Back on December 3, 2009 Michael Cera was making the press rounds and stopped over in sunny Seattle, Washington capping off a year in which I limited my interviews to the likes of Francis Ford Coppola for Tetro, Kathryn Bigelow for The Hurt Locker and Marc Webb for 500 Days of Summer. I know, not exactly an abundance of interviews, but what can I say? I’m very picky.
However, as a fan of “Arrested Development” and the shy comedic stylings of Cera I couldn’t pass up the opportunity. After all, his new film, Youth in Revolt is quite funny and well worth promoting.
Adapted from C.D. Payne’s novel of the same name, Michael Cera stars in Youth in Revolt as Nick Twisp, an awkward teenager who meets the girl of his dreams played by relative newcomer Portia Doubleday. While things momentarily look to be going Nick’s way a variety of circumstances, auto explosions, familial issues and ex-boyfriends get in his way forcing him to conjure up an alter-ego he refers to as Francois Dillinger inspired by his love for Jean-Luc Godard’s Breathless star, Jean-Paul Belmondo. An inspiration I can truly appreciate.
Cera was in town to not only sit down with local press, but also host a screening and stick around afterward for a bit of audience Q&A, which is what inspired what may seem like an out-of-the-blue opening to our interview. The screening was to be held in Seattle’s Neptune theater, the theater I had just recently enjoyed Paranormal Activity in and ten years earlier saw The Blair Witch Project. I mentioned this to Cera and the interview started there, quickly moving to his audition for The Sixth Sense, his work in Youth in Revolt, his upcoming film Scott Pilgrim vs. the World and finally a story about how someone ran over his skateboard when he was 12-years-old. Yup, not a stone was left unturned. I hope you enjoy.
Have you seen Paranormal Activity?
Michael Cera (MC): No.
Have you seen Blair Witch?
MC: Yeah, but I never saw it in the theater though.
Did it scare you much?
MC: You know, I think when it came out it scared me. But I think when it came out it was right around The Sixth Sense. I think I watched those back-to-back… Yeah I remember, I was eating Taco Bell and I think I must have been like eleven, and yeah, they both really scared me.
And you auditioned for The Sixth Sense, which is sort of a funny story. Apparently they didn’t tell you it was a ghost story and that the character could see dead people?
MC: No, I didn’t know anything about it, but I knew it was a big audition because it was a lead role in this movie with Bruce Willis, but I knew nothing about the story.
As far as Youth in Revolt goes, I understand you’re a big fan of the book.
MC: Yeah.
In one interview you mentioned how you thought this material would make for a good television mini-series.
MC: Yeah, I don’t know if I would be involved with it because I’m not sure people would want to see me do that character again. But I think it would make a really good mini-series just because the book is so dense and there are so many really funny characters that had to be cut from the movie for time and it would be great to see them acted out.
I’ve never read the book, but from what I’ve read the movie uses about one-third of C.D. Payne’s novel.
MC: Yeah, yeah. There’s a lot left out.
Was there anything filmed you were upset didn’t make the final cut?
MC: There’s just a few scenes. No major storylines or characters, that’s what was left out [from the book], entire story points or entire characters and their whole journeys in the story. But we only cut out a few scenes [that were filmed].
There’s a fight I have with Lefty (Erik Knudsen), who’s my friend in the movie. We wrestle on the ground and it was really fun to shoot and we got really, really into it. Hurt each other a lot and that’s not in there.
There’s also a phone call between Francois and Trent (Jonathan B. Wright) that happens before you meet Trent. You don’t see him, you just see the back of his head and it’s kind of a nice little thing before you meet him because you already get this feeling you really hate him because it’s a really tense phone call. So then when he shows up at Thanksgiving it’s already like they’ve had this conversation, they already hate each other and it really adds something to that but it had to be cut for time. Both of them will be on the DVD.
I saw the viral piece that you guys did (featured to the right and not safe for work), which was extremely funny, but I can’t help but wonder if it’s a little annoying how hard people have to try to get the smaller films in front of the public eye. Especially considering they are typically the better movies.
MC: Well… that’s really… I really have nothing to do with that. I would think that would be more frustrating for the people who are responsible for selling movies, because it’s a huge challenge, but that’s really not part of my job.
Do you have any ambitions beyond acting? Do you write or are you interesting in directing your own films?
MC: I write… for myself. I don’t have any specific goals. I just look for what feels right at the moment and enjoy being able to do what feels right. If I’m lucky enough to be able to keep doing that I’ll be really happy.
Well as far as your career choices to this point go there are a lot of similarities in the characters you’ve chosen to play. Is that a decision on your part or are you looking to branch out and perhaps that is something the alter-ego Francois in Youth in Revolt allows you to do?
MC: When I choose something to work on I normally think about whether it’s going to be a movie I’d like or not. That’s how I’ve looked at it to this point, and working with directors I like a lot. I’d rather be doing a movie I’m proud of than doing a part that is different in a movie I don’t even like.
Which makes sense.
MC: Yeah, and you never know what’s around the corner.
Those must be the reasons why you chose to work on the Scott Pilgrim film.
MC: Definitely. I love those graphic novels and I love Edgar [Wright]’s movies and that one was just a no-brainer.
MC: I picked it because I love [Edgar Wright’s] movies and his TV show, “Spaced.” As for the interpretation of the character, I don’t really know how to answer that, it’s probably best to just watch the movie.
Does it remain faithful to the books?
MC: Yeah, very faithful. Edgar did a really good job of remaining faithful to a very extreme degree. The books are great, you read ’em in like a half-hour. There’s six of them… excuse me, there are five and there are going to be six. They’re so funny, it’s such a unique voice. So funny, so well-drawn. They’re very cinematic, you kind of burn through them. I was into them way before there was going to be a movie.
Same with Youth in Revolt?
MC: Yeah, well, the book was sent with the script so I knew there was going to be a movie already, but the first time the script was sent to me it was a hugely different script than it ended up being. It was sent to me when I was 16, so that was five years ago. [The project has] been around a long time and it changed a lot.
Now, I read an interview with you from way back in 2008 in which you said you were terrified to move to Los Angeles because it meant you had to make sure you had constant work because it’s so expensive.
MC: Well, I guess the first time you make the movie it’s pretty scary because you don’t know anything about what’s around the corner when you’re an actor. You just don’t know and I was doing a TV show out there for a few years and we never knew if the show was going to get picked up again, and it would have been a shame to move out only to have the show get cancelled and be out there with no work. It’s a scary thing. It’s a big move and a lot of people make it every day. It’s a big leap of faith.
So, generic question, what was it that got you into wanting to act?
MC: Ghostbusters. I was obsessed with that movie when I was like three.
Were you running around with a proton pack on your back?
MC: [laughing] Yeah, I have home videos of me like that. I was always talking about being an actor when I was young, just like it was going to happen.
Building on that and in sticking with the Youth in Revolt theme, is there a story from your youth that shows a rebellious side? For example, a story I always love telling was when I was about six-years-old I went into a store and shop-lifted this little Smurfs figurine, but when I got home I was so scared I would get arrested I threw it in a tree.
The next day we grabbed my dad’s video camera. My skateboard had tire marks on it and we went down that street and found a silver mini-van parked in the driveway. We matched up the tire marks [on the van] with the tire marks on the skateboard and knocked on their door, and with the video camera we confronted them. They got really defensive, which, to me, says that they did it.
They called the cops – because we were on their property with the camera, and I think we ran away.
You were 12?
MC: Yeah.
And they didn’t fix your skateboard I’m assuming.
MC: No.
Youth in Revolt hits theaters this Friday, January 8. For more information on the film click here.
