MARCH 1, 2007ÑJohn Travolta and William H. Macy were born to be Wild Hogs.
Accompanied by Tim Allen and Martin Lawrence, Travolta and Macy get their motors runninÕ in an attempt to leave behind their mundane 9-to-5 existence. Naturally, these four weekend bikers learn the hard way that they canÕt cure a midlife crisis just by hopping on their Harleys, heading out on the highway, and looking for adventure.
The day after SuperBowl XLI, Travolta and Macy dismounted their bikes to sit down to discuss Wild Hogs. HereÕs what they said about:
Working together on a comedy after first starring together in the 1998 A Civil Action
John Travolta: A relief. I loved it É A Civil Action is a very heavy subject matter. The days were laden with significance and weight. And these days were laden with these opposite, you know, with levity and lightness.
William H. Macy: And motorcycles.
Travolta: And motorcycles.
Working as part of an ensemble cast
Travolta: I started out in comedy, so IÕm very comfortable with it. I like a team of funny people together. Makes me happy.
Macy: I know, and I donÕt I want to do anything that isnÕt a comedy from now.
Travolta: But I think Bill is an awfully funny actor. Even in his dramatic roles, he has an angle on them thatÕs always been funny to me. I think thereÕs a sense of humor.
Improvising on the Wild Hogs set
Travolta: Bill swears that nothing that was written that I said was supposed to be said. So that may be very true, but thereÕs a part of it that was É The situations were intact. And it was a very good situation comedy in that way.
Macy: Acting with these guys, though, you sort of donÕt get a cue per say. You wait for a lull in the conversation and you throw in your line.
Learning to ride a Harley motorcycle
Macy: I knew how to ride motorcycles. I had a couple of them. John was the only guy whoÕs really comfortable on the bike. Martin had never been on a motorcycle and will never get on one again. ItÕs a lot of motorcycle, but the dangerous thing about them is that itÕs very easy to get pretty good very quickly. But you really want to be careful until youÕre quite experienced.
Motorcycle-related accidents on the set
Travolta: Tim spilled over once. Did you spill over once?
Macy: Just dropped it. ThereÕs a tipping point É
Travolta: Obviously his character is having a learning curve. But outside the staged accidents, there were only a couple of spills. We really enjoyed it. We were schooled for about three or four weeks.
Riding their bikes after the cameras stopped rolling
Travolta: In a normal film, they wonÕt even allow you to ride a motorcycle, fly a plane or anything. So we were doing something with anti-insurance policies to begin with.
Macy: And they didnÕt like it. Between takes, we would just take off on our bikes. They would go white with fear.
Skinny dipping in one scene
Travolta: It was a highlight. First of all we looked forward to being in the water for several days, even though we got to be prunes after awhile. But it was great because we got to discover some improvisation as well. So I enjoyed the director allowing us to beef it up.
Macy: I wore a sock. You can imagine where you put it.
Travolta: It was dark, and you couldnÕt see anything, but we were naked at various points.
Tormenting a bull in another scene
Travolta: There was a moment when I wouldnÕt let them do what they wanted to do. The bull was loose and chasing us. There was a guy timing the gate to shut [it] just in time to stop the bull. Or not stop the bull. And they had a timer that was literally three feet from our butts. I said, ÒGuys, this is not OK, because the stunt guy got hit three or four times.Ó They assure us it was OK. ÒBut how can it be? The stunt guys have been hit three or four times with the horns.Ó So finally we stretched the distance, but you can see what I mean.
Macy receiving onscreen dancing lessons from Travolta
Macy: How about that? I got Marisa Tomei and I got to dance with John Travolta. Not too shabby.
Travolta: You and Princess Diana.
Macy: IÕm not a great dancer. I dance better when IÕm lubricated.
Their favorite motorcycle movies
Travolta: Well IÕm the one who put Peter Fonda in the movie. It was my idea. I saw Easy Rider when I was 13 when it first came out, and I remember the impact he had on the country. So it was kinda my bright idea and they bought it. And I thought it was a fun twist at the end. That I enjoyed, and I enjoyed BrandoÕs motorcycle movie. But that was early on. I always wondered why they hadnÕt done this kinda thing before. For 50 years itÕs been the hobby of men younger and up to our age, and I thought it was food for comedy.
Their way of blowing off steam when they're not working
Travolta: I do these things all the time. With planes, with cars, with motorcycles. So IÕm not a stranger to any of this stuff. Fortunately, I have a family that allows it. This is a very common situation, you know. Around the world. ItÕs not just an American thing. A lot of men our age want to be weekend warriors and they want to go out and explore the world with their bikes. And they get a little bored and itÕs a little mundane in their average jobs and their weekends are not enough. And they want to really do it, so.
A Wild Hogs sequel
Travolta: We had so fun that we would be fools not to. Take it to South America or Europe, or something. I think [MacyÕs] character in South America would be hilarious.
Macy: I think the characters are the strongest thing in the film. The plot is nothing surprising, really. ItÕs the characters and their relationship to each other, and that the fact they ride motorcycles together. So I can see another film coming out of this.
Roles for older actors
Travolta: There are roles up until the time we leave this body. WeÕre very lucky that way. ThereÕs no expiration date on actors. Whatever the roles are, we get to play to the very end. ItÕs almost as though, do you do that or do you ever take retirement. I wouldnÕt do what to do with retirement. I think IÕm looking forward to playing whatever role age hands me.
Macy: There is a moment in every actorÕs life when someone says, ÒWho to play your wife?Ó And you name a couple of actresses and they say, ÒNo, your wife, not your daughter.Ó
Plans to direct
Macy: IÕll do it this summer. ItÕs called Keep Coming Back. ItÕs written by Will Aldis. And itÕs Salma Hayek and Steve Buscemi and Mos Def. No, it wasnÕt an aspiration. It was a completely different job. An actorÕs purview is a tiny moment. We deal with seconds. And the directorÕs purview is the world. And itÕs not my strong suit to be organized and to keep up with a lot of facts in my head. But when I read the script, I just saw it so clearly in my mindÕs eye that I threw my hat in the ring to direct. IÕve gotten a little bored with acting over the last few years, and it felt like itÕs time to move on. And IÕve been writing a good bit. That gives me confidence. Everything IÕve written has been directed by Steven Schachter, the guy I write with. I think itÕs about time he wrote one that I direct. Let me get him on the phone?
Travolta: Probably not. My motherÕs a director, and I grew up observing the magnitude and responsibility of all that. And to be completely honest with you, I enjoy the responsible of an actor more. Even producing, the two times I did it, was hard for me. IÕm a very committed person. If IÕm on a boat, I stay on the boat. I donÕt have one foot on the shore and one foot on the boat. ItÕs 24/7 for both those jobs. If you are going to do a really good jobs of producing or a really good job of producing, you had better be committed. And I feel I can still have a life if I remain in acting. I can go to work and see my kids and put them to bed and have my weekends free. I can time off. IÕm intimidated by directing. Not because I donÕt think I couldnÕt do a good job, because I have enough experience to pull a film off, I just donÕt feel I can confront the magnitude and responsibility.
Macy: IÕve seen directors go on from the set on the last day of shooting to the hospital. IÕm not kidding. ItÕs that tough. Walt Becker, on this thing, had a thousand yard stare when he finished.
Travolta: HeÕs still every minute of every day [working on Wild Hogs]. ItÕs amazing. It was a year ago. I donÕt know how these guys do it. And if youÕre going to write and direct and produce, like Warren Beatty used to do, wow. What an undertaking.
Click here to read more of John Travolta's comments about his career.
Wild Hogs opened March 2. Click here for more information.
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