When a big movie studio is willing to show a film months before its release, they know they have the goods. That was definitely the case when 20th Century Fox world premiered writer-director Paul Feig’s comedy Spy at this year’s SXSW Film Festival. The potential franchise-starter features Melissa McCarthy as Susan Cooper, a CIA analyst who goes into the field for the very first time after her partner (Jude Law) falls off the grid. Loaded with an all-star cast (Jason Statham, Rose Byrne, Miranda Hart, Bobby Cannavale, Allison Janney, Peter Serafinowicz, and Morena Baccarin), one of the main reasons why Spy is so great is that each supporting character has a moment to shine, and Statham completely knocks it out of the park in his first big studio comedy. During the premiere, the crowd was laughing so loud I missed lines of dialogue between Statham and McCarthy. Trust me, this is a very funny movie that you should definitely see in a theater when it's released May 22nd. For more on Spy, read Perri's review or watch the trailers.
Shortly before the world premiere I spoke with Jason Statham, Bobby Cannavale, and director Paul Feig, in Austin. They talked about the way they like to work, what it was like on set making Spy, if the script changed a lot during the shoot, the need to play scenes straight and how it’s only a comedy to the viewer, and a lot more. Here’s the interview followed by a list of what they talked about.
Jason Statham, Paul Feig, and Bobby Cannavale:
- How the CIA is sponsoring their party?
- What was it like working with Paul Feig?
- Any funny behind-the-scenes stories they can share?
- Did the script change during production?
- How does Statham and Cannavale like to work on set?
- How it’s only a comedy to the viewer.
