Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson had a smooth change of pace with the 2007 family-friendly comedy ‘The Game Plan’. With the movie having premiered on Star Movies, it is time for some golden words from the man himself. Enjoy this tête-à-tête with The Rock.
Q: Is ‘Southland Tales’ anything like you imagined when you made it?
Dwayne Johnson (DJ): Nothing like I imagined, and much better than the cut we showed at the Cannes Film Festival. Yes, we shot all of that about a month or so after we wrapped ‘The Game Plan’. It was an attempt to synergise the movie with those shows and with the Disney Channel. It was a very big collaborative effort, which was great. That’s the way Disney is. Therein lies the power of that brand, and Disney.
Q: Can you talk about the general appeal of this character?
DJ: From the get go, I thought, ‘Wow, what a great character to play, and from scratch.’ It’s great when you can create a character like this, from scratch, and be collaborative with the director and everybody on board. For me, personally, I love comedy and I love self-deprecating comedy. Physical comedy is great, dark comedy is great, but self-deprecating comedy, for me, always takes the cake, so to speak. It’s great, when you just have the ability to laugh at yourself. I think we all should. There are different moments. For me, putting on the ballet outfit to the bubble bath, and you name it, is funny. That appealed to me. And, selfishly, for me, being a proud daddy – I’ve got a little six-year-old girl at home, who challenges me every day, just like Madison challenged me in the movie – I wanted to make a movie that she could come and see. Of course, the goal is to make a big family comedy, a big broad comedy, but for me, personally, selfishly, I had the opportunity to take her to go see a Disney movie (I’m in), and play a character like this. There were a lot of elements that fell in place that made it very, very comfortable for me to make that.
Q: Did you take anything from your wrestling experience for this?
DJ: I’m just naturally like that. I’m just very naturally arrogant, basically. (Laughs) All the photos in the movie are from my house. As a matter of fact, I have them all up on my ceiling. When I wake up, I like to look at myself.
Q: How was it to look at that huge wall-size photo, every day?
DJ: That was great. Let me tell you something, that’s wonderful for the ego. Every day, to
come to the set and see a huge picture of yourself that covers the entire wall, it’s absurd, but you’ve got to love it. Now, I believe it’s in Andy’s (Andy Fickman, director of ‘The Game Plan’) room.
Q: Can you talk about your, and your character’s, Elvis obsession?
DJ: I love Elvis. The moment I sat down with Andy, I said, ‘Andy, do you love Elvis?’ He said: ‘Absolutely!’ And, we went for it. It was another fun way of adding a layer to the character that might be interesting. Again, self-deprecating comedy is great. I love the fact that he was singing to her, in a very sweet and tender moment, and she says: ‘I think you sound like a wounded moose.’ I love that type of comedy, and how the joke falls back on me. For an actor to sing in a movie, and play the guitar, it’s really not funnyYou’re like, ‘Oh, he can sing and play guitar’ But, the joke makes it funny, when it falls back on him
Q: Do you have a favourite Elvis song?
DJ: 'Are You Lonesome Tonight' is my favourite and 'Love Letters' as well
Q: Do you like the live version of 'Are You Lonesome Tonight'?
DJ: I love the live versionThere's many live versions - there’s this one where he laughs, and he can’t stop laughing
