Every once in awhile you land a great interview. I don’t mean the kind that gets you one great quote, or a tiny bit of news. No, I mean the kind of interview that allows you to ask a lot of questions without worrying about a studio publicist, and you’re free to go in any direction you want.

So where am I going with this?

Last week I managed to sit down with Joel David Moore for a very long video interview. We met up at a small Los Angeles restaurant, with no time limit or subject off the table. Since he has so many projects coming up, I knew the interview had a lot of potential.

If you aren’t familiar with Joel’s name, you might know him from movies like “Dodgeball,” “Grandma’s Boy,” “Art School Confidential,” “Hatchet,” numerous television appearances, or maybe his name is familiar because he’s in James Cameron’s upcoming sci-fi movie “Avatar.” But more on that in a moment.

The reason Joel was willing to meet up is that he recently co-wrote and co-directed a new thriller called “Spiral.” He made the film with his friend Adam Green – who last directed “Hatchet” – and it has a cast you sci-fi fans will care about. Joining Joel in the movie is Zachary Levi (“Chuck”), Amber Tamblyn and Tricia Helfer (“Battlestar Galactica”). See what I mean.


The movie is about a reclusive telemarketer (Joel David Moore), whose dysfunctional friendship with his boss is alleviated when a whimsical co-worker enters his life. But as he begins to sketch his new friend's portrait, disturbing feelings from his past threaten to lead him down a path of destruction. The film will be playing in limited release early next month, and then it’ll be on DVD on February 19th.

So to help promote the movie, he agreed to meet up and talk. However, since he’s also involved in “The Hottie and the Nottie” with Paris Hilton and Cameron’s "Avatar" movie… of course we covered those films. But, regarding “Avatar,” everyone on the project has signed NDA’s…so I couldn’t get anything story related. However, I think you’ll like my line of questioning.

 

Since the interview is quite extensive and covers a lot of various subjects, what I decided to do was break it up into 7 parts. They range from 2-5 minutes each, and they’re in the order of how the interview was conducted. This way you can watch what you want. As always, I listed the questions that I asked above each part, so you know what you’ll get before watching.

Finally, I want to say thank you to Joel for agreeing to such a long interview. It’s nice to be able to cover a lot of topics without a short time frame to work with. Oh, and I hope you’re enjoying New Zealand.

And on that note…enjoy the interview. It starts in part 1 with how he got into acting and what led to his big break…and it ends with me making jokes about Cameron’s “Avatar” movie. If you’re a fan of Joel’s…I promise you'll love this interview.

 

And one last thing. When we were filming the interview, I didn’t realize the camera was right in the sunlight. Needless to say, it wasn’t intentional. One of the reasons it took me a bit of time to post is I tried to fix it.

Joel David Moore – Part 1

  • How did you get involved in acting and did you ever think you’d be in this position? He talks about his career and how he got to where he is today. He also talks about how he got cast in Dodgeball.

 

Joel David Moore – Part 2 – Spiral

  • I ask him about the movie. He co-wrote and co-directed the movie so we cover a lot of ground. He talks about what it’s about and all the usual stuff. We also talk about the casting process and who else is in the movie.

 

Joel David Moore – Part 3 – Spiral

  • Filming in Portland talk. He grew up there. He also talks about how his family could watch him film.
  • We talk about how when you have limited budget and time, that can sometimes help a movie as you have to really preplan everything.
  • Since Adam Green co-directed the movie…how did that work on set

 

Joel David Moore – Part 4 – The Hottie and the Nottie

  • What was working with Paris Hilton like?
  • What is the film about?
  • What’s the tone of the movie? Is it Farrelly Brother’s or what kind is it?

Joel David Moore – Part 5 – Wieners Movie Talk

  • Wieners movie talk. He talks about how he only did a cameo in the film. He does say that the film has an Anchorman type of fight.
  • Zachary Levi talk.

 

Joel David Moore - Part 6 – Avatar – Part 1

  • How has Avatar been going?
  • Since he can’t really say much…I try and work in questions that he can answer so…
  • How long has he been shooting the movie?
  • Iron Man vs. Avatar crew battles?
  • What was his reaction when he found out he was going to be in the movie? He talks about meeting Cameron and how he got cast.
  • Did he know when he was cast that it would be such an extended shoot?

 

Joel David Moore - Part 7 - Avatar – Part 2

  • I ask if there has been any discussion on the set about trying to beat Aquaman box office numbers. It's an Entourage question…
  • I ask…I had heard that during the second act of the movie, is it true that the Avatar runs into an iceberg.
  • I ask about working with the new 3D cameras.

 

 

And here are a bunch of images from his upcoming movie “Spiral”