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Gerard Butler seems determined to keep a nearly extinct idea of the ordinary-guy action movie alive.
I talked to them about their new film and how they got here.
Theyre getting the visual effects done.
And I experienced this narrative in a very new light.
I completely forgot about the mix.
I got an amazing smile on my face.
I felt confident that what you get out of this movie is a big action ride.
ButContagion, to me, didnt really have a positive message.
Were way more fragile than we thought, whether its something so tiny or something so huge.
We so often go to low-hanging fruit and the negative portrayals of things.
In actual fact, a crisis often brings out the best in so many people.
Were in the middle of a pandemic, but its not that bad.
What I just saw was worse.
I can still go to my grocery store.
When I first saw the trailer forGreenland, I thought,All right.
It wasnt a CGI-fest with … well, it wasntGeostorm.
InGreenland,you have the neighbors at the beginning who are like, yo take our daughter.
- And theyre like, We cant take your daughter.
I loved that it was actually about two monsters.
One monster is whats hitting the Earth, but the other monster is humanity itself.
Will we turn on each other when its life or death, or will we come together?
We were on a real cul-de-sac with real families who invited us into their homes.
What if you were selected for safety and your neighbors werent?
We looked up, and all the real neighbors were in tears crying watching the scene.
So I knew we had something that could be relatable.
Yeah, this movies about a comet, but it could be a pandemic.
It could be a number of things.
Its more about how humanity will act.
What do I do?
Would I take them?And its that way through the movie.
Its like you come to a dead end and youve got to go left or right.
And if you go left, youre screwed and youre the devil, but maybe youll live.
But if you go right, its going to be worse, you know?
Theres almost no way out, even when youre doing your best.
These characters make mistakes and they forget things and they get lost.
Gerry, I would argue that theres also something very relatable about you.
- I saw it back in the 80s and 90s in theDie Hardera.
I grew up with those movies that youre talking about back in the 80s and 90s.
But Im like,That movie made me cool.
That movie made me want to be a badass.
Thats one of the main reasons that Ive always loved these kinds of stories.
Theyve all turned into superheroes, and theres very few just regular heroes left.
If you meet a submarine captain, you speak to them and you go, Its just a guy.
Thats guys cool, but I could never be that.
I feel like I keep saying Im getting out of these movies.
And then Ric says, Hey, Ive gotKandahar.
- Im like, Okay, but then Im getting out.
No, hes not.
Im blaming Ric for everything.
And Bergman says, Theyre ordinary people under extraordinary circumstances.
I think thats what Gerry does to roles, because he plays them in such an honest way.
Ric, you madeSnitch, which also featureswhat I think is the Rocks best, most relatable performance.
- So it seems like youre pretty good at getting these kinds of performances from people.R.R.W.
Maybe Im a cynic.
And you realize its not black and white.
Our lives are gray.
Were seeing that right now.
Were seeing such a divisive world and people not seeing each other.
The F-word of today isforgiveness.
Nobody wants to forgive.
And what I like to do is push into the moral gray of society.
The interesting thing to me is, metaphorically, I always sawGreenlandasShot Callerwithout prison.
Its a violent place.
Im like, No.
Life or death does that to you.
Life does that to you, and thats whatGreenlandshows, andSnitch,and the other movies Ive made.
There are always people for whom there is no reverse.
They have to make a choice, and its a shit sandwich either way.
- Gerry, I feel like youve been having more fun with your parts of late.G.B.
Maybe as Ive relaxed into things.
The last decade, I tried to have fun with300andLaw Abiding Citizen.
But Ive definitely been having more fun in my performances.
I used to always go and watch my replays.
I dont think Ive watched a single replay since I started working with Ric.
Its like,Whatever.
If you like it, thats good.Its more fun that way.
I go into scenes having no idea [what I was going to do].
It came at a moment when I was starting to feel a bit staid in my performance.
But it really taught me a great work ethic.
As a producer and somebody that develops scripts, I too often get too caught up in other things.
But theres a way to say, Guys, I need to stop that.
Let me go, and let me focus on the role.
You were trained as a lawyer.
You said you didnt have any theatrical training.
But you have an ability to go real big in your performances.
you’re free to go broad; you’re free to shout.
These are things I always associate with training.
- What is it that allows you to go big like that?G.B.
Ive always had a strong identification with older, more ancient characters.
I would trust that that would come out in my eyes.
What am I dealing with?
I did spend time onstage.
I wasnt trained, but I did spend time in the West End of London doing a few plays.
Then part of it is just acting.
Maybe its a Scottish thing or British thing.
