Over the weekend The Hollywood News took part in a multi-blog Q+A with Film Shaft, Hey U Guys, Flicks and Bits and Live For Films where we posed a series of questions to Karl Urban, who is starring in this week’s big opener PRIEST 3D. In the interview, Urban also talks about his role as Judge Dredd in the upcoming DREDD and comics in general…
Paul Bettany stars in this graphic novel adaptation about an exiled warrior priest, thrown out by the Church, who currently rules the dystopian universe he lives in. Living in obscurity, he is forced to break his vows when a group of savage vampires kidnap his niece.
Are you big on comics or was joining the film a reaction to the script, character or project in general? Film Shaft
Karl Urban: I do enjoy comics although I don’t get much opportunity to read them these days. But certainly a few years ago there were a few favourites. Frank Miller’s Dark Knight was one of my favourites all time comics along with the Judge Dredd series. I guess my first point of contact for Priest was not the comic. My first point of contact was the script, which I read and found to be very interesting. I guess I was drawn to the characters. And upon reading the script I met with director Scott Stewart and found myself to be quite in sync with him. The way he outlined his vision for the film was loaded with references that I understood and respected. He was talking about Blade Runner, Kurosawa’s Throne of Blood and films like The Searchers. It was clear to me that he was very specific in his vision and what he was attempting to achieve had a truly epic quality to it. So I figured when you encounter someone like that it’s a good idea to go with it.
The film is a mash-mash of many genres; it’s post-apocalyptic, it’s futuristic, it’s got horror elements, western elements… how would you describe it? Flicks and Bits
(Laughs) Well that’s exactly how I would describe it! That’s actually how I have been describing it. ‘A post-apocalyptic, sci-fi, vampire, western’. I also believe that there is a tinge of fantasy in there.
Vampires are very common in movies today. What sets Priest apart? Hey u Guys!
The vampires in our film are not the vampires that we’ve become accustomed to, they’re creatures. They’re closer to elements that you’d find in The Lord of the Rings. I think it’s refreshing that they’re not the vampires that you take home to meet mum. These creatures are scary, which is refreshing after we’ve had a raft of these sexy, pretty boy vampires. We’ve taken the thing a bit more in a direction which is grounded in horror and fantasy.
The character of Black Hat seems more ambiguous than your generic movie villain – how does it compare to a ‘good’ character like Judge Dredd? Hey u Guys!
I guess the aspect that appealed to me about the character – as I approached him – was that there is wonderful element of tragedy about him. He’s a fallen hero, a Warrior Priest who’s job was to protect mankind from this plague of vampires. In the course of doing his job he falls in battle and gets transformed into the very thing that he’s been fighting. That’s an amazing starting point. To suddenly be on the other side of that bridge and have no choice about it. It was really interesting – a question of where do you take it from there?
Did you have to do any training for the ass kicking antics in the film, if so did that help you with your character? Flicks and Bits
Yeah, the physical aspect is definitely a part of it. The vampire is endowed with superhuman strength and ability. Paul Bettany and I trained for about 4 or 5 weeks with a martial arts team. We get to do a lot of physical action in the film. I think it’s great. It really stacks up.
How was it handling the fight choreography? Any accidents? Flicks and Bits
Yeah there were a few. I accidently crushed Paul Bettany’s fingers in one scene. There was another time when we were rehearsing a fight sequence on gravel. Some error of co-ordination and my fist ended up in Paul Bettany’s face – which I was most apologetic about!
How was working closely with Paul Bettany as your nemesis? The Hollywood News
I had a great time working with him, he’s just a class act. He really is. He’s a fun, funny guy to be around. The great thing about Paul is that he comes to the set with such a positive attitude. He’s so genuinely happy to be there that it’s infectious – a great chap. The entire cast and crew became one big family. You can tell that you’ve had a great time making a movie when on the last time of filming you are genuinely sad that it’s over. You feel like you could continue with these characters.
Have you seen the finished film yet? Live For Film
Yes I have, I loved it and 3D is the way to see it. Don Burgess, the cinematographer, has done an incredible job. They really come at with a lot of energy and the 3D conversion is fantastic too.
Do you have a favourite line or moment from Priest? Live For Film
A favourite line? I just loved everything about it but I thought Lily Collins was extraordinary as were Maggie Q and Paul and Cam. Just really strong performances. The fact that you enjoy spending time with these characters I think is a good sign. When you get to the end of the film you want to know what happens next.
We will see you soon as the new Judge Dredd. Dredd, like Priest, came from a comic book – are you staying faithful to the source and are the two projects at all similar? Hey u Guys!
I think on some levels there are definite similarities between Dredd and Priest. The Priest lives in a walled city and there’s a post-apocalyptic wasteland around it outside. He rides a motorbike too and I’m sure there are more similarities.
So the Priest comics may have taken some inspiration from Judge Dredd and 2000AD comics? The Hollywood News
Everything is some way shape or form is derivative. I mean Judge Dredd was inspired by Clint Eastwood’s Dirty Harry in creating the character so it has it’s own point of genesis.
Are you a fan of the Stallone version of Judge Dredd? Film Shaft
The interesting thing about the Stallone version was that there were some elements that were faithful and some that were not. I was a fan of the Judge Dredd comics before the Stallone version came out. Even though on some levels I felt the film was not exactly honourable to what John Wagner had created, it was still Judge Dredd and I still enjoyed seeing that world up there. I think the most telling admission that’s come out recently is that Stallone said himself that he felt his Judge Dredd was a missed opportunity.
Priest 3D is at cinemas on Friday 6th May. Visit the official Facebook page here. Watch the trailer for the film below.
