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Dwayne Johnson and Jessica Biel explore alien life and love
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Jessica Biel and Dwayne Johnson
"Planet 51" is a space-alien animated film about exploring new territory — and exploring new territory is exactly what Dwayne Johnson and Jessica Biel did for the movie, since "Planet 51" is their first animated feature. The movie tells the story of how an American astronaut named Captain Charles T. Baker (voiced by Johnson) lands on Planet 51, where its green residents treat him with suspicion and fear. Among the residents on Planet 51 are earnest teenagers Lem (voiced by Justin Long) and Neera (voiced by Biel), who try to understand the American alien who has arrived on their planet.
"Planet 51" has themes about tolerance and loyalty, but there’s also a subplot about how Lem has the hots for Neera and how he awkwardly tries to date her. At a recent press conference in Los Angeles, Johnson, Biel and Long sat down to talk about bringing their "Planet 51" characters to life, what the freedoms are in working on an animated film, and if they believe intelligent life exists on other planets. Biel also gave an update on her co-starring role in the movie version of "The A-Team," and former wrestling champ Johnson explained why he’s been doing so many family films lately.
Jessica, how did you bring your sultry sex appeal to your "Planet 51" Neera character?
Biel: Do you have sultry sex appeal? Thank you! That’s lovely. I think it was just trying to create a 16-year-old girl who think she has this confidence and sexy, "I’m a woman" attitude, but in a way, at the same time, still trying to figure it out with boys, and trying to see how far she can push the envelope with authorities and what people tell her to do. So I think I was trying to create that person I was when I was 16: confident but insecure, pushing the envelope but still feeling like you were a little kid, thinking she was a strong, independent sexy woman, but still not there 100 percent. So that was what I was trying to do.
Neera (voiced by Jessica Biel) and Lem (voiced by Justin Long) in "Planet 51"
Jessica, did you think about the history of leading ladies in science fiction while you were playing this character?
Long: I’m guessing no.
Biel: No. That would be the correct answer. [She laughs.] I never thought about that.
Long: I don’t want to speak for you.
Biel: No, any time.
Long: It’s funny because they had originally cast Harvey Fierstein in Jessie’s role.
Neera (voiced by Jessica Biel) in "Planet 51"
Did you see anything in the character physically that reminded you of yourself?
Biel: Physically speaking? I saw some things physically that I do myself. I think it was so weird to hear my own voice. Do you guys agree with that?
Long: Yeah. My brother didn’t know that I was in the movie. I don’t know why. He doesn’t pay attention to my life. And he heard a commercial the other day, and he was like, "I heard [your voice] coming out of a green alien." I’m sure he wasn’t stoned at all. For me, I thought they captured pretty accurately me from the waist down.
Johnson: I couldn’t believe it. Is that all you?
Long: They did take a mold of my body, because they do that whole thing with the 3-D animator. It’s fascinating, that process. I gesticulate a lot, usually very effeminately. That was a nice freedom to have in the room: I could just wildly use my hands.
Johnson: I’ve got to say that was the coolest thing when I watched [the movie] … For me, it was the first time I had done an animation movie and trying to bring the characters to life with your voice. Pitch and intonation — things like that which I thought were really cool — and then listening to these guys — Jessie [Jessica Biel], Justin [Long] and Seann William Scott all did a great job of bringing all these characters to life. In a movie like this, facial expressions are over-the-top. For these guys to find that was awesome and something that jumped out at me.
Dwayne, how did it compare being a computer effect in a movie to playing the Scorpion King?
Johnson: The difference was in this [Planet 51"], I had to bring the character to life with my voice. With that ["The Scorpion King"], it was ["The Mummy" and "The Scorpion King" director] Stephen Sommers saying, "You’re claws and you’re trying to get Brendan Fraser!" "Oh, OK, you’ve got it." But still, at the end of the day, the process was pretty fascinating and I thought the challenge was pretty cool.
Lem (voiced by Justin Long) and Charles T. Baker (voiced by Dwayne Johnson) in "Planet 51"
Do you believe in the possibility of intelligent life on other planets?
Biel: I do.
Long: I do.
Johnson: Me too.
Biel: There’s so much space.
Long: Done! It’s arrogant to think it’s just us. Who else agrees? Show of hands.
Biel: I agree.
Long: I had a bit of Carl Sagan to prepare for that answer. That’s how I came up with that great, articulate answer.
Lem (voiced by Justin Long) and Charles T. Baker (voiced by Dwayne Johnson) in "Planet 51"
Did this movie make you wonder how you could better contribute to this world?
Long: Wow. That was beautiful! [He starts to clap.] That was the most beautiful, angelic question.
Biel: We’re all stumped.
Johnson: I’m going to take a crack at this. It had a utopian sense to it, which I thought was really cool. I think that the writers and producers involved came up with a pretty cool concept. My takeaway from it was just to be better and wanting to live better. I think of us as individuals, everybody wants to get better at whatever it is they want to do: better boyfriend, better son …
Long: Better co-star.
Johnson: Better co-star. [He laughs.] So that’s my crack at it.
Biel: What I took from your question is the idea of more of an innocent time, a time that was a little more conservative. I’ve always been interested in the ‘50s and that feeling of ... I don’t know, it was just simpler. But I think this movie is [about being] open to change. Obviously, a lot of our world is changing, but in this ["Planet 51"] world, a lot is changing as well — and to be accepting of change and something that’s different from you and be excited to experience that, because only through change can you grow and learn more about yourself as a human or alien.
Long: [He says jokingly] I think what you were asking was, "How much money did we all make doing this?" That’s basically what you’re getting at. I think I have a back end [of the profits] …
Johnson: I have no back end.
Long: I like that it brings that ["Planet 51"] brings up that it’s set in an idyllic society but also kind of a repressed one. It sort of mirrors our 1950s, and it brings up the issues we dealt with and are still dealing with: paranoia and people who were a little bit different in judging people. So in that sense it’s timely and there’s a little lesson embedded underneath all the cute, fun green stuff.
Johnson: Well said! Both of you, well said!
Jessica Biel at work on "Planet 51"
Can you talk more about your experience doing an animated movie compared to a live-action movie? Can you have more fun and flesh out your characters more in an animated film?
Biel: I think in one sense you can. You can just be crazy. You can talk with your hands, you can go really broad, you can take it really small. And really, it’s our director guiding you along. You’re not reacting to anything. Sometimes you get to see some of the animation that was already done and some that was in kind of in a process. It was an ongoing process.
Long: I think we did an initial pass. This movie had been going on for years. I think they had been dong it for the last three years. Initially, we just recorded it all, and they’d give us templates. We were able to see art. And as they had our recordings, they started animating to our recordings to the ones they liked, but then we’d have to go back over it and fill little holes and rewrite.
Johnson: At the end of the day, the process was a lot of fun. For me, personally, who hadn’t done animation before. At one point, there were about six guys in the room all giving their directorial opinions and you had to interpret everything that they’re saying, which made it challenging, but interesting … and fun.
Dwayne Johnson at work on "Planet 51"
Would you do another animated movie?
Johnson: Would I do it again? Yeah! I’d do it again in a second. Whether it’s a live action movie or whether it’s animation, it comes down to the story, and if you’re compelled or moved by the story and think you’re going to have fun and you think it’s going to entertain the audiences, which we all collectively felt that this would. Sure, I’d do it again.
Long: [He says jokingly] I wouldn’t.
Can you give some more details about being able to see the art before or while you were doing the voice work for "Planet 51"?
Long: They showed me some art early on that got me really excited, very turned. [He says jokingly] Not like that! I mean sexually! [He says seriously] It was just beautiful, like some of illustrations they had done.
Johnson: We were all shown early stages of the animation, and even at that time, the animation was gorgeous. And you couple that with the fact that these guys are so incredibly passionate about this project. I call ["Planet 51" director Jorge Blanco and co-directors Marcos Martinez and Javier Abad] the Spain Boys, the Boys from Spain, who are so incredibly passionate. They’ve been with this project since, I think, 2002. It’s been a long labor of love for them, a passionate project for them. Their passion in the room when you’re doing the voiceovers is very intoxicating and very inspiring.
Biel: Very true.
Justin Long at work on "Planet 51"
What was behind the idea of changing any of your voices for your "Planet 51" characters?
Biel: My pitch was changed. Jorge [Blanco] the whole time was [saying to me], "Higher!" … which was really hard for me to do at first …
Long: We did this over the course of a couple of years, during which time I apparently went through puberty. I was doing something else — a voice for "Alvin and the Chipmunks" — and they’re very careful about the intonation and the pitch for that voice. I worked with this voice coach and we just did the "[Alvin and the Chipmunks]: The Squeakquel" — and my voice coach says my voice has gotten [Higher]. And also playing a teenager, I had to say [he changes to a teenage voice], "Hey, Dad!"
Jessica and Justin, can you compare and contrast making a family film like "Planet 51" to making a horror movie like "The Texas Chainsaw Massacre" and "Drag Me to Hell?"
Johnson: [He says jokingly] Or "The Game Plan," by the way!
Biel: It’s a complete opposite, extreme opposite, for me at least. Making "Texas [Chainsaw Massacre]" was probably one of the hardest experiences emotionally and creatively. It was intense, because it was at this high level of freak out for about a month that is so not of this world. That kind of emotional strain was different.
With this movie ["Planet 51"], it was fun. I wanted to do it because it was speaking to my inner child. Yes, I want to be an alien! Yes, I want to be green! No, I don’t want to wear pants! I don’t want to go through hair and makeup. I just want to go to work. I don’t know about you guys, but for a girl, you have to go through so much hair and makeup and so many costume fittings. I have to sit in the chair for two hours in the morning, and it was so nice not to do that.
Long: Yeah, same thing. People don’t realize I have such respect for actors who are able to give convincing horror-movie performances as you did in that movie. It really is exhausting to maintain, because it’s your whole body. My biggest fear was of being caught in a dishonest moment. There’s nothing worse than being caught in a bad horror [acting]. But "Drag Me to Hell," it was [all about] Alison Lohman. I was just the boyfriend. But I did a few other movies that were at that level. It’s just grueling. You go home every night just drained emotionally. [He says jokingly] Same thing with "Planet 51."
Justin Long and Alison Lohman in "Drag Me to Hell"
Did "Drag Me to Hell" director Sam Raimi give you any good advice?
Long: Sam is very hands-on in the best way. And Sam’s a really good actor. People don’t realize he acted back in the day. He’s very funny. He’s great. He gets really into it. But all of that [horror acting] stuff was Alison … All that green-screen stuff … He’d get worked up and animated. He’s an incredibly passionate director.
But advice? I watched a lot of movies that reminded me of the character. So I’d watch romantic [movies] like "From Here to Eternity" and "Romeo and Juliet." That helped me out a lot.
Johnson: "Brokeback Mountain."
Long: "Brokeback Mountain." Exactly. You know, "Gang Bang 4."
Do you have any favorite alien invasion B-movies?
Biel: I never really got into those.
Johnson: Neither did I. I love the music in "Planet 51."
Long: I love old ‘50s monster movies that I used to watch as a kid. "The Twilight Zone." "That’s so Raven." Kind of similar.
Lem (voiced by Justin Long) and Charles T. Baker (voiced by Dwayne Johnson) in "Planet 51"
What do you think of the music in "Planet 51"? Did any of you have any favorite songs?
Johnson: I think it came down to whatever we could buy. "The Macarena" was one of the funnier songs we talked about putting in there. But if it were up to me, it would’ve been all Spice Girls all across the while movie. A reunion tour.
If you could travel back to a place like Planet 51, would you?
Johnson: I would. I think it was kind of cool back in the day when things were easier back then. It was very simple.
Long: It all depends for me. There are days where I wish I could be on Planet 51, and only hope I can encounter someone as understanding as Lem. I wouldn’t want to be imprisoned on Planet 51.
Lem (voiced by Justin Long) in "Planet 51"
How did you relate to your "Planet 51" characters?
Long: Well, this is a pretty easy answer. I was shockingly a bit of a nerd in high school.
Johnson: Studious!
Long: Studious! I was a little socially awkward. That was kind of nice to go back to that time, before I was jaded and over everything … [I had a] very similar experience in high school, just not as smart [as Lem], sadly. Lem was a lot brighter than I was.
Johnson: [Charles T. Baker] is incredibly arrogant. I’ve got to say, that’s me. I would say the parallels were maybe the fact that he was very entertaining … I have to say this: I really enjoyed the part in the movie where he reveals himself to Lem … and says, "I’m not the guy you think I am. I’m not this great guy. In fact, you’re more of a man than I am. I’m inspired by you." I love that.
Biel: I related to Neera, because when I was 16, I was pushing it on every angle with my parents, with the world. I thought I had it going on. I thought I knew everything, and I relate to her feeling of risk-taking. I had a little bit more of a bad attitude as a 16-year-old. She’s much more of a "wants to change this planet, wants to help this world, into peace." Into thinking for herself and being independent and risk-taker: that’s where I really related to her. She’s way more of a positive, charitable person than I was as a 16-year-old. The risk thing, the independence, the confidence with Lem … I relate to her a lot in that way.
Lem (voiced by Justin Long) and Charles T. Baker (voiced by Dwayne Johnson) in "Planet 51"
Why did the Planet 51 residents dislike humans? Was something cut out of the movie that would explain the dislike?
Long: In terms of it being a commentary on American culture and how people view us, I haven’t thought much about it. I would be afraid to attempt to even answer that.
Biel: We need to talk to Jorge and get down to that.
Long: There is that kind of warmongering and that jingoistic quality. There’s the idea that we have that collectively. That I noticed, for sure.
Johnson: I’m not quite so sure they thought of it in too much detail. And even Joe Stillman, who wrote [the "Planet 51" screenplay].
Long: [He says jokingly] But this is an opportunity to put words in their mouths. We could have a field day. "Joe is a racist. He’s a xenophobe."
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Neera (voiced by Jessica Biel) and Lem (voiced by Justin Long) in "Planet 51"
This was production company HandMade Films’ first animated feature. Did you sense that the producers were nervous about that?
Biel: I think they were a bundle of a mix of different things. I think, yeah, I’m sure there was a little bit of nervousness. But more than nervousness, it was excitement. They were so close, because it has been eight years that everyone has been working on getting this [movie] completely taken care of. They were excited. They were so giddy with joy that we were almost there.
Johnson: Yeah. It was a big combination of that: a little bit of nervousness, but they were really enthusiastic and excited and very passionate. And that came out in spades when you sit down and talk with them …
Did you seek out this movie or did the producers seek you out first?
Johnson: I heard that these guys were interested, and then I was, "I’m in!" I’m a big fan of [Justin Long’s], and I’ve known [Jessica Biel] for years. That was it.
Long: Are you kidding?
Johnson: No! No!
Long: Likewise. I heard about who was involved, and that was a big draw.
Biel: Me too, which is funny because we never saw each other [while doing the voice work]. Well, after work.
Long: Gary Oldman and John Cleese? So cool!
Biel: I know. So cool.
Charles T. Baker (voiced by Dwayne Johnson) and Lem (voiced by Justin Long) in "Planet 51"
Dwayne, how did your daughter react to seeing you as a character in an animated movie?
Johnson: It was interesting for her, because she just turned 8, and watching and hearing my voice but in an animated way, and then seeing me on screen [as a] white and blonde [character], was interesting to her, but nonetheless entertaining … White and blonde, I can do it all!
Biel: She’s probably confused at this point.
Long: That’s funny that you’re very Aryan [in "Planet 51"].
Dwayne, can you give us a quick update on if there will be a "Race to Witch Mountain" sequel? And what can you say about your films "The Tooth Fairy" and "Jonny Quest"?
Johnson: A "Witch Mountain" sequel, I’m not too sure about that. Well, I think great success breeds a lot of things, including sequels. The storyline was set up for a sequel. We’ll see. I’m not ruling it out. I can’t speak to it because I haven’t spoken to any of the guys at Disney about it. "The Tooth Fairy" is very funny. I can’t wait. It’ll be out in January [2010]. "Jonny Quest," I’m not too sure what’s happening with that.
Will we see you in a tutu in "The Tooth Fairy"?
Johnson: You’ll see me in a lot of things in "The Tooth Fairy." It’s great; the cast is great. Ashley Judd, Billy Crystal, Julie Andrews, Stephen Merchant …
Long: Stephen Merchant! So cool!
Dwayne Johnson and Madison Pettis in "The Game Plan"
Dwayne, why do you think you’ve been doing so many family films lately?
Johnson: For me, the goal was to work in as many different genres as possible and hopefully find success. But when you make a good family movie — we all know this, the importance and the great value of it — then everybody in the family can relate to somebody — or in this case ["Planet 51"], something`— on the screen. And that’s always enjoyable, because there’s always an important place in movies for family movies.
Dwayne, have you heard from NASA in how an American astronaut is portrayed in "Planet 51"?
Johnson: I’ve got to say that in post-production, in terms of marketing, the studio partnered up with NASA, so we had an opportunity to meet with a couple of individuals from NASA. So they loved the movie, love the message that we were able to pull out of it — in terms of the message and their interpretations of it. They’re great guys, and from what I know, they are happy with the movie.
How did it make you feel having NASA’s involvement in this way?
Johnson: For me, it was honor to talk with the individuals from NASA, who are cutting-edge and responsible for so much of what we have. To put it in perspective: "We made a great animated movie and are you happy with the character we made?" And they’re like, "Yeah!" "Great!"
Jessica Biel and Dwayne Johnson at the Los Angeles premiere of "Planet 51"
"Planet 51" addresses the fear of the unknown. Do any of you have that fear?
Biel: Fear of the unknown. Yeah, that’s a constant. "When are you going to work?" "I don’t know." I try not to think about it too much. "Can you pay your bills? Is t going to be creatively interesting?" That’s always there a little bit for me, even though I try to say it’s not.
Jessica, what can you say about your role in "The A-Team"?
Biel: I’m playing a captain. It’s going really, really well. It’s been a complete blast. I’m getting to work a lot with weapons again, which I haven’t done in a long time, which sounds weird. It’s the best to learn about that kind of thing, I think. The cast is wonderful. Joe Carnahan, our director [of "The A-Team"], is hitting the nail right on the head.
We’ve got a really interesting tone going on. I think I was a little bit concerned at first: "Were we going to be really kind of cheesy? Were we going to be dark? What were we doing?" I think we found lots of humor, and [it has] quite emotional and dramatic moments. There’s a lot of different things combined into this movie, but a lot of throwbacks, paying homage to the original show. We’re in the middle of it, so it’s hard to know. I think it’s going really well. Everyone says it’s looking really beautiful and the scenes are coming together really well. And that’s pretty much all that I can say.
Johnson: I was a big fan of the TV series, and when I heard they were going to turn it into a movie, I was really excited …
Long: Who plays B.A. Baracus?
Johnson: Rampage Jackson.
George Peppard, who played Hannibal Smith in "The A-Team" TV series, reportedly didn’t like women working on the show …
Biel: Well, he’s not going to be in the movie.
Long: Who’s playing the Hannibal Smith role in the movie?
Biel: That’s Liam Neeson. Bless him!
RELATED LINKS ON EXAMINER.COM:
Interview #1 with Dwayne Johnson for "Race to Witch Mountain"
Interview #2 with Dwayne Johnson for "Race to Witch Mountain"
Interview #3 with Dwayne Johnson for "Race to Witch Mountain"
Interview with Dwayne Johnson for "Tooth Fairy"
Photo credits: Photos #1, 16: Columbia TriStar Marketing Group. Photo #9: Universal Pictures. Photo #15: Disney Enterprises, Inc. All other photos: Columbia Pictures.
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