BY KRISTIN MC CRACKEN |
Dax Shepard & Tom Arnold: Brother's Justice
Stars Dax Shepard and Tom Arnold anchor a funny foursome who prove that this mockumentary is a hoot and a half. Opening at Tribeca Cinemas September 9!
Note: This interview originally ran in April 2011.
Brother's Justice will screen daily at 8:30 pm at Tribeca Cinemas from September 9-15. Tickets go on sale August 30.
In preparation for the launch of the mockumentary Brother's Justice, we sat down with a raucous foursome in LA last March: stars Dax Shepard (also a co-director) and Tom Arnold, co-director David Palmer, and producer Nate Tuck.
In case it's not totally clear in the emoticon-free exchange below, these guys really get a kick out of each other. They riffed off one another as only good friends can, and the fast and funny (it only took five minutes!) back-and-forth should be incentive enough to to check out their hilariously satirical send-up of LA and the movie biz.
Before we go any further, here's a bit about the film:
In an attempt to reinvent his career, actor Dax Shepard makes the rash decision to abandon comedy in pursuit of his true dream: to become an internationally renowned martial arts star. With no formal martial arts training or adequate funding for his “blockbuster” action movie script, Dax enlists the help of his buddies including producer Nate Tuck and actors Tom Arnold and Bradley Cooper. Together, they fight to realize Dax’s true passion while facing rejection at every turn. With maniacal conviction, Dax journeys on a bizarre but hilarious path that becomes increasingly nonsensical and destructive, all at the expense and exploitation of his personal and professional relationships.
And now, on with the show!
Tribeca: If you could have dinner with any filmmaker, or martial artist, dead or alive, who would it be and why?
Dax Shepard: I would go Hal Needham. He directed Smokey and the Bandit and Hooper, and he’s a very legendary stuntman, and was Burt Reynolds’ roommate all through the 70s.
Tribeca: Would you invite Burt Reynolds?
Dax Shepard: I’ve had the good fortune of having dinner with Burt, and it was wonderful. I did a movie with him, so… he was my number one guy growing up, so it was great. [To Tom Arnold:] You’ve had dinner with Burt, haven’t you?
Tom Arnold: Mmm-hmmm. Very nice guy. He was my neighbor, over by Charlie Sheen. As a matter of fact, the house that’s in the movie—it’s across the street from Shaq and Charlie Sheen. So see the movie to see that.
I want to have dinner with Tom McCarthy. I liked his movie Win Win this weekend—it was great. He did The Station Agent and The Visitor—those are his three films. But the reason I want to have dinner with him? He’s awesome, obviously, but I think he might like me. So that would be…
Dax Shepard: And you’ve got a script for him. It’s called Lose Lose.
Tom Arnold: The wrestling was really good in Win Win.
Dax Shepard: It was, it was. I could have seen more wrestling! For an indie…
Tom Arnold: You never thought you’d say that, ever in your life, right? That kid was good, like a young Sean Penn.
Dax Shepard: Fantastic. Yeah, right? He’s so much like Spicoli! I couldn’t get over it!
Tribeca: Anyone else?
David Palmer: I’d like to have dinner with Bruce Lee, if we’re going to throw in martial artists. Because he’s just fucking awesome! He was THE guy. And I’d be bringing him back from the dead, so I’d probably get kudos for that.
Tribeca: What would you have for dinner?
Dax Shepard: Don’t be racist.
David Palmer: I’d probably have some noodles, or something.
Dax Shepard: Awwwww. That’s what I was afraid of.
David Palmer: No, I’d go for a piece of prime rib—some meat.
Dax Shepard: Okay, Tuck, you’ve gotta deliver. Those are three really good ones.
Nate Tuck: I think that it depends on what genre, but it’d probably be Walter Hill, because he kicked so much ass—simple as that—on The Warriors.
Dax Shepard: That’s your favorite movie.
Tom Arnold: You could have dinner with Walter Hill.
Nate Tuck: I’d like to have dinner with Walter Hill!
Dax Shepard: For like $12, I think.
Tribeca: Let’s make it happen!
Tom Arnold: He’s a good guy.
Tribeca: What’s one thing, besides your movie, that you’re recommending to people right now? It can be high-brow, low-brow…
Dax Shepard: I’m like a one-man Frontline promotion team. I really try to talk everyone into getting into Frontline. I’ve got Tuck so into Frontline, that when he even hears the beginning chords of the Frontline theme song, a calm comes over him.
Nate Tuck: And his voice!
Dax Shepard: The narrator is the best in the biz.
Nate Tuck: Yeah, the magic narration.
Dax Shepard: “Tonight, on Frontline…”
Nate Tuck: Once you hear that, you settle in for two hours. It’s a beautiful thing.
Dax Shepard: Tom, what are you pushing?
Tom Arnold: I’m pushing Parks & Recreation this week. It has caught up with 30 Rock and The Office, and sometimes, it’s the best show on TV.
Dax Shepard: That’s really nice. David, you got anything?
David Palmer: I’d have to plug Parenthood. My co-director stars in it, and it’s a really fantastic show on NBC. [laughs] No, it’s great! I’m a parent, and it’s really—I’m just hooked.
Tribeca: Great! Okay, if they made a movie of your life right now, what would your biopic be called?
Tom Arnold: Gone Too Soon.
Dax Shepard: Mine would be called Horsepower.
Tom Arnold: That. Is. Awesome.
Dax Shepard: Well, that’s my celebrity cologne. My celebrity cologne is going to come out, called Horsepower. The tagline is: Feel the Power.
Tom Arnold: Not Feel the Horse?
Dax Shepard: That will be my lotion. “You’ve felt the power. Now feel the horse.”
Tom Arnold: Yeah, exactly! You HAVE to write a book.
Tribeca: Anyone else?
David Palmer: Naw… Well, This Is It. I’d just take Michael Jackson’s…
Tom Arnold: No, mine would be Lucky. Lucky to have the friends that I’m sitting with, lucky to be in Brother’s Justice.
Tribeca: What makes Brother’s Justice a Tribeca must-see on VOD?
Dax Shepard: There is no movie at Tribeca or on VOD that has as many stars or is as uniquely funny as Brother’s Justice. Guaranteed.
David Palmer: Or made for as little money.
Dax Shepard: That’s true.
Tribeca: Tom Arnold: Seth Green is also in it—I keep forgetting to mention him.
David Palmer: When you get to the end of the movie…
Dax Shepard: It’s for the real fans…
David Palmer: It’s a little bonus.
Dax Shepard: It’s like at the end of Iron Man, where you see Sam Jackson walk out. It’s very similar to that.
Tom Arnold: Very, very similar.
Dax Shepard: It’s almost identical to the end of Iron Man. This movie IS Iron Man. If you liked Iron Man, you will love Seth Green in Brother’s Justice.
Brother's Justice will screen daily at 8:30 pm at Tribeca Cinemas from September 9-15. Tickets go on sale August 30.
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