In press roundtables for Piranha 3-D, Adam Scott compared the tone of scary fun to his favorite childhood movie, Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom. That was the first thread I wanted to follow in a private interview during San Diego Comic Con. Then we went all the way around comedy and the crazy stuff he gets to do fighting killer fish.
Crave Online: You talked about Temple of Doom being a formative cinematic experience. Was it Temple and not Raiders?
Adam Scott: Well, certainly Raiders was one of my favorite movies but I watched Temple of Doom like a year ago again. I hadn’t seen it in a few years and I think that’s my favorite of all of them. For me as a kid, I was just at the right age when Temple of Doom came out and just went apesh*t for it and bought all the little fan books and all of the comic books and everything and got really, really into it. I mean, that opening scene starts at the nightclub and ends in India. That’s one scene. Incredible. I think it’s kind of the ultimate summer movie and I love the sequelness of it and how it embraces the ridiculous sequel aspect of it. I just think it’s a perfect, perfect movie. It’s just kind of the all time action movie. It hasn’t been equaled since. Even The Matrix which kind of reinvented the action movie still I don't think comes close to Temple of Doom.
Crave Online: I always liked Temple of Doom too. At least it’s been nice since Indy IV that people have finally stopped hating on Temple of Doom.
Adam Scott: I know. I don’t understand the hating on Temple of Doom. Even I remember when Last Crusade came out, in all the press Spielberg said, “This is an apology for the second one.” Remember, I was 17 when Last Crusade came out or 16. I remember being like, “Come on, don’t apologize for one of the greatest movies of all time. What are you talking about?” I think people still slag on Temple of Doom. I think they’re crazy. It’s so fun. What’s wrong with you? It’s incredible.
Crave Online: Some of them are turned off by the hearts and the brains, but it’s got the greatest action sequences.
Adam Scott: Ever. The mine cart, unbelievable and that’s all practical too. There’s no CG, nothing. I also think people kind of attacked Indy IV even unfairly but I think Temple of Doom is just magnificent.
Crave Online: Is this your first Comic Con?
Adam Scott: It is. I’m really excited. I haven’t been on the convention floor yet but I’m going to go when I’m done working. I can’t wait. I’m a nerd about not everything that’s in there but a lot of it. I think I’ll find a lot to explore.
Crave Online: Is the kind of comedy you do Comic-Con friendly?
Adam Scott: Maybe so. I think there might be some Party Down fans here, which is really cool, especially after the open wound of getting cancelled. I think it’s nice to find some fans.
Crave Online: Does that make it more like a classic British series that there’s only the two seasons?
Adam Scott: That is kind of cool, right? I kind of feel that way. I hope we get to go back and do kind of a special, maybe an hour/90 minute special like the British Office did. I love those two specials they did. Those are amazing. Yeah, we only made 20 episodes. It got cancelled unfortunately but we’re proud of every single one of those. It’s not like the show ended up jumping the shark and we went off the rails. We love each of those 20 episodes.
Crave Online: Did you also try not to make it too inside?
Adam Scott: I think humiliation is a worldwide feeling. I think the showbiz aspect of the show is setting only. I think that unlike some kind of inside industry comedies, Entourage is kind of a fantasy vision of what show business life is like. I think Party Down is kind of the other side of that. It’s what show business life actually is for everyone except the 2% who succeed. So in a lot of ways, it’s the anti-Entourage.
Crave Online: Is it also the desperation of anyone who’s working a job that’s not what they want to be doing?
Adam Scott: Exactly, which is most people. I think that’s why people kind of related to it on an emotional level. People all over the world now who have kind of found it online who really relate to the humiliation and desperation of it and the ultimate optimism though, I think. Also it’s a big credit to the wonderful writing on the show, just the heart of it as well. It’s got a very big heart.
Crave Online: Were you extra nice to the caterers on the set of Piranha then?
Adam Scott: Oh yeah, I have a real soft spot in my heart for caterers now and it’s fun when they are fans of the show as well. It’s cool when I get this kind of extra signal at parties, kind of like you’re one of us.
Crave Online: Are we watching the evolution of your career to movies and action/horror, not just comedy?
Adam Scott: I did this because Alex Aja is a great director. I am a big horror fan but not all horror. The Strangers I thought was a terrific movie. It was my favorite movie of ’08 but it was a rarity. It’s a real kind of character based emotionally resonant horror film which is rare. Most horror films that come out aren’t particularly frightening, don’t really have characters in them and therefore they’re not scary. Something about Alex that’s unique I think is High Tension and Hills Have Eyes, he really came up with some characters and created some emotionally devastating circumstances to put them in. I think Piranha there’s a mix of that with the Temple of Doom popcorn aspect. I think that’s a really interesting fun mix for the audiences.
Crave Online: What cool sh*t did you get to do?
Adam Scott: I got to ride a jet ski while holding a shotgun and doing a one hand cock. While this jet ski’s moving I stand up and shoot piranhas out of the water. That was cool. I did a stunt that got cut out of the movie which was I’m on the jet ski and I go underwater and go under, do a 360 underwater and come up the other side and take off. I don't know why it was cut out. I think the effects for while I’m under ended up being a little too complicated. Everything in it was actually pretty cool. I got to do all kinds of cool action stuff that I’ve always wanted to do.
Crave Online: What are some other great ‘80s movies do you think don’t get talked about enough?
Adam Scott: Tango & Cash is a lot of fun.
Crave Online: Did you ever notice the moment when they’re checking each other out?
Adam Scott: I know, totally. There’s something very homoerotic about it. They give each other a once over. I like Tango & Cash. In the ‘80s I would just go see everything because I didn’t have a driver’s license. Me and my buddy could walk to the theater and there was one of those theaters where you could watch one, sneak into another and spend all day at the movies. So I saw everything. I’d sneak into all the R-rated ones as well. I really love the John Cusack/Savage Steve Holland movies of the ‘80s. Those were really influential. I love those.
Crave Online: Better of Dead gets a lot of attention but not so much One Crazy Summer.
Adam Scott: Oh, I love One Crazy Summer. One Crazy Summer’s awesome. I think actually Better off Dead might even be over-rated by now. I think it’s been hugely influential. It’s one of those movies that maybe wasn’t a giant hit at the time but was so influential. You watch Better off Dead and you see it’s been ripped off constantly.
Crave Online: Growing up seeing all these movies, did that seep into your comedy?
Adam Scott: Yeah, those, but even more so Steve Martin. All the SNL guys doing movies. Three Amigos is still one of my favorite movies, Blues Brothers, Ghostbusters. Those all hold up too. Three Amigos really holds up. I love Three Amigos. There’s so much funny stuff in that movie and it’s so funny because at the time that was horribly reviewed, it tanked at the box office and I was there four times seeing it over and over again.
Crave Online: I’ve noticed revisiting the ‘80s movies, most of them don’t try to sell that sentimental crap. Why does it seem like in the last decade every comedy tries to be a drama too and it ruins it?
Adam Scott: I think sometimes it works. I think Knocked Up is a great example of it really working and being a whole movie. I know what you mean. Sometimes it feels like there’s some kind of dramatic elements tacked on. I think that the ‘70s was the decade of the auteur filmmaker. In the ‘80s, if there was an auteur that was really let loose, it was the comedy auteur. So you had John Landis and Ivan Reitman and they were kind of left to their own devices comedy-wise because those movies were making a lot of money. Now the studios aren’t lone entities. They’re run by giant corporations so to ensure grosses, they feel like they need to add all of these elements to add more quadrants onto the appeal of the end product. Sometimes you pull it off and sometimes it feels tacked on. It’s hard to make a bad movie. It’s really hard to make a good movie. Sometimes you can pull it off and sometimes you can’t.
Crave Online: Do you think it comes from the corporate arm or are there filmmakers who try to have it all?
Adam Scott: I think it could be a mixture of both but I still think that making a comedy, whether you end up pulling it off or not, what you’re trying to do is noble. You’re trying to make something funny for people to go and enjoy and laugh. If you’re trying to get some heart in there then there’s nothing wrong with that. There’s nothing wrong with not pulling it off either. You tried. I think Knocked Up is a real magic moment because it’s a very moving movie. It’s also fall on the floor hilarious. And 40-Year-Old Virgin.
Crave Online: You’re still on Parks and Recreation?
Adam Scott: Yeah, we start up again at the end of September. We shot the first six of season three already.
Crave Online: Those aren’t the ones that aired already though, are they?
Adam Scott: No, there were two from the end of season two that aired that I was on and then we shot an extra six because Amy Poehler was pregnant so we had to front load them.
Crave Online: How do you find the comedy dynamic on a network show versus Starz?
Adam Scott: It’s interesting. I was expecting a big shift because Party Down’s this low budget thing that felt like me and my friends screwing around. I get to Parks and Rec and yeah, it’s a big network show but it’s the exact same atmosphere, this collaborative really fun atmosphere. I think that starts with Mike Schur and Amy Poehler and Greg Daniels really being very collaborative, mellow, fun people, just wanting the best from everybody. That’s how they get it is by allowing everyone in on the process and really writing incredibly funny stuff for us to do.
Piranha 3D is in theaters now.
