Michael Shannon in "Bug."
Michael Shannon gives one of the most powerfully eerie performances imaginable in the big screen adaptation of the play by written by Tracy Letts. Brutal, gory and psychologically disturbing…we chat 1-1.
Michael Shannon stars in the play and from Lexington where MovieJungle.com is now based.
He talks about making the film and the play:
“I was doing ‘Bug’ as a stage play in a theatre in New York and apparently, one night Mr. Friedkin came to see the play with his wife and they liked it a great deal I guess. I think he came a second time to see it again and after the second time he saw it, he decided he would be interested to make a film out of it. Which is something he’d done in the past; make film adaptations of plays.
So it’s something he had history with and he contacted Tracy [Letts] the writer and he basically said from the get-go that he would like to keep me involved with the film if he could. You know, you have to raise money and to raise money you need to have people involved that have a following. I was able to stay in the picture and then Ashley coming on helped the film get made so…”
Question:
Friedkin’s Exorcist is a classic horror hailed as one of the most frightening films made. Do you think this will have that classic appeal through time?
Michael Shannon:
“It’s hard to say. I think there are some similarities between ‘Bug’ and ‘Exorcist’ but I’ve always been pretty adamant that I don’t consider ‘Bug’ a horror film. I guess the similarities for me would lie more in the psychological aspects of the stories. Both situations, both stories, characters are being put in a situation where they have to wonder whether what’s happening is a part of their imagination or whether it’s something that’s really happening. In the ‘Exorcist,’ you know, is the Devil…is this really the Devil or is this imagination? You know, in ‘Bug’ it’s ‘Are there really bugs or is it just my imagination?’
You know, in terms of Friedkin’s approach to the movie, I think he really has such a huge admiration for the play that it was just…to put it on the screen as faithfully as possible. He didn’t ask Tracy to change very much of it.”
Question:
Can you talk about working with Ashley Judd on this?
(l-r) Lynn Collins, Ashley Judd and Michael Shannon in "Bug."
Michael Shannon:
“She was a complete professional from the get-go. I was so impressed with her approach to the work, with her humility and with her dedication. She was just completely focuses and, you know, it’s a very hard part, that part. It’s a very sad character and you have to think about a lot of very unpleasant things. She didn’t shy away from that, she really jumped in and found so many beautiful moments…it was a joy to work with her. It was one of my favorite experiences basically in my work in film is being able to show up every day and act opposite is kind of a dream come true.”
Question:
Were there any changes made from the play to the film?
Michael Shannon:
“There was nothing really taken away from the play. There were a couple of lines just here and there but it was really kind of a nip and tuck job, it wasn’t like…there weren’t any scenes omitted. It would literally be just a line here and there to try and get the movie right. I didn’t miss really any of it.
I think with the movie, the transformation at the end of the story, the way the room changes with the foil and what not. That transformation was incredible in the film and it was something that, in a play, we simply didn’t have the time to do that. The lights would go down and we’d come back up ten seconds later and you’d be lucky if you could get a little bit of foil up.”
Question:
Most memorable part in the film when compared to being in the play?
Michael Shannon:
“Gee…I don’t know, it’s just such a different process! I mean, the thing about doing the play is you get to do it over and over and over again and have so many different experiences with it and so many takes on it. With the film you just kind of do it once and there it is, it’s kind of frozen in time.
I guess the thing that I’m happiest about having done the film is that I feel like we got all the little moments right and that it adds up to something that I think is a very strong representation of what the play is and what the play kind of means to me personally.”
Question:
Can you talk about your upcoming projects in “Revolutionary Road,” “Before the Devil Knows You’re Dead” and “The Missing Person?”
Michael Shannon:
“Yeah, well I’m very excited about ‘Before the Devil Knows You’re Dead’ with another legendary director Mr. Sidney Lumet. It’s got a wonderful cast; I got to do a scene with Albert Finney and a scene with Philip Seymour Hoffman and a scene with Ethan Hawke so that’s not too shabby. I was very happy to work on that film.
‘Revolutionary Road’ is an incredible novel that I’ve been a big fan of for a long time and again it’s kind of a who’s who of people you want to work with on that one – Sam Mendes, Leonardo DiCaprio, Kate Winslett, Kathy Bates…and it’s very intense story. I think that one’s going to be coming out probably a year from now, not this winter but maybe next winter.
‘Missing Person’ I’m shooting right now and it’s an independent film. It’s a wonderful script, it’s kind of noir, I’m playing a detective and I’m following this man who I really don’t know much about and it winds up having to do a lot with 9/11 by the end of it. I don’t want to give too much of it away because it’s kind of neat the way it reveals itself. It’s a really script by a really talented director out of New York named Noah Buschel.”
