MANILA, Philippines - War is stupid, especially when it's over a girl, but it does provide a playground for some sexy screen shenanigans. "This Is War" not only boasts of two sexy male stars, but also showcases a sexier Reese Whiterspoon.
Director Joseph McGinty Nichol, better known as McG [of "Charlie's Angels fame], says of his female lead, "The one thing she hadn't done was be a screen siren and I wanted her to bring that energy to the role."
And he's had quite the peg for the Academy Award-winning actress, who also put her trust in his vision for the role of Lauren, the woman between two warring CIA operatives FDR Foster [played by Chris Pine] and Tuck [Tom Hardy] who are fighting for her affection. "I won't apologize for Rita Hayworth," McG points out. "I really like those powerful female figures and thought Reese had a certain confidence in me, largely because of what I was able to do with the girls in 'Charlie's Angels.'
"There was never anything misogynistic or mean spirited in that movie but it was decidedly sexy, with all of the women being very intelligent and powerful. I think everybody knows that Reese is an intelligent, powerful, capable woman. Now let's show the world exactly how sultry she can be when she chooses to be," he elaborates.
Casting Witherspoon has proven a wise choice, given how electric she is on screen playing a woman juggling two men and, however guilty, has come to enjoy it. "If you watch her in 'Election,' you understand she's capable of irony and comedy and has a great sense of timing," McG says in praise of the actress.
"Plus of course she won the Academy Award for her turn in 'Walk The Line' and she's very funny in the 'Legally Blonde' movies. She can do a great many things," he gushes.
Adding more sass to the movie is another female in the cast, Chelsea Handler, the comedienne and talk show host in her first movie role as Lauren's best friend. Some say it was a bold move for the director to cast the movie newbie.
"If there's one thing I like to do it's to cast a film in an original capacity," McG notes. "I think Chelsea Handler is the right choice at the right time. She's never done a film, and to bring that voice to the screen will be the first time that you've seen her do it on screen. That is a celebration; that is a victory. I don't want to regurgitate what anyone else has done before me."
And in order to make it work, McG knew better than to stifle Handler's personality. "I'm not going to put handcuffs on Chelsea Handler when she takes the stage," he says of his feisty actress. "I'm going to say this is what we've got to accomplish; this is the story point, here's the starting point, what do we do to take it higher? We genuinely collaborated and worked well together."
McG is sometimes known to push his actors, but in this case, he's managed to maintain a collaborative atmosphere on set. "l make suggestions and sometimes actors will rebut me with great venom, other times they will take to it," he admits.
"This Means War" is apparently the director's return to the comedy action genre. "I've always been very comfortable in the action medium and I was ready to have some fun again," he shares. "'Terminator [Salvation'] very draining and very dark and decidedly sci-fi and intense-it was effectively a war picture-and I wanted to go back to contemporary movie with men and women."
More importantly, he notes, "I wanted some sexiness and some laughs and some lightness."
"This Means War" explodes in local cinemas on Feb. 22.
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