Jon Hamm.Photo: Michael Kovac/Getty Images for Paramount Worldwide
Jon Hamm’s latest movie is a passion project.
TheMad Menalum, 51, “gave back 60% of his salary” fromConfess, Fletch— a decision he made when it became clear the needs of the project would exceed the budget, according to directorGreg Mottola.
“I gave back some of my salary — not as much as Jon, because he’s richer than me and I’ve got three kids,” Mottola joked in an interview withUproxxpublished Thursday. “And we bought three more days of shooting. We got it up to 30 days in Boston and one day in Rome. And we said, ‘F— it, we’re insane, we’re dumb. We’re going to make this movie.’ "
The filmmaker behindSuperbadandAdventureland, 58, added that it was a challenge to get the movie made in the first place. But Hamm was a lifelong fan.
“Unbeknownst to Miramax, Jon, when he saw the first [Fletchmovie] back in the day, he went to read the book it was based on because he loved it so much and then found out, oh, there’s more than one,” Mottola explained. “And he, according to him, stole them — whatever copies there were — from a Waldenbooks at a mall. A shoplifter.”
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“Jon and I were like, ‘I think there’s an audience for this.’ And then we were told, ‘No, we don’t think so,’ " Mottola said. “We got a lot of, ‘Yeah, in a different time, a couple of years ago, we would’ve bought this, but we’re making our own stuff and we don’t need it.’ "
Mottola said he took over the script, and changed itto a “comedy of manners"that was “very talky” instead of being a slapstick comedy.
“I was very intentionally not putting in the things that I see a lot of in comedy today, which is a lot of pop-culture references,” he said.
The result? “I think we actually cracked it,” Mottola added. “I wanted it to feel a little more adult and a little more character-dialogue-driven, which is just something I love. And I see a lot of things that make me laugh, but often take place purely in comedy worlds.”
The originalFletchstarredChevy Chasein1985, and Mottola said there was a discussion about whether to bring Chase, 78, back.
“I’m also personally a little tired of movies that rely too heavily on nostalgia. Plus, there wasn’t a great role for him,” the director explained. “We didn’t want to just walk through the movie and distract everyone. If I wanted him to be in it, I wanted to give him something really good to do.”
Thetrailer for the comedyshows Hamm as semi-retired journalist Irwin M. Fletcher who becomes involved in the investigation of an art heist.
The film also stars Roy Wood Jr.,Annie Mumolo, Ayden Mayeri, Lorenza Izzo,Kyle MacLachlanandMarcia Gay Harden. John Slattery, Hamm’s formerMad Mencostar is also in the film in a similar dynamic to the one they shared in the AMC drama: as Hamm’s boss.
In a previous interview withEntertainment Weekly,Mottola discussed reviving the relationship between Frank (Slattery, 60) and Fletch.
Hamm suggested Slattery for the part in the film, according to Mottola.Mad Menran for seven seasons between 2007 and 2015.
“I’d met John over the years, and I really, really enjoy him as an actor, so I loved the idea,” he explained. “It was actually the first day of shooting all of their stuff, and it was a great first day because those guys have such a shorthand that they just immediately fell into a very funny, enjoyable rhythm.”
Confess, Fletchis now in theaters and on digital.
source: people.com
