Steve Martin, Pink Panther 2 Interview

MoviesOnline sat down with Steve Martin to talk about his starring role in the new movie, The Pink Panther 2, the sequel to the 2006 worldwide hit in which he reprises the role of intrepid-if-bumbling French police detective, Inspector Jacques Clouseau. 

When legendary treasures from around the world are stolen, including the priceless Pink Panther Diamond, Chief Inspector Dreyfus (John Cleese) is forced to assign Clouseau to a team of international detectives and experts charged with catching the thief and retrieving the stolen artifacts.  Martin is joined by his co-stars Jean Reno (as Ponton, his partner) and Emily Mortimer (as Nicole, the object of his awkward affections).  The investigative dream team is played by Andy Garcia, Alfred Molina, Yuki Matsuzaki (Letters from Iwo Jima) and Bollywood star Aishwarya Rai Bachchan.  Lily Tomlin also stars. 

The Pink Panther 2 is directed by Harald Zwart from a screenplay by Scott Neustadter & Michael H. Weber and Steve Martin. The story, set in Paris and Rome, is based on characters created by Maurice Richlin and Blake Edwards.

Steve Martin is one very funny guy and we really appreciated his time. Here’s what he had to tell us about his new movie:
 
STEVE MARTIN:  I've never worn glasses in front of the press before.

Q:  SO NOW YOU CAN SEE US?

STEVE MARTIN:  Yes.

Q: THERE IS A FAMOUS QUOTE FROM YOUR FATHER WHICH SAID 'WELL, HE'S NOT CHARLIE CHAPLIN.' YET IF HE SAW THIS FILM YOU SEEMED AT MOMENTS, ESPECIALLY IN THE SECURITY SCENE, TO BE CHANNELING CHARLIE CHAPLIN.  IT WAS ESPECIALLY REMINISCENT OF 'THE GREAT DICTATOR' AND THERE IS A DASH OF HAROLD LLOYD ALSO.
 
STEVE MARTIN:  May I have your name so I can send you a gift?

Q: DID YOU WATCH 'THE GREAT DICTATOR'?

STEVE MARTIN: Well, I've certainly seen all those movies.  Thank you for the compliment.  I was watching a 'Make 'em Laugh' show last night and how great Charlie Chaplin was.  I felt like what a pretender I was. Anyway, it's just something I do. I didn't really study up on anything. Although I did have an idea and I said 'You know we are making a kind of...' I don't want to say slapstick because it's so the wrong word. We are making a physical comedy so I said 'We should go back and look at all those films.  We need to evaluate those gags. There must be one hundred great gags that we could actually just take and no one would know.  But we didn't do that, but I do appreciate the compliment. I'm sorry for being long winded.  He's the moderator and he's in charge.

Q: THERE IS OBVIOUSLY A JAB AT THE MEDIA IN THE FILM SO I'M WONDERING HOW INTRUSIVE YOU THINK THE MEDIA IS THESE DAYS?  ARE YOU GETTING SICK OF US?

STEVE MARTIN:  What jab at the media?  I'm curious.  There is a line in the movie that I actually heard Norman Mailer say one time.  We were looking for some lines and the press was interviewing us.  Norman Mailer had just come out of this trial of someone, a criminal, he had championed and then the guy went out and murdered somebody. He was humiliated.  He comes out of the trial and they interviewed him.  They said 'What do you think about the trial?'  He said 'No comment.'  They said 'Can you tell us how you are feeling right now?' and he said 'If I made a comment after I said no comment I would look like an ass, wouldn't I?' I thought that was great so we put that in the movie.  I don't have a problem with the press.  I have a problem with negative press.  We are all sensitive but I know that people would never do that.

Q: WHY IS INSPECTOR CLOUSEAU SUCH A BELOVED CHARACTER?

STEVE MARTIN: Because I'm playing him. Sorry, no.  It's strange what film does.  The qualities of Inspector Clouseau, which are pettiness, egocentricity, lack of intelligence, and bumbling, in a film are lovable. In life you go 'Get me out of here.'  Oh, and arrogance, I forgot about arrogance.

Q:  IN TERMS OF THE PHYSICAL COMEDY, YOU KNOW THE ROUTINES THAT WERE PRESENTED IN THE FILMS LONG AGO WHICH HAD NO SOUND OR LANGUAGE.  I'M WONDERING, FOR YOU, WHEN YOU ARE APPROACHING A ROLE SUCH AS THIS AND THERE IS A GREAT DEAL OF PHYSICAL COMEDY AND VERBAL AS WELL, HOW DO YOU TIME, PACE, AND MINGLE THE TWO?

STEVE MARTIN:  For me it's done in my head.  I visualize the scene, it's automatic, and you kind of get a feeling of what the timing should be.  You try and get in shape of course, physical shape, to do it.  I think that there is an intellectual property to the physical gags.  In my world they have to be set up. You just don't walk into a door.  You walk into a door for a reason that's been laid down. I think there are scenes in the movie, maybe the Pope scenes, where you just know that trouble is coming, and it's a logical scene.  It's not just getting bumped around.  I think that's very important otherwise you just lower the film a little bit.  The bottle scene has a certain elegance to it and I utilized one of my high school skills of juggling.  I juggled a little bit more but it got cut.

Q: THAT WASN'T DIGITAL?  IT WAS REAL?

STEVE MARTIN:  Some were digital but those were actual jugglers in the scene. Most of them were real wooden bottles.  The struggle of course is to make the jugglers look clumsy. They are so elegant so they had to make it look like it was really happening.  Harold Zwart used a great technique I had never seen before, in this modern digital world, a special effect done in the camera. I've never seen it in all my years.  For example, the scene where I get run over by a team of horses?  What he did was I walked up to the doors, I started to open them, and then I froze.  On the video monitor he took a crayon and drew around my body on the video screen. The camera stayed put and they cut.  The camera is in the same position, I left, and they put in a dummy in my clothes and exactly the position on the crayon on the video screen.  Then 'boom' the horses come out.  I thought that was fantastic in a world where you could have done it a million different ways.  We just did it right there in the camera.  

Q: THEY MENTIONED HAROLD LLOYD AND CHARLIE CHAPLIN. CLOUSEAU WAS CREATED 45 YEARS AGO NOW.  DO YOU SEE HIM AS AN ORIGINAL CHARACTER OR IS HE A CONTINUATION OF AN EVERY MAN DUNCE?  DO YOU THINK THAT GETTING THE GIRL AT THE END OF THE MOVIE IS GOING TO CHANGE HIM IN SOME FUNDAMENTAL WAY?

STEVE MARTIN:  When I was pitching the story to Sony, other writers come up with the [?] idea for the story but I was dealing with other arcs of the story.  I said 'You know I have to tell you that every movie I've ever done, that ends in a wedding, or me holding a baby, has been a hit.'  I actually was being cute, but I really think... Let me answer the question first. I think that he is a classic character that Peter Sellers really invented, fortunately for me.  I do believe that we've taken it somewhere else and in a sense made it our own.  We haven't stolen anything from them.  We view the character like James Bond where other actors can play him.  I have an interesting note.  I'm the fourth actor to play this role.  I keep thinking I'm the second but I'm really the fourth.  Blake Edwards, the original director, did three of them. We just discovered, as we made these movies, that there was a romantic thing happening between Nicole and Inspector Clouseau.  I think it's a great thing to use.  I think it's happy and nice.  If we ever do a third, it would obviously open with our honeymoon. I would take her across the threshold and she's wearing arm pads.

Q:  I THOUGHT THE SCENES BETWEEN YOU AND LILY TOMLIN WERE SOME OF MY FAVORITES.  I WONDERED WHAT IT WAS LIKE TO WORK WITH HER AGAIN AFTER SUCH A LONG TIME?

STEVE MARTIN:  It was a delight to work with Lily. There is a thing in show business where you can work with someone for three intense months, 20 years ago, maybe see them in passing over the 20 years, but when you are finally back together again you are finishing a sentence you started 20 years ago. Life is like that really. We had no warm up period really. We were really close friends doing that movie and it was very easy to work with her.  It was Lily implying all the innuendo things like the one where buttocks are showing.

Q: WAS IT ALL IMPROVISED?

STEVE MARTIN:  It was written and then improvised around. It went on maybe five times as long as the script.  

Q: HOW EXCITING WAS THIS PAST TUESDAY WITH THE INAUGURATION AND WERE YOU ABLE TO ATTEND?

STEVE MARTIN:  I was ecstatic, my wife was crying, and it was a great day.  [to Jean Reno] I know you don't care because you're French.  It was a great day for us.

Q: YOUR ARTISTIC EXPRESSION COMES FROM YOUR BANJO WORK, YOUR ALBUM WON A GRAMMY THERE, AND YOU CO-AUTHORED A CHILDREN'S NOVEL.  IT SEEMS LIKE YOU HAVE ALWAYS BEEN KIND OF FAMILY BASED.  CAN YOU TALK ABOUT HOW, WHEN YOU WERE CO-WRITING THE SCRIPT, THAT 'PINK PANTHER' HAS THE SAME VALUES?

STEVE MARTIN: Well, we learned something from the first movie.  By the way, I made a joke about it but I love the first movie.  We were kind of dealing with the legacy of Peter Sellers and Blake Edwards movies which were kind of risque. We had some of that in the movie and we realized, for this movie, that the audience that loved it was adults and families.  You have to be very careful that you don't suddenly start trying to appeal to a specific audience and then you've sold yourself out.  What they loved about the first movie is that it might have been a little bit risque.  You have to be very careful that you don't become pandering. We just thought it would be nice.  His having children actually brings his character to life, makes him a very genuine person. The hair washing scene, which I think is hilarious, works because these are two lonely guys in Paris who think 'Let's go out on the town' and they end up shampooing each other's hair.

Q: COULD YOU GIVE US A BEHIND THE SCENES LABOR OF THE STUNTS THAT YOU DID?  DO YOU THINK ACTION IS IN YOUR FUTURE?

STEVE MARTIN:  I've always dreamed of doing an action picture because I know that they would spend days shooting a car.  I would be home relaxing and then I'd come in at the last minute. Then I would sit behind the wheel and go 'What?' Then I would go back home, have dinner, and go to plays and theatre.  Then I come in two days later and go 'I told you so.'  It doesn't actually work out that way.  I would say the stunt I felt trickiest on was the very opening scene where I'm giving the guy the parking ticket.  I get my hand caught in the car and I'm running alongside the car.  The way that was actually done, don't tell anybody. There was a little running board they put by the car.  I didn't have to run on the ground, but do you know how hard it is to run in place?  It's harder than running. I have to make it look like my legs are hitting a foot below that point to make it look genuine.  I did that stunt, but then there was another high angle where someone else actually did it.  I did the walking on the globe. It's a contraption. I actually did walk on the globe but I was supported by wires.

Q: HOW COMFORTABLE WAS THE HARNESS?

STEVE MARTIN:  They have improved harnesses through the years.

Q:  I UNDERSTAND THAT YOU AND TONY TRISCHKA HAVE HISTORY BACK TO CLUBS IN GREENWICH VILLAGE?   IS THAT TRUE?

STEVE MARTIN:  Yes, weirdly.  I was probably 23 and I worked a club called 'The Metro'.  There was me, I was the headliner, and there was Tony Trischka's band.  And there was Steven Nixon Buckingham.  Buckingham Nicks.  We opened and nobody, not one person came.  I went to the owner and said 'You don't have to pay me. You don't have to hire me, I'll just go.'  He said 'No, let’s give it another night.'  The next night no one came.  Then he said 'Okay.'  

Q: WHEN YOU PICKED UP THE BANJO WAS IT LIKE A VAUDEVILLE TYPE OF THING?

STEVE MARTIN:  No, I was strictly interested in three finger bluegrass.  Earl Scruggs, Bill Keith, Jim Rooney, and The Dillards.

Q: AND TONY TRISCHKA'S MUSIC WAS INSPIRATIONAL?  HE WAS DOING SO MANY DIFFERENT FUSIONS THROUGHOUT HIS CAREER?

STEVE MARTIN: Throughout his career, but early on I was really influenced by Earl Scruggs and those Appalachian mountain players.  I just want to add that the rapport that Jean Reno and I have on screen is real.  He has a dry sense of humor, it's a bit like Clouseau and Ponton.  He's way ahead of the game when it comes to understanding comedy.  

Q: WHAT WAS THE MOST IMPORTANT THING YOU LEARNED TAKING ON THE CHALLENGE OF WRITING AN AUTOBIOGRAPHY?  YOU ARE THIS RENAISSANCE PERSON, ACTING, SINGING, SO WHAT TYPES OF ENTERTAINMENT DO YOU LIKE TO ENJOY?

STEVE MARTIN:  The challenges of writing the autobiography are...the biggest challenge is remembering.  It's interesting how your own history can be found outside your own mind. You talk to other people, going through memorabilia, which through the years I would throw in a cardboard box.  I describe it in the book.  It was like an archeological dig the further you go down.  Everything was in sequence.  At the bottom was the oldest, like the earth. It's also a writing challenge.  I felt I had to be very careful.  I don't want to brag, but I don't want to deny accomplishment.  That was a challenge that I enjoyed.  It’s really because I know that we're lucky, I've received inspiration from other people, and you naturally are humble. I was talking to someone yesterday in an interview.  They said 'You sound so humble.'  I said 'Comedy makes you humble because there are so many opportunities to miss and strike out.' Next, I listen to a lot of banjo music.  I joke with my wife because the shows we fall asleep to on TV are like 'Forensic Files'.  'And the head was cut off and buried into...'  The guy has such a soothing voice that it puts me to sleep.

Q: GOING BACK TO THE IDEA OF THIS MOVIE, WHICH SEEMS TO BE MAKING FUN OF THE FRENCH AND IT'S IN ENGLISH, WHAT HAPPENS WHEN IT'S SHOWN IN FRANCE?

STEVE MARTIN:  I never think we're making fun of anyone. We are just these characters.

Q: WILL YOU WRITE ANOTHER VOLUME FOR YOUR AUTOBIOGRAPHY?

STEVE MARTIN:  No. You want to know why?  I realized that it’s before you make it that is interesting.  I wanted to write step by step what had happened to get me to a certain place. Then after 1980 I was just doing movies.  Then it just becomes anecdotal.  'Then I met... Then we laughed...' and it had no story.  You could replace every name with anybody else's in the movie business.

Q: HOW DID YOU FIND THE LITTLE BOYS THAT PLAYED AND HOW FUN WAS IT WHEN YOU WERE FIGHTING WITH THEM?

STEVE MARTIN:  I'll just say one thing I've learned about comedy.  In any other profession, when you make it, you end up wearing a suit.  You are sitting behind a desk.  When you make it in show business you end up in a clown suit and riding on an elephant.  Here you are, grown up, going like this.  

Q: YOU NEVER GOT HURT?

STEVE MARTIN:  I only got hurt emotionally.

Q: CAN YOU TALK ABOUT THE ACTRESSES IN THE MOVIE AND WHAT IT WAS LIKE TO BE IN A TRIANGLE WITH TWO GORGEOUS WOMEN?

STEVE MARTIN: Well, Emily [Mortimer] is such a delight.  She is a real candy. She's also funny in life. She has a great sense of humor. Going to work with Jean, Harold, and Emily in the mornings? Or John Cleese?  You aren't walking into a tense situation, you are walking into a funny situation already.  Aishwarya [Rai], I didn't know about her before the movie.  I learned that she is a major star who can't walk down the street.  I was jealous of that.  She married one of India's top actors, handsome, so they make headlines. She was very, very nice and sweet. You never know what you are going to get into.  She was great and very nice.

Q: YOU ARE HOSTING 'SATURDAY NIGHT LIVE' TOMORROW?

STEVE MARTIN:  A week from tomorrow.  I hope!

Q: NOW ARE YOU OFFICIALLY THE RECORD HOLDER FOR HOSTING THE MOST TIMES?

STEVE MARTIN:  Yes.

Q:  IS IT OLD HAT FOR YOU?

STEVE MARTIN:  No, it's still live.  It never gets to be old hat.  There is still that little surge of energy before you go out there.  I tend to prepare for it.  I had this idea for a bit, which was, have you ever seen those mass emails where they send out 'Swedish Dance Band' album covers from 50's and 60's.  Have you seen those?  They are the worst, funny outfits, weird hair, all have lightening on their shirts.  I thought I could go through possible album covers for my book.  We could put my head on those covers.  They really look funny.  I think about it a lot.

Q: LILY TOMLIN WAS IN THE MOVIE AND RECENTLY YOU WERE SURFING WITH MARTIN SHORT?  DO YOU STILL KEEP IN CONTACT WITH CHEVY CHASE AS WELL?

STEVE MARTIN: Yeah, we do.  We talk every once in a while.  Chevy doesn't live in California so I don't get an opportunity to see him as much.  The 'Three Amigos' still exist.

Q:  YOU SPOKE OF SITTING ON AN ELEPHANT IN A CLOWN SUIT. I'M WONDERING IF THERE IS SOMETHING ABOUT ACTING THAT KEEPS YOU YOUNG? IF SO, WHAT IS IT?

STEVE MARTIN:  I think it's true.  You have to think.  I've said before that acting keeps me alert to people and life. You can sense bad acting, which is essentially lying. If someone is acting poorly toward you, then you can feel it, and you know that something insincere is happening. There is something about going to work early in the morning, working hard, and having to stay concentrated.  Maybe that keeps your mind alive.  I don't know.  Of course there is also make-up.  

Q: WAS THERE A CERTAIN POINT WHERE YOU DECIDED THAT YOU HAD HONED YOUR INSTRUMENTATION ENOUGH TO RELEASE AN ALBUM?

STEVE MARTIN:  It was really that I had enough songs. I realized 'Oh, I've got 15 songs here and that's enough for a record.'  I wasn't doing anything that summer.  I thought 'If I don't do it now, my fingers might slow down or I might forget the songs.'  That was one of the biggest dangers.  We quickly got some people together and did the record.  It was really fun.

Q: WILL YOU BE PERFORMING LIVE?

STEVE MARTIN:  On 'SNL' I'll be performing a song from the record live. Without being boring, records are different these days.  It's exclusive to Amazon for 90 days, then it goes to Rounder Records. You can actually roll it out.  You don't have to do all the promotion at once and hope it’s number one. It's a long term project.

Q:  ON 'SNL' WILL YOU BE SOLO?

STEVE MARTIN:  No, I'll have a band.  

Q: TONY TRISCHKA?

STEVE MARTIN: No.  Are you married to Tony Trischka?  I'm kidding.  I'm going to play with him on 'Regis'.  

Q: WHEN SOMEONE GOES LOOKING FOR YOU ONLINE, THERE ARE ALL THESE TID-BITS LIKE 'MR. MARTIN IS RENTING HOUSE ON AN ISLAND.'  DO YOU MIND THOSE THINGS BEING IN THE PRESS?  DO YOU UNDERSTAND WHY THE PUBLIC NEEDS TO KNOW THESE THINGS?

STEVE MARTIN: Yeah, I guess.  I wrote it in my book.  I said that it might sound like I want celebrity when I want it, and don't want it when I don't want it.  That's absolutely true.  That should have been funny.

Q: THE NAACP IS HAVING THEIR 100TH ANNIVERSARY. 'VARIETY' IS ASKING IF YOU HAVE AN AFRICAN AMERICAN ICON?

STEVE MARTIN:  My first stop is Martin Luther King. Certainly Richard Pryor was a great artist.  Also, Sammy Davis Jr. broke a lot of ground.  He was a great performer, had a heart of gold, he was always 'Yes, I can.' And I really enjoyed him.

Q:  WAS HE AN INFLUENCE ON YOU?

STEVE MARTIN:  I used to parody him.  In fact my first break through on 'The Tonight Show' was that I was doing an impression of Sammy Davis Jr. and he was on the couch. He laughed and fell off the sofa. We found out later that Sammy always falls off the sofa.  

“Pink Panther 2” opens in theaters on February 6th.