INTERVIEW with RYAN PHILLIPPE: "I've worked with Clint Eastwood, Robert Altman, Ridley Scott and Chaka from Land of the Lost."

CREDIT Phillippe (left) in MacGruber, with Will Forte and Kristin Wiig The Powers that Be wouldn't let me see Ryan Phillippe in MacGruber, which opens in area theaters today, before I talked to him. But I've seen the totally underrated The Way of the Gun an unhealthy amount of times, so I figured I owe the guy one. R.P. and I talked Saturday Night Live movies, being directed by Chaka from Land of the Lost and pro wrestling. City Paper: I'm sure you've been getting this all day, but when I hear Ryan Phillippe, I don't think SNL movie. Ryan Phillippe: No, no, but I'm trying to change that ... I've seen this movie eight times and out of all of the movies I've done, this is the one I can't wait for my friends to see most. It's a hard R movie so if you liked The Hangover or Borat, it's kind of along those lines. CP: Really? TV adaptations usually play it pretty safe. RP: It was Lorne Michaels who said, "If you guys are gonna make this movie, don't pull any punches." We live in such a skeptical day and age where if you do come with something soft, it's going to get dismissed. We definitely went the opposite with it. The movie has very little to do with the sketch at all. The movie is more of a parody of '80s actions movies. So like what Austin Powers was to the spy genre. Sending up movies like Die Hard and Rambo. I think word of mouth will be really strong on this one. There are a few Twitter-worthy moments. CP: Twitter-worthy or not, I don't believe you're funny. Prove it to me. Tell me a joke. RP: No! I don't have any jokes at the ready! That's silly! I hosted SNL and I was a little bit funny. When you see MacGruber, I do get laughs. That to me is so new, to be at the theater and hear people laugh at one of your lines or a reaction, it was a huge thrill for me. CP: SNL doesn't have the best pedigree when it comes to movies. Do you think the hard R is a reaction to that? RP: This is the first SNL movie that is R-rated ... The fact that Jorma Taccone, who is the director, he along with Andy Samberg and Akiva Schaffer, they do all the digital shorts. So the film has that kind of hipness to it, that sensibility is part of what makes the movie so good. CP: Speaking of Jorma. If my boss was Chaka in Land of the Lost, I would just have to make fun of him all the time. RP: I often made that joke. I've worked with Clint Eastwood, Robert Altman, Ridley Scott and Chaka from Land of the Lost. CP: So you got to host SNL because of MacGruber. If you had any cast member parody you — we're talking 1975 to now — who would it be? RP: When he was on, I was a huge Dana Carvey fan. Now he's looking kind of gray. I get along really well with Andy, I'd like to see him do me. CP: When you hosted, what people talked about most was how terrible Ke$ha was. Now don't shit talk the poor girl, but as a fellow performer in a live setting, how does that affect you, especially in a live setting? RP: Doing the show, you don't have a moment to figure out anything. Once you get going, it's like the train has left the station. I've described it as the closest to an athletic event that an actor can get. When she was performing, I was going through changes. I wasn't even there to see or be a part of it. I would introduce her and they would rush me off to get ready for the next thing. You know, but she's just starting out and looking for her voice. People are always willing to knock you down regardless. The bottom line is that she had a huge hit song and whether it's your kind of music it's undeniable how successful it was. And you got to give people a chance to figure things out, especially when they're new in their career. You know, it's not my favorite song but my nieces love it. CP: So you got SNL because of MacGruber, but you also got to host WWE Raw. I think it's hilarious that they have celebs host it now. Like Meatloaf. RP: The inner 13-year-old in me definitely came out as part of that experience. I got to meet my favorite wrestler growing up who now mentors other wrestlers. Just to get to walk out in a stadium of 18,000 people escorting a wrestler to the ring. It's a trip. You just kind of have to laugh. I appreciate moments like that. My little boy dug it. He got to watch a tape of it. CP: Who was this guy you're talking about? Your favorite? RP: His name was Ricky "The Dragon" Steamboat. I loved him so much because his whole thing was martial arts and I was always into martial arts. CP: So if you had another character throughout your entire filmography to host WWE who would it be? Because I'm totally voting for Henry from Gosford Park. RP: I don't think Sebastian [from Cruel Intentions] could do it. I did this movie with Benicio Del Toro called Way of the Gun where we play thugs. I think it would be fun. CP: Yeah! Longbaugh and Parker just taking it over! RP: That's one of my favorite movies that I've done. CP: That's my favorite movie you've done too! Ok, final questions: Here at the City Paper, we're huge McGyver fans. Do you have any good McGyver stories? Like where you took a couple disparate items and put them together? RP: I've been McGyvering my daugther's jewelry to get it fit her, I'll have to figure out ways to adjust things. So with the kids, you're fixing toys, you find yourself doing things that are McGyver-esque. CP: I like how you used McGyver as a verb. If you were going to Phillippe something, what would it be? RP: I don't know what that would be. Sounds like a mess to me.

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INTERVIEW with RYAN PHILLIPPE: "I've worked with Clint Eastwood, Robert Altman, Ridley Scott and Chaka from Land of the Lost."

POSTED: Friday, May 21, 2010, 2:45 PM

Filed Under: Interview | Movies

will-forte-kristen-wiig-and-um-ryan-phillippe-in-macgruber_gallery_primary

CREDIT

Phillippe (left) in MacGruber, with Will Forte and Kristin Wiig

The Powers that Be wouldn't let me see Ryan Phillippe in MacGruber, which opens in area theaters today, before I talked to him. But I've seen the totally underrated The Way of the Gun an unhealthy amount of times, so I figured I owe the guy one. R.P. and I talked Saturday Night Live movies, being directed by Chaka from Land of the Lost and pro wrestling. City Paper: I'm sure you've been getting this all day, but when I hear Ryan Phillippe, I don't think SNL movie. Ryan Phillippe: No, no, but I'm trying to change that ... I've seen this movie eight times and out of all of the movies I've done, this is the one I can't wait for my friends to see most. It's a hard R movie so if you liked The Hangover or Borat, it's kind of along those lines. CP: Really? TV adaptations usually play it pretty safe. RP: It was Lorne Michaels who said, "If you guys are gonna make this movie, don't pull any punches." We live in such a skeptical day and age where if you do come with something soft, it's going to get dismissed. We definitely went the opposite with it. The movie has very little to do with the sketch at all. The movie is more of a parody of '80s actions movies. So like what Austin Powers was to the spy genre. Sending up movies like Die Hard and Rambo. I think word of mouth will be really strong on this one. There are a few Twitter-worthy moments. CP: Twitter-worthy or not, I don't believe you're funny. Prove it to me. Tell me a joke. RP: No! I don't have any jokes at the ready! That's silly! I hosted SNL and I was a little bit funny. When you see MacGruber, I do get laughs. That to me is so new, to be at the theater and hear people laugh at one of your lines or a reaction, it was a huge thrill for me. CP: SNL doesn't have the best pedigree when it comes to movies. Do you think the hard R is a reaction to that? RP: This is the first SNL movie that is R-rated ... The fact that Jorma Taccone, who is the director, he along with Andy Samberg and Akiva Schaffer, they do all the digital shorts. So the film has that kind of hipness to it, that sensibility is part of what makes the movie so good. CP: Speaking of Jorma. If my boss was Chaka in Land of the Lost, I would just have to make fun of him all the time. RP: I often made that joke. I've worked with Clint Eastwood, Robert Altman, Ridley Scott and Chaka from Land of the Lost. CP: So you got to host SNL because of MacGruber. If you had any cast member parody you — we're talking 1975 to now — who would it be? RP: When he was on, I was a huge Dana Carvey fan. Now he's looking kind of gray. I get along really well with Andy, I'd like to see him do me. CP: When you hosted, what people talked about most was how terrible Ke$ha was. Now don't shit talk the poor girl, but as a fellow performer in a live setting, how does that affect you, especially in a live setting? RP: Doing the show, you don't have a moment to figure out anything. Once you get going, it's like the train has left the station. I've described it as the closest to an athletic event that an actor can get. When she was performing, I was going through changes. I wasn't even there to see or be a part of it. I would introduce her and they would rush me off to get ready for the next thing. You know, but she's just starting out and looking for her voice. People are always willing to knock you down regardless. The bottom line is that she had a huge hit song and whether it's your kind of music it's undeniable how successful it was. And you got to give people a chance to figure things out, especially when they're new in their career. You know, it's not my favorite song but my nieces love it. CP: So you got SNL because of MacGruber, but you also got to host WWE Raw. I think it's hilarious that they have celebs host it now. Like Meatloaf. RP: The inner 13-year-old in me definitely came out as part of that experience. I got to meet my favorite wrestler growing up who now mentors other wrestlers. Just to get to walk out in a stadium of 18,000 people escorting a wrestler to the ring. It's a trip. You just kind of have to laugh. I appreciate moments like that. My little boy dug it. He got to watch a tape of it. CP: Who was this guy you're talking about? Your favorite? RP: His name was Ricky "The Dragon" Steamboat. I loved him so much because his whole thing was martial arts and I was always into martial arts. CP: So if you had another character throughout your entire filmography to host WWE who would it be? Because I'm totally voting for Henry from Gosford Park. RP: I don't think Sebastian [from Cruel Intentions] could do it. I did this movie with Benicio Del Toro called Way of the Gun where we play thugs. I think it would be fun. CP: Yeah! Longbaugh and Parker just taking it over! RP: That's one of my favorite movies that I've done. CP: That's my favorite movie you've done too! Ok, final questions: Here at the City Paper, we're huge McGyver fans. Do you have any good McGyver stories? Like where you took a couple disparate items and put them together? RP: I've been McGyvering my daugther's jewelry to get it fit her, I'll have to figure out ways to adjust things. So with the kids, you're fixing toys, you find yourself doing things that are McGyver-esque. CP: I like how you used McGyver as a verb. If you were going to Phillippe something, what would it be? RP: I don't know what that would be. Sounds like a mess to me.

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