By Cathy Finkler
Actor Dax Shepard (and, you know, the guy that did a lot of this) joined Morning Joe to talk about his latest comedy and action movie, “Hit & Run,” a film he wrote and directed while on hiatus from his NBC show “Parenthood.”
Shepard plays the role of Charlie Bronson (yes really), a guy in the federal Witness Protection Program, and his girlfriend in the film is played by his real-life fiancee Kristen Bell.
The film also stars Tom Arnold, Kristin Chenoweth and a dreadlocked Bradley Cooper, which may be worth the cost of the ticket alone.
Mika Brzezinski asked Shepard about wearing many hats in the production of the movie. Shepard said, “This may have been record from shortest from inception to completion … I wrote it in three weeks, prepped it in four weeks, shot for six weeks and then went directly back to work.”
Brzezinski also requested that Shepard pitch her the film, asking him to explain why she wouldn’t walk out of it (something she has admitted to doing with other films).
“This may shock you, but women like it even more than men…we found that women like it the most,” Shepard replied, citing responses from test screenings.
Since “Hit & Run” is an independent film, Mike Barnicle also asked where Shepard received the funding.
“Private equity from a woman who’s a film lover in Palm Springs,” Shepard said. “It’s so rare that you find someone who’s going to blindly trust that you’re going to deliver a movie.” How’s that for an answer? Shepard also explains why independent financing allows more freedom. “I got to make the movie I want to go see, I didn’t have to pander to any sector of the audience, I didn’t have to worry about how it was going to test.” For someone creative, these allowances are “very liberating.” Watch the trailer below:
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