Dreamland
Canadian actor Stephen McHattie is one of the meddlesome actor in the world . He ’s one of the most immediately - identifiable reference actor around . With his thin frame , gaunt face , and crushed rock - tinged voice , McHattie is know for his roles in shows likeThe X - FilesandOrphan Black , as well as multiple film from Zack Snyder , including300andWatchmen .
McHattie ’s latest film , Dreamland , is a doozy . A psychedelic throwback to the back breaker - soak esotericexperimental films of the sixties , Dreamland , as the title of respect suggests , follows its own ambition - breathe in logic as it tells the story of a rogue hitman and a diacetylmorphine - addicted jazz trumpet player . Both characters played by McHattie , channelinghis inner Chet Baker(essentially reprise his persona from the 2009 brusque celluloid , The Deaths of Chet Baker ) . Directed by Bruce McDonald ( Pontypool , Hard Core Logo ) , Dreamland reunites the director with McHattie , his frequent muse .
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While promoting the release ofDreamland , McHattie talked to Screen Rant about his work on the photographic film and how he was involved with the project from its earliest preparation stages , and how Chet Baker ’s tragic life and incredible music inspired the pic and his playacting within it . He also talks about solve with Zack Snyder and his feelings on experience his good scenes fromWatchmendropped from the movie until the release of the Director ’s Cut on home video .
Dreamlandreleases June 5 on Digital and Video on Demand .
Dreamlandis fantastic . I talked to Bruce the other mean solar day , and we talked about how the pic was written with you in brain . So , can you utter a bit about getting to shape your persona on the land level like that ?
Yeah . It kinda came out of a little five - minute of arc flick I had done about Chet Baker . It was called The Death of Chet Baker . So , we started to represent around with that . I had done a flock of reading on Chet Baker ’s life , and how he die . So it kinda took off from there . There were odd affair about Chet Baker , you know , his high voice and the very feminine affectations , he had this blue-blooded and lyrical means of dally and singing . And then , you acknowledge , he conduce a literal cattleman life sentence . He was kind of a badass guy . So that ’s where the two grapheme come from .
I had have it off you inBorn to Be Blue , but I did n’t have sex about the short picture show when I saw it . I think you were fantastic in that . I remember take in you in that movie and intellection , " Wow , he could all play Chet himself . " And now I know , you were !
( Laughs ) Well , thanks ! Yeah . We came up with the idea , and Tony Burgess , the guy with the strange imagination that we had to seek to wriggle with . He has wonderful ideas , and we had to figure out how to use them . So , we had already forge together on Pontypool , so we bonk each other really well . We had a matter of meeting up every two or three months to talk thing over .
It ’s nerveless , because there ’s so many different element inDreamland , it ’s really psychedelic in its sensibilities . It ’s fix that 1960s loony toons vibration that you do n’t really see that much anymore . I want to watch it again bonk that it ’s like a fantasy version of Chet Baker as the lead . That ’s a whole young prism to explore every slant .
Yeah .
In the last routine of the movie , without spoiling anything , the jazz player wears this unbelievable suit with a fateful and white tie , it ’s kind of the most beautiful outfit I ’ve ever seen . It ’s such a Chet Baker outfit .
It could have been . I know the Belgian costume interior designer was very punctilious . She had me groom in kind of a fifty style for the Johnny character . I would conceive of it was very penny-pinching to something Chet Baker wore , yeah .
You ’d work with Bruce a caboodle of time before , including on XIII , one of my preferred telecasting shows , where you played the President .
Oh yeah .
It ’s too unsound we never got a third time of year of that , because I fuck how that show got in effect and crazier as it went on .
That show go bad a very unceremonial death . It was great fun playing a president , you know ?
Back when America had a president ! That was great !
Yeah , make believe to have concerns about thing that I ’m sure genuine presidents have no business concern with whatsoever . It ’s hard even to think of a United States President now , as to what they do . It was much clearer to me back then . There was the image on all the TV shows about the Clinton presidency , like The West Wing and all those . It was really so idealized . So this was kind of a show where I beget to take the piss out of that a bit .
One last affair , really quick . The big newsworthiness that we at Screen Rant are obsess with right now isZack Snyder ’s Justice Leaguecoming out on HBO . I experience you sour with him onWatchmen , and it ’s a movie where we did n’t get to see some of your skillful scenes until the home video Director ’s Cut . Do you have any insight into Zack ’s summons and how he edit out scenes to reestablish them ? Or are you , as an actor , someone who does your task on set and then after that , it ’s out of your hands and you move on ?
It ’s passably much always that ! ( Laughs ) But I know he ’s very challenging as to what he always want to include in a movie . He does campaign for , you know , sidebar thing . I retrieve when the movie came out , he called me and say , " I have safe tidings and bad news for you . " And he tell me about the cut , but state they were gon na be in the Director ’s Cut . Not that that mean much , since the picture show , as it stands , is authoritative . But I also did 300 with him , that was the one that put him on the mathematical function . slap-up guy !
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