3-D proved a challenge for 'Harold & Kumar'
John Cho and Kal Penn have starred in two "Harold & Kumar" hit comedies. They went to White Castle in 2004. They escaped from Guantanamo Bay in 2008.
Now they star in "A Very Harold & Kumar 3-D Christmas," their first venture beyond the 2-D world.
At Chicago's Park Hyatt Hotel, I asked them from an actor's point of view, what possible difference can one teeny weeny dimension make when shooting a movie?
"The 3-D rig has two lenses capturing two sets of images," Cho said.
"The apparatus was very large. In (a 2-D conversation between two actors), the actor goes right next to the camera, so you can look at the actor in the eyes. The camera just records you.
"But this camera was so big that the actor couldn't be next to the camera. You have to look directly into the lens. It was very difficult acting without the other person in those close-ups."
Pretending his eyes were drooping, Penn said, "That was a <I>looooong </I>explanation." He went into edit mode.
"The 3-D was too big! So when you're doing a scene with somebody, they're not there! The camera's there instead!"
"So I'm Encyclopaedia Britannica," Cho shot back. "You're<I> Wikipedia!"
</I>Penn turned serious.
"I don't know that I appreciated, until we shot in 3-D, just how much we relied on looking at each other while we were shooting," he said.
"How much I relied on that for the chemistry. A lot of the communication between Harold and Kumar is unspoken, the looks they give each other. So it was a bit of a challenge."
"I would say it's even harder to be funny when not looking at a person," Cho said. He looked at Penn.
"Try it. Close your eyes! Now, try to be funny," he said to Penn.
So, you're both saying that it requires an actor with superior chops to act in a 3-D movie over a 2-D, I said.
"I would say it's just a different concentration," Penn said. "It's just a different skill set. I love (Sanford) Meisner-esque descriptions, like acting is living realistically under imaginary circumstances ..."
<I>"Wow!</I> You are sophisticated!" Cho caustically chirped.
"I'm going to stop there!" Penn said. "He just killed it for me!"
Cho laughed and shouted, "No, no! Keep going!"
"The point is," Penn continued, "you work hard to get rid of seeing the boom mic and the camera. You're in an intimate moment with real people when you're acting. But when you're looking at a camera, and pretending it's not there ..."
Cho jumped from his seat and rushed to the window of his hotel room.
"Excuse me!" he shouted. "There's a siren!"
" ... it's a real challenge," Penn said, ignoring him.
I asked both actors why they chose the performing arts as their careers.
"There's an intimacy that comes with every play that you do or film or television show," Cho said. "You get to know people intimately very quickly. It's like living accelerated lifetimes.
"Also the vast amounts of money I receive for appearing at night clubs in depressed areas of towns."
Penn also answered my question.
"I love the magic of the willing suspension of disbelief."
<I>Wow.</I> He really <I>is </I>sophisticated.