Tim Johnson
Meeting Katherine Heigl and Josh Duhamel, it’s easy to see what director Greg Berlanti (the brains behind the TV series “Brother & Sisters”, “No Ordinary Family” and “Everwood”) saw in their relationship and how that might translate into the new romantic comedy “Life As We Know It”.
The film sees the best friends (Duhamel and Heigl) of a young couple become unlikely parents following their friends sudden death in a car accident. After a horrendous first date a few years back, living together and raising a baby was hardly on each of the Godparent’s vision-board, though with little alternatives and a love of their late friends and their baby, they struggle through new (and unexpected) parenthood and the awkward relationship that has been forced upon them.
The pair had no hesitation teasing (wait until you hear what Katherine calls small!) and opening up to Moviehole’s Tim Johnson at the film’s press day in New York. The pair chat about Katherine’s adoption of her own baby just four days before filming began, partying together in a way that usually only happens “in tabloids,” plus Duhamel gives an update on Transformers 3.
Katherine, do you see this as a turning point in romantic comedies, where the woman is more in control?
K: I don’t know, I think you’re right. I think she takes more control and takes charge of the course of their path a little bit and doesn’t sort of wait for him to sweep her off her feet. Though, he does. But when you get to that point at the carnival with their painted faces and the whole thing and she gets that sense of what might be happening and that he might be considering leaving them, she doesn’t just wait for it to happen- she pushes him to make a decision and to answer to her and to this child. I think it’s a strong position to take- it’s a bit pushy! But I think it’s better than the alternative, just waiting for life to happen to you. I think you do kind of have to take some control of what you want and be clear about what you want and obviously let the other person decide if they’re in or not. It’s a little riskier, but…
What did you think about Katherine’s character going in to the film, Josh?
J: I knew coming in to this- I hadn’t seen Katie do anything like this. I mean, I guess Knocked Up was very much like that, but this was- I think we both had similar ideas about what we wanted to do with these characters. This was a different sort of a character than you’ll see in the standard romantic-comedy and mine was a guy who wasn’t afraid to be a guy. What Katie did with this is- she’s got this tremendous well of things that she can tap in to, which a lot of girls don’t have. And I think that’s what makes her special- plus she’s funny! And Greg (Berlanti, dir.) really allowed her to do that, he allowed both of us to do that. He wasn’t just going to keep it cute and safe and commercial. We really got a chance to keep it as grounded and real as we could. And that, in of itself makes this different than a lot of the movies because, I’ve been guilty of it too in other things that I’ve done, these characters can be unrealistically idealistic and he let us be real people and that’s what I really liked about this script when I read it.
Your character got his fair share of drama too.
J: That’s what I loved about it. That’s why I was so grateful to get a chance to do it, finally. Because people either don’t want to make that movie or they’re not sure I have the ability to do it. So, it was really a coup for me in a way to have Katie step up and support me in getting this part and for Greg Berlanti was another one who championed me, Paul Brooks and Barry Josephson who really came in to bat for me and then it was a matter of getting the studio people onboard because you know, they want to hedge their bets as much as they can, because I was unproven and I still may be unproven but at least they gave me a shot. So, that was, like Katie said before with Knocked Up, it’s difficult when you don’t have the weight, the box office clout. And to get people to step up for you is a huge opportunity.
How did you each get to establish a bond with the triplets (who played Sophie)?
J: They weren’t real! Those are CGI babies!
Josh (Lucas) had mentioned how they each were different; one happy, one confused and one upset.
J: It was a perfect combination of babies, because you have one that you can count on cry every single time she came to the set, so we didn’t have to physically abuse her! And one of them ninety percent of the time was thrilled to be there- she loved it. Every time she finished a take, she’d be like (claps).
K: She expected us to clap after every take for her, it was hilarious.
We know who the performer is!
K: She’s a total performer.
J: When we first started doing it, she would finish, we would all clap and then she’d do the take and they’d say ‘Cut’ and she go (claps) until everybody started clapping for her.
K: It was awesome.
Did you spend any time with them before the shoot?
K: He did.
J: She was in the middle of adopting her own child, and two weeks before they flew me out to go get comfortable with the babies and let them get comfortable with me, so that when we got to the set, they didn’t feel scared or nervous or want to go back to their mom- they felt like they knew me. Which was a huge help in this movie because it was timing enough just trying to get the scenes with the baby, because you can never really control what they’re going to do, but at least when they were comfortable around me and they were sad or crying, I could pick them up and do this swing thing and they would stop ‘OK. Good, stay there! OK, ready, let’s go!’ So we didn’t have to waste time getting them off the set, it was a matter of making them comfortable around all of us.
It’s a fairly realistic look at new parenthood with the poo on the face and throwing food – was there more of that kind of stuff that happened off camera?
K: Were there? I think there were. I mean, there was more of the walking sequence where we’re chasing her around and then losing her and trying to find her. You know, that kind of stuff. I had always felt like the spit in the face thing was a bit gaggy and I was never a huge fan of it, because I was like ‘Oh it’s a little bit of schticky comedy’ you know? But my kid, I swear to God, every time that kid has a full mouth of food, she sneezes on me. I don’t know if there’s some psychological reaction to food- open mouth sneezing. And I was like, ‘Oh, I guess it does happen!’ Before I was like ‘That doesn’t happen! Babies don’t spit right in your face!’ They may not spit in your face, but they do sneeze in it, with peas and corn!
Your daughter is gorgeous by the way…
K: Thank you.
Did that help with your decision to take this role, did it feel right?
K: When I had taken the role before I knew Naleigh was coming. And they had told us that we’d be lucky if we saw her in the New Year. And she came in… September! Four days before we started filming. So, it was a little intense, but definitely, the fact that I wanted to become a mom and was in the process of adoption influenced my decision to want to do this movie, because I uniquely understood the idea of it. These people essentially adopted this baby. She’s not biologically theirs but they love her just the same and I really understand that idea and that concept and it means a lot to me and my family. I love their story and I love the people they become by the end of the movie. I think they’re good people to begin with, he (Messer) may come off like a bit of an a-hole..
J: What do you mean? I don’t remember any of that.
K: (Quoting the film) ‘Uh, am I late?’ ‘Just an hour!’
That first date was really bad.
K: It was really great. We played the awkwardness of that scene so hardcore. Like, there were a lot of weird, long beats that you start to feel as an actor, you need to fill it somehow. But Greg would be like, ‘No, no, no. Let there be lots of awkward …”
Did you have those kinds of horrible dates to draw from? The one in the film really was horrible.
K: I’ve had really awkward dates, I have.
J: That I thought, was a really well written scene because when I read it, I went ‘Oh this is so bad.’ And without being too much, it was just two obviously opposite people. It reminds of when I was a kid, my friend had this dog- a beautiful yellow lab- her name was Millie and…
K: You loved Millie…
J: … my friends had this big male yellow lab named Yogi. A beautiful male dog. ‘God, these two would make beautiful puppies.’ So we put them in the cage together to mate and have beautiful puppies, but she would have nothing to do with him. He was trying to hump her and she was like (no way!) And that’s what this reminded me of.
K: That’s a good story?!
J: That was our friends trying to hook us up.
K: (Laughs) Good story!
Keep diggin’ that hole Josh!
J: Next question!
You’re obviously good friends, how did you both meet?
K: Well he’s actually friends with my husband (musician Josh Kelley) and they’ve been friends for a while and they golf together and stuff…
J: Her husband’s an incredible golfer by the way.
K: Yes, he’ll be the first to tell you. And then we had run in to them down in Cabo on our honeymoon and Fergie and Josh had just got engaged, so everybody was in a very celebratory mood- it was New Years Eve, we had this sick night that only happens, usually in tabloids, but it actually existed- it happened!
J: It was so fun!
K: We like, hung out together, in true Hollywood form, drank really good Tequila and then Josh Kelley got up and sang a song, and then Fergie got up and sang a song and Josh played drums, and we were like…
J: And we were like the two schmucks just sitting there watching them. ‘Wow, these two can just take their show on the road.’
K: It was fun, it was super fun. And Fergie said that night, ‘You guys should do a movie together.’ And that was three years ago. And then, it was so crazy because he and my Josh started hanging out more and I was like ‘Is Josh Duhamel, is he a cool guy? Would he be fun to work with, because I think he’d be so great in this movie, but I don’t want to work with a douche.’
I don’t want to work with that Lab!
K: Yeah, exactly! I don’t want a big Lab trying to hump my leg or anything! And my Josh is such a huge fan of his and nothing but the best things to say about him and I just felt really strongly about him in the role. I just felt like we need a guy with some heart…
J: That surprises me. I don’t know what you would have ever seen that I did. You couldn’t have watched (Las) Vegas.
K: Yeah, I obviously have seen episodes of Vegas…
J: Really?
K: And I saw Win A Date With Tad Hamilton…
J: Oh you did?
K: … which I just thought was charm personified. You were awesome! And I just think you bring a real soul to the role.
J: Thank you.
K: The role on the page was good, it was well written, but it lacked a little bit of humanity. He came off a little bit too much of a jerk, and what I loved about Josh’s performance was even from that first date on, he’s saying absolutely all the wrong things and I think he’s more of a jerk in that moment than she is…
J: Oh for sure!
K: But, it’s kind of endearing, he’s sort of giggling to himself and cracks himself up and then he makes bad jokes like ‘Get on, hold on tight, I won’t hold it against you.’ And it’s like this terrible ‘What?!’ But you can’t help but love him because he says it with- it’s not ill-intentioned, you’re not trying to be hurtful.
J: Well, OK let’s just break this down. I show up an hour late.
K: Dressed crappy and she’s all done up with special heels.
J: Take a booty call that I’m going to cut our date short- you had every right to throw me out of your Smart car.
K: Smart car, stupid boy.
There’s not many actresses get to be in the position to have a say in the casting. How did that feel to be able to recommend Josh and it mean something?
K: Awe-some!!
J: It must be great, because you have some creative control and that’s really what we want. Because so much of it is out of our hands.
K: You’re just a hired, paid performer.
J: Like a chimp.
K: Yeah. You just show up, hit your mark, say your lines. That’s your job. You know, you don’t have an opinion, you don’t really get a say and if you have one, they usually just nod their heads and ignore you completely. So, it’s been awesome to have an opinion and feel like people care and they want to hear me out. And not necessarily that they even do everything I say, or agree with everything I have to say, but they absolutely they’re willing to listen and I didn’t have complete control over Josh getting hired. I just had an opinion that Greg Berlanti was really passionate about as well.
J: Well, she could have said no. You could have said no.
K: Yeeee… Can you imagine? If I was like ‘How do you say it Du-mel, Dah-mel? It’s going to be confusing for me, I’d rather not.
J: Can anyone see if Ryan Reynolds is available?
K: Somebody call Ryan. No it’s been a fun process because I really believe in this movie and I believed in it the moment that I read it and I keep forgetting, my mother- my mother read it first and it was her idea. But I think that all these people that came together, it was magic and it has creative magic and it was exactly what I had hoped for and dreamed of and it took Josh and it took Greg Berlanti and it took Paul and Barry and Warner Bros. getting so behind us, because they could’ve- there were other studios that weren’t down with the tragic aspect of this. Everybody wants the formula, and this wasn’t the formula. So we had a studio behind us that really believes in this movie that is spending big money to promote it and I am very proud that we all stood by our conviction and that we made this movie.
Greg really does that juggling act of tragedy and drama and comedy…
K: He does.
How was that on set?
K: He’s kind of like, genius.
J: The thing that Greg, I think really gets and why he is a director that is going to be around for a long time is that he’s a big fan of movies. He knows his history about movies and the movies he likes. And I’ve never been with a director who has been so prepared coming in. He’s like the gym rat, who works out really hard, prepares for the season and he knows it. On top of that, he’s got a lot of talent. So he was organized, he knew what he wanted to do totally throughout the movie, how he was going to cut it having the experience doing TV for all those years. So, he came in with a whole game plan and then in the moment, he was able to tweak the scenes and rewrite if he needed to, so that he could get the scene right, totally. And not only that, but he came in with an idea for each scene and how he wanted it to play. So, it makes it easy for us ‘OK we’re going from here to there,’ then you can try and find the moments in between there, you don’t have to try to block it out. Otherwise you never have enough time to really fine-tune the scene.
The poster is pretty funny, what do you think of it?
J: You do? Good, I thought it was funny too. See I don’t know what people are going to feel about it. I find it ironic and sort of funny. I’m like a big baby. But you never know if people are going to be- it’s cheesy, is it gratuitous. I don’t think it’s sexy by any means.
K: Teeny tiny butt.
J: Oh, I thought you were going to say teeny tiny something else!
K: That would’ve been awkward. We wouldn’t be friends anymore if I did say that!
What’s different in the process between this film and one like Transformers?
J: Oh my God, totally different. I mean, that movie is a monster. We’re shooting the third one right now and it’s huge. Fun, I have a lot of fun on it, but I don’t have nearly the responsibility that I did on a movie like this. I like having a lot to do, I like the challenge of a character with real sh*t going on. The Transformers movies, my responsibility is running this military team that either is shooting at, or running away from robots and screaming orders. And I’m not knocking it, but that’s what I do- they don’t give me much more to do than that. I wish they did. I’ve pitched ideas to them, and they’re like ‘Yeah, yeah, yeah that’s a good idea…’
K: I’m going to write it for someone else’s character! You don’t mind, right?
So you prefer more drama in your films, something to sink your teeth in to?
J: It’s not that it’s the drama, it’s just that this is a movie where I was given a lot of stuff to do. Whether it’s an action movie or a drama, I like to have the ball. I like to be the guy with the ball. But I also have a lot of fun with that movie. And Michael Bay gave me a huge opportunity doing the first and second one. I mean, that movie was seen by a lot of people around the world, and that helps you move toward doing things that you really want to do creatively. So I’ll be forever grateful to him for that.
Thanks guys, good luck!
K: Thanks!
“Life As We Know It” opens nationwide in the US this weekend and October 21 in Australia.
– TIM JOHNSON
