‘Friend’Ly Chat: Low-Key David Schwimmer Talks About New Film, ‘Run Fatboy Run’
By Howard Gensler, Philadelphia Daily News
Mar. 25–It’s September at the Toronto International Film Festival and I’m sitting on the outdoor deck at the Intercontinental Hotel with David Schwimmer, whose face and manner are so ingrained after a decade of “Friends” episodes that it’s like chatting with an old buddy.
And that’s how Schwimmer behaves. No airs, no attitude — he’s a better-dressed, smarter, less dorky version of his “Friends” character Ross. And he’s thrilled that his feature film directorial debut, “Run Fatboy Run,” starring Simon Pegg, Thandie Newton and Hank Azaria, opened No. 1 in England the previous weekend. “Fatboy,” about a lazy loser who tries to win back the woman he left at the altar by taking on the challenge of running a marathon against her current boyfriend, finally opens here Friday.
Q: So how did you end up directing a British comedy?
A: I’m certainly not the logical choice. I don’t think people are thinking, “Who’s the best person for a British comedy?”
“Schwimmer.”
But the truth is that it was originally written by Michael Ian Black to take place in New York around the New York Marathon, and that’s when I got involved, around three years ago. I tried to get it made with this company in L.A. and they kept hemming and hawing with the actors I was throwing out — I guess they didn’t believe Philip Seymour Hoffman was very good . . .
Suddenly the film was optioned by Material Entertainment and their mission is to make films in London, so I found myself the director of a British comedy.
At the time, I was acting in a movie with Simon and having the time of my life, and I think he was enjoying it, too, and I basically ran it by him. I knew he was a writer from “Shaun of the Dead” and “Hot Fuzz,” and I said to him, “You want to take a look at this script? I’m supposed to shoot it in London, but we need someone to do the rewrite and star.” And he read it and loved it, as I did, and after he signed on it was a very, very fast track. About two months later we were in pre-production.
QUESTION: If you went to NBC and said you wanted to do a TV show, you could probably get it greenlit in two seconds, and yet with a feature film you have to go through the same channels everybody else does?
ANSWER: Absolutely. There’s no special treatment if you want to start directing, and I didn’t expect any. It’s the biggest kind of challenge. I’ve been directing theater for 20 years with my company in Chicago [Lookingglass Theatre] and directed 10 or 12 episodes of “Friends” and a bunch of pilots for NBC and Fox, and yet I still felt I had to prove myself with my producers and my crew. You have to earn their respect. So I came to the table really prepared and knowing my stuff, and within the first week, I could definitely feel the producers sort of relax — “OK, he knows what he’s doing” — which was nice.
Q: Actors and directors are like the ultimate freelancers, you’re always looking for the next job, unless you get on a TV series . . .
A: That’s right, then you have your day job . . . But you’re still looking . . .
Q: For your hiatus job?
A: Yup. [Laughs] You’re always looking.
Q: So are you going to resurrect Ealing Studios now that you’re the man for British comedy?
A: [Laughs] What a great studio. I doubt it, but I would love to direct in London again. Great city, fabulous crew.
Q: What is next?
A: Right next is a small part opposite Kate Beckinsale, playing her husband, in a political thriller called “Nothing but the Truth,” directed by Rod Lurie. And after that, I’m reading a bunch of scripts and looking for the next thing to direct.
Q: Are you going to ease into directing full time or keep it as a mix?
A: I don’t know. I’d like to keep it as a mix because I love acting so much, but time will tell. It may turn out that people don’t want me to act anymore [laughs], and when I want to act I’ll have to run off to Chicago to do a play. I’d love to act in more films, but directing a film takes at least a year of your life . . .
Q: Twice already I’ve been sitting in Toronto and “Friends” has been on the TV in the background.
A: Is that true? Wow.
Q: We’re up to the season where your ex-wife is about to have a baby, and you’re listening to the belly. In your real life, that work is five or six years behind you, but it’s always current, always on . . .
A: Especially in London, the show plays five times a day, I think, and we ended it three years ago. It is strange. You know what is the strangest experience is when a 14-year-old comes up and says, “You’re my favorite,” and I realize that we started the show when they were 1. When did they get into it?
It makes me happy. It makes me think that maybe my kids one day will put in the DVD — or there will be some other medium we’re watching by then . . .
Q: They’ll have a chip in their head.
A: Yeah.
Q: So what was it like working with Simon, Thandie and Hank?
A: Honestly, it was a joy. Nonstop laughter. It was just one of those lucky jobs where everyone had a great time. And that’s not something you can force. You can hope that it happens, but the tone on set is up to the director and your stars, and you’re only going to have as good a time as your stars are having. I thought my job was to make their time on set the most fun ever, the most relaxed, don’t waste their time. I really looked after them and had their backs.
Q: Do you think your sitcom background helped you set the tone for laughs?
A: I think the training on “Friends” and knowing how Simon liked to work helped. I knew that comedy is great when it’s fresh, and the first three takes are usually the ones that are going to be your funniest, because that’s when everyone is their freshest and sparks are flying. So often we didn’t do more than three takes, unless there was a technical problem. I wanted to make sure I didn’t burn them out.
Q: That’s why Simon said you didn’t make him run much.
A: The hardest thing for Simon was running in freezing, freezing weather. It was a night shoot in which there was an ice-cold wind, and he had to fall down on the cement covered with water in freezing, tiny shorts, the wind whipping. The whole crew and I were in big overcoats and hats. I really felt for him. And then to act on top of that. That was a tough one.
Q: Got anything to say about Philadelphia?
A: Great city. I saw the “Bodyworks” exhibit there. And my parents took me on the Bicentennial tour as a kid in 1976. I think I was 10. That was fun.
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