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June 20, 2013

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B.J. Novak Video Interview On 'Inglourious Basterds,' Quentin Tarantino

12/22/2009

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He's the lovably star of The Office, who co-starred in one of the biggest films of the year, Inglourious Basterds, just released on DVD. B.J. Novak takes questions exclusively for users of Uinterview.com.

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Was there ever a time on Inglorious Basterds where you had a really emblematic moment with Quentin Tarantino? Was there a time where you got to know him a little as a person? - Joe, New York Q: Was there ever a time on Inglorious Basterds where you had a really emblematic moment with Quentin Tarantino? Was there a time where you got to know him a little as a person? - Joe, New York - Joe Galbo
A: It's funny, the moment I always remember from this movie was this scene that we filmed at night. Brad Pitt and I get kidnapped at one point in the movie and we filmed in a truck all day and it was just the two of us. First of all, just making small talk with Brad Pitt was a challenge I'll never forget. But at this part in the movie I happen to be handcuffed and there's a bag over my head. What I remember was not feeling nervous at all because I couldn't mess up the scene. I had a bag over my head, I was handcuffed, I had no lines. I couldn't see much either but just taking in where I was without having to be nervous about screwing up this awesome movie. Brad Pitt was there in a white tuxedo, Quentin Tarantino's in a leather jacket framing a shot. I was like 'This is like the dream version of a movie. This is crazy. And I can't mess it up.' That's probably a weird moment to remember but that's what stays with me. I don't think we had any one on one moments especially. It was often a group thing where we'd all go out to a bar, 5 or 6 or 10 of us after shooting. I'm kind of a quiet guy and he's a performative vocal guy so I would try to sit like two away from him cause I was too shy to ask him questions and I would wait for other people to ask him questions and I would kind of hear his opinions and take mental notes on what his thoughts on film making were and stuff like that.
I read that Tarantino had a policy that you couldn't speak with Chris Waltz during filming. Is that true? Q: I read that Tarantino had a policy that you couldn't speak with Chris Waltz during filming. Is that true? - Uinterview User
A: Chris Waltz plays one of the great villains of all time. Quentin is a big believer in rehearsal, but he said no one can speak to Christoph. I want you to be as terrified of him as your character would be... The transportation department didn't get that memo. We were in a carpool with him everyday half-hour down this highway from our hotel in Berlin. Christoph's character in the movie Hans Landa is this polite, well-cultured genius who just happens to be evil. Christoph is a polite, well-culture guy who isn't evil. But it's hard to differentiate. He would tell me on the these long drives: [In German accent] 'Have you checked out this classical concert? Have you been to the opera? Have you been to this cafe? It’s marvelous!' All I could hear in my head is this Nazi villain who was buttering me up before this big showdown.
What was the biggest difference of filming a comedy show like The Office and going off and doing a big budget movie like Inglorious Basterds? - Kevin, Brooklyn Q: What was the biggest difference of filming a comedy show like The Office and going off and doing a big budget movie like Inglorious Basterds? - Kevin, Brooklyn - Uinterview User
A: That was awesome. That's the kind of contrast you should always seize if you get the chance. What is great about The Office to me is that it's a small show. It's a very comfortable, little, honest show where you sit under the same florescent lights every day and you see the same people and you wear a suit and you come to think of it as real life. That's why I think it's funny and why people like it and I don't want to lose that. But this was the opposite. Inglorious Basterds is about fantasy and the larger than life canvas that is the movies. That's what comes out on screen and that's what it was like filming next to Brad Pitt and Quentin Tarantino. So I guess for me to get a taste for that larger than life Hollywood feeling was exciting. It was like a vacation.

Read more: B.J. Novak, The Office, Brad Pitt, Quentin Tarantino. Inglourious Basterds

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