Photo by Enza Solano Ketcham
What happens when Vin Diesel walks into a room with 25 bloggers?
No, this is not the start to a joke. We clap, we cheer. Some people may have actually cat called. But Vin was so pleased with his very warm welcome, he actually turned around and make a second entrance so he could hear us again. Vin said, “Wow look at this wonderful reception. You guys! You didn’t have to make me feel that good. My God! This is like…I need to walk in again!”
Now that is the start to a great interview.
Photo by Enza Solano Ketcham
I had the chance to interview Vin Diesel about his role of “Groot” in the upcoming Marvel Guardians of the Galaxy movie. He spoke candidly, humbly about the role of Groot, how his children felt about the role, and Groot’s role as a nature ambassador.
Vin Diesel is a presence, no doubt about it. He’s also an incredibly handsome man (there were more than a few of us in the room who couldn’t take our eyes off of him). At 6” feet tall, his build alone is impressive. But he’s also charming and funny. He was clearly humbled by how welcoming and excited we were to talk with him, and he returned that welcome with dance moves and smiles. At the end of the interview Vin told us, “You guys made me feel so good!”
Becoming Groot
Vin had some influence working with the special effects team for creating Groot. As far as special effects, the special effects guys will film an actor while they are recording, and they’ll try to pull some of an actor’s mannerisms and incorporate them into the CGI. Vin went in to the recording booth wearing jumping stilts so that he would be seven-and-a-half feet tall to help him get into the spirit of the character. He says you just need one or a few thing to really get you into character. Vin really kept it about being a towering, innocent character. The innocence of the character is what’s so attractive. “So, yeah,” Vin says. “It was my idea to go above and beyond. And I guess people were like, ‘Damn, this guy’s taking this serious. It’s only three words, dude.’ I have worked more days on this than I have words. Surreal.”
Vin Diesel credits his being offered the role to his Facebook fans. The manifested a union between Marvel and Vin. The persistence of fans on social media somewhat forced Marvel to be creative. Marvel Studios President Kevin Feige reached out to Vin after fans at Comic Con approached him about what Vin and Marvel could do together. With shooting for “Fast and Furious 7,” Vin said he didn’t have tome to be able to do a 6-month role on the “Guardians of the Galaxy.” Feige sent his some conceptual art to show Vin what he was thinking. The rest, as they say, is history.
On what attracted Vin Diesel to the role of Groot
Vin: So, someone delivers this huge book of conceptual art for “The Guardians of the Galaxy.” And it’s the first time that I had ever seen what they were doing with Groot, which is not like anything you have ever seen in any of the comic books. It’s an original Groot. And I went into the living room, and the kids were there, and I opened up the book, and it was a double-truck picture with all of the characters. And I said to the kids, “What character do you think they want Daddy to play?”
I was praying that they would lead me in feeling good about this role. And they all pointed to Groot, and they thought Groot was cool. Cut to: they’ve seen the movie.
They’re singing all of the songs in the house. If I wanted to share the music with them—we all want to share Jackson 5 with our kids, right? But what better way to do it than Baby Groot? It was one of those movies that was just remarkable to share with your kids.
On Groot’s Impact on Vin Diesel’s kids
Vin: When my kids are in the back seat—we’re driving, whenever they see trees they say, “Look, Dad. It’s your brothers and sisters.” You can’t beat that. I mean, nothing I would try to teach them about life and respect for nature could have been as effective as them seeing Daddy as Groot, and them thinking—and how appropriate.
What a beautiful thing. And something you would never even think is possible. I mean, we’ve never seen trees in that light.
This, I feel, has gone to the next level. And I never thought I’d be so proud of it. But you know, in some ways, Groot is nature’s ambassador, and there’s something beautiful about that. And just the idea of talking; for me, you know, movies should promote or provoke conversation, right?
When we take our kids to the movies, if we can walk out of there and have [a discussion]. Bambi was that, right? Or, you know, when people came out of “Iron Giant,” there was the whole discussion of the deer, and death, and what that was like, and it was an opportunity for kids to talk. But the idea of sacrifice at the end, which Groot is demonstrating, that’s a wonderful conversation to have with our kids.
So, it’s been really special. I do movies that are not necessarily for kids. So to do this and to be able to share this with the little ones, and for them to be so excited about it so proud of it, and to think of trees differently. They will never look at a tree the same way. No one will after this.
My Impressions
As we gathered in the hallway for the group photo, as Vin turned around in his chair and started to stand up, he began singing “Hooked on a Feeling.” Naturally, the singer in me jumped at the chance to chime in and sing with him. In a matter of moments, the majority of the other 24 bloggers joined in and we sang several lines of the song in unison, circled around Vin. I was just behind to his left for the duration of the singing. As we grouped for a photo, Vin put his arm around me, but I had to step forward to be with the shorter people in the group photo. It’s cool, I’m right near him in the photo, and I had Vin Diesel’s arm around me for a moment. #LifeIsGood #BucketList
Photo by Marshall Weinbaum
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GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY opens in theaters everywhere on August 1, 2014
#GuardiansOfTheGalaxy / #GuardiansOfTheGalaxyEvent
From Marvel, the studio that brought you the global blockbuster franchises of Iron Man, Thor, Captain America and The Avengers, comes a new team—the Guardians of the Galaxy. An action-packed, epic space adventure, Marvel’s “Guardians of the Galaxy” expands the Marvel Cinematic Universe into the cosmos, where brash adventurer Peter Quill finds himself the object of an unrelenting bounty hunt after stealing a mysterious orb coveted by Ronan, a powerful villain with ambitions that threaten the entire universe. To evade the ever-persistent Ronan, Quill is forced into an uneasy truce with a quartet of disparate misfits—Rocket, a gun-toting raccoon, Groot, a tree-like humanoid, the deadly and enigmatic Gamora and the revenge-driven Drax the Destroyer. But when Quill discovers the true power of the orb and the menace it poses to the cosmos, he must do his best to rally his ragtag rivals for a last, desperate stand—with the galaxy’s fate in the balance.
Marvel’s “Guardians of the Galaxy,” which first appeared in comic books in Marvel Super-Heroes, Issue #18 (Jan. 1969), stars Chris Pratt, Zoe Saldana, Dave Bautista, featuring Vin Diesel as Groot, Bradley Cooper as Rocket, Lee Pace, Michael Rooker, Karen Gillan, Djimon Hounsou, with John C. Reilly, Glenn Close as Nova Prime Rael, and Benicio Del Toro as The Collector.
James Gunn is the director of the film with Kevin Feige, p.g.a., producing. Louis D’Esposito, Victoria Alonso, Jeremy Latcham, Alan Fine, and Stan Lee serve as executive producers. Marvel’s “Guardians of the Galaxy” is written by James Gunn and Nicole Perlman and releases in U.S. theaters on August 1, 2014.
Disclaimer: I was selected to attend an all-expense paid trip to LA courtesy of Disney to experience these incredible events, along with a group of 24 other bloggers. All opinions, excitement, and smiles are my own.
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Vin was not the celebrity I thought he would be. He was down to earth and fun to talk with. I loved him dancing in his seat.