Steve Martin, Jack Black and Owen Wilson look to the trees
BY CINDY PEARLMAN October 6, 2011 5:20PM
Steve Martin and Jack Black play bird watchers on the trail of rare species in “The Big Year.”
Updated: January 23, 2012 4:09AM
Steve Martin remembers the first word that entered his wild and still crazy brain when he discovered he would be working with Jack Black and Owen Wilson.
“Mystery,” Martin says. “I actually had to look them up and find out who they were.”
Two famous jaws drop.
In “The Big Year” (opening Friday), three of the funniest men in show business delve into the world of competitive bird watching. The film is based on Mark Obmascik’s award-winning 2004 nonfiction book about 1988’s Big Year, the annual competition where avid avian enthusiasts travel North America for 12 months. The prize is to spot the most rare birds.
Martin is the elder, Black is the failed husband and Wilson is the record-holding champion.
“I would certainly watch birds even before this movie happened for me,” Wilson says. “You could say I had an interest in seeing a cool bird. And the whole bird-watching hobby seems like a nice way to travel. It’s not so much of, ‘There’s the giant ball of string, but look at the bald eagle.’ ”
Black can go on better. In this techno age, he signed his contract for the film and then immediately downloaded iBird onto his iPhone. “You listen to the sounds on the app and then look up in the sky and realize, ‘Wow, there’s the phone line up there and it’s going to rain,’” he jokes.
Black adds, “Personally, I’ve always been fascinated with birds of prey. They have always been my favorite animal. Maybe it’s the talons and the beautiful wing spans when their wings stretch out, or should I say ‘outstretch,’ which is more of a birder word.”
Wilson says, “I remember shaking hands with you when we first met and you actually said to me, ‘Watch the talons.’”
Black adds, “I remember when I first heard that a bird could kill a snake. And I thought that birds were just pretty. Some are actually fierce battle birds. It’s a little Rikki-Tikki-Tavi time for me, which I love.”
Martin jumps in. “Actually, I participate in bird-watching through my wife, who has a pretty good eye for birds. She has a bird app on her phone, so I let her do the heavy bird lifting in our family. I luxuriate in the outcome.
“Actually, I allow her to do the heavy bird lifting and the heavy luggage lifting, too.”
And then there are times when you can lean on your guy friends and co-stars. Wilson and Black both did voice-overs for a TV pilot their friend Ben Stiller directed in 1999 called “Heat Vision and Jack.” They also were in an episode of “Community” together.
“So, they are as close as people in Hollywood who never see each other are,” Martin chimes in.
For his part, Martin says teaming up with the titans of comedy was a thrill. “I was thrilled to be in a movie with three funny guys. Wait. That sounds bad. I don’t want to make claims about myself being funny.
“We were very different types of comedians, and I thought that was good,” he says.
Adds Black, “I had night terrors when I found out I was working with these guys. Well, you know, there is a certain amount of pressure when you’re going to be working with legends of stage and screen.”
“And we worked with the Rushmore,” Wilson says, alluding to Martin.
Black: “I was basically
questioning my wits and worthiness.”
Wilson: “At the same time, I felt reassured. I thought, ‘I can coast on this one. I got these guys there for coasting. What more do you want in co-stars?’”
The other star of this film isn’t so much the birds, but Mother Nature.
“I can say that Owen is the most outdoorsy of the three of us,” Martin says. “As you might suspect, I’m the least outdoorsy and I’ve grown less outdoorsy the older I get.”
How so? “The treadmill is the closest thing to the outdoors that I get,” Martin says, “and it’s inside my home.”
Black brought outdoor cred to “The Big Year.”
“I did some camping when I was younger,” Black says. “Of course, it’s been over 10 years since I pitched a tent and had some gorp, but that doesn’t matter in the grand scheme of things because you can still be a dad and an actor and still have the taste of gorp in your mouth.”
One question: What the heck is gorp?
Black sighs. His buddy Wilson jumps in. “It’s like this great granola, but the secret ingredient is a huge handful of M&Ms. All men know this.”
The comics say that it was easy working with the other guys. If it were three women, the tabloids would be reporting catfighting and hair-pulling.
“With three guys, it’s mostly noogies. You get on the set and there is a round of noogies,” Martin says.
Adds Wilson, “If I had a nickel for every noogie I got from Steve — even from just this morning — I would have millions of dollars.”
Which brings up the next point: The film features three guys who are stressed and find a way to cope by watching birds. One wonders how three comic icons de-stress. Communing with crows? Meditating with mallards?
“Being in nature helps,” Wilson says. “Another big thing is getting enough sleep. When you’re well rested, how much more manageable is life?”
Martin is not convinced.
“I think massage is good. Actually, I like to give a massage to prisoners,” Martin says.
Black says, “You mean, you’ll go to an outreach program to give a massage — or you go to a state penitentiary?”
Replies Martin, “It’s a big plus for the massagee that you get a massage from someone who works on the big screen.”
Black seems dejected. Yes, he has been Martin-ized.
“I was going to say I ride
my bike to get rid of stress,
but now the answer just seems so dumb.”
Shot down like a goose during hunting season.
“That’s the problem,” Black gripes, “of working with these guys.”
Big Picture News Inc.
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