Ricky Gervais, Rob Lowe and Jennifer Garner at the Los Angeles premiere of "The Invention of Lying"
One of the easiest ways to annoy comedian Ricky Gervais is to be late. Tardiness, he says, is one of his biggest pet peeves. So much so that Gervais was actually early for a Toronto press conference for "The Invention of Lying," the comedy that marks Gervais’ debut as a film director. Gervais’ "Invention of Lying" co-stars Rob Lowe and Jennifer Garner, on the other hand, were about five to eight minutes late for the press conference, which was held at the Fairmont Royal York Hotel. And Gervais wasn’t afraid to tease them about it.
"The Invention of Lying" (which Gervais co-wrote and co-directed with Matthew Robinson) tells the story of a world where lies don’t exist until writer Mark Bellison (played by Gervais) accidentally becomes the only person in the world who can be dishonest, and he uses his lying ability to his advantage. Meanwhile, Mark is competing with his vain co-worker Brad Kessler (played by Lowe) for the affections of Anna McDoogles (played by Garner), who resists Mark's advances because she feels that Mark doesn't meet her standards.
The day of that "The Invention of Lying" had its world premiere at the 2009 Toronto International Film Festival, Gervais joined producer Lynda Obst, Robinson, Lowe and Garner for a question-and-answer session with the media. Before the press conference started and before the rest of the panel arrived, Gervais was nice enough to answer some questions about his movie "Cemetery Junction." And the journalists gathered at the press conference were treated to the cheeky and self-deprecating sense of humor that we’ve come to love from the Emmy-winning creator of "The Office" and "Extras." Here’s what Gervais and his team had to say about how they got the all-star lineup of co-stars and cameo performances in "The Invention of Lying"; what extra footage to expect on the DVD; and how Gervais’ constant laughter while filming scenes ended up ruining takes.
What can you say about your movie "Cemetery Junction"?
Gervais: It’s great. We’re editing it now. We did a little "friends and family" screening and it’s gotten a fantastic reaction. It’s very different [from] this ["The Invention of Lying"]. I suppose it’s about class. It’s a romantic drama, but it’s funny.
I suppose it’s a return to what we do best, me and Steve [Merchant, a co-writer and producer of "Cemetery Junction"]. It’s about what drives human behavior. It’s set in the early ’70s, [with] a group of twentysomethings and about whether they can escape that stifling, small-town mentality.
One of the lines that inspired us is from "Thunder Road": "It's a town full of losers, and I'm pulling out of here to win." It’s like our satellite feed, really. "Thunder Road" is a song by Bruce Springsteen.
Ricky Gervais at the "Invention of Lying" press conference at the Fairmont Royal York Hotel in Toronto
Would you say there’s an autobiographical aspect to "Cemetery Junction"?
Gervais: Well, everything you do is autobiographical. I grew up in a town called Reading, and I had older brothers and sisters, so it’s all my memories growing up. It’s not a depressing, sort of gritty British movie about blue-collar and working class [people]. It’s quite a celebration of that. I have great memories growing up in a working-class estate. And I remember it being sunny at the time. So we’re putting that falsehood, I’m sure, on screen. It’s not people wallowing in degradation.
There was a nobility involved, even when I was growing up. I was poor, but [my mother] was planting roses and cleaning the steps. You know what I mean? You didn’t feel sorry for yourself.
Do you just pick up the phone when you want to get certain people in your movies?
Gervais: For "The Invention of Lying," yes. For "Cemetery Junction," we had to cast wide and new, for kids, twentysomethings. The terrible thing in England is, if you have a thousand people, 500 of them will talking like that [he switches to a Cockney accent] because they’re going to do a soap [opera] or a Guy Ritchie movie, and the other 500 will be Mr. Darcy one day. So we had to find working-class kids with no profile who could be John Travolta and James Dean and things like that.
How did Ralph Fiennes end up doing "Cemetery Junction"?
Gervais: I bumped into him when I was doing "Ghost Town," and I said, "I’ve written a part for you." I’d never done that before. I’d never walked up to someone before [and said that]. It was great.
Can you talk about any TV projects you have?
Gervais: We’re developing a show now for HBO that’s starting in January [2010]. It’s a 13-part animation [series] based on ["The Ricky Gervais Show"] podcast.
Rob Lowe in "The Invention of Lying"
[Rob Lowe arrives and an announcement is made that the press conference is about to start.]
Gervais: [He says in a sarcastic voice] Oh, great! Put me next to Rob Lowe.
It’s like the movie "Twins."
Gervais: Yeah, "Twins." I’m Danny DeVito.
Lowe: It’s so good to be sitting next to Simon Cowell. [Someone in the audience gives a big groan at the joke.] See, they like you. They didn’t even like me taking a shot at you.
Gervais: Exactly. Good. They’re on my side.
[An announcement is made that Jennifer Garner will arrive soon.]
Gervais: Jennifer who?
Lowe: We’re ready, by God!
[Jennifer Garner arrives.]
Gervais: Hello.
Garner: Good morning.
Gervais: Shut the door! People are getting interviews for free!
Jennifer Garner and Ricky Gervais in "The Invention of Lying"
Were there lies that you thought about putting in "The Invention of Lying" that you thought wouldn’t work?
Robinson: We didn’t cut anything because we thought was too offensive or shocking, but we did cut down on the amount of jokes, because we didn’t want people constantly searching in the background, or looking for too many advertisements or commercials. We really limited the amount of small lies that we littered throughout the world, just so the ones that were there really popped.
Gervais: There’s quite a lot going on in the film. It starts out as an out-and-out high-concept comedy. Then it moves to drama … and we had to cut down on the peripheral stuff so people could concentrate. But the decision we made about the lies we couldn’t tell… There was one, just to show that Mark was a decent guy, he had three chances to lie to get the girl, and he didn’t [lie], because as he said in the end, "It wouldn’t count."
It’s funny when you’re making those decisions as a writer/director about what you should and shouldn’t do. There was one in particular, because in a world without lying there’s no fiction, and so I play a screenwriter, and the films of the day, I was just reading out the facts … and one of them we had was on the Holocaust, and I thought, "There would be no Holocaust because prejudice and racism is built on a lie."
Robinson: They would’ve found someone to kill though. It just wouldn’t have been the Jews.
Obst: There was a time during prep though that we got so convoluted on what the world would’ve been like that we started thinking, "Would cars all have been the same? What did the art look like?" It got incredibly interesting.
Robinson: The minute you start asking yourself, "Would clothes have been a lie?" is when you realize you’ve gone too far.
Garner: You started to try and get rid of high heels, and that’s where we drew the line.
Robinson: High heels are a lie, everybody. That’s a fact.
Gervais: Wigs.
Robinson: Yeah. Wigs are lies. We had stuff on politics, we had stuff on race earlier, but it asked more questions than it answered. So we decided to pick our rules.
Gervais: We also didn’t want to bog people down with those details.
Robinson: We also didn’t want to show any recognizable city. If you see Manhattan or Times Square, would there be the Twin Towers, would there be this?
Gervais: We wanted to create our own little Springfield. We wanted to create our own little iconography, apart from the obvious things that we’re so proud of [in the movie], like the Pepsi and the Coke commercials. I think Coke should put that out as a [real] commercial. I think it would be amazing to see that!
Robinson: Pepsi when they don’t have Coke. The best Coke commercial of all time.
Gervais: No, I think they would’ve preferred it not being in the film. I think it was product placement.
Robinson: We didn’t get paid by anyone, I don’t think. Pizza Hut got like a 40-minute advertisement, and I think we got one free pie. Cheap!
Gervais: I did that deal! They just showed me a pizza and I went, "Yeah." My lawyer was too late coming into the room. "Have you signed anything?" "Nope!"
[Laughter]
Obst: I was like, "Ricky, what were you thinking?"
Jennifer Garner, Rob Lowe and Ricky Gervais in "The Invention of Lying"
What was the most outrageous lie you’ve read about yourself on the Internet or in a tabloid?
Garner: I don’t remember the outrageous one. It’s more of the daily grind of lies that I hear about. But I try to flush them. I don’t know.
Gervais: I’m not on the same level as some of these guys. People don’t say anything about me.
Garner: They did say you were pregnant.
Gervais: That was it. That was the British paparazzi … and the headline was "Is Ricky pregnant?’
Garner: I get that all the time. I know how you feel.
What lie would you like to see written in the media about yourself?
Gervais: I had to hang up my guns and I’m no longer a gunslinger. Or I killed a man in the ring once and that’s why I won’t box again. I fought a shark.
Lowe: Most outrageous? That I was secretly married to Ben Affleck.
Gervais: I believe it!
Lowe: I know it’s believable.
Ricky Gervais, Jennifer Garner and Louis C.K. in "The Invention of Lying"
You stayed away from politics in "The Invention of Lying," but you didn’t stay away from religion. Were you concerned about getting hate mail from religious groups about how God and religion are portrayed in this movie?
Gervais: I don’t see why we would ever get hate mail. We make decisions on everything, when you’re the creative force behind something, and we decided in this world [portrayed in "The Invention of Lying"], that’s how religion started. It’s an alternative world. It’s by no way atheist propaganda.
I love films about angels and things and I don’t go, "Oh, they’ve come down on one [religious] side here." [For example,] "It’s a Wonderful Life." I don’t leave the cinema with my faith or lack of it challenged. And I don’t think people who believe in God should take this as an affront or anything other than an artistic choice.
Robinson: [He says jokingly] I wrote this film to prove one point and to denounce one organized religion in particular, and that’s Greek mythology, because Zeus is not real. And I don’t believe in him and I don’t think anyone should. But that was the only religion was like, "Oooh, I want to take them down!"
[He says seriously] No, in no way is it bashing religion. In fact I think the most heroic lie that Ricky [as Mark Bellison] tells in the whole film is the lie that he tells to his [character’s] mother.
Gervais: And I am an atheist, and when my mother was dying, I told myself that if she ever asked if there was a heaven that I was going to lie and say, "Yes." And I think it’s a white lie. Also, at no point do we say there definitely isn’t a God in this world. We just say that people haven’t thought about it or discovered it yet. Mankind was told about [religion], whether you believe it or not. So at some point, someone told someone else that there was a God.
Garner: And also, isn’t it great if it does start a conversation? Conversation can be controversial or not, but religion is something that’s worth examining, and your faith is something worth questioning and talking about. And if this movie asks that about people, that’s not a bad thing. That’s part of what art is there for.
Gervais: And Jennifer believes in God, don’t you?
Garner: Yes. I do believe in God. Thank you for making that clear.
Robinson: It asks questions, that’s all. We’re not out to offend anyone. My father is a very religious man, and he loves the script. It’s all in good fun. It’s all done in the spirit of asking questions and starting conversations.
Gervais: In our ["Invention of Lying"] world there is no such thing as taboos, so it plays into that … Mahatma Gandhi said, "There is no higher god than truth," and he was religious.
Robinson: That would’ve been a good title [for the movie]! … Lying does give you the ability to choose for yourself, because if you have that gray area between honesty and lying, you can decide for yourself on anything: on faith, on love and art. It becomes not a black-and-white world anymore.
Gervais: And that’s one of the big themes of the film, as well: A world without the ability to lie isn’t as good as the world where you can lie and you make moral decisions on when you should and shouldn’t. And that’s what makes us moral people, having those decisions and coming down on the right side.
Jennifer Garner and Ricky Gervais in "The Invention of Lying"
Ricky, what’s the biggest lie you’ve ever actually told?
Gervais: I sort of lie all the time, but it’s to protect people’s feelings. "Can you come to my baby’s christening?" "Oh, I can’t. I’m busy." I don’t say, "Well, that doesn’t sound like a great day out."
Robinson: Or "I hate babies."
Gervais: "Yeah, it’s a little fat thing, like Winston Churchill. I’ve already seen those. I don’t need to see this." I think that’s what makes you a nice member of the human race: You can choose when to make a good lie.
Jennifer, has having kids changed the types of roles you’re looking for and the frequency at which you’re willing to work?
Garner: I actually haven’t worked in a year. I was pregnant when we made this movie. Then I took a year off and then worked a couple of weeks on "Valentine’s Day," and now have nothing planned. So definitely, the frequency in which I work is totally different because I went for years without single day off, other than Christmas.
Roles that I would take? I think I would work a lot more. I think I’d have to really love something feel like it’s worth uprooting the family, putting them somewhere else. And also, my husband and I try to shift back and forth, so there’s a million things that go into work now for me.
Jennifer Garner and Ricky Gervais in "The Invention of Lying"
Do you choose roles thinking about whether or not your children would enjoy seeing you play those roles and having conversations with your kids about those roles?
Garner: I really choose roles for me. I think they have to understand that this is what I do for a living. It’s going to ask all kinds of things for them. I’m sure it will be really odd for them.
Gervais: When you open the door in the film, "Mummy, what are you saying? Mummy, what’s that word?"
Garner: [She says jokingly] Is it too late to pull the film?
Robinson: You can just show them the edited version of the film where you just say, "I was just masticating." That’ll be on airplanes.
Garner: But I have great faith in my children’s ability to understand different kinds of things.
[Says jokingly] Do you have faith in moviegoers coming out of this movie thinking that now they know why you married Ben Affleck: so you could have genetically beautiful children?
Garner: Yes! Ricky wouldn’t ask! I waited and waited and waited.
Did doing this movie question how much people may be lying to you?
Gervais: Oh, yeah. I think you’ve got to take the rough with the smooth. I think you know deep inside when someone’s being kind or when someone’s being cruel or when someone’s being honest. And that’s why you surround yourself with people you trust. I think, by definition, you don’t know whether you’re gullible or not. You learn by your mistakes. Not that you have to trust everyone. You trust everyone once. What’s the worst that can happen? That’s how I feel how I think anyway. Maybe I’m a schmuck …
We had to decide what [Mark Bellison] thought was right and wrong. It’s charged with morality, this film, and sometimes we had to tone it down, because we didn’t want to come off across preachy. It’s still fun. It’s still just an hour and a half of escapism and entertainment, at the end of the day. It’s not propaganda. It’s not a documentary. It’s really not us on a high horse. But you have to go through the mill to come out and decided what you believe to put in a film or not. It’s a house of cards, because everything collapses. As long as it’s got an internal logic, it’s fine … It’s an alternative reality.
Louis C.K., Ricky Gervais and Jennifer Garner in "The Invention of Lying"
Mr. Gervais, how you look is a frequent theme and the butt of jokes in your movies and TV shows. What is with this obsession with your looks?
Gervais: I know what you’re thinking. You’re thinking it’s a defense mechanism. I think you’re right. I think that’s what comedy is: getting in there first. I’ve always done that. I think it’s funny. I still think of myself as a comedian acting, as opposed to [being] an actor. I think I’m all right.
I think of myself first as a director. I think a comedian has to let the world know that he doesn’t take himself seriously. I think as soon as a comedian tries to be cool or macho or believes his own hype or cares the way he looks, I think he ceases to be funny. Because I think comedy is about empathy, and I think you’ve got to be the underdog if you’re a comedian.
And all my favorite people, like Laurel and Hardy, I love them because they’re precarious. I love them because they fall over. I think you’ve got to remind people that I’m not threat. I’m not taking myself seriously. I’m falling over for you for your own amusement.
Robinson: There’s also a classic [tradition] of comedies that star "losers." Our touchstone was Jack Lemmon in "The Apartment."
Gervais: Yeah. The styling.
Robinson: That’s the greatest "loser" comedy of all time, I think. That’s just a part of when you do a "loser" comedy: The guy’s got to take some knocks for his looks.
Gervais: It’s that long line of Bob Hope and the putzes that laugh in the face of adversity or Woody Allen. It’s funny because he knows his lot. Some people are funny because they’ve got a blind spot. David Brent [Gervais’ character in the "The Office"] is funny because he doesn’t know what an idiot he is. You laugh at him.
But someone like Woody Allen knows his lot is bad, and we laugh at him because he’s sort of angry and he’s surrounded by idiots. But at the end of the day, they’re still the loser you like. I think that’s important. I’ve forgotten the question. Why do I say I’m a fat loser? Because I am.
Ricky Gervais and Jonah Hill in "The Invention of Lying"
What will be on "The Invention of Lying" DVD, in terms of extras that weren’t in the theatrical release?
Gervais: Well, we sort of finished the DVD extras, and we’ve got the most expensive DVD extra ever. I think it cost about 3 million: the caveman prequel. And then we cut that because we thought, "Oh, we don’t need that."
Lowe: Most fun I’ve ever had as an actor.
Gervais: It’s like a seven-minute prequel that shows how this evolution [in "The Invention of Lying" world] happened as opposed to the real evolution. And I do want to tell America that evolution is true.
Robinson: But the earth is only 10,000 years old.
Obst: It won’t play in Texas!
Who’s in this "prequel"?
Gervais: Me …
Robinson: Jeffrey Tambor, Jonah Hill, Louis C.K., Karl Pilkington …
Lowe: We were hoping for Jen [Garner] in a sort of "Barbarella" thing, but it didn’t happen. That’s bad producing, can I just say?
Obst: Sorry!
Robinson: It’s a little parable for the film, done in caveman times. It’s great. I love it. It’s a lot of fun.
Gervais: It’s the only bit in the film where everyone’s there on this amazing set, CGI …
Robinson: A really expensive CGI boar attacking him …
Gervais: It’s actually the budget of a British film. And we just stuck it on the DVD.
Obst: There’s also some great stuff on it, like Ricky doing a tour of the mansion that is so hilarious.
Gervais: We would always have the camcorder and …
Robinson: Whenever we were bored …
Gervais: We’d do little skits and impromptu sketches.
Garner: Skip the movie. Just get the DVD!
Obst: And one of the scenes that was tragically cut, [showing Mark] on the way to the date, because the beginning of the movie needs to be sped up …
Gervais: There are some great deleted scenes.
Obst: There’s some great stuff with Jen and Ricky.
Gervais: I remember when I first started, I was depressed. I remember when I did "The Office," it came in long and we had to cut 10 minutes, and I was depressed. But now, I love cutting stuff, because no one’s notice what they’ve missed and it just makes the finished thing tighter. And so the terrible thing would be to not have enough stuff to cut anything. It just makes everything stronger. There’s the DVD and YouTube, so nothing is wasted.
Robinson: And also Jen really annoyed Ricky one day, which was really funny.
Gervais: Right. OK. This isn’t neuroses; this isn’t me being precious or me being a diva, I just need quiet when I’m acting. I’m not a real actor, so anything puts me off. So I don’t want the cameraman chewing gum. I don’t want people sniffing or …
Garner: Or breathing.
Gervais: I can hear an ant on a cotton wall.
Garner: The film going through the camera ...
Gervais: So on one of the last days of filming, Jennifer Garner did the scene and started by blowing a bubble with bubblegum. I was like, "What the f*ck are you doing?" And then her cell phone rang, which was a stitch up, because it was Louis [C.K.] calling her. … So basically, they basically took the mickey out of my neuroses, which isn’t a good thing to do isn’t it?
Jennifer Garner and Ricky Gervais in "The Invention of Lying"
Jennifer Garner is really good in crying scenes. Did she and Ricky give each other any pointers on how to cry on cue?
Gervais: No, I can do that, but I can only do it once, because once you’ve cried, you feel better. So I tell everyone, "This is one take! One take!" And in "The Office," when David Brent had to cry, I said, "It’s one take." … So I know I can do it. I also know I can only do it once. I don’t think you can really give advice. It’s one of those things you can either do or not. Some people find it hard to laugh realistically, but I can do those things quite naturally.
Robinson: You made those scenes emotional for me.
Garner: Well, good. I’m glad I did.
Have you ever used eye drops in a crying scene?
Garner: I have used eye drops before, if I was all cried out or if it was a scene that needed a tear and there was nothing motivating it. But pretty much you’ve got to get in there …
Gervais: Sounds like cheating to me
Rob, what about you? Do you find it hard or easy to cry on screen?
Lowe: For me, if it’s supported by the story, if I can put myself where the character is. To me, it’s about the writing. If the writing is there, there’s not an issue with crying. But it’s hard when it’s unsubstantiated and unsupported, and the writer just puts, "He cries." That’s easy for you to do! … When I got hit in the balls in "Tommy Boy," I cried tears of humiliation.
Ricky Gervais on the set of "The Invention of Lying"
Ricky, since this was your directorial debut for a movie, did you have any jitters going into the project?
Gervais: I had one anxiety dream … And the anxiety dream was that the first assistant director wouldn’t shout … It was a really weird dream, and I suppose that’s me admitting you can’t do it yourself. You really need the support of everyone and they’ve got to be on their bets game to get you through it.
So how do you think the filming went overall?
Gervais: It went well. It was almost too quiet. It was a breeze. We really enjoyed it. We wrapped early and we got lots of stuff in the can. Also the cast [members] were nailing it every day. Every day was a joy … It was almost like I’d won a competition … The cast is incredible. We were worried at one point that [the star power] was going to be overwhelming … but I think we pulled it off and made it quite balanced.
Ricky, before the press conference started this morning, you were grumbling about how your co-stars were late to the conference. Are you anal-retentive about tardiness?
Gervais: They were late! I was here at 10 o’clock and I said, "Let’s start."
[A reporter says from the audience to Gervias] Well, you were 10 minutes late for the roundtable interview for "Ghost Town." I’m just saying …
Gervais: [He points to the recorders on the table] Which one’s yours?
[Laughter]
Garner: Hair and makeup and wardrobe took a long time. You know how it is.
Gervais: I suppose I’ve always been hung-up about lateness. I suppose I’m always early because I don’t want to be late, so of someone is late, they’re even later. I can’t believe anyone wouldn’t rush to see me!
Ricky Gervais in "The Invention of Lying"
Ricky, what are the three things you’re the most anal-retentive about, in terms of the things that really annoy you?
Gervais: Lateness, people chewing loudly, and here’s number one: People who do this [he snorts loudly]. I’ve got about nine. I wouldn’t have to stop [at three].
Well, you can name one more.
Gervais: Whistling. And Twitter. That’s another one.
Jennifer, you’ve accomplished so much in your life. What do you consider your biggest accomplishment?
Garner: [She says jokingly] Sitting here in front of you all today talking about "The Invention of Lying." [She says seriously] I don’t know. I don’t think I’ve gotten there yet, but ask me in 10 more years or 20 more years.
Gervais: Don’t be late!
Ricky, can you talk about the use of truth in your humor?
Gervais: When it’s true, I want people to know it’s true, because I think it’s funnier if it’s based on truth. And I often take people on a journey, but it’s with their blessing, and then they then realize it’s a sucker punch. I think the audience is smart enough to know when something is true — because that’s very important to me — or when I’m on a flight of fancy or when I’m doing it for comic effect.
I’m much more interested in the truth. I love realism. I’m sort of addicted to it. I think the payback is better. I think, as I said before, that comedy is about empathy. I think the funniest person that you know isn’t a comedian, isn’t on the telly; it’s a friend of yours that you’ve known for years — because it’s the wealth of investment behind everything that they do.
And I think if you can capture that and make people invest in the characters and know them very well, the inertia you’ve got can’t be matched by jokes. Decapitated jokes or lines or puns are nothing compared to body language. Body language is everything; you feel it on an emotional level, subliminally. People know the truth. They don’t have to hear it; they feel it.
Rob Lowe and Ricky Gervais in "The Invention of Lying"
How much of what’s in the movie do you really think is true, such as good-looking people tend to be shallow and vain, and average-looking people tend to be nicer?
Gervais: I think that’s the point that we’re making: that it’s their nature and they can’t get around that. The handsome one being evil is a fairy tale, isn’t it? [He laughs.]
Lowe: For me, what was really interesting — because we’ve all seen that archetype a thousand times— is there’s this one really great line in the movie … and that’s what made me tune into this [Brad Kessler] character, and that’s when he admits that he’s threatened by [Mark Bellison]. "I hate things that I don’t understand."
So you see [Brad] as the alpha male, who’s pissing on Ricky [as Mark] throughout the whole [movie], because [Brad] is a dick. But the truth of the whole thing, [Brad] is a dick because he’s scared of [Mark], for no good reason. There’s a great saying that I’ve always liked: "Never compare your insides to somebody else’s outsides."
Gervais: It’s the life of Dexter [the serial killer from the "Dexter" series].
Robinson: Something that Rob [Lowe] and I talked about when we discussed the character was that we really liked that this was a villain, but it wasn’t his fault. He’s not to blame for anything that he does or says.
Gervais: It’s like suggesting a lion is evil because it kills an antelope.
Robinson: He’s just playing by the rules. [Mark Bellison] is the one who messes it all up.
Lowe: There’s no malice at all. When I say to Jen [as Anna McDoogles], "Don’t eat that. You’re not fat now, but you could be." Her reaction is [says in grateful tone], "Thank you very much." This concept is really good, but the execution of the concept is even better …
Ricky and Matthew, can you talk about what it was like co-directing "The Invention of Lying"? How did you divide up your directing duties?
Gervais: We didn’t really divide them up. It worked exactly the same as it did with Stephen Merchant: We were always together, we were always in the same room, and we huddle. And we had one simple rule, really. We didn’t compromise. We had one veto, and it was out. So what’s left is that everything in that film, we both liked. It’s as simple as that. And it’s a system that works. Otherwise, you get into a tit for tat …
It’s down to respect, I think. I don’t know who does what or who’s better at what. We just work really well together and we see eye-to-eye on 90 percent of the stuff. And we fill each other’s gaps. That’s not a euphemism. There was none of that.
Robinson: And also, when a Brit makes his first American film, there’s a rule that my people have that there has to be one Jew involved somewhere. So they sent me off the bench and they said, "Get in there and fill in his gap!"
Gervais: Do you know what he wanted to put on the poster? "From the creator of ‘The Office’ and ‘Extras’ and a Jew."
Robinson: [Warner Bros. Entertainment President and Chief Operating Officer] Alan Horn wasn’t having it.
Rob Lowe and Jennifer Garner in "The Invention of Lying"
Jennifer and Rob, you’re both known for mainly doing dramas on TV and comedies in movies. Is there something about each particular genre that you gravitate toward in each form of entertainment? For example, do you find comedies more interesting in movies?
Lowe: For me, comedy is much more freeing, because there’s no edit. It’s like what Ricky was saying beforehand, you have to be willing to look like an idiot. I love not having to worry how I’m coming across, how I’m perceived. I just love throwing myself into it.
In drama, there’s usually much more heavy lifting required, both in terms of the script and the storytelling. Honestly, it feels a little bit more like work to me. As long as you have the ability to not edit — and that in and of itself is hard — but once you get beyond that, it’s just a vacation.
In terms of movies and TV, what I like about movies is the scope of movies and there’s still a tad bit more aspiration to make art than in television these days. And what I love about television is that if you do something good, people are going to see it, which isn’t necessarily true in films.
Garner: I don’t think I ever consciously made a decision of "I’m only going to drama on television." Part of it is what comes up. I’ve never been a snob about what kind of job I do. Some of the work I’ve been the most proud of was on TV. And I think you can certainly strive for art anywhere. But there is nothing more fun than doing a comedy, especially when you’re with a group of people like this. And that certainly wouldn’t happen on television, and I was just happy to be a part of this.
What was the biggest truth-telling reality check you got where the truth may have hurt but you’re really glad that you heard it?
Gervais: The thing that springs to mind was when I was 8 years old and I was doing my Bible studies. And I loved Jesus. I did. He was like a superman. I loved him more than God, in a way, because he was a man and kind. And my brother came in and asked me why I believed in God. And my mum went [he says in a stern voice], "Bob!" And I knew she was hiding something. Then I thought about it and thought about it. And within an hour, I was an atheist. So that was something he felt he had to tell me.
Robinson: That’s a good childhood.
Lowe: That would be great in Us Weekly.
Gervais: And then he went, "And the Easter Bunny is dead!"
[Laughter]
Ricky, is it true you break a lot during takes if you find something funny?
Gervais: All the time.
Ricky Gervais, Jennifer Garner and Louis C.K. in "The Invention of Lying"
Is that sometimes frustrating for your co-stars?
Gervais: Oh, I imagine so. [He says jokingly] Jennifer thinks I only ruin good takes on her side. Well, if someone says something funny, I laugh. Just because I heard the line 15 times before, or if I even wrote it, it doesn’t matter.
Garner: Even if you’re the one saying it … This is the man in charge. He’s the one that wants to use the footage in the camera to be the stuff that you’re going to use. He’s encouraging you to improvise. You toss something out there, and on top of your line, he ruins the take with a cackle that I completely from another world!
Gervais: [She says jokingly] So no. No actors are ever frustrated by it.
Garner: On the one hand, you’re so happy because there’s nothing better than making Ricky laugh. He has the best laugh in the world, you know it genuine, and it’s like a badge of honor to make him laugh. But on the other hand, you say, "Oh, I can never get it like that again!"
Gervais: I never knew she felt like that.
Garner: Oh, please! You can laugh at me any time. I like your laugh.
Ricky, can you tell us more about your new TV series?
Gervais: It’s a 13-part animation of the podcasts that I do with Steve Merchant and Karl Pilkington. I’m just so excited about it, because the world is going to get another Homer Simpson in Karl Pilkington. And unlike Homer, whom you can’t meet because it’s 20 writers and actor [doing the Homer Simpson character], you can actually meet Karl Pilkington. That’s the joy. He’s real. It’s so much funnier. It’s not scripted. He’s not an actor or a comedian. He’s just a strange, rounded-headed little oddity. It’s coming to HBO in January [2010].
What’s the show called?
Gervais: Even though [Karl Pilkington’s] the star, it’s called "The Ricky Gervais Show," because that’s what they called the podcast. It’s the Trojan horse to get Karl out there. I just want Karl to be famous, because I know he’d hate it. That’s the fun for me. I want people to be shouting at him, "Hey, you’ve got a round head!" on the street. That’s what friends are for.
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Jennifer Garner in "The Invention of Lying"
Jennifer, what’s your policy about having your kids on your movie sets?
Garner: My kids come to work a lot when I work, but the little one’s only 8 months old, so she doesn’t get it. The older one thinks I work in a trailer. She thinks my work is getting hair and makeup done. That’s as far as she’s gone. She’s made it there and she’s made it to craft service. She’s never seen a set. She will at some point.
But if you ask her what I do, she’ll say she’ll remember me bowing onstage when I did a show in New York. She’ll say, "My mom, sometimes she bows onstage, and sometimes she gets her hair and makeup done." It’s a great job. She gets M&Ms when she comes [on set].
Can you talk about some of the supporting cast of "The Invention of Lying"?
Gervais: We cast all our favorite actors and comedians of the moment. It’s as simple as that. Christopher Guest is an icon and the biggest influence on my acting, certainly. "Spinal Tap" is a direct influence on "The Office" — straightforward steal of that style …
Robinson: We cast the whole film on paper at dinner one night.
Gervais: Absolutely. We’d seen Louis C.K. on YouTube and I now confirm that he is the best stand-up [comedian] in America. John Hodgman, I met at a conference and I just got on with [him]. And we just made a list of who we could get.
Robinson: And we got every single one of them, which is a testament of how much people wanted to work with Ricky.
Obst: … They all so much wanted to be in Ricky’s [film directorial] debut. And they liked the script.
Gervais: I think it’s like what Rob [Lowe] said as well. He says he likes comedy. It’s like a day off. This is like a day off, this is a fun day, and we make it fun. It’s like they’re chilling out for the day.
Robinson: Philip Seymour Hoffman had just come off 24 hours earlier playing a pedophile [in "Doubt"], so I think it was fun for him to come [to "The Invention of Lying" set] and play around.
Gervais: I didn’t know Philip at all. So I called the agent and I said, "It’s just a cameo." "He’s very busy. Do you want to send an e-mail about the film to pass on [to Hoffman]?" So I sent an e-mail that said, "Dear Philip, can you please do my new film? There’s no money, as I spent the entire budget on testicular implants. But don’t think of them as my testicles, think of them as your testicles." And [his agent] called back and said, "He loved the e-mail. He’ll do it." So you take a chance. And I think it starts like a fun idea?
Ed Norton has a memorable cameo in the movie. What was it like to work with him?
Robinson: Ed Norton made up about 75 percent of the lines that are in his [scene]. He came with a character. We shared a double-banger trailer and I heard him rehearsing his lines about an hour before he came on set.
Gervais: He did a Boston accent, because [the scene] was shot in Lowell [in Massachusetts].
Robinson: We thought he was just going to show up, mess around, have a little fun. But he came in and he took it seriously and he added a lot. That was originally a 15-, 20-second scene.
Obst: And he had a one-day window out of the whole year to do this.
Gervais: With the guys and the amount of time we had with them, there was no Plan B. It raining would’ve screwed the film up. We just had to hope. I can’t believe we got away with it!
Robinson: We got lucky. That Ed Norton scene was a minute an a half and it was originally supposed to be 20 seconds. But he was so great and brought so many funny lines that we made it a real sequence.
Matthew Robinson and Ricky Gervais on the set of "The Invention of Lying"
Ricky, what did you learn from directing "The Invention of Lying" that you’ll take with you into other films you direct?
Gervais: What have I learned? I’ve learned nothing at all. I went there with a theory of how to do it, and I just kept to it whether I was right or wrong.
Robinson: You told me last night: surrounding yourself with great artists.
Gervais: That’s what I love. That’s why I do this. I surround myself with people who are better at their job than I am. It’s as simple as that. You’ve got to remember that. I’m in awe of artists. I’m in awe of them doing their job well. I’m in awe of people who’ve got a skill and they’re proud of it and they’re the best person. It doesn’t matter what that is, I really admire people who’ve got a pride in their work. And that’s what’s fun …
Jennifer and Rob, what’s next for you?
Lowe: "Brothers and Sisters."
Garner: "Valentine’s Day," I just finished work on. It’s the ultimate Valentine’s Day romantic comedy and which is the most satisfactory thing besides this ["The Invention of Lying"] that audiences will ever see. And then I’m just taking a break with kids.
Jennifer, would you want to work with your husband, Ben Affleck, on another movie?
Garner: The question keeps coming up. We have literally never spoken about it. I said, "I would love to." And he said [in an uninterested voice], "Yeah." [She laughs.] I think he’s a beautiful director and such a gorgeous writer but to go to work with him, I need to go home to kids.
Gervais: If you worked with him and you said, "Hmm, you’re going to do it like that?" What would happen?
Garner: I guess I never thought about it. I guess someday. Life is long.
RELATED LINKS ON EXAMINER.COM:
Press conference with Jennifer Garner for "Ghosts of Girlfriends Past"
Interview with Jennifer Garner for "Ghosts of Girlfriends Past"
"The Invention of Lying" Toronto press conference (Sutton Place Hotel)
Interview with Ricky Gervais for the 2010 Golden Globe Awards
Photo credits: Photo #1: AP. Photo #2: Carla Hay. All other photos: Warner Bros. Pictures.
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