By Christina Radish

Mark Wahlberg at the premiere of "Max Payne" held at the Grauman's Chinese Theatre in Hollywood, Calif. on October 13, 2008.

Co-stars Mark Wahlberg, Mila Kunis, Chris “Ludacris” Bridges and Beau Bridges recently spoke to MediaBlvd Magazine about taking on their roles in the 20^th Century Fox video game-turned-crime thriller, Max Payne.

MediaBlvd Magazine> What attracted each of you to this project, and what did you enjoy most about making this film?

Chris “Ludacris” Bridges> What attracted me to the project was being able to point a gun at Mark Wahlberg and get away with it, and live to tell about it. That’s definitely why I signed on to do this movie. Just to point a gun at him.                                                          

Mark Wahlberg> I thought he liked me.

Ludacris> No, I’m just messing with him. Honestly, I try to pick those diverse roles that I haven’t done before because I like to expand my body of work, and I think that this adds to the resume of me continuing to do different roles. This is my first time getting a little piece of the action, and playing on that side of the law. I love surprising myself and, of course, everyone else that watches. Jim Bravura, Internal Affairs Agent, is my first time actually playing that type of role, and I enjoyed doing it. It was actually written for a 60-year-old white man. I went to audition for it. I got the call from (director) John Moore, two days later, saying that I got the part, and I was extremely excited.

Mila Kunis> I just really wanted to beat Mark up, and I did, and it was really great. It was really empowering. I got a lot of my anger and angst out.

Beau Bridges> I had never heard of the “Max Payne” game, but I have five kids. When I told them I was going to be in Max Payne, they said “Max Payne! Oh, man!” So, I knew it was a game that had a big following, which was exciting. And then, I read the script and you could just tell by the descriptions that it was going to have a real high sense of style, and John Moore really brought that. It’s always exciting to be in something that has that going for it. He’s from that whole technical side and brought that understanding to it. But, apart from that, in the very beginning, we also talked a lot about the human element to the characters, and I always like getting into that background. We didn’t rehearse all the words so much, but just really talked about where these people come from and why they do what they do. I think it’s a real strong story about this guy who’s going off to find the killer of his wife and child. That’s something different from a lot of game movies that come out, so I’m glad to be a part of it. I enjoyed it thoroughly.

Mark> I just did it because they offered it to me. I had just played a science teacher in The Happening. I played an accountant in The Lovely Bones. It was time to go back and do what I think best suits me, which is busting some heads, having some fun and kicking ass on the bad guys.                                 

MediaBlvd> Were you apprehensive about the stigma of video game movies?

Mark> It wasn’t really brought to my attention how many movies had actually been adapted from games. When I read the script, a bit of a red flag popped up, only because I grew up playing Atari with Pac-man and Asteroids, and there’s not much of a story there. But, seeing this game and realizing how elaborate the story is, how cinematic it is and how much games have changed, I don’t care where the stories come from, as long as they’re interesting and they’re told in a fresh way. Knowing how important this game is for a lot of the die-hard game fans, we obviously wanted to satisfy them, and then hopefully introduce a bunch of other people to the game through the movie.

MediaBlvd> The “Max Payne” video game is so cinematic and inspired by movies, how do you make a movie that’s inspired by that? Mark> When I read the script, I was like, “Wow, this is awesome! Where did this come from?” Then, when they said it was based on a video game, I said, “Oh, fuck no! I don’t want to do that!” They were like, “No, it’s really cool! You’ve got to check it out.” And so, I started doing a little research. When I saw the game, I realized, “Wow, the story is really elaborate. There’s a lot going on there.” I was surprised they hadn’t made it a movie earlier.

MediaBlvd> Did you play the game before doing the movie?

Mark> No, but my assistant is a gamer, so I let him play the game every day, from the start of production until the day of wrap. I didn’t want to play because I have an addictive personality. I’ve got more responsibility now than I’ve ever had, with the kids and everything else. I don’t want to be spending 14 hours on the video game, and then another you know eight hours on the set. That doesn’t work out.

MediaBlvd> How do you make a two-dimensional character three-dimensional? 

Mark> With the help of John Moore. I’ve shown glimpses of what I hope to accomplish in this movie with Fear, The Departed and Four Brothers, but I wanted to take this to a whole other place. And, thankfully, John was also in the head space of doing something that really was layered. I had already done the guy of few words. That’s one note, and that’s it.  I wanted to really go off and push the envelope.        

MediaBlvd> Mark, there are some signature “Max Payne” moves that you get to do, like the double guns and the slow motion. How did it feel to act those out?

Mark> The idea of it was fun, but I’m not as young as I used to be. It wasn’t like we had a gigantic budget, so we could use a green screen with wires and everything. We basically shot all the action on film. Being able to do those kind of things, especially in the third act of the film, when he finally actually takes the drug and really goes crazy, is what every kid dreams about doing.

Beau> Mark would probably never talk about this, but he’d come to work every day and have some new band-Aid on him, or a new thing wrapped up. He does some pretty remarkable physical fetes in this film.

Mark> John is a very demanding director. He knows exactly what he’s doing. We wanted to make it look real, so we basically just got in there and tried to do as much as possible.   

MediaBlvd> Mark, was this a tough character for you to play?

Mark> Yes and no. After doing The Lovely Bones, where I was also dealing with loss, and a horrific act of violence, being able to do something about it was so nice. I remember when The Happening had just came out, I walked into the editing room, in the looping stage, with John and he showed me some of the film, and I was just screaming with excitement. I was so happy that my career was saved, along with my life, my credibility and my ability to walk down the street in a ‘hood again.  I was just like, “Yeah!” I was screaming at the top of my lungs, for five minutes.  This is the kind of movie that I want to go and see. I also don’t want to be told what I can and can’t do. I want to try something different. I want to be able to play a lawyer, or play a doctor, but  I feel most comfortable when I’m in a world like this.                   

Mila Kunis at the premiere of "Max Payne" held at the Grauman's Chinese Theatre in Hollywood, Calif. on October 13, 2008.

Mark> Definitely! I’m not one of those Shakespearean actors that thinks about the color blue, or thinks about that place when I wanted to hide and be alone as a kid. I have my past, which has got a lot of stuff to draw from, and I have children, so I think about something horrible happening to my family. That’s why I can’t wait until the last day of shooting, so I can go home and hug my kids and get those thoughts out of my head.

MediaBlvd> Was it fun on this set, or did you stay in that dark place?

Mark> It was not fun, no.

Beau> It was cold.

Ludacris> Bone cold.

Beau> Yeah, there was a raging snow storm, when we first started in Toronto, but that was great, and I’m sure that’s one of the reasons they chose that place. The snow storm is a big character in the game, and it is in the movie. Then, afterwards, we had to recreate that snow, which was a different problem. We had these big slow-moving flakes that would sit in your hair. The ladies and men in the crew were the ones that had the toughest jobs because we would be able to go in these little huts and they’d have some heaters in there. I’d come out and, if I had a long spiel, I could hardly get my jaw to move in the cold to say the words.

Mark> If a big storm was coming in, John would call the crew up, in the middle of the night, and say, “Get the cameras, and let’s go!,” and we’d go out there and shoot some additional footage.                 

MediaBlvd> Mila, was there any room for levity in this?

Mila> Mark doesn’t think I’m very funny.

Mark> She’s mean.

Mila> Mona Sax wasn’t very funny. But, it was fine. I liked it, but it was very different.

MediaBlvd> Do you have to turn off the comedy?

Mila> Around Mark, yeah, absolutely.

Mark> She never stopped.

Mila> I have this odd tendency to be really sarcastic when I’m uncomfortable. I don’t really know why, but it just comes out, and it’s come out since I was a child. And, Mark makes me incredibly uncomfortable, thus I do dumb shit in front of him and make dumb comments.

Mark> Yeah, she cracks herself up. That’s for sure.

Mila> I do. I make myself laugh all the time. I think I’m really funny.

MediaBlvd> Mark, is there a reason why, when Max Payne hits someone, you only see the injury later?

Mark> Yeah, it’s called trying to make a PG-13 film. You can’t hit him and then see the blood coming out. But, later on, if he’s a little bit bloodied up, then it’s okay. It’s called trying to trick everybody into giving you a PG-13 because we want more people to see this film. If we hadn’t made a PG-13, you would’ve heard a lot of “fucks” from me, that’s for sure. You only get one, and they gave it to Mila. I was pissed, believe me. I said “shit,” every chance I got. We were trying to make a movie that was entertaining and driven by emotion, so the F-bomb really would have diluted it, anyway. Too much of it just makes it into something else. So, there were little tricks that we had to do, like showing very little blood from the gunshots, and stuff like that.

MediaBlvd> Mila, can you talk about who you play in the film?

Mila> I play an assassin, named Mona Sax. Her sister gets murdered and she blame Mark’s character, Max Payne, for the murder. 

Mark> She thinks I had sex with her sister, and did all this other stuff, but I didn’t.

Mila> And so, I go find him and fuck him up. But then, I realize we’re both looking for the same bad guy, so we team up.            

MediaBlvd> This is your first kick-ass action role. Did you enjoy the clothes, the guns and the training?

Mila> I didn’t enjoy the clothes very much. I enjoyed the guns, and I enjoyed the training a lot.

MediaBlvd> What did you have to do?

Mila> I had weapons safety. For some reason, (director) John Moore made me learn how to take an MK5H apart and put it back together, blindfolded. I really don’t know why, but I now know how to do that, in case anyone wants it. I liked shooting the gun a lot more than I thought I would. But, the clothes sucked. Oh, my God, that was awful! Mark was bundled up in jackets, wet suits, coats and turtlenecks, and I was in a leather bustier, black pants and 5-inch heels.

Ludacris> Well, it looked good. It was sexy!

Mark> She needed to understand actor safety. She was swinging that stick at me like a wild person. You’re not supposed to hit somebody in the movies.

Mila> You kind of liked it.

Mark> It’s just pretend. Only I get to hit for real.

Mila> Okay, okay.

MediaBlvd> Beau, can you talk about your character’s darker side?

Beau> Hopefully, what will set this apart, at its heart, is that it is an entertainment film, but these characters are very lifelike, and nothing is as it seems. None of the people are what you think they are. When you first meet them, who you think they are and who they turn out to be may be something a little different. I was really attracted to the whole father-son relationship that my character had with Max Payne. And, Mark and I hit it off pretty good, at the beginning. I have great respect for him.

Mark> Well, that was mutual, for sure.                 

Beau> And, I know he’s a family guy. He’s a dad, and I responded to all that. It wasn’t much of a stretch to get into that part of our relationship, and that was real key to telling the story. I think B.B. just really wants Max to evolve to his fullest potential. Max just doesn’t see the light, unfortunately.

MediaBlvd> Ludacris, how are you finding your way with all this effects stuff? Was that new for you?

Ludacris> Not necessarily. There have been a couple of movies that I’ve been in, as far as the action scenes are concerned. This is my first time working with John, who I’ve been trying to work with for a long time, so it was exciting for me. It’s definitely a different role, being the internal affairs agent, and I had a lot of fun doing it.   

MediaBlvd> Mark, what was the biggest challenge of this role for you?

Mark> The biggest challenge for me was going to that emotional place and having to imagine something horrible happening to my family. And then, the biggest physical challenge was keeping up the mystery and the façade that I’m actually tough and cool, and that I can go and do all this action stuff, and that it doesn’t hurt and I’m not scared. I’m not the thrill-seeker that I used to be. Chris said, “Oh, I gotta get this new motorcycle,” and I said, “I gave my motorcycle away. No more jumping out of planes or off of buildings, or any of that stuff.” I’ve got three children. In between movies, I tell them to wrap me up in cellophane so that nothing happens because I want to be able to play with my kids. I’ve been very fortunate and very lucky. I’ve had a bunch of close calls. But, with a movie like this, you want to get in there and make it as realistic as possible. For anything too dangerous, I’ve got a few guys that look exactly like me. When I’m driving down the street, if I see somebody who looks like me, I ask them if they’re willing to jump out a window or get hit by a car -- no faster than 35 mph, of course.

MediaBlvd> Mila, getting into this boys club, did you have to out-macho all the guys?

Mila> Yes, of course! I am so not a tough person. It was a little hard, but from That '70s Show, I’m used to being around so many boys, all the time. I’m just more used to being picked on versus trying to kick ass and pretend like I’m really tough and know what I’m doing. I’d never had to do that in life. This was definitely the first time ever. I was like, “This is very strange and very unknown territory to me,” but I liked it because it was such a challenge.

MediaBlvd> Did you feel more empowered, with the clothes and the guns?

Mila> I hated the clothes so much! What made me feel empowered was the gun, not the clothes. If I had the gun, it didn’t matter what your size or stature was. As long as I’m holding the weapon, I win, so that was really great. But, the heels sucked. Oh, my God, that was awful! When you’re in five inches of snow in 5-inch heels, you can’t look sexy, and you can’t look like you know what you’re doing because you’ll fall, and I’m klutzy. It was bad.

MediaBlvd> What was John Moore like, as a director?

Mark> John’s phenomenal!

Ludacris> He’s so passionate about the takes that, when we were on set, he would either yell at the top of his lungs when we did something right, or when something went wrong, you would hear another kind of yell. That’s how passionate he was. It’s the first director I’ve worked with who, every time you got something right, you’d hear, “Yeah!” He was very passionate about every single thing. He’s really good, and very strategic.

MediaBlvd> Ludacris, did you have any conversations with Mark about Samuel L. Jackson’s comments, in regard to rappers and singers moving into acting and taking jobs from real actors?

Ludacris> I only hear about that stuff through other people. No one has ever said anything to my face.

Mark> Sam was mad, for a little while. I think he’s come around now. Sam lives right around the corner from me. He’s mad at the supermarket, when I see him.

Chris "Ludacris" Bridges at the premiere of "Max Payne" held at the Grauman's Chinese Theatre in Hollywood, Calif. on October 13, 2008.

Mark> Certainly, when I started, it was an extremely difficult thing to become a respected actor, and not many musicians had done it. But, if you look at Chris’ approach, it’s not like he’s said, “Okay, I’m coming in and out, taking a couple of paychecks,” and not really respecting the art form, or trying to grow as an actor and be taken seriously. We’ve talked a lot. We have a lot in common. He’s asked me advice. He’s not too cool to say, “Hey, what do you think about this? What do you think about that?” I think he’s going to have a long, lengthy career. But, before me and Will Smith, there weren’t many people who had done it, successfully. So, if you’ve got a bunch of guys just coming in, taking roles from great actors like Sam Jackson, who’s one of the finest actors in the business, and didn’t really get his break until late in life,  I can understand where he’s coming from. But, you have to look at the individuals that are doing it. Chris is a guy who has much respect for the art form. I told him, “It’s a marathon. It’s not a sprint.” And, he’s really choosing roles to continue to grow as an actor, work with people that he can learn from and become better. He’s the next Will Smith, baby.

MediaBlvd> Mark, after your experience with The Departed, and getting nominated for an Oscar for that, is it harder to pick popcorn movies to do, once you’ve had that kind of acclaim?

Mark> No because I never expected to get the nomination anyway. I don’t do it for that. If I started doing that, you’d see me doing some crazy English period piece, with a limp and an ascot.  But, I’d like to do that, too. I always try to do something different, but this is really the thing that is most satisfying to me, and people like myself. Guys want to see guys kick some ass.

MediaBlvd> You seem to be doing pretty good with all of these films coming out, and you also have a family and you’re a  producer. How are you able to juggle all of that?

Mark> Before, I couldn’t manage to go to school for four or five hours a day and then also get my homework done. But, once I took out the night life part of my life, where I was going out from 10 to three, four, five or six in the morning, there was enough time in the day to do all the stuff I’m doing and then some, and still get a good eight hours sleep. My family travels with me, most of the time, when I work, or I go back and forth on weekends. I normally don’t do three films in a row, but three really interesting projects came my way and I couldn’t see myself not doing them. I try to take as much time off as possible. 

MediaBlvd> Are you proud of the films you’ve done?

Mark> I am. It was amazing to work with M. Night Shyamalan. It was great for me to get to do a different kind of character, but I felt so bad for him because every time you read a review, the first two paragraphs are people chopping him up. These are major publications, and if you’re lucky they actually end up reviewing the movie. I didn’t know the kind of baggage he had, but I know he’s a great talent. He’s learned from the mistakes that he’s made. Like a true champion, you take it on the chin and move on, and maybe do things a little bit differently. But, I am proud of The Happening. Any time I get to do something different, and any time I’m not in a jail cell, I’m very happy. I’m very loyal to the people that I work with. But, one thing I couldn’t understand was that he kept telling me, “After this movie, you never need to hold a gun again.  Don’t do it. Just do movies like this.” I said, “Are you crazy? This what I do! This is why you want to work with me in the first place. Even though I’m glad you want me to do something different in your film, I can’t not have a gun!”     

MediaBlvd> There was a sequel to the “Max Payne” video game. Would you want to do another movie?

Mark> My whole thing is that, if we can make it better than the first, I’d do it. And, my other thing is that I really loved when this character took that little blue drug. So, if we could have him crazy the whole time, then that’d be another thing that would appeal to me. And, we’ve gotta do a Mona Sax spin-off, for sure.

Mila> I would absolutely do it! I liked working on this. I enjoyed working with Mark. But, if there were to be a sequel, I’d like to have a scene with somebody else other than Mark. That would be nice too. I would want to work with Beau because we never got to do anything except hang out on set.

Ludacris> And, being a black man that didn’t die in the first one, I definitely would be looking forward to the sequel.                           

MediaBlvd> Mila, you’re still doing Family Guy, right?

Mila> Yeah. I do one day out of the month. We do about six episodes in one day. It’s really funny. It’s the most unbelievable job!

MediaBlvd> Mark, is it true that you’re not a big fan of your Planet of the Apes remake?

Beau Bridges at the premiere of "Max Payne" held at the Grauman's Chinese Theatre in Hollywood, Calif. on October 13, 2008.

Mark> I loved working with Tim Burton. If Tim Burton said, “Hey, I figured out a way to do Planet of the Apes the right way this time, let’s do it again,” and he wanted to do it with no dialogue, in black and white, I’d say, “Let’s do it!,” because I loved working with Tim. He’s one of the real unique visionaries out there. But, I didn’t have something that I could really identify with and connect to, on a personal level. With this film, even with the demons and all those things, I didn’t really have to focus on those things. If I don’t feel like I can believe, then how can I convince an audience? I can’t put my best foot forward. With Max Payne, he never buys into the whole demon thing. These people are just whacked out and crazy. And then, obviously, he has to take the drug in order to survive, so he experiences it himself.

Mark> Yes. I have to have some sort of way to connect with them, or I don’t really feel like I can do the role with complete confidence.                                       

MediaBlvd> Mark, what can you say about The Fighter?

Mark> That I’m training for almost two years now for nothing. It probably won’t happen, but I’ll still keep going until they say it’s not going to happen. It’s just one of those things. It’s a dream role and, in order to be ready, I have to just continue on, until they say it’s not going to happen.                                                                                                         

MediaBlvd> Why do you think it’s not going to happen?

Mark> I don’t know. I tried to do two other boxing movies and trained like I was fighting for world title, and they fell apart, so it just seems like it’s not meant to be. But, they really want to make it happen, so we’ve got to keep going. I stayed in shape for Max Payne. I was up every day training before work. It’s one of those things where I have to hope that it’ll happen, and be ready if it does, so we’ll see what happens. 

MediaBlvd> Is there one of your characters that you’d like to play again?

Mark> We talked about doing a sequel to The Italian Job, but they could never get the script right. It was called The Brazilian Job. It’s been around for a long time, but they could never get the script right. I don’t think it’s worth doing it, for the sake of a paycheck. There are plenty of bad movies I could make.              

MediaBlvd> Do you think it will ever happen?

Mark> No. But, if people love Max Payne, we can make another one that’s better than or at least as good as the first. I’d be interested in doing something like that, if we could get everybody together again. If Mila was nice to me the second time around, then I’d do it.  

Mark> It was awesome. Peter is an amazing talent, and a sweet, sweet guy. I hope it’s really good. I don’t necessarily feel cocky, but I feel confident when you have the materials and you actually have a good movie. It feels good. You don’t have to lie and give that wink, when you say, “Go see it. It’s going to be really great. It was the best experience ever.” If you’re lucky enough to have five good films out of every 15 or 20 movies you make, then you’ve got a good body of work there. But, I think it’s going to be amazing. It’s a very emotional movie. I haven’t seen any of it, but I certainly don’t feel like I have to bury my head in the ground, like an ostrich.

MediaBlvd> How hard was it to come into that film, at the last minute?

Mark> It was fine. The only thing that I was worried about was dealing with the subject matter and having to go to that place. Max Payne was such a great release afterwards because the other side of me wanted to go out and wreak havoc on whoever was responsible, and I got to do that through this film. But, the experience of working with Peter Jackson was like no other. I’ve always wanted to direct. I thought that, after working with many of the great directors,  I picked up a lot of things, along the way. Like a lot of actors, you get a great script, you hire a great cinematographer and producer, you get great actors, and you can make a pretty good movie. But, I don’t think you can do what Peter Jackson does. I would like to be able to at least shoot for that level of ability, one day. I don’t think I’ll ever get there, but it was the most amazing experience of my career.                                  

MediaBlvd> What impressed you, in particular, about Peter Jackson?

Mark> Oh, man, everything about the guy impressed me. The guy’s the greatest living director. It’s amazing! The film is out of this world.

MediaBlvd> What did the role require you to do to stretch yourself?

Mark> I had to try to make comedic moments out of a tragic situation. But, it was an amazing experience.

MediaBlvd> If it was the right role, would you want to play a superhero? 

Mark> Yeah, if it was right. But, it’s so hard for me to find something like that I can really identify with, and have the confidence to convey to an audience that I am this guy and have them believe it. It’s a leap of faith.

MediaBlvd> What motivated you to decide to get married, all of a sudden?

Mark> We continue to grow in our relationship, and I think we have a much better chance at succeeding and staying together. I wasn’t prepared to be married before. But, now we’re committed to really making it work and building a solid foundation.

MediaBlvd> What is the best advice you’ve ever been given?

Mark> Treat people the way you’d like to be treated. And, humble yourself and glorify God.

MediaBlvd> Awhile back, you mentioned wanting to retire at 40. Is that still the case?

Mark> I’ve said a lot of dumb shit, in my career. You know what? I have a family, and I’ve been focusing on me and my career for quite some time, but they are definitely the priority now. So, if I can find a nice balance, working here and there, on things that I’m very passionate about, and still be around to take my kids to school, pick them up after and drag them to the golf course with me, then I’d like to do that. I can’t be working at this pace for much longer. Maybe until I’m 45. We’ll see.

MediaBlvd> Chris, what can you say about your upcoming record?

Ludacris> November 25^th is album number six for me, Theater of the Mind. It’s a concept-type record. I took my experience of doing movies and put it towards the album, so every song is a movie and I have co-stars, like T.I., The Game and Lil’ Wayne on it. There are a lot of storytelling songs, where you have to use your imagination. If I provide you the audio on this album, the rest is up to the theater of your mind.

MediaBlvd> Have you tried to get Mark back into music?

Ludacris> I’ve had that discussion with him, and it was the one and only discussion. He was like, “That’s just not happening. Don’t bring that up anymore. It’s a wrap, completely.”

MediaBlvd> What was it like to work on Game?

Ludacris> That’s going to be interesting! That comes out in ‘09. Gerard Butler is the star of it, and it’s crazy because it’s set in the future. It’s a futuristic action film. Brian Taylor and Mark Neveldine, who wrote and directed Crank with Jason Statham, actually did the movie. Basically, it’s reminiscent of The Running Man, but set in the future, where you have convicts that are being played as actual video games. So, if you can imagine how interactive games are today, imagine in the future that there’ll be people playing other people as actual video games, and that’s what the movie is all about.

MediaBlvd> What’s next for each of you?

Mila> I just wrapped a thing called Extract that will be out in 2009. It’s Mike Judge’s next movie, in the vein of Office Space, with Jason Bateman, Ben Affleck, myself, Kristin Wiig and J.K. Simmons. It’s really, really funny. It takes place in a flower-extract factory.

Beau> I’m doing a new series, called Single with Parents, for ABC that we’ll start shooting in a couple of weeks. It’ll probably be out in January or February. I play Alyssa Milano’s somewhat dysfunctional father. Annie Potts is my crazy, exotic ex-wife. It should be fun!

Ludacris> I have Theater of the Mind on November 25^th. Game in 2009. And then, RocknRolla is out in LA and New York now, and comes out in the rest of the country on October 31^st. Guy Ritchie wrote and directed that. Those three projects are pretty much it for me.

Mark> I have Lovely Bones coming out next year, and I’m trying to figure out what I’m going to do next.