April 10, 2009 (Daily Record (UK) April 10 2009 (Daily Record (UK) Movie Q& A: Paul Walker - Fast & Furious PAUL WALKER Fast & Furious Q: What convinced you to come back to this franchise?
A: Timing. The writers' strike. I wanted to work. Everyone was
available to come back & make the first true sequel. I had taken
some time away, and I just wanted to get back and work and just have
fun again. Q: Did you have any input into the script? A: No. We were still facing the writers' strike when we went into principle photography. We couldn't make any tweaks. Q: Did you have any apprehension about revisiting the character?
A: Yeah. I think that everyone did. My biggest question was, 'Do people
really still want to see this?' That was the big one for me. It's been
10 years now, well, just about. Q: This film has a lot more technology in terms of CGI. Does that bother you as someone who likes to drive?
A: There's a tunnel sequence where you'd think almost all of that was
CGI, but with the exception of the big crashes and the cars getting
completely mangled, those cars were all being driven. The tunnel was
CGI. The tunnel was just drapes. Q: Do you have a real need for speed in your own life?
A: I race all the time. I was just at the track on Wednesday. I have to
drive a truck around the street. I can't drive a car. That's trouble. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ February 9 - Movieweb This is MOUTH TRAFFIC with B. Alan Orange: "Mundverkehr mit den Sternan!" Hey,
this is B. Alan Orange. And I want to tell you about my favorite film
of 2006. Huh? What? Yeah, you heard me right. I know the year hasn't
even learned to walk yet, but it's going to take something mighty
special to top what I saw last Tuesday. It's called Running Scared. And
it shocked the shiz-bamm out of my fingertips. I know it has the same
title as some thrift store Gregory Hines/Billy Crystal crime caper, but
trust me, you'll forget all about that mediocre 80s flick after you see
this tight, mean kick in the lungs. Running
Scared was directed by Wayne Kramer, the guy that made The Cooler with
William H. Macy.And it stars Paul Walker, perennial pretty boy and also
the lead in this month's Disney snow epic Eight Below (is it just me or
does the poster look exactly like the one used for Disney's Snow Dogs
with Cuba Gooding Jr. from a few years back?). Trust me; I wasn't
expecting much when I walked into the theater. The synopsis did little
to stir my interest. I read it with a sigh, expecting something along
the lines of "The Knock Around Guys", also a New Line film. Walker
plays a low level gangster in charge of clean-up. He's supposed to get
rid of evidence, but he keeps a few guns used in a killing spree just
incase the FBI get a hold of him. Well, the neighbour kid sees Paul
stashing on of the guns in the wall of his basement. This much abused
eight-year-old decides to "borrow" the gun and shoot his father in the
John Wayne. The boy then runs away with said gun in hand. Walker has to
hurry and find the kid before the mob or the cops can get their hands
on the gun. Sounds like pretty standard noir fare. But that's just the
sept up for one Hell of an unpredictable ride. This poor little eight
year olds into one nightmare after the next. I sat there thinking,
"This possibly couldn't get any worse." And then boom, I was slapped
upside the head with some other unforeseen sidestep. And the ending is
just brutal. I hadn't seen nor heard anything about this film before
stepping into the screening room. It's one of the few times I've been
surprised upon sight what appeared to be nothing more than a pedestrian
attempt at making money. I walked out of the theater elated. Jazzed.
Excited. I wanted to watch the film again, and I don't say that too
often. This is going to go down as one of my favorite film experiences
of the last five years. As luck would
have it, I was allowed the opportunity to tell both Paul Walker and
Wayne Kramer how much I loved their latest film. I sounded like a real
kiss ass, but it's not too often I actually want to tell a star or
director what I thought about their work. They both seemed genuinely
appreciative of my comments. And then I found out later that a majority
of the press did not like this film. Well, I don't have to tell you
they're a bunch of turd-talking piss washers that wouldn't know a good
film if it ripped off their collective jaw and beat tooth marks into
their flesh. Which is a proven fact, because that's exactly what this
Urban Fairytale did. And it will do the same thing to you! If you go visit www.runningscaredmovie.com
right now, you can see the first six minutes of the film. Warning,
though. You watch it and you're going to want to see the film really
bad. That's not a lie. There's also a video game on there that you can
play. Don't ask me if it's any good or not. I hate video game and
refused to play it. I told you it was there, though. So, if you like
Grand Theft Auto, go take a look. Apparently, you can go down on Paul
Walker's on-screen wife. Now, for your
reading enjoyment, here is my interview with Paul Walker. I actually
like the guy, so if you don't, take a walk you Mormon hating banshees... Paul Walker: Is it cool if I sit here? B. Alan: You can sit where ever you want. So, I like this movie a lot. Paul Walker: Me too. B. Alan: I haven't seen a movie I liked this much in a long time. I don't usually tell people that. Paul
Walker: I love hearing that. I appreciate it. This is the kind of movie
I want to see in the theater. When I'm in it, I kind of screw it up for
myself a little bit. I'm pretty proud of it. I busted my ass on this. I
did a lof of stuff I didn't know I could do. B.
Alan: I guess a lot of people are surpried because you usually appear
in only one type of role. Here you're playing a really gritty type of
tough guy. And your're believable as this character. Just awesome. Paul
Walker: I mean, my background is what? Come on, it's no secret. I talk
about it. I surf, I skateboard. I'm from Southern California. I never
thought I'd be an actor. And to be honest with you, I never really
thought of myself as one. Even though I kept working. I thought I'd
just do a wave of movies, and then I'd burn out. They just kept coming
together. Then I did this movie called Noel. It was a small movie.
Nobody saw it. I did it with Chazz Palminteri. It was a
Christmas movie, if you can believe it. It was actually pretty cool. It
was actually pretty cool. And then this came around shortly after. And
I told everybody that this was the type of movie that I wanted to make.
I don't think anybody thought I could do it. They thought I was a
golden boy. I was told it wasn't for me. I'm just supposed to go
swimming under water, and be running around with sharks. But this was
the exactly the type of script I was talking about it. I read it while
working on Into The Blue. For whatever reason, Wayne Kramer gave it ot
me. I don't think he had anything to go off of. If I was Wayne, and I
was Wayne, and I was so passionate and as crazy about making movies as
he is, to be honest with you, going on the things that I'd done in the
past, I was really surprised that gave me a shot. I saw The Cooler. I
was like, "Oh, man. This guy is the real deal." I look at hime now and
think, "If I can keep a relationship with this guy, he'll be my David
Fincher." I called up Chazz and told him that I heard he was
considering doing a role in Running Scared. He said, "Yeah." I said,
"Do you think I can do it?" And he said, "Yeah. I think you should go
do it. Because you're the type of guy that if you can cruise, you'll
just cruise. But you're so competitive, that if they throw something
heavy at you, you're going to go for it. You're not going to make an
ass of yourself." And I was like, "If that's what you think." And he
goes, "That's what I know." So I went for it, dude. I had so much fun.
And I got to tell you, I don't want to make it any other way. I'm so
glad you said that, dude. B. Alan: Was that a rude statement? Paul Walker: No, I'm glad that you said that. It just feels good. B. Alan: What's some of the stuff you learned while making this? Some of the stuff you hadn't done before. Paul
Walker: One thing I learned was; I thought actors were freaks.
Especially this method stuff. Bringing the character home with you. A
good friend of mine, Giovanni Ribisi is a freaking whack job. When he's
working on a movie, I don't even want to talk to his ass. He's taking
it home with him every day. Even on a movie like Gone in Sixty Seconds.
He became this quirky weirdo. He went out and put together a car. The
whole bit. I thought the guy was nuts. Then I come to this. You know
what I found out I was doing? I was going home with this character
every day. A girlfriend of mine came out to spend two weeks with me.
She left four days into it. She was like, "No way. I can't spend
anymore time with you." I was all like, "What?" And she goes, "I see
you on set, you come home. You can't relaz. You're all twitchy and
jacked up on adrenaline." I'm like, "Shit, I've been running around
smacking dudes upside the head." And she's like, "Yeah. Listen to the
way you're talking." That was it. She split. B. Alan: You brought hime the Jersey accent? Paul
Walker: You gotta do it that way. I think people that live it, have to.
There's no other way. That's how they do the job. I don't think there's
any other way to do it. B. Alan: I want to know how they did the puck scene. Paul Walker: They had a foam puck that they fired at me a couple of times. B. Alan: So it wasn't a CGI puck? Paul
Walker: No, the foam one they ended up using was so light and fluffy
that the flight wasn't true to a real puck. So, actually, they did end
up CGIing it. But when it first comes off the face of the stick, it's
the foam puck. And then, smack! The continuation is CGI. You'll see it
just get loft. B. Alan: I couldn't tell. It looked like you were actually getting hit with something pretty hefty. Paul
Walker: You know what it was? The prosthetics they made were really
good. And I had to sell the pain. I had to imagine seeing it. I had to
imagine it flying through the air. I didn't have anything to track. But
since it was so tight, creating a realistic eye-line where it came
sailing in took a few cracks. Once we got it, the prosthetic pieces
worked really good. Blood would come bursting out. Yeah, they CGI'd it
in. It's crazy when they put that stuff together. I can't even tell
that it's CGI. That shit looks real. People are asking, "Did you really
take those pucks to the face." I'm like," Come on, use your head." B. Alan: I didn't really think you were taking pukes. It's just that they did it so well... Paul
Walker: I know you know. This is what you do for a living. But a lot of
the people you run into in the streets have seen the trailer and they
go, "Shit! They hit you in the face with pucks?" I'm like, "No, man.
That stuff is fake." B. Alan: What did you think about that scene where you battle with the pimp at the end? Paul
Walker: I liked it. I think, originally, they were talking about
Michael Rappaport for the character. They thought he was perfect. But
then he ended up being a real pain in the neck and pissed Wayne off. I
don't know exactly what happened. Maybe I shouldn't open my mouth. But
something happened. So, this other guy shows up. I'm like, "This guy
doesn't look like a pimp." Then Wayne dressed him up. He made him like
a cartoon character. That's all I kept saying, "Are you a fucking
cartoon?" That's a perfect line. Wayne said, "I want this guy to be
larger than life. I want him to be this quirky character." He is the
Mad Hatter. You know; all those Fairy Tale references? B.
Alan: The thing I noticed was that everybody at my screening got up and
left, and then the end credit sequence comes on. And the end credits
set up and retell the movie as if it were a Fairy Tale. Paul Walker: Mm-hmm. B. Alan: So, this is supposed to be like an Urban Fairytale? Paul Walker: Mm-hmm. B.
Alan: So much stuff is going on in the movie that I didn't initially
catch that idealism. I didn't even have time to think about it and put
two and two together. Paul
Walker: I think it was more of an afterthought on his part. I think as
things were going, and as characters were coming, and they were so much
larger than life, Wayne recognized it. Something just hit him. He's
like, "This guy's the Big Bad Wolf." And then certain character became
bigger. And he started throwing out these different elements as time
went on. Even in the Dinner. We're sitting in the Dinner. And my wife
comes up to me. She says, "I know I didn't marry a bad man." That
Dinner...If you look on the wall, the Cheshire Cat is all over the
wallpaper. He's sort of throwing it in everywhere. And I didn't even
hear about it until about three or four weeks into production. He built
up the pimp character and made it even bigger. That guy's insane. Have
you interviewed him yet? B. Alan: The pimp? Paul Walker: No. Wayne. B. Alan: Not yet. He hasn't come in here. Paul Walker: I call him the Mad Scientist. That guy is out of his mind. B. Alan: Where did the idea for the abducted kids come from? Paul Walker: Wayne's crazy ass mind. B. Alan: Your wife in the movie steals the show. Paul Walker: I love it. She says something to the effect that she saw evil. "That's true evil." B. Alan: I like that she actually does something proactive in that priceless scene she is given. Paul
Walker: Yeah. I told Wayne, "You know who has the best scene in this
movie, don't ya?" He goes, "Who's that." I tell him, "It's Vera with
the pedophile." That a horrible scene. It's just so awesome. Vera is my
favorite. B. Alan: You filmed this after Into The Blue? Paul
Walker: Yeah, right after. Because I was reading it while I was on the
boat. This was defiantly a change of gears. Vera, I have a crush on
her. She's one of the most awesome girls I've worked with. She really
has it together. She's a real nice girl. I'm not talking about how good
of an actress she is. You want to talk about keeper? That's Vera. B.
Alan: What about the little kid that plays Oleg? I'm not sure what his
name is, but he's so intense. He kind of creeps me out a little. Even
in that other movie he was in with Nicole Kidman, Birth? Scary child.
Is he like that off set? Paul Walker: No. He's actually a nice
kid. He likes to eat his boogers. And gross you out. And his pick his
scabs. But he's tapped into something. That's what he's good at. And
I'm sure he'll develp other things in time, but it's his eyes. I don't
know what it is. He's super smart. He's really sharp. Alex Neuberger,
the one that plays my kid in the movie, he just landed a real big
movie. I think he's going to do real well. I talked to him on the phone
the other day. His voice has dropped five octaves. I'm like, "Man, what
is going on?" He goes, "Man, I'm like fourteen now." I'm like,
"that's right. You're big." B. Alan: Are you a big Hockey fan? Paul Walker: No. I grew up in So Cal. I like surfing. Football. Football was my sport. I was fast. I was a free safety. B. Alan: Any predictions for the Super Bowl? Paul Walker: Pittsburg. But I'm happy for the buzz... B. Alan: You also have Eight Below coming out. Paul
Walker: Yeah. It comes out on the 17th. My daughter is dying to see
that movie. It's funny, because I showed my mom the trailer that Wayne
cut together for the AFM. Trying to sell this damn thing. And I went
home and showed my mom. I was all excited. And he cut together a pretty
graphic few minutes. My mom is horrified. But she can see that I'm
really excited. She doesn't want to say what she's really thinking. She
knew it was going to be bad. She says to me, "It would be great if you
could do something that the kids could go see for a change." No joke,
two weeks to the day, that Disney offer came. I'm one of these people
that think certain things happen at certain times for all the right
reasons. B. Alan: I got a question about that movie. In the
commercials I've seen, there's this monster eel-type thing. I'm
wondering what that is, because this is supposed to be based on a true
story and that looks like something out of a horror film. Paul Walker: It's CGI. But it's actually based on a Leopard Seal. B. Alan: A Leopard Seal? Paul
Walker: That's what they really look like. And they're nasty boogers,
too. Disney is going to whore me out big time. I've got to do so much
press for that thing. Guaranteed. B. Alan: What's the best thing about this process for you? Paul
Walker: Ah, that's the real question. I don't talk. I'm a quiet guy.
And then when I get in these things I just start rambling. I don't hate
junkets near as much as I used to. I used to have a really shitty
attitude. And outlook about it. And I know a lot of actors do too.
Which isn't good. You can sit there and grip about it, but you paid for
this way back then. I told my manager that if the studio was smart,
they'd spread the money out. Not just through the course of filming,
but through press as well. They should spread the million dollars out
over the next two years until the press is complete. That would cease a
lot of the griping. And you'd have a lot more control. B. Alan:
Are there a lot of times when you shoot a movie, and then two years
later you have to go do press, and you don't even remember the movie? Paul Walker: That has happened. B. Alan: Do you like improvisation, or do you like taking directions from the director? Paul Walker: It depends. I just worked with Clint Eastwood. This past fall. That guy gives no direction. B. Alan: Really? Paul
Walker: Yeah. It's minimal. He'll question why you do things. For
instance, I had the very first line during the production. We were
shooting on this sulfuric island. It just stinks. It smells like a
freaking rotten egg. So we storm the beach. And my character goes, "Ah,
this place stinks." It was written to be said like Tom Sizemore in
Black Hawk Down. Or Robert Duvall with his "Charlie Don't Surf". Hands
on the hips, belting it out. Shit, that's not real. I had Japanese guys
shooting at me from the other side. I'm hunkered down. I said the line
under my breath, "God, this place stinks". Eastwood didn't even hear it
in the midst of all the gun fire. And he goes, "Did you say your line?"
And I'm like, "Yeah". He says, "I didn't hear you." And I'm like,
"That's because I said it to myself. I said it under my breath."
He's like, "Why?" I told him what I told you guys. And he says, "Good
answer. Fuck it. Say it under your breath." That was it. When the guy's
on top, you always kiss his ass. Even if he's a prick. I always heard
good things about Clint. I wanted to see what was really up. That guy
is so solid. And it's cool to see, because if anybody had a right to be
a prick or a pain in the ass, that guy does. He doesn't just want to be
the man, he is the man. You walk away from that set thinking, "This guy
knows how to make movies." He has his act together. He's cool. He's
really complementary. B. Alan: On the other side of that, did they actually have the Japanese crew shooting at the same time? Paul Walker: No. They were shooting at different times. He's working on that right now. B. Alan: Well, great. Great talking to you. Paul Walker: Yeah. Thanks for coming out. And that's the End. Look at my Interview with Running Scared Director Wayne Kramer coming to these pages soon. Bitches. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Walker
stars as Joey Gazelle plays a mobster who, in order to save his family,
must track down his neighbor’s son and get back a gun that was used in
a mob hit before it’s recovered by either the cops or his bosses. Unknown Article Paul Walker's Closer to His "Running Scared" Character Than You’d Assume:
Writer/director Wayne Kramer said people may mistake Walker for a
laidback surfer, which he is on some level, however he’s also a very
tough guy you wouldn’t want to get on the wrong side of in a barroom
fight. Walker said his "Running Scared" character is actually closer to his personality than any other character he’s played. "I
think it’s probably the closest thing to me, to be honest with you. I
mean the opposite is what, East Coast/West Coast thing? But I think
attitude and that sort of thing, I think, you know, there’s no way I
would have gone at it if I didn’t feel like there’s a lot of me in it.
There’s definitely more of me in it than not. I think on the outside
what people see and what I present, especially when I’m doing
press… But what they’ve seen in movies,
they’ve seen the friendly like nice guy, which I like to think that I
am. But I definitely have a dark side. I think everybody does." Paul Walker Couldn’t Shake This Character:
Walker told me he took this guy home with him every night. "I’ve never
been the guy that brought anything home but when you’re forced to just
reach certain levels. I mean, the only
way to sell adrenaline and flying high is just to go there. You live it
day in and day out. You can’t shut that off. I’d go home trembling. A
girl friend of mine came up to visit and she planned on spending some
time with me. She spent four days with me and went home. She’s like,
‘You’re just too intense.’ I couldn’t relax." Paul Walker on the Challenges of "Running Scared:"
Walker’s in great shape and that helped immensely when he was preparing
to play Joey Gazelle. "My lifestyle’s active. Attitude is attitude,
whether you’re a West Coast gangster or East Coast gangster, you know?
I grew up in the Valley and, you know, it’s mixed racially. I had
Latino friends. I had black friends. And they thought they were thugs.
A lot of them weren’t half the thug they thought they were, always
getting into trouble. But I know the attitude. I know the personality. My
dad’s a biker and all the guys he comes around, most of them have got
priors. They’re been in and out of the joint, you know? Those are the
guys I grew up around so there’s a lot to pull from. And then, you
know, I worked with Chazz Palminteri. He’s in this movie and I worked
with him on ‘Noel.’ You know, he’s got his mobster crew buddies out
there." Walker also had "Running Scared" actor Arthur
Nascarella around to help him out. "I had guys to pull from at any
given time. If there was ever a time I wasn’t comfortable with what I
had to say, they were right there. They were the bulls**t police for
me, which was great. I grew up on gangster movies. I loved the
mobsters, man. I mean growing up as a kid it was cowboys and Indians
and it was mobsters. That’s an American childhood, you know? Those are
the movies you grew up on." Paul Walker on His Family Life Growing Up:
"My family’s really close. Growing up as a kid, let’s put it
this way. You know kids. As boys, you would engage in ‘Oh, my dad’s
tougher than your dad. My dad has a shotgun. You know? I wouldn’t even play. I
was like, ‘My dad would kill every one of your dads.’ I knew it. My
father’s a protector. My father’s old-school. He’s a cowboy. He’s not
much when it comes to words of wisdom and just the pat on the back,
he’s not very good. He’s a drill sergeant. He’s a Vietnam Vet. This is
the mentality, this is the household I came up in." Paul Walker Understands the Violence of Running Scared:
"Hey look, people are going to think I’m sick and I’m twisted but when
I read it I didn’t think that there was anything that was unjustified.
I’m sorry but this guy dug himself a hole, and he dug his family a hole
in the process. He’ll be damned if anything is going to happen to him.
And besides, who’s he smokin’? Who’s he whacking along the way? They’re
bad guys. The world isn’t going to miss them. So the whole way I’m
going, ‘Yeah, yeah, yeah, do it!’ I’m reading this thing, I’m going,
‘Yeah, f**king kill that guy!’ The pedophiles? [Spoiler deleted]
Come on! That’s my favorite scene in the movie and the best thing about
it is that the people who don’t get it, absolutely hate it. They
go, ‘That scene just completely came out of left field.’ I’m like,
‘You’re missing the point because that’s the whole idea.’ That’s my
favorite scene. When I read it I said to Wayne, I said to Vera
[Farmiga], I said, ‘I’m so jealous of you. That’s the most memorable
scene in the movie.’" Paul Walker Watched Out for His Young Co-Stars:
Walker felt responsible for the young actors in "Running Scared." "Oh
yeah, especially to the parents. I mean, they signed on to it knowing
what they’re getting themselves into but still, you know, that’s got to
be tough. I wanted to make it very clear that, ‘I understand what’s
going on here and I understand that you’ve accepted the environment
that basically your kids are going to be in for the next while, but
just know that I’m sensitive to it and I’m great with kids. I come from
a huge family. I’ve got nieces, nephews. I’m Peter Pan. S**t, I feel
like I’m 12, 13 years-old anyway (laughing) so I’m going to get along
just fine with these kids.’ My whole point was, and I thought
it was really important, was, ‘Let’s stay focused.’ We have a job at
hand here but I’m sensitive to the fact that these kids are out of
school, they’re away from friends. I’ve got a football. I’ve got a
soccer ball. I got everything. And you know what? It’s good too because
I establish, I build a rapport with these kids; I want them to feel
comfortable around me. And who’s to say Joey Gazelle wouldn’t go toss
the football with Oleg anyways, so it all plays in." Paul Walker Shares His Admiration for Writer/Director Wayne Kramer:
Walker and Kramer were present to introduce a special screening of
"Running Scared" in San Francisco and while doing so, Walker said
Kramer’s a director he’d work with again and again and again. Asked
why, Walker replied, "He’s such a great guy. First and foremost, that’s
the most important thing to me. I’ll work with a great guy that maybe
even hasn’t proven himself before I’ll work with the a**hole that’s
sold it time and time again. You know, you live once. I want to enjoy
things. To find the balance that he’s got, it doesn’t happen. He’s
Fincher , he’s any of those guys. I think
Wayne’s going to blow up. He’s going to make a lot of great movies in
the course of who knows how many years. I just hope to be involved in a
lot of them. You know, I’m a pretty mellow guy. I’m pretty
easy-going. I see everyone’s perspective. I see everyone’s side so I’m
a pretty good mediator on set when tensions are flying. That guy is
tenacious and he fights. I think we complement each other in that
respect. I’m pretty good at soothing him and mellowing him out, but at
the same time I want to give him just enough so when it’s crunch time,
when we’ve got five minutes left to get a shot he’s going, ‘F**k you!
I’m getting this damn shot!’ I’m going, ‘Yeah!,’ in the back. I’m
rooting but at the same time when I see it getting out of control I can
step up and say, ‘Hey look’ I think we
work well together. Nobody messes with this guy’s movie. Nobody messes
with his movie." From "Running Scared" to "Eight Below:"
The family-friendly movie Eight Below hit theaters one week before
"Running Scared." It’s an interesting contrast in characters for
Walker. "Well I did ‘Running Scared,’ what, close to 2 years ago now.
Wayne cut together the trailer for AFM, trying to sell the damn thing.
I was so excited, hot off the presses, I run home, I show my mother.
She just about started crying. She says to me, ‘You know what would be
great? If you could make a movie that you can take your nieces and
nephews" not to mention your daughter too.’ Two weeks later to the day, Disney
offered me the ‘Eight Below’ script. F**k, I didn’t want to go make
‘Snow Dogs.’ I’ve already seen that. When I read it I was like, ‘Oh my
god, this is ‘Old Yeller’.’ I liked it and I got it, so I was like,
‘Hell with it.’ I’m off the hook. I get to take my daughter, all my
nieces and nephews, the whole family to the premiere. It’s one premiere
I’m actually looking forward to going to. This is the first time, to be
honest with you." Paul Walker on Working with the Huskies and Malamutes of "Running Scared:" "It was great. It was cool. I love dogs. If you like dogs, you get it. If you don’t, you don’t get it." February 2006 - About.Com Paul Walker Talks About "Running Scared" The Paul Walker Haters - Wayne Kramer, Vera Farmiga and Walker Himself Running Scared Director Wayne Kramer on the Paul Walker Haters:
"I wasn’t one of the Paul Walker haters, and that’s one of the things.
I’m real up front about it. It seems like somewhat of an obstacle in
getting this film out there is there’s this preconceived notion that
Paul’s not a good actor or that Paul is kind of surfer boy mentality.
There are so many people when you see them posting on the internet,
they’re not willing to cut him a break and go and see the film in good
faith that this is a defining Paul Walker performance which I think it
is." Paul Walker on Hating Other Actors: "I did
the same thing growing up. I couldn't stand like Keanu Reeves or
Christian Slater or all those guys that all the girls had crushes on. I
hated them. Even if I liked them I hated them. So that's just the way
that it works." Wayne Kramer on Actors Overcoming the Haters: "Brad Pitt was just like some pretty abs when he did Thelma and Louise and then he started finding himself in roles like in Kalifornia and Se7en and people saw him for the strong actor he is." Paul Walker on Winning Over the Paul Walker Haters: "Winning them over isn't easy. Coming out of the gate with Fast and Furious
I did pretty well and especially with minorities. I mean, I'm blonde
hair and blue eyes and Latino and Black guys like me which is great.
White guys do not though. That's just the way that it works." Wayne Kramer on Actors Who Still Face Haters: "Keanu Reeves is probably the highest paid actor of all time with the Matrix
sequels, so it’s like a success level that people are just not willing
to give him credit. I do think Paul in this movie, when people finally
see it, if they’re resistant to seeing this in the theater, they one
day catch it on cable or DVD, they’re going to go, ‘I have to give him
his due in this film.’" Vera Farmiga on Paul Walker in Running Scared:
"I really had no preconceptions except for what I saw in the media
which was always this sort of golden boy, good looking and he is. He’s
a very good looking man. And it disservices him sometimes as it does
for women. He’s never been given an opportunity, a three dimensional
character. It wasn’t surprising to me because when I met him, I met an
engaging man who was ready to play and put his dukes up and take me for
a spin too." Wayne Kramer on Paul Walker Getting Dark in Running Scared:
"Everybody has their obstacles that they’ve got to get beyond but I
have to give Paul so much credit for doing what I consider a very
provocative film. I know other actors were afraid to take on the role
because it involved and amoral character, children and violence and the
whole thing. Actors more today than ever I find are so conscious of
their image and the way that it’s projected through films. It’s not
like in the ‘70s where Nicholson or Warren Beatty would go play
scumbags or killers." Vera Farmiga on Paul Walker's Creativity in Running Scared's Love Scene:
"We had this thing on the written page, it was maybe an inch of
dialogue and I said, ‘Paul, we’ve got to establish this marital
relationship of 11 years.’ Granted, sex I’m sure isn’t like that every
day of the week for the Gazelles, but on this particular day when he’s
just come from this insane nightmare, he just wants to touch the things
that are dearest to him. And in order for the rest of the movie to
work, to care about this family, I think you had to establish the love
between them." Paul Walker on the Love Scene with Vera Farmiga in Running Scared: "You know what's funny, this is the second time that I've made it on a washing machine with my butt exposed. I did it in Varsity Blues
too. I'm like, 'Man. I don't know what it is. I'm an undercover cop and
I've got my butt out here involving washing appliances once a year.'
It's funny. It's a butt. Do you know what I mean? It's not really that
big of a deal." Wayne Kramer on Paul Walker's Grit in Running Scared:
"When I met with Paul, I was less concerned with how ethnic he looked
as Joey as more did he have the grit to him. He had just a toughness
behind the eyes is the way I like to describe it. He will stand up to
anybody and in fact, I think Paul in this film is closer to who the
real Paul is than the perception of him that’s out there. He comes from
a family where his father was a biker and a boxer. Paul’s a very tough
guy. He’s very athletic. There’s strength in him and there’s darkness
in him and he’s a great guy. He’s the easiest actor in the world to
work with but I would not want to get on the wrong side of him in a bar
fight. "It’s like the old Roger Moore stories where Roger
Moore would go in a bar and they’d go, ‘You’re not tough like James
Bond.’ I think Roger Moore would back down. Paul’s not going to do
that. You don’t want to trip that wire and that’s what I tapped into.
There’s a craziness, there’s a trip wire quality behind the eyes that I
think serves this role so well. "I just spoke with him a lot
and he had a real appreciation for the genre. We talked about all my
influences and turned out were films he loved. Films by Brian De Palma,
Walter Hill, Sam Peckinpagh, Don Siegel, Michael Mann. He was aching to
do a film like that and to take himself out of the PG-13 genre that
he’d been so constricted by." ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ November 2005 - Chik (Australia) Boy you know Paul Walker You've
seen him all sweaty and buff in films like Fast and the Furious and
Varsity Blues. But in his new film Into The Blue, Paul plays the role
of a diver, which means he spends a hellava lot of time with his shirt
off. Insert swoon here. WHAT YOU KNOW: He
LOVES cars: "When I'm in a car, forget about it," he laughs. "I'll
really push the limit. I'm really into racing and probably one of the
sweetest things about doing The Fast and the Furious series is that I
am now totally accommodated by Mitsubishi! They might even be backing
me up with a racing team." He loves animals and has three pets - including a dog named Zero and a horse called Cowboy. His
favourite down-time activity is surfing. If Paul's not making a movie,
he surfs every single day. "Surfing soothes me," he explains. "It's
always been a kind of zen experience for me. The ocean is so
magnificent, peaceful and awesome. The rest of the world disappears for
me when I'm on a wave." He's totally, 100%, unpretentious. "Some
people say that you should go to all the parties; to the nightclubs;
the Viper Room, and make contacts, and I look at them and say, 'You
don't want to have contacts with those people'. Look at what happened
to River Phoenix [who died in 1993 of a drug overdose outside the Viper
Room]." If you get caught up in that, it ruins you. Hollywood is
garbage." WHAT YOU DON'T: Paul did
some serious research for his role in Into The Blue - he studied marine
biology at university in Southern California. Well, he actually did
that of his own accord, but it certainly must have come in handy! (Into
The Blue hits cinemas Oct 20th.) His mum was a model - so he has
her to thank for his great looks! Paul actually got his big break into
movies though his own career in modelling. He was really
disappointed when Vin Diesel dropped out of the FATF sequel. He told an
American mag that it hurt his feelings because he considered the two of
them partners. Awwww... He loves travelling and has been to places like India, Fiji and Costa Rica - not to mention Australia's fine shores. He gets embarrassed watching himself in movies, so he only looks at them once. His grandpa was a professional boxer ... hmm, Paul as a toned-up boxer - now there's an idea for a movie! ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ September 2001 The Sunday Telegraph (Australia) Reluctant Star Steps Into The Fast Lane His mother dragged him to auditions as a youngster but PAUL WALKER prefers surfing to stardom. Phillip Koch reports. With
fame knocking on his door and a bigger bank balance than he ever hoped
for, Paul Walker knows most people think he is living a dream. "I’d
like to slow down a bit," admits Walker, 27. "My life kicks arse. I
couldn’t see myself doing anything else. I’ve been completely spoiled,"
he told The Sunday Telegraph. The blond-haired, blue-eyed Southern Californian is the star of the new film, Fast And Furious, which also features VIN DIESEL. The
irony of needing to slow down, while he is on a whirlwind world tour to
promote the high speed thriller, is lost on the affable actor. "It’s my first time here," explains Walker, who grew up watching Australian greats like TOM CARROLL and MARK POTTER ride waves. "I
grew up surfing in Southern California. I won’t have any time to surf
this time but I’m going to come back in October. I’ll have to hit every
coastal town." Walker, who lives on a sailboat with his
girlfriend and two-year-old daughter, Meadow, also seems to have a
classic surfer’s laid back attitude to life. "My job is a friggin joke in reality," he laughs. "In this movie for instance, I had to play a cop, which I think every normal boy at one time or another has dreamed of doing. "At
the same time I got to play a race car driver and I got to make out
with a beautiful girl and I got to shoot a gun and I got paid to do
it!" "It’s crazy. There are times when it’s like a day job. It’s
trying and the hours are miserable and you have a hard time getting out
of bed some days. But really, my job is a joke. "To me it’s not
like a real job. I grew up doing manual labor. My summers were spent
picking up scrap, hammering nails, putting shingles on a roof. That’s
like real work. "I always thought of acting as being a bit of a La La Land job. Now that I’m doing it I can tell you it really is a joke." Walker
said it was never his dream to act but rather his parents, particularly
his model mother, a
distraction from routine life in the suburbs. "They were always kind of pushing me," he said. "It has become my dream but it wasn’t my dream. I would have never thought I would end up being a bona fide actor." His
mother started taking him to auditions when he was just two years old,
but Walker lost interest and stopped acting for several years. But after two years living out of cars and flopping on friends’ couches, he ended his self-imposed exile from Hollywood. A
casting director who remembered him from childhood, gave him his first
big break when he cast him in the US television series, Touched By An Angel. It led to a role in The Skulls, Pleasantville and Varsity Blues and rekindled his interest in acting and Hollywood’s interest in him. Universal, the studio which made Fast And Furious,
even compare Paul to BRAD PITT though he is not very
comfortable with the compliment. "It is definitely a compliment but I like the first Paul Walker better," he said. "The
reality is, because of the teen audience, I am where I am. I think some
people find me attractive the blond-haired
blue-eyed All-American." "I think there comes a point in time
where you establish enough clout and credibility and have a big enough
name to pick and choose what you do." Walker is almost at that point now. He is trying to buy the rights to a novel to make a western with Pearl Harbour director, JERRY BRUCKHEIMER, with some of the bounty his film career has already reaped. "One
of the most bizarre realizations after this film opened and did
well,
it has pretty much guaranteed I won’t have to worry about finances
again," he said. "You think about people working their entire life to
balance their cheque books. "I might not have to worry about that particular aspect again. It feels really good but it’s surreal at the same time. "I
would have never thought in a million years that I’d be in the position
I am in right now. It was just something I did as a hobby. I wanted to
be a marine biologist, that’s what I really wanted to do." Fast And Furious opens in cinemas on September 20. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ September 2001 TV Hits (Australia) Life In The Fast Lane Talent To Burn PAUL WALKER is stepping it up a gear. His foot is pressed flat to the pedal and he’s riding the fast track to fame. Like Brad Pitt before him, Paul’s poster-boy looks and magnetic screen presence have marked him as Hollywood’s next big thing. After cruising through roles in Pleasantville, She’s All That, Varsity Blues and The Skulls, Paul’s move into male lead territory in The Fast and the Furious is being hailed as his breakthrough performance. In
the non-stop action movie, which also stars VIN
DIESEL, MICHELLE RODRIGUEZ and JORDANA BREWSTER, Paul plays an
undercover cop who enters the hot-blooded world of drag racing. On the
dark streets of LA, Paul’s character is out to bust some bad-ass
criminals while driving like a speed demon and falling for a beautiful
girl. "It doesn’t get much cooler than that," he says. Paul’s passion for cars continues in the upcoming Joyride, which co-stars LEELEE SOBIESKI. But in the meantime he’s keeping himself busy promoting The Fast and the Furious,
which hopefully will lead him to Australia. "At the moment, they’ve
told me that I get to go Australia around the end of October which will
be awesome. I’ve said I don’t mind doing worldwide publicity as long as
I get extended stays in each cities I go to," says the self-confessed
beach bum. While Paul gets ready to pack his bags for Australia, TV HITS corners him for a chat about living life in the fast lane. Is The Fast and the Furious the kind of movie you would go and see? "
I’m always super-critical, especially the first time I see any of my
movies, but this is the kind of movie I’d go and see. To me, movies are
entertainment not brain surgery. Did you ever want to be a race car driver when you were little? " Yeah, I grew up with my head under the hood of the car. I
own a ’67 Chevy and a ’66 Buick Skylark which are classic American
muscle cars, so being able to drive around in fast cars for this movie
was awesome. Did you ever race cars? "
When I was in high school I used to go to drag races and I was once
chased by the cops. But later on in high school I had a pick-up truck,
so I couldn’t race it. Since this movie I’ve bought a Nissan Skyline imported from Japan and I race all the time. Some of your scenes look incredibly dangerous. Did you have a stunt double? "
There is a scene where I’m driving along and I have to try and jump
onto a truck. I did everything except for the actual jump, but I was
hanging out the top of that car which was going about 170 kilometers an
hour and I can tell you my heart was pounding! In the
US, the movie has already been criticized by police for encouraging
copycat drivers to emulate the characters in the film. What do you
think about real-life street racing? "
I hope what people get about this movie is that what these kids do is
illegal. But I don’t think there’s any need for it to be illegal. These
kids aren’t racing around in broad daylight on a freeway. They’re
racing in the early hours of the morning when no-one’s on the street
and they close off the road. These kids don’t have a track to
race at and I sympathize with that, because growing up I skateboarded
all the time and cops were always busting me, telling me I couldn’t
skate anywhere. Still, you have to be careful as there’s always
the chance that when you get behind the wheel of a car you’re gonna end
up in a mess. Have you been in a lot of trouble with the police? " I’ve had my fair share of trouble. Are you good at getting out of trouble? "
I just smile a lot. Not too long ago I was dying to date this she, but
she’d been dating another guy. When I finally had a date with her I
didn’t want to be late so I drove in a truck lane and was pulled over
by a California highway patrol car. I told them the story and they let
me go! In the film, were you nervous about your kissing scene with Jordana Brewster? "
We ended up getting along really well, but I was thinking, "She’s
beautiful, but is she going to be cool?" The only thing that bothered
me was the rumor that Mark Wahlberg, who was dating her at
that time, was going
to show up on the set! But everything was cool. Are you a jealous person?
I don’t think I’m a jealous guy. When I kiss other women, it’s just my
job. But it’s hard not to get a little jealous. Here, I was making out
with Jordana Brewster, and my girlfriend knew how beautiful she was and
I was like, "Don’t worry about it, I’m into you" and she says to me,
"Reverse the situation. How would you feel?" I can sympathise, there’s no way I’d want my girlfriend making out with some guy, even if they are just touching lips. Do you prefer to date actresses?
This industry is pretty wacky so I need someone more stable. Actors are
freaks. I don’t know if they are born that way or if the industry makes
you that way, it’s probably a little bit of both. I like to hook up
with them every now and then, but I stay away for the most part. What do you look for in a girl? I
like girls who are earthy and natural, I’m not into girls who wear too
much make-up. I like girls who are into the beach and who love animals
and kids. Do you hang out at the beach a lot? I
spend a lot of time on the beach. I love surfing, martial arts and
snowboarding but I also play a lot of basketball and beach volleyball. My
daughter [Paul has a two-year-old daughter, Meadow, from a previous
relationship] who loves the beach too, so that makes it easy when it’s
my turn to babysit her for the day. I took her out for the first time
on my long board recently, I put her in a life vest and she loved it.
My daughter inspires me in a big way, I love being a dad! Would you like your daughter to become an actress?
She’s my little Sarah MacLachlan! I ordered a custom-made guitar for
her second birthday because I’m really bitter at my parents for not
placing an instrument in my hands when I was a kid. I’ve always
loved music and Meadow’s mother loves music, so I’ve put this guitar
above her bed. I told her she can take it down on her fifth birthday! What does her guitar look like?
The top side is orange, the flip side is blue, one side is green and
one side is purple. It has a dragonfly and a butterfly on it, and
snowflakes and cool flowers on the fingerboard. It’s the coolest guitar. What’s your guitar like?
It’s not as cool as my daughter’s. I’ve been playing the guitar for
several years now and I’d love to start a band. We’ll play reggae, hard
rock and some poppy stuff, too.Update:
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
B. Alan Orange goes one-on-one with Paul Walker to talk about Running Scared, Eight Below, and working with Clint Eastwood!