Q&A with Angelina Jolie, Bryan Cranston, Jack Black, JK Simmons on "Kung Fu Panda 3"
ANGELINA JOLIE PITT
In her extraordinary career, Angelina Jolie Pitt has been a sharp-shooting assassin, a vengeful fairy, a grief-stricken mother, a video-game adventuress and a tragic supermodel. However, it’s her role as Master Tigress, the cold, cool, super-smart, kung fu mistress co-star of the hugely popular Kung Fu Panda series, which has resonated like no other for the Golden Globe-winning actress.
“The idea of mixing kung fu with a panda is already just a brilliant and very fun one,” she says from California’s DreamWorks campus, “and I think it has beautiful themes that people care about.”
Since helping to bring Tigress to life more than seven years ago in the original Kung Fu Panda movie, Jolie Pitt has successfully parlayed her profile as one of America’s leading actresses into a career as a producer and, more recently, director and writer. In 2014 she helmed the harrowing WWII drama Unbroken, which received three Oscar nominations, and wrote and directed relationship drama By the Sea, which she also produced and co-starred in with her husband, Brad Pitt.
Despite her enormously hectic schedule - the 40-year-old is busy raising six children and has received worldwide recognition for her extensive humanitarian work – she returns to breathe life into the animated Tigress. In Kung Fu Panda 3, Tigress and the rest of the Furious Five watch as Po (Jack Black) is unexpectedly reunited with his biological father, Li (Bryan Cranston), and together they enter a magical secret panda paradise.
Co-directed by Jennifer Yuh Nelson and Alessandro Carloni, this third movie in the Oscar-nominated series finds our heroes battling the evil spirit Kai (J.K. Simmons), who is terrorizing China and stealing the chi of defeated kung fu masters. It’s up to Po to train the occupants of the panda village and come to the rescue.
“What's nice is at its center this one asks, ‘Who am I? Who is my best self and what is that? How do we each discover that every individual's best self is completely unique and very different?’” she says. “That's a really nice message for children.”
The last two Kung Fu Panda movies were the most successful animated films of their years. Why do you think they’re so popular?
Each film has its own thing in which you can find something unique.They’re about family, and they raise questions like, ‘Where do I belong?’ Also, because of the influence of China, people get to know this other world;they get to understand a different place. There’s a wisdom of the ages that comes out of these characters, and for a lot of children it's the first time they've ever heard these things. It's very nice to entertain them and give them a bit of culture and a bit of grounding.
You mention China... the movies are particularly big there, and known for their accurate knowledge of Chinese culture. Have you learned anything about China through the process?
I think what you learn about China is that when you separate yourself from any politics, you just see the history and the beauty and the landscape that is China.
Kung Fu Panda 3 is partially set in a new world for the series, the secret Panda Village. What can you tell us about it?
Po meets his birth father and is now no longer the only panda around. We learn about other pandas and where they are and who they are, and Po has to learn to understand what that means and who he is. Plus there’s a fun, new element of a zombie attack, which kind of just throws in everything that kids like–zombies and pandas!
After all of these years, what do you like about Tigress, and which of her qualities do you think you have?
I think she can take things too seriously - I think I have that problem. I can want to be in battle all the time and take things very seriously and forget to have a laugh. It's good for me to be around Jack (Black),just like it’salso good for Tigress to be around Po. It's nice to be with somebody that's so full of life and humor and music... in that way, we're similar. And she's kind of private; even though I'm a very public person, I'm quite private.
Do you like her?
I do like her, yes. I was very happy that I got to be her.
What do your kids think of her, and do they have a favorite character?
How can they not love Po? Though I've never actually asked them if they have a favorite. They're all different ages, so probably some will like the baby Pandas and some will like Seth Rogan because they've seen his movies, and some will like Jackie Chan... but everybody loves Po.
In Kung Fu Panda 2 we saw a softer side to Tigress. Does that continue?
She doesn't have a big arc in this one, but that's part of who she is - she doesn't change very much; she is consistent. When she softens, it's just a small amount. That's kind of true for the Five - they represent different things, different types of people, different personalities, so we maintain who we are as Po goes on his search. We do see a little bit more of her friendship with Po, but she still has moments she wants to kill him because he still drives her crazy.
What happens to her over the course of this movie?
Through the course of the movie she's fighting - her whole life is fighting and protecting. She goes through a period where she thinks she's lost everyone, and like in any good story, you have that moment where you feel that all hope is lost.
Do you personally have any influence over her destiny?
A little bit, sure. If there's anything we didn't like we were not forced to do it, and as we do the scenes we can improvise and say, 'Well, I think she'd say this’, or‘I don't think she'd do this.’ We tend to pass it back and forth, and because there are so many of us in the Five, we tend to pass it to each other. 'Monkey would say that, it's not me.'
Is there much opportunity in the vocal booth to improvise?
I'm not funny, but I play around a little bit. With Jack you get into it and learn how to do it a little bit. I can improvise as an actor, but it's very different improvising in a real moment in a real scene as a person than just staring at a mic and only using your voice to tell funny stories. It's a different kind of art - Jack's better at it.
Do you get to work together much?
Finally, after all of these years, Jack and I worked together for the first time on this film.
How does that influence your performance?
The strange thing is, even when we're not together - because we know each other so well, and know the characters so well - we can imagine how the other would be. But it just made it more fun, more playful, enjoying the process together, being a bit goofy. I think we got a little silly, and maybe a few lines or moments came out of it.
Where did the voice for Tigress originally come from?
What's strange is I thought that when you did voice acting you were supposed to make a voice, and I came in my first time and started to make every strange voice under the sun. Then they explained to me that that’s not necessary, so it's my voice, just in the deepest tone. It stays lower, stays strong, because she's so absolute - she never gets flighty, or curious. She's me right down the center.
She's very calm....
She does have that thing that I do not have. She's very Zen, very absolute. I'm absolute, but I'm not Zen. Sometimes you play a character and it's not adding things to yourself, it's more just stripping all the other elements of you away, and then you're left with that one part of yourself that relates. So you take away this and that, and that one side of me that likes to fight and is a bit stubborn... that's Tigress.
There are a few new characters joining you in this movie, particularly Kai and Li, voiced by J.K. Simmons and Bryan Cranston respectively. What can you tell us about the newcomers?
They're great! Bryan Cranston is very moving as Po’s father -very moving. Certain people really know how to use their voice and take it very seriously. Yes, it's animated, but take it seriously and give a performance; you can tell he's really committed to this relationship and bringing across what it is to lose your son and find him again. It's very lovely. And J.K. is just good crazy; he's powerful, he's nuts and he's beautifully out of control.
Sounds not unlike Fletcher, his character from Whiplash…
His strength is in there, but it gets a little crazier, more fun. He's crazy and strong but he's having a good time.
For you, are there any frustrations or advantages to removing your physical self from the process?
I love it! I've heard some people don't, but I think it's the greatest thing. Maybe if that's all you did you'd feel restricted and feel like you also had other things to share, but for me you get stripped of so many things and you are just using your voice. So as an artist you think differently about how you approach and how you communicate with just one part of your instrument and just one thing. And you can come to work in your pajamas - just throw yourself together, it's fine, nobody cares.
They don’t video your performance for reference?
I feel like they have in the past, but not always. They know us so well now, it's weird... it's like they can almost start doing that funny thing that Tigress does that's now not me, it's her.
Do you think she looks like you at all?
I don't think so. I think she was created before I was even there, but she has developed my mannerisms, which is really fun. I think she has a way of standing and a way that's very upright. She has her hands on her hips probably more than I would care to notice. It would be scary if I started to analyze it, how much they have adapted her to me.
Has playing her changed your fan base at all?
I was once in a hospital and a little girl had a Tigress doll, and I was able to go over to her and start talking to her. I think it just confused her, to be honest! 'Why are you mimicking my doll?' In my house, with my kids, it's something I can share with them. I can't share all my films with my kids, and they've jumped in on this one to be little pandas.
How was that for them? And you?!
It was really fun. I told them they didn't have to and that it would just be a few lines for fun, and they're not interested in being actors, but they enjoy the movies. We'll be in this little, crazy world together, and it's a really fun world. If you can share it with your kids, it's so cool.
Is this their first time in a movie?
Oh, yes! And I didn't know how they were going to do. I didn't know if they were going to get quiet or nervous, but they all did it really, really well and then I said, ‘Are you ok?’ and they said, 'Acting's easy!' Now I'm going to hear about that the rest of my life. ‘It's easy, Mom. Why are you always so tired?’
You think they might have caught the acting bug?
Maybe for voice overs - they were very happy there were no cameras on them. I think they would have gotten really shy. But just the idea that you're going to do a voice and become a panda. How can you say no?
Are you generally a fan of animated movies?
Yes, especially the Miyazaki movies like Ponyo, and when I was growing up, it was Disney - Dumbo.
What makes a good animated movie?
I think what makes a good animated film is just making a good film, making a film that's about something that will resonate with kids and has great characters. Same thing that makes any film great. I think great animation studios know that and they don't rest on the fact that they've got a cute little Panda. They know they really have to focus on story. To shoot a scene in a regular film, you rehearse it, write it, you turn the cameras on and you're pretty much done. With animation, they have to build the worlds and the plates and draw each gesture... it's a big, big process. Every single move is much more thought out than on a regular film, and it could teach directors to pay more attention to every single frame. If you've made an animated film I imagine you have skills that most directors can be a little lazier with.
Is there an animated movie in your future as a director?
I don't think I'd be very good at it. I'm fascinated by watching the process – I’m producing one right now called Breadwinner, and learning about the process, but I think I have learned a lot about directing from Kung Fu Panda. When I first started directing I was really shy and didn't understand storyboards and I wanted to be free with the actors, but since working in animation and directing now, I'm much more interested in the storyboards and how to really define your visuals and understand the visual language.
So you're saying that Kung Fu Panda has had a major influence on your filmmaking...
I guess so! Yeah! Of course, every film does, but I've seen the process for years that these directors have to painstakingly redo and redraw and reconsider, so I think it's just that respect for the detail. So yes, as a director I would say I'm influenced by animated directors. I should remember the detailed process an animated director goes through and how much decision is made even before it begins, and have that discipline.
Finally, Jeffrey Katzenberg has said he’s ready to do at least another three Panda movies… are you in?
We've heard it could go to six or seven. I'm on board, yes. I don't know where we're going to go with it, but it's a really fun journey and a beautiful world we live in in the film. I think the films are lovely and say really nice things, and then every once in a while we get to be in the studio together and meet at the premiere - this big, crazy, strange family we've developed into. It's really nice.
Q&A with Bryan Cranston
Four-time Emmy winner Bryan Cranston joins the stellar voice cast of KUNG FU PANDA 3, the latest in the hugely popular hit franchise centered around Po, the legendary Dragon Warrior, played by Jack Black. This time, Po is reunited with his long lost biological father Li (Cranston), who turns up out of the blue.
It’s an emotional reunion for father and son. But Po’s adoptive father, Mr.Ping the goose (James Hong), is far from happy about the situation, particularly when the exuberant Li, who has the same enthusiasm for life as Po, takes his son off on a journey to meet his panda family members in a remote mountain village.
As the story unfolds, Po discovers his destiny, as well as facing his greatest challenge so far, confronting the power-hungry, supernatural villain Kai, (J.K. Simmons).
Angelina Jolie, Jackie Chan, Seth Rogen, Lucy Liu and David Cross return as the ‘Furious Five’. Also starring are Dustin Hoffman and Kate Hudson.
Jennifer Yuh Nelson and Alessandro Carloni direct the very funny family adventure, from DreamWorks Animation.
Q: What was the appeal of joining the KUNG FU PANDA 3 cast?
A: “I liked the story and the characters. I love Jack Black as Po and all the KUNG FU PANDA films are really fun. When I saw them I was amazed by the quality of the storytelling. This film is interesting because it is all about finding out where you fit in the world and in your family. Also, I think it is interesting that we always ascribe human feelings to animals.The reason we love pandas is that we look at them as human bears! (laughs) We think that they think and feel like human beings, and quite frankly, there’s a lot of behavior that pandas exhibit which is very human-like. They’re affectionate and tactile. We areall fascinated by these creatures, we revere them so greatly. To put human values into a panda world seems natural.”
Q: Li is such an exuberant, warm character. How much of you is in this panda?
A: “Well,you imbue a character with who you are. Actors’ palettes are their personal experience and talent. It is about an ability to observe and memorize human behavior. It’s also about imagination and following the story.”
Q: How did you influence the development of the character and his storyline?
A:“The first script I read was good, but I thought it could be better. I wondered, ‘what does the story need?’ I went back and watched KUNG FU PANDA and KUNG FU PANDA 2 and I noticed the unmitigated joy that Jack Black brought to Po. I realized there was something intangible missing from Li as he had been written, but I couldn’t figure out what it was. Then Jennifer (Yuh Nelson) and Alessandro (Carloni), the directors, mentioned that we needed to have more fun, and I realized they were right. Li had been missing the blissfulness and innate happiness that Po has. He is a larger than life character who embraces life. We needed to re-imagine Li with a sense of liveliness and fun. So that is what we did.”
Q: Can you discuss your experience of working with the directors?
A: “Alessandro and Jennifer were great because they never took anything for granted. They work well together and have different strengths. Jen mostly worked with the direction. Alessandro came in and solidified the story. They really complimented each other and that was nice to see. They kept focusing on what was going to resonate with the story, not only with kids but with everyone, because the film has to appeal to young kids and old kids, from ages six to 76. That takes work and there’s no shortcut. Their commitment was great. I don’t want to be working with people who have a sense of mediocrity.When you see your name on the screen, you want to be proud. We were all very proud of this film and we had a great experience. There are people working in kids’ films who say, ‘it’s good enough.’ I don’t believe in that. I can tell you that the only way to compete in this marketplace is to strive for excellence in storytelling. You must not think that it’s ‘just a kids movie’. Good enough is not good enough.”
Q: Can you explain howLi fits into this story?
A: “Li came from the Panda Village (where all the pandas live) to look for his son. He had lost him in a tragedy. Po's mother died. Li’s promise to her was that he would find Po. When Po and Li first meet, they don’t recognize each other at all. Then they realize they are related. With the exception of Li’s mature lines, they could be mistaken for brothers. They notice that they look, act and think the same. And they both love to eat! They are the same significant sized pandas and they have the same traits, the same interests and playfulness. They are clumsy with each other and they start to rekindle their relationship, one that Po didn’t even know he had. He didn’t know if his parents were alive or dead and he was adopted by Mr. Ping at an early age, so it’s a sweet story.Li and Po go off and have fun. They have to learn how to become father and son, and we discover that there is a full spectrum they have to travel over the course of this story.”
Q: Po, of course, has viewed Mr. Ping as his dad. How much conflict is there when Li arrives on the scene?
A: “Po was an orphan and Mr. Ping, as kooky as he is, thinks of Po as his own son and Po calls Mr. Ping his dad. When Li learns that Mr. Ping has acted as Po’s father, he’s very grateful to the goose for looking after his son, but he still feels his rightful claim as Po’s father, which Mr. Ping doesn’t take kindly to. They quarrel and they don’t really like each other. The lesson, of course, is that as Po has to reconcile who he is as a person, the two dads have to embrace and accept each other’s value and importance in the life of their son, and that’s the trajectory of the story.It is a great theme. Po had the innate need to create a family. So he created his own family with his dynamic friends: Tigress, Mantis and Monkey. Our film focuses on the family you are connected to by DNA, and the family that you make in the world of friends,people who you truly love.”
Q: Are both equally important, do you think?
A: “They are vital and creating our own family is what we do automatically. There are family members who we love, but if they weren’t family members, would they be our friends? Maybe not. You have a family and you have a responsibility to them. There’s a history with that family. But in many cases the family you create is more valuable than your biological family and that’s the point. We meet a mate and we have offspring. Your mate wasn’t a blood-relative of course. We have this innate need to continue to expand our family. It’s about reconciling the family you came from and the family you create.”
Q: What are the other themes?
A: “With Po’s storyin particular, the theme that comes through concerns living up to your potential. At what point do you take on responsibility,do you voluntarily say, ‘it’s time for me to do this?’ You can resist and resist, but at some point you go:‘I don’t necessarily want to do this, but I’m the person to do this and I need to step up to the challenge, whatever it is.’Maybe kids are dealing with something at school, for example they might have a desire to run for student body office, but they’re scared, as Po is scared of taking on this unbelievable force (the villainous Kai), he can’t vanquish. Po realizes, ‘I have to try.’ That’s the point. He accepts the challenge. In many cases, I believe it’s much more important to try than it is to succeed.”
Q: Can you describe the beautiful Panda Village where Li takes Po?
A: “It is like Shangri-La. Po is filled with awe at how lush and how beautiful it is and how it’s full of life and love and playfulness and togetherness. There are no warring factions. There’s no one who wants to harm anyone else.The biggest thing that hits Po is that it’s filled with pandas. He’s never seen pandas before.Other than looking into a mirror he wouldn’t be able to recognize them. Now, everywhere he looks there is nothing but pandas. It is an amazing experience for him. But then he needs to learn to go forward and become a teacher for the next generation.”
Q: The KUNG FU PANDA films are interesting because they do not talk down to children.
A: “That’s right and I think the worst thing we could do would be to discount the sophistication of children. We want to make them reach. We want them to be engaged in the story, and it’s okay if they don’t understand every little moment. We want to be honest.Children know if something feels right. While you are drawing them into a story,they learn to trust their instincts and expand their intuition. Stories are some of the earliest memories that we have—dragging a book to your mother’s lap and wanting to be told a story and look at the pictures. That doesn’t ever change. It’s the one constant that we have as human beings.”
Q: What childhood memories do you have concerning stories?
A: “I just remember loving to be told stories. My aunt and uncle had a little guest house where we would gather for holidays. All the kids would jump on a little bed in a nook in the corner. There was a bookcase full of animated books and we’d all read them and listen to the adults talking. It’s a great memory. Stories start with the teaching from parent to child. You hand down that gift. You give your child a book, or grandparents give them a book that they knew from when they were children. The children open up the book and there are pictures. At first, they’re just pictures, but slowly, at a very young age, they connect one picture to the next. That’s story telling.”
Q: What were your favorite movies as a child?
A: “THE WIZARD OF OZ (1939) certainly had a tremendous impact on me. It was special because I watched it on television. There was no recording so you had to watch it at a specific time, and everybody had to gather around at that time on that day in that moment. There was something very special about that gathering. Then there was Disney’s SNOW WHITE AND THE SEVEN DWARFS (1937), which was the first [full length animated film]. Then much later Pixar followed and they are amazing. Now, DreamWorks Animation is thriving and active and great.”
Q: You’ve done considerable voice work in the past, what was your experience like on this film?
A: “It’s interesting because there is a little bit of segregation when we record these films. I never even worked with Jack (Black) for a day.If I’m asked to do another KUNG FU PANDA film and if I like the story, I’m going to request that the actors get together and do a table read. That way we can have fun and get a sense of where everybody is going. You’re still going in alone to the studio, but at least you get a sense of how that scene is playing out, how the actor is reading, and how it is going to work. That’s fun. I did a lot of animation earlier in my career, for MIGHTY MORPHIN POWER RANGERS. They even named the Blue Power Ranger after me! They said, ‘well, let’s call that one BillyCranston.’ I used to do a lot of voice workbecause I needed to make money. Now I have no interest in doing things for money.”
Q: What are your criteria for projects now?
A:“I always look for new challenges. If you are money motivated, it takes you to a different realm, to a non- creative place. I have an evaluation system for projects and nowhere is money involved. The only reason I did KUNG FU PANDA 3 was because I liked the story. It’s not to say that money doesn’t matter, because it does. I’ve been very poor in my life, and I’ve been wealthy. And wealthy is better! (laughs)Growing up, we did not have a lot of money. We had our house foreclosed and it split the family. We tried to make ends meet by packing my mother’s car and going to swap meets every Saturday and Sunday to sell other people’s junk and try to pay bills. It didn’t sustain us and we got kicked out of our house. So I know what it is like to not have any money, and maybe because I survived that, money never became a hang-up for me. It never became an alluring thing to me and it doesn’t mean anything to me. Shame on me now, if I were to do something just to make money.”
Q: BREAKING BAD was such a huge, global hit; did you realize when you first saw the script that it was exceptional?
A: “I knew there was the potential of making it very special. When Vince Gilligan (the show’s creator) and I met in 2006, I read the script and I was floored by it. Then he told me that he wanted the character to change from a good guy to a bad guy by the end of series. I said, ‘do you realize that’s never happened before in the history of television? How can you do that?’ He responded: ‘I don’t know. We may fail miserably but I just think it’s cool.’ He was going into the great unknown, it could have failed and I like that kind of attitude, really trying your best, but admitting that you don’t know how it will turn out.”
Q: How exactly has the show changed television?
A: “Oh, it has changed it completely. Vince Gilligan was successful and the show gained attention because it was the first time that audiences around the world had seen something completely different on television. There had been other anti hero characters of course: Tony Soprano (James Gandolfini) in THE SOPRANOS and Vic Mackey (Michael Chiklis) in THE SHIELD. Those characters, who came before BREAKING BAD,were deeply flawed, they were not good guys. The difference was that those two characters were the people they were at the very beginning, all the way through to the end, with just small changes and adjustments that came from maturity and that sort of thing. But with BREAKING BAD, we were changing a character completely.You can look back at any character, like Archie Bunkerin ALL IN THE FAMILY (Carroll O’Connor), orThomas Magnum in MAGNUM, P.I. (Tom Selleck)or Mary Richards in THE MARY TYLER MOORE SHOW and the idea with those was to turn on the TV because you say, ‘I love this character, I want to see how they handle this problem.’ There’s comfort in that. There will always be a place in television for that kind of show. But BREAKING BAD was not a comfortable show. You can’t watch BREAKING BAD and be comfortable.It’s impossible.”
Q: How fulfilling is your career right now and can you discuss any of your upcoming projects?
A: “It is a very busy time for me,but it’s also a great time in my life, professionally and personally. TRUMBO came out recently and that film is very important to me. It has a fantastic story to tell about a dark period in American history and the loss of civil liberties [when filmmakers and other artists were blacklisted for their political beliefs]. Soonwe’ll have the HBO version of ALL THE WAY, about the first year of President Lyndon B. Johnson’s term in office. I did the play on Broadway a year ago, and that was a great experience too. I’m hoping to direct a film from a script I wrote and I’m starting work soon on a film called WAKEFIELD. I’m also producing a lot of television. I have a couple series that are on the air now, including an animated show called SUPERMANSION.”
Q: It sounds like there are no plans to slow down or take a break?
A: “No I guess the plan is to sleep when I’m dead!”
Q&A with Jack Black
Jack Black is back as Po in KUNG FU PANDA 3, the latest and most exciting animated adventure about the unlikely action hero with a love of dumplings and a passion for martial arts. This time, the loveable panda and legendary Dragon Warrior, has an emotional reunion with his long lost father Li (Bryan Cranston).
Traveling with his dad to an enchanting panda village,he meets his relatives and rediscovers the panda way of life.But Po also has to come to terms with his destiny, becoming a teacher as well as a leader and confronting a fearsome adversary in the form of Kai, a supernatural villain, voiced by J.K. Simmons.
Gripping, warm-hearted and funny, the 3D film,directed by Jennifer Yuh Nelson and Alessandro Carloni, also stars Angelina Jolie, Jackie Chan, Seth Rogen, Lucy Liu and David Cross, voicing the ‘Furious Five’, as well as Dustin Hoffman and Kate Hudson.
Q: What was it like returning to this hugely popular character?
A: “It was great to revisit the character of Po. It is always fun to jump into his enthusiastic skin and relive the dream of becoming the master, the Dragon Warrior.”
Q: Why do you think Po has become such a popular character?
A: “It is his innocence and naïveté. He can seem a little dim! He’s not the brightest bulb in the hardware store, (laughs) but people identify with his emotional purity, that love of kung fu and the kindness at the core of his being; there’s a profound wisdom there too. He’s bumbling and clumsy, but he is also a magical creature, so he’s got that yin and yang about him.”
Q: How much of Po is in you?
A: “A little bit,it’s inevitable. I’m really just being myself with Po; I’m not putting on a voice in the way I have done with other characters. I’m not even lowering the voice to be bear-like or anything. I’m just being a more enthusiastic, innocent version of myself. I guess Po keeps me in touch with my inner child (laughs). God, that sounds sooo dorky! But he is like a younger version of me. I love playing him. It reminds me of that childlike side we all have, how it is important not to lose that part of yourself, the kid who just wants to play and do things because they’re fun.”
Q: Where do we find Po at the start of this movie?
A: “He is growing up. He’s becoming an adult and he has to go from being the student to the teacher. If he doesn’t … he’s going to die! The stakes are very high. He also has some father issues. He meets his biological father who he thought was dead.It is huge and emotional for Po.He didn’t think there were any more pandas in China; he thought he was the last of the Mohicans, if you will.Soit’s a huge revelation when his father steps into his world and says, ‘hey, I’m alive and so are a lot of other pandas.’It is a bit of a bombshell.Also, it’s not entirely good news for Po’s adoptive father Mr. Ping at the noodle shop. So there’s a delicate emotional landscape. The dynamic between his biological father and his adopted father is very spicy. And there’s a lot of comedy.”
Q: What is it like having Bryan Cranston as your dad?
A: “It is amazing, he is fantastic. I met him at a charity poker game a few years ago and obviously I worship the ground he walks on. I love BREAKING BAD (the multi-award winning television series)and when I heard he was going to play my father it was a huge deal for me. We were all very excited and he had a huge impact on the movie. The original idea for the character was very different from what he ended up doing with it. He was going to be a quiet, noble and stern father figure. But after Bryan played with it for a while, it became apparent that his character was going to be like Po. In a way, he’s a bigger child than Po. He ended up being really funny.”
Q: Po and his dad go off on adventure, don’t they?
A: “Po goes back with his father to a panda paradise and meets all his brothers and sisters and cousins and uncles and aunts and little baby pandas. He finds out that there’s a whole village of friends and family he has never met before. That has a profound effect on him. He has to teach them all to defend themselves because none of them know kung fu, and of course there is this super villain, Kai, who is coming to destroy, not just the pandas, but all of China. It’s up to Po and his new family to protect everyone.”
Q: Fatherhood is a big theme in the film, isn’t it?
A: “It is and I have a similar dynamic to the one that Po has with both his dads, because I have a stepfather who I’m really close to, and I love my biological dad very much. So I know about that crazy dynamic Po faces. A lot of people have two fathers, so they can relate to Po. Back in the 40s and 50s divorce wasn’t as common, but now around fifty percent of the population has stepfathers and stepmothers.”
Q: What is it like having J.K. Simmons as the villain?
A: “It is amazing. I don’t have any real face-to-face time with him. We work in isolation in the sound booth. But I love the work that he’s done; he’s so funny and he is a brilliant actor. If you’ve seen WHIPLASH [for which Simmons won the Best Supporting Actor Oscar], you will know that he’s one of the best actors out there. He is so compelling. I was positive that he was going to win the Oscar for WHIPLASH.All the other actors nominated were great, but J.K. Simmons slam-dunked it! ”
Q: Can you discuss your experience of working with the directors, Jennifer Yuh Nelson and Alessandro Carloni?
A: “It was great working with Jen again. She has a deep appreciation of martial arts films and a cool approach to the emotional life of the characters. She’s an artist and a brilliant animator. She’s great because she works from a visual place and that helps me a lot. She will bring over a drawing to show you and say: ‘here is Po in this scene,’ and you can see the emotions in his eyes and the expression on his face. It was a joy to come in and record with both directors. Their styles are very different. Jen is very quiet, she directs with a whisper. Alessandro is very passionate and funny and physical. They both make me laugh and we had really good sessions. With animated films everything comes down to your relationship with the director or directors, rather than the actors, because I’m not working with Angelina Jolie or the others everyday.”
Q: Other than the directors, are you alone doing the voice work?
A: “I work with a fantastic voice actor, Stephen Kearin, who does all the characters, [standing in for the actual cast] which is great. Stephen is a super chameleon; he’s also an amazing ‘one man show’ kind of guy. He’s incredibly talented. We have a good time messing around and finding the character because we’re in the studio together for hours and hours. We used the script as a kind of launching pad. We would find stuff that was not in the script and shape it all together. There was lots of improv. I don’t know how much of it they used, but everyday I came in, I definitely made up some things.”
Q: Po is of course a kung fu master. What experience have you had in martial arts?
A: “I did the obligatory year of karate when I was a kid; I did a year of judo later on; and I dabbled with a little kung fu for these films, just because I felt like I should learn a little bit, since I am THE kung fu panda!”
Q: Have you encountered any real pandas?
A: “I went to see a baby panda at the Atlanta Zoo (in 2011). There’s a naming ceremony when a panda turns 100 days old, and we were there and named him Po. I got a little scared of the panda, because it’s a wild animal;he’s a bear, after all. Jeffrey Katzenberg (DreamWorks Animation CEO) was the brave one, petting the panda and holding him. He was teasing me because I was scared but I think he’s a fool. It’s a very dangerous animal! But apparently, Jeffrey Katzenberg is a beast master. I said to him:‘you go pet it. I love pandas from afar.’”
Q: What do your kids think of the KUNG FU PANDA movies? They must enjoy them.
A: “They love them. When they were in preschool, KUNG FU PANDA 2 (2011) was about to be released and we had a little sneak preview and brought the whole school to the DreamWorks theater and had a special screening for them. My kids got to present it to their friends. It is our movie together in a way and it’s cool to be able to share that with them. Sammy, my oldest boy, even does a voice in this one. He’s one of the bunnies, so it’s his voice acting premiere.”
Q: How fulfilling and challenging is fatherhood?
A: “Fatherhood is great. It is just about being there and being present for the kids when they need you. Fatherhood is about getting them ready for when you’re gone. That’s a dark way to say it, but it’s all about teaching them to be able to take care of themselves, to survive on their own, taking off the training wheels. Also it’s just about enjoying your kids and appreciating their gifts and their sense of humor. I get tons of satisfaction just watching them play.”
Q: It must be fun for your children having Jack Black as a dad!
A: “I don’t know if I’m as much fun a dad as everybody would imagine. In terms of schedules, I like them to get to bed on time, because I like them to get up on time and get to school on time. I want them to keep up with their homework. But I love to play with the boys, I love to jump in the pool, and do Lego with them. I even play some video games. I feel a little guilty when I’m sharing screen-time with them though. It’s such a bad word nowadays and you’re not supposed to let them have any of it, but I’ve definitely broken that rule. We’ve done some MINECRAFT amongst other games (laughs). I think people would be surprised to know how strict I can be though. It’s not just like Disneyland all the time. It’s all about boundaries. You’ve got to keep them in line to a certain degree. I’m in trouble if they are like me when I was a kid when they are older! But I know they are probably going to be like me. We’ll see (he knocks on wood). I hope they’re not like I was! But I’m not the rock-and-roll dad that everyone wants me to be all the time …I am sometimes.”
Q: Po has to start teaching in this film, which he doesn’t want to do. He has to move out of his comfort zone. How valuable is that as a theme for kids?
A: “It is a good message for the kids. You’ve got to keep on pushing and stretching and growing and learning and turning. That’s what life is all about. It’s all about change and learning to adapt. I definitely feel that in my life. You can’t rest on your laurels for very long. Po’s got to learn how to be a teacher, just like I’ve got to learn how to do television (laughs).”
Q: Are you still as committed to your musical career?
A: “I’m continuing to work with my band. We’ve got a festival we put on every year, (Festival Supreme). With that and the movies and raising the boys, I’m going a little bit crazy to be honest with you. It’s a little too much. When I look at my Google Calendar, I go, ‘ugh’ (groans). I look for the next time there’s nothing to do. That’s when I’ll be able to relax.’ I need my little oasis of relaxation.”
Q: You have an interesting hobby I believe when it comes to time off?
A: “Yes I’m a numismatist. (collecting coins) I’m not even sure how you pronounce it. I like coins that tell a little bit about history. I think it’s interesting.The most precious coin I have in my collection is actually an American penny, but it’s worth a lot more than a penny. It is a (bust of Liberty)‘flowing hair cent’, I think from 1812 and her (Liberty’s) hair is flowing in the breeze. It’s rare because it was considered too racy at the time. That says something about our puritanical streak in America.”
Q: How fulfilling is your career now, it sounds like you love music and acting equally?
A: “Well, I’ve never had to choose between them. I wouldn’t have an acting career if it weren’t for my music. HIGH FIDELITY (2000) was my first good acting role and that was because of my music. I sang and did music in that film. And then SCHOOL OF ROCK (2003) was my next really great role and that was all about the music.I’m glad that I have my musical world, because that’s my secret weapon. Tenacious D is my band and there’s acting in Tenacious D, so I have often been doing the two together. KUNG FU PANDA is one of the rare times when I don’t have to sing… not yet … maybe we could do: KUNG FU PANDA 4, THE ROCK YEARS!”
Q&A with J.K. Simmons
Oscar winner J.K. Simmons voices the supernatural villain Kai in KUNG FU PANDA 3.The latest adventure in the popular franchise once again stars Jack Black as Po, the loveable,legendary Dragon Warrior. Gearing up for his most daunting challenge so far, Po meets his long lost biological father Li (Bryan Cranston) who takes him to meet the panda relatives he never knew existed – in a remote mountain village.
Po has to confront Kai,a fearsome foe who is terrorizing China.
From DreamWorks Animation, the thrilling and funny family film was directed by Jennifer Yuh Nelson and Alessandro Carloni. Angelina Jolie, Jackie Chan, Seth Rogen, Lucy Liu and David Cross are back voicing the ‘Furious Five’. Also starring are Dustin Hoffman and Kate Hudson.
Q: What was the appeal of KUNG FU PANDA 3?
A: “I am a fan of the whole franchise and when they asked me to do this role, my first question was:‘is the same creative team making it?’It is indeed the same team, so I was very happy to jump in. My kids, who are now teenagers, are also fans; they really enjoyed the first two movies.”
Q: Do your children still enjoy the films now they are a bit older?
A: “As a matter of fact we recently brought our daughter Olivia and three of her pals to see the film right here in a screening room at DreamWorks. (Our son Joe was away on a school trip so he couldn’t come with us). The version we saw wasn’t finished yet, not all the animation was complete, some of it was just in storyboard form and some of it was not lip-synced yet. It was kind of a‘ground floor’, exciting thing for them to be a part of. It was extra fun for them to see it at that stage and they loved it.”
Q: Why is Jack Black’s Po so popular around the world do you think?
A: “Po has a great combination of qualities:he’s innocent; he is very childlike and very sweet; but during the course of these stories he continues to find his inner strength and become the Dragon Warrior. I think there’s a lot of appeal in that journey, how he changes.Also, Po is an everyman, almost an‘every child’ character, because there’s an ageless quality to him. I think the appeal lies in the unlikeliness of Po the panda being a kung fu master, The Great Martial Artist! The premise is a good source of fun and humor. And the animation is really beautiful in all the films. This one is just mind boggling to look at.”
Q: What kind of villain is Kai?
A: “Kai comes from the spirit world. He is some kind of super yak, ox, beast sort of creature! He is great fun to play. I love that there is more to him than just being the villain (he is funny and vulnerable). It is fun when you’re playing the bad guy to have an angle other than just: he is bad. Kai’s backstory is that he and Oogway (voiced by Randall Duk Kim) were brothers in arms, many, many years ago. Kai’s justification for the things that he’s doing now is that he feels he was betrayed by his friend. That’s what drives him and all his evil doings in this story.Po has become the leader of the ‘good guy’ team, as the Dragon Warrior. He is my main nemesis(or I’m his nemesis). I basically steal everybody’s chi --everybody’s life force --and Po is the main opponent standing in my way.”
Q: What do you think Jack Black brings to the role of Po?
A: “What Jack brings to the role is his own natural humor. The way the part of Po was tailored for him is amazing. Jack is absolutely great. Po is a brilliant character created together by Jack and the writers and the directors, Jen YuhNelson and Alessandro Carloni. Adding Bryan Cranston as Po’s dad in this film was another stroke of genius.”
Q: How scary is Kai?
A: “There was a fine line that we walked with that.As Alessandro and Jen were directing me in the booth, I would give a range of options in terms of howscary I was being. We want the character to be scary enough to have some stakes involved, to have a real sense of dread, and the sense of Kai being a worthy opponent, but we did not want to scare younger kids out of the theater and have angry moms and dads saying, ‘it was too frightening for my kid.’ My part of that job was to give the directors a range of options and then it’s up to the creative people to make the final decisions.”
Q: How enjoyable is it playing bad guys?You have tackled quite a few…
A: “It is nice to go back and forth. I guess a few times lately the high-profile roles I’ve done have been more bad guy stuff, but really most of the time I play good guys. It’s true though that a juicy villain part is always fun. I just like good writing, whether it’s an animated family movie or a film like WHIPLASH.”
Q: Can you discuss your experience of working with the directors of the film?
A: “Well, they make me think of the Coen brothers (the directors) in a way, because Alessandro and Jen are very much on the same page all the time. Of course, it’s animation and they can turn off their mics and I don’t always hear everything they’re saying (laughs). So maybe they were actually fighting the whole time and I just didn’t know it. But I don’t think so! They were great. When they would give a suggestion or an adjustment it was fun. They would ask me to do something a different way or to try my own thing. You have total freedom to go as far as you want to, because ultimately they’re going to make those final choices. It is interesting because actors might be a little reticent to do that in a live action film. In animation you can go to the extremes.”
Q: How interesting in general is animation compared to live action?
A: “It is challenging and interesting and if the story is well-conceived and well-written and well-executed, it’s rewarding and fun in some of the same ways and some different ways. You are usually doing a line at a time or short scenes that are easy to memorize, soI actually tend to end upclosing my eyes.I almost always stand there in the booth, unless perhaps I’m doing a long narration, then I’ll sit. Mostly I prefer to stand, to have a little physical freedom, but I am very rarely being animated physically, moving about. Often with animation, you’re not even in the room with the other actors. The only downside is the fact that you don’t usually get to see the other actors a lot. You don’t get that ‘hanging out with the cast’ kind of camaraderie.But they have very talented guys, voice actors, who come in to read the scenes with you. It is really fun and easy compared to live action because you are not doing hair or make up…well in my case, make up!”
Q: Did you do any recording with Jack?
A: “No, we just overlapped one day at the studio. We’ve met before and goofed around on a couple of things such as charity events. We have never really worked together, although actually, we were both in a movie called THE JACKAL (1997), many years ago; it was the year I got married. We didn’t have any scenes together but I’ve been a fan of his since then. I’m also a big fan of his music. My kids love his band, Tenacious D. Jack is a great musician, a hilarious everyman and a genius comic actor.”
Q: You are actually a musician yourself.
A: “Well I don’t call myself a musician. I studied music, but I don’t have the chops that Jack and Kyle (Gass from Tenacious D) have, or my own children, who are far more accomplished musicians than I am. Musically, nowadays I’m sort of living vicariously through my kids who are very talented. They both play piano, guitar, bass and drums. My son mostly is a bass player, but he also plays percussion in the Los Angeles Youth Orchestra. The orchestra did a European tour recently, playing concerts in Vienna and Prague, and we went along of course (the family).The organizers actually utilized me as a sort of MC (master of ceremonies) for the concerts, especially in Vienna, because I speak enough German that I could ingratiate myself with the locals by doing part of my spiel auf Deutsch, which was nice.My brother (David Simmons) is a more accomplished musician than me. But I knew enough about music to be able to play a convincing musician in WHIPLASH.”
Q: What music do you like?
A: “I just appreciate good music whether it’s jazz, rock and roll or classical.”
Q: How did you end up acting?
A: “When I first started college, I was messing around and wasting time. There was somebody on my dorm floor who was singing in the choir. I went to one of the choir’s concerts and I thought, ‘that really is great; I do like that classical music.’ SoI changed my major to music. I was singing in choirs and in operas. I did musical theatre and auditioned for summer stock theatre. I really fell in love with being on stage and telling stories and doing plays and musicals. I did that for almost 20 years before I started doing screen acting.”
Q: You mentioned your Oscar winning performance in WHIPLASH, which was astonishing. Can you talk about your experience of making that film?
A: “Well, believe me that was a rare opportunity in a number of ways, because it was one of the most genius screenplays I’ve ever come across. And Damien Chazelle turned out to be such a brilliant director. MilesTeller was wonderful too. Every step of that journey was completely satisfying from the first moment I got that script from Jason Reitman. It came with his recommendation, so I had high expectations and those expectations were exceeded throughout the whole process. Then all the attention and the awards were lovely, but that’s never been my raison d’être. It’s just the icing on the cake. Now, I’m reaping the benefits of all that in my work and the best part of that is that I have more roles to choose from.”
Q: Are there great roles flooding in?
A: “The nice thing for me is that an opportunity like WHIPLASH came along late in my career soat this point people aren’t going to pigeon hole me as ‘that guy’. It just brings me more attention in general as a character actor who has a range. So there are now offers for a lot of different kinds of parts, which is nice.But at this point, honestly, a big part of how I make my decisions is geographical. I like to be at home in LA, which is another lovely reason to do animation. You’re in your car for 15 minutes, you come over here to the studio, you work for an hour or two, you have a little lunch and you go home.”
Q: You’ve been acting for many years, but I believe you are not interested in going behind the camera yourself or writing screenplays?
A: “That’s right, I don’t really want to direct for a number of reasons. I’ve been doing this job for 40 years and I have learned a fair amount about it. I can’t say I would never direct. But other than a few experiences years and years ago directing theatre, I think what works for me is that I’m always trying to serve the story and be a team player as an actor. And honestly again, part of the reason I don’t want to direct is that my kids will still be living at home for the next five or six years and I don’t want to be working too many hours. I want to spend time with the family. I don’t want to be producing and writing and directing in addition to acting. The days are long enough just being an actor. And I have no talent as a writer … at all (laughs)! I think whatever ability I have, I’ve developed in the work that I do. The good thing about having a body of work and a reputation and all the awards this past year is that people view me more as a collaborator. People will listen to my opinion, so I can have a little bit of input, without having all the responsibility (laughs)!”
By Elaine Lipworth
http://www.elainelipworth.com