Grown Ups 2 Press Conference

So far from our Summer of Sony trip to Cancun we’ve had press conference reports for This is the End and After Earth. This one is going to please Twilight fans as it comes to the time when we get to hear from Taylor Lautner who stars in the Adam Sandler’s latest movie, Grown Ups 2. This sequel comes from the 2010 movie which brought together a group of friends who havent seen one another for years. This sequel brings back together the cast that we saw in the first movie alongside a whole host of new members which includes Lautner. In this report, we’ll break down each of the sections from the press conference into small segments so it’s nice and easy to follow from the attendees Adam Sandler, Salma Hayak, Kevin James, David Spade, Taylor Lautner and Director Dennis Dugan who has worked on many of Sandler’s previous projects.

All of the sections below have been split with the video at the top and the transcription at the bottom so you can easily follow it through. Now, go and get your Taylor Lautner fix Twihards!

On Taylor’s Experience working with the comedians and the lessons he learnt from the cast and visa versa

Taylor Lautner (TL):    Oh, boy.

Adam Sandler (AS):    You loved it, right?

TL:    I did love it.  I was very intimidated – I was – ‘cause, you’re right.  This is a funny table.  But, I mean, it’s why I wanted to do it.  I mean, these guys and Salma, they’re the best at what they do and it was a huge learning experience for me.  I mean, it’s an absolute blast.  The set is unlike anything else I’ve ever been on.  We don’t laugh this much on the TWILIGHT sets.

David Spade (DS):    We all learned how to be a little bit better-looking.  It all worked out.

TL:    It’s much more of a relaxed vibe on this set.  I mean, I think just the set experience as a whole was a learning experience.  And, you know, they don’t take things too seriously.  They laugh, they play around, the cameras are constantly rolling, catching little things that we never would have caught on other sets.  And, you know, the improv involved.  I’ve never improv’d as much as this.  And I got to be honest, I learned a lot from them as people; not just as actors, but, I mean, these really are fantastic people who have had great success in their careers, who are still so down-to-earth and so humble and it’s just – that’s a fantastic thing for me to see and for me to learn from.

AS:    That’s nice, buddy.  Thank you, Taylor.

(Dennis Dugan) DD:   I learned some stuff.  I liked when Taylor came on and he’s coming off a lot of big movies and a great career and a young guy that could be cocky – could be a lot of different things – and we all didn’t really know because we don’t know him.  And we thought he’d be a great addition to the movie.  It’s sort of a perfect fit and he – on time every day, great attitude, knows his lines back and forth, not a peep out of him, nice, fun, easy to deal with, rolled with the punches.  Added a lot of stuff to his character to make it more physical.  Kind of found a good running thing and it just made it really sort of blow up and make that (OVERLAP)

Kevin James (KJ):    Yeah.  Just willing to do anything, too.  He did it in – what was annoying, we found very quickly, was that he was very good at it.  When you think you’re good at just comedy, at least you have that.  Then this good-looking guy comes in and goes, “Wow, he’s pretty good at comedy, too.  Look at that.  Man, he’s really good.  I didn’t know he was that good.  Why is he so good?”

Salma Hayak (SH):    And also, he kept me on my toes because when you are surrounded with like good friends and he spoils us, you could get a little lazy, you know, in some scenes when you wear the heels like this and you’ve been working all day.  And I remember like one time we had a big scene and there was a fight and he’s been working all day and now it’s time to do the fight and he’s like, “No, no, no, I do my own stunts.”  “Oh, yeah, but you need to do flips.”  “Oh, no, no, no problem.  I’ll do the flips.”  And we’re looking at each other and there he goes, you know, fighting and doing the flips on his own and you want to sit down because the heels are bothering you and it’s like, “Can I wear my Uggs for this?  Where is the…”  And he’s like, “No, give me those heels.  I’m going to go fight, too, you know?”  Because he keeps you on your toes.  He’s very passionate about what he does.

KJ:    And the bad part about the flips is he makes it look so easy you think you can do them yourself and I – let me assure you, you cannot.  I got about half way and fell straight on my nipples and it was just hours and hours…  I think I knocked myself out cold.  It was by myself in my room.  I go, that doesn’t look that hard.  I can actually do that.  It’s very difficult and he makes it look smooth, so…

On working with Taylor Lautner

AS:    Yeah.  No, the Taylor man, besides being a handsome boy, I’d have to say amazing personality – just a well-mannered, nice kid.  We all loved him and, you know, just like anybody, we were a little intimidated to meet old Taylor, too, ‘cause the sound he brings with him.  Wherever he shows up there’s a giant crowd of high-pitched screaming and happiness.

DS:    We thought they were protesters for the first two days.  And then the best is when you leave the set and they’re all screaming and you roll down the window and they all go, “Ahhh– ohhh.”  “Is he coming soon?”  “I mean, he’s not even in today.  Get lost.” (LAUGHTER)

On why Grown Ups was the one to be Adam Sandler’s first sequel

AS:    I just love the idea of real-life comedy.  You know, we stretch what goes on in real life, but I just like being with friends.  It’s where I do laugh in real life the most and I just – GROWN UPS was about family and friendship and that’s what I like talking about a lot.  And so it just connected with me and it was – we talked about it on the first one three years ago.  It was one of the best summers of our life and it was just nice to get to do it again.

Director Dennis Dugan – On working with Adam Sandler and how they first met

DD:   Well, when I first tried to work with Adam, I was doing a movie and I brought him in.  He wasn’t really Adam Sandler then.  He was just a guy.  And I brought him in four times and the producers wouldn’t hire him.  And two years later, I went to go meet him on HAPPY GILMORE and I was all prepared to try to sell myself for the movie and I walked in and he said, “You tried to get me in that other movie.”  And I said, “Yeah.”  And he said, “Okay, you’ve got this movie.”  And that’s who he is.  He’s the nicest, most loyal, terrific, wonderful guy as a partner that you could ever imagine working with him.  I’ve done eight movies with him and I directed a ninth that he wrote, called BENCHWARMERS.  I’ve done three movies with Kevin and four with David, two with Salma.  So I think I’m the luckiest guy on the planet.

SH:    And one with Taylor.

DD:   Oh, yeah.  And one with Taylor.

KJ:    That’s right.

AS:    Dennis is a great man.  We all love him.  He’s the rock of the set…

KJ:    Of the set.

On the 80s element of the movie

The film ends with a huge 80s party which sounds like it was an awful lot of fun to film. Adam expands on that after mocking Taylor for not even being born in the 80s!

AS:    When were you born, Taylor?  I forgot.  What year.

TL:    ’92.

AS:    You skipped the ‘80s?

(LAUGHTER)

AS:    Wow.  No further questions.

KJ:    We had butter churns and…

AS:    No, man, that’s great.  Taylor – maybe that made more sense why you wanted to beat us up.  You didn’t understand why we were dressed like that.

SH:    (OVERLAP) I just got this dress.  I’m leaving now.

AS:    No, no, no.  ’92.  That’s pretty awesome, Taylor.

AS:    We’re shook up, now, yeah.

DD:   The question is, why are we all so sad all of a sudden?

SH:    The ‘80s…

DS:    It’s true.  Great – it’s a great one.  It’s a great look.  It’s – you don’t know it when you’re in these things and then when you look back, like when I was in the ‘90s, I was, what, four, I was like – this is interesting but the ‘80s were cooler and then you get out and you go, “The ‘90s did have their style and their look and all that.”  So every ten –SH:    No, but, you know, they made us feel really cool because like remember when we had the band?  “Na, na, na, na, na, na.”  What’s the name of the band?

AS:    J. Geils.

KJ:    J. Geils Band.

SH:    Yes.  You know, they come in and you remember the songs and you’re like, “Yeah, this is going to be so much fun.  They’re coming and we’re having a scene in a party and we’re going to dance.  Oh, what a fun day.”  And then they come in and you look at them and you go, “Whoa.  They’re old-looking.  I don’t remember.”  And then you go, “Oh, my God, me too.  Me too,” you know? (OVERLAP)  It’s like, oh, my God, I look like that, too.  But then the music starts and they don’t know this great music and we get to teach them how you used to dance it and they would really get into it…

KJ:    And then we break a hip and we stop, sit out for a little bit.

AS:    Taylor, did you know that song, “Centerfold?”  You knew that one, right?

TL:    Um… yeah.

KJ:    My great grandparents used to play it all the time. (LAUGHTER)

Dennis Dugan on keeping his actors in line when adlibbing

DD:   My technique is, I say, “Action,” I put on a flak jacket, I wait an hour and I say, “Cut.”

KJ:    No, that’s not true.  I’m going to speak for him, for what he does.  It can be a difficult job, keeping everybody in line when you got so many comedians and people with their own way.  But there’s nobody that holds the ship together like Dennis because he knows exactly when to push you and make you do your own thing and be as funny as you can and then also keep true to the script because it’s got to connect to the next scene.  He’s got the big picture of everything.  So I got to say, Dennis Dugan does an incredible job with that, so, yeah.

AS:    Yup.  Good man.

DS:   That’s what I was going to say.