Interview: Tim Robbins And Michael Pena

By Katey Rich: 2008-09-24 23:45:35

Tim Robbins and Michael Pena could both fairly be described as political-- Robbins for his outspoken support of the Democratic party and other liberal causes, and Pena for his roles in some of the most politically charged movies of the last few years, including Crash and Lions for Lambs. But in The Lucky Ones they're abandoning the politics, despite the fact that in the movie's background there's the ultimate hot-button topic of the Iraq war.

Robbins and Pena play two soldiers home on leave from the war who, along with a soldier played by Rachel McAdams, find themselves on an unexpected road trip as they all set out to accomplish their own goals. Robbins and Pena sat down with a group of journalists to talk about their roles in the film, how filming in the middle of the country is different from doing a movie in Los Angeles, and how they think movies can actually change people's minds about important issues.

Tim Robbins [walking in immediately after director Neil Burger wraps his interview]: First of all, I just want to say, that it pisses me off to be in a film where the director is more attractive than any of the actors.

So you said you're Mr. Everyman here. Do you feel 'everyman?'
Tim Robbins: I don't feel every man [laughter].

Ok, but do you feel that you represent sort of an 'everyman' character?
Tim Robbins: I think the character, the way it was written, was someone that could be a lot of people in this country, someone that gets an education, decent job, serves his country, tries to raise a family, tries to do well by his family, and finds himself at a stage in his life, abandoned to some degree.

We heard that the morning after 9/11, you and a friend actually went on a cross-country road trip from L.A. to New York.
Tim Robbins: I was in LA when it happened, and I got back to my family as soon as I could.

Via road trip?
Tim Robbins: Yeah, it was the only way to do it. It's not really a road trip. It's getting as fast of a car with as powerful of an engine as you can, and getting in it and driving 90 miles an hour.

It's rare in movies that you see characters from the middle of the country, the "flyover country," because so many movies are so New York and LA-centric. Was it a challenge for you guys to both play characters from that area and then act in that area and be filming in places where they don't have that many movies?
Michael Pena: It was easier, because we were hanging out a couple of weeks into it, and we got pretty friendly, and it kind of felt like a circus. We kind of brought that energy, from I don't know how many cities we were in, but we were in like four states, and I don't know, maybe 12 cities.

Were they more excited to see you than in New York or LA?
Michael Pena: There's a little bit of a different vibe when somebody from the midwest recognizes you. They're not as cool about it.

Tim Robbins: And, my mother's roots were in St. Louis, so I have blood from that part of the country, and I have an affinity towards that whole area.

How did you use the perspective you also had from playing a soldier in Lions for Lambs?
Michael Pena: Yeah, I tried to use as much as I could with what I learned from Lions for Lambs, but they're just two completely different movies, you know? For me, doing this movie wasn't political at all. It's good that it was something different, it focused on three individuals, and it was written with honesty and a lot of humor; it was something I could relate to and I really liked the characters and the storytelling, and I gravitated toward the script. But, two completely different movies.

So what are the challenges of filming a road movie?
Michael Pena: Just the van alone was difficult to shoot in, because it was so damn hot. We'd have to close the windows, because, you know when you're driving, not letting the air in, but when it's 120 degrees out in Vegas, it gets a little hot pretty quick. Oh boy.

Do you feel lucky in life, or do you feel you've achieved what you have through hard work?
Tim Robbins: I feel both. Talk to any athlete, they'll tell you, "Luck is hard work." I think it's both. I feel really lucky. I feel real fortunate to be where I am. I also know that when you get the opportunity, you can't take anything for granted. You have to really apply yourself.
Michael Pena: I feel lucky, I feel blessed. If you get blessed with some ability, I think you have to work hard at it. Michael Jordan was a great basketball player, but he wasn't the best shooter, even though he had the skill, and he had to work and work at it.

This movie deals with the Iraq war in a really apolitical way. Is that satisfying for you, to take it from that angle?
Tim Robbins: Well, it's a movie that deals with soldiers. I'm honored to be in a movie about that subject matter. It's the kind of story that we're not really telling right now, and uh, if it kind of opens the door into what the experience of coming home after having served over there is, then great.

Tim you've known soldiers for a while, right? Did you talk to any of them to prepare for the role?
Tim Robbins: Yeah, I've been talking to them since I did Top Gun. I have an affinity towards people that give up themselves for their country. I have a deep respect for that. I don't have a respect, necessarily, for politicians that place them in harm's way based on deception and lies. But I have a deep respect for people who give up themselves for their country.

Do you guys think that movies can change people's consciousness or thinking?
Michael Pena: You go into a movie with the dream of it, maybe. I remember seeing Dead Poet's Society, and it made it appealing in a way that I actually went to prep school.

Tim Robbins: I always think about To Kill a Mockingbird. That movie profoundly changed the way a lot of people think about race in America. And that was because it was an effective, beautiful story, well directed, well acted, and it hit people in a profound way. So, yeah, I do believe that storytelling ideally, what it does is it opens up the heart, and it allows for perceptions that perhaps one might not have thought of or felt before.

Tim, are you working on any more directorial projects?
Tim Robbins: I am. I wrote a pilot for Showtime, that I'm going to direct in December, called "Possible Side Effects," about the pharmaceutical industry. I've been directing the last eight years in my theater company. [...] I kind of took a hiatus from directing films because my son came up to me after Cradle came out in 1999 – he was seven - and he said to me, "I like it better when you act!" [laughter].

Now we know who the real critic in the family is.
Tim Robbins: Well, what he meant was, I'm there more when I act. I'm actually at home, and when I'm directing, I'm obsessed.

Michael, what's next for you?
Michael Pena: I just finished a movie with Seth Rogan, my first comedy [Observe and Report]. I'm one of the mall cops. I'm Seth Rogen's best friend. It's a character, though. And then I'm producing two movies, one with Imagine, and one with Double Features.

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Interview: Tim Robbins And Michael Pena

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