Extended interview from ShortList.com

http://www.shortlist.com/movies/article/extended-gerard-butler-interview

Extended Gerard Butler interview

ShortList is waiting quietly in a lounge in London’s farcically plush Dorchester hotel, writes Tom Cullen. A ticking clock provides the only noise. Through the open door we can see staff busying themselves in preparation for the grand departure of visiting dignitary King Hamad ibn `Isa Al Khalifah of Bahrain. We’re not interested in that. We’re awaiting the arrival of King Leonidas of Sparta. We’re awaiting Gerard Butler.

The Scottish thesp and former lawyer is hot property in Hollywoodland right now, commanding up to £10 million a flick. Having shot to fame in historical epic 300 (in which he played Leonidas and trained 6 hours a day to reach nigh-on physical perfection) he went on to land the lead in Guy Richie’s RocknRolla. Chances are your beloved has dropped a subtle hint about The Ugly Truth, the latest Rom-Com to tickle female funny bones at cinemas across the country. He’s in that too.

Gamer, his latest offering, isn’t a Rom-Com. No sir. Set in the near-future, mind-control technology has taken society by storm and a multiplayer online game has emerged allowing players to control human death row prisoners in mass-scale deathmatches. If an inmate lives through 30 matches then he wins his freedom.

Finally, Butler enters the room and a hotel maid makes herself scarce. He takes one look at the fleeting woman and one at us. “We’re you just...” He looks aghast pointing at us, then at the door, then back at us. “We you just... f*cking the maid?” It’s no longer peaceful. Butler bursts into laughter and slaps a giant Glaswegian handshake on us. This is going to be a good interview...

Sorry I’m not dressed so casual. The ShortLister who was meant to interview you has got swine flu so I’m a last minute replacement.

You are kidding! So you might have it? And you’re here, giving it to me? That’s crazy isn’t it? How paranoid we’ve all got? A friend of mine was telling me her two kids have it, and I’m like, nodding and sympathising and making sure they’re okay, but inside I’m like “You’re giving it to me!”

The Gamers storyline is pretty similar to Running Man

I haven’t seen Running Man. Can you believe that? But if the storyline is similar then so be it, there’s only so many stories you can tell without treading on toes. Whether it is a Rom-Com or a horror, action or thriller – every story is basically a repeat of one of the four basic stories of humanity. But you only have to watch Gamers for two seconds to realise you’ve never seen anything like it before. I mean It’s from start to finish mind-blowing sh*t. And the filmmakers are so innovative. They are literally in the middle of explosions when they roll cameras.

Could TV and gaming end up with something like what's depicted in Gamer?

Who knows? It seems things come around in cycles and we had gladiators before and sometimes people say when there’s a breakdown in society then if you watch the models of the fall of empires it goes towards self indulgence and the glorification of violence. And there’s no doubt that war in itself has become something of a videogame. It makes great ratings on TV – even get hooked into watching what is going on in real battles. It’s something that’s in our blood and it’s the responsibility of society to say whether you should want to tempt that from people or block it from them. But, who knows?

Were there any injuries?

Yeah, me included. [Butler rolls up his t-shirt to reveal a four-pronged scar on his lower back] I had to hang upside down from this truck and I put my whole body weight on this jagged piece of metal and it gauged my skin out.

Can you charge more for that?

You just don’t man! In my film career, I’ve got to tell you, there’s many times in which I could have sued and made a lot of money. But you don’t want to become known in Hollywood as that guy that sues.

So it’s not in the contract that you can’t sue for injury?

You know what, I don’t know. There’s probably a stipulation on negligence, and there’s been many cases of negligence in films – not in Gamer I add. But in Gamer there were times when you’re hit by flying debris because we’d have, sometimes, 100 explosions a day.

Was there much military training for the film?

More than anything it was about how to move with a gun, with the perfection and precision of a well trained soldier or SWAT teamer. The way they walk, the balance, how they don’t bounce, the way they turn the corners.

It must have been great fun?

Eventually. When I started firing guns it felt like I was climbing a mountain. It was hard to get the movement right. But then, at times you’re running around with glochs, AKs, submachine guns, flame throwers, rocket launchers, and now that I know I can do it, well [he pauses and shakes his head with a smile] it’s f*cking fun, man. It’s the ultimate in boys with toys.

Swap lives?

Not just yet. But there is a level of guilt. Not because you don’t know what you’re doing with the gun – you do – but because you think sometimes that much as it’s fun to do a movie that’s kickass, it’s also a comment, in an underhanded way, about the dangers of gaming, the dangers of entertainment. How close we can feel to war and the real thing. When you’re doing that as an actor you do feel some responsibility.

Are you saying there is a link between gaming and movies, and the way violence progresses in society?

There must be some. Everything has an effect of osmosis, or rubbing off on you or informing you in some way. And I don’t doubt that watching excessive amount of violence, then yeah, it must have some effect. What I like about this movie is that you see it in the context of videogames. And it manages on the one hand, if we’re being honest and frank, to make videogames look a hell of a lot of fun, but on the other hand it’s also saying be careful not to let it go too far.

True or false, you were in Bond movie Tomorrow Never Dies?

Oh man, I forgot about that. That’s true. I had one line in it and they took it off me. It was like “torpedoes are bearing 11 knots” or something. The director couldn’t understand what I was saying because of my accent, and they gave it to a really effeminate chap. He was a good bloke, but he delivered the line like it was a piece of gossip. I was gutted.

Could you picture yourself as James Bond?

No.

Why?

Because I enjoy doing an array of films. If I was to play Bond that would quickly stop. How likely would I be accepted doing those roles after having played Bond? People outside the world of movies think “how amazing it must be to play 007” but as an actor you think “well, I don’t know because, from then on...”

You’re Bond

Exactly. [Butler gets to his feet and paces the room with enthusiasm] It’s like Christopher Plummer in the Sound of Music. Great actor, but he will forever be remembered as that guy from The Sound of Music. But, think about it, it would be far worse. You do a lot of movies as Bond and you’d become even more synonymous with the role. I think Daniel Craig is a great Bond and good for him, but I would much rather create a role from nothing. I feel blessed to have done 300 because I think it will go down as a seminal movie and a classic. And it came out of nowhere.

Speaking of 300, do you get people shouting ‘This is Sparta’ at you?

All the time.

Annoying?

It would get to me if people did it in the knowledge that it has been done before, but they’re not. It seems like an instinctive reaction so you try to be forgiving. But what is cool is when people do it and they don’t know you’re nearby.

There was a lot of shouting in 300. Did you mess your voice up?

Don’t think so. I’ve screamed a lot in my life. But maybe there was – perhaps if I tried to go back and do Phantom of the Opera again, perhaps I couldn’t hit the notes.

What was the funniest moment on the set of Gamer?

[Butler is chuckling] This is going to show my maturity now, I wrote to the two directors separately. I wrote that me and the stunt guys are having a blast and sent them half a dozen donuts each as a thank you. They were so chuffed. The next day we got six fresh donuts and shoved them between our ass cheeks... and took a Polaroid. [Butler is in fits] We sent this snap to the directors and sure enough, they thought they’d been eating the very same sugary treats. They freaked out, man.

That’s pretty sick.

I told you it was going to show my maturity. It was my birthday that day, and in the evening about ten of the cast also dropped trousers to reveal Happy Birthday Gerry written across their cheeks. Come to think of it, there was a little too much ass in the making of this film.

When’s the next RocknRolla movie?

There’s another film where I showed my ass. I’m hardly following the same career path trajectory as George Clooney, right? Umm... RocknRolla. Okay, no, no word. I believe Guy’s written the second, I don’t know about the third. And I’ve heard nothing.

What’s been you favourite death scene in any film you’ve been in?

I’m going to go with the final death in my long slaughter march in 300. That’s actually my favourite moment in any movie I’ve been in, full stop. It’s so well shot and it’s the most proud I’ve been of my body. But there’s this moment, at the end, when I knock this guy over with my shield – he’s coming at me with some momentum but this just sends him flying. Then there’s this slow motion moment as I walk up to him. Then, it speeds up as I [Butler stands again and holds an imaginary sword] boom! Force it right down into his stomach. There’s not many moments in film that I congratulate myself but when I watched that I thought ‘yeah you bastard, that’s awesome!’

How does your fitness now compare to 300

I’m 1/50th as in shape and about 1/3 of the size.

What tips do you have for getting fit?

You need to be doing a huge amount of cardio with supersets, allowing for short but intense training sessions, ideally with someone else so there’s an element of competition. And you eat six times a day, in small amounts. That allows your metabolism to become more efficient.

Can you understand where Christian Bale’s aggression came from on the set of Terminator Salvation?

Absolutely. [Butler’s on his feet again] I’ve lost my temper on sets – never really screamed for a whole crew to hear, I try to keep it a little more private – but there’s times on set when it’s such a passionate business. There’s still things from 8 years ago, ideas I wasn’t given or something that didn’t go my way and I believed wholeheartedly in and once it’s gone it’s gone and that would eat me up. I couldn’t sleep for days.

Sounds like you have some regrets?

Well, not really. They were annoyances. I’m fortunate in that I’ve never said ‘no’ to a project and watch it become incredible and I’ve never lost a project and watch it go the same way. I almost did Poseidon adventure and that didn’t work out. I got 300 straight after.

Great trade.

And I wanted to do Crank. I loved the script and I had a joke with Jason Statham [the eventual star] and he’d say “you give me 300 and I’ll give you Crank.” I said “No I want them both.” And I got to do Gamer [by Crank directors Mark Neveldine and Brian Taylor] which despite loving Crank is more my kind of movie.

Honestly now, why do actors and actresses always end up together? Is it a PR thing?

There’s no hard and fast rule. There are some bondings and relationships that look very politically correct – and they just look right and that’s what motivates them. I think sometimes that helps buffet each other’s careers, but for others it’s absolutely genuine. Honestly, the pressures and the weirdness when you get to a certain level of acting can’t be understood by anyone other than those that have been there. More than that, I think that when you act with someone it’s an extremely bonding experience. You open yourself up so much. You experiment so much. You handover so much of your emotion to whoever you’re opposite that it pulls you together. You establish a closeness. It’s completely understandable that people completely fall in love on a film set, they can be incredibly intense places.

You were a trained lawyer. Did you spend much time in a court room?

More time on the wrong side, than the right.

Why?

Drunkenness. Breach of the peace. This is Glasgow we’re talking about. Nothing serious, just silly mistakes.

Before we go, we’ve got to ask; you had problems with drink and are now teetotal. Do you miss drinking?

No. It’s been years now and it’s like it never happened. Like, I can’t remember drinking. When I stopped I would look at a beer and think how great it would be. I’d get this pang in my stomach to go back out and have fun, but then I’d remember that I used up that right ­- that I did a full life worth of drinking between 14 and 27. That I’d done enough drinking for half a dozen people. And now I have no connection with it. I don’t feel anything when I look at it. I’m not afraid of it and I don’t celebrate it. There’s times when I miss the feeling of being out and feeling more care free and crazy, but I worry about those that can’t have fun without a drink. That’s prolific in society – have you noticed? People who don’t have a drinking problem per se, but don’t feel comfortable without one. What happens when you stop drinking is you go through that and it comes back to the way you were before you ever had a drink. Remember how you were when you were 12? You went to a party and acted yourself. That may have been crazy, it may have been quiet, but it was you being you, without the need for assistance. And that’s what happened to me. I’m just as boisterous as anyone else who goes out, but I’m more in control. I don’t wake up having forgotten what I did the night before...

You get your backside out a lot for a man that doesn’t drink.

Hahaha. I can’t blame the coca-colas for that. That’s the only down side.

Here's another take on the doughnut story. This one's funny:

http://www.girlsladies.com/uncategorized/gerard-butler-sticks-donuts-up-his-butt/

Gerard Butler Sticks Donuts Up His Butt

things you never think you’ll hear yourself say…or type. Whatever. Point is, Gerard Butler decided to play a prank on the directors of his new movie Gamer by sending them half a dozen donuts, then by sending them a picture of himself with a different bunch of donuts between his ass cheeks.

He explained: “I wrote to the two directors on ‘Gamer’ separately. I wrote that me and the stunt guys are having a blast and sent them half a dozen doughnuts each as a thank you. They were so chuffed.

The next day we got six fresh doughnuts and shoved them between our a*s cheeks… and took a Polaroid. We sent this snap to the directors and sure enough, they thought they’d been eating the very same sugary treats. They were freaked out man.” (Source)

Yup, donuts. Up his butt. I gotta admit, the idea of holding a doughnut between your butt cheek sounds uncomfortable. For reals, they’d be all greasy and doughy and you’d probably end up with glaze all over your tuchus. All I’m saying is, out of all the things you could put in your butt, donuts are probably not the best idea.

I found it hilarious...then again, I'm pretty childish myself with the humor.

How come every funny thing Gerry does involves his ass in some way?

I'm tired and it's getting old.

Remind me not to work with G man.

I've heard of jokes like that...

I would imagine his crack was pretty sticky after pulling that stunt.

DonnaKat wrote:

I would imagine his crack was pretty sticky after pulling that stunt.

Sticky buns has a different meaning

I hadn't thought of that, but you're probably right.

I shall never be able to eat a doughnut, sticky bun, or monkey bread again without immediately thinking of Senor Gerry "Gooey Buns" Butler.

Good way to go on a diet...let G-man gross out me out with all the goodies in the world

But he BEST not mess with chocolate!!!! OHHHHH, NOOO! You don't come between a woman and her chocolate.

That's means for fightin'!

I know, it's ridiculous.

I just posted this on IMDB:

Quote :

Come on, lighten up people. He isn't as if he's drowning kittens or punching puppies. He's putting donuts in his butt. Other than some sticky buns, what's the harm in it?

I can't believe I just posted that. Never in all my born days would I think I'd say something like "He's only putting donuts in his butt, people".

Gerry has reduced me to defending him sticking sugary sweets up his ass. What has my life been reduced to.....

Did someone collect those donuts? How much would fans pay for them?

Not only would some fans pay for them, some of them might sniff them too.

awww...crap...I don't know what's worse...the thought of G's antics or the thought of what the fans would do if they could get their hands on leftovers.