Jerry Bruckheimer Interview, Confessions of a Shopaholic

MoviesOnline caught up recently with producer Jerry Bruckheimer at the Los Angeles press day for his new comedy, "Confessions of a Shopaholic,” about a fun-loving girl, Rebecca Bloomwood (Isla Fisher), who is a little too good at shopping. She dreams of working for her favorite fashion magazine, but can’t quite get her foot in the door until, ironically, she snags a job as an advice columnist for a financial magazine published by the same company. As her dreams are finally coming true, she goes to hilarious lengths to keep her past from ruining her future. The film, set in the glamorous world of New York City, is directed by P.J. Hogan and also stars Hugh Dancy, Joan Cusack, John Goodman, John Lithgow, Kristin Scott Thomas, and Krysten Ritter.

Jerry Bruckheimer has become a brand unto himself with a roster of films that span many of the most popular and influential films of the last two decades. He holds an undisputed position as one of the most successful producers in both motion pictures and television. First in partnership with Don Simpson and then as the chief of Jerry Bruckheimer Films, he has produced an unprecedented string of worldwide smashes, hugely impacting not only the industry, but mass culture as well.

Bruckheimer’s films have included (producing with Don Simpson) "Top Gun,” "Beverly Hills Cop,” "Beverly Hills Cop 2,” "American Gigolo,” "Flashdance,” "Bad Boys,” "Dangerous Minds,” "Crimson Tide,” "The Rock” and (producing solo) "Con Air,” "Armageddon,” "Enemy of the State,” "Gone in 60 Seconds,” "Coyote Ugly,” "Remember the Titans,” "Pearl Harbor,” "Black Hawk Down,” "Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl,” "Bad Boys II,” "Veronica Guerin,” "King Arthur,” "National Treasure,” "Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest,” "Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End,” and “National Treasure: Book of Secrets.”

Next up from Jerry Bruckheimer Films are “G-Force,” an adventure film which combines live action and computer imagery under the innovative direction of Academy Award-winning visual effects wizard Hoyt Yeatman, and “Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time,” an epic fantasy adventure directed by Mike Newell and starring Jake Gyllenhaal, newcomer Gemma Arterton, Sir Ben Kingsley and Alfred Molina.
 
On television, Jerry Bruckheimer had an unprecedented 10 television series airing in the 2005-6 season, a record in the medium for an individual producer. JBTV’s series have included "C.S.I.: Crime Scene Investigation” and its spinoffs "C.S.I.: Miami,” "C.S.I.: NY” and "Without a Trace,” "Cold Case,” "The Amazing Race,” and most recently, “Eleventh Hour.” He is also expanding into cable with a new dramatic series for TNT, “The Line,” starring Dylan McDermott.

Jerry Bruckheimer Films and Television have been honored with 41 Academy Award nominations, six Oscars, eight Grammy Award nominations, five Grammy Awards, 23 Golden Globe nominations, four Golden Globes, 77 Emmy nominations, 17 Emmy Awards, 23 People’s Choice Award nominations, 15 People’s Choice Awards, 12 BAFTA nominations, two BAFTA Awards, numerous MTV Awards, including one for Best Picture of the Decade for "Beverly Hills Cop,” and 20 Teen Choice Awards. But the numbers exist only because of Bruckheimer’s uncanny ability to find the stories and tell them on film.

Jerry Bruckheimer is a fabulous guy and we really appreciated his time. Here’s what he had to tell us about his new movie, “Confessions of a Shopaholic”:

Q: This is not your typical Jerry Bruckheimer film. I was waiting for a car to explode.

JERRY BRUCKHEIMER: (laughs) We have an explosion. We have a closet that explodes.

Q: What was the appeal of the subject matter for you and your production company?

JERRY BRUCKHEIMER: I think we loved the character. I mean, Rebecca Bloomwood is such a unique, fresh, interesting young girl who embodies a lot of what young girls around the world deal with. You know, they deal with their credit cards, they deal with their work place, they deal with a job that they don’t really like and how to get out of it. I think it’s a real empowerment for women. This girl comes through the movie, starts out in one place and ends up in another place much more positive than where she started. She finds romance, she finds something that she really loves doing.

Q: I’m a big fan of The Rock, but as we discussed earlier, there are no big explosions. So, which of your production talents do you feel carried over the best for this movie?

JERRY BRUCKHEIMER: You know, it’s all about the character and the screenplay. I mean, that’s the key to everything -- to tell a good story. Fortunately, we had a terrific novel to work off of so that’s a great help and, you know, how we put the movie together, the director we chose, the cast that we chose, it’s what a producer does. It’s putting the whole package together and convincing Disney to make it. So those are all things that help these things get made.

Q: What was it about Isla Fisher that you saw and made you realize she was the right person for this role?

JERRY BRUCKHEIMER: Well you see it on the screen. She’s vivacious, she’s funny, she’s a wonderful dramatic actress. This movie wouldn’t work without the ability she has to pull that character off and see that she is serious. You know, the comedic part, you saw what she can do in Wedding Crashers and in some of her other work, but the real surprise is that she’s a wonderful dramatic actress.

Q: We’re always very excited about all of your upcoming projects. Could you give us a quick update on Prince of Persia and Sorcerer’s Apprentice? For Prince, have you seen footage or a rough cut yet? How does it look?

JERRY BRUCKHEIMER: I’ve seen most of Prince of Persia. It looks fantastic. You won’t recognize Jake Gyllenhaal.

Q: Did he use steroids?

JERRY BRUCKHEIMER: (laughs) No, he didn’t. No drugs! No drugs, he just worked really hard. Well he’s a cyclist anyway and he bikes all the time so we just had him do a little lifting, but he looks fantastic. Ben Kingsley is one of our great actors. The Sorcerer we start in March. Nic Cage and Jay Baruchel have been cast in it. So that’s the beginning of it.

Q: What was the inspiration to do a modern day New York Sorcerer’s Apprentice?

JERRY BRUCKHEIMER: You know, Disney came to us and they’ve been developing the screenplay on it and we jumped in and we loved the concept of it and we’ve been working on it ever since.

Q: So, for Prince you cracked the code of making a video game into a good movie?

JERRY BRUCKHEIMER:  Well let’s hope.

“Confessions of a Shopaholic” opens in theaters on February 13th.