really intense, maybe unnecessarily.
But when you watch it?
The director had a masterplan.
He knew it had to feel that kinetic.
I wrote it down here, that the action material seems to have been done in long takes.
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Exactly.
And that was the thing.
As an actor, I was exhausted.
It was a different kind of fighting.
Even though we didnt always land punches, it was physical.
There would be times when theyd be hes going to throw seven punches, youre going to throw ten.
Wed do one walkthrough of it, and then wed shoot it!
It felt pretty crazy.
You should do aBournemovie next.
Itll be a piece of piss after this.
[Laughs]
Did you get any war wounds from all the fighting?
I felt pretty bruised up.
My back was off for a while, but no, I was fine!
And that was intense!
How did that one differ?
Hes just a really strong guy.
We knew it was going to be a big fight, and we knew it had to be physical.
Hes not joking around!
After two days, I think we shot it after two days, I was exhausted.
I think I lost about five pounds.
Could you beat Liev in an arm wrestle?
No way, no.
I feel like Im a pretty strong guy, but hes a really strong dude.
Your role in guy is a bit of a contrast to some of the stuff youve done before.
Also, youre anchoring the film.
A lot of your films have been more ensemble driven, but youre front and centre ofGoon.
If we dont buy you, the rest of the film doesnt work.
Yeah, I was worried about that.
Did you feel that on your shoulders?
I wanted the opportunity, and I was searching for something that allowed me to act a little more.
Full credit to that director, thats a really great film.
The director knew what he wanted, because Dougs a good guy, and he means well.
And when I watched it, it all came off.
I think thats why you’re free to get away with the violence in the fights.
If he wasnt so sweet, then hes just another guy beating people up.
You wouldnt really like him.
I think the director really had a masterplan as to how to use the character effectively.
Ive done movies when I didnt do a very good job and nobody saw it.
AndGary The Tennis Coach.
I could have been better, I could have done a better job.
But then you land something likeRole Models…
Yeah!
Its a great movie.
Its the evolution of where you were eight or nine years ago, but with a more leading role.
c’mon make aRole Models 2.
We improvised a lot.
About 50 per cent of it was improvised, I read?
But that little kid inRole Modelswas great…
Fuck you, Ben Affleck!
Then you see it in the movie, and you think thats fucking great!
Or when he goes Fuck you, Miss Daisy.
Its a great line.
Was it you who got Eugene Levy involved withGoon, out of interest?
You know what, it wasnt.
I dont know if it was Jay or the directors idea.
I was so excited, obviously, because Im a huge fan.
Even though hes funny, hes still really tough.
Have you seenWaiting For Guffman?
I think thats him at his finest.
Awww…Best In Show,too.
I think Guffman beats Show.
You know that audition scene?
He said that was like a real audition.
Christopher Guest said come in and think what you would do to audition for this.
It was all his stuff, the sing-songs.
One last question, though.
Where are you up to with it?
Youve gotAmerican Reunionin April…
Yeah.
Honestly, that movie ended up so good, and it was such a fun thing to do.
I dont know what the idea would be, but the movie was awesome.
Whats great about it, is that theyre adults now.
You dont have to likeAmerican Pieto enjoy this.
If you enjoyRole Models, or the Apatow films, this kind of fits in there.
These guys are now adults, and its more relatable things.
I think its going to be great.
Seann William Scott, thank you very much…
