As part of our week-long 2011 summer preview, Movieline caught up with Phillips to talk over the highs and lows of the build-up to Hangover Part II (opening May 26), his own summer movie memories, the real downside of 3-D and why Michael Bay may yet have the movie of the season.
So, another Hangover. How are you holding up?
This is the exciting part of making a movie. You put so much work into making a film, and when there's this much anticipation for a movie -- which I personally haven't experienced before -- it's just exciting. I mean, it's stressful, of course, and you're rushing to get things done. We had a pretty quick turnaround on this movie, relatively speaking, in movie terms. We were still shooting in Bangkok on New Year's. So to be coming out on Memorial Day all over the world has been stressful. But outside of the logistical stuff, it's been really exciting.
I could sense recently you might be a bit frazzled. How would you describe your relationship these days with the movie media as a whole -- how you and your films are perceived, discussed and disseminated?
"Discussed and disseminated" is hard to pay attention to because there's so much stuff nowadays. It used to be there were four big sources, and you'd read those and they'd either break your heart or not. And that would be it. Now there's such a plethora of criticism and critiquing and pulling apart every image that gets released from a movie. On one hand it's kind of thrilling and cool; it's amazing that it's a story when a still gets released from any old movie. Not even just The Hangover II, but any movie. That would never have had happened [before]. The landscape has changed so much that you kind of have to put on goggles and not pay attention to it, because as you know, on the Internet it can get pretty harsh.
I know. I've recently been fighting off one commenter repeatedly writing the word "c*nt" on one of our reviews.
It's pretty crazy. I guess it's the equivalent of the bathroom wall in high school -- at least at my high school. It's just anonymous postings from who knows. But I think it sometimes actually sparks good conversation and all that. But believe it or not, I really try not to pay attention to it, except when friends or family members will e-mail me links and say, "Hey, have you seen this?"
You mentioned the thrill of movie news a moment ago. How frustrating is it as well, sometimes, to have so many secrets or details about your film divulged before it's even finished shooting?
Well, yeah. That part is the heartbreaking part, and it's not because we think we're holding on to some national secrets when we're making The Hangover II. It's just because I know from experience that comedy works so well when there's a surprise element. So it's tough to have things dissected on the Internet or in newspapers or wherever six months before you release the film -- sometimes before you even shoot scenes, you know? Some people are making declarations before you've even shot it. It's hard because I think it's so nice for movies in general, when they're being made, to fly under the radar. Let the filmmakers and the actors and whomever make the film, and then we can come out and talk about it and judge it. It does get frustrating.
And again, I've never experienced it, and again, I'm not complaining. These are uptown problems to have. It's nice to have a film people are anticipating that much. That's the thrilling part: that's there's that many people interested and involved in movies now. That's what I mean by "uptown problems." It's a lot better than everybody just ignoring the movie. You make movies for audiences to see and hopefully enjoy -- as big an audience as possible. That's always the best part for me. It's fun that they're discussing it. It's always a good sign.
Do you ever feel like going into some kind of top-secret JJ Abrams-style lockdown with your projects? Would it help? Is it even possible?
It's possible. He certainly does it on some level. I think every filmmaker tries to do it. There's just so much you can keep secret. JJ's movie Super 8, which looks unbelievable, was not a movie that was on the radar while he was making it. You know what I'm saying? Hangover II is a tough thing to keep under the radar. I think he'd have a harder time keeping Star Trek II under the radar, even with his approach of top secrecy, which I totally respect and envy. I just think it's harder with a known title and a known entity. You'd see these guys when we were shooting in Bangkok. we were on the other side of the world, and there were photographers everywhere. I don't even mean paparazzi. I mean guys with cell-phone cameras sending [pictures] out to their Twitter as our guys are walking down the street. You can only keep something so top secret if you want to shoot it out in the real world. It's not like we're making it on a soundstage.
The current poster going around -- of Bradley Cooper laying facedown on the floor, Galifianakis dazed with his head shaved, Helms looking paranoid, the three of them in some room that looks like it's out of Apocalypse Now -- is kind of disturbing. They look tormented. From a marketing point of view, what are these materials supposed to say to prospective viewers?
I think ideally it's supposed to say, "Shit just got a little bit darker." I think that Hangover II is as funny as The Hangover I, honest to God, but I think that it's a little bit darker, and the stakes are a little bit higher. And so when you say that about the Apocalypse Now feel or that desperation, I think that's a success, hopefully. My goal with the movie is that it works on a comic level, obviously, first and foremost, but also on a level of, "Whoa. This feels more epic."
Can you elaborate without giving too much away?
It is kind of hard to talk about without giving stuff away, but I think if you've seen those character posters where Stu says, "I have a demon in me..." Things are revealed in the movie that are little bit more twisted and a little darker than in the first film. But again, I think what made the first film special -- outside of the chemistry with the guys and the comedy -- was that there was a darkness to it. I mean, the movie starts out with "Thirteen," by Glenn Danzig. It was hopefully telling the audience, "This is not your typical Hollywood comedy." Or certainly not your typical "bachelor party" movie.
Last week in your note you said, "I direct comedies." I asked you this two years ago, but from where you stand now, do you have another documentary in you? Or a drama? Or a horror film? Maybe Hangover 2 is your horror film?
I don't have a horror film in me just because I don't like to be scared. But I definitely have a documentary in me, and I certainly have dramas. I think you've seen some of the documentaries I've made, and they always had a comedic slant to them. They weren't hard-pulsing journalism. And I think if I did a dramatic piece, it would be infused with comedy. Horror's probably the one genre that just doesn't interest me as a filmmaker.
OK, so summer movies! What's the first summer movie you remember seeing? What was the experience like?
It was probably Jaws. Probably. But I don't remember thinking about summer and movies until... Well,I remember buying tickets to Raiders of the Lost Ark and sneaking into Stripes. Obviously I saw Raiders of the Lost Ark as well, but sneaking into R-rated movies with my friends is basically what I would do. Now, I don't condone that at all anymore! In fact, it got harder and harder to even when we were kids; we would approach a random 35- or 40-year old single male and have him buy us tickets. And now I've somehow become that guy, Outside of Century City I'm buying kids tickets for The Hangover.
You've gotta do what you've gotta do.
It's heartbreaking when you hear a kid buying a ticket for... I don't know, whatever movie you're up against. And you see them sneaking into your film. It's just heartbreaking. But in the spirit of full disclosure, that is what I did as an 11-year-old sneaking into Stripes.
Is there one summer blockbuster you remember just totally delivering on the hype for you?
I suppose it was honestly Jaws. I was really young, but it scared the hell out of me. It's still one of my favorite movies of all time. It certainly wasn't a horror movie; it was just one of those epic summer films that defined that summer. That summer was about Jaws and about the shark. And since then, there have been other films. As a filmmaker, you kind of define years by certain movies in their odd way. But I think that was the beginning for me.
What are you looking forward to this summer?
This summer, Super 8 looks just... I think JJ's such a great storyteller, and that movie just looks really interesting to me -- the kind of movie that I would have loved as a teenager and will probably love now. That one I'm really excited about. What else? Oh. [Laughs] Oddly, I'm excited about Transformers 3 because technically, I know what Michael Bay's been up to, and I think he's going to blow people's minds with what he's going to do.
Do you dig 3-D?
I'm not a huge fan of 3-D. What he's doing in on another level; it's not just the 3-D. I'm not a huge fan of 3-D, though. Honestly, I think that movies are an immersive experience and an audience experience. There's nothing like seeing a film with 500 people in a theater. And there's something about putting on 3-D glasses that makes it a very singular experience for me. Suddenly I'm not connected to the audience anymore. I think once they solve the glasses issue it'll be a huge step forward. You know what I'm talking about? You put them on, and suddenly you're there alone. It's not like you can turn to your friend and share a look during an amazing scene. They have their glasses on and you can't really see. So it becomes a very singular experience to me, 3-D, which is the opposite of the audience experience I love so much.
But that said, I was talking about Transformers 3, and it wasn't the 3-D part that was really exciting. I know Michael Bay, I've talked to Michael Bay, and the enthusiasm with which he's brought me through some of the stuff that he's doing was just infectious. I'm really excited to view it.
I think a lot more people look forward to Michael Bay movies than would let on. I mean, I do. I'll admit it.
It's good to hear that you admit that. I certainly know filmmakers and directors who know how hard it is to make a movie, and when you look at a movie on the scale of what Michael does, and you just can't help but be blown away. Knowing all the moving parts that go into these things, and then he just kicks it up to 11? You've just gotta respect that.
RELATED: Read Movieline's Hangover 2 review here, along with interviews with co-stars Zach Galifianakis and Ken Jeong.