Set Visit: Get Him to the Greek!

Russell
Brand interview / Jonah
Hill interview / Director
Nick Stoller interview

The green band trailer is awesome. The red brand trailer may require adult diapers. Why yes, I am talking about GET HIM TO THE GREEK! Russell Brand reprises his scene-stealing FORGETTING SARAH MARSHALL turn as musician Aldous Snow. As you’ll recall, Aldous was clean and sober, until an unfortunate dinner with girlfriend Sarah (Kristin Bell), her ex, (Jason Segal) and his girlfriend (Mila Kunis)…and a pretty awful shirt.

GREEK takes place around three years after the events of FSM and Aldous is back on the funny pills, heroin…whatever he can get. Jonah Hill is a young record executive who has 72 hours to get him from London to the Greek Theater in Los Angeles. I was lucky enough to check out the Los Angeles set last year and speak to director Nick Stoller, and stars Jonah Hill and Russell Brand. And watch video of Brand doing something to Hill that…oh, just read on.

Jonah Hill and Russell Brand at the legendary Greek Theater

Yeah, we know what you’re thinking. Jonah Hill as a adorably creepy Aldous stalker. How did he get into a record company. But Hill is playing a completely new character. Hill told us, “That character was funny for SARAH MARSHALL because it was such a cameo, peripheral character. He couldn’t carry a movie unless you found some emotional depth to him, which I didn’t really have. I thought of a lot of funny ideas about him, that he was possibly homo-erotically obsessed with Aldous and just obsessed with him, but I don’t think you can do that for a whole movie. You have to create a person you can connect with, where I feel that it’s a three-dimensional human being.” He also said that there are no references (or at least there weren’t at the time of the set visit) to his being a different character. Look, this is a comedy, and personally, I think it was a good choice. A more successful twin? A doppelganger? Naw. Wouldn’t work. And the two had some serious chemistry in SARAH MARSHALL. I’m willing to give that the benefit of the doubt.

We got a chance to watch them film a scene in a Vegas club. Higher up record exec. Sergio, played by P. Diddy…wait, that is what we’re calling him these days…(I think?)…sat on a couch with Brand and Hill, telling Hill that he needs to go fuck one of the girls in the club. Hill gives it a shot with a tragically drunk girl who seems perfectly willing to do whatever he says. Diddy seemed a bit nervous. In fact, we didn’t get a chance to speak to him. We were told that he was working on the acting. And as cool as it would have been, I’ve got to say, I never understood how actors can turn it off for an interview and then jump back into character.

Sean Combs and director Nicholas Stoller

Hill believes Diddy is a “truly funny guy,” telling us, “He flew out and auditioned for it and he fought for it, and he truly was the funniest person that auditioned. Everyone else was great, but he just fucking nailed it. Sometimes people just come in and knock it out of the park, and it’s not worth it to us to put him in the movie if he’s not going to destroy. The table read comes along and he’s like the McLovin’ of this movie, like, you know he literally just comes and steals the movie because every time he opens his mouth you know it’s going to be something hilarious.”

Director Nick Stoller showed us playback of the scene where Russell Brand removes a bag of heroin from Jonah Hill’s ass. Wow. That’s a sentence I never thought I’d type. We chatted with Hill about the possibility of a through the ass shot. No word on whether or not that’s in the final cut.

Brand and Hill on set

We’ll be bringing you brand new shots and interviews with the cast throughout the week. Meanwhile, I’ll be trying to get ‘Inside of You’ out of my head. (Or trying not to sing it loud enough to piss off my neighbors. Don’t tell them, OK?)

GET HIM TO THE GREEK will be released on June 4th, 2010.