It’s never difficult to sit down with two beautiful women to discuss anything. And it’s especially easy when both are really friendly and outgoing. Sometimes you sit down with someone and twenty minutes feels like twenty hours, thankfully these two had a lot to say and were willing to dish the dirt on making Turistas, which opens this Friday.

Turistas is about a vacation that sort of goes wrong. And when I say wrong, I mean there is a lot of spilled blood.

What I really enjoyed was Turistas was filmed entirely in Brazil. Often when you are watching a movie you know the lake scene was the Universal backlot, or the jungle was Stage 5. Thankfully this was not the case here. While the film shows the bad that can happen on a vacation, I would go to Brazil in a second. Especially after hearing Olivia Wilde and Beau Garrett discuss the nightlife.

The roundtable was pretty lively, with many subjects covered. Obviously all the usual stuff got mentioned, but there was big one surprise - Beau Garrett actually talked about Fantastic Four 2

With all the comic-book movies the one thing that is constant is that no one talks about anything until the movie is out in theaters. But Beau Garrett actually told us about her character “Frankie Raye is a military brat, who works under General Hager, who is played by Andre Braugher; and they come in to collaborate with the Fantastic Four to help stop these occurrences that are keeping, or putting the world at stake. So she’s a very thick skinned character who grew up in the military; he’s kind of a father figure for her, and she has this love interest with Johnny Storm. She’s a cool character, she’s human underneath all the exterior; she’s got a good side that really comes out in the film.”

She says a little more on FF2, but that is why I have the interview below.

This interview was done about a week ago and with about six or seven people in the room. If you want to listen to the interview you can click here to download the audio, otherwise the full transcript is below.

Also, if you missed my interview with John Stockwell, the director of Turistas, then click here.

How did you get approached for this film?

Olivia Wilde: Oh gosh, all I know is that it was quite the audition process; it’s not like they just offered it to us and said, ‘What do you think?’ We both worked really hard to get these roles, and I’m glad that we did because the casting was such an important part of the way this movie panned out because the dynamic between the characters ended up being just perfect. We had a mix and match, where all different actors try out being the team, and they see who does it.

Beau Garrett: That was an experience as well.

Olivia Wilde: And Beau and Josh and I were together for the first time and the scene we did just clicked and they said that it was that moment that they said they knew who it was going to be. And I was so thrilled that they were going to let me do Bea because I just really felt from the second I started the script – the original script had this ‘warning to all visitors’ at the beginning that said there was a warning because of some recent violence towards tourists because of kidnapping and suspicion of organ harvesting by Americans. Once I read that, I knew what kind of movie I was about to read, and I was already really hooked into it and I closed the script, and said, ‘I need to play her and I need to do it, and I’m going to work so hard to do it.’ And I was so thrilled and said ‘yes’ right away.

Were there any bikini tests involved?

Olivia Wilde: No, are you kidding? That would have turned me off.

Beau Garrett: No bikini tests.

Olivia Wilde: I’m sure they were trying to figure out.

Beau Garrett: I worked with John Stockwell before, this is my second time – yeah, yeah, so working with him again I was excited about and the casting process was as she (Olivia) said. When I found out it was Brazil, one; two, roughing it. I love to be submerged in that, knowing that was my first film, and it being with John was kind of like my buffer of ‘help me’ if I needed it because I didn’t know what I was doing half the time. It’s really nice to have him there to support you, and it was such a good film, and such a bond we all had.

So he brought you in?

Beau Garrett: Yeah; I auditioned for it as well, but I had worked with him before. And he told me, ‘I’m doing this script and I think you’d be great for this role. Would you be interested?’ I was like, ‘Of course.’ And then, of course, the auditioning process.

Olivia Wilde: I’m so glad the other Amy’s didn’t get it.

Beau Garrett: We just had this bond, and I think everyone just resonated because we kept coming back in together, they kept bringing us back in. It wasn’t this awkward going back to the room full of people – ‘We just wanted to be good together, but no worries, everyone’s good.’ It’s such a weird thing, but I’m so glad, we had such a great time.

What about the bug bites and injuries? Who got what?

Olivia Wilde: Well, I had a bruise the size of Texas on my butt, but that was it.

Landing on a rock?

Beau Garrett: Crawling out of a bus when it was going down; and that was the only major injury I got was that. And I actually was good, I didn’t get the – the women didn’t get the mosquito bites as much as the men. Desmond and Ken, one of the producers there, I swear to you, cankles, I swear.

Olivia Wilde: We called it ‘elephant legs’ because –

It swelled?

Olivia Wilde: Yeah, huge really bad mosquito bites; we were working in this waterfall that just happened to be the breeding ground for the giant, Brazilian mosquitoes. That was really, really terrible for some people, and we were thrown in there 100% DEET right away; we started with the nice eco-friendly, and slowly went towards the chemical.

Beau Garrett: Just bring it on.

Olivia Wilde: But it was definitely heroine for all different reasons; the bugs, the sickness that came from being open and trying the different food. We were really great about that; no one was too afraid. We wanted to experience it, and I really felt like they welcomed us and encouraged us to try their food and try their drinks – and we did.

Beau Garrett: Yeah, we did.

Olivia Wilde: We were definitely the locals in that way.

Beau Garrett: Some people got sick, but it was great and it was worth it.

Olivia Wilde: It was definitely an experience; we called it an episode of Survivor. It was like ‘who was going down next?’

Beau Garrett: And who was going to get the Turistas, that’s what we called it.

Both girls together: The Turistas.

Olivia Wilde: Which a lot of people call it that; I hope people don’t make the connection when they see it in theaters.

Beau Garrett: What a really weird film.

Beau, did you have any reservations about your characters overtly sexual nature?

Beau Garrett: No, she’s sheltered; she comes from a small town, but I think the dynamic between her and Bea. I think Bea is this more conservative and insecure character, and Amy is like ‘Common, let’s go do this.’ And I love that about her; she’s free, she wants to travel and see Brazil and all its glory. And Josh is kind of like the big brother, and she just likes to flirt with him like, ‘Common, let’s do this.’ And I love that about her, that freedom. And it’s not about sexuality, it’s about ‘who cares;’ stop, do you see what they’re wearing – it’s everywhere, just because I do this doesn’t mean anything. She just is free, just a go-with-the-wind.

Are you that confident and self-assured?

Beau Garrett: I’m slightly that; I don’t take my top off at every given moment, but I do have a sense of – I grew up in a very free-spirited community and very self confident in the ways of the way I am as a person; I think that resonates in the character as well.

Did this make you scared to take vacations after reading the script or doing the movie?

Olivia Wilde: No, I think these people we play in the movie exemplify, or represent rather, the tourists in the world – it doesn’t matter if they’re American – from all over, usually from first-world countries who take for granted the treatment they will receive, the safety, the language. People often wonder, ‘Why don’t everyone speak English?’ And that is a ridiculous kind of barrier that keeps the third-world away from the first-world, and people absorbing cultures when they go and visit. And I think these characters are representing that kind of person which many of us are, and many of us have been – a lot of people who see the movie might recognize that in themselves, and think, ‘Hmm, I’ve never read up on a country’s political climate before I’ve gone to visit it.’ People just think, ‘Let’s go to Thailand, it’ll be fun; we’ll go to Thailand and we’ll go camping.’ And is there something going on with Thailand, and I am arriving as an American – does that send a message? Especially in this day and age when being an American means something very, very serious. And you go traveling, and you want to be open and be aware so that you can be ready for any kind of interaction and understand who you represent and who you are. The world is getting smaller and smaller as we have the resources to go anywhere we want, and it’s just an important thing to think about. So I hope people realize that when they go and see the film, and they don’t just go traipsing off to Madagascar and want to drink beer and scream and wonder why no one’s speaking English, and they have no idea of our – it’s just an important thing, and I hope that people get that. So no, not afraid to travel; if anything, it makes me more eager to travel because it’s a great time.

Beau Garrett: Yeah, it’s an incredible time, and this film isn’t about scaring people away from traveling, or seeing places like Brazil. Brazil is an incredible country and embraced us; I never felt alien at all in that country, and it’s about being aware. It’s about researching, and I think we should travel more; I think we should – it should be mandatory that we should travel for a year in our youth, and it should be something we do. It’s the best knowledge you can be given, and so if anything – I do want to go to Thailand, actually, that’s my next trip. Funny, you took that from earlier. But yeah, travel – you can’t learn that from school.

continued on the next page --------------------->

Page 2 >>>