When he’s not writing blockbuster comic book movies like the X-Men sequels and the upcoming Incredible Hulk film, writer/director Zak Penn makes Christopher Guest-style mockumentaries and improvisational comedies. His latest, The Grand, playing at CineVegas, follows six quirky characters through a high-stakes poker tournament.
You’re probably most famous for your comic book adaptations. What inspired you to do a poker movie?
I directed a movie before called Incident at Loch Ness, which was also an improvisational comedy, and doing these low-budget improv movies is kind of a welcome change from the giant, bloated summer blockbusters. There’s an element of rigidity to doing those blockbuster movies that I was trying to get away from as a director. So I was looking for an idea that would be right for an improvisational comedy, and a friend of mine, Matt Bierman, the co-writer, pitched me the idea—that this would be a good venue for an ensemble comedy.
I understand the poker that the actors play in the movie was played for real?
Uh-huh. It was both the selling point for the actors, and it was also a fun, experimental thing for me, which was, “What if we play the actual final table for real?” and that’s the end of the movie, and where the characters end up is determined by how the actors actually play. At first it seemed like kind of a gimmick, and as we got closer and closer, I thought, “I hope this isn’t a big mistake.” It actually turned into being one of the most interesting things I’ve ever been involved with, because the actors had grown so fond of their personas that they desperately wanted their characters to win. There was a tremendous amount of competition in the room, and because it was played live, you got a very different quality of performance from the actors, which was a kind of electric feeling that was really exciting.
As a writer, what was it like leaving the climax of your movie to fate? Did you find yourself rooting for specific characters to win?
Personally, the characters that I thought would provide the most irony were the ones that I was rooting for. But as the game took over, I remember at one point turning to my editor and saying, “You know what? I don’t even know who I’m rooting for anymore,” which is kind of a good feeling as a writer—to like all these characters and hope all of them can win.
After Incident at Loch Ness and now The Grand, a lot of people are comparing you to Christopher Guest. Do you plan on doing more mockumentaries and improvisational comedies in the future?
I was inspired by Christopher Guest. Watching his movies, I was like, “Wow, if someone can build a career like that in Hollywood, that’s something to aspire towards.” To be able to use his own troupe, people that he’s friends with, actors that are really talented who wouldn’t otherwise be cast in a movie like this—to me, that was an inspiration. So if I could do one-tenth as good a job as him, I’ll be happy. I’m flattered that anyone would compare me to him. I mean, if I catch him in a dark alley I’m going to beat the crap out of him because, seriously, there can only be one of us.
Oh, it’s a Highlander sort of thing.
Exactly. I’m the upstart, and I have to kill him in order to cement my place.
Well, good luck with that.
Is he tough? Do you know? I’ve been working on my swordplay, so I think he’s going to be in trouble.
The Grand plays June 7 at 7 p.m. at the Golden Nugget and June 8 at 3 p.m. at the Brenden Theatres.