The first true mixed martial arts movie, "Never Back Down" releasesFriday. On Tuesday, I attended a press screening and met with starCam Gigandet to discuss his training for the film.
Waiting for Gigandet
Advertisem*nt
Gigandet (pronounced gi-gon-day) is filming "Twilight," a vampiremovie, in a soggy marsh in Vancouver, Wash. At night, the areabecomes a foggy haven for ghosts and teenagers looking for macabrefun, but today it is muddy and clear. "Twilight" is being made bySummit Entertainment, the same production crew that made "NeverBack Down." It is day 14 of a 45-day shoot, and the crew is far tooinvolved to notice a stranger pulling into base camp. Numbered vansdrop off crew members, who quickly form an ant-like conveyor tomove boxes from one vehicle to another.
Done with their box task, the grunts assemble a few feet away butseem uninterested in my presence. Then the talent walks through,instantly recognizable from the crew by their demeanor, smoothskin, perfect hair and flimsier footwear. I am looking forGigandet, who was a star on "The O.C." but I only know from the"Never Back Down" trailers. He has short blond hair and a BradPitt-quality. But all the stars have long hair and pile into thewardrobe trailer. I would later learn they were wearing wigs.
Finally, a security guard taps on my window.
"Excuse me, sir," he says.
"I'm here to see Cam," I answer. "He's expecting me."
And that was good enough. Apparently name dropping carries someweight in these parts.
Hollywood types either forget or don't acknowledge the wondermentnormal society feels at their behind-the-scenes magic. I wanted toexplore the star trailers and I admit a wandering eye was peeledfor anything pocket-sized that might be of value on E-Bay.
Gigandet, 25, grew up in Auburn, Wash. -- a strip-mall hell southof Seattle that sometimes smells of cows. A high school footballplayer, he realized he was too slight to make it to the next leveland began to search for something else. Eventually he convinced hisparents he wanted to go to Santa Monica Community College, more amove to get out of Dodge than for education. He lasted about threeweeks before he quit going to class.
I am just beginning my interview when an anxious woman tellsGigandet he is wanted in touch-up. He seems unconcerned until shecomes back and flashes me a dirty look.
"Come with me, and we will do it from the makeup chair," hesays.
No sooner had I set foot inside than I was pushed back out by a mancalled Tico.
"I'm not trying to be macho or a jerk," Tico says. "We've just gotto do a reshoot before the light changes. We have to hurry."
The crew avoids me as I stand alone with my pad and paper. ThenGigandet blows by me so fast I have to run after him. His beautifulgirlfriend and wannabe starlet Dominque Croix trails behind usboth.
"After that, I signed up for an acting class," Gigandet says,cigarette smoke trailing from his hand through the tendrils of hiswig. "I walked in and just knew this is what I wanted to do for therest of my life."
After false starts and many managerial issues, Gigandet began towork. His big break came with "The O.C." and his stock continued torise until he landed a key role in "Never Back Down." After hepassed the audition, he had to pass a basic fitness test. Then hebegan to work out for four months solid -- the evidence of which isdisplayed gratuitously in the film.
In "Twilight," Gigandet is playing a vampire, though Croix laughsthat makeup has been unable to "ugly him up." He hangs from therafters of a dilapidated boat dock for his reshoot. Four takes andhe's done.
"In ‘Never Back Down,' we filmed the fight scenes last so we'd haveas much time as possible to work on them," Gigandet says. "Plus Iwas able to train while (lead actor Sean Faris) was shooting. I hada lot more time to practice choreography, but that was OK becausemy character was supposed to be more refined."
Gigandet trained martial arts briefly in high school, and that workpaid off while working with the same stunt crew from "300,""Matrix" and "Fight Club."
"Of course, the big kick you see in the trailer was the hardest tolearn," he says. "I had to practice it specifically every day overand over. And up until the day of the shoot, I still hadn't got itright. I didn't have the height. Then it was the day of the shoot,and we were on the set and did five or six takes on camera and itworked. The adrenaline was pumping."
Unlike some boxing movies, the combatants in "Never Back Down" didnot actually hit each other. It was a trick of the camera. Whenthey did land kicks, they were able to pull them to minimize thedamage.
"The hardest thing was keeping up the stamina in the fight scenes,"Gigandet says. "We'd do them and then do them again."
He takes another pull of his omnipresent cigarette and begins towax about MMA in general.
"I didn't watch it before I was booked for ‘Never Back Down'," hesays. "But I did my homework and I actually started to enjoy it. Iadmire the discipline and skill. I don't know if I enjoy it for thesame reasons (as other people), but the amount of dedication andthought is just amazing. It really is like a chess match. I'vebecome a fan. You have two guys on top of their game trying to findout who is better. I admire it. It's something I could never do."
