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actionadventure.about.com/cs/weeklystories/a/aa072303.htmStarsky & Hutch Set Visit
Back to the '70s
One afternoon at the Biltmore Hotel in Los Angeles, Vince Vaughn held Owen Wilson hostage while Ben Stiller threatened to take a shot anyway. Wilson whined that Stiller did not have his permission to risk his life, while Stiller threatened Vaughn, “Your nuts are mine.”
This was the climactic scene in the new Starsky & Hutch movie.
All three actors were dressed in full ‘70s garb, as the film takes place just before the legendary TV series began. Stiller is Starsky, Wilson is Hutch and Vaughn is the villain, Reese Feldman. All three enjoyed their costumes.
“I love the outfit,” Vaughn said. “Makes me feel pretty for the first time in a long time.”
Stiller added, “You know, this is actually ok. The jeans get a little tight, because they are really tight. And also this wig gets a little tight on my head too.”
Stiller would have grown his own hair out for the mullet, but the color issue prohibited that. “My own hair is about, I’d say about 60% gray now, and my hair line is a little further back than Paul Michael Glaser who has like this pristine perfect [hairline] to this day. This guy is so cool.”
Wilson also liked his costumes, and expanded on why it was important to set the film in the ‘70s like the original series. “I’ve already kept some of the shorts they’ve given me for my character,” Wilson said. “I think it’s kind of cool. We were trying to update [the show] at first and then they decided no, to place it in the ‘70s and now I can’t imagine what it would’ve been like to have it be modern. Would it have been like The Brady Bunch and we’re like these two guys in a time warp from the ‘70s? It would’ve been such a weird, strange thing. So, I think it’s easier to do it this way.”
The premise is that this is the origin story of Starsky and Hutch. They meet like most buddy duos, antagonistic mismatched partners at first. But as they work together, they realize they are the perfect team. Well, almost perfect. Starsky just can’t nail that catch phrase.
Wilson mocked, “That’s Ben’s sort of trademark phrase, ‘Your nuts are mine.’ Again, he repeats it in this scene and I’m insisting to Reese that no, your nuts are yours. They’re not in fact Ben’s. It’s like a corny, like ‘Your ass is grass.’”
Though the day’s scene was inside a ballroom as Starsky and Hutch infiltrate a drug scheme by the evil Feldman, much of the film will feature the trademark car, which only Stiller gets to drive.
“That’s been the most fun, because it’s the Grand Torino,” Stiller said. “They just got a bunch of old Grand Torino’s and fixed them up.”
Despite all the car chases and police shootouts though, Wilson said the film will be a sharp contrast to the modern crop of action movies. “Whereas Charlie’s Angels amps it up from the original show, we’re kind of doing a more lo-fi approach,” Wilson said. “It’ll be interesting to see how the 2 Fast 2 Furious crowd reacts to our very lo-fi car chases with just screeching tires and stuff going around a turn, but maybe they’ll embrace it.”
Director Todd Phillips also downplayed the action. “Yeah, there’s car chase stuff, but as a director your job is to really just set the tone of the movie,” Phillips said. “I always think that you’re the purveyor of tone. It doesn’t matter if you’re doing action or romance or whatever. Once you set the tone and once you and the actors have that tone figured out, it doesn’t matter if you happen to be shooting a car running by or a guy talking to a guy. It’s not any harder, except it’s a little more time consuming.”
Characters
Indeed, the film will focus on the relationship between Starsky and Hutch. Wilson explained the dynamic he shares with Stiller that they have explored in many previous movies. “I think we’ve just been friends for a long time,” Wilson said.
“I guess what made us become friends in the first place was just kind of liking the stuff that each other does, thinking the stuff’s funny. We just have kind of the same sense of humor. I think that’s what makes it nice.”
Vaughn, whose comedy work has previously been with other partners, felt he fit into the Stiller/Wilson dynamic just fine. “I enjoy their work and I have fun when I make movies with them, because I’m inspired by what they’re doing,” Vaughn said. “It’s easier to get into a scene, obviously, when you’re working with someone who’s specific and knows what they’re doing. So, it’s fun to, you know, play basketball or tennis or any kind of thing with someone who likes to play and you can have fun with.”
Supporting cast members include Fred Williamson and Jason Bateman. Bateman plays the flunkie to Vaughn’s character, although he prefers a different term. “b***h,” Bateman said. “It’s a big difference. [As a] b***h you can actually get struck by him. A flunky, you’ll just get insulted. Vince has hit me a couple of times. He’s thrown ash trays in my face. He’s tried to light me on fire literally with his little zippo. That’s all b***h stuff.”
Williamson has the role of Captain Doby. Working in the ‘70s era film brought back memories of his own ‘70s movies. “All the movies I make, all the action films that I make, I try to keep this genre in mind because I know that that's what people want to see,” Williamson said. “They want to see how you walk, how you talk, how you dress. They don't want to see you flip fifteen times over a car and end up on top of a building. How the hell'd you get there? That's the question people ask. In the movies I make, I keep that theme of this movie intact. People care about the people. They care about how they walk, talk and dress, so that's what's happening in this film.”
Starsky & Hutch will open in the Spring of 2004.