New Orleans Film Festival (NOFF)  

11 October 2008, New Orleans, LA

Transcript of Mike Pearce and Rob Pattinson (call-in)

Interviewer:  “Why don’t you tell us how you got to be in the film, what it was like putting it together and where it’s taken you?”

Mike: “Um, I don’t know what to say.  I’m not an actor, I know that you guys have seen the film, so you know I’m not that good.  Nah, I am joking.  I went to film school with the director, and uh, he was desperate for someone to play the part of Niki…”  *the phone rings Mike continues* “That’s not me.” *crowd laughs*  “And uh, he felt that somehow my character had some…” you hear someone say ‘hello?,’ Mike continues  “Oh, yeah, is that Rob?  No?  This will be interesting…” *crowd is laughing* Mike continues  “Uh, to the character, so, he asked me to play it.  It’s (the character) not based on me, I’m like a really deep person, and that character isn’t.  You can talk to me afterwards and you’ll, you’ll see, I’m into philosophy and stuff, quite a lot.  So, I didn’t really have that much involvement, I just turned up on set every once in awhile and did that, and uh, got drunk ’cause I was scared… of being in front of a camera.  That’s how it went, that’s the truthful version.”

Interviewer: “Ok”  *crowd laughs*

Mike: “That’s how the movies work, people just turn up and they just get drunk.”

Interviewer: “So, is Rob here?”

Rob: “Yes.”  *Audience squeals*

Interviewer: “Where are you calling from, and how do we know it’s really you?”

Rob: “I’m uh, I’m calling from Los Angeles, I was working today and I got stuck in traffic, so I’m actually in the car right now.”

Mike: “Dangerous.”  *Rob laughs*

Rob: “So, you, you might hear me crash.  Either crash or get arrested at any time.”

Interviewer: “So uh, we were just talking with uh, with Mike about how he got involved in the film and what his experience was with putting it all together. Do you want to give us a little quick version of how you ended up in How To Be?

Rob: “Yes, I just want to say also that Mike {(unclear recording)}.  Yeah, I uh, I got involved with it, um, I read the script I thought it was really different and interesting and very, very different than uh, anything else I’ve seen for a long time.  And uh, I was really surprised when I got it and pleased.  And then we, um, me, Mike and Johnny and Oliver just all, uh, rehearsed for a really long time.  For like a month or something.  And uh, yeah, a lot of it was improvised, which was a really nice environment to work in.”

Audience question (Brianna): “What are some of the major differences between filming a movie like this and something like Harry Potter or Twilight?”

Rob: “Um, there’s uh, you feel, well, there’s not a huge amount of differences.  You feel, um, I mean not for me anyway.  I mean sometimes you feel there’s more pressure when there’s more money involved, but I mean if you’re working with good people, I mean I work with… I mean the budget on Harry Potter especially was enormous, but I mean I never really felt, um, that much pressure put on me personally to um, to change the way I behaved or even the way I worked.  Um, but How To Be, I mean, I think How To Be specifically was different because, uh, everyone involved with it had kind of had a similar, kind of similar upbringing and such, which was nice to work on, I mean, like, I mean when you’re working on Harry Potter actually all the people are like uh, really renowned very experienced actors.  Everyone on How To Be really hadn’t done anything before so, including me, so it was just really nice.  It was quite exciting for everyone.

Mike: “And understand that Rob’s never worked with actors of my caliber before…” *audience laughs*  “I mean he’s worked on big films like Harry Potter, but when he met me, it was, I mean, he was scared.  You’ve seen me, you know what I’m talking about.”

Rob: “Look, Mike was literally, I mean, I don’t think I ever… I think I peaked, I peaked real early right there…” {(unclear recording)} Mike interrupts Rob with…

Mike: “It’s all downhill…”

Audience question (Tiffany): “It’s nice to see you get these wonderful accolades. How does it feel to start being recognized for your work?  I know you won Best Actor at the Strausburg Film Festival and you’re being honored at the Hollywood Film Festival, and your music is wonderful, um, how do you feel about it?”

Rob: “Um, it’s nice, yeah, I mean, I kind of… it’s great.  It’s also great when everyone thinks you’re terrible, cause uh, it makes me, get this… for one thing it makes you believe that you’re a lot better in a lot of ways… from the entire world saying you’re rubbish.  Then your own self-confidence, uh, builds and builds to make you think that you are much better than even than you actually are.  So, sometimes it’s better for them to say I’m rubbish.  But it is nice, it’s very nice that I’m getting accolades, uh, and it helps, it helps in the industry it helps get jobs and such, and that’s great.”

Audience question (Kari): “This is for the both of you guys, I was wondering how much of your parts together were improvised and how much was scripted?  And if it was a little bit of both?”

Rob: “Yeah, it was a little bit of both.  I mean the major thing that was improvised which was cut out by a lot, was in the scene in the pub at the end.  I mean that was muddled, it wasn’t written there in the script, but uh, they rented out a pub and we really just got drunk *audience laughs* and they just shot it.  I mean I think that that is extremely rare for a situation like that to happen and I remember Justin Kelly, the producer, I don’t know if he is there right now, but I remember him getting just absolutely terrified the entire time just asking Oliver ‘do you really think this is the way to get the shot, is this even gonna work. Get drunk and just make up whatever?’  Uh, yeah that was a great experience and I don’t think I’ll ever have that again, even though it’s not very difficult to achieve. But, um, {(unclear recording)} just having a director brave enough to let you just kind of muck about and film it and hope.  At least, uh, that was the major thing.  I mean the script is great, the script is all based on, I guess based on a lot of conversations between Mike (Pearce), Johnny (White) and Oliver (Irving) and Joe (Hastings) so, uh, a lot of it seems like kind of improvisation {(unclear recording)}.

MIKE: “I can testify to that Rob, the producer is not in the room.  So we can just say that we made up most of the script.  We just got drunk and just had fun.  So the writing credits should just say, I don’t know what they said, but it should be mine and Rob’s name.”

Rob: “But uh, I hope that when the DVD comes out, I hope they put on all the extras, because that scene there was so much footage shot, there were just hours and hours. That was the best scene in the whole movie.”

Interviewer: “Ok, I’ve got another question.”

Audience question (Hannah): “How hard was it to keep from laughing the whole time?”

Rob: “Um, yeah it was pretty hard, especially in that pub scene, I mean, like literally the entire time.  Mike is a very good improviser, I don’t know that Mike would count it as an improvisation.  It’s just that he is funny.  That was a really, really difficult thing to do.  That’s why it’s not really strange laughing in it, ‘cause I just kept cracking up every single time.  I wasn’t supposed to be funny in it, especially there were two scenes there was one really funny, when Mike’s first entrance and he pulls out lesbiantarianism.  And also what did you say when you were ringing on the doorbell, Mike?”

Mike: “I didn’t actually see the film when they were watching it…”

Rob: “Oh, have you not seen it yet?”

Mike: “Ehhhhhhh”  *Rob laughs*  “They know what we’re talking about.”

Rob: “Uh yeah, that was funny.  There were a lot of things like that.”

Audience question (Candice): “I was just wondering, what is the aspect of your career that you are most proud of thus far?”

Rob: “Um…”

Mike: “Ummmm, sorry Rob I think that was for me.” *crowd laughs* “I’ll let you answer this one though, your career is struggling, so…”

Rob: “Uhh, I don’t know, I don’t know really.  Besides um, I mean everything’s, um, I don’t know, I like… there are little bits and pieces of everything that you are proud of, uhhh…”

Mike: “What about ‘How To Be,’ Rob, I don’t know.”

Rob: “Yeah, a little bit.”

Mike: “Probably the apex, Rob, think about that.”

Rob: “Yeah, I mean I give myself quite a hard time.  I mean, ummm I like uh… ummm, I’m not really being very clear, I’m rambling a little bit, uh, yeah.  I was gonna say I’m not proud of anything but I am proud of some stuff.  I don’t wanna reflect badly on a film, {(unclear recording)}  Uhhh, yeah, no I’m proud of everything, I mean yeah.  I don’t know what to say… Was that, was that a conclusive answer?”

Audience question: “You tend to pick more artsy and interesting roles, what do you look for in a role before you actually commit to a project?”

Rob: “Uh, you know I have very simple procedures for the projects I choose.  Basically, I audition for absolutely everything, *laughs* and I choose just what I get offered.  That’s pretty much it, that’s how I choose my projects.  And whoever I end up playing I’m like ‘cool.’  I mean its just luck.  I mean, I have absolutely never took, I mean I remember after Harry Potter, my agent wanted me to do a lot of nice guy, uh, like smiling parts, like you know the guys who win the little competitions and things, um, but I just didn’t get any of the parts, I ended up just getting weird stuff.  Which was good for me, ‘cause I always kind of wanted to be a weirdo.  But I think yeah, I think my nice guy act just got weirder and weirder over the years, now if I try to play a straight up nice guy, I just look like a psychopath. *audience laughs* {(unclear recording)}.  I mean literally, How To Be, you know, I mean, it was just luck.  I mean, I really, that was one of the only jobs, one of the only scripts that I really, really wanted to do for ages, and I was really surprised I got it.”

Audience: “What’s your favorite movie that you’ve done so far?”

Mike: “Ummm”  *Rob and the audience laugh*

Rob: “Uh, in terms of the final product or in terms of doing the job?”

Interviewer: “In general, they are saying.”

Rob: “Oh in general? Ummm, uhhhhhhhhhhhh…”

Mike: “‘How to Be’ just say ‘How To Be’”

Rob: “’How To Be’ definitely.  Definitely ‘How To Be.’ No, I really like individual bits of everything I have done.  I had a really good time doing How To Be, it was different to everything else, I mean, it was, I really liked coming to work every day, it didn’t really feel like work. So that was, that was good.”

Audience question (Kendall): “I wanted to ask you and Mike what y’all favourite scenes were to film during ‘How To Be?’”

Rob: “Mike, you wanna answer it?”

Mike: “You go first.”

Rob: “Oh, uh, well, I think, um… my favorite scene was the pub scene, I think.  ‘Cause I mean, it was just very fun shooting it, but uh, yeah my favorite scene was the pub scene, definitely.  What was your favourite scene Mike?”

Mike: “That was really the funniest to film, but the funniest to watch is like, you’ve seen it obviously, no, but when I fell over on the skateboard.”

Rob: “That was really, really funny.”

Mike: “Oliver, the director, like tried to give me some directions on how to cry, I couldn’t manage it.  It is outside of the scope of my acting capabilities.  But I knew if I made myself sick, tears came out.  So I went around the corner of the park while they were filming, I put my fingers down my throat and then like a family walked passed, with like little children who just saw me like trying to be sick, and I said like…”

Rob: “Don’t worry, I’m acting!”

Mike: “I’m acting, it’s for a film. They didn’t believe me, they ran away, and um… I did manage it, so, on the set it was funny, but at the moment it was quite, sort of… uncomfortable.”

Rob: “The scene ended up being extraordinarily moving.  I mean, it reminded me a little bit of like the end of Shawshank Redemption…” *audience laughs*

Mike: “Close, as painful, I mean, absolutely.

Audience question (Mallory): “In the movie, one of the characters asks your character, Art, what made them happy essentially.  I would just like a short answer what makes you happy whether you are doing it, or you plan to do it, or you want to do it in the future?”

Rob: “Mike, you go first…”

Mike: “Ehhhhhhhhh, you go first.”

Rob: “Uhhh, what makes me happy, um.  Welllll, uhhhhhhhh, several different things.  I like playing music, I guess, uhhhhhhhhhhhhhh.  *Laughs*  I don’t know really {(unclear recording)}.  I like seeing other people happy, seeing other people happy makes me happy, that’s probably what guarantees me happy.”

Mike: “I’m just gonna do Rob’s and go ‘uhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh, uh I like seeing other people being happy, it makes me happy!”  *Rob and the audience laugh*

Interviewer: “Well, thanks for joining us, Rob.”  *audience says ‘thank you’*

Rob: “Aw, it’s alright.”

Interviewer: “Is traffic moving yet, or are you still stuck?”

Rob: “I’m still jammed, right, I’m on the 405.  Yeah it sucks, very annoying.”

Interviewer: “So we could call back in a couple of hours if we think of some more questions?”

Rob: “Haha, definitely, yeah.  My radio is broken actually, so you are actually kind of keeping me entertained.  Actually for my benefit I called up my manager to say ‘listen, I want to talk to you guys wherever you are, I’m not even sure where it is.’

Interviewer: “We’re in New Orleans!”

Rob: “Oh New Orleans, OH NEW ORLEANS?!?  Why didn’t I go to it?  I wanted to go to it!!  *Audience SCREAM* I am so annoyed.  Aw man, I really wanted to go.  I’m actually really glad I’m not in the driving seat.” (assuming this comment was due to the screaming)

Interviewer: “Ok, well, we will let you get back to your driving and uh, we are going to go have some good times I think. Thanks for joining us everybody.  All of you can go out into the lobby and hang out with this guy (Mike).”

*Audience says goodbye and start chatting*

Rob: “Wait.  Mike.  Come to LA.  I’m really bored.”

Thanks to Kim and Krista for the pictures and transcript.  Transcript content edited by Sanguina.