Devon Talks About "Slackers"

Devon Sawa emerged as a teen heartthrob with his role as Casper in the 1995 film of the same name. With a mere five minutes of screen time, he managed to capture the attention of millions of teenage girls. Since then, he's been widening his audience of admirers through featured roles in a variety of films, including starring roles in "Idle Hands" as a kid whose right hand develops a murderous mind of its own, and "Final Destination," a thriller about a student whose dreams of a plane crash save him and a few of his classmates from a fiery death.

In "Slackers," Devon takes on the role of a student who manages to make his way through college while doing as little actual work as possible. Joining Sawa as fellow slackers are Michael C. Maronna and Jason Segel. "Rushmore's" Jason Schwartzman plays the group's nemesis, Cool Ethan.

How would you describe "Slackers" and your character?

I play Dave, the leader of the slackers. "Slackers" is about three guys who have basically figured out a way to cheat on everything — school, girls, you name it. They find an easy way out of doing everything. That's the premise. Dave meets a girl, falls in love, and he's got to choose between cheating and being honest.

How do you explain that the "cheaters" are actually the good guys in this film?

I don't know (laughing). We're cheaters but it's all in good fun. We don't do anything that bad.

So nothing you do in the film will influence college students?

I hope not! We did not do this movie to teach anybody any lessons, or to try to prove a point. We did it basically to try and entertain audiences.

What attracted you to this role?

I read the script and I couldn't stop laughing throughout the whole thing. I met with Dewey Nicks, who is the director, and we just clicked right away. He seemed like he had a lot of great ideas. He didn't seem like a first-time director at all. He seemed to know exactly what he wanted. And I heard Jason Schwartzman was coming aboard so that's pretty much what attracted me to it.

Was it a different experience because Nicks was a first-time director?

It wasn't because Dewey knew exactly what to do. He was on top of things camera-wise and actor-wise. He was really on the ball.

Do you enjoy working with a large, ensemble cast?

Yeah, I love doing ensemble pieces. You get to meet so many new people and make new friends. It was a blast to do and I hope to do it again.

How do you avoid being typecast in "teen" roles?

I'm trying to go through the whole process of high school to college to work. I did “Idle Hands” which was in high school, the next one I graduated, and this one was college. The next movie I do is not going to be in school.

Did you make a conscious decision to avoid "teen" films?

Yes, I avoid them. When a script comes in and says 18-years old and in high school, I just turn it away.

What do you look for when you look at a character?

Something different, something that is original and will challenge me as an actor.

A lot of recent "teen" films have had relatively gross storylines. Is there a line that you won't cross?

We pretty much pushed the envelope in this one. "American Pie" and "Not Another Teen Movie" were really good, too, but I think this is a completely different movie. I mean, we have dancing penises and you name it, it's in this movie. It's definitely pushing the envelope a little bit more than the other movies, I hope.

Is that something you consider when you look at a script?

I do not want to do another “American Pie.” They did it and it was wonderful, but it's been done.

What do you have in common with your character, Dave?

Actually I don't have much in common with Dave. He is definitely the ladies man — very smooth — and I think I'm opposite.

James King is beginning to be cast as the romantic leading lady in more and more films. Did you enjoy working with her?

She's very professional, very sweet, and she likes a lot of hugs. She is a very sweet, sweet girl. She was a lot of fun to work with.

With a cast that includes Jason Schwartzman and Michael Maronna, it must have been crazy on the set. Did anything interesting happen during filming?

The whole cast is just hysterical and everybody is in their own little world. You have Maronna bouncing off the walls, and Schwartzman saying something funny. It was crazy, but it was so much fun.

Will there be a lot of extra material when "Slackers" makes its way to DVD?

I think so, I'm thinking there will be. There were lots of scenes that didn't make it in and maybe some of the bloopers, because there were tons of bloopers. Doing a scene with Schwartzman was extremely difficult sometimes because he's just so talented and so funny that all of a sudden you'd hear the director yelling, "Cut! Devon, why are you laughing?" It was so much fun.

"Slackers" has been through quite a few name changes, as well as a studio or two. Did you wonder if it was ever going to make it into theaters?

Yeah, I forgot about this one for awhile (laughing). It's been almost two years since we wrapped it. It's been a long process. I'm so happy that it's finally coming out. I'm excited, nervous, and I think it's good. I just want people to go see it. I definitely want people to go in with an open mind and I think they're going to laugh. It's not about teaching anybody any lessons, so they should drink a 6-pack and go see it.

What is your next project?

"The Extremists" which comes out in September, but the title is going to change — the story of my life (laughing). It's about four young kids who go off to Germany to shoot a Panasonic commercial. They do skydiving, kayaking, skiing, snowboarding, mountain biking — and get involved with some terrorists.

"Slackers" was directed by Dewey Nicks from a screenplay by David H. Steinberg. "Slackers" is rated R for strong language, sexual content, and brief drug use, and will be released in theaters on Friday, February 1, 2002.

Source: About.com

Back 12.31.2007.