"How do you feel about punching a girl in the face as hard as you can?” asked director Steven Soderbergh.
“I think I’m ok with it,” said Michael Fassbender.
Soderbergh sent him the script for “Haywire” and Fassbender became the first of several males cast.
Ewan McGregor, Bill Paxton, Antonio Banderas, Michael Douglas and Channing Tatum soon followed. “Haywire” also stars professional mixed-martial artist Gina Carano who plays Mallory, an international black-ops agent and former Marine.
For Fassbender, McGregor and Tatum, being cast in the film also meant signing up for a beating. Throughout the film, each of the actors goes up against Carano in a fight sequence, with Fassbender’s being the most taxing. Although Soderbergh did use doubles, he said they were limited.
“These guys really hit Gina and she really hit them – hard. She put Fassbender through the ringer,” Soderbergh said.
Inspired by “Darker Than Amber,” a 1960s Rod Taylor film, the scene Soderbergh is referring to takes place in a hotel room. For “Haywire,” Soderbergh outfitted both Fassbender and Carano in eveningwear. They proceed to fight while simultaneously destroying the hotel room.
“This was the only time I was glad to be cast as the father,” said Bill Paxton, who plays Carano’s father in the film. Paxton, along with Douglas who stars as a government official, were the only men to escape Carano’s fist. “We were the old guys,” Paxton added.
“Haywire” is now playing in theaters.
Alexandra Cheney writes about film for The Wall Street Journal. Follow her on Twitter @alexandracheney.
To read the complete article: http://blogs.wsj.com/speakeasy/2012/01/21/haywire-directer-steven-soderbergh-on-punching-a-girl-in-the-face/
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