Cinema Scholars interviews Simon West, director of the new Christoph Waltz starrer, Old Guy. The film also stars Cooper Hoffman (Licorice Pizza, Saturday Night) and Lucy Liu (Kill Bill: Vol. 1, Charlie’s Angels). The Avenue is releasing Old Guy in select theaters and on digital on February 21.
Introduction
At this point, it’s safe to say that there’s an ever-growing subcategory in the action genre- the elderly shoot ’em up. From Old Man and The Gun and the Taken franchise to The Expendables and Red, action offerings featuring a seasoned cast continue to grow in popularity. Touching on his own experience helming Expendables 2, director Simon West dips back into aging action with Old Guy.
Danny Dolinski (Christophe Waltz) is a past-his-prime hitman who gets roped into training a talented rookie named Wihlborg (Cooper Hoffman). When they get called on by “The Company” for a big job, they uncover some surprising truths about their employer as well as each other. Double-crossing baddies, Boomer/Gen Z bickering, and plenty of bloody gunplay round out the action comedy.
As usual, Waltz holds down the fort with his award-winning talent and natural charisma as the old-school hired gun who refuses to act his age. Cooper Hoffman (son of the late great Phillip Seymour Hoffman) amps up the odd couple vibe with a sober take on the slightly insufferable Gen Z protege. And Lucy Liu elevates yet another project with a wry, no-nonsense turn as Waltz’s longtime confidant.
While the film reads more like a character study than traditional action, the eventual intrigue and gunplay balance out the coming-of-(old) age story well. Cinema Scholars’ Rebecca Elliott recently had the opportunity to interview Old Guy director Simon West. They discuss returning to the action genre again, finding leads with the right chemistry, and lessons learned working with elder action heroes like Stallone, Arnold, and Jean-Claude Van Damme.
Interview
Rebecca Elliott:
Hello! Thank you so much for taking the time to talk to me today about your new film Old Guy. A majority of your career has been directing big action films. What keeps you coming back to the genre? And what drew you to this project?
Simon West:
These people ask me to! When I’m asked to do these, I try to subvert it as much as possible to some different version of that. I’ve done straight-out comedy and I’ve done thrillers and things like that. I’ve never done horror. I’m not a big horror fan, although I do have one that I’m developing. But it’s my version of it. Everything has to be my version of it. Even though you go, “Oh, yeah, action movie,” something like Old Guy is really character-driven.
Although they’re hitmen and there are action moments and there are thriller moments, it’s really about the dynamic of the three characters. That’s what carries you along. You could take the action out of it and they still work. They’d go out of the doorway, say, “Oh, we just came back and we just did a hit,” and they carry on with the conversation. You could take the action out of it, I think. But not many people would go to see it.
I always try and put as much character in as possible. That’s what it was about with this script. To be honest, when I read an action script, I flip through the action part because it’s really hard to read. You can’t follow who’s punching who and who’s falling off what. It’s tiring. I know I’m going to change it to what I want and what works.
I just really only read the dialogue and the character pieces. If that works and it’s a world that I like…there are certain worlds I don’t want to be in. And there are certain worlds I do want to be in. Then I’ll consider it and start making it my own and molding it to what I want. Yes, you could say, because some of my bigger, flashier films have been action films, that’s the ones that people will focus on. But really, I do everything in between.
Rebecca Elliott:
In Old Guy, there’s definitely a whole Boomer versus Gen Z theme throughout with your two leads, Christoph Waltz and Cooper Hoffmann. Tell me about casting those two, how they leaned into the age-difference dynamic, and if they had that at all in real life.
Simon West:
They did not have that dynamic in real life at all because Christoph is a wonderful and very generous actor. He was a big supporter of Cooper playing that part. I went after Christoph because he’s very different from the character. He is very intelligent and speaks five languages, including ancient Greek. You can talk to him about any subject, which we did on the set a lot. Whether it’s the perspective of the buildings or how to draw a cathedral.
He’s not Danny Dolinski, who is a drinking, drug-taking party animal and out-of-control hitman who can’t get out of the ’90s. Christoph is not like that at all. It’s hard for me to get someone who you don’t normally see play that part. It’s very easy to cast someone that has done that before. But Christoph is not usually that. That was why I went after him. The other part is actually to find a younger character because you need someone that you want to be the best actor possible. But when they’re that young, they haven’t done very much.
Cooper did one film before. It happened to be a brilliant film, so that helps. He’s fantastic in it. But that’s all I had to go on. It’s a bit of a risk. But he’s got such an old head on his shoulders, and he’s so brave and experimental as an actor. It’s a very different technique. Someone like Lucy Liu and Christoph, who have been doing it a long time, are very adept at using their tools. They know what they’re going to do. It’s very easy for me to set it up so they can do their thing.
Someone like Cooper is going to come in and he’s going to try everything. That’s the opposite. I get five different versions of Cooper’s character to edit with, and I have to choose every scene. Is he going this way? Is he going that way? Whereas the Christoph and Lucy Liu characters are much more set. We discussed it weeks before. We rehearsed the script. They’ve discussed it, and they come on the set ready with their version of those characters. That was the dynamic. But luckily, everybody got along. I’ve done films when people don’t get along and it still turns out to be a great film. Or a successful film, even if it’s not great.
But in this case, it was just a pleasure watching these three actors work together. I didn’t have to put on the gigantic roller coaster show that I often do where I’m running around with 500 people and equipment and helicopters and whatever. It’s really a nightmare of logistics. I could be in a room with three great actors and we’re just talking about how to make people love these three. Even though they may hate each other through the characters. But eventually, they’re going to love each other. Also, the audience, hopefully, is going to love them as they go along.
Rebecca Elliott:
Yeah, they had a great dynamic, and I thought the boomer Gen Z stuff was hilarious. And you’ve worked with some of the biggest action heroes of all time in the past. I mean, Stallone, Arnold, Jean-Claude Van Damme, Jet Li. I mean, the list goes on and on. What lessons did you take from the stalwarts of the genre and apply to your other projects?
Simon West:
Well, everybody is very good at what they do. I mean, I’ve been lucky that the action field or the more dramatic field or a combination. If you work with someone like Nic Cage, he’s done massive action films. But he’s also done Oscar-winning performances. So you get everything in one package there. What I’ve learned to do is just create an environment, whatever they need to do their best work.
So, some people need a lot of takes while some people need to do one take. Some people need to rehearse, while other people don’t. And some need a lot of direction, some people don’t. I just quickly have to learn what each person needs to get the best out of them. As I said, most of them have been at the top of their game, top of their field.
They work their way. They’ve already established how to do it and what they do. It’s my job just to create an environment where they can do what they know how to do. If it’s a young actor, then it’s a lot more hands-on, “Okay, let’s do this and that.” But with those people at the top, you don’t do that, you don’t need to. You just have to make sure they know where the set is and where the trailer is, and that’s it. Guide them on.
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Rebecca Elliott:
Let them do their thing. For an “old guy,” Waltz seems to be in on a majority of the action, including some quite physical. I just wonder, is this the work of a talented stunt double? Or did Waltz go through the motions himself?
Simon West:
No, Christoph did everything. But a lot of the time, I had to tone him down a bit because the film’s called Old Guy. You’re losing your abilities. Christoph is actually super fit and can run up escalators. I’d say, “Slow down a bit. Make some of it look a little harder than it is.” Because he’s very agile and not at all an old guy. But he did everything in the film. I think he had fun with that.
I learned a lot with these more serious actors. Like when I worked with John Malkovich or people like that. That normally, “Oh, yeah, you’re usually in a costume with a wig on.” You give them a pump-action shotgun and say, “Kick that door down and blow those people away.” They love it because they never get asked to do it. They’re always like… They go, “I’m not really that prissy and prim and proper. I do actually like to throw a punch.” So I think those people appreciate it when you say, “Go on, jump over that wall and roll in the mud.” I love it.
Rebecca Elliott:
I love it. I only have time for one more quick question, and I usually like to end with a silly one. But out of all of your action films, have you ever kept a bullet count or a body count? And which film has the most, do you think?
Simon West:
Oh, you know what? It was probably The Expendables 2 with the huge bullet count. I mean, I don’t count bodies because I find that part of it a little bit macabre. But we had a huge 50-caliber machine gun on The Expendables 2 that each actor had to fire. It was so powerful that it broke the filter on the lens every time they used it. They get each person to shoot it. Every time it breaks this lens, the camera operator would get the actor to sign it, and then he stuck it on his wall.
It’s a blank fire. It’s not even a real bullet. The shockwave from it broke the filter on the lens. I think those were $25 a round, and it’s going like a machine. It’s so loud that I’m shouting, “Cut,” and they can’t hear me. In the time, I’ve worked out, they blew through $500 worth of ammunition between me saying, “Cut” and the actual stop, because they just couldn’t hear me. But I don’t know exactly how many it was, but those were the biggest, most expensive bullets we used.
Rebecca Elliott:
Wow. That’s an amazing story. Thank you for that. And thank you for your time. I think our time is up. Have a great day.
Simon West:
You too, Rebecca. Thank you. Nice to meet you.
The Avenue is releasing Old Guy in select theaters and on digital on February 21.
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