Hill gets the jump on comedy sequels
NEW YORK — Jonah Hill introduced himself in 2007 as one of the jokers in Judd Apatow’s Knocked Up, followed by his doofus part in Seth Rogen’s Superbad. Serious consideration was added to his resumé with Academy Award nominations for his portrayals in 2011’ s Moneyball and last year’s The Wolf of Wall Street.
Add to the achievement list his co- starring ( with Channing Tatum) and co- writing efforts on the hit comedy 21 Jump Street and now the sequel 22 Jump Street.
The 30- year- old sat down with Postmedia News recently to discuss the new movie and his blossoming career:
Q Did you want to maintain the good- cop ( Tatum) and incompetent- cop ( Hill) dynamic for the sequel?
A It set the standard. And it seemed to work so we kept going with it.
Q Was it difficult to look awkward doing stunts?
A I felt even more creatively inspired to think of the clumsy way to do a stunt. There was some creative puzzling: How can I completely mess that up?
Q Directors Phil Lord and Christopher Miller return for the sequel. Was that important?
A I think Phil and Chris are at the beginning of a journey. I think they could be like a Robert Zemeckis or something.
Q Ice Cube returns as your captain. Was that key?
A When we were writing the first one, the idea that we wrote down was that the guy who wrote F--- Tha Police would play the ( police captain), and it happened, so I got to be around Ice Cube.
Q Was the second time even better?
A It was over two movies. That’s like a full six months of Ice Cube questioning.
Q Did he mind?
A I’d say he was psyched that somebody cared so deeply about N. W. A. and what he’s done.
Q Are you a hardcore fan?
A Oh yeah. I grew up in Los Angeles in the 1980s so I idolized Ice Cube and Magic Johnson and later Martin Scorsese.
Q Isn’t that a weird trio?
A I’m a really weird dude.
Q Is that why there are so many funny people doing weird improv moments in 22 Jump Street?
A I learned from Judd ( Apatow) and Seth ( Rogen) early on that having funny people turn something bland into something wonderful is great for everybody.