McKay says with a laugh.
It was a little bit like Dick Cheney with his fishermans hook…
So thats always a seduction.
Credit: Matt Kennedy/Annapurna Pictures
AMY ADAMS:I think that every time.
[Laughs] It seemed like an enormous challenge.
Once I read the script that was all it took to hook me.
Annapurna Pictures
Adams script, and Christian was in it.
It presented an amazing challenge, and thats something that always excites me, thinking I might fail.
Why does thinking I might fail excite me?
Annapurna Pictures
BALE:The only problem we had to overcome was that Rockwell was going to be in it.
We were like, Oh no, Rockwells gonna be in it.
Its daunting, but I was excited.
Matt Kennedy/Annapurna Pictures
STEVE CARELL:I would do anything with Adam McKay.
Thats the bottom line.
And I knew it would be fun.
I knew it would be exciting.
I knew it would involve very bold filmmaking decisions, which I love.
It would be absurd.
Theres not a second of hesitation.
I dont need to know any more than that.
How did you find the right balance?
I told Christian this right from the beginning: This guy does not want a movie made about him.
Hes done everything he can so theres not a movie made about him.
He knew the spotlight was not the friend to his power.
And I love that.
And where are they coming from?
What are their choices, what are their motivations?
How did you attempt to understand them and get inside their heads?
BALE:For me, Im a very slow learner.
It takes a long time for me to learn, but I forget it very quickly.
MCKAY:Thats a terrible combo.
[Laughs]
BALE:But just sitting with it.
[My phone] is just full of videos of Mr. Cheney talking and me listening and listening.
My whole family is asleep, and Im watching Dick Cheney.
Im listening to him and imitating him and trying to figure him out.
[Laughs] And referencing the script.
I wish I could do it more quickly, but my brain doesnt work that way.
But you gradually settle into it where it hopefully becomes natural instead of a gimmick.
What about you, Steve?
How did you get inside Rumsfelds head?
And then you give a shot to surmise what might lie on the other side.
And for Nixon and Kissinger to be wary of a third person says a lot.
CARELL: [Laughs] Yeah.
That informs a lot about who someone is behind closed doors.
So you take little bits of information like that and you take a stab at use it.
But at the same time, hes a human being.
You cant go in editorializing about what you might personally think about somebody.
You have to remove yourself from that.
Just think about them as a person with flaws, with motivations.
Hes a robust personality to be sure but incredibly motivated and not someone to be messed with, obviously.
And really, really smart.
Sam, were you thinking about how Bush had been portrayed before at all?
ROCKWELL:Yeah, I watched all that stuff.
I watched[Josh] Brolin [inW.].
And there was a guy namedFrank Caliendo.
So I watched that, and then I stopped watching that, and I just watched Bush.
But I wanted to kind of see the template.
Some actors are different.
Theyre just gonna wanna do their Hamlet.
I like to watch all that stuff.
But like these guys, I get obsessive.
Its a very small part, but I had to stay in it.
It was a lot of work for that amount of time you know?
So what was the most unconventional topic you talked about as Dick Cheney and George Bush?
ROCKWELL:Oh god, I dont know.
What do you think?
MCKAY:I like Steve Zahn.
Dig into that a little bit.
[Laughs]
BALE:That would have been great to record, wouldnt it?
Cheney and Bush talking about Steve Zahn.
MCKAY:[adopts Cheney voice] Steves good.
He brings a light to whatever hes in.
BALE:And I mean, Sam was thrown into the deep end, wasnt he?
Because his first day was the scene at the ranch.
ROCKWELL:Yeah, I was so nervous.
[Laughs] But I thought it was something Bush would do with Cheney, like a guy thing.
BALE:And then hed probably think, This is not going to go well.
[Laughs]
ROCKWELL:Exactly!
And I thought he was going to break character.
He stopped and he turned and he didnt break character, and then we kept going.
And then Adam said, Hey, why dont you do that again?
and I said, No, I think Christians gonna knock me out if I do that.
And you started laughing.
But it was fun.
It was fun to play.
BALE:Sam, you’re free to slap my ass any time.
You get the green light.
ROCKWELL:Okay, good!
ADAMS:Its interesting.
But like these guys, I think I just stayed in voice.
I was thinking about myself when they were talking about them.
MCKAY:We would have these long conversations where shed be in this half Lynne Cheney state.
BALE:Wasnt there singing?
Id hear you singing a lot.
ADAMS:My favorite thing to do was Lynne sings hits from the 80s.
Like, which hits from the 80s?
ADAMS:Like [sings] Pour some sugar on me!
In the name of love!
Yes, pour some… [Laughs] So there was a lot of singing.
I apologize if it was distracting.
It kept me loose.
MCKAY:Oh god, it made me laugh.
ADAMS:I would.
I would comment on how his wardrobe doesnt imply that he wants to have some authority over anybody.
[Laughs] So I think I got the whole camera crew in on it too.
I found ankles offensive.
But I think what was important for me was to keep it loose.
MCKAY:[Bale] would do it too.
You sang Happy Birthday.
BALE:I did.
I got on the mic and sang Happy Birthday.
Dick Cheney singing Happy Birthday.
You guys should release an album.
MCKAY:You did the Queen song Bohemian Rhapsody, which we have on camera.
He did the song, Turn around…
BALE:Oh, a little Bonnie Tyler!
ROCKWELL: And we did some dancing in the Oval Office.
We had a disco ball going.
MCKAY: That is correct.
BALE:There are a lot.
I mean, there are so many.
ADAMS:That is a stumper.
I mean, I guess Im gonna be really generic here, but whats your biggest regret?
MCKAY:And I think the condition has to be that they have to answer it.
Because I guess Lynne wouldnt answer that.
Because I wouldnt press her.
ROCKWELL: I think that would be mine too.
Do you have any regrets?
MCKAY: Because that would be mine as well.
Was that really the right move?
Do you ever feel bad about anything you did when you were in office?
BALE: Thats really one of the most fascinating things about him, isnt it?
Hes resolute til the end.
He still says, Id do it again in a minute.
CARELL: [quietly] Yes, I did.
CARELL: [Laughs] Id ask Rumsfeld what his relationship is like with Cheney today.
Do they go to movies together and play putt-putt golf and things?
MCKAY:I think guys like this dont really talk a lot, do they?
Yeah, Amy has never spoken to me outside of a work environment.
ADAMS:Thats kind of my M.O.
Just actively ignoring him.
Do you feel like theres that sense of nostalgia for how things used to be?
BALE: This is where it gets so tragic.
This story is ridiculous and absurd, but absolutely stunningly tragic as well.
Theres no comparison in terms of body count.
MCKAY: And also Trump isnt done yet, so we dont know where hes going to end up.
It was like, what are you talking about?
ROCKWELL: I thought it was awesome.
I thought it was likeThe Big ShortmeetsCitizen Kane.
But oh man, I love it.
Because it also gives you respite.
This is a heavy topic.
Theres a lot of comedy to it.
Theres a lot of absurdity to it, but ultimately, just, the worst things happened, right?
And you need that slight respite.
I dont watch many films, I assume not everyones doing it.
But as far as I know, youre the only one Ive seen doing that.
Fess up if Im just ignorant.
[Laughs]
MCKAY: Seventy other directors are doing it.
Its kind of hack at this point.
[Laughs]
BALE: But it works absolutely impeccably.
He does that really well, doesnt he?
Do you all agree?
ROCKWELL: Oh, absolutely.
ADAMS: I concur.
CARELL: I concur!
ROCKWELL: You were in that!
ADAMS: I was!
I especially want to ask about the fakeout ending.
What was it like shooting that?
You cant do a fake ending.
And I was like, oh Im doing it!
They started loving it.
BALE: Did she look at her watch?
Like, How short is this film?
It can only be a good movie if its over an hour 45.
ADAMS: She actually looked at her phone.
It wasnt a watch.
Full disclosure: She was looking at her phone.
We would not have had an Iraq War.
We probably would not have had enhanced interrogation, wiretapping, etc.
So theres great comedy to it.
But theres also great meaning to it.
And then in the middle of saying that, she goes, Oh wait, I really liked that.
There is an underlying emotion.
In writing this story, it so easily could have ended there.
The guy had a solid career.
I mean, he was making a fortune as a CEO of Halliburton.
That couldve been it, and he got that phone call.
BALE: I love it on different levels because theres the thing that hes not chasing being VP.
Thats a whole different mindset.
But secondly, I love the fact that hes still waiting for permission.
[Laughs] If he doesnt get permission from Lynne, thats the end of it.
And Adam, your daughter really helped out as well with some of the Shakespeare, right?
She was very instrumental in that.
They dont do it halfway.
They really put on Shakespeare.
So I kind of free-formed the Shakespeare from my old improv days, just gibberish.
And I said, Lily, will you come in here?
How does this look?
And she was like, Your meters all wrong.
ROCKWELL: Wow, how old is she?
BALE: Shes 4.
MCKAY: [Laughs] Now shes 18.
She was like 16, 17.
And she sat down and shes like, No, no, Dad, you cant.
So we sat down for like two hours and went through all the meter.
She was like the task master.
BALE: And it worked!
A friend, he genuinely thought it was from Richard III.
MCKAY: Are you serious?
BALE: He was really surprised that it was not.
MCKAY: Well, thats you guys performing the crap out of my C-minus fake Shakespeare.
ROCKWELL: What was the longest you were in makeup, you guys?
ADAMS: He [Bale] takes it.
BALE: Four hours every morning.
ROCKWELL: And you were three?
ADAMS: On my hardest days I was about three, or three and a half.
MCKAY: You were in for a while though, Steve?
When you had the old guy look?
CARELL: No, I had no makeup.
ADAMS: [Laughs] You just changed your face.
CARELL: Im able to change my face into different configurations.
Pop a bone out here or something.
[Laughs]
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