By Alyse Wax

Wanted is poised to be this summer?s The Matrix. With a spectacular mix of action and effects, and a top-notch cast that includes James McAvoy, Angelina Jolie, and Morgan Freeman, Wanted has all the makings of a summer blockbuster. Based on the comic book by Mark Millar, Wanted follows the transformation of McAvoy from push-over desk jockey to world-class assassin. We got the chance to interview stars Common (The Gunsmith) and Thomas Kretschmann (Cross), and director Timur Bekmambetov (Night Watch, Day Watch). They gave us the lowdown on shooting those intense action scenes, and how they made the source material their own.

Did you know the comic?
Timur Bekmambetov: No.

Thomas Kretschmann: I didn?t know about it before I started the film, but I did after. I had a look at it, but I didn?t [base my character] on anything from the comic book. I tried to keep it simple. I just read the script and listened to the director.

It?s very different from the graphic novel. In the middle, apparently, it?s very different.
TB: Different, you mean different mythology?

Yes. Why did you change it?
TB: Because I don?t think it?s good for millions of people to see a movie about a person just killing people for fun. If you don?t think so?

Was it a challenging role because you have so little dialogue?
TK: I like to not talk in films. I?m not a big talker. Sometimes, when I get into it, I am. As an actor, I think it is more interesting to express yourself without talking. I personally like that. With a regular script where I have a normal amount of dialogue, I try to cut out as much as I can. Anything I can play, I don?t like to say. Usually if a director knows what he is doing, he likes that.

Common: I did my best to really become the character. If you do as much research as you can, and know who The Gunsmith is, with or without lines, then that energy and that presence is going to be there. I think that is the most important thing I can do, just know who my character is.

The visual style of the film is so outrageous. Did you have any idea what it was going to look like?
TK: You have an idea, but usually your idea is more glorious than the results. This was the first time it was the other way around. It was the first time I walked out of a film [I was in] and thought, ?Wow, I wasn?t expecting that.? It?s so much better and cooler than what I thought it would be. I think [Wanted] is the best action film I?ve ever seen. Timur explained [what he was going for] while he was shooting but he is so full of ideas. I think it evolves while he is finishing it.

Is this the next level of John Woo, Matrix style?
TB: No. It?s very different because it?s drama-driven. Drama drives the action, entertainment. It?s ancient Greek tragedy dressed as a movie.

Did you feel like you were creating a new visual language?
TB: I think every director creates a new language because every director is different. If I try to repeat something I will be unsuccessful because I can?t do it.

When you were a child did you like to draw? How did you get this visual thing in your head?
TB: Yes. I studied as a painter for seven years. It?s who I was. I didn?t have a reason to be a painter because a painter paints something and nobody really needs it. It?s the business of the galleries and selling art but I didn?t understand why I had to do this. I didn?t have an audience. I like the movie business because you have an audience. This July, within a week, I will understand.

What was the hardest scene for you to shoot?
TK: The train sequence was draining. It was hot, and we had a lot of padding, and the harness?. It wasn?t really difficult though. There was nothing really difficult.

Did you want all of the main characters and the actors do their own stunts? Because it seems like they did an awful lot of their own stunts
TB: Yeah. It was a problem for me because James was too enthusiastic about it. He was trying to do everything himself and it was impossible to stop him. Of course it takes more time because a stunt double can do it in a second but he wants to do this himself. And he was great. He trained. He spent three months to rehearse all the action scenes, to build his body? in the action scenes it?s part of the drama. And I kind of agree with him that only an actor can do it properly. And also what?s important is that he was an ordinary man in extraordinary circumstances, and it was good if he was not perfect sometimes. You feel it?s a real person, it?s not a machine, not CGI flying model.

Would you like to talk a little about casting James? That?s an unusually casting. I would never have thought of him, and then seeing him was brilliant.
TB: First of all it was really important to find an actor who would be very unpredictable for this role because to create this journey, [from an average man] to super assassin, dangerous, fighter ? it was important to have somebody unpredictable. And a second element, the actor has to feel the tone of the comic book because this comic book has a very unique tone. It?s irony, it?s smartness. It?s a little bit smarter than other comic books except the great character in Iron Man. And it?s kind of the same direction ? what?s happening in comic books now. Heroes become more dramatic, more real. And James grew up in the same city as the writer, Mark Millar, who created this comic book. He?s from Glasgow and I found that they have the same sensibility. It was very important because I was trying to protect the original source, make it as close as possible to the original character. Even if he?s different, looks different, there?s a different scene, but tonally he?s the same.

What were your scenes like with James? Did you have to help him out at all with his action scenes?
TK: I didn?t have to help him, trust me. He?s great. My scenes with him were? it was a pleasure to work with him. It was awesome. I think he is one of the greatest actors we have in the world, any age. He is so fantastic, such a good actor. He is so smart, and a really nice guy. You just watch and learn ? and he?s 20 years younger! I just sit there and think, ?This kid, he?s so awesome!?

What was the mood like on the set?
C: It was a lot of fun ? it was great. A lot of jokesters. I can definitely say that Morgan Freeman is a cool guy. He?d be walking around, joking and singing and dancing. I just felt the artist in him. Artists are free, and I felt that in him. Angelina and I were having a good time, talking about everything. James is a funny guy. It was a lot of fun, to be honest. Then it?s time to shoot, and you have to get into character, and that is where the intensity comes from.

People are buzzing about the nude scene Angelina does. Are you surprised that?s a big deal because you?re not the first person to shoot Angelina in a nude scene?
TB: It was part of the story. I didn?t have the idea ?ok, now we have to shoot Angelina naked.? No. It was part of the story, very important because the next scene she?s beating Wesley and it?s a good set-up for the next scene. It was proper for the story, her relationship with James.

Was it a big deal for her to do that?
TB: No. She liked it. She has a beautiful body and she liked it.

Were you familiar with guns before you did this film?
C: The only education I have had on guns was from previous movies. Smoking Aces, Street Kings, American Gangster ? I didn?t have any gun training [in American Gangster], but I had to hold a gun. I?m definitely not a promoter of guns. That?s not me. I did go through extensive training for this [movie]. The Gunsmith is the one who is always taking apart the guns, putting them back together, cleaning them? I needed to know as much as I could about guns.

What kind of a back story did you create for your character in your mind?
C: There was nothing in the script about his back story, so eventually I created in my mind something where The Gunsmith became this person who was like a samurai in a way. He was a master of weaponry and definitely a warrior, but also this calm, Buddha-like character. His energy was more about making Wesley [McAvoy?s character] become a good warrior, and learning these techniques.

Your character seems really calm and focused. How much do you draw on yourself to bring that into the role?
C: I try my best not to have any Common qualities in my characters. If the character is like me, you may see some of me come out. When I go to see the movie, I get mad if I see anything to do with Common [in my performance]. I?ve actually asked actors, ?Do you ever see yourself when playing a character?? They seem to feel the same way. That?s your job ? to create that character.

This was originally scheduled to come out in March. What changed in the extra months you had to work on it?
TB: First of all the studio understood that a big movie [like this] is bigger than March. It?s a big event and I really appreciate their decision to move it because it gave me a few months to work and also gave me the possibility to talk to a lot of people. And I think it?s very interesting to see what will happen in ten days because if the audience will accept this movie, will enjoy this movie, we?ll be in a different world because this kind of movie has never been released. It was a brave decision and I think it will be successful.

Wanting more? Check out our 'Wanted' review
and our chat with 'Wanted' star Thomas Kretschmann on His Cannibal Movie 'Grimm Love'!