In his latest movie “Welcome to Marwen,” Steve Carell’s main co-stars are dolls. Good luck getting emotional performances out of them! Deco’s Chris Van Vliet’s has the details.
Let me just start out by saying that “Back to the Future” is my favorite movie of all time, and “Anchorman” is my favorite comedy of all time, so when they told me I could fly to Philadelphia to interview Robert Zemeckis, the director of “Welcome to Marwen” and “Back to the Future,” and interview Steve Carell, who stars in this, it was a no-brainer. So what if I flew six hours roundtrip to Philly to only spend three hours there and do a five-minute interview? Best day ever!
Steve Carell (as Mark Hogancamp): “This is Hogie, kind of a braver version of me.”
Steve Carell (as Cap’n Hogie): “We’re one and the same, pal.”
“Welcome to Marwen” is based on the true story of Mark Hogancamp, a talented artist whose memories are wiped away after a brutal attack. He now uses lifelike dolls as a type of therapy, including a heroic version of himself named Hogie.
Steve Carell: “This character of Hogie is kind of a way for Mark to process so many of the fears and apprehensions and scars that he’s dealing with.”
Leslie Mann (as Nicol): “Are all the dolls people you know?”
Steve Carell (as Mark Hogancamp): “Yeah. Everyone has a place here in Marwen.”
Marwen, by the way, is the name of the fictional town he’s created for his characters. The film is directed by Oscar winner Robert Zemeckis, who’s done a few films you might have heard of like “Forrest Gump,” “Cast Away” and my all-time favorite, “Back to the Future.”
Chris Van Vliet: “How differently would this film look or be shot if you were filming this back in the, say, ’80s?”
Robert Zemeckis: “Oh, well, it would look very different. I don’t even know if you could make this film in the ’80s. I doubt you could.”
Steve Carell (as Mark Hogancamp): “I have my art, and I have my friends. I have hope, and that’s something they can’t take away from me.”
The movie is a story about the human spirit and how it can’t be broken. Steve Carell spent time with the actual Mark who the movie is based on to make sure they got the role right.
Steve Carell: “He’s kind and generous and self-deprecating and funny, and he understands that this whole thing, from an outsider’s point of view, is pretty strange, and he enjoys that.”
We’re seeing a lot of Steve Carell on the big screen this month. He stars in this movie, “Beautiful Boy” and “Vice.”
Steve Carell: “I did all of these over the course of a year and a half or two years, and then they scheduled them all within a month and a half of each other, so I apologize.”
Chris Van Vliet: “Apologize?”
Steve Carell: “Well, there’s a lot! Well, it’s like, ‘Oh, it’s him again. What is he talking about? Ughh!'”
“Welcome to Marwen” is in theaters now, and since Steve Carell’s character used his dolls to escape reality, I got to think about the toys I loved as a kid. For me, it was He-Man and, of course, my wrestling action figures, but it wasn’t fair, because He-Man was so much bigger than them.
Copyright 2024 Sunbeam Television Corp. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.