FILM INTERVIEW: SALMA HAYEK, JOHN C. REILLY & CHRIS MASSOGLIA

Stars of 'The Vampires Assistant' Talk Kisses, Beards, Frights & Bites

By: Emmanuel Itier

October 20, 2009

Emmanuel Itier: John, had you been familiar with these books prior to being cast in this role? And how cool was it to play the head vampire?

John C. Reilly: I was not familiar with the books before I was offered the movie, but it was great. This whole vampire tidal wave that’s happened lately wasn’t quite cresting at the time we made the movie. The first Twilight movie hadn’t come out or anything. My favorite vampire movie was Shadow of a Vampire. I thought that was really great. And we were lucky enough to have Willem Dafoe in the movie. I became aware of the books through the script, and then eventually read all of them. I was always the one on the set going, “But the books say…” I came to really enjoy them.

EI: Can you talk about your involvement with the launch of Cirque du Soleil creator Guy Laliberte’s Expedition 21 to help the global water crisis?

Salma Hayek: It’s really rude for me to talk about other projects, but I’ll tell you that he’s trying to raise awareness of the problems with water, and I was lucky enough to read part of a poem for that.

EI: This movie ends in such a way that is very open for a sequel. Have they already talked to you about doing more films?

JCR: We’ve been filming now for about three months. We’re almost done. It’s a big gamble on Universal’s part. No… If the movie does well, I’d assume there will be another one.

Chris Massoglia: I’m signed on for some more projects, and I’d love to do more. What I’ve heard is that, if the fans really come out and support the movie, then everybody is really interested in making another one.

SH: We did sign a contract. We don’t know if it’s going to happen or not, but they made sure that we cannot just escape that easily, if it does well. I think it’s going to do really well, and I think it’s going to surprise many people.

EI: Salma, what tips can you give for growing and maintaining a beard?

SH: I think it’s very important to steam so that you get the root of the hair. It’s important not to drink a lot the night before you shave so your hands don’t shake and you don’t cut yourself. And, at some point, it’s important to just let it grow and accept yourself with all the hair you have.

EI: How did you like the fabulous red dress you wear during the Cirque du Freak performance?

SH: There were some amazing costumes in the film. They did a fantastic job. It was a really challenging movie for them. What I liked most was that [the costume designer] really worked with you. We were all very picky about the character. It wasn’t just, “Oh, I want to look cool.” We were all very intense about really creating a character. I know John was. You have to be. So rarely do you get a character that you can create something big and theatrical, that has a look and a world of its own. It was really exciting to work on.

EI: Salma, do you currently have any projects that you are looking to produce with your company?

SH: Yes, I have some plans. We are developing some movies and some television shows with my company. I was actually just talking to John about a project where he might be playing a Mexican soap star, and Diego Luna will be his manager. We’ve been talking about that project since we were shooting this film, and I think I’m going to have to write a part for Chris because I am convinced that he’s going to be a huge star because he’s very, very talented, and I think I can get him very cheap right now.

EI: Do you want to direct at all?

SH: I do want to direct, but not for a while because I have a baby now.

EI: Salma, your character in the film can see the future. Do you have any powers of prophecy?

SH: Do you know a woman that doesn’t have that power a little bit? But I don’t have them any more than the average.

EI: What has come true for you?

SH: I’m not going to tell you that. Do you really think, if I had some kind of mental powers, I’d be talking about them at a press conference?

EI: Salma, being married to a French man, what have you discovered about the French culture that you were most surprised about?

SH: Eating oysters for Christmas. I’m used to turkey.

EI: Was it weird for you to see yourself with the beard, or are you just used to it?

SH: I’m not totally used to seeing myself with a beard.

JCR: You look good with a beard, though.

SH: John made me feel really good about it. He’d say, “Oh, my God, you look so hot with a beard,” and I’d be like, “Really?” It was like when I was a whale and swollen from the pregnancy, and I’d never looked worse in my life, and people said, “Oh, you glow.” They have no words to tell you how bad you look, so they tell you that you glow, and then you feel like you glow. It was the same with the beard. They made me feel good about it.

EI: What challenges did you encounter with shooting this movie, or was it just fun for you?

CM: This was my first movie and my first chance to really act in a movie. There are a lot of things about acting that are really fun, but at the same time, it is work and it is a job. We were on set for 12 hours a day for three and a half months. I was away from my friends and family, and I wasn’t playing sports. So while the whole experience was really interesting and fun and I learned a lot, there were days that I had to work, like anybody has to do.

JCR: It was a real special time to get to work in New Orleans. Some parts of the city were totally coming back, and other parts were shockingly still neglected and seemingly forgotten, so that was hard to see. Once you get outside of the French Quarter, it was hard to see how people were still struggling in New Orleans. That theater that we shot in hadn’t really been touched since the storm, so it was filthy and you felt like it was dangerous just to be in there. Ironically, that was exactly why we picked it. It was so atmospheric and had so much decay going on. It was a challenge to work in that place, but overall, New Orleans was a pretty delightful place to be.

SH: For me, it was a dream job because I had a very small part, and everybody in the movie was amazing and fun to be with. For me, it was just a lot of fun. I would go in and talk with nice people and play a crazy character. It was not a lot of work. I spent a lot of time with my child. But at the same time, everybody took this very seriously. The movie has a lot of comedy and they are fantastic characters, but part of the fun was working with such professional people. And I was very impressed with Chris. He’s young and it’s his first movie. It would be very easy to get distracted. But all the young kids were shocking. They were like machines. They were professional, focused, took it very seriously, really paid attention to the directions, and really tried to understand and learn. They were always watching John.

CM: We had good examples.

SH: Everybody took it very seriously, and that was part of the fun.

EI: Chris, it seems like playing a young, handsome vampire is the fastest way to becoming a star. Do you feel pressure to become the next teen sensation?

CM: I don’t really think I feel pressured to become a teen sensation ’cause that’s not really my goal in life. It’s not really about being star, being popular or having lots of girls. It’s really about continuing to be able to act and have fun, and do what I like to do. For me, it’s just about learning and being there, understanding and developing my acting abilities, and being able to look for the next project so I can act in it. It’s not really about being a teen star, so I don’t really feel pressured in that way.

JCR: I feel pressured to become the next teen sensation. I don’t have a lot of years left, so I’m really counting on this one.

EI: With the way actors and celebrities are treated now, with the paparazzi and everything, do you feel like you are part of the Cirque du Freak?

JCR: Only when cornered by people that make me feel that way. I stay away from a lot of that stuff, and I think you can create your own reality, to a certain extent. Yeah, it can be a real freak show sometimes, but I have it easy, compared to some people, so I’m not complaining.

SH: I don’t think we are the freaks. What’s freaky is the guy behind the camera who is desperate and so excited because he’s seeing you walk into a supermarket. I think that’s freaky. They’re the freaks. I’m not the freak. I’m attacked by the freaks sometimes. That’s the strange part.

EI: Can you talk about the importance of your political commitments?

JCR: Chris is the secret leader of a terrorist cell. He can’t say anything. It’s called the Teenage Anarchists. No… I think it’s every American’s duty to become politically engaged.

SH: Not only Americans. I think it’s everybody’s duty.

JCR: It’s true for everyone, but I speak from my own point of view. I always find it ironic that people are criticized for espousing political views when I think that everyone should be able to do that, no matter what their occupation is. So I’ve been pretty outspoken on a few issues in the past couple years, and I will continue to be because I think that’s my right as a citizen.

SH: I’ve been involved in way too many things. I don’t see it as a political thing. I try to stay away from giving my political opinions publicly. I see it more like a social commitment than a political commitment. If I was thinking of maybe running for something, then I would think about it as a political commitment instead of just being concerned about certain things. If I can help, I do.

EI: John, you’ve done so many different types of roles that there’s not really a typical John C. Reilly role. But a sexy vampire that gets to romance Salma Hayek is very different for you, isn’t it?

JCR: It’s a personal high.

EI: What was your reaction when they offered you this role? Were you surprised?

JCR: I was thrilled. I had been doing a lot of comedies in a row, and I was getting known only for that, especially among younger audiences. I thought, “Wow, I’ve done almost 50 movies, and these kids only know me from these two movies and they think that’s all I do.” So I thought maybe it was time to do something different. I had always wanted to do a fantasy movie. This is the kind of movie I like to see. I’m a big fan of the Harry Potter movies and The Lord of the Rings films. I like a good fantasy adventure story, so I was thrilled when it came along. And then to have such a detailed, textured character… This guy has been alive so long and seen so much. And I got to be a mentor character, which has been an important relationship in my life at different points. So I’m thrilled to just keep surprising them. Of course, in two years, it will be, “John, why are you always playing vampires and kissing Salma Hayek?”

EI: What was it like to kiss her with the beard on?

JCR: I didn’t have to kiss her with the beard on, actually. That was a special effect that came later. But a lot of people want to know what it’s like to kiss Salma.

EI: John, you’re a lot taller than Salma, so how did you work out that height difference during filming?

JCR: Quality and quantity are not the same thing. There is a lot of me, but she’s more valuable, like a diamond. They would dig a small pit, and then I would stand in it. No… We had a picnic scene where we sat next to each other on the ground, and we sat on a bed together. It wasn’t a problem. I was just delighted to be with her.

SH: He’s very flexible.

EI: Chris, you’re just getting started here with your first film. Were you able to learn some tips from John, Salma or any of the other actors?

CM: Definitely. One of the best things, for me, about doing this movie was just working with all these guys. Being able to do your first movie with a bunch of Oscar-nominated actors and actresses and director is a really big privilege. I remember the first day I was working with John, I was a little intimidated. And (director) Paul [Weitz] came up and just started talking to me and we got my mind off the subject. And then John came up and we had a really cool conversation, and it was fine. It was a lot of fun. I asked John a lot of questions, throughout filming, like “What was it like for you? How would you deal with certain situations?” The biggest thing for me was just being able to observe how he worked with the crew members and different cast members that would come and go. It was fun, not only ’cause I got to see how he acted professionally in what he does, but I also got to see how he related personally with all the other cast and crew. It was really awesome for me.

EI: What was it like to work with Michael Cerveris?

JCR: He’s about 100 pounds lighter than he appears in the film, first of all. I can’t tell you how many people I know, who have seen the film, have said, “Where did they get that fat guy from? He was amazing!” And I say, “That’s not a fat guy. That’s this actor.” When Michael and I would act in scenes together, I felt like we were trying to out-arch each other [with our eyebrows]. We were both trying to out-sinister each other, but I think he had me beat. He’s got that sinister quality in the bones. He’s just a fantastic stage actor. That’s what I know him from. So I was really happy that he played the part. He really made the movie very rich. He’s the puppet-master through the whole thing.

CM: He was really fun to work with. He was really nice. It was weird because he’d walk around set normal. He’s really skinny and pretty short, and then he had this huge, fat head on, so it was a little man with a really fat head, which was weird. But yeah, he was really fun. It was really cool. He’s a huge fan of New Orleans and he did a lot to help out when he was there. He played shows there. I think he has an apartment there. It was cool to see how much he cared about New Orleans.

EI: When you were young, would you have wanted to leave and join the circus?

JCR: I almost became a clown, actually. My plan was to go to Clown College after I finished acting school, and then somebody who was a clown talked me out of it. They were like, “No, man. It’s a five-year contract and you have to ride in the worst compartment of the train. It’s a nightmare.” So I reconsidered it. But I think I joined the circus when I started doing theater at eight years old. That’s when I found my fellow freaks.

SH: I did dream a little bit about being a contortionist or a trapeze artist. I would have loved to have done that. And then Up with People came to my town, and I had a dream about going away with them and going from town to town doing this show for world peace. That was my kind of circus.

EI: One of the things that makes this vampire movie unique is the flitting that the vampires do. How did that actually work?

JCR: That involved Chris getting on my back and me trying to run with Chris on my back. My knees used to be able to do that much better than they’re able to do. But we only had to run a few feet and then the effects would kick in. One of my favorite parts of the books is actually the fact that they can travel so quickly.

CM: I liked being able to be on John’s back. It was fun.

EI: What happens when you don’t hold your breath?

CM: You get the air knocked out of you. My character has that experience in the movie. I thought it was cool. At first, I was like, “What is flitting? What are you actually doing?” I understood it to be a combination of slowing down time and running really fast. But I think it’s a really cool concept and it’s probably my favorite supernatural power that we get to have in the film.

'Cirque Du Freak; The Vampire's Assistant' is in theaters now from Relativity Media