SDCC ’10: Nic Cage straps in for Drive Angry 3D

While Avatar received all of the press for revolutionizing the 3D format and taking it to the next level, the remake of the 1981 slasher film My Bloody Valentine took the eye-popping, in your face antics from the early 80′s wave of 3D films and merged it with the new-school technology which has more to do with depth and perspective.

The dynamic duo behind that gory opus are director Patrick Lussier [Dracula 2000] and screenwriter Todd Farmer [Jason X]. They get behind the wheel for the genre bender Drive Angry 3D, and they have brought with them a script that echoes another recent revenge-driven road burner, Ghost Rider. It is apropos then to have superstar Nic Cage taking the lead alongside sexy knockout Amber Heard [The Stepfather] for the crash and burn pyrotechnics that will be on display.

Summit Entertainment brought the principal cast members to Comic-Con to promote the film which is scheduled for theatrical release on February 11, 2011.

On the decision to take the role in Drive Angry 3D

Nic Cage: The first thing I would offer is this is a movie that hails from classic 70′s films like High Plains Drifter. Movies that were really a major factor in my decision to become a film actor. And then, on top of that, the 3D was going to be directed by one of the pioneers [Patrick Lussier] in this day and age of 3D. He’s a purist, so I knew it would be in the camera and I knew that I would have the opportunity to try and work with the 3D camera and see how that would enhance my performance. Different body language. Different ways I could play with the format. That was a big draw for me. I try to keep my characters raising more questions than answers. I don’t want to leave too much on the table. I want you to have your connection with it and your secret understanding of the character. I hesitate to talk too much about anything specifically about him. If that’s okay with you.

The fascination of retribution by movie-going audiences

Nic Cage: Because everybody gets angry. Everyone feels like they are being tested or they have gone through trials in life. Especially when loved ones are involved. The fierce protective nature comes alive and I think this is happening to Milton. He’s on a terror to save this little child.

On the connection to High Plains Drifter

Patrick Lussier: The goal is to have it as a series and there are certain answers that you will get. That was the intensity of that character, the relentless nature of that character that he took traits in that. That was very much what we discussed in bringing the film to life. There are some things that we pay homage to. Very specifically, High Plains Drifter.

The challenges of shooting an action movie in 3D

Patrick Lussier: There were a lot of challenges shooting an action movie in 3D. A lot of it was how fast we were shooting the movie in terms of the physical speed on the road. The way 3D cameras work is you have a camera shooting down into a mirror and one shooting through a mirror. By the virtue of that nature cameras move too fast and become unstable, so we had to have cameras that would support the speed. Things as simple as the color of the car and certain textures of paint can become too reflective and it will mess up the 3D. The sheer aggressive nature of how I shot it was designed to be action. We cut faster and a lot of shorter cuts. The 3D was set up that way so it actually could be cut that fast.

Drive Angry 3D harking back to the cult film Vampire’s Kiss and the love for these kind of movies

Nic Cage: Absolutely. I definitely feel that Drive Angry fits into that audience. I think my love for those kind of films is the intensity and the adrenaline. They don’t compromise. They’re honest and they give it everything they have. It has a relentless intensity I respond to. The little [footage] that I saw today achieved it. I was very excited by the footage I saw today. I haven’t seen the finished result yet, but I do think that this movie is really in your face, and it’s tough, and it’s cool – and I am excited about that.

Thoughts on 3D versus 3D conversion

Nic Cage: For me, there’s no fun in that. If you schlack the movie, I have nothing to do with it. It gives me no opportunity to work with the 3D camera. That way it’s imposed. This way it’s a much more collaborative experience, where the actors get to work with the director and the camera and talk about it. Therefore, it’s exciting. Otherwise, I really have nothing to do with it as an actor. For me, in terms of perspective, I want to know how was I going to become friends with this new mechanism. How was I going to become friends with this new machine. I would talk with Patrick and say can I move like this. I even went so far at one point to try and stick my tongue out all of the way so I could get I could get into the fourth row on the audience. That would have an effect. I don’t know if it made it into the movie or not. My point is it’s that relationship with perspective and the camera and body language and dance and movement. I wanted to see if there was anything we could do with that.

Amber Heard: Part of it was feeling like you were part of the audience in a way. Participating actively while you are filming something. Acting and participating in how it is going to be viewed later is kind of in a weird way puts me in the audience’s position. That was an interesting way to going about filming something. Because this movie was conceived in 3D, not converted, we had the privilege and opportunity to manipulate some of our actions and blocking around how it would be viewed later. I threw some punches directly into lense and I backed the car almost over the camera a couple of times to create effects specific towards what the audience would view in 3D. I have seen a lot of good 3D movies that were shot in 3D, but I think it’s harder to convert something and maintain the quality no matter what you are converting.

1950′s 3D movies

Nic Cage: For me, 3D movies in the 50′s didn’t work. I just thought it didn’t look right. I would not go into that dimension. They just turned me off because they looked so goofy. Today, this is the time for 3D and I think Avatar really showed that in terms of the perspective and depth. It’s almost like a painting. I saw those depths by the pool when it was lit at night. Amber and I would be running and you see the dimension. There is no better word for it than beautiful. It’s a very beautiful format for filmmaking.

My Bloody Valentine team working together again

Patrick Lussier: Todd [Farmer] and I have done a lot of writing together. For My Bloody Valentine, we brought in Todd to do all of the rewrites on that and kind of reshaped the script. On this, we just started together sitting around a room and one thing led to another and we wrote it together and he would write scenes.

On the physical challenges and getting to kick some ass and not playing the victim

Amber Heard: It’s one of the only movies where I actually get to kick some ass. It’s surprisingly not too far from home. I mean, I’m from Texas, and guns and fistfights are all part of the gig. Everything from the hot rods to the cowboy boots were something that was close to home for me. I was happy. I’m excited that more writers like Todd and more directors like Patrick are willing to take that risk and make a film that doesn’t have a woman as a victim and leaves a woman to be her own person and own character and not need to be saved. I think that for me, as a woman, that’s particularly interesting. It’s easy to get bored by the bathing suit roles, not that I am shy of those either. I’m honored to do something other than just lounge around in a bikini. This is really cool for me, flipping cars and shooting guns and running my mouth and getting into fistfights. I’m in heaven.

Favorite car to drive

Nic Cage: I always prefer the Chavelle. It just has a gorgeous aesthetic, but I predominantly drive a Charger in this movie which is also beautiful. My character prefers a Chavelle as well.

Amber Heard: I’m all about the Charger, baby. ’69 charger, okay, I’ll do it.

Playing a character actor and being drawn to the tortured soul roles

William Fichtner: I don’t think I ever played a part where I thought this character was a bad guy. If I thought he was bad it was just bad for bads sake, I’m quite sure I wouldn’t know what to do with it just figuring it out. I like characters where there’s something going on. There’s something to make him real. What do they care about? If you find out what somebody cares about, all of the sudden the whole world opens up. I remember the first time I read the script, and there is a moment up in the guard tower with Amber and I tell her to go. That was the moment for me when I read the script and I was looking for that grounded thing. There is a right and wrong and whatever sensibility is for that character, and when I find that, it means the world to me. You can go back and forward from there and fill in the blanks and hopefully find a real guy. No matter what he’s going through.

Future projects

William Fichtner: I don’t know what’s next. I’m working on something that I am writing. I’m serious about the garage. I got to finish [cleaning] it. It’s driving me nuts. I have a ’70 Roadrunner that’s sitting in that garage. Everything has got to look the same or it’s not good.

Being a ‘Scream Queen’ and working in the genre

Amber Heard: This seems like an action film to me. It does have supernatural elements to it. In terms of strong female characters, that’s why I am doing this job. For me, I think the genre kind of serves sometimes as a good vehicle for young women in this business to actually have a role. It might not always be saving the day, but you certainly get to do more than just play the girlfriend in horror films and thrillers. And so for me, I’m drawn to them because I actually get to do something in them most of the time. This one was on a different level completely. Piper, my character, is this bad-ass, potty-mouthed, ‘Daisy Duke’ wearing, Charger-driving, gun-toting motherf*cker and she doesn’t take any shit! And where else am I going to find that? This is the only script that I ever read with those elements.

Dealing with anger

Nic Cage: It’s really not that simple for me. I can’t encapsulate everything built in the word anger. There’s other things motivating his drive. Hopefully when you see the movie there are other dimensions to the character. It’s more like a sense of otherness and a purpose, but the anger is an anger that is almost like a residual anger of something that happened in another life. I’ve probably said too much already. I do want to talk a little bit about the relationship that Milton has not with anger, but with Amber [Piper]. Piper provides the heart of the movie and when you see the movie you’ll see what Amber did with it so beautifully. There’s another element that may suprise you that the film actually has a pretty deep and strong heart and that’s not romantic, it’s like a partnership. I think it would be great if we could do another one because I love that relationship between Milton and Piper.

Amber Heard: I’m in. [looks to her side] Get to work, Todd and Patrick!