Project X
Tags: party, movie, ProjectX, Oliver Cooper, Warner Brothers, THomas Mann, Jonathan Daniel Brown
One great side effect of the “found footage” movie genre is that we get to discover new stars with each one. If they’re trying to pretend this is footage from someone’s camcorder, whether they’re lost in the woods or running from monsters, the actors have to look like people you wouldn’t recognize on the street.
Project X is a huge Warner Brothers movie and we’ve got an exclusive on the three stars. Thomas Mann, Oliver Cooper and Jonathan Daniel Brown play three high schoolers who throw a party to improve their social reputation. The party gets out of hand with naked girls in the pool, people stuffed into ovens, cars driven into the water and a flame thrower.
Mann plays the host of the party, named Thomas after himself. Cooper plays Costa, the bad influence friend who insists the wildest extravagances will guarantee them hot girls, as if he knows. Brown plays JD, sort of the quiet one who goes along with everything, but in real life he did the most talking.
The three actors are working as a set, so I made it a foursome. When they were told a reporter from SuicideGirls was coming, Mann and Brown got excited. Thomas, you’re not old enough for a subscription, you naughty boy, but we appreciate the love.
SuicideGirls: You guys know Suicide Girls?
Jonathan Daniel Brown: No them personally? I would like to.
Oliver Cooper: They were filling me on it.
SG:
Do you have any favorite Suicide Girls?
JDB:
I’d have to load it up and then make a 20 minute decision in the bathroom.
SG:
But they’re you’re type of girls.
JDB:
Tatted up girls?
OC:
I like tattoos.
JDB:
OC:
Jumbo’s Clown Room, that’s a good place.
JDB:
You heard of it?
SG:
Of course I have. They don’t actually take their clothes all the way off though.
OC:
No, but that’s actually, I kind of prefer that.
JDB:
Kind of makes it sexier. It’s more burlesque.
Thomas Mann: It’s a little more classy that way.
OC:
Sometimes it’s just too much when you go to a strip club and she’s like spread open.
JDB:
Oh my God!
SG:
The girls at Jumbo's do some pretty impressive acrobatics and flips.
TM:
Right, it’s more like art.
JDB:
It’s Cirque du Soleil, you know.
OC:
There’s something really cool about that.
SG:
Well, is the found footage genre great for new actors because they need unrecognizable faces?
TM:
Yeah, I think definitely it’s opened up a lot of doors for people. I mean, they opened this up to like 3000 tape submissions is what they had.
JDB:
Yeah, I got this movie through an open call over the internet actually.
OC:
I don't know if it’s [the genre.] I think movies and television are always just looking for new faces. People get sick of seeing the same face over and over again. I don't think it’s a found footage thing. I think it’s just movies.
TM:
Yeah, but I mean, if you saw Brad Pitt in a found footage film it would totally take you out of it immediately.
OC:
Yeah, that’s true.
TM:
So yeah, I think it lends itself to the authenticity.
JDB:
That said I’m not sure if this is a traditional found footage movie either. It doesn’t take place through one camera the whole [movie]. It does for a majority of the film.
OC:
It’s meant to feel that way.
JDB:
Sure but there’s music and there’s montages.
TM:
Well, it is found footage that’s been cut together and stylized.
OC:
The movie’s not like some of those handheld movies that are so shaky and it’s trying to create that thing. This movie has I think a very watchable style to it.
JDB:
And every five seconds they don’t go, “Hey, look at the camera. Hey, look at the camera. Hey, this is a movie we’re making.” You kind of get those over with in the first few minutes and then you’re onto the actual suspension of disbelief.
SG:
Was Dax Flame really on the camera?
OC:
No.
JDB:
He was on set the whole time. He was there every day.
TM:
He was always on set though. He was always very interested in learning about the camera. He was always talking to Ken Seng who was our cinematographer.
OC:
He probably only held the camera once or twice.
TM:
A few times logistically it was the only way we would work, if he actually shot it, but that was only a couple times. Other times in super wide shots he would have a prop camera.
OC:
Ken Sang actually had a trenchcoat that Dax had a trenchcoat in the movie and he wore a trenchcoat to simulate him.
JDB:
And Ken’s like two feet taller than Dax.
OC:
Yeah, he doesn’t look like Dax.
TM:
He would have the same boots on in case the camera would fall to the ground and it would still look like Dax was holding the camera.
JDB:
And there are definitely a couple shots where people can see that that’s Dax but we know it’s really Ken Sang.
TM:
Well, there is a mirror shot where that’s obviously Dax so there were a couple times it was necessary for him to shoot it, but mostly it was our cinematography Ken Seng.
SG:
Would this kind of party actually be fun for you?
TM:
Yes. As long as I wasn’t throwing it. I would love to be there.
OC:
I think most of said it would be fun to go to. Throwing a party in general kind of sucks. Not suck, it’s just overwhelming.
JDB:
It’s never fun to host. Let’s be honest.
OC:
God, you’ve got to worry about everything.
TM:
It is one of the most stressful things, hosting a party, especially something like this. Yeah, I think I would go for maybe the first half of this party.
OC:
Yeah, you’d get out.
JDB:
I’d go for the middle portion.
OC:
I’d just stay for the end.
JDB:
You would get there right at the end.
OC:
Once the riot starts, I just show up throwing shit.
JDB:
SG:
I was thinking I don’t care how many naked boobies there are, I know somebody’s going to get killed and I don’t want to be an accessory.
JDB:
Right.
OC:
That is true.
JDB:
That is fair. Considering we had nine on set accidents and that was completely staged, so God knows if this happened in real life what the body count would be. It would be like Fallujah, man.
SG:
What were some of the accidents?
OC:
Nothing crazy.
JDB:
What are you talking about? A kid got hit by a car. The car in the pool scene, some kid got smacked.
OC:
But he was fine.
JDB:
Oh, yeah, I know. No one died.
OC:
No one got anything broken.
TM:
No one was seriously injured but there were a lot of hospital visits. But again, a lot of the stuff, it’s found footage, it’s hard to fake. You don’t have as many cuts. You have to disguise it somehow.
OC:
That’s what really for me makes the movie really good is that it doesn’t feel fake. It’s crazy but it doesn’t feel like really fake. The house was a real house and the things that were happening, the guy goes through a window, he really went through the window.
TM:
You can’t cut around it. You have one take to do it all and if you want to cut, you have to do like a fast swipe and hide the cuts.
OC:
When the car went in the pool, it’s just crazy.
TM:
We got one take of that because once you put a car in the pool it’s [over].
JDB:
And shooting chronologically was a byproduct of that too. We couldn’t just have a scene with the house on fire and then have a scene where we’re at the beginning, the party just started. We had to have a five week long party from beginning to end. So it’s not just exhaustion in makeup. It’s exhaustion in the fact that we’ve been getting up at 5 p.m. and going to bed at 7 a.m. every day for the last five weeks. We’re exhausted.
TM:
Yeah, it was a really intense experience.
SG:
Do you think audiences will get that it’s a cautionary tale?
JDB:
To a degree.
TM:
I don’t think it even is. I’m not even sure that it is.
OC:
It’s a movie.
TM:
I think it’s an escape. It’s an experience. I think it is a celebration.
JDB:
I mean, do people watch The Hangover and go, “I’m gonna go take drugs.”
TM:
Like oh, I shouldn’t do that. I should be careful. I think the point of the movie is to make people want to go out and have a party with their friends.
JDB:
Yeah, if you kick a cop off his horse and go for a ride, I’m not taking any responsibility for that.
OC:
If some kid tries to have this party and brings a guy with a flamethrower than he’s just an idiot.
TM:
Show me the kid that can do that.
JDB:
That’s a challenge, Thomas, it’s dangerous.
TM:
Hey man.
JDB:
It’s okay.
SG:
Oliver, is this persona Costa has just totally acting out?
OC:
For sure. He’s a kid who’s a loser. If you really watch the movie, I’m talking to him like, “You’ve gotta talk
to this girl” and I’m never, I think you see him making out with a girl.
to this girl” and I’m never, I think you see him making out with a girl.
TM:
Are you asking if he’s aware how full of shit he is in the movie?
SG:
Yes, because do guys putting on that act really believe it?
OC:
Even Costa, the whole movie I’m going, “I can fix this, don’t worry. I have a cousin who can fix this, I can fix this, don’t worry.” There’s a scene when the car goes into the pool, I’m like, “Thomas, I can’t fix any of this shit.” I am full of shit.
TM:
He kind of drops it for a second and you see the real him.
OC:
But then I’m back at the end like oh, I got the pimp cup.
TM:
But it’s cool you see those moments where he kind of comes down and he’s a real person, like the moment with Tyler or Everett at the car, where he’s like, “Hey man, you can’t hard charge all the time.” That’s where the kid got
punched. It’s kind of a sweet moment for Costa.
punched. It’s kind of a sweet moment for Costa.
OC:
It was nice to actually have a couple moments in the movie, like even at the end, I’m actually finally talking like a normal human being. Because the whole time before that I’m just hard charging the whole time.
JDB:
We even shot a scene where actually Costa confesses he’s not from Queens and how sorry he is, that didn’t make it into the movie because there’s no time.
OC:
I don't know if there’s no time as much as it lead people to believe maybe I’m from Queens, maybe I’m not, I don't know.
JDB:
I don’t think that’s the central mystery of the movie, Oliver.
OC:
It’s not. No, that’s what everyone’s wondering. Is he really from Queens?
SG:
I understand why people, especially teens, adopt that persona. I just wonder is there anyone who actually has that personality for real? It’s always masking something.
OC:
Oh for sure. I mean, I think most people are masking something anyway.
JDB:
He just wants a hug.
TM:
Yeah, I think the Costa character is definitely insecure.
OC:
Yeah, I mean, I think all of our characters are probably a little bit insecure.
TM:
But as far as the way you deal with it by putting on this front.
SG:
Thomas, your character has that awesome best friend who he’s actually appreciated all along. Was it nice that it was only under the influence of drugs that he even strayed?
TM:
Yeah, I mean I really don’t think it’s about drugs. I think it’s a coincidence that he was also on drugs but it’s such a crazy big night for him in so many ways that I think it forces him to realize what is really important to him and he realizes it’s his friend that he’s had for such a long time.
JDB:
Drugs makes a great excuse though.
TM:
It definitely does.
SG:
Yeah, I thought it was only because he was on drugs that he would even consider anyone but Kirby.
TM:
I think drugs only bring out the truth.
JDB:
He’s trying to vindicate you Thomas.
OC:
She was gorgeous though. I mean, you can’t blame him.
SG:
Did you do the jump from the roof for real?
JDB:
Nope. It was the stunt men.
TM:
Stunt doubles.
JDB:
My stuntman was like 70 years old too. He was an old guy.
TM:
I heard he was a complainer.
JDB:
Was he a complainer? I liked him. He did the first Texas Chainsaw Massacre in the ‘70s. You know, there’s not a lot of stunt guys in my body type. They have to at least start in shape and I’m sure that guy looked really great in like 1975.
TM:
No, he was a nice guy.
OC:
I had a stunt guy too but he didn’t really have to do too much because I didn’t jump.
JDB:
Thomas’s stunt guy was like 19 years old.
TM:
Yeah, my stunt guy was like really cool.
JDB:
He’s like this kid who could do anything.
TM:
He actually looks like me.
OC:
It was really weird how much that guy looked like you.
SG:
Did you guys go to regular high school while you were pursuing acting?
TM:
I was sort of pursuing acting. I was doing commercials in Dallas when I was going to high school so no. I guess I sort of was but I hadn’t quite made it yet. I wasn’t in L.A.
OC:
When I was in high school I started doing some standup comedy but that was just a weekend for fun and nothing serious. I mean, I really never pursued acting. I kind of did when I moved out to L.A. but I was out here only nine months before I got this movie and it was just really coincidence, just lucky and things happened. I wasn’t planning for this to be honest.
JDB:
I was Tevye in Fiddler on the Roof in sixth grade. That about covers it.
SG:
Did you do plays throughout school?
JDB:
I mean, until like 7th grade but I was kind of a messed up high schooler. I jumped from school to school for a little while. Then when I was 19 I started doing some standup just for fun. Right before I turned 21 I did this audition for shits and giggles online and things snowballed from there. I was more interested in writing and doing silly comedy but I really appreciate acting now. It’s a lotta fun and it’s definitely something I’m going to continue to pursue.
SG:
How old are you now?
OC:
I’m 22.
JDB:
As am I.
TM:
I’m 20.
SG:
Do you all live in L.A. now?
TM:
Yeah.
OC:
Yeah.
JDB:
I’m a local. I’m from L.A.
SG:
How do you find the L.A. lifestyle for a young actor?
OC:
It’s what you want it to be.
TM:
It’s tricky.
JDB:
It’s different for me because I’ve always lived in L.A. so I don’t really know what an L.A. lifestyle is.
TM:
There’s really no other industry where your personal life collides with your work life in so many different areas. Which is good and a bad thing.
OC:
You can make it whatever you want. If you want to live crazy or you can sit on your couch and smoke weed all day. That’s an option too. It’s really whatever you want to do.
SG:
Are you guys still friends and hang out now?
JDB:
Yeah, multiple times a week.
OC:
Yeah, weirdly.
JDB:
Why weirdly?
OC:
I mean weirdly in the sense of how close of friends we are too. We hang out on the weekends.
JDB:
We hang out on the weekdays.
OC:
Well, every day’s a weekend in this town I guess.
JDB:
What does that even mean?
OC:
No one really works. No one has day jobs. No one has 9 to 5s.
SG:
What are your prospects now after Project X?
JDB:
I’ll take whatever gets me out of my parents’ house, you know.
OC:
Me too. I did this little independent film because I wasn’t really getting cast in anything actively. I tried auditioning for things and it just wasn’t really going that well so I was like I’m just going to do my own thing. So me and a friend, we raised a bunch of money and shot our own movie at my house. I live with my aunt and four dogs and it’s this crazy house. So we shot a movie, my aunt acts in it, I act in it and I wanted to do something different than I play in Project X. I wanted to do this more sad character I guess. So I did that.
TM:
More movies. I just want to broaden my horizons and do different kind of things. I’m open to whatever but I’m actively looking for my next project always. I’ve got a few other things coming out later this year and then next year. I just hope it continues because you never know.
SG:
Did those films see Project X before they cast you?
TM:
No. They were actually really strict no one say Project X.
SG:
What do you expect your red carpet premiere to be like?
JDB:
Vindication for the past two years. So much work, it’s really exciting.
TM:
It’s just like we’ve been waiting for our lives to start almost just because it was such a huge project for all of us. It’s been a long time coming so the anticipation has lasted a long time.
OC:
It’s the ups and downs of first you find out you’re doing a movie with Todd Phillips, you think the movie can be huge, then you don’t know. It’s ups and downs, ups and downs.
TM:
But it’s gratifying now that it’s finally coming out and the responses are cool. I think we made the movie we wanted to make for sure.
Project X opens March 2.
Project X opens March 2.
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