Tommy Lee Jones
"Our Chat with the Chattiest Fellow in Hollywood"
Tommy Lee Jones’s many roles include Batman Forever, Lonesome Dove, the Men In Black movies, Under Siege, The Fugitive and its sequel U.S. Marshals, >, In The Valley Of Elah, No Country For Old Men.Captain America: The First Avenger. Now the 65 year-old returns as grizzled, detached agent K in Men In Black 3.
The first thing that sets apart the third one from its predecessors is being shot and released in 3D. Jones was asked about his thoughts of it being shot in 3D.
“I have not seen the movie in 3D,” Tommy replies, “I hope it’s fun.”
In the film, Agent K disappears due to space-time disruption and J, played by Will Smith, must travel back to 1969 where he encounters K in the form of the younger Josh Brolin. Jones shared his thoughts on what 1969 was like for him.
“Well, it was the year I graduated from college and that was interesting and it was a different era,” Tommy says, “For most of 1969, I was in Cambridge, MA and the only way to describe it was it was the best of times and the worst of times.”
Tommy was asked if reading about K in the past better informed his character.
“No, I didn’t read that part of the script very much,” Jones replies, “I read it once, but after that, since I wasn’t in it, I didn’t pay much attention.”
Jones says he believes the idea of K as gruff is somewhat misunderstood.
“I keep hearing the word ‘gruff’,” Tommy says, “I’m simply trying to play the screenplay as it’s written, but I had a good time, yeah.”
Tommy was asked if he had instant chemistry with Will Smith in the film.
“He’s a good actor,” Jones says, “He’s a fine actor and we developed a rapport right away and we became friends as time went on. Every scene is, everyday, every minute is fun with Will.”
Jones was asked if his thoughts of Josh Brolin’s impression of him as
Tommy Lee Jones
"Our Chat with the Chattiest Fellow in Hollywood"
“I thought it was just fine,” Tommy says of him, “I’ve only seen the movie in the form of a rough work print, but he seemed to have done a fine job. It’s weird. I’ve never done it before. It’s never happened to me before.”
Tommy was very simple and upfront when asked about how he felt to be on the now third film in the Men In Black series.
“It feels like you have a job,” Jones says.
Jones was asked if he had to be coaxed much into returning to playing K and whether or not there is any character he’d ever want to play again.
“I can’t think of any character that I’ve done that I want to return to,” Tommy answers, “I don’t have to be talked into doing a sequel. I simply have to be convinced that it’s worthwhile and that it pays very well.”
Tommy was asked about his previous experience with Josh Brolin.
“We were in the same movie, but we did not work together,” Jones recalls, “We didn’t talk much, if any, about this character because you can’t learn more about the character by talking to me than you can by looking at it.”
Jones was asked about whether the film’s director Barry Sonnenfeld did anything different with the new 3D effects.
“Barry’s rather consistent,” Tommy says, “He didn’t do anything different. Barry is as silly as a goose, for starters. Also, he knows how cameras work. He knows a lot more about cameras than he’ll let on.”
“He has a great deal of control on a movie set and that’s something that he tries to hide or gloss over,” he adds, “He would like you to think that he’s a great, big silly baby, but he’s not fooling movie. I know that he can shoot.”
Tommy was asked if he had worked with digital cameras before.
“Oh, yes, I’ve worked with digital cameras as a director,” Jones says, “First of all, I don’t live in
Tommy Lee Jones
"Our Chat with the Chattiest Fellow in Hollywood"
“I think the control comes in post-production,” he continues, “It’s a color-correction and a change of color becomes handier in a bigger factor. At E-Film, at Deluxe Color Lab, for example, you can change color anywhere. You can change small pieces of a frame or all of it. You have a lot more control and it’s instant. It’s not a chemical process. It’s not a witch’s brew. It’s a dial.”
Jones was also asked about the notion that Sonnenfeld’s direction of him mainly consisted of the words ‘faster and funnier.’
“Well, he has other exhortations,” Tommy says, “(Imitates nasal voice) ‘Tommy, can you be more Jack Webb-y,’ for example. I think what it means is to act like Jack Webb on Dragnet, monosyllabic, maybe.”
Tommy was asked what it was like filming the movie in New York.
“Well, the people of New York are beautiful people,” Jones says, “But when it comes to our movie set Men In Black, they’re uniformly held at bay, so you’re not really aware of them.”
Jones was also asked if he had a favorite scene in the movie.
“No, actually, I don’t,” Tommy answers, “I hope all the moments are good ones.”
Rick Baker team his work digital evolution “Rick’s work is spectacular and original and fun to watch.”
“On the set, you see a lot of really interesting special effects makeup and creatures that are really fun to interact with or not interact with or whatever they motivate,” he adds, “It’s a really beautiful box of toys. I don’t get bored. And I appreciate work of the highest quality when it comes to moviemaking.”
Tommy also talked about how Men In Black 3 is poised to reach a new generation of moviegoers.
“I’m interested in how younger people approach this movie, because that’s
Tommy Lee Jones
"Our Chat with the Chattiest Fellow in Hollywood"
Jones was asked if he had accomplished everything he has wanted in his over 40 year career.
“No, I haven’t accomplished everything I want,” Tommy says, “I want to direct in a bunch of movies and act in a bunch of movies and write some from now on. I’m pretty convinced that my reach will always receive my grasp. I want to be a movie director. Those jobs are hard to get.”
Tommy’s ever-growing list of directing credits include The Good Old Boys, The Three Burials of Melquiades Estrada, and The Sunset Limited. He was asked if he loved directing more than acting.
“No, I like doing both,” Jones replies.
Jones was asked whether he has any directors that he is particularly inspired by in his own work.
“I like the way Oliver Stone works,” Tommy answers, “I like the way Barry works. I like the way Clint Eastwood works. But I’ve just named three directors and I’ve left out forty or forty-five, but I don’t mean to slight anyone. The real answer is I take inspiration from every one of them, every inspiration from what they do well and from the mistakes that their make that I try not to repeat.”
Tommy was asked if he would do another Men In Black.
“Sure, I hope we can start tomorrow,” Jones replies.
