Michael Cera’s Trippy Role in a Chilean Film and Learning Spanish
- Details
- Category: Interviews
- Created: Wednesday, 10 July 2013 22:35
- Published: Wednesday, 10 July 2013 22:35
- Written by Lupe Haas
Michael Cera took a break from Hollywood and traveled to Chile to work with an independent filmmaker on a road trip movie about an American and his Chilean friends looking for a magical cactus that when ingested promises a high like no other. Cera’s character Jamie becomes obsessed with obtaining the rare plant known as the San Pedro while dealing with a strange free- spirited fellow American (Gaby Hoffmann) on their adventures. The film screened at the Sundance Film Festival where Silva was awarded with the Best Director prize in World Cinema. Watch trailer
Cera sought out Silva after watching his film The Maid and the two planned on shooting a film together in Chile. After living in Chile for three months, Cera returned to the United States when the film didn’t come together. However, Silva then called his new American friend for a new project based on real encounter during his own road trip with a woman named Crystal Fairy. Cera returned to Chile and they set out to the shoot the English-language road trip movie in two weeks. The actors only had an outline to work with rather than a script. The actors improvised the dialogue along the way, which Cera found refreshing. He admits most actors are so methodical about their performance that they would never take on the challenge, but he was up for the adventure.
During the guerilla-style production, when the scene called for the characters to drink the juice from the cactus flower, Cera and his co-stars, including fellow American actor Gaby Hoffman (Field of Dreams, Uncle Buck), did so in real life. Cera reveals the effect was “underwhelming” and the feeling was a slight buzz like the kind you get after drinking an alcoholic beverage.
“It didn’t work for anybody but Gaby. We had been driving around for a week, talking about it, thinking about it. Then I didn’t feel anything.”
Gaby Hoffmann says she experienced a real high while on the hallucinogen, but the director says she cheated since she drank a “double dose” of the mescaline from the San Pedro cactus.
On screen, the characters in CRYSTAL FAIRY do experience the effects of the plant, but Cera admits the reality was not as great.
Michael Cera isn’t the only American actor/producer to head to Chile to work with an independent filmmaker. Eli Roth recently released his latest producing/acting project, AFTERSHOCK with Chilean filmmaker Nicolas Lopez, shot in Chile on a low budget scale as well. Roth told CineMovie he was interested in creating a Chile-wood to tap into the talent and local resources. Silva tells us he is not interested in being part of any industry nor is he looking to break into Hollywood.
"When talking to press, I’d rather talk about the craft of filmmaking other than the industry. I hate Hollywood to start with, so to create a Chile-Wood…..”
Cera interrupts Silva, “You have a real prejudice" Silva explains filmmaking is a craft rather than a business, and he'd rather discuss the art of screenwriting or improv. Cera, for one, didn't take into consideration whether it was a Hollywood film or independent. He was a fan of Silva after seeing his 2009 film, The Maid.
As for learning Spanish while living in Chile for a few months, Cera boasts to us in Spanish that he picked up at least half the language and understands it.
CRYSTAL FAIRY opens in Los Angeles (Landmark Nuart, West LA), New York and select cities on July 12th.