Extract, the latest comedy from Mike Judge, and taking some time off, the creator of Beavis and Butthead talks with Killer Film about the film and the actors.

Extracting an Idea

“I kind of feel like this movie is sort of a follow up to Office Space. I based Office Space on my own experiences working in the cubicle world, and I based a lot of this [film] on my experience being a boss, running what was basically an animation factory on Beavis and Butt-Head,” explains Mike Judge on the origins of Extract. In the film, Joel Reynolds owns the small flavor-extracting company, and has to deal with a stale marriage, along with his incompetent employees. “I think when you go from complaining about the man keeping you down, to becoming the man, you realize that being the man is no picnic either.”

Most of the film is set in Reynold’s Extract, a real fully operational factory facility. “[Since] we were on a tight budget, we had to shoot a lot of stuff while they were still working — they were really bottling. A lot of the background that you see in the movie is actually real people working — not extras,” explains Judge. “It was loud enough in there that they couldn’t hear us yelling “action” and “cut”, and they just kind of got used to us being there. So I got some pretty natural acting in the background because they weren’t acting like they were working; they were really working.”

Mike Judge has a knack for writing about average people, that connect with the viewers. They’re hard working, have Midwestern values, especially in Extract. Judge explains how he creates the characters we love. “I feel like a lot of characters in movies and TV seemed to have endless cash and free time, and you either didn’t know much about their job or they didn’t seem to have to have one. Hollywood was sometimes out of touch with us, and I always appreciated it when it felt like a movie or TV show got something right — like there was someone out there in Hollywood who understood what most of us go through.” Despite all of the humor, his characters are fully dimensional. “Finding the humor, while still having some dignity to the characters is something that is also important to me. I don’t think about it that much; I’d like to think it comes naturally. To me it’s just like when I would sit around with my friends telling stories about people I work with and doing imitations of them and that sort of thing.”

“I would say my stuff resides in suburbs of big towns also, or small towns that are near big towns,” when explaining the setting of his films. “I guess, that’s because I’ve mostly lived in places like that — Albuquerque NM, Richardson TX, etc. I think that a lot of writers in film and TV in the past, have tended to come from NY or big east-coast cities, and there have also been great stuff written about really small hick towns, and so I feel like I can maybe bring a different perspective on things with a suburban setting.” Extract has this feel to it, something that feels refreshing, when compared to what he was saying of stories focusing on New York or L.A. I think this approach, is the warming quality that has made his films fan favorites, despite the little box office returns.

On the Actors

Extract features a cast of popular names; Jason Bateman, Ben Affleck, Kristin Wiig, Mila Kunis, and Clifton Collins Jr.  “For the most part it was instant,” on explaining working with this type of cast. Most of Judge films feature a cast of lesser known actors. But even with such a large cast of well-known actors, everything went smoothly. “Most of them had already worked together or knew each other, so it all gelled nicely.”

On Jason Bateman: “I started writing this a long time ago — I think it was shortly after Office Space came out. I originally wasn’t thinking of any actor in particular, just writing it. Jason had done King of the Hill and I always liked him, but when I saw him in Arrested Development, I thought he would be perfect for this, and when I rewrote it and finished it. I was imagining him as the lead. It’s a similar character to what he did in AD, but I think Joel (his character) is a little less slick or something. Jason was the first actor I gave the script to and he said he liked it and wanted to do it, so it was him from the get go.”

On Ben Affleck: “I think he had a lot of fun doing it, and it was a blast for me to work with him on it. I really liked what he did. I had never met him before this and when I heard he wanted to do it, I was surprised at first, pleasantly so, and then when I met with him, he started telling me about a guy he knew growing up in Boston and he started imitating him and I just thought it was great. We did a read through of the script early on and I just loved watching him and Jason do these scenes and play off each other.”

On Killer Film’s favorite, Clifton Collins, Jr.: “I love Clifton, and have wanted to work with him for a while. I just never had a part that was right for him. I actually hadn’t thought of him for this part either. He usually plays a Chicano gangster or a serial killer, so I hadn’t thought of him. When he walked into the room with a trucker hat on, and suddenly he went from looking like a Chicano gangster to Festus from Gunsmoke. I love him as a redneck. He also makes a great Romulan (as seen in Star Trek). He’s a true chameleon. And now he’s a big award-winning country music video director also, with the Zack Brown Band.”

Judge on Judge’s Approach

Whether he’s directing a live-action film or doing an animated series, Judge’s approach has always been similar, as he called it. “I liked animation when I was just doing short films myself, doing everything myself. That was really satisfying work; making a film one frame at a time, getting it back from the lab and watching it for the first time. That was about as good as it gets I think. you can actually get pretty cinematic in TV animation I think, as the Simpsons has done. I think I never got too cinematic with King of the Hill just because of the nature of the show and the characters, not really because it was animated.”

“I think there have been some great R comedies in the past couple years,” explains Judge. “But for me, it’s not ever about edgy or not edgy. Something is either funny or interesting, or it’s not, and sometimes something funny falls into the R rated territory, but not always. Some people are surprised to hear that Office Space is R rated, because it doesn’t seem that edgy, I guess. I think anytime anyone has ever tried to be deliberately edgy, or to “push the envelope,” it’s usually sucked and lost money. I think there are a lot of movies that are hard-R rated that are really good and made money, but it’s because they are good, inspired movies.”

You can check out Extract on DVD and Blu-ray December 22nd from Miramax.

Feel free to leave a comment below or email the author.

Tags: Arrested Development, Beavis and Buthead, ben affleck, clifton collins jr, Extract, jason bateman, King of the Hill, Mike Judge, Mila Kunis, Office Space, star trek