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SURE,
we’ve seen Keanu Reeves make like Superman
and defy the laws of physics in the Matrix
trilogy, but rest assured, you haven’t seen him bust
heads like he does in the crime thriller Street
Kings. (Distributed by Twentieth Century Fox, it
opens in Philippine theaters next week—Ed.) From the
opening moments of the David Ayer-directed flick (it’s
no surprise to learn that he wrote the similarly themed
Training Day), which find the normally serene
Reeves downing booze like he’s on a permanent lost
weekend and knocking down doors like he’s Russell Crowe
in L.A. Confidential, you’ll know you’re in for
something different.
And
that’s no surprise from the experimental Reeves, an
actor who’s always up for a challenge. The enigmatic
actor talks about his starring role in a highly
anticipated sci-fi remake (The Day the Earth Stood
Still), why Bill & Ted may go on one more adventure
and how he somehow got the Gary Busey role (Point
Break) in his latest film.
Is part
of the appeal of Street Kings the opportunity to
tap into the darker parts of your nature?
Yes. It
was a really interesting role and obviously a great
stretch. The director called me a hippie and said, “We
have to get rid of that guy.” I really appreciated that
opportunity.
It’s an
extremely violent movie. What’s your own threshold for
violence in film?
I’m not
really into the horror porn. I don’t find that
entertaining, personally. But on some levels, when
violence is done to my liking, there’s a part of it that
I like. I want it to have a reason. Violence for
violence’s sake, I’m not really into it. I’m not on the
Internet trying to find the next beheading. I have
friends who do, and I’m not one of those people.
There
are some great mano a mano scenes between you and Forest Whitaker, and you and Hugh Laurie in this one.
They’re
thrilling. You’re working with a fellow artist and
you’re pushing each other creatively and challenging and
reaching for something. If it goes well, it’s really a
good day, because it’s play. When my character and
Forest’s face off at the end of the movie, we’re both in
each other’s faces talking about the truth and “Why did
you do what you did?” Those are good scenes.
There’s
a foot chase in this film that had me thinking back to
Point Break. Except in this one it’s Chris Evans
doing the running and you’re in the car. So does that
make you Gary Busey?
Yes, I
am. When we were shooting that sequence, I wasn’t the
guy running anymore, I was the guy driving the car. The
old veteran! It was nice. I got to be the old guy in the
car and let the kid run.
You’re
no stranger to sci-fi, and you’ve just shot another big
one, the remake of The Day the Earth Stood Still.
Why do you love the genre so much?
Wow, big
question. I really enjoy science fiction. As a genre,
it’s very flexible. It’s almost an über-genre. You can
do science-fiction romance or drama or horror. It always
carries something else with it.
The
first The Day the Earth Stood Still was very much
an allegory. Is there as much of a commentary in this
one?
Yeah,
absolutely. The first one was born out of the Cold War
and nuclear détente. Klaatu [the protagonist in the
film] came and was saying, “Cease and desist with your
violence. If you can’t do it yourselves, we’re going to
do it.” That was the film of that day. The version I was
just working on, instead of being man against man, it’s
more about man against nature. My Klaatu says, “If the
Earth dies, you die. If you die, the Earth survives. I’m
a friend to the Earth.”
Sounds
like Al Gore will be a fan.
Well,
it’s trying to reach beyond the idea of
environmentalism. It’s dealing with not just the
consequences of what we’re doing, but who we are as a
species.
Do you
say the immortal words, “Klaatu barada nikto”?
I do.
I assume
Gort looks a bit different than the tin man of the
original.
Hey,
man, don’t put that tin man down. That was iconoclastic.
Except for Metropolis, that might be the best [robot].
Yes, we have another version of the tin man.
Would
you call it an action movie?
It’s
more of a propulsive drama with a road movie in there.
I have
to ask you about Bill & Ted. When was the last time you
spoke to Alex Winter?
We spoke
on the phone the other day. We’re great friends.
Do you
think we’ll ever see Ted Theodore Logan again?
I hear
they’re doing a remake! The most serious we ever got was
a few years ago. I had once mentioned doing it when we
were 40. Now maybe the only shot we have is to do it
when we’re 50. I don’t know who’s going to remember by
then. [Laughs]
Where
are the Wyld Stallions today?
They’re
in each and every one of us.
There
was a lot of talk for a while that you were going to
play Dr. Manhattan in the Watchmen film. Did you
want to do it?
Yeah,
absolutely. It just didn’t work out.
So it
was just scheduling, that kind of thing?
Yeah,
but they got [Billy] Crudup to play it, who’s fantastic.
There
are a lot of people, myself included, who are just dying
to see how that turns out.
Man, I
went to the set. They were shooting in Vancouver while
we were filming, so I went over to the set to say hi.
They showed me some stuff, and it looks amazing! I can’t
wait. It’s going to be so killer, man!
Are your
days of performing with bands like Dogstar and Becky
behind you?
Socially, I still jam, but I haven’t played in a rock
club recently. I don’t know how that’s going to happen.
I do miss it. |
