On an extremely hot and humid day in Brooklyn New York, producer Celine Rattray was nice enough to invite me to visit the set of the new film, Watching the Detectives, written and directed by Broken Lizard member Paul Soter. At this point Soter is best known as the bootie flashing state trooper in the comedy cult hit, Super Troopers. It turns out that Soter is such a film buff and has crafted a modern romantic comedy that utilizes elements of film noir. The film stars Cillian Murphy and Lucy Liu and I got a chance to see Murphy acting out a bizarre scene that takes place in a movie. Murphy plays a man who is very nervous about bumping into his new girlfriends ex-boyfriend and is freaking out on someone who he thinks is the guy.
Daniel Robert Epstein: Hows it going so far?
Paul Soter: Its great. Its day three so a lot can still happen, but now that were two days into it, I know that everybodys going to be great. I know our days are all makeable so I couldnt be happier with what we have so far.
DRE: What is the plot of Watching the Detectives?
Paul: Cillian plays this guys who runs his own mom and pop video store. He is a couch potato and film noir buff and a guy who would rather be watching a baseball game than playing in a baseball game. Lucy Liu is this character who shows up in the store and has the exact opposite philosophy. Her feeling is, if you like movies and you like adventure, then thats the way you should live. You shouldnt sit around and watch movies where people get in trouble and chase people. You should just live that way. So its wish fulfillment gone crazy. Lucy embodies a character that really threatens to destroy Cillians life because its hardly possible to live your life as if you were in a movie.
DRE: Is it a romantic comedy?
Paul: Theres a lot of romance to it. But I guess it is a romantic comedy but I say that tentatively because the state of the romantic comedy is so rotten. It shouldnt have a bad connotation. Id love it if there were romantic comedies that I could go see. Id love to see a trailer for a romantic comedy and say Oh yeah, Ill go see that. Not something that makes me go Oh man, theres not a chance in hell Im going to see that movie. I thought I would make a romantic comedy for my sensibility that has romance in it but its not exactly like every other romantic comedy out there. This is something that has a very different angle and a very different conflict. It keeps you guessing and throws a lot of things at you that you dont often see.
DRE: So it has nothing to with the Jasper Carrott/Robert Powell series The Detectives.
Paul: No, I never heard of that.
This is an idea that Id had for a while. By the time I got it all put together it also worked out nicely because we had a break with Broken Lizard where Jay [Chandrasekhar] and Kevin [Heffernan] were going to be editing Beerfest. So I could run off and be in New York for a couple months and not disrupt any of the work that the guys were doing.
DRE: What scene are you shooting today?
Paul: Lucys character plays a lot of mind games with Cillian. Shes constantly trying to keep him on unstable footing so she told him that theres this bald unpredictable violent ex-boyfriend who chases her from town to town whenever she moves. Now hes seeing big bald guys everywhere. He goes out to get a newspaper and theres a bald guy out there. He goes in the video store and theres a bald customer thats very suspicious. Today were shooting him in a movie theatre and theres a guy sitting behind him, a big obnoxious bald guy. It ends up being Cape Fear with that idea of the big obnoxious guy sitting behind you ruining your good time in the movies. Periodically throughout the movie she starts to make him feel like he is in a movie. This guy loves movies and what this woman is doing to him is turning his life into series of scenes from movies and it sounds like it would be perfect but it starts to really drive him crazy.
DRE: Is it mostly film noir type games?
Paul: It is heavy on the film noir and some of it is just classic inventions. There is this scene where he gets interrogated by these two detectives and its a good cop and a bad cop. Its a very classic interrogation from the films of the 40s and 50s. For the most part, these scenes that he ends up getting sucked into have a very film noir feel to them.
DRE: Lucy Liu loves film noir.
Paul: Yeah, but she just loves movies. That was the thing with Lucy and Cillian both, it spoke to them as not just people who are actors but people who like movies. I wanted to make a movie lovers movie.
DRE: How do you like working with the actors?
Paul: Its been exciting. I was worried that there wouldnt be the same atmosphere and familiarity and relaxed vibe that we have on Broken Lizard movies. Well bring actors in, but generally speaking it is people that weve worked with before. Its a very family style setting. But everybody seems to have taken on a very team attitude. It makes a big difference when you do have that environment for shooting a movie because the hours are long. When were all having a good time and the day goes by faster. I took the Broken Lizard approach to a film set and applied it to this and everybody is thanking me for it.
DRE: How long have you been working on the script?
Paul: It had been a couple of years and then I met [Watching the Detectives producer] Celine [Rattray]. After that it took a little time to get the scheduling right and work it out with the actors.
DRE: Are all the Broken Lizard guys going to be doing their own stuff outside the group?
Paul: Yeah, the guys are all now finding things to do on their own. We feel comfortable now if one guy steps away for a while knowing that the other four guys can carry the ball. So everyone is doing that in different ways, whether its directing or writing or acting. Were developing a project for Warner Bros that we hope is going to get shot this fall with Jay directing. It only helps the group when the guys continue to work and succeed individually.
DRE: You must have learned a lot from Jay with him directing all the Broken Lizard movies.
Paul: Absolutely. I got really lucky that through all these Broken Lizard films and Dukes of Hazzard, Ive been able to watch the process from start to finish so its like I got a free education. I know how everything works. The key is that youve got to have it in your head, to know what you want and then be able to articulate what you want to your cast and crew.
DRE: How is your confidence level with directing?
Paul: Well the first morning, I thought I knew everything Im supposed to do and say. Then theres that moment where I realize that everything was ready and everyone was waiting for me to call action and I was lost in thought. I just have to remind myself I have to say action to get these guys started. Thats the only thing I bungled a little bit. But otherwise no.
DRE: Are you going to making a Hitchcock cameo in Watching the Detectives?
Paul: I thought about the Hitchcock cameo. Originally the plan was to give each member of Broken Lizard their own scene so I gave myself one. Unfortunately, Jay and Kevin are trying to lock picture on Beerfest so we tried to make it work but it doesnt look like Jay and Kevin will come in. Well still have [Steve] Lemme and [Erik] Stolhanskes and cameo so Im giving myself a whole scene playing a UPS guy. Im an actor so I might as well play a little role in this thing.
DRE: How did you select your director of photography?
Paul: I knew we had the opportunity do some cool stylistic stuff. Its a comedy and its a simple movie so I didnt want it to have a lot of bells and whistles because, as I said, I want it to be a movie lovers movie. I want people to say Oh I see, youre evoking this here and youre evoking that there. Since it is a character that is literally pulling this guy into scenes and genres, it would be cool if we could make those things subtle but noticeable. I didnt want just a big blown out comedy look so I really wanted somebody who had that eye. When I saw Christophe Lanzenbergs reel, there was just no question about me hiring someone else. His stuff is beautiful but its also got depth. He has done work in black and white as well so I was very happy that he was into it. Plus hes French. Ive always wanted to have a French cinematographer. So I sit around looking at the monitor and I hear French spoken all around me. Thats really cool.
DRE: I saw a pic from Beerfest where you are hefting a beer keg over your head.
Paul: A couple people have said that. Thats actually Nat Faxon. Hes got some bathing cap on. Nat plays one of the German bad guy team members. They drink while they are training and they lift kegs over their head. So they had to do all that shit in Beerfest.
DRE: Did you go back when they were reshooting some scenes from Beerfest?
Paul: No, we just needed a quick piece that was more about some logistics or something. I was lucky enough to not have to jump back.
by Daniel Robert Epstein
SG Username: AndersWolleck
Daniel Robert Epstein: Hows it going so far?
Paul Soter: Its great. Its day three so a lot can still happen, but now that were two days into it, I know that everybodys going to be great. I know our days are all makeable so I couldnt be happier with what we have so far.
DRE: What is the plot of Watching the Detectives?
Paul: Cillian plays this guys who runs his own mom and pop video store. He is a couch potato and film noir buff and a guy who would rather be watching a baseball game than playing in a baseball game. Lucy Liu is this character who shows up in the store and has the exact opposite philosophy. Her feeling is, if you like movies and you like adventure, then thats the way you should live. You shouldnt sit around and watch movies where people get in trouble and chase people. You should just live that way. So its wish fulfillment gone crazy. Lucy embodies a character that really threatens to destroy Cillians life because its hardly possible to live your life as if you were in a movie.
DRE: Is it a romantic comedy?
Paul: Theres a lot of romance to it. But I guess it is a romantic comedy but I say that tentatively because the state of the romantic comedy is so rotten. It shouldnt have a bad connotation. Id love it if there were romantic comedies that I could go see. Id love to see a trailer for a romantic comedy and say Oh yeah, Ill go see that. Not something that makes me go Oh man, theres not a chance in hell Im going to see that movie. I thought I would make a romantic comedy for my sensibility that has romance in it but its not exactly like every other romantic comedy out there. This is something that has a very different angle and a very different conflict. It keeps you guessing and throws a lot of things at you that you dont often see.
DRE: So it has nothing to with the Jasper Carrott/Robert Powell series The Detectives.
Paul: No, I never heard of that.
This is an idea that Id had for a while. By the time I got it all put together it also worked out nicely because we had a break with Broken Lizard where Jay [Chandrasekhar] and Kevin [Heffernan] were going to be editing Beerfest. So I could run off and be in New York for a couple months and not disrupt any of the work that the guys were doing.
DRE: What scene are you shooting today?
Paul: Lucys character plays a lot of mind games with Cillian. Shes constantly trying to keep him on unstable footing so she told him that theres this bald unpredictable violent ex-boyfriend who chases her from town to town whenever she moves. Now hes seeing big bald guys everywhere. He goes out to get a newspaper and theres a bald guy out there. He goes in the video store and theres a bald customer thats very suspicious. Today were shooting him in a movie theatre and theres a guy sitting behind him, a big obnoxious bald guy. It ends up being Cape Fear with that idea of the big obnoxious guy sitting behind you ruining your good time in the movies. Periodically throughout the movie she starts to make him feel like he is in a movie. This guy loves movies and what this woman is doing to him is turning his life into series of scenes from movies and it sounds like it would be perfect but it starts to really drive him crazy.
DRE: Is it mostly film noir type games?
Paul: It is heavy on the film noir and some of it is just classic inventions. There is this scene where he gets interrogated by these two detectives and its a good cop and a bad cop. Its a very classic interrogation from the films of the 40s and 50s. For the most part, these scenes that he ends up getting sucked into have a very film noir feel to them.
DRE: Lucy Liu loves film noir.
Paul: Yeah, but she just loves movies. That was the thing with Lucy and Cillian both, it spoke to them as not just people who are actors but people who like movies. I wanted to make a movie lovers movie.
DRE: How do you like working with the actors?
Paul: Its been exciting. I was worried that there wouldnt be the same atmosphere and familiarity and relaxed vibe that we have on Broken Lizard movies. Well bring actors in, but generally speaking it is people that weve worked with before. Its a very family style setting. But everybody seems to have taken on a very team attitude. It makes a big difference when you do have that environment for shooting a movie because the hours are long. When were all having a good time and the day goes by faster. I took the Broken Lizard approach to a film set and applied it to this and everybody is thanking me for it.
DRE: How long have you been working on the script?
Paul: It had been a couple of years and then I met [Watching the Detectives producer] Celine [Rattray]. After that it took a little time to get the scheduling right and work it out with the actors.
DRE: Are all the Broken Lizard guys going to be doing their own stuff outside the group?
Paul: Yeah, the guys are all now finding things to do on their own. We feel comfortable now if one guy steps away for a while knowing that the other four guys can carry the ball. So everyone is doing that in different ways, whether its directing or writing or acting. Were developing a project for Warner Bros that we hope is going to get shot this fall with Jay directing. It only helps the group when the guys continue to work and succeed individually.
DRE: You must have learned a lot from Jay with him directing all the Broken Lizard movies.
Paul: Absolutely. I got really lucky that through all these Broken Lizard films and Dukes of Hazzard, Ive been able to watch the process from start to finish so its like I got a free education. I know how everything works. The key is that youve got to have it in your head, to know what you want and then be able to articulate what you want to your cast and crew.
DRE: How is your confidence level with directing?
Paul: Well the first morning, I thought I knew everything Im supposed to do and say. Then theres that moment where I realize that everything was ready and everyone was waiting for me to call action and I was lost in thought. I just have to remind myself I have to say action to get these guys started. Thats the only thing I bungled a little bit. But otherwise no.
DRE: Are you going to making a Hitchcock cameo in Watching the Detectives?
Paul: I thought about the Hitchcock cameo. Originally the plan was to give each member of Broken Lizard their own scene so I gave myself one. Unfortunately, Jay and Kevin are trying to lock picture on Beerfest so we tried to make it work but it doesnt look like Jay and Kevin will come in. Well still have [Steve] Lemme and [Erik] Stolhanskes and cameo so Im giving myself a whole scene playing a UPS guy. Im an actor so I might as well play a little role in this thing.
DRE: How did you select your director of photography?
Paul: I knew we had the opportunity do some cool stylistic stuff. Its a comedy and its a simple movie so I didnt want it to have a lot of bells and whistles because, as I said, I want it to be a movie lovers movie. I want people to say Oh I see, youre evoking this here and youre evoking that there. Since it is a character that is literally pulling this guy into scenes and genres, it would be cool if we could make those things subtle but noticeable. I didnt want just a big blown out comedy look so I really wanted somebody who had that eye. When I saw Christophe Lanzenbergs reel, there was just no question about me hiring someone else. His stuff is beautiful but its also got depth. He has done work in black and white as well so I was very happy that he was into it. Plus hes French. Ive always wanted to have a French cinematographer. So I sit around looking at the monitor and I hear French spoken all around me. Thats really cool.
DRE: I saw a pic from Beerfest where you are hefting a beer keg over your head.
Paul: A couple people have said that. Thats actually Nat Faxon. Hes got some bathing cap on. Nat plays one of the German bad guy team members. They drink while they are training and they lift kegs over their head. So they had to do all that shit in Beerfest.
DRE: Did you go back when they were reshooting some scenes from Beerfest?
Paul: No, we just needed a quick piece that was more about some logistics or something. I was lucky enough to not have to jump back.
by Daniel Robert Epstein
SG Username: AndersWolleck
courtneyriot:
On an extremely hot and humid day in Brooklyn New York, producer Celine Rattray was nice enough to invite me to visit the set of the new film, Watching the Detectives, written and directed by Broken Lizard member Paul Soter. At this point Soter is best known as the bootie flashing state trooper in...
julian_delphinki:
"You know in New York City you have to pay $10 to watch two cops have sex in a cage." 