Incredibles 2: Director Brad Bird and Producers Nicole Grindle & John Walker Interviews #Incredibles2Event
Remember my recent post “Behind the Scenes: Creating the World of INCREDIBLES 2 #Incredibles2Event”? Well, I’ve got even more inside scoop from my Incredibles2Event trip! I got the chance to hear from Director Brad Bird and Producers Nicole Grindle & John Walker. You know I am a person who is drawn to passionate people and I’m happy to say the passion they have for the movie, Incredibles 2 will only add to your excitement of seeing the film.
Incredibles showed us how hard it’s been for Supers in hiding. After years of being in the spotlight, having to go back to civilian life wasn’t easy. There were so many Supers itching to get back into action. By the end of the movie, it looked like maybe things were starting to get better. Good news after this interview, I am pretty sure it does. 🙂
THE WAIT
One question that many have on their minds was, “What took so long to make the sequel?” Brad Bird had a reasonable answer- he had other things going on!
“I had other things that were more at the forefront. And sort of the more I kinda chewed on it, the more I thought, yeah, oh, yeah, that’ll be cool. And then suddenly it was like 15 years later or something and I went, holy crap, I better get going on something. You know, so, I mean it’s not intentional and it’s not, you know, it’s not calculated in any way.” – Brad Bird, Director
Bird agrees the time inbetween the films was “clearly too long” but, he notes that the audience is still very interested so something is still there with fans!
THE CHARACTERS
All the characters are deeply personal to the people who work on this film, and Bird said how easy it was to get back into character.
“These characters are strangely personal to me” – Brad Bird, Director
The Parr family even has powers even have meanings beyond what one would notice at first!
“We always felt like what makes our film unique is that it’s about a family.
THE ROLES
Their superpowers were based on iconic roles of men and women and children in the family. You know, the dad is always expected to be strong. The mom is always stretched in a million directions. Teenagers are defensive and insecure. So, she has force fields and invisibility. Ten-year-olds are energy balls that just, you know, can’t not be on — eleven or off, that’s what they are. And babies are unknowns. They could have no powers at all, or they could be the next leader, you know, of the free world or whatever.”
THE CHANGES
Obviously, it has been a while so there were changes in the voices!
“A lot of us are Breaking Bad fans and Better Call Saul fans. And he’s a wonderful actor. And he dropped in beautifully. His Rick Dicker is not exactly the same as Bud’s, but it’s every bit as cool, I think. And maybe a little tougher edged.”
As for Dash..
“We got just extraordinarily lucky. We went back to New York where we found the first Dash, whose name was Spencer Fox. Dash doesn’t have a New York accent or anything, it’s just that there’s something about the city or something that makes him move fast. We got lucky with Huck.
He just sounded right, but his personality was muted. I just had a feeling that he would be right. Once he got the part, he just let it out and it happened to be totally right. He was the same kind of energy that Spencer had.”
NEW CHARACTERS AND NEW POWERS
I keep mentioning him in all of my post, but how can we not? Jack-Jack is an adorable little troublemaker! He’s really coming into his powers and that’s causing a lot of stress in the Parr household. With Helen out kicking butt and making a name for Supers, Bob has to learn how to handle a baby that sometimes disappears. Um, and sometimes turns into a demon…
The Parr family defiently gets to learn more about Jack Jack’s powers in the second movie! Bob has plenty of trouble dealing with his powers in the second film while Helen is at work. John Walker, one of the producers, adds that he got inspiration for Jack Jacks shenanigans from his own granddaughter and daughter!
“So, I love all the Jack-Jack scenes and how Bob has to try to deal with this, you know, crazy baby, which is, you know, just a great metaphor for what my daughter and son-in-law have been going through the last year. When will this child sleep? I said, you know, I don’t know, you know. Hang in there, you know. So, that’s my — my favorite parts are the Jack-Jack scenes, especially the raccoon fight” – John Walker, Producer
Jack Jack catches on fire, turns into a little devil, and even a small flying bug at one point! Bird adds that “to me, that’s just an abstraction of what babies are.”
Nicole Grindle, one of the producers, shares her enthusiam about one of the film’s new characters, Voyd (played by Sophia Bush).
“She’s a new character played by Sophia Bush. And I love her as somebody who sees Helen as a mentor. She’s got this really great, fresh energy. And I love her superpowers.” – Nicole Grindle, Producer
CATCH INCREDIBLES 2 IN THEATERS JUNE 15TH
