The Backstage Experience w/ Clayface, Tenzing, COD: MW4 & more!

The Backstage Experience starts now. Welcome to the Backstage Experience as we take you backstage with the biggest names in games and entertainment. This week, Tom Rhys-Harris and Naomi Ackie take one of Batman's most iconic villains into full-blown body horror in Clayface. And Tom Hiddleston, Jaden Punsock, and Willem Dafoe journey to the top of the world in Tenzing. Plus, we've got all the breaking news in gaming as Call of Duty Modern Warfare 4 heads to war on the Korean Peninsula. Final Fantasy Resonance takes the franchise back to its pixel art roots and more. That's all coming up this week, only on the Backstage Experience. Welcome to the Backstage Experience. I'm John Stenvall. I'm Dave Morales. It is time to talk DC Comics, specifically Clayface. Tom Rhys-Harris plays Matt Hagen, a former Gotham street kid who's a rising star in Hollywood Ends up getting beat up by a crime lord, has some facial surgery reconstruction But there's some side effects that come with that Alright, I'm excited about it, let's talk Clayface Show me, show me, what do you want Mr. Hagen? I want my life back I know you, you're famous It's a tragedy what they did to him I'd like to volunteer for human trials this isn't cosmetic surgery even if it kills me I'll be better off than I am now right at the top you slayed it hey thanks Dave that was a pun too but literally it's really pun-heavy this film it is getting under it gets under your skin oh i mean there's no just change what's the what's the slogan is it again fear has a new face yeah uh-huh it does i loved it and i'm a chicken when it comes to scary movies but this one was so interesting it was so different than what i expected it to be loved it uh what did you know about Clayface before taking this on i was aware of Clayface from watching the Batman animated series when i was a kid so you know getting to revisit that with pretty good company was um just like a joy what did you know about this story i knew he was a bad guy yeah i i watched he was a bad bad guy i had watched Batman as a kid after school i didn't immediately remember Clayface but then when i read into it i was like oh yeah i know that guy i know that guy and it was just yeah it's a dream what do you find scary because there is a horror element to this film what do you find scary about this particular story and your character i think the thing that resonates with me with any horror things that we were talking about this yesterday any horror movies that stay with you is when it's psychologically unsettling and i think that's the thing that engages me with this and is his psychological unraveling you kind of put yourself in the shoes of that any kind of like slow i think transformation I think body horror itself is just like your identity shifting into something else and you can't control it and how slow that can be and gruesome inside your brain, but also like seeing your body even change. I think there's like something terrifying about that. We've talked over the years, so the next question I wrote specifically with you in mind, but I want to get your perspective. If you were to spend a day with Clayface, number one, would you? I mean, I have spent many days. Well, I know you're Clayface, but let's pretend Clayface. Take yourself out of the character. If you spent the day with Clayface, how would that go? I'm, like, even more interested in Naomi's own. I'm always like, wait, what level of Clayface? Is he full Clayface? Yes. Is he happy Clayface? As me, as my character, I feel like I'd be okay. I might do it. Okay, as Naomi. She's potentially the only person who'd be okay. Yeah, as Caitlin, I think I'd be safe. so why not but it's me absolutely not no dude congrats uh i can't imagine the pressure walking into something like this you know comic fans can be so intense they're hardcore how do you balance what you to respect the comic but make it a film yeah it's i mean obviously you you want to honor the rich tradition of the comics we did a deep dive and you know there's so much rich lore of Clayface through the comics through the animated series but a movie has to work as a movie. And so just to dive into that world, to create the character of Matt Hagen and his origin story as he becomes Clayface, to keep it grounded, to keep it real, but to hopefully deliver all the sort of, you know, the thrills, the scares, the ick, the horror, the humor, the heart that's in the comics. That's what made it different for me. A horror-flavored DC comics film. This is what made it fun for a theater screams yeah how how did you integrate the horror into the story and and how big a percentage was it well listen i'm so pleased you said there were screams in the theater because i think this is a film that has to be seen in the theater seeing it with an audience feeling the audience that kind of communal ride that you can all have together like a roller coaster is fantastic a big part of it was saying how can we really deliver on the scares you know how can we deliver a real you know and so it was real fun there was some set pieces there there's a you know, a few set pieces. There's one on the airplane where he's having to do some self-surgery on his eye. You just want to see how far you can push people. You know, it's not, I don't want to turn people off. I want them to enjoy it. But I think getting that balance right, where we can give people a really sort of delicious, scary ride was something that I was very focused on. What do you think people are going to know more about Clayface after seeing this? Because now I want to go down the rabbit hole and know more about this character. Well, I think what's great about Clayface is two things. One is he's not 100% a hero or a villain, you know? There's a tragedy to him, but he's always been that, and I think that's interesting, the heartbreak of him and who he is and the understanding of who he is. But also I think his skill set, that ability to change, the shapeshifter thing, means that he can go to so many different places and become so many different people, so all bets are off. there's just always so many possibilities with that character. What are the challenges for the special effects, of course spoiler free, but oh I like how you said that, there's one scene that comes to mind I don't want to ruin it, but how did you attack that? With the special effects? Yes. Do you mean like the creature and all the sort of prosthetics and all that sort of stuff? Yes. Well I did a lot of it with the face stuff, a lot of it was prosthetics, I like that old school thing of having, shooting it for real, I think there's a kind of both for performance, for actors, for for audiences, how we respond to real things. I just think, and you can tweak and build on them with CG, but I think creating everything from CG, I just sort of smell it in some way. So I wanted it to be as real as possible. And then, yeah, just trying to keep everything as grounded. Because you can do anything with VFX now, it doesn't mean you should do anything. And so just trying to keep the sense of this could, even though it's a crazy story, this could be for real and to keep that sense. Wonderful. Well, I want more Clayface. after six attempts on Everest one man risked everything for a final shot at the top of the world. In Tenzing, Gendun Puntsok stars as Tenzing Norgay, who teamed up with Tom Hiddleston's Edmund Hillary to become the first to reach the summit of Mount Everest. Tom, Gendun, and Willem Dafoe take you backstage with the climb that made history. There is no soundstage, no studio, no green screen. We are on real mountains. That's really Gendun climbing out of the crevasse. That's really me falling into another crevasse only on the backstage experience Welcome back to the backstage experience and now a movie about climbing this had to mean a lot to you because well You're a climber. This is one of my favorite mountaineering movies. I have ever seen I'll put it up there with Everest Wow It's called Tenzing. It's the story of the 1953 British expedition which was the first one to successfully summit Mount Everest We've heard the name Edmund Hillary before but we don't know too much about his climbing partner Tenzing Norgay And so this is a deep dive into his life. It's an absolutely fascinating story. They did film it in Nepal and also in New Zealand. The cast is going to tell you all about it. This is Tenzing. We've been trying to climb this mountain for 30 years. Britain is depending on us to get up first. Tenzing, you know the mountain better than anyone. You paved the way for all of us. Guys, it's a pleasure to see you. Tom, it's great to see you as always, lovely to see you thanks good to see you my friend Gendun the emotional depth you bring to Tenzing is phenomenal what was important for you to capture who Tenzing Norgay is as a man yeah i i found many detailed things from his book and when i read all the books and watch the documentaries i found that he always think about the other people's problem and forgot himself and even he doing like that some people will say you are the outsider but i think that he is really brave because he never thought he's outsider he's push himself do the thing that what he want to do and how the help the his family and how help the Sherpa people how the team make more safety and i think he's a really you know it's a really kind man a very special man and all of this i have to push myself to join that not perform that tom normally i don't talk about this but dude we got to talk about the physicality of this because i thought you would be like a hiker a climber but apparently this is a newer thing to you and you got to do some ice climbing in this as well so i want to learn a little bit about the training aspect of that but also filming that scene on the Hillary Step how was that actually done in terms of training obviously in his words when he was on the expedition of 1953 he was fit and strong and so i before i started i made sure that i had a baseline of of what i think of as total true fitness uh i did a lot of a lot of running to build up a kind of aerobic baseline um a lot of strength and conditioning training strong legs you need strong legs as a mountaineer um but then the the the joy of learning these new skills of learning how to cut steps learning how to ice climb out of a crevasse um and um and coil rope and look after equipment and probe for terrain to make sure you don't fall into a crevasse so many things we did for real and we should say we did this for real everything you see us do we were there is no soundstage no studio, no green screen. We are on real mountains. That's really Ghandan climbing out of the crevasse. That's really me falling into another crevasse. And to answer the second part of your question on the Hillary Step, that is really Ghandan and myself on a 40 foot ridge of rock and ice. When you were prepping for these scenes, is the way that you approach it changed due to the elements? Or do you think, you know what? I know I'm going to be cold. I'm going to be in the elements i'm just going to feel the moment it was on the job training you can only train so much you can uh read you can research but you don't know how your body's going to act and how where your mind's going to go until you get there because you can do all kinds of training physically but it's all about when that helicopter drops you off and it goes away and it's just you and this team and this equipment and you're going to trek to a place and you're going to set up a scene and you're there all day you know you've brought a sandwich but it's frozen in an hour so you don't eat uh you put on your equipment uh after a while after climbing for a little while you can't feel your hands sometimes you got to help each other you know with very simple tasks because your hands aren't functioning anymore, your face is raw from the wind, all that's at play. You keep doing it. Next on The Backstage Experience, we dive into the world of gaming as Call of Duty Modern Warfare 4 heads to the Korean Peninsula. Final Fantasy Resonance brings Cloud into an all-new HD 2D adventure and more. Grab your controller, that's all coming up next. Only on The Backstage Experience. Welcome back to the Backstage Experience. It is time to talk gaming. I'm excited for Final Fantasy Resonance that's coming out. Call of Duty Modern Warfare 4 is also dropping. I'm hoping it's a little bit different than the other ones that we played. You know, similar but maybe some new upgrades on it as well. David Johnson is going to dive into that and all things gaming this week. This week in gaming, Call of Duty brings the big guns with Modern Warfare 4. Final Fantasy reintroduces the saga bite-sized. The most expensive game ever is trying something new, and Battlefield 6 is still going strong. All that coming up right now. In Call of Duty Modern Warfare 4, a full-scale invasion on the Korean peninsula sparks a conflict that threatens to pull the entire world into chaos. On the front lines, players step into the boots of Private Park, a young South Korean soldier forced into a desperate fight for survival as cities fall and battle lines collapse all around him. But this war stretches far beyond Korea. Operating outside the system he once served, Captain Price is chasing a deadly lead tied to a weapon capable of shifting the balance of global power. The campaign takes players across the globe from brutal trench warfare in Korea to close quarters firefights in New York, high-speed pursuits through Paris, and covert SAS operations in redacted areas. Multiplayer launches with 12 brand new maps and large-scale battlefields built around precise gunplay, fluid movement, and tactical decision-making. Meanwhile, DMZ returns with higher stakes than ever, challenging operators to loot and extract from an evolving combat sandbox where every deployment will tell a unique story. Call of Duty Modern Warfare 4 launches October 23rd on PlayStation, Xbox, PC, and Nintendo Switch 2. Square Enix is taking the franchise back to its roots with Final Fantasy Resonance, a brand new adventure that blends classic RPG storytelling with modern HD 2D presentation. The journey follows Rain, Laswell, and the mysterious Fina as they set out to protect the world's remaining crystals after a dark force shatters the Earth crystal and throws the realm into chaos. Final Fantasy Resonance marks the first HD 2D entry in Final Fantasy history, combining detailed pixel art, dynamic camera work, and cinematic presentation to create a world that feels both nostalgic and entirely new. Final Fantasy Resonance launches October 22nd on PlayStation, Xbox, Nintendo Switch, Nintendo Switch 2, and PC. After years of anticipation, Squadron 42 is finally preparing for launch, bringing players into a standalone story set within the Star Citizen universe. The year is 2945, and the United Empire of Earth stands on the brink of collapse as threats emerge from the darkest reaches of space. Players enlist as a rookie naval recruit, beginning a journey that will take them from the lower decks of a capital warship to the heart of a galactic war. The game features an all-star cast, including Mark Hamill, Gary Oldman, Jillian Anderson, Henry Cavill, Mark Strong, and Andy Serkis, brought to life through next-generation performance capture technology. Squadron 42 is set for release this winter on PC. And finally, this October marks the one-year anniversary of Battlefield returning to the gaming world in a big way, and Battlefield 6 commemorates that with a brand new Season 5. Battlefield 6 Season 5 is the Siege of Vegas, taking the fight to Nevada, where the bright lights of the Las Vegas Strip have become a full-scale combat zone. Players will take tanks through casinos, helicopters will weave between hotel towers, and firefights will erupt across rooftops, tunnels, and the crowded city streets. And later this season, a special Dead Space horror-themed crossover event brings an entirely new threat to the Battlefield. Season 5 of Battlefield 6 is available now for all Battlefield 6 players on PlayStation, Xbox, and PC. Before we go, we head back to Skid Row as Ellen Greene celebrates the 40th anniversary of Little Shop of Horrors. The original Audrey revisits the role she made iconic on stage and screen, from suddenly Seymour to a certain bloodthirsty plant. You don't want to miss it. Only on The Backstage Experience. Welcome back to The Backstage Experience. And before we go, this movie is an absolute classic. It is called The Little Shop of Horrors. And Dave, you actually got to talk to the cast. Ellen Greene from the cast, she's the original Audrey, played her on stage and in the film. Rick Moranis, of course, in this movie, produced the song Suddenly Seymour, which is my favorite. Ellen Greene's going to reflect back. It's the 40th anniversary of this film, believe it or not. She's going to tell you more right now. This is Little Shop of Horrors. What can you tell me a behind the scenes story we would be surprised to know? Well, we had to use ice cubes because it was freezing when we did Suddenly Seymour. and the crew used to like to take me out to the pub and have me walk ahead of them and just see people's reactions to Audrey walking into the pub. They gave me Guinness at night because I always lose weight when I work. The reason I have that squeak is because Freddie Cooper, who filmed Out of Africa, which was stunning, he said Frank and Rick weren't sure about it. And he spoke up and said, sir, I think it's funny. And so because of Freddie Cooper, I got that squeaking, which is one of the biggest laughs to begin the film. What is your favorite number? And why is it suddenly Seymour? No, I like them both. So, you know, the first one you get to see her heart and because everyone wants a home, everyone wants a place where they can feel accepted and they can love someone and love someone back and so it's very current but suddenly Seymour you get to see the woman inside, the sexual woman and the hurt and so I love them both for different reasons.