A Monster's Life for Me Part One

By: Pamela Harland
Date: Monday, November 12, 2001

Acting with only your voice has its advantages. "You don't have to shave," laughs John Goodman, who voices the furry and lovable monster Sulley in Disney's new animated film MONSTERS, INC. currently enjoying its second week at the top of the box office. "You read into a microphone... I just showed up and read."

Goodman's modesty aside, he does reveal the job to be a little more tiresome and complex than that.

"Usually at the end of a four-hour [recording] session I am wiped out because it does take a lot of physicality and I get pretty tired just sitting up," explains Goodman.

Playing Sulley's sidekick

Mike, Billy Crystal says he enjoyed doing the voice of the one-eyed, green, rotund creature in the film but also admits to some very hard work, calling MONSTERS, INC. more than just a cartoon.

"I love the process, though it was frustrating at times because we did the opening of the movie like ten different times," says Crystal. "I would do it and then a month later come back and they'd go, 'We have a new opening,' and I would be like, 'Didn't we do this?' And they said, 'Yeah, but we don't like it. We tried it and it doesn't quite work.' With a live-action film you shoot it and you know you have it or you do a re-shoot."

Also unique is the writing process, which changes very slowly with animation as production progresses - whereas with live-action films it is either completely done before the cameras roll or the script changes incrementally as shooting begins on set.

"The difference with doing it this way is you are doing the scenes and they get rewritten usually from week to week," says Crystal. "As opposed to rewriting before you start shooting."

Differences in the way feature animation is made and the difficulties that may come with it aside, all the actors involved were pleased to work with Disney and Pixar. Their admiration for Pixar Entertainment, the folks behind TOY STORY, TOY STORY 2 and A BUG'S LIFE, is what made them agree to be a part of the film on a moment's notice. In fact, Crystal didn't even look at a script before he accepted the job.

"John [Lasseter, Pixar chief]

called me and said, 'Billy it's John Lasseter' and I said, 'Yes,'" relates Crystal. "He said, 'How do you know what I am talking about?' And I said, 'Whatever it is, as long as it's not a fund raiser to help animated kids... yes.'"

Crystal's eagerness to do the film stemmed from a regrettable decision he made when approached about doing a character for the first TOY STORY.

"I was the stupid guy who said I didn't want to be Buzz Lightyear way back then," reveals the 54-year-old Crystal.

Without getting into specifics, Crystal says he wasn't thrilled at the time to work with Disney because his close pal Robin Williams was already having squabbles with the corporation about voice-over fees. Williams eventually settled his differences with Disney and Crystal was eager to work for them.

The 49-year-old Goodman's reasons for working for the company were much simpler.

"Mainly because they asked me," says the very subdued Goodman. "And it was Pixar, and I knew it was going to be good. Because TOY STORY was just so damn good."

Actor Steve Buscemi, who plays Sulley's nemesis Randall Boggs in the film, thought working on a kid's film would be a good change of pace for the quirky actor.

"It's nice to have a film

that I can go to with my son that I am a part of because usually he can't see the things I am in," says Buscemi of his mostly R-rated film career. "That was a factor in doing the role, but I think I would have been interested anyway because I think [Pixar] films are just well made and really, really entertaining."

Normally each actor works alone doing his or her dialogue and then Pixar matches their dialogue with the other actors so it looks as if they are speaking to each other via CGI creations. Crystal tried doing his lines this way and quickly realized it just didn't work for him. He needed Goodman who for the majority of the film is paired off with Crystal - to bounce off his energy with. So the necessary arrangements were made.

"It's very unique and it rarely happens," says Goodman in regards to working with Billy in the same room. "I don't know if they ever do that at all, but usually you are all by yourself. But when Billy and I got together the energy just went through the roof. It was great."

Stay tuned for part two of CINESCAPE's interview with the MONSTERS, INC. cast, coming later this week.