When it comes to independence day weekend we’re use to seeing huge blockbuster movies with tons of action, explosions, and aliens but this weekend we have ‘Tammy’. A comedy about a woman (Melissa McCarthy) who is pushed to her limits when she loses her job, husband, and car all in one day, and wants out of her small town living. But with no money and no car her only way out is with her frisky-liquor-drinking grandma Pearl (Susan Sarandon) on a road trip that leads to brushes with the law and unexpected fiascos.
The halls at the Beverly Hilton Hotel in Beverly Hills were buzzing away full of reporters, actors, and publicists being directed in all different directions trying to get the press in the conference room and the cast all together to enter the press junket. As soon as most of the media was seated the cast entered the room and took their places at the table. Susan Sarandon brought her adorable doggy Penny a pomeranian-maltese mix. She joked that Penny would also be answering questions for us.
Sarandon: We didn’t even think about it for the longest time until we were doing press and they brought a car out and I was like ‘ Well you know… that might remind people of that other movie’ I don’t know, it was so different and I don’t think it really will.
How did Melissa approach you?
Sarandon: They called me, Ben and Melissa, I was shooting another movie and didn’t quite understand what reality we would be in…and I was just so exited about the way they worked and then Mark Duplass, I think it was a conspiracy, called me, I didn’t even know he was going to be in the movie. But he called me and said ‘You have to do this, these are such great people’ and peer pressure got to me, and I thought I’ll jump. I was a little worried because there wasn’t much time between the other film I was doing. So I did three in a row, all alcoholic-pill popping-much older [characters] than I actually am. She just doesn’t have my make up and hair people. So she looks different. I just thought ‘ You know what? They’re both so talented, and it would be different, I trust Mark, so I don’t know what’s gonna happen but let’s go for it.’
Melissa growing up in Illinois
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McCarthy: Ben and I both grew up in Illinois, that’s kinda why when we started writing it this woman was our jumping off place. You’re really stuck in this rut and stuck in this whole tiny little world of things you don’t like what would actually– how hard do you have to get hit to bump you out of your vicious cycle.
Falcone: It’s sort of a love letter to Illinois. Though it’s a little ironic, the whole love letter is someone who is desperate to leave.
I’m sure you know by now that Ben and Melissa are married in real life, but he also makes small cameos in Melissa’s movies. In this particular movie Ben plays the manager at the burger place that Tammy gets fired from. Not to spoil too much of the movie but you can tell that Melissa is having way too much fun throwing meat patties at her husband in the scene where she gets fired.
What will happen to your relationship if people don’t like the movie?
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McCarthy: We weren’t stressed until right now (laughs)… we had been working on it for years. What if? what if? can you imagine?…I think it all came in stages. And then when people started actually reading it. Like when I found out certain people had it, I had a weird, when I knew Kathy had the script…
Falcone: We’d be whispering to each other like ‘I think Kathy’s got the script. Did you know Kathy has… I hope she’s reading the script?’
McCarthy: I physically, literally was coming apart at the seems. And I was like ‘I don’t know if she’s ever gonna read it, but the fact that it’s at her house is making me have all kinds of weird breakdowns all through out the day.’ Every step of it when it just got kind of… it’s still dreamy to me, I think.
Falcone: Yeah the whole thing was a delight for me. I mean, it was great to work with Melissa, we’ve worked together before but we got to send a lot of time together and then you know when you add all these great people up at the table here, it was just so fun to work with everybody. So literally I can honestly say that at the end of the day, of everyday, I was honestly disappointed that the day was over.
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You can’t go wrong this weekend with going to watch Tammy. Don’t question why Tammy does the things that she does, just laugh and have a good time.
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