Fox Searchlight took its indie comedy Cedar Rapids all the way to the Sundance Film Festival last month to show an eager audience what producer Alexander Payne, director Miguel Arteta and star Ed Helms had cooked up. Luckily for you, the studio had always planned on giving the rest of the country a look at the film just a few weeks after the Park City, Utah festival concluded.
Cedar Rapids is now playing in limited release and I was fortunate to get the chance to talk to some of its cast and crew at a recent New York press event. Click here for my review of the film and read on below for exclusive interviews with Arteta, Anne Heche and Isiah Whitlock Jr., who play strong supporting characters in the crazy convention comedy.
Isiah Whitlock Jr.
Ronald wasn't really the funny character in the film, but I found it really ironic and quite hilarious that he kept referencing the The Wire, which you had a recurring role in. What was that like for you?
You know, when I got the script and I first read that in there, it did run across my mind as “how do you go about making this work” without it coming off as a "wink-wink" moment because I didn’t want to be part of that. As far as I was concerned, The Wire for me is done. That's not something to carry over; we were off into something totally different. That being said when you put it in the context of the character - who he is and where he’s from and what he is all about - then you begin to see how it works. So trying to stay focused on that, "it's the character doing it, it's not me," is not something I’ve done in the past. Then it begins to work and I think one of the great things for me is that if you know The Wire, the moment really works. If you don’t know The Wire and you don’t know me, the moment still works. It just works in a totally different way, but the effect is still going to be there because people are so blown away and shocked that that's what would happen with this character when he tries to rescue them out of the meth house. By knowing The Wire, it's kind of a treat to see it in that context and it still works. I’m happy, I know Ed had talked about wanting to get rid of it when I came on board and that I understand because the movie is not about that, but I’m glad they kept that moment in because it's sort of that final piece to the arc for that character.
The tone was perfect, it was not mocking but it was just sort of a nod, it wasn’t a cheap.
And right before that moment, I peak in to see what's going on and there's that slight moment of "oh my god, what do we do" and this is the only thing that we can do thats going to get us out of that and back into the van.
Now you just talked about how this came up while you were shaping the character. Can you talk a bit more about how you created the character? I couldn’t help but think of Cleveland from Family Guy because Ron was very mellow. I don’t know if that went into your mind, but what did?
This is going to sound really bad, but I’ve never seen Family Guy.
He’s totally a non-confrontational character, so much so to the point that his wife cheats on him with his best friend and he lets it go. He's a passive guy, uber-friendly almost to the point that it's not healthy. That works against the character but it made him more endearing. I got a similar feeling from Ron, and now that I know you've never seen Family Guy I'm curious to know what your influences were in shaping him?
A lot of that has to do with the script. Phil Johnston’s writing; there were times when I would want to go off in a different direction that I really needed Miguel’s help to guide me back to make sure I stayed on point. It's like, "This is the character we’re trying to create here. You can do that; you can do the character but you have to make sure you stay on point. We can’t have him reveal this inner thing too early on." I was really thankful that Miguel would reel me back in. Sometimes, in like the bar scene, we’re doing shots and I kind of go to the way I would take a shot. And he would say, "In this next take, I want to calm him down a little. You’re having too good of a time. Sometimes you start coming off as Deansy (John C. Reilly's character)". I’m going to do shot the way I know how to do shot and have a good time. I had to keep pulling him back in. After a while now I begin to see how we’re going with this guy. The other thing, I know so many guys who are like Ron in this movie. And I remember this one time I was telling a friend how people always see west coast, east coast, especially for African American guys with attitudes and I know so many guys that are just not like that. So one of the things I wanted to do was break that a little bit. Because growing up in Indiana and going to college in Minnesota, I’ve come across a fair amount of, it's almost like, theres no word for it, but I can play it and I can put my finger on it and say this is what it is. And I felt that way with Clay Davidson. I dont think I can label it but I can show you what it is.
You came into a production filled with some comic geniuses. Was it a fun film to make?
Well you know, that kind of helped my character in a way. One - I’m gonna be on the set, I know I can’t compete with their ability to do comedy. I don’t want to sell myself short but they’re geniuses. What they could do at times off the cuff and make it look so effortless it would take me a day to think about.
Did it help you define the character, being able to work off them?
It did, because I would sit and watch and enjoy what they’re doing. But that's kind of what the character does in the movie. He’s reactionary. You’re just hanging back, you have your moments. But it was a joy to watch and be around. Just the way they work. I got an incredible education in comedy while they were just doing they're thing. There was no showing up and saying "we’re going to be doing a comedy," it was like "we’re going to do business as usual, but on top of that we’re going to be funny."
And that's the great thing about the dramedy. Independent film has become a melding of genres, which is a good thing. You can’t put a label on everything. Can you clarify Ron’s relationship with Tim? They alluded to a closeted homosexuality with Tim, I don’t know if it was intentional. I read it as jealousy, like he wanted something more with the guy. Maybe I read it wrong.
I don’t think it was that. What I do feel that Ron wanted to, it's kind of like, I like him and I don’t want to see him get hurt or corrupted or go down this sort of path that I know he’s sorely lacking in the skills to do that. I know he’s sorely lacking in the skllls to do 20 shots or hang out with prostitutes, so I was kind of like it's more like a big brother. And then Deansy comes in and trying to balance it out. "Calm down, calm down, we don’t have to get into that." I could handle it, but I know right off the bat that Tim is out of his league.
That speaks to the character, more like a big brother. Deansy was a bad influence, as was Joan to a lesser extent.
He needed to be anchored because you get in with the wrong crowd, the next thing you know you’re doing meth. The fact that it happens to him quickly is funnny, but you see him spiraling out of control. I was trying to be the guy holding things down. And still be at the convention and have all the fun that everyone else is having. I want to get up and go to the breakfast and have a few drinks at the bar. You’re at a convention. I said it reminded me of guys who play golf, but I remember when I started playing, people would ask how is it playing golf and I would say I never knew people acted in such a juvenile way. It's always like you want to say, "do you really act like that in life, do you really cheat like that? When is a four foot putt a gimme?" I’ve seen Tiger Woods miss those. People come to a convention and want to cut loose and act silly and say all kinds of things, it's kind of like people going to a super bowl party. People getting wasted. But I just found that if Ron was a little bit controlled, I would be happy with him.
Do you think Ron missed his calling as a gangster?
Not any more than we all did. We all live vicariously through the gangsters. I think that's what fascinates people with the mob, The Sopranos and Goodfellas, and the great one The Godfather. We live vicariously through them. And I could see why people would live vicariously through characters in The Wire. No one would do that, but he says "I’m a big fan of the critically acclaimed HBO series The Wire."
Have you kept up with any of the HBO shows since The Wire ended and, if so, what do you like?
I did watch Treme because one, the show is terrific and two, it's David Simon’s new show. Boardwalk Empire, I like. I try to watch as much as I possibly can. And then I was on Rubicon which was on AMC.
I loved that show too. What was your experience with that like?
One of the things I loved about it, it didn’t shoot in the major NY locations. It shot in the back alleys. But people would come up and say, I really feel bad the show is canceled. You know it's part of the game. You do the good ones, you do some that dont make it. You move on. You accept that it's part of the game. Things are not always going to be like The Wire. But you need to be thankful you got a chance to do that. I can say I was apart of something really really good and that will carry me through the rest of my life.