To coincide with the release of the new Guardians of the Galaxy trailer—which showed us Rocket Raccoon speaking and gave us the first “I Am Groot”—stars Karen Gillan, Chris Pratt, Dave Bautista, Vin Diesel, director James Gunn, and Marvel Studios honcho Kevin Feige took to Facebook for a fan Q&A. The topics ranged from serious—Diesel talking about how playing Groot helped him heal after the death of friend Paul Walker—to hysterical (did you see in the title where I said dance-off?). Here are some of the best:
What was your funniest moment from the shoot?
Bautista: There was a day when the cast and James played a prank on me. James made the whole cast and crew (about 200 people) have a dance off for his own amusement. Everyone was in on it but me — they called me to the set, Chris pointed at me, and I got pulled into the middle. The set turned into a rave!
Gunn: HAHAHAHA! That’s true. Star-Lord was offering a dance off to Ronan, who has a stick up his butt in the movie. But instead we got Lee [Pace] to start dancing in his bulky costume – he was really good. And we told Zoe [Saldana] ahead of time as well and she was doing a nice sexy Zoe dance. And then Chris pointed to Dave, who, despite his surprise, took it like a champ. He grabbed his ankle and started dancing around on one leg. We have it all on film!!! I’m sure everyone will be able to see this on the blu ray. All 200 extras started dancing as well. Forgot about them.
If you had to guess (or know) — what’s Rocket’s favorite snack/meal?! Does he have a favorite cuisine?!
Gunn: Probably shrimp. If they existed. Or some shrimp like animal.
Given his history in comedy, James Gunn, why was Chris Pratt the right guy to be Star Lord?
Gunn: It’s difficult to say what casting is like, but when someone fulfills a role completely, becomes a character, and even goes beyond what you originally expected, you just know. I don’t know if I believe in true love and soul mates, but I do believe certain roles have soul mates, and Star-Lord and Chris are soul mates.
Are there going to be appearances by any of the other Guardians of the Galaxy from the Abnett/Lanning run?
Gunn: Maybe sorta.
Question to Vin Diesel. How many times did you have to say the line “I am Groot”?
Diesel: Oh god… maybe a thousand? I don’t know. It felt like a thousand. James Gunn and I were having so much with it. So it could’ve been a thousand. And it was amazing to go in there and to work with someone who wanted to explore the character- we wanted each “I am Groot” to mean something different… It reminded me, as an actor, how much we can do with so little- and if we’re passionate about it, good thing can come from it.
For us fans of the original guardians can we expect anything else cool beyond Yondu (easter egg or otherwise)?
Gunn: Easter egg wise, yes.
What was the most challenging thing about getting into character?
Diesel: It was very personal- it was the month after the accident happened with my brother Paul Walker and it was the first time I had worked since. Although it was challenging, just to get back to work was therapeutic- especially as Groot. There was an innocence about the character that was just refreshing- and it may have been more challenging under other circumstances, but at that time, it was very therapeutic.
Karen — After the five-hour process, when you looked in the mirror as Nebula for the first time, what was your immediate thought?
Gillan: What an improvement!
In the Guardians of the Galaxy’s film will have some easter egg from the Avengers 2 or 3 films?
Feige: Yes.
For Karen Gillan – How to interpret such a cruel, sadistic and cold as the villain Nebula?
Gillan: In my own mind I gave her a reason to be sadistic. It was secretly really fun to put men in headlocks.
The funniest moment on set?
Diesel: James Gunn had shown my kids some of the footage and it was pretty funny to see their reactions of Groot getting the bad guys. But even more funny was when my daughter decided to imitate the character by saying “I am Groot!” It was hysterical.
Karen: Would the Doctor get along with this bunch of a-holes?
Gillan: The doctor gets along with anyone especially a-holes.
How did Doctor Who prepare you for this?
Gillan: Doctor Who prepared me how to act on spaceships.
Chris Pratt, can we be best friends?
Pratt: Yes. My birthday’s coming up.
Chris Pratt – Did the “Everything is Awesome!” song ever get stuck in your head while filming GoTG?
Pratt: We were doing The Lego Movie and Guardians of the Galaxy simultaneously so I had lego sessions with hooked on a feeling in my head and while doing some Guardians stuff i was sining everything is awesome.
Marvel Movies are EPIC. What was your reaction to getting a part in the movie from a studio that people have come to expect so much from?
Bautista: The simple answer to my reaction is: tears of joy. I was driving down the street and my manager and my agent called me and I broke down in tears. I screamed at the top of my lungs: “YES!” Then I thought: “Is there any way they could change their minds?”
And finally:
Kevin Feige: Is it true that you now have a Scrooge McDuck-like pool of money with a depth gage to keep track of your fortune?
Feige: No. [Author note: Suuuure.]
(Facebook via The Hollywood Reporter)
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Published: May 22, 2014 11:45 am