Uwe Boll On Postal

Uwe Boll On Postal - page 2

27-10-2008 10:50

So I felt like I had to sit down and try something on my own and what I saw with Postal was the opportunity to present the real me and put something back in the movie that was missing from the genres that I did before.

And how does the writing process work for you?

It was not easy I�m not the guy who can write a script in two weeks and it�s different for me to keep focused and keep going then pull it all together, check it again and talk to other people about it it�s not an easy process. But I am happy I did it and I think it was, for me, an initial yeah bang moment I�m now on the set of my new movie Rampage, which I also wrote, so I think Postal was a moment that was important for me to get back to the real filmmaking process of me developing and writing the movie and I think that it is a way better movie than the other genre movies that I have done before.

And what was it like returning to the genre of comedy that most of us don�t know you for?

It was fun, and of course Postal is very violent so I had a lot of action scenes it�s not a talking comedy, and from this point of view I enjoyed doing action and funny but at the same time I think the key element was to find the right actor for it. And with Postal we were so lucky that in every single part we have a very good comedian playing it we have Dave Foley and J.K Simmonds and so with so many good comedy actors in so many parts they help bring the comedy to life and because English is not my first language I had a couple of co-writers to help polish the dialogue and finally the actors went over the dialogue again and this made the movie really funny.

Postal is a dark political comedy are the political views your own?

No I think it is absolutely something that I would sign off on and I think it shows that it�s totally absurd to believe that you can make a better world by killing people or that religion means anything or makes anything good if you use violent methods to serve your god or your religion is a completely stupid idea.

But at the same time I wanted to show that the whole Bush government basically fucked up the whole politics in the last eight years and that the same type of scariness in the Bush government as is in the fundamentalists. I think a lot of people in the last six or seven years are all scared, we are all scared in what direction the world is turning and if McCain and Palin get elected it would be horrific for the rest of the world because Palin is an even bigger retard than Bush and I think that it was really time to unpick the hem in a feature and really hit everyone in the balls so that we don�t leave any religious direction or political direction safe.

I really wanted to make a moving showing that we have the right of free thinking, the right of free speaking and the right to do what we want if we think it�s funny and for me it was important to show that we were not self-centred like all the studio movies, because all these studio movies are politically and socially correct.

How worried were you about the reaction to this film is an American audience ready to laugh at Al Qaeda jokes?

This was a disappointing point when we were trying to pick up a theatrical release we only got fourteen screens it the exhibitors almost boycotted because they thought it was too radical and to dirty. But in England First Revolver bought the movie and they couldn't get a screens they really like the film but a lot of English exhibitors were scared because of the fundamentalists they said that there was too big a Muslim community.

So I think that the scary film, if you make a movie like this, you see the problems that you run into like in France for example Metropolitan wanted to buy it but they think the fundamentalist in France are too strong and they don't want to release it and it shows the state of mind that we are all in.

And what was the reaction of those around you when you were making the movie did they ever try to talk you out of any particular jokes? And was there any material that you thought went a bit too far?

Not the actors they really went for it but, for example, when we sent the script to the casting agencies they were all resistant to give us actors. So we held a casting and all the actors came to the casting and they said that 'we are almost here against the wills of their agents but we really want to be part of this movie we like that there is a radical comedy coming up that's not like Meet the Zohan but more radical.

Then the production company here in Canada thought that it was too hot and radical and I had team members, who had done my other movies, were not willing to do scenes in Postal because of the violence and because of the content and that was very disappointing for me. But I kept it the way that I wanted it and I'm really proud that I did the movie that was non-compromising.

Zack Ward possibly isn't the first name that you think of for an action-hero leading man did you immediately see him in the role?

No we went out for some named actors for the role first, Rob Schneider had an offer, of course we went for a named actor because we wanted to sell the movie and then it didn't work out. Zack Ward came to the casting and he played one of the cops, the part that Chris Spencer played in the movie, and I saw him and we looked at the tape again and talked to the producer and said ;' this is the Postal hero he's perfect'.

He is exactly like the game he has that mentality he's a red head, he's kind of a loser and you believe that he lives in a trailer park and he married a girl that put on 500lbs in the first six months after the wedding. And Zack Ward took that part and made it 50% better than it was written he really bring s his heart into it and I really feel for it, he's not only a joke maker but you feel that he really has a heart and he is someone who suffers in a way.

Finally what's next for you?

I'm shooting Rampage right now it sounds like an action movie and it is an action movie but it is actually also an arty movie that I wrote myself. It is about a guy who goes on a rampage, like a school massacre, except he's not doing it in a school but in a city and he has been planning it for two years and he basically destroys the whole city.

It was kind of evil idea that I had after all of the school shootings I thought what if you have a school shooting at one point and he wins, he gets away with it. It's a very radical movie but we have a blast shooting it, there's nothing more funny than going in a bingo hall and killing a hundred retired people playing bingo