‘Thunder Force’ Interviews with Melissa McCarthy, Octavia Spencer, Pom Klementieff

Cinema Blend

The stars of Netflix’s “Thunder Force” (Melissa McCarthy, Octavia Spencer, Pom Klementieff) and writer/director Ben Falcone discuss their upcoming action comedy in this interview with CinemaBlend’s Jeff McCobb. They discuss that weird sex scene that involves Jason Bateman as a “crab man,” how Klementieff was the funniest person on set and more.

Transcript

00:00 - I've been developing a genetic platform

00:02 that will allow us to give ordinary people superpowers.

00:05 But do me a favor, please.

00:06 Don't touch anything.

00:08 (electricity crackling)

00:09 (imitating car engine)

00:11 (electricity crackling)

00:12 (electricity crackling)

00:13 (screaming)

00:14 (upbeat music)

00:17 - So like any good interview,

00:19 I think we need to start by talking about

00:21 the sex scene with Jason Bateman as a crab man.

00:24 - Oh boy, who's the little elbow?

00:26 Did you take that from the restaurant?

00:27 - I always carried my own in my bra.

00:29 - That was just my level of ridiculous.

00:33 I was wondering how much of that you shot

00:36 that was improv that ended up on the cutting room floor.

00:39 (laughing)

00:40 - I think, you know, when you have your first,

00:44 there's just not very many,

00:47 you can't really go back to the well of like,

00:49 well, let's see, when I've had other run-ins

00:51 with a crab man.

00:52 (laughing)

00:53 There's not a lot to really go back to.

00:55 And it's not like at 16,

00:58 I had an experience with a crab man as well.

01:00 So I used that.

01:02 It's just, especially with Bateman,

01:03 it's like anything with Bateman is gonna,

01:05 he's just so damn funny.

01:07 He's so funny and I don't know how he can always play under

01:11 and still hit with such a punch.

01:15 Like there's no, and we're such good friends

01:17 that like just getting to be so stupid with him

01:20 was such a blast.

01:22 (upbeat music)

01:23 - The hell are you?

01:24 - You'd think cancer, but Capricorn actually, Saj Moon.

01:28 Intentionally, structurally, I'm really careful.

01:31 And I knew that the Lydia crab stuff

01:35 was in the quote unquote wrong place

01:38 because you shouldn't be taking a detour

01:40 at that moment in the movie.

01:42 But I did it on purpose,

01:44 knowing that I could really minimize it if I wanted to.

01:47 But I thought it might be fun to explore

01:50 having a really strong structure

01:52 and intentionally deviating it just from a second.

01:55 And it seemed like it worked pretty well.

01:57 So we were happy with the result, as nutty as it is.

02:01 - You've both done the superhero thing before

02:04 in the Marvel universe.

02:06 And both of those films are pretty funny.

02:09 I was wondering what the difference was

02:11 being in this super powered flick that was straight comedy,

02:15 comedy first and foremost.

02:16 - Oh, it was great.

02:17 You know, unlike Pom,

02:19 I don't really get to play a superhero

02:21 in the Marvel universe,

02:22 but I do get to be,

02:23 actually do get to be in one of the funnier ones in Ant-Man.

02:26 And so I get to have fun with that character,

02:29 but it's very different, you know, in Thunder Force,

02:33 you know, I get to play a really insecure,

02:35 sensitive, thin-skinned guy who can,

02:40 who's really strong and can kill you when he hugs you.

02:42 So I think that's pretty funny.

02:44 And I don't know if that character

02:48 would exactly be the same in the Marvel universe.

02:50 I think maybe that wouldn't be as funny.

02:53 So I liked the opportunity to be able to do both

02:55 in a movie like this.

02:57 - Pom, what about you?

02:57 What's the comedic vibe different on set?

03:00 - Yeah, I mean, I mean, the difference,

03:02 like mostly for myself was just, you know,

03:05 the role of course, you know,

03:06 in the Marvel universe,

03:08 I play more like an innocent or, you know,

03:11 cute and weird kind of creature.

03:13 And in this one, you know,

03:14 she's very powerful and sure of herself

03:17 and destructive and completely evil, you know,

03:21 that was really fun to play for sure.

03:23 - Well, that cast, man, I mean,

03:25 like the two of you plus, you know, Bobby and Jason.

03:29 And I mean, we're talking about like

03:30 major award-winning actors

03:33 that are just also brilliant comedians.

03:35 I was wondering if there was anyone in particular on set

03:39 that had you breaking and cracking up.

03:41 - Pom's really funny.

03:42 I mean, she's so willing to like go anywhere

03:45 and like so many of her comments,

03:47 like she was just so weird as Laser.

03:50 And I just like, I loved it.

03:52 But I mean, Bobby is, Bobby's such a great actor,

03:55 but he's such a funny guy.

03:58 Like he really, really,

04:01 like he can just say stuff that like destroys me.

04:03 And then like Bateman's just, you know.

04:05 So it's like, we had it coming from all directions,

04:07 but also everybody's really technically skilled

04:11 and they're, you know,

04:13 so it was this great balance of

04:15 you're never gonna like jeopardize getting the work done,

04:18 but you can just have a really good time doing it.

04:20 And I think all that stuff shows up on the screen.

04:23 - Pom surprised me.

04:24 She just, I loved her deadpan, you know, delivery.

04:29 And Bateman, everybody was brilliant.

04:33 And what can't you love about Bobby?

04:35 He's just genius.

04:37 - Pom and I had never met.

04:38 And so I was really delighted to be surprised like that

04:41 by somebody who I had never seen, you know,

04:44 acted with before.

04:45 And so I had a hard time keeping it together there with Pom.

04:48 And I think Octavia's got a pretty solid deadpan.

04:51 - Do not throw that bus.

04:53 - I can't hear you because I'm literally throwing a bus.

04:56 - Bateman is money every single time

04:58 because of how serious he always is.

05:00 And, you know, Melissa is a given.

05:02 Melissa just, Melissa makes me laugh.

05:04 I'm just so used to Melissa now at this point,

05:06 but she's, you know, she's brilliant.

05:09 She never does the same thing twice.

05:10 So, you know, really like heavyweights there.

05:13 - God, what's that smell?

05:14 - It's the suits, we can't wash them.

05:17 I break, I have to be scrubbed out of the soundtrack

05:20 for almost all of Melissa's stuff,

05:22 so much of Octavia's stuff, all of Bateman's stuff,

05:24 tons of Bobby's.

05:25 I'm like a disaster, but I found out early

05:28 that I can laugh because the sound people are so amazing.

05:32 They can usually get my horrible laughter out of the track,

05:35 but I ruin, I would have ruined tons of takes.

05:38 (sizzling)

05:40 (screaming)

05:42 - Em, stop!

05:43 You're cooking them from the inside out!

05:46 - Oh man.

05:46 - I'm not gonna film this, sir, it's a mistake!

05:49 Thunder Force, remember it.

05:51 (upbeat music)

05:53 - Octavia, you are also a student of comedy

05:57 and you played Deadpan great in this,

05:58 but you often play the more eccentric character.

06:01 - Listen, I leave all the brilliant comedic writing to Ben

06:06 and I, whatever you see in that performance

06:12 is all due to his direction.

06:15 I had the best time, but it's also easy

06:18 to play off of Melissa.

06:20 I mean, she gives you so much.

06:22 (tires screeching)

06:23 - It's go time.

06:24 - Oh God!

06:26 (tires screeching)

06:27 (horn honking)

06:28 - We've gotta rethink this car.

06:30 - It was a dream job, honey.

06:32 What can I say? - It was so fun.

06:33 God, it was fun.

06:34 Yeah, it was not like a real serious work environment.

06:37 - We took the work seriously,

06:39 but enjoyed every aspect of it.

06:43 I mean, you just, I can't tell you,

06:46 every single day was, my jaws hurt from laughing.

06:50 - Did it lend itself to more of an improv vibe?

06:54 - Yeah, there's a lot of improv for sure.

06:56 And even, yeah, there's, they're like always rewriting

07:00 the size and giving new ideas.

07:04 And then we come up with new ideas.

07:06 So it's just a bigger collaboration for sure.

07:09 And Ben and Melissa come from an improv background.

07:13 - And Ben as well, and Octavia as well.

07:15 You know, they were at school together

07:17 at the Brownlings, I think.

07:19 And so it's always like playing ping pong, you know,

07:22 with like, oh, what about, we're gonna do this.

07:25 And like, oh yeah, and then say this.

07:26 And you know, it just changes all the time, you know?

07:29 So it's fun.

07:30 - Do I say, okay, here, I know what the scene is.

07:34 Here's the first pass at it.

07:36 Does Melissa look at it and punch it up?

07:38 She sure does.

07:39 And then, you know, once we get everybody on set

07:43 and start working it out, you know,

07:45 comedy is a living, breathing, organic thing.

07:48 - Bobby, you've developed a solid career

07:51 as a dramatic actor.

07:52 You've had a handful of Emmys in that genre.

07:55 I was wondering what it takes for you

07:57 to take on a comedic role like this.

07:59 - Well, the pedigree is pretty important.

08:01 So, you know, Ben and Melissa,

08:03 they've got a very good track record.

08:05 I think Melissa is one of the greatest actresses

08:06 we have working today.

08:08 So there's nothing I won't do with her.

08:10 I've done so many different kinds of films with her now.

08:12 I've done four different, very different movies with her.

08:15 So I guess, you know,

08:17 it's the people that you're working with.

08:19 It always comes down to the people you're working with

08:20 and the material.

08:21 And usually when those things match up,

08:23 it's a pretty easy decision to make.

08:24 And look, I've been very lucky.

08:26 I think I've done probably more dramatic things than not,

08:31 but I always try to find a way to make these characters,

08:33 even if they're not on the page, funny.

08:35 I think the Boardwalk Empire character

08:37 is one of the funniest characters I've ever played,

08:38 even though, you know, he kills a lot of people

08:41 and it's not really considered a comedy, that show.

08:44 And then there's you.

08:45 Fucking breadstick in a bow tie.

08:50 To me, that was one of the funniest characters

08:52 I've ever played.

08:52 So I think I always approach it in a way that I think is,

08:56 you know, I try to find what the, you know,

08:58 what the character's Achilles heel is

09:01 and what their insecurities are

09:03 and where their desperation lies.

09:04 And I think in there,

09:05 I think you can mine a lot of comedy.

09:07 - Lydia, do not throw that bus.

09:10 - I can't hear you because I'm literally throwing a bus.

09:13 (crashing)

09:15 - I'm sorry, that's on me.

09:20 (crashing)

09:22 ♪ There used to be a green tower alone on the sea ♪

09:30 (crashing)

09:34 (glass shattering)

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