We played around and improvised a ton [in The Hangover], and I think it's hard to say at this point what's what. Gosh, I wouldn't even know how to take a stab at it. The script was so good that we really didn't need to improvise very much, but I think we just found a lot of moments on the set. It's really cool when you get onto the set of a movie and you start shooting the scenes and you start to actually incorporate the environment.
Every film requires a different process. You learn about these particular actors and the particular chemistry between these actors. Recognizing when you don't need to shoot a scene because it's going to be cut anyway.
I'd love to play in, like, a 'Lord of the Rings,' or something like that, or a James Bond or, you know, just something like with action, shooting.
I've been in enough movies to know that when you're on the set and you start shooting, you're looking at playback and you get a sense of what it's going to be like.
Stage acting lets you feel the character a little better, but in the movies, you have to keep regenerating your energy level when shooting scenes over and over again.
But you have to trust your instincts. Because you're not going to try it 20 different ways during rehearsal. You'll try it two or three different ways, maybe, but then you've got five other scenes you're shooting that day. You've got to keep going.
It's just that the nature of being a director is being incredibly overwhelmed with getting the shots right, dealing with the locations, and then there's a two-year-old in the scene, and all that stuff - you know, there's a lot of kids in scenes.
Even though they use stunt doubles, I learn the whole thing, in case maybe they put me in. I'm enjoying it so much. It's so fun, with explosions and shooting. It's cool. I'm 38, but it's like being a child.
