“A Minecraft Movie” is jumping into theaters this weekend and is already being praised for its fun tone and more importantly, the dynamic chemistry between leads Jason Momoa and Jack Black. ABC4 Film Critic and Celebrity interviewer Patrick Beatty was able to see that chemistry first-hand in an interview filled with questions from Utah kids who love Minecraft.
Jack Black, Jason Momoa
Q: What is your favorite Minecraft monster?
Jason Momoa: “I like the Enderman because they’re a bit scary. The Enderman was kind of dangerous. I like that.”
Jack Black: “You can’t beat the Enderman.”
Jason Momoa: “Sorry. One more. I really love that fuzzy Bee.”
Jack Black: “That’s not a villain, though. He’s a good guy.”
Jason Momoa: “My bad.”
Jack Black: “Dude, you were right about the Enderman. Enderman is the most badass. If you’re a monster. But, But, BUT! Sorry. Too many buts? I’m going to say Malgosha, which is really just a creation that we created for this movie. She is the queen of the Piglins, an evil witch Piglin. She’s badass and she’s terrifying, and she wants to destroy all creativity in the overworld.”
Jason Momoa: “What’s the name of the big guy? … The big, pig that she releases. Remember what was the name?”
Jack Black: “[Whispering] I forgot, what the hell was his name? Was it… Baaarble. Let’s call it Barble. There’s this big general- General. General,”
Jason Momoa: “Help us out over there — Oh, Chungus! General Chungus.”
Q: When it comes to the Mobs and Tools in the movie, were any of them real, or were they all CGI?
Jason Momoa: “Yeah, those are actually our stuntmen. Those are our friends and they would have the polka dot suit on and the helmets and stuff like that. But we were actually fighting someone.”
Jack Black: “We had to imagine what they were looking like. But we had pictures and drawings of them, so we knew what they were going to be. But, but, BUT when it came to my wolf, Dennis, there was a dude who was an actor who had like a Dennis suit and a Dennis box head, and he was acting and he was really there for me to interact with and that was super helpful because when you when you put a face to the person you’re acting with, it creates a lot more emotion that you can have. He was actually a really good actor too. Really good physical actor.”
Q: Will you be playing ‘Herobrine’ for the sequel, Jack?
Jack Black: “Dude, you want to know if there’s Hero Brian in the sequel? We don’t know. We don’t know … I hope so.”
“A Minecraft Movie” will be available exclusively in theaters Friday. You can see more interviews with the cast and director this weekend on See It or Skip It.
Jared Hess
Q: What made you want to jump into the Minecraft world?
Jared Hess: “I’m such a huge fan of the game. When it came out, my kids and I would play it, and it was such a ridiculous good time. It was the perfect place to set an epic, hilarious adventure film so, it was kind of a dream come true for me.”
Q: How do you infuse that Napoleon Dynamite humor into such a big-budget tent-pole film like this?
Jared Hess: “I made a movie with Jack Black almost 20 years ago called ‘Nacho Libre.’ Since then, we’ve tried to work together again, and stuff’s come and gone, and finally, the stars aligned to be able to work with him on ‘A Minecraft Movie.'”
“Jason Momoa too. I’ve been such a big fan of his, and to come up with a character where instead of him kicking butt, he’s getting his butt kicked most of the film — I mean, look, he’s the biggest hunk on the planet — and to see him be like a giant, delusional nerd was so much fun. I think for me, I’m so interested in character-based comedy and when we were coming up with each character in the film, we just wanted to bring that special kind of nuance and character quirks that make it memorable and relatable. I think that’s where some of that tone comes from. It’s just what I’m interested in.”
Q: I think there were also a few nods to your previous work with Jack Black in the ring, seeing a little bit of ‘Nacho Libre.’ Was there anything that I missed regarding llamas, though, that comes to mind?
Jared Hess: “That’s so funny. In Napoleon Dynamite, there’s a lot. It was actually my mom’s llama in the film, and in Minecraft, the game, there are llamas everywhere, and they’re super funny, super weird, and so we just had to bring them to life on the big screen.”
Q: How is improv on set with all of these comedic actors?
Jared Hess: “It’s so much fun. When you’re working with Danielle Brooks or Jennifer Coolidge or Jack or Jason or whoever, it’s so much fun and Jemaine Clement too, one of my favorite actors of all time, he’s just so funny.”
“But Jennifer Coolidge, look, the outtakes that we had with her, we could have made a whole other film, she is so funny. She had the crew in stitches constantly. We could have had a whole other side movie about her and the nitwit at dinner.”
Q: How much pull do you have to make that happen?
Jared Hess: “Oh man. I wish it might be rated R, but the PG stuff’s in the film.”
Q: Minecraft is such a creative world, and a whole generation has learned so many things through that. During your time as a kid, what was your Minecraft? What was your creative outlet?
Jared Hess: “For me, it was making films like I had such a passion for movies and then started making videos at home with my friends and my brothers. It was just kind of a passion that turned into a hobby. I had a dream of becoming a filmmaker and telling my own stories. My creative outlet was making videos and films.”
Q: Let’s talk about Steve for a second, because Jack Black may not seem like the initial choice to play this character that kind of doesn’t have any emotions in the game.
Jared Hess: “Jack being Steve was the number one choice. Jack was such a big fan of the game. He’s such a big gamer, but he’s also, he’s just a big kid, you know, he’s a child at heart. The energy and the passion that he brings to everything that he does, it only made sense for a guy like him to be like — as a child, he yearned for the mines. It’s such a strange obsession to have. But yeah, with Jack doing it, it makes sense.”
” … Jack might be one of the greatest athletes of our time. The dude is the most agile guy you’ve ever met. He’s totally shredded. Don’t underestimate him.”
Danielle Brooks
Q: Minecraft is such a big, important part of a generation of kids and how they’re able to use their imagination. What was your Minecraft when you were young?
Danielle Brooks: “Acting, period. That was it. I remember learning about Shakespeare and as kids, we got to create our own worlds and try to bring Shakespeare to life in a different way, or I remember rolling around, acting like pigs and cows and … acting games you used to play, that was my Minecraft. That was where I got to create, where I got to meet different characters.”
Q: Was there a lot of improv on set that you guys could go back and forth on, or was it all just written down on the page?
Danielle Brooks: “It was a ton of improv. There were a ton of times where the writer or director would just whisper something in your ear and be like, ‘Okay, we’ll just call him a — you know, whatever, make up something. Insert funny joke.’ That’s what a lot of the time what had happened. I loved it.”
Q: Is it challenging when you’re improvising for something that might be more kid-friendly, and you have to be more restrictive?
Danielle Brooks: “That is so challenging because for me, I just came off Peacemaker for HBO, which is Warner Brothers too, and that was tough because those guys — oh my, night and day. Trying to clean up the jokes and leave out the cuss words was a little challenging, but we did it.”
Q: With what you know about Minecraft, do you have a favorite character? Do you have a favorite animal? Favorite area?
Danielle Brooks: “I really do love Steve and I love Steve and Dennis’ relationship that turns into Don and Dennis together. I love that journey. But then I also like Clemente, who doesn’t love Clemente? I think the relationship that he has with Jennifer Coolidge’s character is hilarious.”
Q: If there’s anything that you want audiences, or more specifically parents, to take away from this film, when their kids are like, ‘I’m going to play Minecraft for 80 hours afterwards.’ What’s the benefits?
Danielle Brooks: “It’s true. I think there are benefits to it. I see it more now than I did before because I have a kid, too. But she’s not old enough to play quite yet. I do see that we need to escape sometimes. We need to get away and create our own world.”
“These kids are going through so much. Middle school is harsh, high school is tough. Even college, like transitioning to adulthood, can be really tough. It’s okay to let your child go play a game. It’s way better than some other things they could be doing. I say let them go play, but make sure you go watch the movie first.”
Note: See It or Skip It is proudly owned and produced by Patrick Beatty. ABC4 is a broadcast partner, but the show, its content, and opinions are independently created.
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