About a week ago I sat down with Jamie Bell for an extended video interview as he was in Los Angeles promoting director Kevin Macdonald's The Eagle (synopsis and clips here). During our fifteen minute conversation, he discussed how he got involved in the project, what kind of research he did and does research really matter, filming on location, and training for the role. In addition, Bell also gave me updates on what it was like to make The Adventures of Tintin: Secret of the Unicorn for Peter Jackson and Steve Spielberg, the challenges of motion capture, what it was like to work with Andy Serkis (he says Serkis "is the Gandalf of motion capture."), when does he think they might film Tintin 2, and he also discusses his work in Jane Eyre, Man on a Ledge. Hit the jump to watch what he said:
Finally, I want to give props to Jamie Bell for talking about his new glasses at the beginning of the interview. Sometimes when I throw out a weird first question it throws people off. Bell was cool about it.Jamie Bell
- Talks about picking out his stylish glasses, which enhance his resemblance of a young Woody Allen
- 1:10 - His scheduled has been busy over the past year, from period pieces to motion capture
- 2:00 - Jeremy Brock's script for The Eagle reminded Bell of The Defiant Ones, which led him to a meeting with director Kevin Macdonald
- 2:50 - To prepare for the film, he had to learn how to ride a horse, the Gallic language, and swordfighting, and the historical background
- 4:30 - The research was useful in creating a backstory and grounding the character
- 6:10 - Talks about filming The Eagle on location; contrasts with the controlled environment of the motion capture filming of Tintin
- 7:35 - Praises the cinematography of Anthony Dod Mantle
- What Spielberg and Jackson bring to the adaptation of such a major worldwide property; Bell got involved with the project through his connection with Jackson after filming King Kong
- Talks about working with motion capture master Andy Serkis: “He is the Gandalf of motion capture.â€
- Discusses the flexibility of the motion capture process and the long post-production period
- The scenes were filmed with all the actors together on the set
- The tentative plan is for Peter Jackson start work on Tintin 2 after The Hobbit
- Talks Jane Eyre with Mia Wasikowska and Man on a Ledge with Sam Worthington and Ed Harris
- Bell has a lot of films to promote this year, which may mean a short break before his next time in front of cameras
- Talks about what he expects from the daunting worldwide promotional tour that awaits Tintin