Caffeinated Clint
On “Homo Erectus”, “He-Man” & “Underdog”
Though best known as one of Hollywood’s most in-demand writers (“Mousehunt”, “Small Soldiers”, “Underdog”, “He-Man and the Masters of the Universe”), Adam Rifkin is now starting to make a name for himself as a director (He directed the fantastic “Detroit Rock City” in 1999) and the latest ship that he’s captaining is the caveman comedy “Homo Erectus”; he answered YOUR questions on it and other films in his illustrious back catalogue.
Tina Asks : How did you get Nicolas Cage to cameo in “Never on Tuesday”?
Adam : Originally the role was going to be played by Rob Lowe. When Rob’s schedule shifted and he was no longer available we told Nicolas that if he played the part he could do whatever he wanted. He said he’d do it as long as he could wear an enormous fake nose. We said, no problem!
Rob Langridge Asks : Was it hard to sell your first script?
Adam : It’s hard to sell every script. Even though I had been writing and directing independent films for about 10 years, the first script of mine to actually sell to a major studio was Mousehunt. It was the 30th such script I had written.
Ted Asks : On a scale of 1-10, how hot is Ali Larter?
Adam :69
Mike Brooks Asks : Why make a live action “Underdog” movie with pretty much no elements from the original cartoon except some of the characters names?
Adam : First of all, I just want to let it be known that I was a HUGE fan of the UNDERDOG show. It was one of my favorites growing up and I’d watch it everyday after school in Chicago. It is because of this fact that when I heard that Disney had bought the rights and was going to make UNDERDOG as a big, live action movie, I vigorously pursued going after the job of writing it! In considering how to approach the feature we had to seriously weigh the various directions it could go. Ultimately you have to just take a creative stance and go with it. Though the show UNDERDOG was wildly popular in its time, it’s a carton from the 1960’s. That’s a long-ass time ago. The world has changed a lot in 40-some-odd years. What was applicable and timely at that time isn’t necessarily so now. The concept and many of the details do remain the same, but whatever details had to be changed to update the idea and make it applicable to today’s audience, and to a live action movie, are all par for the course. The overall goal was to make a really good, really funny, really successful film that owes a great debt to the original series, not to spend 80 million dollars holding stubbornly true to every detail of an old cartoon that most ticket buyers today haven’t even heard of.
Qads Asks : Is there any news on a “Small Soldiers 2”? The ending to the last one left it hanging – not telling if they’d found the Gorgon or not!
Adam : Various versions of a SMALL SOLDIERS 2 have been developed over the years but as of now none are on the fast track.
Tallstar Asks : Hello Adam, Can you give us an idea what direction you went on the script for “He-Man and the Masters of the Universe”? It has been stated that Fox 2000 handed the project back to Mattel, but now its listed as an ‘upcoming’ project. Has there been some renewed interest? Thanks!
Adam : Legally I’m not allowed to say much concerning HE-MAN, however I can say this: HE-MAN is a movie that’s definitely going to be made! Where and with whom are all pretty top secret at present, but when the shroud of mystery is finally lifted I can promise you, HE-MAN fans will not be disappointed.
Big Bob Asks : What interested you about “He-Man”?
Adam : Again, like UNDERDOG, HE-MAN was a cartoon I liked watching when I was younger. It’s been really neat getting to be involved with so many of the big screen versions of properties I loved when I was a kid.
Adam Asks : Here’s a three-parter: Adam, what inspired you to write “The Dark Backwards”? Were the roles written with the actors in mind? With such a
limited filmography at the time, how were you able to get such big names to participate in such an off-kilter production? I await your response(s).
Adam : 1) The idea for THE DARK BACKWARD was first hatched when I went to see a friend perform some stand-up comedy and he bombed miserably. The experience was so uncomfortable that I felt I needed to try and capture that feeling in a movie.
2) No, the roles weren’t written with any actors in mind. Since it was the first script I had ever written, and since I didn’t know anyone in Hollywood yet, I just wrote the roles with me and my friend Brian Belknap in mind. Ultimately, I abandoned the idea that we should play the roles when it became apparent that we might actually be able to get real actors to appear in the thing.
3) How we got such a great cast will forever be a mystery to me. I guess they just liked the idea of doing something really different than what they’d ever done before. We got really lucky though. I mean Wayne Newton? C’mon! How great is that?!!!
Andrea Asks : I loved “The Chase”. I loved Kristy Swanson. Why do you think her career dipped?
Adam : Hollywood is a constant roller coaster ride of peaks and valleys for everyone. And, by the way, just because you weren’t necessarily aware of what she’d been up to for brief stretches here and there, doesn’t mean she wasn’t working constantly. Not to mention the fact that sometimes after some successes, people focus on other things besides maintaining fame. Kristy Swanson has a great life and her career has always been just fine.
Michael Holt Asks : Why did you cast yourself in the lead role in “Homo Erectus”?
Adam : I think I answered this question best in a previous interview with CINEMAVERIC MAGAZINE. Here’s an excerpt:
ROB: Well, anyway…now, you say you’re not an actor yet you cast yourself in the lead, why did you do that? Were you your first choice?
Adam: No.
ROB: Who was?
ADAM: Brad Pitt.
ROB: Brad Pitt you say? And why didn’t Brad end up playing the part? Too challenging a role I suspect. Wasn’t sure he could pull it off.
ADAM: Something like that. No, actually Brad never read the script. I still can’t figure it out.
ROB: How rude.
ADAM: Tell me about it. I mean, I was offering him an opportunity to star in an actual movie and he couldn’t quite be bothered to read the script. Typical!
ROB: Actors and their egos, I swear!
ADAM: And we offered him like, thousands of dollars to do it too, yet still…
ROB: Didn’t read it.
ADAM: No
ROB: So what happened then? Brad didn’t bother to read the script and what, were you next on the list or…?
ADAM: Uh, no, we had a pretty long list but after the professional embarrassment of Mr. Pitt not giving us the common courtesy of a read, the wind was kinda taken out of my sails, so in a rather self destructive gesture of defeat I jumped directly to the bottom of my list and cast myself.
ROB: Who would have been next on your list?
ADAM: Johnny Depp.
ROB: I think you made the right choice.
ADAM: Who knows.
T-Rex Asks : Just watched the trailer for your new movie on YouTube. Looks good. Where did you film it?
Adam : HOMO ERECTUS was shot predominantly in Austin Texas and a few days back in LA.
Caribbean Queen Asks : You have produced a few films too. What does producing actually involve? Were you on the set every day? Or did you just option scripts? I’ve always wondered.
Adam : There’s no easy answer to that question. There are so many different ways that a producer can be a producer, it kinda defies a simple definition. Some producers do everything from procuring the money to assembling the entire creative team to forcing the studio to buy more TV spots during American Idol. Other producers are just friends with a big star and get a credit for nothing more than handing that star a script. For me, I’ve produced in various, though limited, capacities. When I produce something that I’m also directing, like NIGHT AT THE GOLDEN EAGLE, then of course I’m there every day, but for say some of the Giuseppe Andrews films I’ve produced, I just provide Giuseppe with the financing and the complete freedom to do whatever he wants the way that he wants and I don’t interfere.
Daneille Asks : Weren’t they talking about a sequel to “Mousehunt” at one stage?
Adam : Various versions of a MOUSEHUNT 2 have been developed over the years but as of now none are on the fast track.
Floridian Asks : “Look”. What’s that about?
Adam : There are approximately 30 million surveillance cameras in the United States. In department stores, office buildings, changing rooms and public bathrooms, the average American is captured more than 170 times a day. LOOK follows several interweaving stories during a random week in a major American city, but what makes LOOK unique is that the entire movie is shot exclusively from the point of view of the countless security lenses we pass in front of everyday. — Who are you when you think you’re alone?
E. Richardson Asks : Can you tell us about some of your upcoming projects?
Adam : In addition to the two films that I wrote and directed that’ll be coming out this year, HOMO ERECTUS and LOOK, and UNDERDOG, which I wrote, I also wrote a graphic novel that’s hitting the presses in a couple of months called SHMOBOTS. SHMOBOTS is a comedy about a group of stoner, slacker robots. I also intend to make SHMOBOTS into a movie when the time is right. Other than that, I’m always writing the next script.
Terminator Too Asks : Might be a sore spot, but I’ll ask anyway : Was Jon Favreau playing YOU in “Love & Sex”?
Adam : It’s not a sore subject at all. Yes, John Favereau played me in the movie LOVE & SEX. The film was written and directed by my best friend Valerie Breiman and is a romantic comedy about the three year relationship that she and I had back when we were younger. Not only do I love the film and feel that John played me brilliantly, but I also went with Val and the cast to the Sundance Film Festival the year that it premiered there to lend my friendship and support to the experience.
Mick Genge Asks I heard recently that you were writing a new film called “Posse” – nothing to do with the Mario Van Peebles film – about alien marshals. Is that correct?
Adam : It’s true, I wrote that movie and make-up guru Stan Winston is the attached producer. The script turned out really well too, if I do say so myself. But as is the case with so many development deals, that one just isn’t on the fast track either. Starting to sense a pattern here? When it comes to development, way more movies get developed than ever actually get made.
Homo, too Asks : Hey Ad. This is Benji. When will you finish that “Where’s Waldo” movie you were doing? Is it still coming along?
Adam : WHERE’S WALDO will definitely get made one of these days. It, like so many others, has been in development for seemingly ever, but it turned out so well, I just know it’ll be ready for the cameras at some point soon. But alas, as of this very moment…wait for it…it too just isn’t on the fast track. This is the reason why it’s good to have multiple projects in development at any given time. You can never be sure which is the one that’ll eventually go. The more balls you can have in the air, the higher the chances that one of them will stick to the ceiling.
