By Fred Topel | Images property of 20th Century Fox.
Danny DeVito hasn’t just acted in a while. He’s usually directing or producing and popping in for an appearance, but balancing a lot of tasks on his place. Deck the Halls is a pure acting gig, where he plays a suburban car salesman who drives his neighbor crazy with his outrageous Christmas decorations.
Interview: Danny DeVito Talks Deck the Halls
“I feel good about working,” said DeVito. “John Whitesell really knows exactly what he’s doing. It’s like a joy to do that. It was really fun to work with Matthew. You get camper life when you’re an actor, which you don’t get when you’re a director or a producer. You know, you can be off the set for a little bit while they’re lighting. You can make a phone call, you can learn your lines, watch a movie. It’s a break. It’s like a respite.”
The character came naturally to DeVito also. Buddy Hall attempts to make his house visible from space, but that kind of wattage is intrusive on the ground level. “The thing about it is I feel like, especially in Deck the Halls, there’s a definite objective involved. You have an arc of the character. Like here’s a guy who’s like working his head off, he’s done all kinds of things, he’s probably sold these tape recorders. He’s sold everything to people and he could sell you your shirt. He’s a really good salesman. Now he’s selling cars. And his wife is happy and his kids are doing well, but there’s something in there that’s just not like giving him that 15 minutes of fame, that thing that he wants. That little bit of self esteem that gives him something to be proud of. And sometimes those things come right from right under your nose. I guess if you can map out the ABCs and connect the dots then the characters feel like they come easy to you.”
Deck the Halls
Deck the Halls
As a producer/director, DeVito’s one regret was having to shoot the New England-set comedy in Vancouver. “I like Canada, it’s really beautiful. I actually went to Vancouver Island. Rhea came up for a week and we went to this really great place on Vancouver Island. She’s never forgiven me for making her go onto a helicopter but it was fun. The thing is that I wish we could do more movies in the United States and that’s what we have to try to do, especially in California. It’s very difficult. I need everybody’s help. I mean, like we have to figure it out. I mean, Arnold’s trying. The thing is that every industry wants the break if you give it to the film industry, and I don’t blame them. So we just need a little bit more of a package. It’s great if everybody could be thinking about that all the time when you’re writing stuff or you’re talking about stuff. It would be great to be able to get the incentives that keep films in the United States.”
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