Aha, so we decided to run the Justin Long interview today after all. How exciting! So, sit back, make fists with your toes, and enjoy. Die Hard 4.0 is in cinemas now. We quite enjoyed it. Click here to watch the trailer.
What kind of guy are you at the start of the film?
Justin Long: I’m a freelance hacker called Farrell and I’m very amoral. They pay me to do my work and I crack security codes. I’ve cracked one that the bad guys needed to complete their plan, and I get inadvertently involved in a nefarious plot to take over world. John McClane comes to my apartment to pick me up and take me for routine questioning at the exact time the bad guys are trying to kill me, which is fortunate for me.
How much did you know about this technical field?
I was not an expert before starting this film, but the screenwriter was in touch with an actual hacker who he would correspond with and I was always getting pointers from him about the technical details. I am terrible at math and my mind doesn’t work like that, so it was extremely difficult for me to even grasp what my lines meant. It was like a foreign language.
What was the most difficult line?
A mutating encryption algorithm. I would trip up over the very technical language a lot.
What is your on screen relationship with Bruce Willis?
We have a great dynamic. He ends up becoming my protector, but he also needs my help to unravel this terrible plot, because he knows nothing about the modern world and the internet and I know nothing about being a man and using my fists and defending myself, so we have a symbiotic relationship. His daughter ends up getting kidnapped and then I end up getting kidnapped with her. There is some romance, but I don’t want to give anything away.
Is Farrell the quintessential computer geek?
Well, I guess he is nerdy, but more than that, he is hip and sarcastic, he gets the jokes, but he does not have experience with the ladies. He is holed up in his room the whole time in front of his computer screen and as a result he has no real life experience.
Were you a Die Hard fan growing up?
I grew up in a Catholic, conservative family so my parents were strict about what movies we watched. I loved Die Hard, but I did not see the uncut version of the original until I was older. I remember when I saw the film on TV as a kid, I never understood what McClane was saying when he said that famous line: ‘Yippee-kay-yay, mother…’. They would cut out the curse words on TV. I just didn’t get that line. It really helps a lot when you add the ‘f’ word.
Were you a big Bruce Willis fan?
I was, when they called me about the film I thought they joking at first. I never even get auditions for movies like this and it was just a thrill to get to go and audition with Bruce. I honestly thought that it was just a one shot thing, that I would do the audition and that would be the end. So I wasn’t nervous at all, I was actually quite excited to go in and meet him. There are so many good, young actors and I saw several guys I knew at the audition. I think I just have a very low opinion of myself. I just assumed they would hire somebody better than me.
How did you find Bruce Willis?
He has a great presence, he is quiet and very cool and I remember thinking that first time, that he looked like an eagle, bald and in great shape. He was regal and just cool, but also down to earth. He said: ‘How are you doing’ and I was disarmed by him from the start.
So when you got the job, how thrilling was it for you?
It was a thrill. Bruce called me himself and I was so excited, I kept the message on the machine. He said: ‘Justin Long – Bruce goddamn Willis here, how the hell are you?’. He was so laid back and said he was glad we were working together. I couldn’t believe it and I played that message like a nerd for all my friends. I was such an idiot.
Can you talk about the action in the film?
A lot of my involvement in the action meant guttural reactions to what was going on all around me. We will get shot at and Bruce would throw me behind something to save me. I have an arc as the film progresses, but during the journey I do become more of a man and pick up a gun. For most of the movie though, I am reacting in the way that anyone would react and I tried to put myself into Farrell’s situation. At the end I do get a shoot a guy, but he’s not a very important guy, he is henchman number four. But it was cool and I had been looking forward to it after months of being on the sidelines.
Was it scary at all doing the tough action scenes?
It was like doing a horror movie, there was a heightened sense of fear that I felt. A lot of it for me was very physical, I liked using anything real that I could. For example, I always wanted them to shoot the blanks and I didn’t like using earplugs because I wanted everything to be as life-like as possible. So every time the gun would go off, I would get a natural jolt of adrenalin and fear. When the guns were pointed at us, there was a terror that gripped me. It was not difficult to act some of those scenes, though doing them over and over again was painstaking and quite exhausting.
Did you have to train for the film?
I was already in good shape because I had been working out for a film about a runner, but basically, I just had to be generally fit, because Bruce did most of the big stunts. A lot of my involvement in the big action set pieces was being the cheerleader. I was the guy on the sidelines going: ‘Look out look out! Oh my god!’
What was it like getting to know Bruce and working with him?
He is the movie. No-one knows the character better or the genre and Len Wiseman, the director, recognised that as well. I would go to Bruce for advice on how to play a scene and he was very forthcoming with ideas. He is so good at acting within exciting action scenes and making it look organic. He knows how everything will be cut and I learned a lot just by watching him and observing his style. He is so relaxed, the opposite of me. I really liked and respected his style and I was in awe of him, he would slip in and out of character easily. Whereas I am so pretentious, I have to stay focused and concentrate on the scene.I am preparing for the action by running in place and doing jumping jacks. Bruce can jump right in…
Posted by Thin White Duke
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