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Starsky and Hutch
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Good Cops. Bad Hair.
The Plot:
Detective David Starsky (Ben Stiller) is the most dedicated undercover
cop working the mean streets of Bay City, California. Tightly-wound and
manically devoted to his job, when he’s on duty no crime goes
unpunished – and he’s always on duty. And that’s a good thing, because
he has some metaphorically big shoes to fill: his mother was a legend
on the force, one of the best cops in the history of Bay City. But
while his mom stuck with the same partner throughout her entire career,
Starsky burns through partners faster than his beloved Gran Torino goes
through spark plugs.
Detective Ken “Hutch” Hutchinson (Owen Wilson) is having career issues
of his own – he’s a good cop, but his hazardously laidback personality
and desire for a quick buck means that he doesn’t always get the job
done. He has excellent instincts; he just needs a little bit of focus
to keep him on the admittedly less profitable side of the law.
Exasperated Bay City Police Captain Dobey (Fred Williamson) has found
the perfect solution for two of his biggest problems: pair up Starsky
and Hutch and put them out on the streets.
As soon as the two mismatched crime fighters unhappily begin their
first day on the beat as a team, a “floater” turns up on the Bay City
coastline. With the help of Hutch’s street—savvy informant Huggy Bear
(Snoop Dogg), the two begin to unravel the mysterious murder case.
Investigating their first clue, the boys meet Staci (Carmen Electra)
and Holly (Amy Smart - click here for interview), Bay City cheerleaders who are more than eager to
help – in any way they can(!).
The Cops:
This is the ultimate in buddy cop mayhem with Ben Stiller and Owen
Wilson sharing the screen for the sixth time, hot on the heels of Meet
The Parents, Zoolander and the Royal Tenenbaums, amongst others.
Filling the shoes of Paul Michael Glaser and David Soul, the talented
duo take it to 70s excess with the hair, the clothes, even the red and
white striped Ford Gran Torino, as they patrol the streets of Bay City.
Although there are many tongue-in-cheek moments – Starsky attempting to
jog along the beach wearing a pair of giant headphones, for one – this
is far from being a spoof movie, something that Stiller and the crew
were keen to steer well clear of.
“This movie is referencing a show that was such a phenomenon when it
was on the air and we aren’t trying to spoof it or parody it in any
way. We’re not trying to say ‘Hey look how goofy the 70s were!’” said
Stiller.
While being packed with the laugh-out loud comedy moments that have
characterized Todd Phillips earlier outings (Old School, Road Trip),
the not so secret success of this buddy caper is the pairing of Stiller
and Wilson. Having exhibited their great on-screen chemistry in
Zoolander et al, here they tap into their natural camaraderie to play
two clashing personalities.
While Wilson’s blond barnet helped to land him the role, Stiller was
first off the mark to accept the part:
“I used to play Starsky and Hutch when I was a kid, so I thought, why
not play it as an adult. I mean, there are a lot of reasons why you
shouldn’t do it as an adult, but I chose to ignore them and go forward
with the project!”
Click here for more movies
starring Ben Stiller.
Click here for more movies
starring Owen Wilson
WIN A COPY OF STARSKY AND HUTCH ON DVD!
To celebrate the release of Starsky and Hutch to rent and buy on DVD, Blockbuster has teamed up with our friends at Buena Vista to offer 10 lucky winners the chance to win a copy of the DVD!
Simply e-mail us at: competitions@blockbuster.com with your name and e-mail address and let us know who played Starsky and Hutch in the classic 70s TV series.
Closing date 7th August 2004.
The Bear
Necessities:
Starsky and Hutch may be like yin and yang, but they wouldn’t be complete
without Huggy Bear on the scene, a role that was just made for
Platinum-selling rapper and talented actor Snoop Dogg. “Snoop’s
perfect as Huggy”, said Stiller.
“I think Snoop’s on a one man mission to immortalize the 70s pimp on
celluloid, and he’s doing an incredible job of it.”
Click here for an interview
with Snoop Dogg.
Let’s go Disco!
As if the characters aren’t enough to jog our memories of the original,
there’s a wealth of nostalgic gimmicks and fashions to pass on some
serious 70s fever.
The film-makers even managed to track down Starsky’s hot wheels, the
infamous ‘Red Tomato’. Although none of the original Torinos from the
show were available, the crew managed to get hold of nine cars after
learning that Ford had produced 1,000 limited edition red and white
Starsky and Hutch Gran Torinos in the 1970s.
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Calvin ‘Snoop Dogg’ Broadus, named after the Peanuts character Snoopy,
spills the beans about playing a dodgy pimp sidekick and the future…
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Blockbuster: Did you watch Starsky and Hutch on TV?
Snoop Dogg: “Yeah, definitely as a kid I loved Huggy
Bear because he was one of the coolest cats on the screen. That was
definitely a turn on for me being a little kid watching that.”
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BB: How did you like wearing
seventies clothes?
SD: “I loved it, baby. That’s my nature, you know what I’m saying? Snoop
Dogg is so throw back, he’s so out of the seventies, it felt right at
home for me to do that.”
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BB: And what about working with Ben
and Owen?
SD: “They’ve got great chemistry and made my job
easy. They are very experienced and you can’t really make mistakes on a
set with them. You have to have your game on the same level as theirs.
They stepped my game up.”
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BB: What about your next movie which is a
version of Airplane, called Soulplane?
SD: “My cousin wins a lawsuit to take over this airline and he hires me as
the pilot, Captain Mac. I’ve been in pilot class for three or four days
and this is the first plane I flew.”
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Related Collections:
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First gaining recognition for her supporting role in Varsity Blues, Amy Smart has gone on to appear alongside many of Hollywood's most talented young stars. Amy Smart tells it like it is in this interview for Blockbuster Online:
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Blockbuster: You look far too young to have seen the original television series - how did both of you get into Starsky and Hutch?
Amy Smart: “I rented a few episodes because it was a little before my time. Not a lot before my time. I grew up in the 1970s but just right on that cusp so once I got the part in the movie I decided to do some research and find out what really Starsky and Hutch were about and the way girls were in Starsky and Hutch. They were pretty replaceable. (laughs). There were new girls every week. And so those were the sort of girls we were playing - free-spirited, fun-loving, willing girls who want to have a good time.”
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BB: What do you think of 1970s fashion? Is it dreadful? Is it interesting? Is it something you'd wear today or would you be horrified if you were presented with a 1970s wardrobe?
seventies clothes?
AS: “I personally like it. Not all of it. But I will definitely go to vintage stores to get cool pieces from the 1970s.”
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BB: What kind of stuff do you like?
AS: “I like the scarves, I like the tops. I like some of the bell bottoms and the shoes but I wouldn't just always wear 1970s clothing. I think guys have more of a problem because of the really tight fitting pants (laughs) and the bell bottoms but I thought that was sort of hot looking on a guy. So I enjoyed the fashion.”
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BB: What about the music from that time?
AS: “Amazing. It was amazing. It wasn't mass produced like it is today and it wasn't only about how much money you could make, it was about rock n roll and singer songwriters and bands that last still to this day. I love the music from the 1970s.”
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BB: Was it easier for you to do a movie like Starsky And Hutch than The Butterfly Effect?
AS: “I shot the Butterfly Effect before this, actually it was almost a year apart that I shot both of them. The Butterfly Effect was shot over a year and a half ago and this was shot in May and June so it was a pretty fast turnaround. And they're just such different movies and I like them both for completely different reasons. I still take acting classes, I still work really really hard on acting and the craft of acting so The Butterfly Effect really challenged me in that aspect and with this movie, it was such a fun movie to work on and it wasn't really quite as much about the acting, it was just, this is just going to be fun and this is that girl and I don't mind playing that character, it was really fun. And the director I worked with and all the actors were amazing.”
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BB: Was it funny for you having to kiss each other? Did you have to practice much?
AS: “(laughs) We didn't practice before but, you know, you don't really see this type of kiss in a movie like this and I personally like to try new things in movies all the time and it was written in the script and it's sexual and it's fun.The girls and Owen are just willing to have a good time so you just have to surrender to that and I enjoyed it and I had fun with Carmen.”
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BB: What's your view on the chemistry between Ben and Owen?
AS: “I think they really compliment each other very nicely because they're both comedians but Owen is funny sort of in the Christopher Walken way. He's just funny, who he is and the way he delivers his line and sort of, it looks like he's not trying at all. And Ben has directed four films and he's more technical and he's funny really in the physical sort of way and playing that guy where things can never go right. So I think both of them together create a lot of chemistry.”
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BB: Did you have to do a lot of takes because you were laughing?
AS: “I think we were pretty good at holding our laughs in because we would be the ones laughing and they definitely improvised and tried new things. So it was fun.”
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