Brett Ratner says X-Men 3 doesn't suck

From IESB, "Exclusive Interview: IESB Hangs Out with Brett Ratner In Vegas!

Less than a week ago, I received a call from 20th Century Fox to confirm that I was cleared for an interview with fresh X-Men alum director Brett Ratner. Yep, IESB was headed to Vegas for ShoWest.

First off, I have to give major thanks to the hospitality that 20th Century Fox provided. From access to the Green Room to a last minute invite to myself, my photographer Rick and my good buddy Kellvin from LatinoReview to the ShoWest Closing Awards Ceremony and Dinner.

It was definatley a fun night to be hanging out with executives from several studios, celebrities, publicists and good friends in Sin City. So what else could I ask for after having premium seats, drinks and great food? How about a great interview with X-Men director Brett Ratner? The saying, "whatever happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas," does not apply here.

I have met with Brett before and he is just a great guy. His enthusiasm for this film, X-Men: The Last Stand, is quite genuine and can be truly appreciated by talking with him. Can I use the word giddy? You can't help but get excited over this movie after talking to him.

You can read our entire conversation below, but can I just say Sentinels???!! Viva Las Vegas Baby!

Q: How are you doing Brett?

BR: Good, were you in there? (at the X3 footage presentation)

Q: Yeah, looks good, looks really good. I really like your work. Family Man, I came from the automotive industry, I actually used to manage a tire store so I really related to him.

BR: That's funny [laughing]

Q: You have been attached in some capacity at one point or another to the superhero world.

BR: I have been obsessed to do a movie in the superhero world. I put it out there. Obviously, I was going to do Superman. I grew up on comics as a kid, not X-Men comics but Superman, Batman, Aquaman and all that shit. And so I was obsessed with wanting to do a superhero movie, which is what I put out in the universe, and I was hired to do Superman. That didn't work out and when I heard that Brian wasn't doing it [X3] I put the feelers out there and said, “hey guys, I would fuckin' die to do an X-Men movie,” because I was such a fan of the two other movies. I thought Brian did a brilliant job at translating a comic book into a cinematic world. You know he was one of the first ones that really did…because X-Men is not as straight forward as Superman and Batman, which are easier things to translate.

X-Men, you know, god, there are so many complexities, so many details. Now that I have been through it, I don't know. Ten different directors will make ten different movies. You know Wolverine was a short stocky guy, so many different things that he [Singer] adjusted that made the movie work on so many levels.

After Family Man and once I did Rush Hour I was only being offered comedies. I always wanted to do a movie like this, and X-Men, because there was two other movies, yes it's the hardest job that I have ever done in my life, because there were two other movies in the same genre and that Brian did both movies and the tone really works and I got a script that was so emotional I said, “I am going to jump and do this, I could do this.”

The two other movies worked so well on so many levels so I read the script and I wanted to know what are they going to do next. How are they going to go to another level? Because there was so much emotion in the story I said I've got to do this. It was a challenge but it was something that I wanted to do because I am attracted to the heart. That is why I did Family Man. No one expected when I did Rush Hour that I would do Family Man. Or even Red Dragon, no one expected me to do Red Dragon, I'm not into Horror, you know serial killers, but there was a simple love story in that movie between Ralph Fiennes character and Emily Watson. So I jumped at the opportunity when I read the script. I said I got to do this movie.

Brian and the actors did such a good job establishing what this movie was, so as I stated, I am not trying to reinvent the movie, I was like okay guys this my version now. I loved the first two because it read as if it was a trilogy. It wasn't something that came up. It always read like this is the last one. It only made sense to connect the dots.

Q: Is it really the last, I know they are talking about a Wolverine and Magneto spin offs that are in the works?

BR: In this world, once you see the movie you will be like where else are they going to go? They can't go any further than this. I mean we went far, I mean as far as the scope of the movie, as far as the emotions, drama, the consequences. It read like this is the fuckin' last movie, period.

Q: I know it was difficult because you came in with very little prep time, cast members say that you had tremendous amounts of energy while on production of this film.

BR: In a movie that is this big, you know, I have energy because its like I'm in love. I can't wait to get to the set and direct Ian McKellan and Hugh Jackman and Halle Berry. How can I fuckin' be like waiting for shit to happen, I've got to keep [busy]. It's a hard grueling process, making a movie, but I was keeping the pace and the energy going because it's not easy and I loved every fucking second of it. I had to pinch myself, the other movies I was like yeah, I always knew that I was going to direct those movies but this movie…I really had to pinch myself.

Q: Vinnie said that you are doing re-shoots this weekend?

BR: I am doing pick ups, the movie is done. When I saw the movie and I had ideas and said to Tom [Rothman] I have an idea to do… and he said great go shoot it because he loves this movie. So if he wouldn't of liked the movie then there would've of been a problem. So they told me go do whatever I want to do, go shoot it. I haven't re-shot one thing. I mean, actually there is one 30-second scene that I shot that is not in the movie. Every single scene made it into the movie. Which is something that has never happened to me.

Q: How long of a cut are we expecting?

BR: I don't want to say because I am not completely done with it, you know, fans are gonna be happy. It will not be slow and it will not be fast, you will walk out of that theater satisfied. It's fucking eye candy watching this movie. I mean you see the scope of it but also the emotion. You are going to feel spent at the end of this movie like you've been through an emotional rollercoaster ride.

Q: Tom Rothman in the past and now Hugh Jackman tonight said that this is truly the last of the X-Men trilogy. The Wolverine story or the Magneto story, if they come back and say we want you to direct Wolverine, you've put a lot of work and effort into The Last Stand, would you come back?

BR: Oh yeah, I love it, Hugh is one of the greatest actors in the world to work with and, hmm, like I said it's a dream, I mean it surreal for me because being a kid I grew up not reading X-Men comics but I was in love with the cartoon, the cartoon was like the coolest thing ever. All day long, how could I turn it down.

Q: I've heard there is a rough cut of the film that was screened to the executives.

BR: I showed it to Tom [Rothman].

Q: What is your favorite scene, without spoiling anything obviously?

BR: Without spoiling it? I think the emotional scenes because the action [scenes] I've done in the Rush Hour movies, I mean it's not as big as this but I've done big action stuff but getting the tone right with the scenes that had all the emotion and all the heart, all the drama in it. When I saw those I was proud of myself because it's not an easy tone to capture. X-Men is a very specific, there's a very specific voice. It's not just a regular drama, It's heightened.

Q: What are some of the characters that you wish you could've been able to bring aboard, we know Gambit is not in this movie.

BR: Yeah, Gambit is not in the film

Q: Was there a character that you really wanted to see that you just couldn't just because of the size?

BR: When I heard that Beast was in this movie I was so excited, you know he's one of the smartest mutants in the world but he's also like a beast and agile. He was always a cool character and he was someone that I was very excited about. I was happy about Kitty Pryde being back because what happen to Kitty Pryde [in the first films] was very very small and then Juggernaut was so cool so I thought... oh this is so cool.

Q: Vinnie is like the perfect Juggernaut

BR: He was born to play Juggernaut

Q: Vinnie says that he felt lucky knowing that he was one of the few people that Matthew Vaughn had initially brought in that stayed.

BR: Yeah he is, cause when I asked who is Juggernaut and they said Vinnie Jones I said perfect! He's got the job (laughing)

Q: There were a few things that we saw on set that looked amazing

BR: I can tell you that there were things that I wanted to put into this movie. After going through all the reference material, Simon and Zak are the biggest X-Men aficionados in the world. Looking at X-Men with a critical eye, the first two movies, and seeing and figuring out, because I worked with his team, what decisions and why decisions were made by Bryan. After going through it all and realizing, hey, there were certain things that I wanted to get into this movie, you will have to wait to see the movie but I wanted to get stuff like the Sentinels in the movie, you know the danger room into the movie. They tried and tried to do it in the last two movies but couldn't. I don't know because of budgets or who knows.

Q: There were Sentinel maquettes and everything done for X-2.

BR: Yeah but they just never did them. So that's exciting. Little things that only the fan boys would know about.

Q: Is that important to you, to make sure that the fan base is happy?

BR: Yeah, I really respect the franchise, I really respect what Bryan and these actors have done with these movies. I am not on the internet studying their “Talkbacks” and stuff but I know what people like cause Zak and Simon are the biggest fans I have ever met in my life. If I say, “where does this happen?” They will name the comic and issue of the comic that it happened in. These guys memorize every detail and there is not a single scene that they can't give me reference or inspiration from a comic. It's not stuff that they just made up. Everything in this movie, there is no way that I can ever be criticized because every scene in this movie exists in a comic book.

Q: And a lot came from Astonishing X-Men

BR: A lot. This is not stuff that "Brett Ratner" brought into the franchise. This stuff existed in the comic. I can justify and I literally have a book this thick (about 4 inches thick) of comic book references for every single scene in the movie. Something that happens, every scene in this movie exists somewhere in the comics.

Q: How much did it mean to you that Bryan said that he was glad a friend was directing X-Men?

BR: You know I was thinking about it, I was trying to put myself in Bryans' shoes. God forbid that I couldn't direct Rush Hour 3, I would only want Stanley Kubrick to direct it (laughs). I would be like, Jesus Christ it better be a good fucking director! So I was very flattered that Bryan was happy for me, that he supported me, that he backed me. It really meant a lot to me because for me, another director directing Rush Hour? And I was happy when he got Superman, I was supposed to direct Superman and who knows maybe he'll come do Wolverine and I'll do Superman 2 (laughing).

Q: What did you think about the footage that they showed for Superman?

BR: Looked cool, I can't wait.

Q: Beyond X-Men you are looking at Rush Hour 3

BR: Yeah I am going to do Rush Hour 3 next.

Q: Where are you shooting?

BR: New York and Paris

Q: You mentioned that you are looking for an Indian actress, a really hot Indian actress to be in Rush Hour 3.

BR: I love her, Aishwarya Rai, the most beautiful woman in the world.

Q: Would you cast her?

BR: I am trying to right now. She's the most beautiful woman in the world and it's my dream to put her in the movie, Aishwarya Rai is considered to be the most beautiful woman in the world.

Q: Everything is lined up and everything is ready to go, you are in pre production?

BR: Jeff Nathansen, who wrote the first and second [Rush Hours films], Catch Me If You Can and is currently writing Indiana Jones 4 right now, wrote Rush Hour 3. I'm so excited, When I read the first 50 pages and it's was some of the funniest shit that I have ever read in my life. I cannot fucking wait to shoot this movie.

Q: What can we expect from Rush Hour 3?

BR: Bigger, it's just funnier, everything. Rush Hour even has heart, they have emotion, you care about these characters. You know these characters. So it's just gonna go another level, the stakes are going to be raised. Hopefully Chris Tuckers' character is going to grow and learn something from this experience and Jackie Chan as well. Prepare to laugh from beginning to end.

Q: What did Brett Ratner learn from X-Men 3?

BR: How to make an X-Men movie (all laughs), now I'm ready."