'The Pink Panther 2' premiere coverage

In 1963, a film called The Pink Panther, starring Peter Sellers, launched a franchise. In 2006, another film, also titled The Pink Panther, this time starring Steve Martin, revived that franchise; now, in 2009, said franchise sees the arrival of The Pink Panther 2, sequel to the 2006 film. At the premiere of the film I had the opportunity to speak with several people who contributed to the making of this movie: actor Yuki Matsuzaki; director Harald Zwart; co-star Emily Mortimer, who reprises her role from the 2006 film; and actor Andy Garcia. Enjoy.

Yuki Matsuzaki
Hi, I’m Keely Weiss; it’s nice to meet you. Nice to meet you.

How did you get involved with the film? Well, I auditioned and sent in my videotape, and they loved it, and they called me back in three days and I got cast right there.

[laughs] Nice. Are you a fan of the originals? Oh, yeah! I was really excited because I love the scene with Clouseau and Cato—I thought I was going to play Cato! But I wasn’t. [laughs] But even without Cato, the film is really funny. I haven’t seen it, but I can feel it. It’s gonna be really great. Have you seen it?

Not yet. Ah, okay. [laughs]

How was it working with everybody in the cast? Everybody was really nice. It was really fun working with everybody. On lunchtimes we’d all get together and talk about a lot of stuff, and once I got the opportunity to talk with Steve [Martin] and John Cleese about comedy—and they’re comedy gods, so it was a really precious moment because I love doing comedy.

Thank you so much; it was great to meet you! Thank you very much!

Harald Zwart
Hi there! Hi, how are you?

You weren’t involved in the first movie; how’d you get involved with this one? They sent me the script and asked me if I wanted to do it. I have a whole career of making commercials that are kind of similar to this in ability, so…

What drew you to the idea of doing an updated—I take it you’re a fan of the originals. Yes, I am, yes.

What inspired you about updating it for today? Well, I was actually trying to take it back a little bit more to the style that they used to have in the old movies, so I tried to enhance the art nouveau of old Paris and stuck a lot of old citrons in there to make it really French, because I thought that was something we needed in the movie.

How’d you feel about Aishwarya Rai? I feel very good about her. She’s a great actress, yes.

You’re also doing a remake of The Karate Kid. What can you tell us about that? It’s gonna be a great movie! [laughs]

Have you started filming yet? No, we’re weeks away.

Thanks so much! Thank you!

Emily Mortimer
Nice to meet you! It’s nice to meet you.

Tell us about what you’re wearing. I’m wearing Chloe. I sort of dressed like a snowflake! What’s embarrassing is my little sister, who’s 24, she just knows so much more than me about everything, so I have to ring her up and ask her when I’m filming in London where the cool clubs are to go to. I sort of have to square my outfit with her before I leave the house. She’s my fashion icon.

What attracted you to doing an update of the Pink Panther movies? I take it you’re a fan of the originals.
I loved the originals, yes, but really it’s Steve Martin, I think. He’s the reason that everybody got together to do the first one and everybody came together to do the second one, and I love him. I love working with him. I love him as a person and I’m thrilled to have been able to do it again.

So was it him who convinced you to do it? I didn’t need convinc—well, yeah, the fact that he was playing the part! I auditioned with him the first time round, you know, for the first movie.

So can you tell us about Steve? Steve? You want some dirt on Steve? What can I tell you? Steve plays the banjo, and he’s very good with a pack of cards!

Do you think Sean Penn or Mickey Rourke will win the Oscar for best actor? God, I don’t know. Maybe Mickey Rourke will win. They both deserve to win.

How come Mickey Rourke? Well, he’s the sort of underdog, you know, and has been for a while, and the movie is about that as well. I don’t know, if you had to make me guess, but they’re both brilliant and Sean Penn is the most incredible actor.

You’ve gone from—your most recent film prior to this is Redbelt, which you were fantastic in, by the way. Thank you!

Well, like many of your other films, that’s serious, and this is a comedy, so was it nice to lighten up a bit? Yes, although it’s actually not sort of—no, no, it’s really fun to do different things. I do things to stop myself from getting bored of myself or other people getting bored of seeing me, so you just do the thing that keeps you from, I don’t know, getting bored of yourself.

How do you like New York? I love New York, especially when it’s fucking freezing! [laughter]

Andy Garcia What attracted you to doing this Pink Panther film? As a kid I was a big fan of the originals, so I had a lot of nostalgia for it. When they called to participate, it brought a smile to my face.

You don’t usually do these slapstick roles; is this something you’d like to do more of? Sure. Yeah, I enjoy comedies, I’ve done them before, and starting out in theatre early on I did a lot of comedy. They’re something I enjoy. It’s not easy to find good comedic material, so I guess I was lucky that they called. But, yeah, I’m up for it!

How do you fight a cold? It’s chilly here. How do you fight a cold? Rum, Bacardi 8, and lime. [laughter]

The Pink Panther 2 is now in theatres.