Written by Charlie Mihelich

Click here to read part 1 of our visit to "The Brothers Bloom" editing bay

After being shown some footage from the film, I got a chance to talk with writer/director Rian Johnson about “The Brothers Bloom”, and we even got to talk a little about “Brick”.

When I told him how much I enjoyed “Brick”, he told me that it’s surreal to him that people know the film.  “That film was such a small production, and was made in my hometown where I was surrounded by friends and family, that it’s so weird to me when I meet someone I don’t know personally who has seen the film.  It’s really cool.”  He told me that working with Joseph Gordon-Levitt was an awesome experience, and he would love to work with him again in the future.

I asked him if, after the gritty “Brick”, “The Brother’s Bloom” was the movie he envisioned making (a PG-13 comedy) when he wrote the screenplay, and he responded, “The script was R...the thing that kind of pushed it over the edge for me was I took it down to Orange County and showed it to a group of my mom’s friends and their kids, and I expected older audiences to be more into it, but I realized that younger audiences were really into it, so it was kind of a no-brainer for me.  We didn’t have to do anything too painful, we cut out a couple of ‘fucks’ and that was it.  The MPAA still allowed us two ‘fucks’ and gave us a PG-13, so I think we’re ok.”

I asked how his stars got involved with the project, and he said “Rachel is the first one we cast, and God bless her, because it’s always tough to get the first person to jump in the pool, and to her credit she came on board before anyone else had been cast, and that really made out journey a lot easier.  After that I cast Mark, and then Adrian.  Honestly, the casting process is just horrible, especially when you’re making an independent film...it’s all about foreign presales, so it’s all about this list of values that these actors have on this horrible piece of paper, and you have to constantly be kind of bouncing against that while trying to get the right person in the role, and everyone in town is trying to get the same twenty people, so you really have to work hard to find the joy in the process, but once you find the right person, the joy is there.”

I asked if they had to be extremely careful with the Lamborghini they got to use for the film. He said “You know, they let us smash one up.  It was incredible.  I think the stunt guys went in to it with a little too much relish. They were jumping up and down on the hood and hitting it with hammers.  The Lambo guys had allthis extra paneling so it worked out great.  I actually got to ride in one.  I didn’t get to drive it because I probably would have crashed it...I have never felt anything like it in my life.  I didn’t anticipate it because the stunt driver found this little stretch of road and he gunned it...I’ve never been racing before, I don’t know if you have, but it didn’t feel like a car to me.  It felt like a rocket ship.  I involuntarily screamed this girly scream.  Actually it was girlier than any girl would scream.”

I asked him how he wants audiences to respond to the movie and he said, “I think of it as like the first time I saw ‘The Sting’, I was about 13 and remembering the impact it had on me, it’s worth it to have the movie be accessible to a wider audience.”  We also talked about his October 24^th release date, and he said “Well we’re up against ‘Saw V’ and “High School Musical 3,” and there’s always a lot of stuff that comes out in October, but hopefully it finds its place.”

Finally, he talked about the possibility of directing a film he didn’t write.  “You know, I guess anything is possible, but right now, I’d say no.  It lets me know exactly how I envision a movie to turn out, and it’s something I really like doing.  I’m hopefully going to start writing again soon after this film is finished.”

Again, “The Brothers Bloom” will be out October 24^th, and I think it’s going to be something special in a glut of gimme movies.