Posted in: Exclusive, Interview, Movies | Tagged: exclusive, Get Fast, interview, James Clayton, Lou Diamond Phillips, Well Go USA Entertainment

Get Fast Dir James Clayton & Costar Lou Diamond Philips on Heist Fun

Director James C. Clayton and co-star Lou Diamond Phillips spoke to Bleeding Cool about the Well Go USA action heist film "Get Fast."

Comedian Groucho Marx once said, "If you're not having fun, you're doing something wrong,' which describes how director and star James C. Clayton's Get Fast for Well Go USA Entertainment. The film follows a notorious professional thief (Clayton) who finds his partner in crime kidnapped after pulling off a massive money heist. He tracks the abductors into the territory of a merciless drug lord, pursued by dirty cops, low-level cronies, and the crime syndicate's deadliest hitman, a gun-loving and coldly charming sociopath known as The Cowboy (Lou Diamond Phillips). With millions of dollars and multiple lives at stake, how long will loyalty amongst thieves last when the bullets start flying? Clayton and Phillips spoke to Bleeding Cool about the film's deep ambitions despite a limited budget, Diamond's grounded inspiration for The Cowboy, writing, and the dynamic between Clayton and Suleiman Abutu's characters.

Get Fast Stars, James Clayton & Lou Diamond Phillips, on Taking Audiences on Wild Ride Heist Romp

Bleeding Cool: James, what's the inspiration behind 'Get Fast?'

Clayton: I wanted to make a fun action film for people that left them with a sense of joy and hope by the end of it. I felt like with the action films I grew up watching; there was a space and opening to make a film like that, especially in the space that this movie operates in. That's what happened, and as soon as I put my mind to it, I started working on it. I developed the script and started hitting the ground running.

Lou, what intrigued you about the film?

Phillips: It's always the script. At this point in my life, I'm very material-driven, and it's a commitment to go off and do something, especially when it's in a location far from my home and spending time away from my family. The script was solid, and it was tight. As far as an action thriller, the movie's that way, too. My goodness! It gets shot out of a can and never slows down, but then I look, "What am I going to contribute to it?" The character [of the Cowboy] was so much fun and a joy to play [laughs]. I had a blast doing it and, maybe, even too much fun. James, I got to tell you, I didn't tell you this. Yeah. The movie made me laugh.

I laughed a lot because it was entertaining, and so you could appreciate something. You can be proud of it, but even when I'm involved in something, I'm still an audience member when I watch it, and I enjoyed it so much, man.

Clayton: That's amazing.

James, what are Cooper and Denny like as career partners?

Clayton: They're tremendous to work with. Cooper and Danny worked more side-by-side and extensively on 'Bulletproof,' which was the first film in the series. They're like firecrackers in terms of ideas, and for 'Get Fast,' I worked more on an individual basis with Cooper and Danny. Danny, who's a great screenwriter, contributed to the wonderful story. Coming back to working with Cooper predominantly on this one, it was a lot of fun because, as I like to jokingly say to Cooper, he's like Larry David. If he ever does an interview and people meet him, which I hope happens, he's a tremendous talent. He's such an interesting guy, and he calls for a great writing partner.

Lou, aside from the script, were there any external inspirations, perhaps a performance you evoked or tapped into playing The Cowboy?

Phillips: It's interesting. One of the ways I know I'm going to do something, and I tend to ascertain this early on, is if I can see myself doing it. When I started reading the dialogue, I saw myself in my head and heard myself. This character jumped off the page at me, and right away, I knew I was going to talk like my dad. [Changes voice] "My dad lived down in Texas. He grew up in North Carolina, and this is how he talked. He says some pretty goofy Texas-isms occasionally," and I thought, "Okay, this guy's my dad, and I don't have to reach far to know who this is."

After that, I get tickled. At this point in my career, I've played "Lou Diamond Phillips," four times on 'Easter Sunday' (2022) with Joe Coy and even on (ABC's) 'Cougar Town,' and 'You're the Worst' a couple of times I've played me. I know that at this point in my life and career, I have certain baggage people expect. In this case, that baggage helps a character like this. Suddenly, when somebody sees Lou Diamond Philips in a cowboy hat and a duster, they're like, "I know that!" It was one of those things that felt like a glove from Jump Street.

What was the most difficult aspect of production, or was there a particular scene that was harder to execute than most?

Clayton: I would say we were so pressed for time, and we had a lot of intricate setups. It took extensive preparation leading up to the actual shooting. As you know, we do not even have the shot lists and all our storyboards. We had limited storyboards and stuff done, but we knew the entire edit was planned and visualized. Not that we had to be prescriptive when we got to set, but at least we knew exactly what we needed to make the film work, and then we could improvise if something arose.

I would say the hardest scene to shoot in the whole film is the one when [my character] Thief and Tom (Suleiman Abutu) are captured by the cop gang, and they're being led to the "Thief's armory," which they don't know is an armory. The reason why it was the hardest was because the weather wasn't cooperating that day, and it would rain for ten minutes, cloud over, sun, rain, then cloud over. We were bouncing around that set all day, trying to at least get that scene in the camp. All the action stuff was easy.

James, can you talk about the chemistry you developed with Suleiman, his presence on screen, and how the Thief and Tom connected?

Clayton: Suleiman is a tremendous natural talent, and our chemistry on screen is what our relationship was off-screen by a natural function. He's going to hate me for saying this, but he lied to me in his first audition. I was looking for someone who was a local from Vancouver, and he lived in Winnipeg. He initially lied about where he was from, and his audition was tremendous. I cast him right away.

When I asked to meet him for coffee, he went pale in the face, because he couldn't meet me when I requested. He was a few provinces away in Canada somewhere else, setting the tone for me being like, "Okay, Suleiman, I need you to be honest with me. Come on, hurry up. Can you please not spend so much time in the bathroom? Can you please get out of your car? [laughs]." I started treating them like a big brother, which pretty much informed our relationship on screen.

What can you say about your costars like Fei Ren, Alisha-Marie Ahmed, and Philip Granger?

Clayton: First, they're sweethearts and Phil is someone who's been a friend of mine for many years. It's a pleasure to be able to work with your friends. Tremendously talented and directable and brought a little extra thing to all those characters I didn't see coming. Circling back to Lou and working with him is a dream come true because he only needs one take. If you end up doing more than two or three takes with him, then he causes you problems, especially in the editing room, because you don't know which take to use since they're all great takes. That's my one complaint about Lou Diamond Phillips is that you're too good, my friend! On that note, I hope we get to work together again because of it.

Get Fast, which also stars James Huston, Elan Ross Gibson, Michael Matic, Tefari "T" Thompson, Bradley Stryker, and Simon Chin, is available On Demand and digital.

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