Luis Fucking Guzmán

Started by BrainSushi, August 12, 2003, 06:02:47 AM

0 Members and 1 Guest are viewing this topic.

Chest Rockwell

I love watching is deleted scenes on the Magnolia DVD. They're rather humoruous.

MacGuffin

Luis Guzman
IGN interviews the longtime P.T. Anderson- Steven Soderbergh collaborator for his latest project, Carlito's Way: Rise to Power.

"You know, more than anything, I would love to play the underdog," says Luis Guzman, whose career has practically been a study in underdog success: after a spate of bit parts and supporting roles as criminals and crooks, the Puerto Rican actor found success working with some of the most talented actors and directors in the business - including Tony Scott, Al Pacino, and Brian De Palma. Following his hilarious turn as Maurice in Paul Thomas Anderson's Boogie Nights, Guzman quickly gained a reputation as one of the industry's most reliable character actors, and has since enjoyed collaborating with the likies of Steven Soderbergh, George Clooney, and Adam sandler, to name but a few.

In the new film Carlito's Way: Rise to Power, Guzman returns to one of the series in which he found early success, albeit this time with several new twists: the forthcoming prequel not only offered him an all-new role to play, but a completely different collection of co-stars with which to work. Guzman recently spoke to IGN DVD about his latest film, about his approach to inhabiting a role or character, and an unlikely place to catch an early screening of Rise to Power prior to its release on DVD September 27, 2005.
 
IGN DVD: What was it like to return to this now-emerging series of films, given the fact that you are not playing the same character?
Luis Guzman: Definitely not the same character, which I found to be a nice challenge and different. Well, my whole thing is that there was always those black and white gangster movies from the '40s and '50s with Bogart and Robinson and Cagney and stuff like that, and not to ever compare this movie to those, because you can't, but it's always nice to see an urban kind of a gangster movie, so to speak, because they are these days few and far between. It just takes us back a little bit - it took me back a little bit to the days when I was a teenager growing up, because there were really those characters like that. When this project came about, and just playing a whole different character, I totally welcomed it - I had such a great time doing it.

The character I play in I this is a character, Nacho Reyes, is into santeria, he's an assassin for the mob, he's a cokehead, you know, and the guy's got issues. For me, it was like, you know what? I grew up with people like that. I knew people like that. Those people are not carefree, they're just careless, crazy, and they live always on the edge, but you always see them around until somebody comes along and takes them out, and the person that takes them out is the person that you would least expect. But again, it was a role [playing] people that I've seen in my past, and that was my reference for that character.

IGN: You've obviously done a number of period pieces - Boogie Nights is one of my all-time favorite movies -
Guzman: Bro, I could go back there every day if I had to.

IGN: What's like making sure that you're not too ensconced in playing to the period details rather than simply embodying the character?
Guzman: I guess the challenge in that is listening to yourself, because I'm a major-league, improviser, ad-libber, and it's just kind of listening - really listening - to yourself and not saying something that doesn't fit the time, so to speak. You just have to really pay attention to that. But also, my whole thing is more of the look, some of the things the character did; there's a scene in this movie that somebody gets shot in the scene, and I pull out a bottle, and back in the day, one thing that we were big on, before you took your first swig from a drink, you would fill the cap and pay your respects to the dead, and I did that in that scene. A few of my buddies saw it, and said, 'man, Lou, you took me back there when you did that whole spilling the cap for the dead,' because it was something that we always used to do, and that fit that era. Honestly, I just did that out of instinct, and just knowing that's how it was back then.

There are little subtle things that one does or, back then, there was always the guy that tied the leather strap around his hand because back then we didn't have leather gloves - that wasn't a style. And that was pretty much it for me.

IGN: How do you compare the experience of working on this film with that of the original Carlito's Way, and playing opposite two different actors in the same role?
Guzman: It's interesting, because when I worked with Pacino, I was more like the guy watching his back. Of course, in the end I betray him, but for the most part I'm the guy that's watching his back; I'm into his business - 'where are you going? You want me to go?' So I didn't have any control, outside on 'are you okay?' In this movie, I was in total control; I'm the last guy you really want to mess with, and I'm here to do a job, and I don't really have a relationship with him outside of me telling him, 'you know what, bro? I got hired to take you out, but I really don't want to have to do that. I just want you to find these guys for me and squash this,' and all. I'm in charge, you know, and I don't fear him, so it's two totally different roles - one role is the role of a shadow, and the other one is like, you know what? I'm going to do whatever I want, say whatever I want, and you ain't got nothing to say about it.

I never really crossed paths as far as thoughts about the character; I never even thought about Pachanga when I did this movie, because [you know] that game when you cross your arms, close your eyes and just fall back and somebody catches you? Well, it was like that for me. The only difference was I fell back, but I was the one that caught me. This character pretty much was in his own solitude. He's not like the kind of guy that has friends and stuff like that. He talks to you if he wants to talk to you; you don't talk to him.

IGN: Is it a different discipline to give a dramatic performance like this instead of a comedic one like those you gave in movies like Anger Management and Punch-Drunk Love?
Guzman: Honestly, it's not, because the way I work is I put myself in that situation and then I don't think about it any more, because that's what I am. There's a big difference between putting yourself there and being there and then having to think that you've got to put yourself there and think about being there. I come from the school of my own thought which is when I show up, this is who I am - this is who I really am. A lot of that really has to do with trusting yourself, and for me that comes in any form of drama or comedy. But again, do I make my adjustments? Yeah, I make my adjustments. But for the most part, I just get into it and then I don't even think about it. For me, that's the beauty of what I do, because when you 'think' about something, you're sort of setting yourself up and limiting yourself, as opposed to, you know your lines, you know the dialogue, now let's see what happens when you give it life.

IGN: What's next for you after this? What kind of role would you like to play that you haven't done yet?
Guzman: You know, more than anything, I would love to play the underdog, the guy that nobody believes in, the guy that's had so many issues that [people say] 'how can this guy make it?' and then he does, and it's not even to prove anything to anybody, but it's more about what he proves to himself. That's the kind of role I would love to tackle, because it goes really deep into the soul; it's not physical comedy, it's nothing like that, it's just a real soulful kind of role - you know, everything is meaningful, but [this is] a notch above meaningful.

:arrow:  :arrow:  :arrow: IGN: You've been in all of P.T. Anderson's movies except for Hard Eight. Is there any possibility of working with him again soon, or has he mentioned a new project?
Guzman: No, not really, and that's okay. We're buddies, we talk, but I know he's going to be doing something in the future, and if there's something in it for me, fine, and if not, Paul's the kind of guy that when that time comes we'll be ready to work together again. That's the beauty of knowing and working with Paul.

IGN: What's next for you?
Guzman: I'll be doing a movie with David O. Russell and Vince Vaughn starting at the end of October.

IGN: What's that about?
Guzman: I don't know. David's still writing it. Well, I'll tell you, David called me just a little while ago and said, 'Lou, I got a problem.' I said, 'what's that?' He said, 'your part just got bigger.' I go, 'bigger is better.'

IGN: A bigger role probably isn't a problem for you.
Guzman: No. you know what? I love to work.

IGN: Obviously - you have such an eclectic list of credits.
Guzman: You would think I own a damn mansion in Beverly Hills by now, right? But you know what? I choose to live in Vermont, you know. I live in the country on top of a mountain, and that's my choice.

IGN: That doesn't seem to affect your ability to get role.
Guzman: Oh hell no. Not at all. You know, it keeps me grounded, keeps me focused, and I travel enough and I hang out with my buddies enough that I always maintain that thing about myself. It's really true, though - you can't take the city out of the boy; you can put him in the country, but you can't take the city out of him.

IGN: Thanks for your time, Luis. I look forward to watching your performance in the film.
Guzman: You can go to New York on Delancey Street and buy it on bootleg, dude.

IGN: I'll probably wait for the legit version to watch the movie.
Guzman: Okay, that's cool. You didn't hear that from me, though.
"Don't think about making art, just get it done. Let everyone else decide if it's good or bad, whether they love it or hate it. While they are deciding, make even more art." - Andy Warhol


Skeleton FilmWorks

sickfins

warning: this clip will dramatically alter your perception of luis guzman.

i mean that in the most serious way.  this is some heavy shit that's being started right here.  the director of the new film 'waiting' posted links to these clips on his blog.  he's the guy in the white t-shirt explaining things to luis.

words from the director himself, setting up the clip
Here's the set-up for the clip: Basically, I wanted Luis to cheer the character "Calvin" on by saying "You can do it!" (not like Rob Schneider, by the way), and he wanted to cheer him on by calling him a "Pissing-Pussy-Bitch." This is supposed to be Calvin's dream sequence where everyone is being nice to him, and I tried to explain that to Luis, but he wouldn't fucking budge. You tell me if I was being out of line, or if I was "directing him on how to act."

pick any of the links below according to your connection:

http://www.geocities.com/tedpump1/waiting/clip155.56.asx
http://www.geocities.com/tedpump1/waiting/clip155.150.asx
http://www.geocities.com/tedpump1/waiting/clip155.300.asx
http://www.geocities.com/tedpump1/waiting/clip155.700.asx

the way the director told the story is completely understandable and i doubt it could have happened any other way.

i do feel bad for him, but i think he probably should have kept his mouth shut.  this is going to fuck him over badly in the end

this is from an interview with luis
Tell me about your film Waiting... What's really hood with that?

I had a good time doing that, but the director was a real a******. They guy gotta go to like acting school so he could understand actors better. Don't get me wrong, he did a nice job writing the stuff, but he was always like directing everybody on how to act. It got to the point to where I said, "Yo dude, how many films have you made?" And he said, "This is my first film.." And I say, "Dude, this is like my 65th film. I think I can do this." I said, "Don't bawl, I'm gonna take care of you and do a good job." This director, he's a nice dude, but he don't know half the s*** he doing. You can write that cause I told him that to his face in front of everybody.


taken from here

Pubrick

Quote from: sickfinswarning: this clip will dramatically alter your perception of luis guzman.
holy luis fucking guzman. u ain't kidding.

from what i gather, guzman keeps talking shit in interviews, making general comments about the director "always telling everybody how to act" based on that one incident where GUZMAN himself is the one being an asshole? if he's such a professional why can't he let it go, he's trying so hard to destroy some newb's career.

i guess i shoulda known from the fact he can't talk properly, that sumthing is wrong with this guy. yeah i know it's common for actors to go nuts, but that's not a good thing, i've always hated arrogant actors and this just put guzman on the list.. (unless it can be shown that the director really "always told everybody" how to act). the worst part of the clip is when the director sinks to guzman's level, the king of useless unintelligible swearing this side of Vito Margera, and he ends up just saying "fuckin fuckin fuckin", and EVERYONE looks down in awkwardness. just look at how faces gradually turn from smiles to pure embarrassment.

the fact is if the director (don't even bother learning his name) ever works again, the best he can hope for is some matthew lillard vehicle, where talent goes to die. not that he had much of a future anyway, the premise of the movie and what i've seen of it looks almost as embarrassing as the above encounter. next time he should just let "big shot" actors get whatever they want, after all, "they've had their balls licked by the best".

yes, we can learn something from this: one way to make it in the business is to let actors kick u in the nuts and then ask for more.

bresson had the right idea.
under the paving stones.

killafilm

Why are they even having that conversation in front of the cast/crew?

I'm not going to judge Luis on like two minutes.  You have no idea what transpired beforehand.  If he is a little bitch, why would SS and PTA go back to him?

hedwig

Quote from: killafilmWhy are they even having that conversation in front of the cast/crew?

i think because they were shooting a scene.

picolas

this can't be true. but it can.

http://www.movieweb.com/news/news.php?id=9418

Justin Long: This set had the best prank I've ever seen pulled. I wasn't a part of it. It was pulled on me by Luiz Guzman. The whole cast was in this bathroom, Waiting to do a scene. It was kind of late at night. And Luiz had been shooting for a couple of days. We didn't have a good beat on him. We didn't really know what he was about. He was this respected actor. We were all kind of nervous to be around him. He'd been weird with the director all day. There was this weird drama in the air. Then, all of a sudden, he goes, "No, I'm going to say the line the way I want to do it." And the director was like, "Can we just say my line, and then we can do another take, and you can say what you're going to say?" He's like, "If we do that, then I know you're not going to let me do my thing, so fuck no. I'm going to say my fucking line and that's the way it's going to fucking be." The director goes, "Please..." And Luiz goes, "Bitch, get your fucking hand off me. I will fucking slap you upside the head." And we were all frozen. They have it all on tape. No one knew. Luiz was going off. He was like, "I'll fight you, bitch. I work with Paul Thomas Anderson." He started naming people, "I worked with the best. Who are you, you first time piece of shit? I will bitch slap you upside your head." Rob, the director, was shaking. I thought he shit in his pants. Luiz stormed out of the bathroom. There was just that tension in the air. We thought there was going to be a fight. But then he comes back in about a minute later and goes, "April Fools day, bitches!" It was the greatest. He got everybody. And the director was in on it.

why would Long make up the surprise ending? why would the director not? also, how could the director be so real in his sinking to Guzman's level that he would say things that don't make sense?

72teeth

Quote from: picolaswhy would Long make up the surprise ending? why would the director not? also, how could the director be so real in his sinking to Guzman's level that he would say things that don't make sense?

maybe its the director's way of getting back at Guzman...in a "Gotcha" sort of way not a "take that fucker!" sorta way...
Doctor, Always Do the Right Thing.

Yowza Yowza Yowza

Pubrick

i been punk'd.. from rob mckittrick's blog

QuoteCareer Suicide?...
So I have read a lot of comments and message board postings about the argument that Luis and I got into... Some people have praised me and bashed Luis, some have done the exact opposite. But many have said "Even though I think you are right, Rob, you still shouldn't have posted that because Hollywood is a small town and you don't want to get blackballed, you ignorant fuck-pig." Okay, so only my mother said that, but the sentiment was shared by others... Also, some have questioned the editing on the clip, thinking that perhaps I am misrepresenting the facts by not showing what happened just prior to the argument... So I have decided to show you an even longer version of the scene, so that you may have a completely informed decision. The last thing I want to be accused of is misrepresenting myself... I want to talk about the details of the clip, so please take a look at it and then scroll down to read my remarks. Please watch the video first, as otherwise I believe it will be confusing...

Here's the links:
www.geocities.com/tedpump1/waiting/punkd56.asx
www.geocities.com/tedpump1/waiting/punkd150.asx
www.geocities.com/tedpump1/waiting/punkd300.asx
www.geocities.com/tedpump1/waiting/punkd700.asx


Okay...


Now that you've watched it...


You have watched it, right?...


Good, because I wouldn't want to talk about it unless you've watched it...


But since you have watched it...


You know it's all Bullshit!.. April 1st come early 'round these parts!...
So let me say a few things right off the bat:

1) I fucking LOVE Luis Guzman!
2) I'm sorry for betraying your trust!
3) If you still feel betrayed, in spite of my heartfelt apology, walk it off!It was a joke...

So let me explain... Luis approached me and asked me if I wanted to pull a joke on the other actors and crew by getting into a fake fight... As soon as he asked, my eyes lit up... This is EXACTLY the type of thing I live for (Yup, I'm that guy)... So we waited until that scene in the bathroom, where everyone is cramped, and did it... We really milked it too, as you can see from the clip. If we had gotten too angry too quickly, they would have smelled it from a mile away, so we slow-burned it... And we fooled EVERYBODY. Watch the clip again. Everyone goes from smiling, to concerned, to quietly looking at the floor. Poor Ryan looks like he's about to shed a tear for me. The awkwardness in the air was a beautiful thing... After Luis walked out, I followed behind him, and a train of producers followed behind me, ready to do some damage-control. Luis and I walked outside, gave each other a huge hug and then walked back
in to a shocked room full of actors... Afterwards, there was this collective sigh of relief and elation once we revealed it was all a joke... I take personal pride in the fact that even after they found out it was a joke, many of the actors didn't realize I was in on it too, because my performance was so authentic... Once I get that lipo, the pectoral implants, and some face work, I do believe I will be giving Milonakis a run for his money on the acting tip... A few months ago, Luis and I discussed extending the joke beyond the actors, and bringing it to your doorstep... So Luis started bad-mouthing me a bit in the press, just so that I would have something authentic to motivate showing you all the fight. Hence, the Slam article. It's all so Machiavellian, I know...

So to everyone who has posted a comment here or on another message board, or has sent me an e-mail, exclaiming how awful Luis is, or how much respect you've lost for him, etc, FORGET IT! He fucking rules! Luis is a fucking genius... He is hysterically funny in my movie, as well as most every other movie you've ever seen him in... Ever since Carlito's Way I have loved that man, and you should too... I can't wait to work with him again.

Now, to everyone who has said negative things about me on various message boards and e-mails, well... The jury is still out. Obviously, I'm not to be trusted. We know that...

So why did I do it? Well, a couple reasons.

First of all, it was such a great practical joke that completely fooled the actors, I figured why not give you all a lil' taste as well. And though you may feel a bit betrayed, honestly, you have to admit, it's pretty fucking funny... (god, I hope you took that moment to admit to yourself that it's pretty fucking funny)... It's not an easy thing to pull a hoax like that, so you gotta take the opportunity when it comes... Or at least I do...

Second, IT WAS THE RELEASE OF MY MOVIE!!! I needed all the extra
buzz I could get! Yes, it was a shameless publicity stunt! Yes, Defamer, you had every reason in the world to be cynical!... There was some truth in my blog posting. Our tracking numbers were shitty, so I needed a little extra "oomph" there at the end. But Lions Gate knew about it (and they knew I was going to say, "Our tracking numbers were limp. YOU OWE ME!"), and reveled in the deceit... You can't trust those wily studios either...

There has been quite a bit of energy expended on a couple message boards and blogs about our lil "fight." This gentleman, Poland, even posted a blog over at The Hot Blogtalking about the career self-destruction I was going through, and it was met by some very spirited debate. From what I read, some of the people commenting got really impassioned, and for that I'm truly sorry (especially to "Lazarus," who defended me tooth and nail)... There were some who seemed legitimately concerned for my career longevity (in particular "Bodhizefa") and the damaging effect it would have, so I hate that any real emotion was expended for a practical joke.

But what a practical joke it was...  
under the paving stones.

hedwig

haha, cool. man, that director is a great actor.

mogwai

yes, but where's the fooking footage of the reveal then? i'm 100% sure that luis got his freak on.

72teeth

Quote from: mogwaiyes, but where's the fooking footage of the reveal then? i'm 100% sure that luis got his freak on.

did you watch that new clip...
Doctor, Always Do the Right Thing.

Yowza Yowza Yowza

mogwai


RegularKarate

It's funny because I was just about to post that I thought this was probably a joke.  I think only because the Guz doesn't strike me as someone who takes himself that seriously.

kotte