By : Click2houston
Source : http://www.click2houston.com
Category : Film Schools Online
Tim Lammers, StrictlyCinema.com -
If there's one distinct difference between the 1987 television series "21 Jump Street" and its new big-screen adaptation, it no doubt comes in the colorful dialogue. Based on a story by screenwriter Michael Bacall and star Jonah Hill, the script, penned by Bacall, is loaded with so many F-bombs and crude anatomical references that even the most seasoned of R film moviegoers will likely blush.
Like the original series' star, Johnny Depp (who appears in the film in a memorable cameo), you could easily say that the film version of "21 Jump Street" is all grown up.
"It's was very liberating to write that way," Bacall told me, laughing, in a recent interview. "It was nice to take the parking brake off in regards to language and go nuts. Plus, when you're working with a guy like Jonah, who is known for that to a certain level, it was very enjoyable." Despite crossing the line into hard R territory, Bacall, a veteran actor who also co-wrote the recent hit "Project X," said he has just as much fun penning PG-13 scripts, like he did with director Edgar Wright on the 2010 comedy "Scott Pilgrim vs. the World."
"It was enjoyable in a different way. We creatively came up with different ways for young people to express themselves that didn't cross the ratings board," Bacall said. "We had a lot of fun with that."
Opening in theaters nationwide on Friday, "21 Jump Street" stars Hill and Channing Tatum as Schmidt and Jenko, respectively, a pair of high school adversaries who oddly developed a strong bond as classmates at the police academy. Pining for some action after graduation, the underachieving duo -- under the hard-line direction of Captain Dickson (Ice Cube) -- lands an undercover assignment at a high school where a synthetic drug has taken hold of the students.
Charged with finding the dealer and the source of the drug, the buddies quickly discover that the climate of high school has dramatically changed since their days: the jock Jenko is an outsider, while Schmidt, once the geek, is now cool. Thanks to his new-found status, Schmidt gains the confidence to win the affection of school hottie Molly (Brie Larson), who in the process, unknowingly helps the new "kid" in school infiltrate the drug ring.
Larson, who previously starred in "Scott Pilgrim" and became friends with Bacall during the making of the film, said re-teaming with him again on "21 Jump Street" was a must.
"I had heard about him writing the script through conversations with other people and was so interested to read it," Larson told me in a separate interview. "Once I did, I thought there was a part I could possibly play and I was so thrilled. I honestly thought it was one of the best scripts I'd ever read. I was so excited for this to happen and bring his words to life because he's a genius."
While the script pokes fun at the climate of high school life today, Bacall said in reality, what you see in "21 Jump Street" isn't that far from the truth.
"I think there's a slow, cultural shift occurring towards social consciousness and smart kids being cool, and it was fun to comment on that," Bacall observed. "I found it in my research when I went back to my old high school to listen to the kids, and talk to the teachers and even the school nurse, and our directors Phil (Lord) and Chris (Miller) did the same time. Sometimes we took a broad, comedic approach, but it still echoes the vibe we found on campus. Things have definitely changed."
While Larson, 21, was home-schooled, she said she sensed enough of high school through her sister attending that the filmmakers nailed the tone.
"It is very progressive now, and a lot of it has to do with the Internet," Larson said. "Our generation is very self-aware."
The Depp Factor
Bacall said the film version of "21 Jump Street" wouldn't have been complete with the appearance of Depp as his character in the show, Tom Hanson. And while it's long been widely-publicized that Depp appears in the film in a cameo, the nature of it -- which comes in one of the film's most pivotal scenes -- won't be revealed here.
Bacall said he was thrilled that Depp had as much input as he did into his appearance in the film, much less agreeing to be in it at all.
"We knew that we wanted to approach Johnny to see if he'd be interested, and that's one of the areas where Jonah was a great contributor as a producer on the project. He reached out to him to make that cameo happen," Bacall recalled. "We wrote a couple different versions of the cameo not knowing if it would actually pan out, and when we heard that he was interested, it was his idea for the cameo to occur like it did. We were very excited about his input and went to town on coming up with the most insane version of his scene that we could think of."
While Larson is technically in the same scene as Depp, she didn't have any interaction the film star -- but a chance meeting off-set more than made up for things, she said.
"It was a big day, shooting that scene that he was in," Larson recalled. "But before it was over, I was told that I was wrapped since my character was off screen and it didn't matter. I was so bummed and remember thinking, 'Oh, so much for working with Johnny Depp.'"
But when Larson went to have her hair taken down at the make-up trailer a little later, she accidentally opened a wrong door.
"Johnny had an identical hair and make-up trailer that was right next to ours, and I opened his door instead," Larson said. "As I looked in and panicked and said, 'I'm sorry,' he said, 'Oh, no, no, no. Come here, come here.' He said, 'I was just talking about you, how Brie is my favorite cheese.' Then we listened to the Avett Brothers and talked for about 15 minutes while he was getting his makeup taken off. It was such a cool experience."
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Source : http://www.click2houston.com/entertainment/-21-Jump-Street-leaps-in-new-direction/-/1735500/9281262/-/t59w7t/-/
