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Hogan returns to crocodile territory
after a 13-year absence Australian star returns to a role down under By Jill Helmer Staff Writer
Paul Hogan stars as Mick Dundee in the third movie in the Crocodile Dundee trilogy, Crocodile Dundee in L.A., which opened in theaters nationwide on Friday. “I think this one’s the funniest,” said Paul Hogan, about his newest movie. “I set out to make it funny, the emphasis being on funny.” Hogan isn’t quite sure he agrees that Mick Dundee is still one of the world’s most popular characters, since it’s been so long since the last movie. “He may not be now; we’ll see.” But Hogan was willing to run the risk. He’d rather have too much time pass between films than make another movie before he was ready to. “I move very slowly, and I wasn’t interested (in doing a third movie) at the time, six or seven years ago when the studios were really interested, when you would normally bring out the third or fourth movie. I had no interest.” So Hogan decided to wait to make a third Crocodile Dundee movie when and if he ever got a good idea for one. “I can do that because I own the franchise, not a studio,” he said. Hogan said he finally decided to bring Mick “Crocodile” Dundee back to the screen when got the idea to send him to L.A. from one of his own life experiences. “I lived in L.A. for a couple of years, and when I left there and I moved out, I thought back about the place, and I thought, its such a weird, racy place. It’s where he’d be totally out of place, so that’s why I chose it. He looks ‘Hollywood’ in the poster, but he’s a very un-Hollywood sort of guy.” Hogan thinks the type of movies that were released around the same time as the first movie had something to do with the popularity of his character. “I think it worked the first time because he came out in an era of heroes who killed 87 people in their movie. . . they used to have the death toll clicking away on the screen,” he said. “I thought it would be nice to make him sort of a small time, everyday sort of hero who just sort of gets into special situations, and handles them with humor and grace, rather than driving someone’s eyes out with a fork.” In the original Crocodile Dundee, Mick was “a simple, sort of backwards guy, confronted by civilization,” as Hogan put it. He was basically just trying to handle the situation and get the girl. “The first one was more of a romantic comedy; and the second one was more adventure comedy. I think (Crocodile Dundee in L.A.) is more of a comedy, with adventure and a little bit of romance. It’s hard to do the romance thing; we’ve been together too long. There’s still some romance, but it’s not about getting the girl, like the first one was.” Not only did Hogan get the girl in the movie, but also in real life. After the first Crocodile Dundee movie, Hogan married his costar Linda Kozlowski, who played his love interest, and later, his wife in the movies. Hogan said the atmosphere on the set was quite different in the first movie before he and his wife were married, compared to the latest movie. “It was more comfortable. There wasn’t as much electricity around as there was in the first one,” he said. “It’s good because we do like each other, and that’s important in a movie. It’s terrible if you’ve got a movie and your love interest is someone you can’t stand.” In addition to enjoying working with his wife, Hogan said he enjoyed working with the director Simon Wincer as well. “He’s not a temperamental primadonna, and I’m not one, so no one else is allowed to be. Anyone like that, early in the film, you just get rid of them,” said Hogan with a laugh. “Then it becomes like a happy atmosphere, and everybody gets involved and they all contribute.” Hogan said that one of the craziest things that happened on the set of Crocodile Dundee in L.A. was that they had to deal with professional distracters. “In L.A. it’s tough because what people do there is, they see where you’re filming, and so they come along with a portable jackhammer or an electric guitar, and start up some noise nearby, and you’ve got to give them money to go away. . . you don’t have that problem in Queensland,” he said. The professional distracters were not the only interesting characters Hogan encountered in L.A. There were several others that struck Hogan as memorable enough to make it into his movie. In the movie, when Mick and his son are walking through Venice, he runs into a girl on rollerskates, who immediately falls in love with him, and decides that it’s not going to work out, all in about 30 seconds. “Some people say it’s a bit chauvinistic to have that girl on the skates. . . all she cared about was ‘ok, he lives in Beverly Hills and he’s got money; I want him.’ I’m sorry, but she’s totally based on two different girlfriends of mine. The scene, “was very L.A.,” said Hogan, “because people marry every six months in L.A. They’re always looking for another one. And people who’ve been there for a while, especially if you’re a single guy, recognize that sort of predator.” “Most of the people (in the movie) are stereotypes” said Hogan. One of the stereotypical characters based on real people from L.A. is the sleazy motion picture studio head Arnan Rothman, played by Jere Burns. “The slimy guy, Jere Burns—he’s totally real. So many people in L.A. have said to me, ‘That’s my agent.’ Even down to the extent of him having a massage while being interviewed—that’s real. Yeah, he’s a stereotype.” Even his own character is based on real life. Hogan said he got the idea for the character Mick during his first trip to New York. “I suddenly felt like a hillbilly, because it was so slick and fast and sophisticated. Everyone else seemed to fit in there, and I sort of felt like I had a piece of straw in my mouth. I sort of wrote (the first movie) backward. I started out in New York, with sort of being a fish out of water there, and eventually back (to Australia). I made him more of a Bushie than I am, to make him more out of place.” Hogan said that, while there were some differences between them, he and his character Mick are a lot alike. “It certainly was funny how I got a Golden Globe for best actor, and then the Golden Globe people came back and met me and talked to me for a while; I could tell by their faces they were thinking they should take it back. ‘He’s just like that! It wasn’t very good acting,’” he said, interpreting their thoughts. “(Mick’s) sense of humor is mine, and outlook on life to a certain extent is mine. I made him more colorful and more romantic than I am, and I made him an Outback sort of guy,” said Hogan, noting some of the differences between himself and Mick. “I’m country, but I don’t go around with that hat and a knife. If you’re in the water and there’s a crocodile coming toward you, I’m going to yell, ‘Swim! Swim!’ I’m not going to dive in with a knife and save you, I’m afraid.” That’s more a job for the Crocodile Hunter than for Hogan. However, Hogan said that he’d still win in a fight, if for some odd reason, he and the Croc Hunter ever got in a fight, but that’s another story. Hogan said he isn’t quite sure how he feels about being sometimes called the unofficial ambassador for Australia. “I didn’t really want that, but I sort of became the token of Australia. But that happens,” he said. Hogan really has become, as he said, a well-known token of Australia. His character Crocodile Dundee has become such a household name that he shows up frequently in other shows, movies, and even cartoons. “I think it’s flattering if you’re in a cartoon. I was watching television a few years ago, when the first movie came out, and the kid had the Flintstones on, and Barney Rubble came on with the hat and everything and said, ‘I’m Crocodile Barney!’ And I thought, ‘this is really cool. I made a character and he’s turned up in the Flintstones.’ And I was in the claymation - me and Mel Gibson, in the Celebrity Death Match.” Crocodile Dundee has also made a guest appearance on the Simpsons, where his world famous line, “you call that a knife? This is a knife,” was quoted. “That line went into the language, you know? That’s what everyone tries to do when they make a movie. That only works one time in 10,000 movies, when you get a line that goes into the language, like ‘go ahead, make my day.’ There’s only a dozen of them, and I got one!” said Hogan. Hogan said it’s kind of weird having made such an impact on the whole world. “Particularly with the first movie, which was meant to work in Australia, and hopefully a few other places. But to go to like, Taiwan or Pakistan or somewhere and hear, ‘that’s not a knife, this is a knife,’ it’s a weird thing. But it’s also a terrific thing, because it’s allowed me to stop working; I can work when I feel like it and do the stuff I like.” Happy with his life now, Hogan is glad he took the dare from a friend several years ago to enter the talent contest from which he was discovered. Hogan said he has no idea where he’d be today if he hadn’t entered the contest. “I had 40 jobs in the real world before I got into entertainment,” he said, “so I don’t know what I’d have been. Something... but nothing as good as this.” The Columbia Chronicle would like to hear your opinion on this topic. Note: If your browser does not support multiple windows, click here. Back to top | Home The Columbia Chronicle is a student produced publication of Columbia College Chicago and does not necessarily represent, in whole or in part, the views of Columbia College administrators, faculty or students. |
April 23, 2001
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