Reel.com
Pam Grady interview
DATE: 2002/01/10
URL: Reel.com
Wolf Man
Martial arts star Mark Dacascos kicks up his heels over his new French action-horror feature.
By Pam Grady(Reel.com)
Q: This is an incredibly muddy film. It's not exactly the glamour shoot. What was it like working under those conditions?
MD: It was incredibly muddy, incredibly dirty, incredibly uncomfortable. And what you see in the movie is only one-third, as far as that opening fight scene, that is only one-third of what we actually shot. The other two-thirds will be released or have been released on the special-edition DVD that's already come out in France. But it was the thing is we were shooting in the Pyrenees Mountains. It was freezing cold. If it didn't rain naturally, we had these huge rain machines. And we were on the slight slope of a mountain. It was muddy. It was pouring rain. We had those long leather outfits on �� Samuel and I did �� with wetsuits underneath them. The other stunt guys, our enemies, were dressed up as women with those bulky things. And everything soaked up the water, so everybody was weighing an extra 15 pounds, just because of water weight. And you're slipping and sliding. You've got high-energy choreography going on. You have these machines; you have all these cameras; you have the cast and crew watching.
That was actually our first fight scene of the movie, so our energy was high. And we knew that if we could keep that energy up and do a good job, we could kind of set the tone for the action and really get people pumped. And so the actors and the stuntmen, we all felt like we wanted to give 110 percent, in spite of the fact that we were incredibly uncomfortable and had to wear those wetsuits through the whole day. It would have been too hard to take off everything just to get ready again. So for 10 to 12 hours a day, we were just sopping wet and freezing. So, yes, it was uncomfortable. It was not pleasant at all, but the passion of the cast and crew, and the energy, and once the cameras got rolling, just that nervous, I-want-to-do-a-good-job feeling just resonated through everybody. It was amazing. But it was hard, it was really hard.
Q: On-screen, you and Samuel play blood brothers. What kind of relationship did you develop off-screen?
MD: Almost the same. We were very different. Very different, culturally speaking and language-speaking, as well, but I love to laugh and he certainly has a wonderful sense of humor. He had the advantage, though, because, I mean, his French is a heck of a lot better than mine. So when I thought I was saying, "Nice to meet you," he was telling me how to say, "I like your ass." [Laughs] He loved pulling tricks on me, and it was fine, because I had a good time, as well. But I felt like the relationship that we had behind the camera was pretty much the same relationship we had off-screen. I remember before filming that first fight scene he wanted to do a workout together. I said, "I work out really early." He said, "Okay." I said, "Like an hour-and-a-half before pickup time. Pickup time is at six o'clock." He said, "Uh okay." But it was great, because we were kind of our characters. He'd be out late, partying with all the lovelies, and I'd be at home studying and stretching, so, I mean, it was perfect, you know? [Laughs] Then we'd wake up in the morning. I would go knocking on the door, wake him up, and we would do some yoga and some martial-arts training. I certainly respect the man, because he's really talented and just a nice guy. And I hope that he feels the same. He was just really cool.
Q: As far as the tattoos that Mani wears, do they have any actual meaning?
MD: I have them �� wanna see?
Q: [Laughs] Of course, I want to see your chest.
MD: Thank you! As far as their meaning, I know that Christophe actually took real designs from the tribe, but I don't know what the actual meaning is. As a character, I had my own ideas. The crazy thing about those tattoos was, on the weekends, if I were shooting on Monday or Tuesday, our tattoo artist would come over on the weekend and spend maybe four hours on Saturday and four hours on Sunday doing it up, because it was done with marker. If I sweat too much, if I took a shower for too long, it would start running. He would have to fill everything in by hand. Everything was hand-drawn on. He did a great job, but it was just very time-consuming.
So, in addition to waking up early to work out, I'd do that and then I'd have to get tattooed up. During lunchtime, I'd eat really quick and they'd do the touch-up on that. It was just like Mark and Mani were hand-in-hand the whole time. The tattoos were a constant pressure, a constant issue. And then the hair extensions, those bangs were real, but the rest were hair extensions. And unlike putting a wig on and taking it off, I had that on for six months. So when I went out on the weekends �� you know, they shaved my eyebrows, so it was completely a straight line, they shaved all of this, and I had hair extensions. So when everybody else got to take off their wigs and be regular for a couple of days, Mani was with me all of the time. [Laughs] Very strange.
It was a wonderful adventure, because Mani is the type of character I would most like to be more like in my real life, in my personal life. He's an honest and simple man, using his eyes and ears more than his mouth. Pretty hard for an actor! [Laughs]
Q: What was the reaction to the movie like in France?
MD: As far as financial success, we made our budget back. Our movie was, for an American movie, it's not a big budget, but for a French movie, it was rather large. It was about a $30 million budget and we made our budget back and more in the first two weeks, only in France. As far as the general public, I think the majority of the response was positive, because it was so different from typical French films. From what Christophe told me, it was the first monster movie �� because you know we had that element, definitely [laughs] �� and it was probably the first monster movie with martial-arts action and, you know, politics and spirituality �� from France, at least. It's based on historical fact. It's a very interesting piece. So we did very well in France. And we opened up in the other European countries. I'm not sure what the numbers were, but from what I've heard, we've done well there as well. Now we're just waiting to see what the response is here in America.
Q: And what are you hoping for?
MD: I hope that for one, I hope that, because of Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon being subtitled and all, because of the success of Amelie, that the general public in America, that they are becoming more open to foreign films, subtitled foreign films, and that they'll give our movie a chance. I think that, I'm hoping that people who enjoy French films, foreign films will enjoy the politics and the history of this movie. I hope that the younger generation will enjoy the action and the cinematography and all the other fun things that are ... you know, the monsters, Jaws-on-a-mountain type of deal, that they'll enjoy that as well. I'm hoping that we get a large range of audiences to the theater. I do think there's something for everybody there.
Q: And now for something completely off-topic, I looked at your Web site and I saw your list of favorite movies. There was one that stood out, it was so charming.
MD: Roman Holiday!
Q: Roman Holiday.
MD: I love that movie. The thing is, I just thought it was so incredibly romantic and tragic. I mean, there are a few other movies like that, but I love Audrey Hepburn. I just think she was wonderful, just innocent and charming. And she reminds me, or, actually, the girl in Amelie reminds me of Audrey Hepburn. She has that innocent, innocent charm, that talent. I don't know. I just like how that movie �� I just watched it again a couple of months ago, and I still get teary-eyed when I watch that ending, because it's love so strong, but also they both have respect for who they are and what they are doing. And Audrey Hepburn with her duty and putting the mass of people before herself. For whatever reason, it really hits me in the heart, this selflessness, doing more for others than for yourself.
Q: Kind of like Mani.
MD: Yeah, yeah, exactly. So that's how I'd like to be. At least, I'm getting the roles like that. [Laughs] I'm working on it. I'm working on it.
Pam Grady interview
DATE: 2002/01/10
URL: Reel.com
Wolf Man
Martial arts star Mark Dacascos kicks up his heels over his new French action-horror feature.
By Pam Grady(Reel.com)
Q: This is an incredibly muddy film. It's not exactly the glamour shoot. What was it like working under those conditions? MD: It was incredibly muddy, incredibly dirty, incredibly uncomfortable. And what you see in the movie is only one-third, as far as that opening fight scene, that is only one-third of what we actually shot. The other two-thirds will be released or have been released on the special-edition DVD that's already come out in France. But it was the thing is we were shooting in the Pyrenees Mountains. It was freezing cold. If it didn't rain naturally, we had these huge rain machines. And we were on the slight slope of a mountain. It was muddy. It was pouring rain. We had those long leather outfits on �� Samuel and I did �� with wetsuits underneath them. The other stunt guys, our enemies, were dressed up as women with those bulky things. And everything soaked up the water, so everybody was weighing an extra 15 pounds, just because of water weight. And you're slipping and sliding. You've got high-energy choreography going on. You have these machines; you have all these cameras; you have the cast and crew watching.
That was actually our first fight scene of the movie, so our energy was high. And we knew that if we could keep that energy up and do a good job, we could kind of set the tone for the action and really get people pumped. And so the actors and the stuntmen, we all felt like we wanted to give 110 percent, in spite of the fact that we were incredibly uncomfortable and had to wear those wetsuits through the whole day. It would have been too hard to take off everything just to get ready again. So for 10 to 12 hours a day, we were just sopping wet and freezing. So, yes, it was uncomfortable. It was not pleasant at all, but the passion of the cast and crew, and the energy, and once the cameras got rolling, just that nervous, I-want-to-do-a-good-job feeling just resonated through everybody. It was amazing. But it was hard, it was really hard.
Q: On-screen, you and Samuel play blood brothers. What kind of relationship did you develop off-screen? MD: Almost the same. We were very different. Very different, culturally speaking and language-speaking, as well, but I love to laugh and he certainly has a wonderful sense of humor. He had the advantage, though, because, I mean, his French is a heck of a lot better than mine. So when I thought I was saying, "Nice to meet you," he was telling me how to say, "I like your ass." [Laughs] He loved pulling tricks on me, and it was fine, because I had a good time, as well. But I felt like the relationship that we had behind the camera was pretty much the same relationship we had off-screen. I remember before filming that first fight scene he wanted to do a workout together. I said, "I work out really early." He said, "Okay." I said, "Like an hour-and-a-half before pickup time. Pickup time is at six o'clock." He said, "Uh okay." But it was great, because we were kind of our characters. He'd be out late, partying with all the lovelies, and I'd be at home studying and stretching, so, I mean, it was perfect, you know? [Laughs] Then we'd wake up in the morning. I would go knocking on the door, wake him up, and we would do some yoga and some martial-arts training. I certainly respect the man, because he's really talented and just a nice guy. And I hope that he feels the same. He was just really cool.
Q: As far as the tattoos that Mani wears, do they have any actual meaning?
MD: I have them �� wanna see?
Q: [Laughs] Of course, I want to see your chest.
MD: Thank you! As far as their meaning, I know that Christophe actually took real designs from the tribe, but I don't know what the actual meaning is. As a character, I had my own ideas. The crazy thing about those tattoos was, on the weekends, if I were shooting on Monday or Tuesday, our tattoo artist would come over on the weekend and spend maybe four hours on Saturday and four hours on Sunday doing it up, because it was done with marker. If I sweat too much, if I took a shower for too long, it would start running. He would have to fill everything in by hand. Everything was hand-drawn on. He did a great job, but it was just very time-consuming.
So, in addition to waking up early to work out, I'd do that and then I'd have to get tattooed up. During lunchtime, I'd eat really quick and they'd do the touch-up on that. It was just like Mark and Mani were hand-in-hand the whole time. The tattoos were a constant pressure, a constant issue. And then the hair extensions, those bangs were real, but the rest were hair extensions. And unlike putting a wig on and taking it off, I had that on for six months. So when I went out on the weekends �� you know, they shaved my eyebrows, so it was completely a straight line, they shaved all of this, and I had hair extensions. So when everybody else got to take off their wigs and be regular for a couple of days, Mani was with me all of the time. [Laughs] Very strange. It was a wonderful adventure, because Mani is the type of character I would most like to be more like in my real life, in my personal life. He's an honest and simple man, using his eyes and ears more than his mouth. Pretty hard for an actor! [Laughs]
Q: What was the reaction to the movie like in France?
MD: As far as financial success, we made our budget back. Our movie was, for an American movie, it's not a big budget, but for a French movie, it was rather large. It was about a $30 million budget and we made our budget back and more in the first two weeks, only in France. As far as the general public, I think the majority of the response was positive, because it was so different from typical French films. From what Christophe told me, it was the first monster movie �� because you know we had that element, definitely [laughs] �� and it was probably the first monster movie with martial-arts action and, you know, politics and spirituality �� from France, at least. It's based on historical fact. It's a very interesting piece. So we did very well in France. And we opened up in the other European countries. I'm not sure what the numbers were, but from what I've heard, we've done well there as well. Now we're just waiting to see what the response is here in America.
Q: And what are you hoping for?
MD: I hope that for one, I hope that, because of Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon being subtitled and all, because of the success of Amelie, that the general public in America, that they are becoming more open to foreign films, subtitled foreign films, and that they'll give our movie a chance. I think that, I'm hoping that people who enjoy French films, foreign films will enjoy the politics and the history of this movie. I hope that the younger generation will enjoy the action and the cinematography and all the other fun things that are ... you know, the monsters, Jaws-on-a-mountain type of deal, that they'll enjoy that as well. I'm hoping that we get a large range of audiences to the theater. I do think there's something for everybody there.
Q: And now for something completely off-topic, I looked at your Web site and I saw your list of favorite movies. There was one that stood out, it was so charming.
MD: Roman Holiday!
Q: Roman Holiday.
MD: I love that movie. The thing is, I just thought it was so incredibly romantic and tragic. I mean, there are a few other movies like that, but I love Audrey Hepburn. I just think she was wonderful, just innocent and charming. And she reminds me, or, actually, the girl in Amelie reminds me of Audrey Hepburn. She has that innocent, innocent charm, that talent. I don't know. I just like how that movie �� I just watched it again a couple of months ago, and I still get teary-eyed when I watch that ending, because it's love so strong, but also they both have respect for who they are and what they are doing. And Audrey Hepburn with her duty and putting the mass of people before herself. For whatever reason, it really hits me in the heart, this selflessness, doing more for others than for yourself.
Q: Kind of like Mani.
MD: Yeah, yeah, exactly. So that's how I'd like to be. At least, I'm getting the roles like that. [Laughs] I'm working on it. I'm working on it.
