1Canapril
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THUMBSUCKER (2005)
Thumbsucker (2005) - (Keanu as a Dentist)
Here, Reeves plays orthodontist-cum-therapist Dr Perry Lyman, who encourages a troubled teenager to stop sucking his thumb. The boy experiments with hypnosis, sex and drugs instead while Lyman tries a high-flying career for a change. Contrary to many people's expectations, Reeves's quirky new-age persona rather suits him.
post photos of Thumbsucker by replying to this post.
Last edited by 1Canapril, 11/27/2008, 11:50 pm
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10/24/2008, 1:08 am
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1Canapril
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Re: THUMBSUCKER (2005)
Thumbsucker Interview
Keanu Reeves has played many roles in his time - the messiah, Buddha, one half of a rock duo that brings about world peace - so he's clearly a man in touch with his spiritual side. That's why he's so perfectly cast as a guru orthodontist in this week's Thumbsucker, the little indie movie that could. We talk to Mr. Keanu Reeves about smoking, getting older and robbing banks.
What’s Thumbsucker about?
Lou Pucci plays Justin, a teenager who still sucks his thumb and the film is all about how he tries to overcome it and the way it affects his family and friends. I play a transcendental dentist who offers him hypnosis to give him strength.
Do you have any horror dentist stories?
I had two of my wisdom teeth pulled out in Toronto when I was younger. And I'll never forget the sound of the pliers and the knee in my chest. It was nasty.
Did you suck your thumb as a kid?
I have not and have never been a thumb-sucker. I did everything else.
Were there any behavioural habits like thumb-sucking that you tried to let go when you were younger?
No. When I was a teenager, I always fantasized about robbing a bank. I mean, it just sounded like fun what with all the plotting and planning, the danger, the treasure.
What was it about the Thumbsucker script that made you want to play a dentist?
It was the humanity of the story. The writing was lovely and a lovely role. My character has several incarnations and I loved his search for meaning of life.
Your character smokes in this movie. Do you?
I smoke too much. In some scenes in Constantine, it was like, “Watch Keanu turn green.” I smoked so much. It was a lot. I should quit.
Are film sets generally bad for your health? What’s the worst injury you’ve sustained?
I was filming The Replacements and I ran into someone I shouldn’t have and I got a stinger. It’s where your neck compresses and you lose feeling and the use of your arms. And I had a general sense of pain. I had a two-level fusion: two vertebrae fused in my neck so there was a lot of concern. But I went and had a MRI scan and was fine. When it first happened I was really scared because I’d never had a stinger before. You lose feeling in your arms and your hands. That sensation in me was really intense for about 20 minutes and then the limb aspect of it went away in about two hours.
Did you end up in hospital?
Yeah. I had to go straight to the hospital. I took a handful of Advil and then when I got to the hospital they gave me the good stuff and sent me home with some more of the good stuff and ice and heat. I went back the next day.
What do you look for when you take a role?
I’m always looking to see a vision, to see what’s interesting in the piece. Fifteen years ago I wouldn’t have asked Francis Ford Coppola, “So how do you rehearse?” I wouldn’t have done that. But sometimes now I find it interesting before I go into it to speak, to share thoughts and feelings. For example, with Mike Mills on Thumbsucker, I met with him and I went along with his process. It’s a matter of getting to know each other.
This is a tiny, independent film compared with some of your previous big studio films like Constantine. What are the main differences?
The resources that come into making a movie don’t really impact on the relationships inside, in terms of telling a story, for me. Sometimes resources just mean you get to work on a bigger set. Walking on the set for Constantine is a different day than walking on the set for Thumbsucker. But in terms of working on the role, or coming to work, no, it’s not different. I guess the pressure is less.
Justin’s mother is hung up on a soap star. When you were an aspiring actor, which star did you want to meet?
When I was about 15, my stepfather directed Kate Jackson, who played Sabrina in Charlie’s Angels, in some movie called Thin Ice. I was a PA on that film so I got to meet her. I remember she was interested in the latest Star Wars movie that was coming out. I bought her a soda and we talked about the new movies.
Are you interested in old Hollywood at all?
The last book I read was a biography on Frank Capra. And I’ve also read a book on D.W. Griffith so once in a while there seems to be moments where I am interested about the old studios.
What’s next? Is it true you’ve been cast in Stompanato, about the mobster boyfriend of screen legend Lana Turner?
Yeah, I'm meeting with Adrian Lyne and Catherine Zeta- Jones to do a reading of some of the scenes. Hopefully we can get that picture made.
You used to play bass in Dogstar. Is that still happening?
No, not any more. I don’t play in a band anymore. I have no idea if I’ll do it again but I know right now that I don’t play in the band.
Are you too old for it? Mick Jagger is on the road and he’s 63…
The guy is a living legend though. That’s what he does.
You’re now in your 40s. Are you slowing down?
I’m making all the noises that a post-40 man makes. [laughs] I make that walk to the bathroom in the morning. I never used to lean against the wall. [Laughs] I am that guy.
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Canapril
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11/5/2008, 2:35 am
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1Canapril
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Re: THUMBSUCKER (2005)
Keanu Reeves, Djimon Hounsou and Director Francis Lawrence on "Constantine"
"Constantine" Stars Discuss the Supernatural Thriller
Keanu Reeves keeps his hair dark and his own accent in place for Constantine, the Warner Bros. film set to hit theaters in February 18, 2005. Fans of the Hellblazer series were initially up in arms over the departure from the blonde-haired John Constantine with a British accent. But after director Francis Lawrence screened 15+ minutes of his Constantine for a comic book savvy audience at the 2004 San Diego Comic Con, those same fans let out a hearty round of applause. Switching the setting from London to LA and putting the raven-haired Keanu Reeves in the lead didn't seem to matter as much after the 5,000+ fans got a good look at Lawrence's version of the Constantine character.
Here's what director Francis Lawrence, "Constantine" star Keanu Reeves and co-star Djimon Hounsou had to say about the creating the world of "Constantine," Keanu's weight loss, and what fans can expect from this adaptation in an interview which occurred during the movie's post-production period:
INTERVIEW WITH FRANCIS LAWRENCE, KEANU REEVES, AND DJIMON HOUNSOU:
What was your approach to this character and how did you make it different?
KEANU REEVES: Well, I ditched the accent. You know, I don't know. I have to wait and see. I really loved the guy. I loved his anger and I loved his wry sense of humor about the kind of awfulness of the world, you know? And having to deal with that day in and day out, and what that's turning him into. I mean, Djimon's playing Midnite and we're kind of like warriors, kind of like in this world of **** and just trying to deal with it. And I really liked it. I liked it.
FRANCIS LAWRENCE: It wasn't necessarily always pleasant to be around Keanu when he was liking John Constantine (laughing).
How would you characterize the effects?
FRANCIS LAWRENCE: Well, we have lots of different kinds. It goes from the simplest rig removals and dot removals, that's the simplest kind of stuff, all the way to complete environments that we built. Character animation and stuff like that. There's some characters that we built in CG, we've got that. There's a whole world that we created mostly digitally. And then there's lots of stuff sort of in between that.
Djimon, why did you want to play Midnite?
DJIMON HOUNSOU: Well, personally, for this story, I must say my connection to this story has more to do with how ironic it is so close to my culture, coming from Africa and knowing the world of the occult in Africa and our view of the occult and how the western world views it. It was just amazing to see the connection and how real it is to me, personally, from stories I've heard back home. It's intriguing. You guys will be nicely surprised, I think.
Keanu, did you ever read comic books as a kid?
KEANU REEVES: Yeah, I read a couple. Yeah, I followedwhat did I like? When I read Ronin by Frank Miller, I was like, Oh my God! What is this?! Then when I saw Dark Knight, that series, and then when I went back into X-Men and Frank Miller's Wolverine series that was just awesome stuff to me. I collected some X-Men. Then when I was a kid, [I liked] Spider-Man. But the whole idea of a graphic novel, to me when I was growing up, was just awesome.
No Archies?
KEANU REEVES: You know when you're on the bus going to camp? Richie Rich remember?
FRANCIS LAWRENCE: I used to collect Richie Rich when I was a kid.
KEANU REEVES: Really?
Do you still read comics?
FRANCIS LAWRENCE: I do occasionally. I don't really collect anything. Sin City I like a lot.
Which comic book is Constantine based on?
FRANCIS LAWRENCE: It's Dangerous Habits. There's little pieces from different things. I mean, there's pieces from Original Sin.The sort of big through-line of this movie is Dangerous Habits. There's some different pieces of it.
Does this movie feel like a graphic novel?
FRANCIS LAWRENCE: No. My approach to this from the beginning was never to shoot it like a comic book movie. I think that's kind of been done before. I mean, it was done very, very well with Tim Burton's original Batman. From there, I don't think anybody's really sort of topped that. Everybody sort of built Gotham City again, whether or not it's called Gotham City. Everybody has done all the dutched angles and all the bright colors and made things super campy. And what I wanted to do, and what I always loved about the comic, is that it was kind of rooted in reality and in real places. And that's what I wanted to do, was to really make it feel real. It seems to be working. It seems to be what people are sort of responding to, is that it's not all hyper-real. It's not super-stylized. It's kind of rooted in a gritty reality.
Will there be elements of horror in Constantine?
FRANCIS LAWRENCE: There will be plenty of elements of horror in this. There's plenty of scares, it's creepy throughout. What's interesting about this movie and something I'm really proud of, too, is that it's not really genre-specific. It's not a supernatural thriller. It's not just a horror film. It's not four kids in a van going off and getting chopped up by an ax murderer, you know? It's not just fantasy. It's kind of this weird blend of all these things. I think it really works.
Is bringing this movie and its stars to Comic Con to help clear up any ideas about the film, or is it just to help build publicity?
FRANCIS LAWRENCE: I think there's a mix. Look, Hellblazer has a very small fan base but it has a very hardcore fan base. One thing is to help build awareness with people who might not be aware of Hellblazer or where Constantine has something to do with Hellblazer. The other thing is a lot of the Hellblazer fans are really hardcore. They've been tough on the movie and they've been tough on certain things, and we want to sort of show them we have not made Van Helsing. It's not a straight up 'pop' movie. I feel that the heart of the character is in this movie, and I think that's important.
What is this movie really about? How do you describe the character of John Constantine?
KEANU REEVES: He's fighting for his life. We were traveling here this morning and I was like, So, when they ask us what this film's about
FRANCIS LAWRENCE: I told him not to say. I said, You guys have to see it.
KEANU REEVES: Redemption, and all that.
FRANCIS LAWRENCE: If you look at Dangerous Habits, if you know that it's based on Dangerous Habits, it is sort of clear what the film's about.
KEANU REEVES: Constantine, you know, he committed suicide to get out of here. He can see things and has knowledge about the way the world works that is distressing to him, and he tried to get a way out. He committed suicide and now he's trying to find his way into Heaven, into the Lord's grace. I think it's about him trying to find his life, a better life, and his struggle with his own nature. Because he's not the nicest guy all the time, which is fun.
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Canapril
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11/5/2008, 2:42 am
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