Editor’s Note: MUSE recently had the opportunity to talk to Michael Cera and Kat Dennings, the stars of the film “Nick and Norah’s Infinite Playlist,” in a roundtable interview with other college publications. The Q&A below contains excerpts from that interview.
Does it feel like work when you’re working around so many people your own age?
Kat Dennings: No, it didn’t really feel like work at all, did it?
Michael Cera: No, it was really laid back and fun the whole time. I don’t remember one bad day. It was a good set, a good environment.
Dennings: [We were] lucky. It doesn’t always happen.
The shooting schedule contained mostly night shoots. What was it like flipping your day for twelve hours for a month?
Dennings: It was for two months. It was crazy.
Cera: Yeah, it was a little jarring at first, but you kind of slip into it and get used to it.
Dennings: I prefer night shoots. You can’t possibly have every shoot you do be a night shoot.
Cera: It’s fun. You don’t have to wear sunscreen.
How was shooting in New York?
Dennings: A lot of fun. Busy.
Cera: I had always wanted to spend some time in New York and hadn’t been able to spend this amount of time there, and it was great.
In the movie, music had a huge impact on your characters‘ lives. In real life, is that the same deal?
Dennings: Yeah. I listen to music constantly – it’s a huge part of my life. When I go to bed, I listen to music. When I wake up, I listen to music … Sometimes when I feel a little moody and need to cry, I just put something sad on so I can just get it over with.
The film features some sweet dance moves. Would you have included any other dance moves in the movie?
Dennings: Oh, there’s so many. I wish we could have gotten the Macarena in there. We lost out on that … You could actually make a dance out of everything.
Cera: That whole day is erased from my memory. We were so tired because we had gone from a night shoot to a day shoot. So we got like no sleep for some reason … You know that feeling where you’re awake for way too long, it’s aching. You’re not thinking clearly.
You guys have worked with some big people. Is there anyone else you’d want to work with in the future?
Dennings: I would love to work with the Coen brothers and I’d love to work with Tim Burton at some point. There are so many –sometimes you don’t even realize that someone’s going to change everything for you until you meet them. It might be someone who’s never acted before… You never know.
With things like online videos and video blogs, how would you say the Internet has impacted your career?
Cera: Well, it’s good for people who don’t have the means to make things. It makes making things and being seen a little bit easier … It’s better than just making [films] and having nobody see it – you can always put it on the Internet.
What other professions have you guys considered other than acting?
Dennings: I’d be a geologist. I love rocks, minerals, and like tectonic plates. I think it’d be impractical at this juncture to switch gears like that, but I actually have an extensive mineral collection. It’s really embarrassing.
Kat, you said once in an interview that your parents said the idea to go to LA and leave home was the worst idea ever.
Dennings: They thought when I was three telling them I wanted to be an actress was the worst idea ever. I mean, they kept thinking that until it was clear that it was going to keep going. My dad’s a biochemist and mom’s a speech therapist, and they were like, “You what?! Why? Why would you do that?”
Cera: It must be scary as a parent, because there’s so much competition. You just think, “Oh my God, my kid’s going to be heartbroken.“
Dennings: It’s the most unreliable job you could possibly take. Even now, I don’t know what my next job’s going to be. I may never get another one. Who knows.
Nick and Norah’s Infinite Playlist opens tomorrow at the Davis Regal Stadium 5 on G Street.
RACHEL FILIPINAS can be reached at arts@californiaaggie.com.
