When you’re doing a comedy with a heavy emotional storyline you need really funny people to fill out the roles. Enter Bill Hader and Kristin Wiig in Adventureland, without a doubt these two provided the most laughs for our buck. Or in my case the jog down a freezing road trying to catch the film. The SNL stars were not only happy to do the film for friend Greg Mottola, but also to acknowledge that sometimes the best comedy comes from a place that is genuine.
Watching Adventureland you come to realize that this is the only couple in the film that you believe is really in love. These two have a shot at it long term. And that’s because Bill and Kristin play off each other so well, providing the duo with a long term relationship that is hinted at by their interactions. The two sat down to talk about the film, the crazy work schedule of doing SNL alongside a movie, and a few product placements were thrown in for good measure.
I went into the film thinking it was this big comedy, and ended up leaving crying because I’m a kid of the 80s. But the most laughs in the film were the two of you. The timing is impeccable and I’m just wondering if you drew from any of your SNL characters.
Bill: Not really.
What about crazy bat guy?
Bill: Yeah, Crazy Bat Guy. That was a character I had for a long time. Never made it to air though. Everything’s kind of a different challenge. You read it, talk to Greg about it, get in your wardrobe and go, “Oh yeah.” Then a character happens.
Kristin: When you’re doing a movie you try specifically not to do…
Bill: Yeah, you don’t want to do anything from the show. Because it looks like you have one move.
Those roles were very funny.
Kristin: Thank you.
Bill: The nice thing about doing SNL, and as you talked about the timing, all the weird subtle stuff is harder to do on a live television show. It’s harder to get that across on live TV. So it’s just a different style of acting. I like them both a lot. I do like the quick weird aside; I like how Kristin doesn’t understand anything.
Like when she’s mouthing everything you’re saying?
Kristin: It’s like he does this for her at home in the bedroom.
When you came on set and Greg started up with you guys, how much was scripted and how much did he let you guys go?
Kristin: It was kind of both. We went by the script, and he let us go.
Bill: He would kind of watch us with the script. A good example is the scene where I take over the horse racing game. Initially as written it was just, “Jesse, come on you’re not doing it right.” Or whatever. And when we rehearsed it Greg was looking at the horse race thing, then looking at us, and was like, “Bill, you should go behind and show him how to do it. Just take over the thing, and Kristin you do whatever you want to do.” And we just went, “OK!” Then that became the scene, he just trusted and tried to look for something new and interesting. It’s a collaboration, it’s not like we’re in the moment…well, sometimes we’re in the moment. I love it when you think it’s an auction. That’s a good example of in the moment, because I don’t think that was rehearsed.
Kristin: And you’re so good with her just calmly telling her…
Bill: Yeah, he’s never mean. That’d be too easy, that’s what’s great about Greg is it would be too easy to play mean. Because a lot of times people are like, “Honey!” [Exaggerated eye roll for cliché comedy effect]. Greg likes it to be very real, and grounded. It was the same way on Superbad too, he just likes things to be…it’s too easy to be big with it.
Another example I bring up is in Superbad when I get mad, McLovin’s in bed with a girl and I’m mad at him, and I played it real angry. Greg was like no you’re hurt, play it hurt, play it real. Don’t try to be funny, play it like you’re really hurt. He’s your friend and he ran away. It made it a gazillion times funnier. That’s the genius of Greg Mottola. It’s a thing where you know this isn’t working, why isn’t this working? That’s when Greg can step in and say just be real, just be sad. I like that.
How did you find the process was different from working on SNL?
Kristin: Gosh, different in many ways. SNL is so quick. We start on Monday with no show and you end up on Saturday with a full show. It’s writing, and rehearsing, and the schedule is insane. With the movie, not only the schedule being different, but you’re playing this one character for four days. That’s also a little different than playing it for four minutes. You have to like the character more too.
Bill: Yeah it’s a different thing. But it’s the same too. It’s weird. How’s that for an answer? It’s different but it’s the same.
Did you grow up working for anyone like this couple? In any theme parks, or Burger King…
Product placement?
No…
Bill: Or 7-Up, or Red Bull, Or Hyatt Resorts. Or Starbucks.
Kristin: Or Bic.
Bill: Or Bic. Or potato chips. Or Rockstar.
Kristin: Canon.
Bill: Or Kettle. Or Starbucks.
You’ve worked for them all.
Kristin: I worked in a mall once.
Bill: You worked in a mall?
Kristin: I worked at The Limited Express as a young gal. That was one of the first jobs where I had to like dress up. Because all the other jobs I worked in a bakery, a pizza place.
Bill: My first real job I sold Christmas trees when I was twelve for extra money. I did that until I was fifteen. Then I bagged groceries, and I worked at the first Borders ever in Tulsa, Oklahoma.
A woman got mad at me because I took her parking space one time in a snow storm, and I couldn’t see that a woman was waiting for the parking space. So I just pulled in. Then she waited in this big line of people, I was checking people out and I looked up to see this woman staring at me. She moved out of the way because someone else was there and was like, “No, I’m waiting for him.” She came up to me and said, “I want you to know what you did was socially irresponsible.” And I was like what’d I do? She said, “You took my place!” And I was like, “Uh, do you want to buy anything?” And she said, “No.” “Then why are you coming here?” She was just, “I don’t remember.” And that’s how I met my wife…no.
Kristin: Was she playing hard to get?
Bill: She was playing hard to get and hard to find.
Did you have people from your past you were able to base your characters off of?
Kristin: Not really. I think it was more just trying to figure out who they were from Greg. WE didn’t want to have a typical married relationship.
Bill: They seemed like an interesting team.
Kristin: You could tell they will be together forever, and will probably work at the park forever.
Bill: Also, Kristin was saying that one of the back stories is they’re super rich. They’re just loaded and don’t know what to do with the money. And in the winter we’re swingers.
So you went to key parties for research?
Kristin: We would have key parties at our huge mansion.
Bill: It’s one of those things…where you put a big mustache on somebody and there’s only one direction you can go. It’s kind of weird; you get in wardrobe and look at yourself in the mirror and go, “OK. I know exactly who this guy is.” You just get in a rhythm, you have a good director like Greg who might say, “That’s little too angry. I don’t think it’s that angry just yet.” He’s just kind of watching you work, and that stuff just kind of happens. It’s never conscious. You’re never sitting there going OK, now you’re going to say this about this and I’ll counter. It’s just like, you do it.
Kristin: What the character was actually going to be a challenge for me. I was a little nervous because he gave us so much input. You don’t want to show up and play this character and have them go, “Ooh. We have made a mistake with this one.”
I was wondering how you guys can actually do these films. SNL is so intense I would think you’d want to be home relaxing and taking a nap when you’re on your down time.
Kristin: I think it just depends on the project.
Bill: You like down time.
Kristin: You get those weeks off where you just don’t get off the couch. But you couldn’t pass up this one.
Bill: I always think if the director’s awesome, the script’s great and you read it and go, “Oh I wanna see that movie.” The whole time I was doing Superbad I was flying back and forth doing the show and shooting the movie. Farrel did that during Zoolander. They made Tommy Boy during the season. It could be a lot worse.
What’s on your plates next?
Kristin: SNL now. Mike Judge’s new movie, Extract. And Whip It, the roller derby movie that Drew Barrymore directed is coming out sometime.
Bill: I have Night at the Museum 2, I play General Custer. And I ride a motorcycle.
Kristin: Do you actually ride it?
Bill: No..
Kristin: Oh shit, I shouldn’t have said that.
Bill: No, wait we did! No, I don’t. I forgot. That wasn’t filmed, but I rode it personally. Then the movie Nailed, which is a David O. Russell movie, I have a small part in that. Then Greg Mottola and I are working on this thing called The Dog of the South. Which is based on a Charles Portis book that we’re adapting.
RELATED:
interview, festival, sundance, adventureland
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