Introduction
In The Best Man, mercenaries seize control of a remote resort hotel during a wedding and it’s up to the highly trained Best Man (Brendan Fehr), Groom (Luke Wilson), and their drunken best friend (Dolph Lundgren) to stop the terrorists and save the hostages.
Synopsis
The Best Man opens with a bang as the audience is thrown straight in with a group of mercenaries who are on a mission to rescue a kidnapped American woman. Their mission is almost complete, when one of their members takes a hit, and the rest of the crew have no choice but to leave him behind.
A year later, we find out that the person rescued, Brook (Nicky Whelan) is planning her wedding to Cal (Wilson), who it turns out was one of her rescuers (there must be a Freudian term for this?). He then asks his relative Bradley (Fehr, Owen Wilson must have been busy) to be his Best Man, while he is hoping for another former member of his crew, Anders (Lundgren), who has hit the bottle hard to drown out the guilt of leaving behind their fallen comrade, will be there too.
Meanwhile, the wealthy father-of-the-bride has booked out a full (extremely) remote resort for the ceremony, when trouble comes knocking. Trouble in the form of heavily armed terrorists on a vindictive mission to crash this wedding.
Analysis
The above tells you everything you need to know about this straightforward shoot-em-up. Following introductory scenes to establish our likable main players and their setting, we are given a full tour of the resort facilities via frequent shoot-outs, brutal hand-to-hand brawls, and fist fights – involving most of this fun, intriguing ensemble. An ensemble that includes Scout Taylor Compton (Rob Zombie’s Halloween) as flirty and feisty, Maid of Honor and sister-of-the-bride, Hailey.
Cinema Scholars’ Glen Dower recently got to chat with director Shane Dax Taylor and actor Scout Taylor-Compton about THE BEST MAN, working with Luke Wilson and Dolph Lundgren, and being isolated on the set, among other topics.
Interview (Scout Taylor-Compton)
Glen Dower:
Ms. Compton, how are you, Ma’am?
Scout Taylor-Compton:
I’m good! How are you doing?
Glen Dower:
I’m very good. So Cinema Scholars: we’re the movie site by movie fans for movie fans and you are most definitely a Horror Cinema Scholar.
Scout Taylor-Compton:
Wow, yeah.
Glen Dower:
You have your podcast ‘Talk Scary To Me with Danielle Harris and your IMDB is horror-packed. What is it about the horror genre you love so much?
Scout Taylor-Compton:
Oh, man. There’s nothing like the horror genre around. I feel like the fanbase around the horror genre is so supportive and so loving, and I can’t describe it. I mean, it is just such a beautiful fanbase and so wonderful. And I’m just so honored to be able to be a part of it. And I feel like no matter what movie I do, this fanbase will support me. I mean, they’ll watch an interview that I do, or a romcom or something that’s not even in the genre just because they’re so supportive. Nothing like it for sure.
Glen Dower:
For sure, but to be honest, I was a late arrival to the horror genre…the movies scared me! They scared me away!
Scout Taylor-Compton:
Haha! Right?
Glen Dower:
But now I appreciate so many masterpieces like John Carpenter’s The Thing and Halloween are perfect movies. And this movie, of course, is quite detached from what you’ve done before. For example, you’re not being impaled, you’re not being stalked by the rebooted Michael Myers, and you’re not a witch…
Scout Taylor-Compton:
…I’m not possessed!
Glen Dower:
Yeah. But I’ll take you through my notes as I watched the movie, my notes upon meeting your character – ‘Bridesmaidzilla’. And my second point was, ‘Oh, she dead!’ I thought you were fodder. I did. And I will be honest, I didn’t like Hailey at the start. But your reading of the line ‘So, there’s no cell phone service’ did floor me but I thought she’s not going to make the second act and be fridged. But to your and her credit, I quickly came around to her and was thrilled when she stepped up. You along with your co-star Nicky Whelan, are not damsels in distress, and I really enjoyed that. Did you enjoy that part of the character yourself?
Scout Taylor-Compton:
Oh, I did. I did it. It’s so crazy because I don’t really play those girly, flimsy characters very often. So, when I did read that, I was like, oh no. I was like, someone’s going to protect me. So that was one thing that I had a conversation with the director, Shane. I was like, I just want you to know if I’m going to do a 180, because I am not going to be running around the entire movie, depending on a man. I’ve got to help him too. I can’t just be causing drama here. So it was really lovely to kind of have that contrast from her in the beginning then. And there was somewhere for her to go by still being protected, but not just standing around. And she was definitely a lot more spunky and flirtatious than me.
Glen Dower:
The pool scene, for example?
Scout Taylor-Compton:
That was really fun because actually that pool scene was supposed to be something completely different. And when I went into it, Brendan and I were talking, I was like, ‘No, I’m not a little scout in here. This needs to be playful’. So that was just supposed to be a talkie scene in the spa, just sitting in the jacuzzi. And I was like, ‘No, no, no, no. We’re going to play around.’ So, I ended up choreographing that with Brendan and we did this little playful thing. And I think it just works way better than if we were just talking to one another.
Glen Dower:
Yes, and it builds your relationship. You’ve discussed your co-star, Brendan. Now, onto another. Now, I’m a big, big Rocky guy…
Scout Taylor-Compton:
Ah, so Luke Wilson, right!? No?!
Glen Dower:
You got me. No, you have Ivan Drago, himself. What was it like working with Mr. Lundgren?
Scout Taylor-Compton:
Ah, my God.
Glen Dower:
Is he a gentle giant? And he is literally a rocket scientist. A 6′ 5′′ rocket scientist.
Scout Taylor-Compton:
He’s a rocket scientist?!
Glen Dower:
Yes, he has a Master’s degree and a Ph.D. in Chemical Engineering and an IQ of 160, he is a genius.
Scout Taylor-Compton:
Oh my God. It’s amazing.
Glen Dower:
So, he never brought that up in conversation on set?
Scout Taylor-Compton:
Haha! No, he did not. I would’ve never known. But those types of men, you never know that. I mean, I’m marrying a stuntman. And he wanted to be an astronaut. Nobody would ever look at the stuntman and go ‘astronaut’. But they’re very, very good at hiding it. I mean, his presence, the man is just so captivating. I kind of was star-struck when I first met him. Not just even by the size of him, but just of his personality and his aura and his energy is just so captivating. Yeah. He was really incredible to work with. And it was such an honor. I wish he was on more days because I wanted to work with him more. But yeah, he’s…there are people that you meet and you’re just like, ‘Okay, I get it’.
Glen Dower:
He’s a movie star.
Scout Taylor-Compton:
Yeah. He’s that for sure. A hundred percent without even saying a word.
Glen Dower:
That’s awesome. And let’s talk about Luke Wilson. I mean, I was surprised when I saw his name on the poster, and there he is back-to-back with Dolph. How well does he pull off those action scenes, in your opinion?
Scout Taylor-Compton:
Yeah, it was interesting to see him do this movie. All of us, as actors, all of our schedules that were kind of all ‘off’. So there we were filming, we would start with one scene, and then that actor wasn’t available. So then we moved to something else and then we have to come back to that. That was kind of chaotic to film that sort of way. But I think it added to the angst of it all. But watching Luke doing his stunt stuff was, he was very into it. He wanted everything to look really, really great. And what’s so amazing about an actor? If an actor wants to get in the stunt double, ‘I ain’t doing this’. You can tell I don’t really like that sort of energy. I like someone that can get in there and do it and wants to participate. My type of acting. And Luke was that. Luke was like, ‘Show me what I need to do. Let’s do this fight sequence. Did that not look good? Let’s redo it.’ He was very down to do whatever he needed to do. Even jumping in the pool. I think actually he got shoved into the wall and it created a hole in the actual wall. We broke the wall. Broke the wall. He broke the wall with his back. So that hole that you see we had to pay for and get it all fixed up after the shoot!
Glen Dower:
And that location you have. Wow. That seems like a piece of heaven up there. So what was that filmed exactly?
Scout Taylor-Compton:
It was right out. It was about two hours outside of Albuquerque. Because I remember, because Nicky (Whelan) and I did a road trip. We flew into Albuquerque then we got our car rental and then we did a two-hour road trip into some mountain town. And literally, this mountain town is so tiny. It’s like the equivalent of Big Bear, if you’ve ever, ever been to Big Bear, it’s very, very teeny and it is absolutely beautiful. The resort where it sits is so breathtaking and on the drive up there are deer everywhere. So it was quite a lovely place to decompress before and after filming, which I kind of didn’t want to leave because I was having so much fun. I love nature. My whole energy is nature. So I loved it. I thought it was great.
Glen Dower:
And you’re very isolated as well. Did that add to the atmosphere on set?
Scout Taylor-Compton:
Oh yeah. Oh yeah. We were all stuck with one another. So that’s how it was at first. We were stuck with one another, but then we got so close. I have to say this movie was one of the best experiences I’ve had because of how close the cast got. I mean, we, on our off days, were riding go-karts with one another. We were heading to wineries. We were going to the local bar, like the pub playing pool. And it was quite a lot of fun. It was a really special time.
Glen Dower:
I’m so glad. So, I was thinking of our readers, what would be your Elevator Pitch to them for your film?
Scout Taylor-Compton:
Has a lot of heart, man. It really does. It has tons of heart and really rad characters. I mean, I’m a massive fan of Die Hard. That’s my favorite. If you love Die Hard, then it’s pretty much Die Hard at a Wedding. It’s fast-paced and keeps going. And there are a lot of cool familiar faces that I think just add to the wild ride.
Glen Dower:
Definitely, and I will certainly share that with our readers. And one last question, I have the pleasure of meeting Shane, your director, next. Would you like me to throw him a question that I can credit to you after he’s answered?
Scout Taylor-Compton:
Oh, God. Oh, God. I just want to know, ‘What was it like working with Scout Taylor Compton? Was she a real bitch?!’
Glen Dower:
I will make a note of that. Well, thank you so much for your time, Scout. It’s been a real pleasure.
Scout Taylor-Compton:
Oh, thank you so much! Yay! It was a lot of fun. Bye, darling.
Interview (Shane Dax Taylor)
Shane Dax Taylor:
Hey Glen, thanks so much for having me. I appreciate it.
Glen Dower:
And thank you for your time today, Mr. Taylor. How are you, Sir?
Shane Dax Taylor:
I’m good. I’m good. Yeah, I’m excited about this one for sure. It’s my first action film!
Glen Dower:
Yes, I was going to say congratulations on your action. Also, another action debut, of Mr. Luke Wilson, if I’m right? How did that cast come about? Who had to convince whom that they could do it?
Shane Dax Taylor:
I came on kind of late. There was already a script and then Dolph was on board. When I came on, I think I replaced another director on board, then I added some twists and whatnot. So, we were able to bring on Luke pretty early and it was quite an honor. I mean I’m a fan of his. But when you think Luke Wilson in a film called The Best Man, you’re like, ‘Oh, this is a wedding comedy’. I was like, well, you got the wedding part!
Glen Dower:
Plus, that’s a big-ass gun he’s holding in the poster, standing back-to-back with Dolph Lundgren…
Shane Dax Taylor:
Yeah, yeah, exactly! He’s not really done an action film before, he didn’t really understand. I mean, I’ve done action sequences, but not a full-action film. And I try to explain to him that you can’t want to do all your own stunts…we have professional stunt doubles. It was definitely a blast. And he livened things up in between takes and is a funny guy and an amazing person as well. So that was a blast.
Glen Dower:
I’ve been a fan of his since his work with Wes Anderson and when I was younger, Old School was just on repeat on my DVD player, I love that movie so much. I think he stepped up as well. I spoke to one of your leading ladies, Scout, and she said he was really into it. He went for it and he even damaged the wall during a fight scene in the pool. He was thrown against the wall and he smashed that. So, it was a full-on?
Shane Dax Taylor:
Yeah, that was one of those right before I was like, ‘Luke, you’re going to get thrown against the wall. This is not a padded wall, it’s a wall in a hotel, and he said ‘I got this, I got this’. I was like, okay. But Andre Ivchenko, who plays Grigori in Stranger Things, he did that, and he’s a big guy. So me throwing Luke is different from a massive guy throwing him. So yeah, he did that. And yeah, we definitely had to replace the drywall a couple of times during that fight scene for sure.
Glen Dower:
I think what sets this movie apart from action films in this genre, but I think I’ve watched it twice now, and the cast sets it apart and generates real warmth. Plus, I’m a big Rocky guy, and you have Ivan Drago…playing drunk! This is a great, and very different role for Dolph, it looks like he had a lot of fun.
Shane Dax Taylor:
Well, Dolph was always in the film, but I made him drunk. I was like, ‘Dolph, you’re always that one-man-army guy, I didn’t want you to just come and take out everybody. Let’s have you drinking a little bit.’ And he said ‘Oh really? That’s really interesting.’ He wasn’t so sure about that. And I was like ‘No, let’s make your character fun. Let’s have a good time with him. And he’s drinking because of the things he’s gone through in his life as opposed to just drinking to drink. So it was important to me. Then once I got him on board for that, then my family owns the bourbon company that he’s drinking. Here ya go!
Glen Dower:
Nice product placement; ‘This bourbon is endorsed by Dolph Lundgren’.
Shane Dax Taylor:
Yeah! So it was ‘Here, glass’. He’s like, ‘No, I’m going to take the bottle. I love the bottle. I’m going to drink the bottle. Okay, God bless you. But no, with Rocky and all his other films, he’s an icon. And I was fortunate to be able to, now that he’s directing, ask him questions that I couldn’t ask others that hadn’t directed – If you hadn’t been in the action scene and how would you shoot this one? And in different things, he was very open with me and it was a nice collaboration for sure.
Glen Dower:
And we’ll talk about the two females of course. So we have Nick Whelan as Brooke, the bride and of course Scout as her sister. So what I really enjoyed about the movie is those two, they’re not damsels in distress, they’re not fridged at all. And then when I said to Scout, my first note when we meet her character ‘Bridesmaid-Zilla and I thought, she is not going to make it out of the first reel. No, she’s whining, she does that line reading when she said, there’s no cell service. I thought you were not going to make it out of this movie alive. But she really won me over and she explained to me that she talked to you about it – making her useful and step up when the story requires it.
Shane Dax Taylor:
That was important to me. That was one of the changes that I made was to make them sisters and not just so each cared about the other’s wellbeing, not more so than a friend would, but as a sister. And I wanted to see the growth of this actress who explained it as she’s a Kardashian or something who, who’s used to flying around and doing these things. But it’s like, no, this transition where she’s picking up a vase and doing other things that help out in these situations. And she’s an amazing woman and I live in Kentucky and she’s marrying a guy from here in Louisville. So hopefully we’ll get to see each other more and work together again. That was a big one. And then Nicky I wanted, as a fan of her work and other Bruce Willis. She really, she’s hiding, but then at the end, she’s picking up a weapon and using it. And if you see her in the beginning, you’re like, ‘There’s no way you would see that transition with her’. So that was key to me. And I’m married with three daughters, so I wanted strong females in this as well. So that was big for me.
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