The Mummy – Exclusive Interview with Courtney B. Vance and Jake Johnson
Staci Layne Wilson
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In Universal’s latest resurrection of The Mummy (review) (which is directed by Alex Kurtzman), Tom Cruise stars as devil-may-care graverobber, Nick Morton. Nick is in the military, but he’d rather be plundering the riches of long-dead Egyptian royalty. He rattles the wrong tomb, however, and comes face-to-face with Ahmanet – a tightly-wrapped mummy with an ankh to grind. Those in Morton’s orbit become unwillingly drawn in, and – spoiler alert! – play the ultimate price with their lives.
Courtney B. Vance plays Colonel Greenway, Nick Morton’s soon-to-be slabbed superior. “As I told Tom, ‘bring me back,’ it’s a Mummy movie and anything can happen.”
In fact, it does when Morton’s snaky sidekick Vail, played by Jake Johnson, comes back to life. Sort of. The actor had to undergo quite a bit of maquillage in order to become a sort of zombie-ghost hybrid. “I had about 2 to 3 hours of makeup to get the cheeks in and a bunch of different prosthetics, but they did do some CGI. I think they sunk in part of my face, and that’s all done in post. So, it’s a combination. But it was important to Alex that a lot of it be prosthetics, so the other actors could see it and react to it in real time.”
COURTNEY B. VANCE as Col. Greenway in a spectacular, all-new cinematic version of the legend that has fascinated cultures all over the world since the dawn of civilization: “The Mummy.” From the sweeping sands of the Middle East through hidden labyrinths under modern-day London, “The Mummy” brings a surprising intensity and balance of wonder and thrills in an imaginative new take that ushers in a new world of gods and monsters.
Yet, Vail is still “Vail.” The actor explains, “It was cool being in it, and Alex wanted [my personality to still come through]. This wasn’t the kind of movie where I do a lot of improvising or doing my own takes on things. Alex and Tom had very clear ideas. So, they wanted me to play Vail even though he’s decayed in certain ways. So for me, it was more trying to give those guys what they wanted.”
As for his character, Vance explains, “Greenway is a career man. I’m sure he doesn’t like to be associated with the character Nick and his sidekick Vail, because he knows they’re crazy. He knows what they’re doing out there. He doesn’t like that they don’t check in when they’re supposed to. When I see him and I say, ‘You’re supposed to be 100 clicks from here, what are you even doing here?’ and they try to give me a line and I say, ‘Please don’t try to give me a line. Please!’ That’s the journey. Every time I deal with this guy, he ruins my reputation. He makes my job hell. He’s a huge, huge headache for me.”
Though both characters had issues with Morton, the actors both loved working with Cruise and Kurtzman. “It was a lot of fun to work with Alex, since he is a super-collaborative person. And even more to see him and Tom collaborate together, it was just a joy because usually there’s a lot of ego involved on these big budget films,” says Vance. Johnson adds, “Tom Cruise really is that intense, he really does work that hard. He’s really nice and kind to everyone. And he really does do his own stunts. So, as we were jumping off buildings, I was thinking, ‘Whoa, so this is the real deal’.”
Vance, a longtime television veteran, has not done a horror movie like this before. “I don’t do many genre films because people don’t ask. So… ask me! Now that I’ve been introduced to the world, people will hopefully start to ask.” He watched the movie, and really enjoyed the setup. “I just love the whole opening coda of setting up the Egyptian world, and the fact that it’s a woman who was about to become pharaoh. Her father groomed her to rule, and then at the minute his wife had a baby boy… [and she’s out]. I would have loved to have seen a scene where he tells her, but with just these images you know what’s about to go down.”
Johnson did not watch the movie. Partially because he doesn’t like to see himself onscreen. But also because, “This is less about the final product, and more about making it. And I saw a lot while we were shooting it,” adding, “When I talked to Alex about the job, and when I accepted the job, I hadn’t read the script. What drew me to this was working opposite Tom Cruise in an action-adventure. Honestly, I wanted to experience that. I wanted to know what it be like.”
JAKE JOHNSON as Chris Vail in a spectacular, all-new cinematic version of the legend that has fascinated cultures all over the world since the dawn of civilization: “The Mummy.” From the sweeping sands of the Middle East through hidden labyrinths under modern-day London, “The Mummy” brings a surprising intensity and balance of wonder and thrills in an imaginative new take that ushers in a new world of gods and monsters.
“Tom is such a people-person, but he’s also so about the work,” says Vance. “So the suits, the people at the top, they leave him alone. They know he knows the art of filmmaking. He’s a student of business and the art of it. So, just leave him alone. And if something doesn’t work, well then, we’ll talk about it. We’ll shoot it over. You see the passion and the fun that he has – you don’t see the drama. So we are left with the fun and intensity. We did have an additional three weeks of reshoots – ‘we didn’t get this, or we didn’t get that,’ or ‘hm, that doesn’t work’ – so that’s the joy and the passion of working with someone like Tom because it’s a lot of work. Yeah, it’s fun and it’s silly, but at the end of the day, ‘this is my name out there and people expect a certain quality of work from me’ so that’s a joy to see.”
Both actors worked for weeks, in spite of the fact they are side-characters. “It was [my most demanding role]. I really loved making it, and it was really fun to do,” says Johnson. “Tom and Alex were so committed, and they had such a clear vision of what they wanted, and so it was just fun to be a part of the game. You know, we had such a great cast and it was just really a pleasure to work on.
“I spent a lot of time in England on the soundstage, which was cool, but I’d never been to Africa and that was amazing. I loved the opportunity to be down there and see that part of the world. It’s so gorgeous. None of the landscapes were CGI, so that’s all what it really is. It’s really great. It’s a crazy perk.”
Vance agrees: the scenes shot in Namibia were the best. “I had a great time!”
Next up, Vance will be doing some voice-acting in an animated feature called Isle of Dogs, and Johnson will be developing some films as a producer.
Tom Cruise headlines a spectacular, all-new cinematic version of the legend that has fascinated cultures all over the world since the dawn of civilization: The Mummy. The cast also includes Annabelle Wallis, Jake Johnson, Courtney B. Vance, Russell Crowe, and Sofia Boutella as the titular character.
The creative team on this action-adventure event is led by director/producer Alex Kurtzman and producer Chris Morgan. Sean Daniel, who produced the most recent Mummy trilogy, produces alongside Kurtzman and Morgan. The script is by Jon Spaihts and Christopher McQuarrie.
Look for The Mummy in theaters on June 9, 2017. For more info in the meantime, keep your eyes on themummy.com.
Synopsis:
Thought safely entombed in a tomb deep beneath the unforgiving desert, an ancient princess (Boutella) whose destiny was unjustly taken from her is awakened in our current day, bringing with her malevolence grown over millennia and terrors that defy human comprehension.
From the sweeping sands of the Middle East through hidden labyrinths under modern-day London, The Mummy brings a surprising intensity and balance of wonder and thrills in an imaginative new take that ushers in a new world of gods and monsters.
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