Jack Black Interview, Tropic Thunder

MoviesOnline had the pleasure of talking to Jack Black about his new movie, Tropic Thunder, a genre-bending action-comedy directed by Ben Stiller. Black, Stiller, and Robert Downey, Jr. lead an ensemble cast in this hilarious action comedy about a group of self-absorbed actors who set out to make the biggest war film ever and unwittingly wind up in a real battle with the real bad guys.

Black plays Jeff Portnoy, the star of a popular gross-out comedy franchise called "The Fatties," who’s looking to branch out, to show the world that there’s more to him than just getting laughs from passing gas.

When escalating costs and the out of control egos of the cast threaten to shut down the top-heavy Hollywood production, the frustrated director (Steve Coogan) refuses to stop shooting. He takes his cast deep into the jungles of Southeast Asia to shoot the film guerilla style for "increased realism," but gets more than he bargained for.

"Jeff Portnoy takes things to a whole new level. Portnoy has made a career out of fart movies," Black says. "I’ve done some gross-out movies myself, but Portnoy is at the next level above Jack Black in terms of dominating the world of farts." Although Portnoy’s lowbrow humor has made him an international superstar, Black explains, he now wants more respect as an actor. "Portnoy is trying to branch out and get a little more legit," he says.

When Portnoy and the rest of the cast get stranded in the jungle, we learn something else about him – he has a major substance abuse problem. As Stiller observes, "You get to watch Portnoy going cold turkey. Jack naturally did it in a very entertaining way, but he also made it very believable. Being able to strike that balance is tough, but Jack totally committed to it."

Jack Black is a fabulous guy and we really appreciated his time. Here’s more of what he had to tell us about Tropic Thunder:

MoviesOnline: Congratulations.

JACK BLACK: Thank you. On my new baby or on this movie?

MoviesOnline: Both.

JACK BLACK: Well the new baby came out very well. Hopefully this movie will come out as good as my baby did.

MoviesOnline: Do you expect it to overtake "Dark Knight" and become #1 at the box office?

JACK BLACK: Oh, would we be the ones to pull it off? No, there’s another weekend before then.

MoviesOnline: Who knows?

JACK BLACK: I know. They’re going so strong. They’re barely going down. "The Mummy" didn’t do it. "Mamma Mia" didn’t do it. We need another Mamma movie to try. Mammame. Maybe we should change the movie to "Mamma Thunder." Mamma Thunder!

MoviesOnline: What attracted you to this project?

JACK BLACK: Well Ben sent me the script and I’ve worked with Ben a lot over the years. He gave me great opportunities early in my career before I was famous. He helped me along. And the script is so funny that I knew I had to do it.

MoviesOnline: Do you guys share the same sense of humor?

JACK BLACK: Yeah. He’s a little smarter and a little faster than me. [snaps his fingers] So sometimes I’m like "What? I don’t get it. [delayed reaction] Oh! [laughs] Way funny!" But in the end we are both laughing at the same things.

MoviesOnline: When you read the script, did you say "This is cool but here are my thoughts. Maybe we should add this"?

JACK BLACK: Yeah. I read the script and I thought this is fantastic but I don’t want to get on the water buffalo in my underpants. Let’s change that. Yeah, it’s not funny. It’s just not funny. Nah, I knew it was funny but I was scared to do it because it’s very dangerous and when I got there, I tried to talk him out of it. I said "Look at this. I have a really funny walk. I can do it without a…" and he said "No, it’s just much better if you’re on a water buffalo." So I did it but it was dangerous. It was dangerous! I risked my life for Ben Stiller for the good of the film.

MoviesOnline: Maybe you’ll get an award?

JACK BLACK: No, I won’t get any awards for that. The Canadians never get the awards. That’s why the clown is crying.

MoviesOnline: The younger audience that follows you is not going to be able to see this movie unless they sneak in?

JACK BLACK: Oh, the children? Yes, unfortunately, the children will not be allowed into this film. They can’t see all the Jack Black films and maybe I’m pleased by that.

MoviesOnline: Why?

JACK BLACK: Well because everyone wants to put me in a box and say you are only for children. No, I’m not. I’ll be for adults too.

MoviesOnline: Before this film I thought you were a peacenik, a very peaceful person, but you’re so at ease with guns in this movie?

JACK BLACK: I know. That’s very strange. I’ve never shot a gun before so it was very strange how good I was at it right away.

MoviesOnline: Was that an M-60 you were using?

JACK BLACK: It was an M-60. You know your guns!

MoviesOnline: That‘s a big one!

JACK BLACK: They call it the pig because it’s so big and fat. And yeah, I was able to run and shoot at the same time with it. It’s like a 40-pound gun. Yeah, but I’m still a peacenik at heart. My gun doesn’t shoot bullets. It just shoots love. It’s a love gun.

MoviesOnline: So you wouldn’t make a good soldier then?

JACK BLACK: Nah, I’m too scared. I don’t like violence and I’m a little bit cowardly. I would be hiding. [laughs] I don’t want to die. I love life too much. I don’t have a death wish.

MoviesOnline: Is the level of neurosis on a real movie set usually as high as the one in this film?

JACK BLACK: The level of neurosis?

MoviesOnline: Yes.

JACK BLACK: On a movie set? Yeah. I mean this one was. Yeah, you get the same fears and tensions. It was interesting because it’s a movie about making movies so you pay a little more attention to your own behavior. I think there were less diva attitudes and behavior on this movie. We were on our best behavior.

MoviesOnline: What about the other ones?

JACK BLACK: I like to think that I‘m a little more grounded than your average movie star. I don’t think I’m as high maintenance, but it’s hard to say. I’m not really objective.

MoviesOnline: Ben’s character demanded TIVO. What are the things that you really demand on set?

JACK BLACK: I have to have a refridgerator filled with iced green tea. If it’s not there, forget it. Someone’s going to get fired. I’m not coming out of my trailer.

MoviesOnline: A specific brand?

JACK BLACK: I like the Japanese iced tea. Ichiban or something? I can’t remember what it’s called.

MoviesOnline: Are you going to avoid Eddie Murphy from now on?

JACK BLACK: Am I going to avoid him? No, do you think he’s going to be mad? I love Eddie Murphy. He’s very funny. Eddie Murphy does a lot of different roles in a lot of different movies and if I made fun of one specific movie, I think he will forgive me. He’s one of the funniest men in the world. I think he’ll have a sense of humor about this as well.

MoviesOnline: How was it to witness Robert Downey Jr.’s performance firsthand?

JACK BLACK: He was very funny and it’s an amazing transformation. He had the hardest role in the movie because if you look at it, he was playing four different characters if you count the trailer at the beginning when he played the priest from Ireland and then he also plays the African American and then he also plays the Australian underneath it all and then he also plays the Southeastern Vietnamese farmer. He’s all over the place. It’s a real tour de force on his part and he was making me laugh a lot.

MoviesOnline: You had to perform with some fat people farting in a trailer?

JACK BLACK: That’s true. Yeah, nobody talks about all my characters. I performed six different characters -- well five in that movie and then the actual Jeff Portnoy. Jeff Portnoy. Yeah.

MoviesOnline: How did you find Ben as a director?

JACK BLACK: Ben was a tremendous actor’s director because he knows what we go through because he’s an actor too. He used some of the techniques that he uses as an actor in his directing. He likes to do a lot of takes in a row without cutting and that helps you keep the flow. He appreciates good comedy and you can tell when he’s enjoying it. It gives you energy. It makes you want to do an even better job.

MoviesOnline: Do you want to do the same, like writing or directing?

JACK BLACK: No. I like to collaborate. I wouldn’t want to direct something on my own. I’d want to maybe produce something and work with a director. I always need someone to bounce off of. If I was just the head honcho making all the decisions, I would feel a little insecure. You know what it is too? I have a lot of second guessing. I’m like, "Yeah, this is really funny. Nah, this isn’t funny! I’m getting rid of it all." I don’t know that the movie would ever be finished if I was in charge.

MoviesOnline: Do you agree that today comedies are becoming more and more low brow?

JACK BLACK: No, I don’t. I think there’s been a movement away from that. Like there was a big thing around "Something About Mary" when that was released. That was when real low brow movies were kind of peaking. But now I think people expect a little more intelligence and a little more social commentary in their comedies. Ever since "Borat" came out, I think people expect a little more from their comedies.

MoviesOnline: Probably a combination of different types of humor like in "Borat"?

JACK BLACK: Yeah. That’s right. You could say, I guess, that "Borat" took gross out to a new level with his face inside that other guy’s balls and ass but at the same time he was making commentary about racism and homophobia and these things that were really thought-provoking and holding a mirror up to society in a way that you haven’t seen, so I think it’s a really exciting time for comedy.

MoviesOnline: Judd Apatow seems to be the man of the hour right now. Didn’t you just work with him?

JACK BLACK: Yeah. He’s the most prolific filmmaker I think in the industry. He’s always juggling 5 different projects that he’s producing or directing. He’s great. He’s one of the great harnessers of improvisational filmmaking.

MoviesOnline: Is that what you enjoy – improv on set?

JACK BLACK: I like to improv but I insist on a good, solid script foundation. You have to have a good jumping off point. You can’t just start improv-ing with a crappy script and think it’s going to be good.

MoviesOnline: You like to think outside the box but why do you keep doing comedy? Are we going to see you again in a drama?

JACK BLACK: I do whatever is good that’s around. If there are opportunities to do different things, I jump at those too.

MoviesOnline: Would you like to see a sequel to "School of Rock"?

JACK BLACK: Yeah. If it’s good. It has to be better than the first one is the problem and that’s going to be difficult because I really loved the first one.

MoviesOnline: Are you talking about it?

JACK BLACK: Yeah, we’re developing it. Mike’s writing the script and Richard Linklater is giving us notes and stuff. All the pieces have to come together. Otherwise it’s not worth it. I don’t want to do it if it’s not better. You know what I mean? Because if it comes out and it’s not as good, even if it’s okay, it’s good, then people would be like "Yeah…" It would look greedy on my part like I just did it for [the money]. I don’t want to do it for that reason.

MoviesOnline: What do you look for in a project you’re considering?

JACK BLACK: I like something, like I say, that has a little something to say about the world we live in that‘s a little original, a different take or something I haven’t seen before. I just look for movies that I would want to go see. That’s what I want to be in. People I want to work with. If there’s a really great actor on board, then I might jump on for that reason, but more importantly, the story.

MoviesOnline: Is your career what you expected it to be when you decided to be an actor?

JACK BLACK: I love acting. Is this what I expected? No, I didn’t expect to be in this position. I would have been happy just to know that I could make a living in the arts and not have to get a real job. [laughs] This is beyond my expectations for sure.

MoviesOnline: If a bunch of funnymen come together to shoot a comedy, one would think once the cameras are off there’s a lot of fooling around. Is that how it was on set? Did you guys hang out?

JACK BLACK: Yeah, there was some hanging out. I’m kind of private though. I go into my trailer and just read books and play games and chill out in my air conditioning and drink my iced teas.

MoviesOnline: No jam sessions with Robert Downey?

JACK BLACK: I did fly a kite. I got a kite that I like to fly and some toy airplanes. I am like a child really. There was some music, yeah. I brought my guitar.

MoviesOnline: What’s going on with Tenacious D?

JACK BLACK: We’ve got some shows coming up. We’ve got concerts in Leeds and Redding in England and we’re going to do a show in Dublin with Metallica. We’re going to open for Metallica.

MoviesOnline: No way!

JACK BLACK: Yeah, it makes sense. We’ve got a lot of heavy metal roots. You’re thinking that they’re going to kill us. [laughs] Someone’s going to destroy us.

MoviesOnline: Probably.

JACK BLACK: Well hopefully we’ll survive that. And then we’ll come home and make an album. That’s the plan.

MoviesOnline: Usually on a movie you write a song like you did for "King Kong"?

JACK BLACK: Oh yeah. That didn’t get used though.

MoviesOnline: Yeah, but it was good.

JACK BLACK: Thank you.

MoviesOnline: Did you have one for Tropic Thunder?

JACK BLACK: No, but did you see on MTV we did a little…so there was a little song there. You could say I wrote that song for Tropic Thunder. It was a promotional jingle. It goes [singing] "Go see Tropic Thunder with the Panda and don’t forget the Iron Man!" And then I get kicked in the balls. Arghhhh!!! By an Iron Foot.

MoviesOnline: And then your head explodes.

JACK BLACK: Exactly. Ah, what we won’t do for the promotion of a film.

MoviesOnline: What’s the most method acting you’ve done in any of your films?

JACK BLACK: I bring some method to all of my roles, even the most ridiculous. You’re laughing. You’re thinking, "No he doesn’t!" [laughs] Even this one. I always think what if I was in this? What if this was really happening? What if I was in this position? What in my life has been similar to this or that? And I’ll do my research. I’ll watch the behavior of other people. I’ll watch some other documentaries on drug addiction and people having withdrawal symptoms. So I do my homework. You tell your magazines! [laughs]

"Tropic Thunder" opens in theaters on August 13th.