Jason Bateman on Being Mean To IDENTITY THIEF Co-star Melissa McCarthy: 'I Had No Problem' (Audio)
- Details
- Category: Interviews
- Created: Tuesday, 05 February 2013 22:58
- Published: Tuesday, 05 February 2013 22:58
- Written by Lupe Haas
Listen to interview below.
At a recent interview with IDENTITY THIEF director Seth Gordon, and stars Melissa McCarthy and Jason Bateman, the director revealed the near disaster on set when Bateman picked up a real panini-maker, instead of a prop, and slung it towards Melissa’s head in a scene that called for his character to knock her down.
In IDENTITY THIEF, Jason Bateman’s character travels to Miami to confront the woman, played by the hilarious Melissa McCarthy, who stole his identity and maxed out his credit cards. A hilarious fight scene involves the two actors scuffling with each other in a tiny home packed with stolen items.Instead of grabbing one of the dozen rubberized panini props, Bateman grabbed the real one. Luckily for everyone especially Melissa, he missed. He joked with the director. “Listen! You put it in front of me… what am I going to do.”
CineMovie asked Jason Bateman for his side of the story when it came time to talk to the actor and Melissa. “That was a mistake. Regrettable!,” said Bateman. Melissa, however, follows up with “ I don’t know about that,” and proceeds to explain that there were 14 fake panini machines that weighed a quarter of an ounce versus the 32 pound real one, and he went for the heavy one. Bateman explained the real one was “little shinier” which may be why his eyes gravitated to it.
The panini incident wasn’t the only abuse Jason enacted on poor Melissa. While shooting the same scene, Bateman suggested using a guitar to take down McCarthy’s character. McCarthy recalls the half-joking comment but says he specifically called for the guitar to hit her in the face. When she looked at the director laughing in the corner, it made her nervous that Bateman’s idea was about to become a reality. Luckily for Melissa, the stunt woman took it in the face the next day after they constructed a helmet to protect Melissa’s double.
The IDENTITY THIEF script called for Bateman to be mean to the adorable thief throughout the story and on set. Bateman says he “had no problem" acting that out because after all, he's a method actor. Of course he’s joking, but the director blames Melissa partially as well for wanting to do her own stunts. “I would blame her,” said the filmmaker behind Bateman’s hit film Horrible Bosses. “She kept again and again wanting to do stunts herself.” McCarthy even suggested she perform her own stunt in which a car hits her character. “Maybe I can do it. Let me just watch,” she told Seth. Once she saw the stunt woman and Parkour specialist shoot the first take, she agreed it wouldn’t be such a great idea. Melissa would have to suffice with Jason Bateman trying to take her out with a panini-maker.
IDENTITY THIEF opens February 8, 2013.