Jason Statham - Fate of the Furious, Fight Scenes w_ The Rock, more - Jim Norton _ Sam Roberts

You gotta go, Denny. Jason Statham is here. Yeah. Bet you he likes Barry Manilow. Denny, come here. Alright, Denny. Thank you. Where do you want me to sit? Uh, in your office. Where's Jason gonna sit if I'm here? Go sit in your office, Dennis. Jason Statham is here. How are you, buddy? How you been? Dennis is out of here. Where should I sit? Right where Dennis was sitting. Right, right there? Yeah. You could turn down to Barry Manilow. We were just listening to some Barry Manilow based on the shocking news of his coming out. He came out as gay. I was shocked. Barry Manilow. I had no idea. Nothing would have indicated it. I mean, you know, for 40 years, maybe. There's been a few little sneaky suspicions. Here and there, but not really. Here and there. Nothing, no dead giveaways. No, no, no. I'm always happy for people when they come out. Like, yeah, good for you. But it's sad that they have to wait so long. Like, you know, you're... What is the dead giveaway, by the way? Um, every song he's ever sung. I don't know what it is. You know what? I don't know. What makes you know somebody is... I don't know. You just kind of feel like, ugh. Yeah. You just kind of know. Just know. Like Liberace. Like it wasn't, you know. But I think Barry Manilow, like that Liberace time period, I guess it was a thing where you did have to stay in the closet for your fan base. Because that's what Barry Manilow said. Because the women liked you. He was worried about his fan base. But like, I'm sure, it's probably been 20 years at least that Barry Manilow could have easily just come out and not lost a single fan. Well, you're afraid that the women's fantasy of you... Like, you're a rugged guy. You know? You know, Jason. The idea of you, you know, that would probably kill a lot of female fans for you. They'd be like, ****, this is the guy that we... You think so? Yeah, I mean... I don't know. The fans would still like his work, but they would probably go like, whoa. I don't know. I'm not coming. Well, listen. Fast 8 is coming out. Yeah, it's coming out. Yeah. Are you excited about this? Um, yeah. I mean, it's another ******* movie, right? Yeah. That's the best promo... By the way, if you do the Tonight Show, please say that to Jimmy Falun. Can we swear on him? Yeah, yeah, yeah. Absolutely. But that's a great promotion. It's another ******* movie, right? Everybody's like, yeah. Yeah, I'll go see another ******* movie. Sure. Have you in your career... I'm sure you have, and you liked... I know this franchise you love. Have you ever in your career had to promote something that you didn't love and you got to do it? You don't even have to say what the movie was. Yeah, yeah. Plenty of ******* times. Oh, you haven't? Well, okay. Well, look, the point is, it's very hard to be open and frank about the ongoings or whatever. You know, let's say you work with a director who's a bit of an idiot, you don't get on, you don't really think he's that clever or whatever. It's very difficult to say that because it's just negativity. So it's better, you know, if you've got... My mom always used to say, if you've got nothing good to say, don't say anything at all. Yes, right. My mother wrote that down. She hated me. So in a way, it's better to not get into that world because you just sound like you're a bit of a negative chap. And, you know, not always. In all kinds of business everywhere, I think people, you know, you get the rough with the smooth. Some movies are the best, smoothest ride, and you can have the best fun. And they become, you know, a real purpose in your memory. And, you know, you look back with great fondness on those times. And others, you just can't wait to get the hell out of there. And that's just nature of the business, no matter what you're doing. But you've got to be beyond getting yelled at, though. Like, you know, like when you're newer, a director probably should talk to you a certain way. But it's not about even getting yelled at. I mean, you just really want, you know, you want to work with smart people, and smart people make you relax, and you can have a good time. But if people are doing stupid things in front of your nose, then it's very hard to say, you know what, this is a good day at work. Right. And you have to bite your tongue the whole time, or let him know he's being a ******* idiot. Well, that's the usual thing. Well, it's hard to say. You have to really be a good politician in what you do, and how you behave. Otherwise, you know, you end up in punch-ups every day. And you don't want a negative vibe on the set, even if they can't fire you because you're you. You still don't want that feeling on the set, like, ah, ******* Jason's different. Like, you want to do it smooth. So how will you tell somebody if there's a decision a director's making that you don't like? You know, you might want to voice your opinion. Will you take them aside and go, maybe we could try, will you be a diplomat about it? Yeah, of course, because you don't want to be, you just, you want to try and help people to help, you want to, you know, help me help you, you know, I think that's the idea. You want to, you want to try, and there's only so many times that you can really go there. But you want to try and be as helpful as possible. I think the best idea, you just want to get the job done. You know, some days you really have to be smart about how you handle things with certain people. How many times will you go to somebody with a suggestion or being like, look, I really think we should do it this way and not be listened to before you just snap? Like, what are you, what are we doing? You know, it's some people, you just, I don't know, it's some people have, I mean, the thing with a director, they have to have a vision, right? And it's sometimes not in line with what the script is or your perception of what the script is. There's a lot of moving parts with a script, with a movie as a finished movie. You know, you've got to pick the vision of what you might anticipate it to be, can be completely different by the time it's finished. And you have to accept that. I mean, we're, at the end of the day, we shouldn't be moaning because we're, you know, we're hired actors. You come in, you get paid, shut your mouth, do your work and go home. It should be a little bit of that. But sometimes you want to try and get involved and you want to try and collaborate and get things done and try and, you know, help with the creativity. And sometimes you can do that. Well, you also want it to be the best. There's no clear cut line about you being an actor, come in, say these lines and then go home. Or, you know, come in and collaborate and let's work this out and do things and, you know, make the best of it. Do you ever want to like, because you're a guy who does fast, high action movies. Do you ever like get offered parts like where you play something totally different? Like, you know what I mean? Like you're a concerned father and you're in a divorce and like it's a real soft role and you just don't want to do it. His daughter got kidnapped and now he must save her. No, no, no, that would probably be the same as Ursula. No, but I mean something that's so out of the box for you. Do you get offered that stuff? The mathematician that's going through a bitter divorce. No, I don't get offered those. You don't? Do you want to do one or no? Not really. You don't? No. I mean, I only want to do things that I think I could do a good job at. And I think I'll be no good at that. Really? No, I just, you know, I'm not an actor really. I mean, I used to, you know, work jewellery and pitch jewellery on the streets. Did some modelling. You're right. You know, I was a sportsman for years. I'm not really some thespian that can adopt and chameleon himself into different roles. I just got into this by, you know, being at the right place at the right time. I was, you know, working in the street, selling jewellery, and I got plucked from obscurity into the movie industry. So it's not like I spent years honing how to do different accents or pretending, you know, working on my craft, whatever it is. You know, that stupid line, you know, that doesn't apply to me. So, you know, I accept what I'm good at, or if I'm, well, I might not be good at any of it, but I accept what I feel that I'm confident at and just try and go with the flow in that direction, you know. Well, being confident at it and comfortable, I think that's the biggest part of it, and it's like it's just relaxing for you. You're not intimidated by any of it, and I think that's why you are good at what you do. Yeah, I mean, a lot of the characters I play are, you know, pretty similar in some ways. You know, I get a lot of the physical roles because I can do all that. So there's an authenticity with that. So I tend to stick to it, you know. And, you know, I try and do things that aren't always, like, bashing people up. I mean, I've done a couple of movies that, yeah, I played a bit of a drunken sort of homeless guy once. It was a movie called Hummingbird. That was a good stretch for me to do something that wasn't necessarily playing the hero because the hero is, you know, something that I've done a lot of, you know, with Expendables and Transport 1 and 2 and 3 and all those things where, you know, you have this indestructible sort of physical side. So I've done a couple of things, but it's hard. You have to really wait and choose something that really is of good quality because just to do something different. Actually, no, I did a comedy recently with Paul Feig and Melissa McCarthy, and that was one of the best laughs I've ever had. What was the movie? It was called Spy. It was a big movie, yeah. Oh, yes, that's right. Yeah, and that was a break away from what I normally do. So I really enjoyed that. And, yeah, it's, you know, now and again something comes your way and you go, yeah, I'll give that a go. Yeah, but it's not like I'm searching for it. Right, right, right. Your story is exactly what the guy from Captain Phillips thought was going to happen to him, the Somalian guy who's like, yeah, I got plucked from Obscurity 2 and now I'm in the movies. And they're like, no, no, no, no, no. You're in a movie. This doesn't keep going after this. Yeah, I met him. He was a really nice chap. I met him when he was a couple of years ago, three years ago. Right. Yeah. He got nominated for that. Yeah, he got nominated, yeah. That's almost a curse, though. Like, not that you can't have a good career, but if you get nominated or you win, like Timothy Hutton won for Ordinary People. Right in the beginning. Supporting actor, really young. Yeah, sometimes if you win too soon, even though he's always worked and he has a great career, but it jinxes you a little bit, I think, on some level. Yeah. I've got no worries about that. I don't panic about the jinxing. Do you go to the Oscars? No. I'm a member of the Academy. You've never gone? We never get invited. Do you have guys at home that came from where you came from that are like, especially when you first started, that were like, yeah, I'm going to do that too? Like, if you could just get plucked off the street, like, I'm going to be an actor. Right now I'm selling jewelry and I'm waiting to become an actor. Yeah, why you and not me? It's literally, it is that in some ways, because I've got a lot of people that are funny and you could put them in a movie, no problem. You get the right director. You get the right scripts. You get, you know, I think anyone can act really. I just think you need a guy that can cut and edit around certain things that you do. And I think, you know, I've seen, I've seen people do performances together in the edit room. They're really, really good. And on the set, you just go, Jesus Christ, this person doesn't know what they're doing. All of my work, actually. What they do is every scene I'm in, they just shoot me from the back and they just shoot around me. Isn't it refreshing, though, to hear an actor come in and go like, it's really not a difficult thing to do. It's not. It's not that hard. And I've watched people suck. If someone gives you something funny to say, you can probably make, you probably sound really funny and cool or whatever, you know? Right. But you've done stuff with people. You've seen people on the set where you're like, that's going to be a rough one to fix. And then they fix it. And then they fix it, yeah. What happened with The Rock on the set? Because while they were filming, The Rock goes off on Instagram while they're filming this movie, Fate of the Furious, which is in theaters next Friday. You know, I'm really good with The Rock and what he does and what he experiences is his own thing. And a lot of the time when we're working, you come in, you do your thing and you get in your car and you go home. So a lot of the time I'm not working when Vin's there or I'm not working when Tyrese is there. Everyone's got their own thing. So if stuff happens on set and you're not privy to what was going on, you just keep your nose out of it. So you leave them to it. You hear that story and be like, oh boy, like that's nothing to do with me. I'm not even going to ask. Yeah, I don't get into any of that. It's not my business and I don't want to make it my business. Right, right. The last thing you want to do is no. Because then now you're a part of this ridiculous story. Then you're a part of it, yeah. And you can answer your questions then, can't you? But now you can just come in and go, it's another ******* movie. Yeah, what do I know? I think it was the last Fast and the Furious movie, or the one before that, I think it was the last one though, when you and The Rock had this ridiculous fight scene in the office where you were shattering glass and everything. Right, yeah, yeah. How was it to take The Rock bottom? Because he did his wrestling move to you through a coffee table. Yeah, he's so cool to do things, to do an action sequence with because he's such a physical sort of expert in what he does. He moves fluidly, he's got great sort of judgment of time and space, so he's not going to whack you in the head by mistake, which is a godsend. That happens. You don't want to, yeah, people make mistakes. If you're not really, if you haven't got a good concept of your own sort of balance and space, if you're swinging hard with adrenaline, you're trying to miss each other but carefully miss each other. Right. And if you're not accurate in that sense, you can really make a mistake. And if he makes a mistake and you're on the receiving end of it, then it's straight down the hospital. So he's the opposite of that. I mean, he's extremely precise and he's just so relaxed and he's just a diamond to work with. He's a 10 out of 10. I'm watching the scene now. It's really well done. When you do a fight scene like that, like you said, you've got to miss each other's face by a quarter inch. Are you throwing five or six punches and then they change the camera or are you throwing literally one and they're shooting and then they're piecing it all together? Well, they shoot from different angles and you shoot it as a, it'll be five, six moves and then they'll capture it from different angles. And usually we try and use it in one camera, try and make it good for one camera or two, at least the coverage on two. But sometimes, you know, how they edit these things is again, you're at the mercy of the director and how they want to, how they see it. I mean, sometimes we'll shoot a sequence and it's a point of frustration sometimes because if you try and fight several guys or, you know, several opponents and you want one particular angle and you want to capture it in a single take, you'll have the camera sort of moving back with you. And it really sort of puts the audience into that moment. And I think sometimes nowadays you can get, there's so many cuts that it kind of takes you out of it. And, you know, in a way they can, they kind of ruin the sort of flow of it and the real, I mean, if you look at some of the old Bruce Lee movies or Jackie Chan or Jet Li, they'll leave the camera, a single camera on these chaps for quite a long time. And you get a real sense of them physically performing this fight. And I think a lot of the time now it's what you see in Hollywood. They chop, they cut it and they mess it up to some degree. And I think that's a lot to do a lot of the time with people that, you know, can't do three or four moves without ******* it up. Oh, and they're just like, well, we have the technology now to piece this together. Literally, you can make your grandma look good in a fight scene by, you know, the expertise of editing. I also think it's a part of, it moves faster too. They feel, everybody likes things to move very quickly. And it looks like a video game. Yeah, pow, pow. It just, there's very little setups in between. Yeah, it's almost like a style that has been, it's like a, you know, video high. They speed ramp certain things. So they make the, it looks a little unrealistic for some, you know, science fiction movies and stuff like that. I think, you know, the Matrix and trying to reference a couple of pictures, I think it looks really good and can look really impressive where they speed ramp it. And then they go extreme slow motion and they get a great effect with it. So I think it's all about the purpose and type of movie, whether it's good for, whether it's good to be used. I think it's really important what kind of film it is. Yeah, I mean, one of the like best fight scenes ever is that fight scene in They Live. And that's all, that's like a long, like 15 minute fight scene. And so many of the takes are really just long. And so it feels like you're actually, you can actually get lost in it. It's not this thing that you're like, ah, and you kind of develop this sense of like, okay, this isn't real. This is something else when the takes are long and you're watching these two guys fight. I think it's easier to get lost in the fact that it's real. Yeah. And, you know, there's one thing for sure. If if it's a long take, these guys, you have to be able to perform it. So, you know, you can't hide behind sort of stunt man and quick editing. So if you people like Tony Jaa is a tie fighter that basically does, you know, do you ever see a movie called On Back? No. Again, he did a really long time. I think it was like a seven minute fight sequence that went up a staircase, up a second floor, three, four, five, six floors. And he's he fights about, you know, 50, 60 guys. And you only I mean, I can't imagine how many times he's done that. But to get it all sort of inch perfect was is pretty outstanding to do that in today's world. That's why you're better off being in a John Woo movie. You can shoot everybody. All you got to do is point guns and shoot. Did you ever watch those old John Woo films? Those are like where Tarantino said he got a lot of his ideas and the double gun. That's those are the best movies, man. There's so much great violence in them. Yes. Is this? I doubt it. But is this do we know if this is the last Fast and Furious movie? It's called The Fate of the Furious. But it's that almost seems like an end. It's the film. But people kind of thought the last one was going to be the end because of Paul Walker. And they figured out how to do it. They figured out how to bring the franchise back, obviously. So in my mind, if people are still going to see these movies, just do them forever. Right. Who cares? Keep doing them. It's like, you know, the audience demands whether you do another or not. Right. I mean, if there's a billion dollars that's going through the cash register, there's another one coming. Yeah. So this will be the last one. If it doesn't sell, if it sells tickets, we got more. Yeah. Yeah. You know, the appetite is what, you know, creates the writers and everybody to get inspired and go, you know what? Maybe that guy didn't. And all of a sudden you've got a great script. I don't know what it is about these movies because I don't even like superhero movies anymore. Like I get tired of stuff, but I just keep going back to these Fast and Furious movies. I watch all of them like over and over. Like, I think they're awesome. Have you gotten hurt doing any of this? Any of these fight scenes? Have you ever gotten clipped? You always get clipped. Yeah. I mean, usually you end up going in with a little injury. Anyway, by virtue of what I've done over the years, I've always getting a few things stacked up. So you're always rubbing your leg and you always when I say get clipped, it's not like you're getting whacked in the head. I mean, we're not in the UFC. Yeah. These are the these are people that are really getting weird. We're just getting little tweaks and strains and silly stuff. You know, do you watch fighting? Do you like fighting? Yeah. You do. You enjoy watching my favorite thing. Boxing or UFC? UFC, actually. Oh, OK. Yeah. I've always been a fan from day one. It's my favorite sports. All I watch, really. Did you ever train martial arts? Yeah. What did you do? I did a little bit of jujitsu. I did a little bit of kickboxing. I've done, you know, pretty much the two most specific. And a lot of the fight training that we do is all sort of related to that. A little bit of judo I did for a while. Just, you know, screwed about and fucked about in different things. But never trying to achieve a certain, you know, oh, I need to get my black belt in this. Basically, what I do is just to try and use and adopt stuff for the, you know, for the work that I do. I've no plans to get in a ring. No, no, no. You just like doing it, though. Yeah. The discipline of it, I think, is great. And I think there's so much to be gained, to be got from doing martial arts. It gets people really sort of focused. And I think it really gives them a purpose. And there's a great community with all kinds of competitive sport. And I would recommend it for anybody. There's so much of it that, like, nowadays kids, kids, young kids are training in that with the intention of, theoretically, I could do this with my life. Because now there's so much money in it. It's become this realistic thing. Do you look at it like, oh, my God, if there was that much money in this when I was young, that's what I would be doing? No, I mean, I don't know what I was. I'd be doing what I was doing. I don't think I could go back and go, oh, that could have been something. I don't know. It's hard to say. But in addition to that, I just think a lot of the people that I've met from the fight world have just been really sort of really comfortable in their own skin. You know, Randy Couture, people like that that I've met, they're just, it just breeds a certain confidence. And I think that some of the fighters are just, like, really cool. Yeah, it must be nice to know you could beat the ---- out of anybody in the room. I've never had that feeling. That must be a comfortable feeling where you have nothing to worry about. I would assume. I would never have that feeling. I don't know. No. Well, yeah, you're pretty tough. I don't know, Jason. Look around the room and tell us how it feels. Yeah, I'd put my money on Jason in this room. I'll do your hair. We won't fight. I'll just blow dry your hair. Do you ever, when you have to fight somebody, like a guy like the rock size or his physique, are you ever in a fight scene where you're like, how are they going to make people think that we're going to fight? And this would be equal. Yeah. It's stupid, right? Well, you know. Welcome to the movie business. They keep him in short sleeves. They put you in a jacket, I guess, you know, just to kind of bulk you up a little bit. I think in movies and, you know, storytelling, and I think contrast and, like, the insurmountable odds are always what people, you go, ****, there's no way you can fight this guy. And I think people get into that. And if you can try and use some kind of skill and slippery technique that kind of wins the day or at least sort of nullifies the fire, I think it's really entertaining to watch because, you know, it's the David and Goliath. It's the, I think the bigger the contrast and the better it looks, I think, you know. Okay. So you like overcoming the odds. Who do you look up to? Anyone who's above five foot ten. Is there anybody that you like who you kind of idolize? No, not really idolize. Listen, you get inspired by a lot of people. I mean, when I was a kid, my brother used to have posters of Bruce Lee on the wall. I mean, I like all martial arts. A lot of the fighters today I think are really great. Anyone who does anything good, I think, is always an inspiration in music, in sport, whatever it might be. The Rock? Yeah, I think The Rock is a good one to pin the hat on. Yeah. Yeah, he's a good guy. He's an inspiration. He's managed to avoid all scandal in his life. He's had a great career. He does kids' movies. Yeah. He's solid, you know. He does a lot. He does a lot for other people, like really beyond the call of duty. He really does. He's a great sort of people person, and he's a big movie star, and people love him, and for the right reasons. Yeah. Yeah, and even when you're searching for stuff, you're like, oh, he did have a divorce, and then you find out he's got a great relationship with his kids, and his ex-wife is his manager. He's got a great relationship with her, too. Wow. There's nobody. Yeah, he's got a company with her. Like, it's, he's the man. I would never trust my ex to handle my career. Because you know your ex is not always going to guide you in the right, you know, I have exes that would really **** my life up on purpose. Is that right? You should do this. Really just walk in and piss on the cast director? Yeah, yeah, trust me, that's what they would do. They would sabotage you? Yeah. Yeah, they really would. So, all right, well, this is coming out when? This is next Friday. Next Friday. Do you get nervous? I mean, this, you can't even get nervous at a premiere like this. Like, you have to know this is going to do well. Hey, look, the movie's great, and they get it right, and people, they test the film. People love this type of film. There's a lot of great characters in it. They do, they spend so much money on the action. The set pieces with the cars, there's not another, you know, franchise or movie that I can recall that even gets close to what these guys do. They've got a lot of money. They get a great story to back it up. People really buy into the characters. And they really, you know, they get the, you know, it's like having all the ingredients and cooking the right, baking the right pie. They get it right. It's not always the same with other sort of franchises. That's why they, you know, what, we're at number eight, right? Yeah. Well, plus, you'll be fine anyway, because you're doing Expendables 4 and Spy 2. Is that right? I don't know what I'm doing next. I have no idea. That's usually a good sign. If you don't know what you're doing next, it probably means that there's stuff going on. You don't know which film you're doing. I mean, those films are there, but I don't know which one we're shooting next. That's a good problem to have. I just did a movie about a shark. It's a bit of a cross between, I'd say, Jaws and Jurassic Park. It's about an old, it's a. It's not a bad combination. Oh, a shark. I think you said a shark. Okay. A shark, was it a prehistoric shark? Yeah, yeah. It's turned out really good. I mean, apparently. We don't know until we see it. What's it called? It's called Meg. Meg? As in Megalodon. Yeah. Oh. Is it part of that franchise? The Jurassic Park franchise? No. It's Warner Brothers. So, you know, they know how to make films. 3D? Yeah. Probably. I love a good 3D. I am a sucker. I'll watch anything in ******* 3D. Kramer versus Kramer, 3D. I don't really care for the 3D. You don't like 3D? Kramer versus Kramer, 3D. You don't like 3D? Not really. Oh, I know. Then again, why would you? You've lived it in 3D. You were there. You know, you've seen it in 3D. I love 3D. I'm not a 3D fan either. I like it. I don't. But I respect your ability to like it. Do you stand there? Do you sit there reaching out into the abyss? Yes, but I do like it when it's not 3D, so I have an excuse at least when it's 3D. I don't want to look stupid. It's a nervous tic. But it's fun. You feel like you're involved with it. Is there a lot of CGI on this? And they're telling us we have to wrap with Jason, but is there a lot of CGI on this? You mean in The Fate of the Furious? Yeah. I'd say there's some, but... Of course there is. I mean, a lot of the things that happen are very dangerous, and you know, the thing that you're fighting against is, you know, is the insurance company going to allow you to, you know, do this little stunt here? Because if it goes wrong, you know, there's $300 million at stake, and they have to finish the movie, and they can't rub you out of the movie halfway through. So they have to make these really executive, smart decisions on what's safe for you to do and what isn't. So there is a little bit of CG, but what I really admire about these people is they really try and put everything in camera. Spiros is the second unit director, and my friend J.J. Perry, who designed all the fight stuff, we do it all in camera. You know, the CGI element will be just to fill in odd frames here and there and create some of the bigger set pieces, like there's a set thing with a submarine that comes through the ice. I don't know what's real and what isn't. But, you know, I know all the stuff I did with the rock and the fight and the jail, you know, we really try and make it feel authentic and real. And that's really important to us. I think all of the actors try their best to stick their, you know, stick their piece in with that. Well, real quick, speaking of insurance, I've been fascinated about Tom Cruise, and I forget which Mission Impossible, when he was outside that Burj Khalifa tower. I saw that, yeah. He was literally on the outside of the tower, and I'm like, how much does it cost in insurance? You think that was really him? I know. I saw photos from fans who were like on a deck shooting him rehearsing. But, you know, you're in a harness and you're on a wire. I mean, they're pretty safe. It's just, you've just got to get your nuts around the fact that you're very high, but it's pretty safe. I guess so, but no, I wouldn't do it. You wouldn't do it because you don't like heights, right? Yes, and nobody would want me to do it. If you put that harness on and we strapped you to the wall there, you wouldn't think two minutes about it. You're right, I would actually do that. I've actually asked women to put a harness on for different reasons. So, thank you. You're still recovering. Yes, I am. I'm kind of sitting on a little inflatable donut. All right. It's Jason Statham on Instagram, of course, and Fate of the Furious is in theaters next Friday. It's obviously going to be a success, and congratulations, man. You're doing amazing. Thanks. Thanks, Chaps. Good talking to you.