Red Carpet Interviews With The Cast Of Speed Racer

By Katey Rich: 2008-05-05 01:01:29

Red Carpet Interviews With The Cast Of Speed Racer

For my last red carpet at the Tribeca Film Festival, I choose a doozy. Speed Racer brought out all sorts of celebrities, many of whom didn't have anything to do with the movie. Stephen Colbert was there with his kids, Fred Durst came with his wife, and Robert DeNiro even strolled the carpet at one point, though he declined to talk to any reporters. Some fellow reporters standing with me and I managed to snag a minute or two with most of Speed Racer's stars, from the titular man himself Speed (played by Emile Hirsch) to Kick Gurry, who plays Speed's loyal sidekick Sparky. Check out the interviews below, and make sure to take a look at the photo gallery, which captures just a few of the many faces we saw on the red carpet.

Emile Hirsch (Speed Racer)
What was the toughest challenge in playing this part?
It's easily working on the green screen. Whenever you work on green screen, they say only half the stuff is there, and the other thing is it's only half as fun. So you really have to put your imagination to work and get along with everyone that's working on the movie with you.

Was it more difficult working with the chimp or Christina?
Oh, the chimp was just a total wild card. You never knew what the chimpanzee was going to do. At any time in a scene the chimp would just jump up and jump on your lap and start jumping up and down. It's crazy, it's a chimpanzee. Chimpanzees are our closest genetic relative. John Goodman (Pops Racer)
Were you a fan of the original Speed Racer
Oh, absolutely. It was different from anything that was on before. This one was fresh, the angles were all different, it was weird.

Are you ready to be a father figure to kids all over the world who see this?
Yes. Yes I am. I've been a father figure for the last 20 years.

Did you give any advice to the Wachowskis?
Oh, I didn't tell them anything. They're great. Andy gives me all kinds of great fiction to read. We're kind of tuned into the same stuff.

So are you going to be in the next movie?
I hope so.

Do you have a favorite type of car?
Well, I drive a pickup truck, so...

Would you drive the car in this movie if you had a chance?
You bet.

Would you know how to build it if we asked you?
Yeah! You draw a picture, get a computer-- that's all I know.

Fred Durst (member of the Tribeca Film Festival jury)
What would it be like for you if you were racing in a car like this?
I've never thought about it before.

Have you ever driven a car that goes 200 miles an hour?
I'm not a big speed guy. I cruise-- I'm a cruiser. Not a Japanese bike, but a Harley Davidson. That's the way I go.

Peter Fernandez (voice of the original Speed Racer, Racer X and other characters)
So when did you find out you would get to take part in this movie?
I got a call from Warner Bros. last summer.

Was it their idea from the beginning that they would get in you in there?
I suspect it, because the Wachowskis are Speed Racer fans. They said they ran home from school.

Do you meet a lot of people like that these days?
Oh yeah. I was at a Comic Con in New York a couple of weeks ago, and there was one man there with his son who was about 20 years old. The whole time the man cried. He wept tears because he finally met what he conceived of as Speed Racer.

Did you talk to Emile at all about the character?
I haven't met him.

What do you think about his look to play him?
Oh he looks fine. But the only one I've met is Spritle.

What do you think of what you've seen of the movie so far?
You can't tell, even from the trailer.

People are saying it looks a lot like the original world. Are you hoping for that, or something new?
A new version of the old.

Paulie Litt (Spritle)
Who was more difficult on the set-- you or the chimp?
I think we complemented each other very well.

And what did you learn from him?
Oh, a lot! The list goes on and on. They're very intelligent. It's amazing. It's scary how intelligent they are.

So are you going to remain friends?
Oh yeah, we go to lunch now and then.

What was the chimp's name?
There were two-- Willie and Pensie.

Was one better than the other?
Just different. One was younger, he couldn't do as many things. They were both great.

And Emile? How was he compared to the chimp?
Everybody was fabulous. You have all the seasoned pros here, not to mention the international cast. Fabulous.

If you broke into a stash of candy, would you get caught?
Oh yeah, probably.

Did you get to eat a lot of candy for that scene?
Well, you know. They said you don't have to eat it, but I felt bad! I couldn't just let it all go.

Which was more fun, that or fighting the bad guys?
Fighting was the best. I was so happy to do all my stunts, it was a lot of fun.

So next time are you going to drive a car?
I hope so!

Did you have any trouble working with the green screen?
It was amazing. you really have to have a great imagination. I always say working with the Wachowski Brothers makes it a lot easier.

Christian Oliver (Snake Oiler)
Tell us about your role in the film.
I play Snake Oiler. He's a race car driver who is a little nuts. He's promised to be the next one who goes to the Grand Prix. He's waited for so long, for eight years, and this is his big payoff. He's going cuckoo, and he's taking everybody down that he can take down.

How much is he like you?
Oh, exactly the same. It's nuts! No acting required. I just had to be myself and go cuckoo.

Was it fun to just cut loose and be totally nuts?
Yeah, you don't recognize me probably. It's totally different. So it's a good thing. You can kiind fo hide behind that facade. It allows you to have the freedom to completely let go. I've never had so much fun playing a character. I can't wait to do it again.

How did you get into character when you were driving a car that wasn't really there?
Oh, they made sure that it was moving. They were throwing you around. We all got a little bruised, but it was definitely fun.

What's next for you?
A drink, at the bar.

Kick Gurry (Sparky)
What kind of technical tricks did you learn, being the mechanic?
Well, these cars go a thousand miles an hour, and don't run on gasoline. John's character has to design the cars and I have to fix them. But we'd always laugh that we had no idea what the hell the cars were made of or what they were doing. Actually most of the time there wasn't even a car sitting there, it was computer generated. We didn't have to learn too much to do it, which was lucky, because I have this weird phenomenon where I buy a car, and about four months in the car doesn't work any more. I think I could get a role in real life on Heroes. There'd be no super abilities, it's just that I'd break cars.

What's the secret to being a good sidekick?
One is having the name Kick in real life. That helps to be a sidekick. The other, I guess, is probably having no ego.

Who was the most fun to work with? The chimp, the kid or Emile.
The chimp. Well, the kid actually. The kid first, chimp second, Emile last. Emile was terrible.

Could he drive?
No. I'd say any quality you could ask about Emile, he doesn't have. No, I'm kidding. He's a talented kid. The best thing about Emile is he's very, very fun to hang out with.

Was your character in the TV series Australian?
No, no, we changed that. Larry and Andy are really interested in creating a world where there's no borders, no nationalities. They know that a lot of the conflicts in the world today are to do with nationality and race or color or whatever. In The Matrix and this, all of the characters involved are from Korea, Japan, China, Germany, England, Australia, United States, whatever, and there's no reference to it. Everyone just is the way they are, and you don't have to justify it, or have a reason for it. So that was exciting.

So did you get any scenes where you fought the bad guys?
There's some fight scenes. You'll be excited. I personally don't fare too well in the fight scenes, but as a group we do alright.

Well, as the sidekick...
You have to take a few hits, yeah. It wouldn't have worked if it wasn't for me getting beat up.

So what's next for you?
I'm going back to Australia for the summer, which is the winter in Australia. I'm wintering in summer, so it's a bit disappointing.

Any projects we should look for?
No, just going back to spend some time with my family, then see what happens down the road. It's kind of tough to work out what you're going to do after a movie like this. I sort of thought that at the end of my career I would get to work with the Wachowski brothers, but it happened sooner. So I don't know what I'm going to do next.

Were you a big Matrix fan?
I was a huge Matrix fan. I think there's not many directors that can lay claim to the fact that they changed cinema. If you look at most movies post-Matrix, they're all influenced by The Matrix. They didn't just take one movie and made it great. They took cinema and made it more interesting. That was really exciting to be a part of the next evolution of their journey.

Do you feel like this has the same potential?
I do, actually. I feel like this is the first movie that takes into account that kids grew up with computer games and HD television and big screens and big sound and games on their phones. You can't just put a movie on the big screen and say it's exciting anymore, because kids have got a lot of other ways to be excited. I think it's the first film that takes it to that level, and takes it into account.

I mean this in the best way, but it feels like playing Mario Kart.
Yeah, it does, right? It takes into account that you've done all that stuff, and now it's telling a story through those glasses. I think it's really cool.

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