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DOWN TO EARTH
Paramount Pictures and Village Roadshow Pictures present,
in association with NPV Entertainment, an Alphaville and 3 Arts Entertainment production
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Prod: Sean Daniel, Michael Rotenberg, James Jacks; Exec prod: Chris Rick, Barry Berg; Dir: Chris Weitz, Paul Weitz; Scr: Chris Rock, Lance Crouther, Ali Le Roi, Louis CK, based on the film Heaven Can Wait, screenplay by Elaine May, Warren Beatty, from a play by Harry Segall; Ph: Richard Crudo; Prod des: Paul Peters; Cost des: Debrae Little; Ed: Priscilla Nedd-Friendly; Mus: Jamshied Sharifi.
With Chris Rock (Lance Barton), Regina King (Sontee), Mark Addy (Cisco), Eugene Levy (Mr Keyes), Frankie Faison (Whitney Daniels), Greg Germann (Winston Sklar), Jennifer Coolidge (Mrs Wellington), Chazz Palminteri (Mr King), Wanda Sykes (Wanda).
International distribution:
Paramount Pictures.
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On the big screen, Rock has not taken the easy route, preferring offbeat indie movies like Dogma and Nurse Betty to blockbusters (although he did make an exception for Lethal Weapon 4). Down to Earth is a definite change of direction, however. “Most people probably would expect me to play a fast-talking cop but, to tell you the truth, I like my characters not to have guns,” is how he explains it. “Two subjects that interest me are comedy and women. So a comedy with a romantic element seemed a perfect mix.”
 | Palminteri and Levy - as Mr King and Mr Keys - realise that Lance has arrived a little prematurely at the Pearly Gates. |
Obviously the choice of director was also crucial - or, in this case, the choice of directors, since Down to Earth is Chris and Paul Weitz’s first movie since the all-conquering American Pie. “Chris [Rock] is extremely witty and smart,” says the latter. “We thought it would be exciting to challenge each other - to find out what he would bring out in us and vice versa.
“Comedy is an interesting process. You start off doing what’s in the script, but invention plays a large part in the process. It’s important to provide an environment that allows your actors to be comfortable enough to try different things.”
 | That cold day on the set...directors Paul (far-left) and Chris Weitz flank Rock and co-stars Chazz Palminteri (left) and Eugene Levy. |
“Chris and Paul are perfect to direct Down to Earth,” adds producer Sean Daniel. “They bring a fresh energy and quirky edginess that we all like immensely.”
But the most crucial part of it all was the comedy. “You’ve got to have fun every day, and we definitely did,” says Rock, summing up work on the film, which shot in New York and Toronto starting (appropriately enough) on Valentine’s Day last year. “We were swinging hard with jokes all the time. Maybe this movie should be called a comedy romantic instead of a romantic comedy.
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“Most people probably would expect me to play a
fast-talking cop, but to tell you the truth, I like my characters not to have guns” |
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