Jesse Eisenberg, who reprises his role as J Daniel Atlas in the second part of Now You See Me confesses that he likes to play a bad guy in a movie because he sympathises with the guy who is tortured than the one who is confident
How different was it to shoot for the second partIJ
We were trying to figure out how dramatic it could be, how funny it could be, how splashy it could be without compromising what made it feel real and intense. That was difficult to balance. This time, we had already established the right blend of humor, intensity and showmanship.
Tell us about the new addition to your team, lizzy CaplanIJ
lizzy does like geek magic you know like severing heads and other kind of bloody tricks ad its really a funny juxtaposition to what the rest of us do cos the rest of u are kind of these fancy David Copperfield’s style magicians who pull off these beautiful illusions with the kind of showmanship that would be appropriate on a vegas stage and lizzy does stuff that’s a lot of grossed out magic which is such a great juxtaposition to us and great addition to our team and even more interesting that it becomes increasingly useful over the course of the movie and we find ourselves in increasingly dangerous situations and also her characters magic fits in well with lizzy’s personality. She has the ability to be kind of brash and funny and kind of obnoxious in a charming way and I think that parallels nicely with her magic.
How does it feel to be a part of the cast againIJ
I have no opinion on them at all. My only opinion is that I’d rather be in a good movie that’s a sequel than a less-good movie that's original. With a movie like Now You See Me, it seemed like a good opportunity to make another one. There is a great ensemble of actors, it’s a storyline that doesn’t feel finite, it's a world that feels worthy of extension and a topic that seems fresh enough to continue, so this seems like a good one. The decision is probably based on the demand for it rather than our Machiavellian intentions.
Tell us about the story.
When the movie starts the horsemen are kind of hiding out, they’ve basically gone underground and are waiting orders from the eye which is the secret organisation they’ve kind of admitted to in the first movie. They are incredibly frustrated,going stir crazy because they’re waiting orders, they’re in secret kind of practicing.They're really frustrated cos they are the showmen, they want to be on stage, they want to be performing and when they get their first task in this movie, I think it very quickly turns into something dangerous and scary than they initially expected
What according to you is the similarity between Caper films and magic tricksIJ
This movie is kind of a heist and a caper and I think it’s kind of perfectly parallel to these characters do. When you do the magic tricks there are twists and turns. There are red herring, there are misdirection’s which are kind of the elements of the magic tricks, a good magic trick. These are pretty much the elements of a caper. There are red herrings there are twists and just when you figured out what exactly the characters were doing you have the rug pulled out from under you and that is the great ingredients of a magic trick and which is why I think this part more than the first movie figured out exactly the best way to tell the story with these characters and get the tone really right.
What caught your eye in doing the second partIJ
In the first movie, you’re with the FBI agents tracking these enigmatic performers who seemingly drop in from nowhere, perform great feats with perfect precision and then disappear. Now we’re behind the scenes with the Horsemen as they use all their combined skills to try to get out of this mess. You get to see new sides of our characters.
Do you enjoy playing a douchebagIJ
I play bad guys in movies if possible because I feel more sympathy for the guy who’s tortured than the guy who is confident. That’s why I’m probably going to do a third Now You See Me: I get to play this brash, arrogant magician, while in my life I’m a shy, quiet person and I grew up with no social life. It’s a great outlet to play these characters.
Why do you put your time into stage and television projectsIJ Why don’t you opt for the cinemaIJ
I’m not a film buff. I didn’t go to film school. I have a degree in anthropology. I write plays. I work for the medium that’s on offer. That doesn’t have to be cinema. The film industry has changed fundamentally. There is no room anymore for the films I would like to make. Woody Allen is the last man standing. He still makes reasonably priced, independent films my parents would go to see.
In the TV series Bream Gives Me Hiccups, I’m trying to do what the independent film directors tried to do in the 1990s. Back then, there was nothing strange about going to see an indie film. Now that has shifted to television. The sort of stuff I write is either intended for the theater — for example, a three-hour play that is transgressive, confrontational, and entertaining — or for television. People can then decide for themselves when they will look at sophisticated, subtle stories. The TV series is based on my short stories. I could do what I wanted. It is made with an independent spirit that you hardly find at all in the film world.
Do you find it weird that a nerd like you can be a real film starIJ
Isn’t it always the calm, shy people who later become successfulIJ I didn’t have any friends when I was growing up. I was a quiet, shy, and often depressed child. I spent all the time intent on revenge on the world. (laughs)
I had no friends, so I sat at home writing or making up jokes. I never went to parties, but I did go to the theater. It often happens that children with a difficult childhood focus on other things and look for other outlets and then later make a career for themselves. Or come to grief with drugs.
So fame has advantagesIJ
Fame has disadvantages, too. You surely don’t think famous people drink, take drugs, and misbehave for funIJ Fame can be terrifying. It’s not always fun to be looked at by everyone in the street. But on the other hand you can also use that fame for a good cause. I am involved with an organisation that campaigns against domestic violence in India. We collected half a million dollars for an organisation that helps abused women and families in the country.