American Ultra isn’t an easy movie to summarize. From its tone to its genre, the film lives and breathes because it rides a fine line between action, comedy, and romance. In fact, it seems the only truth on the set of American Ultra is that Wal-Mart is a great place to find deadly weapons.
Directed by Nima Nourizadeh and written by Max Landis, American Ultra stars Jesse Eisenberg as Mike, a West Virginia stoner who just wants to marry the love of his life. That’s Phoebe, played by Kristen Stewart. Things are moving towards this end until Mike is revealed as a deep-cover, highly-trained CIA agent. Suddenly, everyone is out to kill him.
Bourne with a bong this is not, however. Landis, Eisenberg, Stewart and everyone down to the prop-master and make-up effects team stand by the fact American Ultra is really a sweet, interesting, realistic romance. It just so happens to have insane action centered on an unassuming Oscar-nominee.
American Ultra opens August 21. Below read about our May 2014 American Ultra set visit, featuring Eisenberg kicking ass in a mega mart, and see two brand new posters.
Everything is a weapon
It’s day 25 of 41 on the Louisiana set of American Ultra, and this unexpected action love story is nearing its climax as Mike smashes through the front of the “Max Goods” supermarket, desperately searching for Phoebe. He’ll give the bad guys a warning before tearing up and down the aisles like a crazed, murdering consumer, using light bulbs, garden equipment, makeup and more to destroy his enemies. It’s a violent display shot as a hybrid of Tony Jaa and Jackie Chan… only with Jesse Eisenberg and a plethora of weapons anyone can pick up off the shelf at Wal-Mart.
“I walked through a supermarket and said ‘That’s a weapon, that’s a weapon, that’s a weapon,’ and this is that scene,” said an excited Landis who was bursting with excitement while visiting the set. Over the course of the afternoon a quiet strip mall in La Place, Louisiana was almost completely transformed into a supermarket, complete with signage and five or six aisles fully stocked with Gatorade, Stove Top stuffing, Razor scooters, beer, and pretty much anything else you can buy at Wal-Mart.
It was an impressive feat of production design for Richard Bridgland, who called the 10 weeks of work on the set the most elaborate in the film. To get the thousands of products, Bridgland found a supermarket that was closing and paid them just to borrow the items. Most were returned in original condition after the filming.
The stunt coordinator, prop master and make-up designer echoed the sentiments of Landis in that each made trips to local Wal-Marts, walked up and down aisles and imagined what items could be used for disgusting deaths. Shelves for graphic American History X-like curb stomps? Yes. Garden tools with spikes on the end? Yes. Eyeballs gauged out by a mascara pen? Of course that one, too. That’s what was being shot on this day.
The Two Unassuming Stars
But before we get back to the American Ultra violence, we’d be remiss to mention the stars, who you can see in the exclusive posters above.
Despite the action inspiration, the stars aren’t Jackie Chan or Tony Jaa. They’re Jesse Eisenberg, whose most bad-ass previous character invented Facebook, and Kristen Stewart, best known for getting physical with vampires and werewolves. Both are incredibly talented and in-demand actors. (Eisenberg was prepping for Batman vs. Supermanduring this shoot and made that film immediately after.) They can do almost anything they want.
Each chose this film because, despite the strong relationship between the characters, it blended versions of themselves in a sort of hyper-reality. “I think the basic idea was if you were to take the most unlikely people, like two dinky little stoner kids, Jesse Eisenberg and me, and then suddenly see them thrown into this really high speed, intense and disarmingly realistic action movie, it’s funny,” Stewart said. “It’s like ‘What!?’ It doesn’t feel familiar. It feels a little bit shocking.”
They aren’t the only two impressive, yet unexpected names on the call sheet, either. The film’s main antagonist, Adrian Yates, is played by Topher Grace. He’s the lead agent of the discreet CIA arm who trained Mike and it’s his job to bring Mike down. Described by Landis as kind of a mad super-villain, the actor won the role by sending in a stand-out audition showcasing dialogue performance and a delicate balance of evil and self-awareness.
“The writing is unbelievable,” said Grace. “If you’re Johnny Depp or Brad Pitt it’s rare to find writing this good. In a film that has action, when do you get that sort of Sorkin-esque dialogue that has youthful humor in it?”
Yates’s foil is played by Friday Night Lights’ star Connie Nielsen; their boss is played by Bill Pullman; Walton Goggins is a crucial thug; and John Leguzamo, Tony Hale and others are thrown in there too. All were also drawn to the script. “It’s so difficult to blend action, comedy and the absurd,” says Goggins. “When it’s serious, it’s serious, when it’s action it’s action and when it’s comedy, it’s comedy. And it’s a mash up.”
“Action!” On the Action
It was all action on day 25 on shooting. This was a day to see Jesse Eisenberg, with a ratty, greasy, long-haired wig, a face full of makeup, prosthetics and a terrible, blood soaked red Hawaiian shit, shot at after warning off the bad guys, to begin an epic four-day shoot. It’s one of the film’s climatic action scenes.
“[Mike] is somebody who’s kind of just immersed himself in nothing. In his own laziness. And enjoying his own laziness,” said Eisenberg. “So I thought he would not have gotten a haircut. He wouldn’t have groomed himself in any consistent way. And it gives it a better turn when he has to defend himself. So this is a guy who couldn’t be less prepared to do this.”
We were on set from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. In that time, in addition to rehearsals, Nourizadeh did an average of 7-10 takes on two cameras of the first two shots in the sequence. After crashing through the door in a Humvee (shot the day prior at another location) the scene shifts to Mike, sliding next to the cash register and screaming for Phoebe. He notices the PA system and apologizes to her, tells her he loves her and things are okay. “Not perfect, obviously, but better,” he says.
Once the bad guys start screaming he offers a warning. “Just give up,” he says. “Let her go and just go home…to your homes.” As gunfire begins, Mike uses a cooler at the end of the register as a shield from the first attacker, backs onto the end of the aisle, grabs the first available weapon – a make up pencil – blocks a punch from another attacker, swings around, stabs him in the eye with the pencil then rakes the guy’s face with a bunch of light bulbs. Live ammunition, squibs, sparks, and smoke abound.
It’s just the first two beats of the sequence, and there’s a lot to cover. Plus, so much is moved and destroyed during each shot, at least 30 minutes go by between takes. This is a dirty, beat up, skinny Jesse Eisenberg doing this. Not some huge action star.
Keeping the Balance
The first thing about Eisenberg is I immediately buy him as this hero. Mike doesn’t want to be in this situation. He just wants everyone to go home and stop but he loves his girl. In each take Eisenberg has all the exhaustion and frustration of the first two acts of the movie on his face, but also a sweet center and a determination. The second he realizes they aren’t going to go up, his whole posture and presence changes. Mike is a killing machine.
Producers admitted to watching movies like The Protector and Legend of the Fist for inspiration on the fights, but ultimately lifted only one or two moves, leaving most of the heavy lifting to the stunt coordinator and actors. When in doubt, Nourizadeh would always tell them “Look at First Blood.”
The director’s camera is handheld and intimate in these scenes, framed tight on Mike in one shot, and with an eye open for depth and destruction in another. The sparks, smoke and debris are all consistent with the previous scene. The carnage and violence would continue, with plenty of physical effects and choreography along the way.
Even as American Ultra is a hard-R rated action film, Landis said he wanted it to feel like a romance that was taken over by an action film. Basically it attempts to do what some of our favorite movies do best: flip genre conventions on their head to make something special. With this cast and crew, American Ultra is a good bet to be just that.
TRASCRIZIONE COMPLETA
Have you been enjoying the training and all the physical action stuff?
Jesse Eisenberg: Yeah, I started a few months ago, ’cause my character has to be kind of… trained. But doesn’t remember that he was trained. So it kind of comes like it comes to him instinctively.
Is it more about choreography than strength training?
JE: Yeah. I was in Michigan working last month so they hired these great guys. Every day off I had, was working with them. They were teaching like Southeast Asian style fighting. And Rob Alonzo is the Stunt Coordinator.
How did you first get the project? Was it you read the script and you were like wow, I wanna do this character?
JE: Yeah, it was a great role. The script was in was finished the week I read it. And yeah, just loved it. Oh hi.
Kristen Stewart: Hi. Hello. How are you doing?
JE: Okay.
Jesse’s just telling us how he when he first read the script and like how it came about…
KS: I… read the script in a fairly straight forward and conventional way as actors get sent these scripts from their agents. And, you know, it’s a really, really original and strange script. I’ve really never read anything like it. And I jumped at working with Jesse. We really had a good time on Adventureland a couple years ago. And I’ve sort of declared we should definitely make a movie every five years. So just in keeping with that, jumped on this one.
Max was saying that, Kristen, this is a role that’s actually more towards your real personality. Is he accurate in that?
KS: Phoebe’s a sort of very straight forward and sweet, fairly unassuming girl. I didn’t have to bring any quirks to her. I didn’t have to bring any certain things that make her very much different from myself. I think it was just about immersing myself in this extremely surreal and weird, heightened, unique [reality]. It’s created in a very whole way. It’s definitely not set in our reality. But it is also hyper real in an odd way. So yeah, the character has been about retaining her truths, while still not revealing certain plot points that I’m not supposed to. And then making sure that it’s consistent and emotional and also funny. We’re always about to die. We’re constantly, constantly about to be like killed or having to kill somebody. And it’s also like a broad comedy at the same time. And so to balance that has been difficult. I am sort of essentially playing like myself, if I was living in this world.
JE: Very strange situation.
KS: Yeah, exactly.
Talk a little bit about the looks of your characters. [Kristen], you dyed your hair. [Jesse], you have a little bit of a different look yourself. How much was that in the script? How much was working to develop it?
JE: Yeah, I wanted to wear longer hair and a wig for few reasons. The character is somebody who would not have gotten a haircut in several years. He is somebody who’s kind of immersed himself in nothing. In his own laziness. And enjoying his own laziness. So I thought he would not have gotten a haircut. He wouldn’t have kind of groomed himself in any kind of consistent way. And it gives it a better turn for when he has to defend himself. So that this is a guy who is couldn’t be less prepared to do this.
KS: Yeah, we have spoken to Max a bit. I think the basic idea before it was actually a real thing was if you were to take the most unlikely people, like two dinky little stoner kids, Jesse Eisenberg and me, and then suddenly see them thrown into this really high speed, intense and disarmingly realistic action movie, it’s funny. It’s like ‘What!?’ It doesn’t feel familiar. It feels a little bit shocking. And so in order to make that hard hitting, which is like the sort of basis for wanting to make the movie, I look like I dyed my hair maybe a year ago and haven’t maintained it. My interests are fairly flippant. Where we’re very directionless. There’s nothing very defining about either of our looks. Everything is very haphazard and comfortable and practical. And we’re just like stoners essentially. So that was all of this.
Can you talk about the scene we’re seeing today? Jesse’s character is saving your character, so I think we sort of see what you do, just kick ass with a bunch of weird stuff in a supermarket. What is the goal in the scene?
KS: In this scene?
Yes.
KS: It’s tough because like I don’t really know…
JE: Oh yeah. In an attempt to kind of keep some…
They told us everything.
JE: Oh they told you everything?
KS: Everything?
Yeah.
KS: That sucks.
They told us a little more than you guys were probably prepared for us to know so I don’t know what you should say.
KS: I mean, basically we start off within our relationship in a little period of unrest. We’re not too happy with each other in the beginning. And then as the movie goes on, you see just how in love these two kids are. Like they’re really, truly obsessed with each other. And it’s a very pure thing. It’s really true. And basically him coming back into this scene to save me is like, kind of reconciling this. I’ve like shattered his dreams basically. So this whole thing is him coming back and he becomes a man. Yes, exactly. And sort of redeems himself in every way. He really steps into the role that he should have with her, which is like her fucking man. And then he gets her back. She gets him back. It’s a happy thing.
Max Landis was saying that your character, Jesse, your character’s goal in the movie never kind of changes throughout. You want to propose to her and get married to her. Is that an accurate description?
JE: Yeah, at the beginning of the movie, he has the ring. He’s planning to propose to her that day. And then everything blows up in his life. And he keeps the ring in his pocket throughout the movie. And he keeps looking for little moments, but then people try to kill him, so he keeps being interrupted. But it’s really sweet. And he has no tact, so the times he chooses to propose throughout the movie are the worst possible times.
KS: It’s so funny.
JE: So he’s lucky that they get interrupted. ‘Cause it’s kind of like this running sweet joke that ultimately, you know, ultimately comes to fruition at the end.
Does the comedy kind of come more from the situations or from the dialogue or are you kind of playing it straight and it’s just kind of everything around you is just a bit heightened?
JE: I think we’re aware of the humor, but the scenes we’ve had have been surprisingly dramatic. When you read the script, you can understand these are very dramatic scenes the characters are experiencing. Something that’s very heightened, but they have to experience it in a real way. So all of our scenes, Kristen and I were talking about this in rehearsal, this will be the most emotional movie we’ll do for a while even though probably for an audience it’s more fun. But as an actor, because you’re in these heightened situations and the two of us don’t like fake it, so to speak. So we are experiencing real emotions and it’s kind of several histrionic scenes. But they should be funny based on the context. But it doesn’t necessarily rely on us to be kind of silly.
KS: It’s interesting figuring out which jokes should…’cause reading the script, there have been jokes that I love that really just like make me laugh genuinely and then you get to set and you’re like ‘We can’t do that.’ It’s traipsing all over what we’ve built. Like it’s like–
KE: It’s too silly.
KS: Yeah, exactly. And then some things you get there and it’s like ‘I didn’t think this was gonna be funny.’ I thought this was gonna have to be played completely straight, but the ridiculousness of the situation is too much to ignore. And so one of our characters can say something silly and funny. And it’s like he’s really funny. Like you’re hilarious. Like constant.
JE: She is too.
KS: But I think the movie’s gonna be hilarious. I laugh every day even when we’re about to lose our lives.
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