It's a time that comes in every young movies' life, the age-old right of passage where a film divulges a number of its secrets. I'm talking about an embargo lift of course and today, that process is currently unfolding for 20th Century Fox's The Wolverine which is directed by James Mangold and stars Hugh Jackman. Below, we have a few choice quotes from Jackman as he spoke with a number of online journalists on set-visit day.
On playing Wolverine, the fan love for his character and his personal level of satisfaction with his portrayal of the character:
JACKMAN: Well, first of all, you always look at the pedigree of anything and the character itself in the comic book series is incredibly popular, so I could never take sole credit for any of that. I’m really pleased the fans have similarly embraced me in the part because I love playing the part. I never thought my run would last this long. To be a guy who can’t age, obviously there is a shelf life for playing this role, so I love it. I’ve always found it fascinating and slightly, I’ll admit, frustrating that I feel we’ve never really delivered what I would say is the core of the character. And I think in this story, you get to see the ultimate Wolverine. You get to see who he really is. You definitely see him at his most vulnerable, both physically and emotionally. As we were saying before, we had the preparation time so we were really in great shape, and I may be going off the question a little bit, I’m sorry, I feel really blessed in a way to have had the opportunity. I know a lot of the Wolverine fans. I’ve met many of them. They’ve told me exactly what they think of the movie, every scene, whatever. Lucky for me so far, there hasn’t been major disappointment because I’m pretty sure I’d get spat on in the street. That’s the level of passion involved. So I’m happy.
Wolverine is a character that's known to have a comedic side to him when he's not delivering rage induced berserker beat-downs. Will that side of the character be present in Mangold's more serious take on the character?
JACKMAN: Yeah, I would say the film’s got a generally darker overtone to it. Also, as I said, you see him at a much lower eb. Jim and I were very adamant that any one-liners overcome the expense of what is really going for him in a realistic sense, usually that’s what happens a lot. The ones who are more deeply, internally in pain, can on the surface be more sardonic, can quip and make one-liners. The trick is really getting that line right, where all of a sudden it doesn’t become just hammy. So we constantly ad lib. I find myself ad-libbing a lot and probably 90% of them end up on the cutting room floor. I remember X-Men 1 most of the funny lines were ad-libbed. Sometimes they work.
What role does martial arts play in The Wolverine? Does he become a samurai?
JACKMAN: That’s a great question because no one is simplistically just saying he becomes a martial artist or he becomes a samurai. What happens is Wolverine is a warrior by nature. His weapons, his strength is not pretty. It’s not formed so much, it’s more instinctive, a little more brutal. I think I’ve told you guys before I used to watch a lot of Mike Tyson videos, that’s what I’ve tried to model Wolverine on. What happens in this story, which follows on from the comic book arc, is actually he realizes that doesn’t always work for him and sometimes a more efficient, more disciplined approach of a samurai is more effective. He learns his lesson in a painful way and he adapts. That’s one good thing about Wolverine, he adapts. I’m not going to say he’s going to finish a triple black belt, but you do see him adjust, so I’ve been learning a lot for this, which is great.
JACKMAN: I don’t know if all you guys know the original comic book series. It’s not just one. There are reasons we’ve had to change it, which I don’t want to give away. There’s definitely a lot of similarities. More similarities than differences. But for the purpose of story in the film and not a more rambling arc that goes on, it has been changed. The fans will definitely be excited by it. They will definitely see more similarities than not. In terms of refining the script, I think one of the keys to me in signing on to this movie was that we had a very strong idea and we had a strong approach to the story. That we really went from something new and different, and the moment the studio agreed to call it The Wolverine, I was just thrilled, rather than saying Wolverine 2. This is a standalone movie. This is set in a different time. It’s fairly after X-Men Origins, we’re in a different location with Jim Mangold, who’s a terrific director, we have a visual style that is different from all the other X-Men movies. I think it’s going to feel very fresh. What Chris McQuarrie did with it, which I don’t know if many of you know, was also involved with X-Men 1, not credited in the end, he had very strong ideas and a lot of that is there. Things were refined, but that’s because of time. It’s so hard. I want to give you more details. I’m sure you’d let me give you more details, but I see five people hovering, pretending it’s lunch, but it’s not really. [Laughs].
"Spinning out of the events of X-Men: The Last Stand, Logan (Hugh Jackman) travels to Japan where he falls for the beautiful Mariko Yashida (Tao Okamoto) to the grave displeasure of her father Yashida (Hal Yamanouchi) and her half-brother, the fearsome Silver Samurai (Will Yun Lee). But this isn't Logan's first trip to the Land of the Rising Sun or his first encounter with the Yashida clan. Based on a screenplay by Christopher McQuarrie (The Usual Suspects, Valkyrie) and Mark Bomback (Live Free or Die Hard, Total Recall )and the comic book by Frank Miller and Chris Claremont."
Running Time: In post-production
Release Date: July 26, 2013
MPAA Rating: This Film Has Not Yet Been Rated
Starring: Hugh Jackman, Brian Tee, Will Yun Lee, Hiroyuki Sanada, Rila Fukushima, Tao Okamoto
Directed by: James Mangold
Written by: Mark Bomback (screenplay) Christopher McQuarrie (screenplay) Frank Miller (comic book) Chris Claremont (comic book)
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