We had the extreme fortune of visiting the set of Marvel ’s new distance escapade Guardians of the Galaxy . And today we ’re reserve to give you a small perceptiveness of what we learned direct from Star Lord himself , Chris Pratt .
On the set of the London Pinewood Studios , we meet Pratt , haircloth blonde and cheeks covered in space dirt , and sat down for a confab with a small group of journalist . While we still ca n’t say much about the luxuriant makeup jobs , FX , sets and splendid costuming , we can share our audience with Pratt , who was unsurprisingly hilarious and shockingly humble . Well , until he said that GOTG would be better than Star Wars .
Pratt recrudesce down his long - held veneration of being force out by Marvel for being “ too productive , ” what scenes gave him frisson and eventually opened up on the backstory of everyone ’s ( including his ) preferred character : Rocket Raccoon . Plus , he divulge what managing director James Gunn plan to do with the completely CG creature . Without further ado , here ’s the full audience which was held on set , at a round table with a minuscule collection of journalists and Pratt …
Stepping into a world like this , is part of the kick learning to act with everything and learning to live in that outer space ?
Chris Pratt : Yeah I guess that ’s part of it , it ’s definitely part of it . I cerebrate you ’re talking about the props and toys and sets and costume . All that stuff makes my job easy . It ’s not wanton , but it makes it much easier because it ’s doing a mickle of the work the property , the costume , masquerade party and guns , everything that distracts the viewer attention from me I tempt . Just in case I fuck it up please just look at the nerveless guns .
Jumping off of that question , when we visited the guy in props , they said they sent you the blasters forrader of time . What was it like the first time you induce your blaster ?
They send me the gunslinger and I think they want to see how it matched up against my paw but at the time , all I was worried about was “ I ’m going to send off them pictures of me take hold this gun and they ’re lead to think I ’m too fat and elicit me ? ” That ’s all I commemorate imagine , I was still very much in the process of losing weight so I was like suck up it in holding the gunslinger , my wife was like , “ You look uncomfortable in this photo . ” I say , “ I am ! God . ” So I sent in the picture and forthwith after they were like , “ By the agency … we involve to come get your sizes again . ” I was like , “ I make love . ”
But it was moderately neat , they ’re definitely awful props . It ’s rum because we have a great prop department here and they ’re purists so some of them are a petty reticent to have the 3D pressman into their world because they make practical props and build hooey out of nothing , out of voice that they putter with and stuff . So I think the idea of a 3D printing machine is a little spot scary it ’s like the printing military press , it ’s raw and exciting that they use it because it looks amazing .
How are you balancing the TV show [ Parks And Recreation ] with this ?
Well , that was all something that NBC and Marvel work out beforehand , as they were finalizing the details of my deal they allege , “ We ’ll let him out for some episodes but he does have to make out back . ” NBC was awesome to get me out and I ’m missing probably six episode but , they came out here to London and we did a twosome of episode out here in London . And also I run low back for a ten - day stretch in August and did another episode so I ’m kick the bucket back and away a picayune bit , making it function . And when I twine on this I ’ll immediately go back to the show .
I imagine it ’s difficult reconciliation being a badass and being passing funny …
By badass you mean Andy Dwyer , right ? They ’re both super badass so it ’s really light .
Were there any case you were instigate by or looked back on ?
With Peter ? I guess so , you conceive going into something that as an actor , you could take parts of what you ’ve seen before and want to take influence off of it but I do n’t know … that ’s not necessarily what I did . I know some actors probably work that way , but I ’ve listen Kevin [ Feige ] say he thought the stuff he ’s looking at it ’s like Han Solo - meets - Marty McFly , which I guess is cool . But that was n’t an knowing thing at all … I know that me , personally , I ’m unlike than anyone else . Just like our mothers all narrate us we ’re all very special and unique and we are , and I think if an actor can stick to to trying to make the character resemble something from their own spirit it will mechanically be unique . It ’s not necessarily get going to be attempt to be Han Solo or trying to be Marty McFly or trying to be any other character you ’ve seen before , it ’s like , “ This is me in this purpose . ”
Has there been a more surreal day on solidifying over any others ?
Yes . We have a solidifying for a place called Morag . It ’s mind - blowing . And there ’s another day in something hollo … Oh , I do n’t desire to give this off . Am I giving stuff and nonsense away ? There ’s something called the Kiln , which is another band , and there ’s one surreal daylight when we had a 2d called Michael . He ’s a guy who ’s work with Stanley Kubrick , I intend he ’s been around for ages . you’re able to sit and heed to this guy babble about working on motion picture . He ’s worked in the patronage for like 50 long time . And he was doing crowd control on a hundred and sixty extras — all of whom had go through extensive alien makeup . And we ’re on a solidifying that ’s maybe as braggy as this warehouse that we ’re in right now , but maybe even tall . And there are prison cell all the agency around , a giant tower in the middle , and there ’s this long — I’m scram Goosebumps [ points to his arm]—there ’s this long crane .
That scene was in the sizzle reel [ Edit Note : you could see a little of what we run into a little in the first poke ] . It was one recollective jibe ?
Yes . That long one shot that was put together . And I ’m observe Michael , who ’s worked with Stanley Kubrick , directing these extras , saying , “ Remember , if you’re able to see the camera , the tv camera can see you ! You are in a prison ! You are not happy ! ” And then we ’re walking through , and there ’s this recollective , dollying crane shot that ’s on our backs and then lifts up and then circle around , you see a fight break out and then it tear apart down to a 2nd stratum and you see these ominous captive seize someone and drag them into a cadre . And then it goes down even further and you ’re seeing details that I do n’t want to give , but you ’ll know this shot . It was so surreal because the stab terminate on my face look around taking it all in . And then it quickly cut out and that moment … it ’s been five months of moment like that . It ’s really , really crazy . I ’m like , how much does this cost per mo , I marvel ?
Peter Quill is a guy who ’s half - human , half - outlander . We know the movie start on Earth , but is set mostly in space . I ’m kind of singular , is the character more informed by who he was on Earth or is he more informed by who he has become in distance ?
No , at this compass point he ’s definitely more informed by who he was on Earth . The arc of the character , it ’s a very human arc . It ’s really based on who he was and what was taken from him as a tike . And something that he missed and lacks that he has to gain ground through the trend of the film . That ’s unquestionably what we ’re focusing on .
How old is he when he leaves Earth ?
When he leaves Earth he ’s a Kyd . He ’s like nine or ten . Is that a spoiler ? No , no he ’s a thirty year - old . He ’s pay back pituitary issues … A thirty twelvemonth - sure-enough , four - metrical unit three child . But yeah , he ’s about nine years old . You get to se the origin of who he is and why he is the way he is when you meet him as an grownup by and by in distance .
To kind of go off of that , in the sizzle bobbin from Comic Con that we rewatched today , You say , “ I ’m Star Lord , ” and Korath say , “ Who ? ” manifestly that ’s going to be a lot of the general public response to this Star Lord . Is that something that benefitted you , as far as being able to make this character reference your own and how you developed him ?
That was actually , that approximation was a quislingism , I think . Because I do n’t think in the original incarnation , or the original script that it was . I remember read it and my thought was , Why is he just articulate I am Star Lord . And then I talked to James and I was like , “ perhaps there should be this moment where it ’s like , Who ? Who is that ? ” And I palpate like that was something we collaborated on . But what ’s great is the stakes of what materialise in the picture show legalize this nickname he ’d love to have himself be called . I do n’t need to give away too much , but you see why he ’s called Star Lord in this movie .
Is the fact that the worldwide public that ’s go to be check this movie and are going to be introduce to these characters , really for the first time … characters like Iron Man and Captain America , those are names multitude knew going in . Is that a welfare to you as an player , making the character your own ?
I do n’t inevitably get it on if it sham me one manner or another . I think it makes sense that … it ’s a good question . I think it probably is helpful that people do n’t lie with who he is because it would be my intention to want to make him my own anyways . But I think that ’s something that Robert Downey Jr. did with Iron Man . He come in and he is Tony Stark – and he kind of is now because he can probably afford like weapon system . The guy could probably , seriously build his own suit of clothes now with all the money he ’s prepare .
But to be fair , I do n’t know Robert Downey Jr. , but I ’m just get into ! I do n’t even know him , so maybe that ’s not how he is at all . mayhap he has a British emphasis and is a totally different person than Tony Stark . But to me it seems like , “ Robert Downey Jr. is Tony Stark . ” He was a guy people knew , people apparently bang Iron Man – maybe not as much as Captain America or other characters , but that is something that I would like to endeavor to do , just keep it real and keep it close to who I am , and maybe the fact that nobody knows these characters , that ’ll be helpful .
And it probably will be helpful , because you look at the Star Wars movies that came out , the prequels . There ’s a lot of expectation there , and to shoulder a project with preconceived notions , expectations and all these things , it really clear it hard . It build it difficult because you spend the whole movie trying to gratify what hoi polloi imagine they know about a character . The first Star Wars did n’t have that problem because it ’s all blade fresh . You just take it for what it is . So what I ’m saying is that we will be better than Star Wars .
Do you have a case other than yourself who you ’re a big buff of [ in this history ] ?
Yeah … Oh man . I retrieve Drax is awful , not only the fibre but Dave Bautista the thespian . I just really adore him so much and think he ’s very , very good . alone . I really love him .
And I think Rocket is a smashing quality , not just in a way that you would cogitate . There ’s a luck of heart there . James [ Gunn ] did a great job of look at Rocket as a real quality , rather than a cartoon character . And so when you see the floor unfold … you should finger forged for anything that was kind of created out of nothing . There ’s a sense of aloneness and this inner pain that Rocket feels that hopefully the audience will empathize with that makes him a really good-hearted character , but also so badass . ‘ Cause he ’s a racoon with a political machine triggerman ! So that ’s good . I wish him . I mean , all the characters are really great , but those two believably in particular right now .
So much of the celluloid is about progress an corps de ballet that works together by the oddment . In term of the corps de ballet of the cast of characters , it ’s such an awe-inspiring chemical group of people and such an eclectic mathematical group to put together , have you seen that happen over the course of the photographic film ? That you bozo have issue forth together and figured it all out as you ’ve been working ?
Yeah , I think , probably . The synergy of the whole group we obviously do n’t get to really feel on set because two of the characters are CG , and I ’m hoping that when it ’s all say and done and you may … what ’s kind of expectant is that when I see this movie , for so much of it I ’m locomote to be a spectator pump . visit successiveness I did n’t know what they looked like , characters that I do n’t really be intimate how they ’re going to face in the conclusion , you know what I think of ?
But we ’ve definitely get along together and get to know each other better , but this has been unlike any other movies I ’ve been on . Where you walk away from set and just the cast goes and attend out and clobber like that . We ’re just working , non - block off . We have been working so much . We ’ve find to make love each other middling well because we ’ve been together for five months in a strange country . But it ’s been eye on the prize this whole clip . There has n’t been a mountain of down clip to do anything . At least for me – I palpate like I ’ve been working every second .
How have you been adjusting to the fact that you ’re dealing with two CGI reference throughout the entire moving-picture show ?
It turn out it ’s kind of the same as just it being not CGI . You ’re still kind of just brook there , looking at something and pretending and saying the words , you know . It has n’t been that hard . I think it would be a hatful intemperately if we did n’t have Sean Gunn toy Rocket . I intend , Groot does n’t have that much talks in the movie — I do n’t eff if that ’s guess to be a spoiler or not — but … everyone knows that he says , “ I am Groot ” and that ’s it ? So much of what actor do is just listening and responding . And so when you have , when you ’re make for with a great actor , even when they ’re off - camera , it ’s very easy just to mind to what they ’re saying , respond , understand that they ’re take heed to you . There ’s this connexion , there ’s this flow that come about just when you ’re utter to people . And that ’s been really great with Sean because , like I said , a lot of the poppycock that bechance with Rocket , there are moments of real dramatic play and real emotion , and he has give so hard to it . So when he ’s off - tv camera , I ’m respond to someone I sense really bad for rather than , like , a tennis ballock or something .
Can you talk about the physical transformation you went through , losing some of the weight , and did it change the manner you are physically as an actor and did you know when you had the right — where you wanted to be ?
Yeah , I think I , there was , it definitely change — there ’s a lot of elements that really , like I said , made it easy for me . And like the costume and the hairsbreadth and the make - up and the props and the sets , and then puzzle out out and contract in safe shape , like , I would just like get out of fuzz and make - up and have my costume on and look at myself in the mirror and I would just not even see myself staring back . I would see like Peter Quill or like this kind of Star Lord quality I was … ”this is fucking cool , valet de chambre . ”
So yeah , that , I have in mind it was , it ’s emphatically , it ’s a third of what I do , I think , as an actor is just what I reckon like , you have intercourse ? I ’m a prop . And I talk , and I hear , and I feel things and I have a certain rhythm to my feeling , all of which , all of those things I can keep in line , but the path I appear is also something you may manipulate , but it in all likelihood accept a third of the performance , you acknowledge . That ’s why there are people that are just like totally dull and have like nothing going on the interior , but when you look at ’em , they look like a , they look compelling . There ’s like great symmetry or something , and you ’re kind of captivate by them . Even though on the inside there ’s nothing work on ! Know what I intend ? There are hoi polloi like that , and as long as they voice honorable , and can link sentences together without stumbling —
Would you like to trace which the great unwashed we ’re talking about here ?
Almost all of ’em . Almost all of ’em . No . really there are actors that there ’s not anything , there ’s nothing break on . I ’ve gather some of ’em , I ’m care , “ Wow , there ’s fucking nothing going on there ! ” But I sure enough would n’t say , I probably … I do n’t know . But yeah , the strong-arm shift is a big part of it . It ’s my vehicle . It ’s my body that I ’m inside of , and it does n’t , it ca n’t not affect the way that people perceive you and the elbow room that you comprehend yourself .
In going through the nontextual matter elbow room and getting sort of a scratchy thought of this hero ’s journey — and by the style the art ’s freakin ’ awesome — but when the audience and we first reach out to the Peter Quill role when he ’s older and in distance , what are his goals ? What is he up to before he fill the Guardians ?
Well , he is on a pursuit to escape , essentially . But in the same agency that a lot of citizenry are , on Earth . He ’s develop a hope to him . The kind of hope that you have when you buy a drawing ticket . He thinks if he could just make that account , everything will be ok and everything will be taken care of . And I think he memorise , through the grade of the movie , that that ’s not ultimately where you find out true atonement with yourself or veridical happiness . It ’s really gon na issue forth from doing something bigger than yourself and give yourself up to something that ’s heavy than yourself . So we find him in a hopeful , playful place . And he ’s sort of escaping and a little moment on the rill .
Both you and James are very funny guy cable . How important is clowning to telling the narrative of the Guardians of the Galaxy ?
Oh , super important . I think comedy is very , very important , and particularly in this film . I stand for , if we pull this off right , it ’s going to be arduous for other movies to amount out that are like this . They ’re going to seem middling unfunny compared to our movie , I imagine . James [ Gunn ] is really , really amusing . It ’s really rare that someone make me systematically express joy out loud , and he really does . We have similar senses of humor , and a nifty relationship and banter on set that could probably could be see as out or keeping , but it ’s really keeping us both sane .
This is at last his movie and his voice , and you ’ll definitely see that humor through the course of action of this movie . And I think it is important and cardinal to making this moving picture piece of work , because it ’s not just a straight action mechanism - risky venture type of movie . I think all the well big adventure movies have drollery , like all the Indiana Jones movies and like a romance the Stone . Any case of pic where you have an dangerous undertaking , potential budding sexual chemistry and humor all together , it really ferment .
Do you get to improv ? Do you get to thumb on a movie this big ?
No , not really . No … . This is not the place for that , I do n’t reckon . I do , though [ Giggles ] I do sometimes . It is probably not something I should be doing . But I sometimes ca n’t help it . I know a little morsel of that stuff might make it in . And there ’s a difference between improving and fundamentally say the words without using those words . As long as you ’re say the same matter , you could kind of put it in your own words if that arrive at it more innate than that can make it a little better . I ’ve been seek somewhat heavily to just stick to the lines , because you do n’t desire to blow a three - hundred thousand dollar crane , dolly chopper shot or something because you wanted to poke a piffling sport and they ’re like , “ What are you doing ? Noooooo ! It ’s going to take us like five 60 minutes to readjust this snap . ” There ’s way for that in some of the scene , but for the most part not a band .
How many of the comedian did you read to train and what was something you saw in the Guardians funnies where you say , “ OK , I involve to have this in the moving-picture show ” ?
Well , when I first talked with James [ Gunn ] here I had some read of the Bendis stuff . And I verbalize to James and I was like , “ What do you call back ? ” And he was aver , “ Do n’t take any more . I do n’t require you to record any . ” [ James articulate to read ] the Abnett and Andy Lanning if I require , if I felt I had to read something , we ’d be closest to that . Do n’t , because we ’re not recreating the comic books . We ’re essentially just another delivery system for Marvel material . ” We ’re not inevitably making a movie free-base on those comic script . We ’re just telling more superhero , Guardians of the Galaxy stories , just using a unlike medium . It would be like if someone else was going to release another Guardians of the Galaxy comic book , you would n’t needfully need to go through and read all the late comic playscript and pick and choose what you want to use . You want to do your own thing . So I call back that ’s kind of what we ’re doing . The name and the title and the characters are from dissimilar incarnations of the Guardians of the Galaxy , but this is its own thing . James told me to kind of head clear of that . He belike just wanted me to process his script like the Holy Bible . And so I sort of have .
From when you first get the hand to what you ’re filming now , how much changed along the way ?
Not very much . Not very much outside of 10 , 15 percent … . It was pretty upstanding going in . We rehearsed , had conversations and bring up any concerns we had and so there were change that were made . That ’s just the pare down mental process . It always happens . It ’s always an inevitable phylogenesis . But for the most part , it was pretty damn good to start with . It was jolly skillful . It was n’t one of those situations where you come in and think . “ Wow , this does n’t influence . How are we go to be that count on out ? ” You wish , “ Wow , that stuff and nonsense all really make , but what about this ? ” possibly like taste to just taper it with very hunky-dory touches . But it was pretty shrewd to set out with .
Much MUCH more to come from our visit to the Guardians of the Galaxy set ( admit truly shit drawings of all the exotic animal I saw ) . If you want more selective information head over theGOTG Facebook Sir Frederick Handley Page , which will also be hosting a resilient hurl chat this coming Monday .
Full Disclosure : all travel disbursement were yield for by the studio apartment .
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