Triple H Miami Herald Interview
Posted by David Damage on Friday, September 9, 2011
Under: Interviews
WWE superstar Triple H talks Inside Out
WWE Studios “Inside Out” opening in Miami on Sept. 9
Source: miamiherald.com
So when WWE superstar Triple H is sitting comfortably in the living room with his wife to watch a WWE Studios movie, featuring him, there may be an uncomfortable moment or two, depending on the script.
“When the kissing scene comes up, my wife just leaves the room,” Triple H said during an interview to promote the latest WWE Studios release “Inside Out.”
“It would be very quiet for a long time. The [Triple H] kissing scenes don’t go over very big in my house.”
Fortunately for Triple H (or unfortunately as “Inside Out” also stars the attractive Parker Posey), there won’t be much room leaving on this flick. “Inside Out” is more a crime drama than a love story, and the cast is solid with Michael Rapaport, Julie White, Michael Cudlitz, Juliette Goglia, Posey, Triple H and the legendary Bruce Dern.
“Inside Out for me was a phenomenal experience because I worked with Michael Rapaport, Parker Posey, Julie White, Michael Cudlitz, Bruce Dern,” Triple H said. “That’s a pretty heavy duty list of very good actors.”
Triple H continued: “For me, shooting scenes with Bruce Dern was never-wracking. I’m sitting across from Bruce Dern, shooting a heated scene with him.”
Dern, 75, has appeared in more than 80 feature movies and made for television films, most notably as a cool-handed villain. In “Coming Home” in 1978, he received an Academy Award nomination for Best Supporting Actor. In 1983, he won the Silver Bear for Best Actor at the 33rd Berlin International Film Festival for his role in “That Championship Season.”
“Bruce is a tremendous actor, and I think because he is such a tremendous actor, he is a tremendous storyteller,” Triple H said. “It was almost more entertaining in between takes because he told such great stories of old Hollywood and being the guy who killed John Wayne [in a movie - The Cowboys - 1972].
“Just these great old stories, until finally they were begging Bruce to stop telling stories so we could shoot another take.”
Any “Inside Out” cast members WWE fans?
“Michael Rapaport is a little bit more than a casual fan, and his kids are huge fans,” Triple H said. “Bruce Dern, believe it or not, was actually fairly knowledgeable about the product and had a few friends that he hung out with a lot, who were stunt guys in the older days and also in the wrestling business. He knew a lot more about the business than I would have thought he knew. He was a bigger fan than I thought.”
Triple H is learning the film industry from some of the best. Actually, in 2004, before WWE Studios existed, Triple H had a villainous role in the action vampire movie “Blade: Trinity,” starring Wesley Snipes and Jessica Biel and featuring Posey.
“I’ve always said this. It’s never been my desire to necessarily go to Hollywood,” Triple H said. “When I did ‘Blade,’ I was offered a three-picture deal with New Line [Cinema], and I turned it down because I didn’t want to make movies and be a movie guy. I wanted to stay in the wrestling business.
“When [WWE Studios] offered me ‘The Chaperone’ [2011] and ‘Inside Out,’ I said, ‘Yes.’ They were good projects, and the timing worked right. I had the time off.
“If another thing comes along, and it’s a great project, and I like the script, and I think I’d have fun doing it, I would do it. But am I knocking on somebody’s door? I’m not calling up the guys who run WWE Studios, saying, ‘Hey, guys, where’s my next movie?’”
Triple H is committed to WWE not WWE Studios.
“If it’s the right thing [with WWE Studios] and it’s the right time, great,” he said. “If not, I’m cool with that, too. It’s a fun thing to do on the side.”
Working with a talented film-making cast, i.e. “Inside Out,” has its advantages, especially for someone more accustomed to the live performance art.
“You’re trying to hang with them, but at the same point, there is also a comfort level because you know these actors are good,” Triple H said. “I’ll equate it to being in the ring in WWE. When you’re in the ring with a guy who you know is not very good, the pressure is really on you, because it’s all on you, if it’s going to be good. If you’re in there with a guy who is great, there’s a little less pressure because he can carry a part of the load for you, and you can kind of follow along a little bit.
“Having those actors in a movie like ‘Inside Out’ - where the first few days were a little bit intimidating for me - as you get going, it’s very comforting, because they’re so good, it can almost camouflage your weaknesses.”
Triple H has improved his acting chops, but his strengths are noted more for chopping inside a wrestling ring, a different form of entertainment compared to movie making.
“The difference is theater versus film,” Triple H said. “When you’re making a film, the camera is right on you, and you can almost think an emotion, and the camera will pick it up. When you’re in the wrestling ring, you’ve got to be a little bit larger. You’ve got to be larger than life and bigger, and you’ve got to play to a much larger audience. WWE is purposely theatrical and over the top and a little bit beyond reality.”
• Triple H, Parker Posey, Michael Rapaport, Julie White, Michael Cudlitz, Juliette Goglia and Bruce Dern star in WWE Studios’ crime drama “Inside Out” in select theaters on Friday, Sept. 9.
Regal Palace 18 in Miami is one of those theaters. Call 305-221-3402.
Visit wwe.com/inside/overtheropes/wwestudios.
• “Inside Out” (WWE Studios): For the past 13 years AJ (Triple H) has been behind bars, convicted of manslaughter for killing a man who intended to kill his best friend, Jack (Michael Rapaport) a high-strung low-level mobster. Now released, AJ wants nothing more than to start a small business and live a life free of crime. Unfortunately, within hours of leaving prison, Jack involves AJ in an accidental shooting leaving a man dead.
When Jack’s father, local mob boss Dr. Vic (Bruce Dern), hears the news he wants the mess cleaned up and fast. Meanwhile, Martha (Julie White), an agent for the Louisiana Tax Board, has been investigating Dr. Vic for smuggling counterfeit cigarettes into Louisiana and determined to bring down Dr. Vic and Jack. With the authorities hot on his trail, Jack is now forced to skip town.
Dr. Vic’s patience is wearing thin, and he decides to take things into his own hands, looking for retribution. Well aware of Dr. Vic’s violent past, AJ will stop at nothing to protect Jack’s wife, Claire (Parker Posey), the woman he’s always loved and her daughter Pepper (Juliette Goglia).
“Inside Out” is directed by Artie Mandelberg, an executive producer and director of the award-winning TNT series “Saving Grace.” His other credits include “Wilder Napalm,” “Medium,” “CSI Miami” and “Moonlighting.”
• “Inside Out” (WWE Studios) will be available on DVD and Blu-ray on Sept. 27.
• Triple H returns to the ring in a No DQ match against the controversial and outspoken CM Punk during WWE’s Night of Champions pay-per-view at 7:45 p.m. Sunday, Sept. 18 at the First Niagara Center, formerly HSBC Arena, in Buffalo.
Triple H Interview
WWE Studios, SmackDown, working backstage, pie and pickles
By Jim Varsallone
jvarsallone@MiamiHerald.com
This is Part II of an interview (Part I was posted on TWN yesterday, the complete interview is on TWN's Website) with WWE superstar Triple H, who also works with talent behind the scenes.
Triple H was promoting the WWE Studios movie “Inside Out” which opened Sept. 9 and will be available on DVD and Blu-ray on Sept. 27.
Is one goal of WWE Studios proving WWE superstars can act?
“I think that we would hope that it would, but I don’t think that’s the goal,” Triple H said. “I think the goal at the end of the day is to make a good slate of films and long term to be a successful viable film studio. That’s not going to be done in a couple of films. That’s going to be done over the long haul as we continue to make a slate of different films.
“Some guys are going to be good at it, and some guys are going to be not so good. Just depends.”
When you learned about the planning of WWE Studios, what were your thoughts? Did you think it was another outlet for you?
“I honestly never really thought about it, necessarily, in terms of me,” Triple H said. “I thought it was a great next step for the company. You have to look at it in two separate things.
“There’s the wrestling business. While there’s crossover, you’re going to use some of those wrestling stars in these movies and try to increase their star power and their value. At the same point, you have WWE the company — the marketing juggernaut, the licensing juggernaut, the television production studio, the now films studio and the soon to be network.
“That’s a different business, and to me it was a natural extension of both those businesses. As Rock proved, we have guys, who are larger than life action stars or can act or can do different things – comedy wise or whatever.
“It’s one of the things that we, as a company, do. We produce television and produce shows. So trying to make a viable film studio is a natural next step. It’s going to take some time, and it’s going to take a lot of work, and there will be a lot of bumps in the road, but we’re hoping we can get there.”
WWE Studios is serious about film making, and there have been many talented actors, writers, producers, directors working with WWE Studios. Is that what it will take to make it work and bridge any gaps within Hollywood elitists?
“Sure, I think so,” Triple H said. “Obviously, when we first started making movies with ‘12 Rounds’ and ‘See No Evil,’ we were getting a certain level of performers and directors. As we continued to increase our slate of films by making a variety of films – not just making action films or horror films but some action, some horror, some family, some comedy.
“We’ve increased that slate, and if you look back to when we started with ‘12 Rounds,’ I don’t think you’d ever thought we would do a film with Ed Harris [That’s What I Am] that would win film festival awards.
“You get to a point where actors go from saying, ‘Who’s making the movie? WWE? Oh yea, WWE. I heard they have a film studio,’ to ‘I saw one of their films. It was actually pretty decent. I’ll take a look at that script.’ Them wanting to work with us, people like Ed Harris coming to us and handing us a project and going, ‘Here’s something I think is really interesting. Do you guys have any interest in making this?’ That’s the process you have to go through when you have a studio like this. It doesn’t happen overnight.”
WWE Studios is viewed differently.
“I don’t know if it’s critics or writers or whoever it is, but they look at us differently because it has a moniker on it of WWE,” Triple H said. “You have a spotlight on you right away. If we were something that nobody had ever heard of, starting this studio, I think they would be a lot less critical of us.
“It’s no different than it was for Marvel Comics. Marvel Comics took a while to hit its stride and make the right movies and make good movies. It’s just going to take us time to get there. We’re thinking of this long term.”
Where do you see your career going inside the ring and out?
“In the ring, listen, it’s a young man’s business,” Triple H said. “I love being able to get in there occasionally and still perform. We [WWE] have the greatest fan base in the world, the most rabid fan base in the world. Anytime I can get out in front of them and perform, as long as they still want to see me, I’m excited to do it, but at the same point, I don’t want to be doing it everyday.
“I enjoy the [TV] role I have right now, with being able to go out on the show, but to be quite frank, I enjoy the behind the scenes just as much. To me, it’s just as thrilling to help a young guy like a Sheamus or a Miz or somebody like that, help them with something and then see them go out there and do it and be successful, see it click for them. It’s just as exhilarating to me as being out there and doing it myself. So that part of it is a thrill for me to be behind the scenes and hopefully watching the business continue to thrive.”
Speaking of thriving, the WWE Super SmackDown Live show 8 p.m. on Aug. 30 did a very good number for Syfy, drawing more than three million viewers.
Syfy was No.1 in cable primetime with the WWE Super SmackDown Live, including besting Fox and CW. It marked Syfy’s highest SmackDown performer ever among Adults 18-49 and the highest performance in Adults 25-54 since April 2011. SmackDown is usually taped on Tuesdays and airs 8 p.m. Fridays on Syfy.
So will we see more live Tuesday SmackDowns?
“I’m sure if you ask Syfy, they would say, ‘Yes,’” Triple H said. “I think that’s certainly on the board. The beautiful thing about WWE is we truly are a fluid product, because we’re live, and we can do it from just about anywhere. We can moves things around and switch things around, and it’s what makes us such a valuable partner to people and networks like USA and Syfy. If USA or somebody needs a number to help them get over the hump in the ratings war, we can do a special and put them over the top.
“We can do a Tuesday live show and give somebody a kick. We can do all these different things, and that’s a very valuable commodity. I’m sure they’re looking, as well as everybody else is looking, to use that commodity in the best possible way they can.”
In the movie “Inside Out,” Triple H’s character AJ was released from prison and wants to turn his life around by making and selling pickles.
“It’s funny. It’s one of those quirky things. Every interview I have done everybody asks me about the pickles and the pickle concept,” Triple H said. “I don’t know where that came about. It was just in the script. It’s like this weird obsession with the character. I know the writer used it to show that he just wanted to have a simple life and do something completely different, but I don’t know why they settled on the pickles. I never really got an answer on it myself.”
Do you like pickles, and if so, do you still like pickles after eating so many with so many takes?
“I do like pickles, but the beautiful thing is I’m the only person in the entire movie who doesn’t eat a pickle,” Triple H chuckled. “[Michael] Rapaport ate a bunch. Parker [Posey] had to eat bunch. Juliette [Goglia], who plays my daughter in the movie, had to eat a ton of them, and she has a pickle phobia. Literally, the first day on set, when they opened up the jar for us to rehearse, she almost threw up.”
Were there any extra takes to make her eat more pickles?
“I do believe there was some takes we did just to get camera reactions of her,” he said. “They would be doing a scene of my close-up stuff, but they would also put one camera on her just to get her off camera reaction to having to eat the pickles to where she was turning yellow.”
The Rock loves pie, but Triple H loves pickles?
“Yea, it doesn’t really fit,” Triple H said. “If I had to write it myself, I might have written it a bit differently.”
• Triple H returns to the ring in a No DQ match against the controversial and outspoken CM Punk during WWE’s Night of Champions pay-per-view at 7:45 p.m. Sunday, Sept. 18 at the First Niagara Center, formerly HSBC Arena, in Buffalo.
WWE Studios “Inside Out” opening in Miami on Sept. 9
Source: miamiherald.com
So when WWE superstar Triple H is sitting comfortably in the living room with his wife to watch a WWE Studios movie, featuring him, there may be an uncomfortable moment or two, depending on the script.
“When the kissing scene comes up, my wife just leaves the room,” Triple H said during an interview to promote the latest WWE Studios release “Inside Out.”
“It would be very quiet for a long time. The [Triple H] kissing scenes don’t go over very big in my house.”
Fortunately for Triple H (or unfortunately as “Inside Out” also stars the attractive Parker Posey), there won’t be much room leaving on this flick. “Inside Out” is more a crime drama than a love story, and the cast is solid with Michael Rapaport, Julie White, Michael Cudlitz, Juliette Goglia, Posey, Triple H and the legendary Bruce Dern.
“Inside Out for me was a phenomenal experience because I worked with Michael Rapaport, Parker Posey, Julie White, Michael Cudlitz, Bruce Dern,” Triple H said. “That’s a pretty heavy duty list of very good actors.”
Triple H continued: “For me, shooting scenes with Bruce Dern was never-wracking. I’m sitting across from Bruce Dern, shooting a heated scene with him.”
Dern, 75, has appeared in more than 80 feature movies and made for television films, most notably as a cool-handed villain. In “Coming Home” in 1978, he received an Academy Award nomination for Best Supporting Actor. In 1983, he won the Silver Bear for Best Actor at the 33rd Berlin International Film Festival for his role in “That Championship Season.”
“Bruce is a tremendous actor, and I think because he is such a tremendous actor, he is a tremendous storyteller,” Triple H said. “It was almost more entertaining in between takes because he told such great stories of old Hollywood and being the guy who killed John Wayne [in a movie - The Cowboys - 1972].
“Just these great old stories, until finally they were begging Bruce to stop telling stories so we could shoot another take.”
Any “Inside Out” cast members WWE fans?
“Michael Rapaport is a little bit more than a casual fan, and his kids are huge fans,” Triple H said. “Bruce Dern, believe it or not, was actually fairly knowledgeable about the product and had a few friends that he hung out with a lot, who were stunt guys in the older days and also in the wrestling business. He knew a lot more about the business than I would have thought he knew. He was a bigger fan than I thought.”
Triple H is learning the film industry from some of the best. Actually, in 2004, before WWE Studios existed, Triple H had a villainous role in the action vampire movie “Blade: Trinity,” starring Wesley Snipes and Jessica Biel and featuring Posey.
“I’ve always said this. It’s never been my desire to necessarily go to Hollywood,” Triple H said. “When I did ‘Blade,’ I was offered a three-picture deal with New Line [Cinema], and I turned it down because I didn’t want to make movies and be a movie guy. I wanted to stay in the wrestling business.
“When [WWE Studios] offered me ‘The Chaperone’ [2011] and ‘Inside Out,’ I said, ‘Yes.’ They were good projects, and the timing worked right. I had the time off.
“If another thing comes along, and it’s a great project, and I like the script, and I think I’d have fun doing it, I would do it. But am I knocking on somebody’s door? I’m not calling up the guys who run WWE Studios, saying, ‘Hey, guys, where’s my next movie?’”
Triple H is committed to WWE not WWE Studios.
“If it’s the right thing [with WWE Studios] and it’s the right time, great,” he said. “If not, I’m cool with that, too. It’s a fun thing to do on the side.”
Working with a talented film-making cast, i.e. “Inside Out,” has its advantages, especially for someone more accustomed to the live performance art.
“You’re trying to hang with them, but at the same point, there is also a comfort level because you know these actors are good,” Triple H said. “I’ll equate it to being in the ring in WWE. When you’re in the ring with a guy who you know is not very good, the pressure is really on you, because it’s all on you, if it’s going to be good. If you’re in there with a guy who is great, there’s a little less pressure because he can carry a part of the load for you, and you can kind of follow along a little bit.
“Having those actors in a movie like ‘Inside Out’ - where the first few days were a little bit intimidating for me - as you get going, it’s very comforting, because they’re so good, it can almost camouflage your weaknesses.”
Triple H has improved his acting chops, but his strengths are noted more for chopping inside a wrestling ring, a different form of entertainment compared to movie making.
“The difference is theater versus film,” Triple H said. “When you’re making a film, the camera is right on you, and you can almost think an emotion, and the camera will pick it up. When you’re in the wrestling ring, you’ve got to be a little bit larger. You’ve got to be larger than life and bigger, and you’ve got to play to a much larger audience. WWE is purposely theatrical and over the top and a little bit beyond reality.”
• Triple H, Parker Posey, Michael Rapaport, Julie White, Michael Cudlitz, Juliette Goglia and Bruce Dern star in WWE Studios’ crime drama “Inside Out” in select theaters on Friday, Sept. 9.
Regal Palace 18 in Miami is one of those theaters. Call 305-221-3402.
Visit wwe.com/inside/overtheropes/wwestudios.
• “Inside Out” (WWE Studios): For the past 13 years AJ (Triple H) has been behind bars, convicted of manslaughter for killing a man who intended to kill his best friend, Jack (Michael Rapaport) a high-strung low-level mobster. Now released, AJ wants nothing more than to start a small business and live a life free of crime. Unfortunately, within hours of leaving prison, Jack involves AJ in an accidental shooting leaving a man dead.
When Jack’s father, local mob boss Dr. Vic (Bruce Dern), hears the news he wants the mess cleaned up and fast. Meanwhile, Martha (Julie White), an agent for the Louisiana Tax Board, has been investigating Dr. Vic for smuggling counterfeit cigarettes into Louisiana and determined to bring down Dr. Vic and Jack. With the authorities hot on his trail, Jack is now forced to skip town.
Dr. Vic’s patience is wearing thin, and he decides to take things into his own hands, looking for retribution. Well aware of Dr. Vic’s violent past, AJ will stop at nothing to protect Jack’s wife, Claire (Parker Posey), the woman he’s always loved and her daughter Pepper (Juliette Goglia).
“Inside Out” is directed by Artie Mandelberg, an executive producer and director of the award-winning TNT series “Saving Grace.” His other credits include “Wilder Napalm,” “Medium,” “CSI Miami” and “Moonlighting.”
• “Inside Out” (WWE Studios) will be available on DVD and Blu-ray on Sept. 27.
• Triple H returns to the ring in a No DQ match against the controversial and outspoken CM Punk during WWE’s Night of Champions pay-per-view at 7:45 p.m. Sunday, Sept. 18 at the First Niagara Center, formerly HSBC Arena, in Buffalo.
Triple H Interview
WWE Studios, SmackDown, working backstage, pie and pickles
By Jim Varsallone
jvarsallone@MiamiHerald.com
This is Part II of an interview (Part I was posted on TWN yesterday, the complete interview is on TWN's Website) with WWE superstar Triple H, who also works with talent behind the scenes.
Triple H was promoting the WWE Studios movie “Inside Out” which opened Sept. 9 and will be available on DVD and Blu-ray on Sept. 27.
Is one goal of WWE Studios proving WWE superstars can act?
“I think that we would hope that it would, but I don’t think that’s the goal,” Triple H said. “I think the goal at the end of the day is to make a good slate of films and long term to be a successful viable film studio. That’s not going to be done in a couple of films. That’s going to be done over the long haul as we continue to make a slate of different films.
“Some guys are going to be good at it, and some guys are going to be not so good. Just depends.”
When you learned about the planning of WWE Studios, what were your thoughts? Did you think it was another outlet for you?
“I honestly never really thought about it, necessarily, in terms of me,” Triple H said. “I thought it was a great next step for the company. You have to look at it in two separate things.
“There’s the wrestling business. While there’s crossover, you’re going to use some of those wrestling stars in these movies and try to increase their star power and their value. At the same point, you have WWE the company — the marketing juggernaut, the licensing juggernaut, the television production studio, the now films studio and the soon to be network.
“That’s a different business, and to me it was a natural extension of both those businesses. As Rock proved, we have guys, who are larger than life action stars or can act or can do different things – comedy wise or whatever.
“It’s one of the things that we, as a company, do. We produce television and produce shows. So trying to make a viable film studio is a natural next step. It’s going to take some time, and it’s going to take a lot of work, and there will be a lot of bumps in the road, but we’re hoping we can get there.”
WWE Studios is serious about film making, and there have been many talented actors, writers, producers, directors working with WWE Studios. Is that what it will take to make it work and bridge any gaps within Hollywood elitists?
“Sure, I think so,” Triple H said. “Obviously, when we first started making movies with ‘12 Rounds’ and ‘See No Evil,’ we were getting a certain level of performers and directors. As we continued to increase our slate of films by making a variety of films – not just making action films or horror films but some action, some horror, some family, some comedy.
“We’ve increased that slate, and if you look back to when we started with ‘12 Rounds,’ I don’t think you’d ever thought we would do a film with Ed Harris [That’s What I Am] that would win film festival awards.
“You get to a point where actors go from saying, ‘Who’s making the movie? WWE? Oh yea, WWE. I heard they have a film studio,’ to ‘I saw one of their films. It was actually pretty decent. I’ll take a look at that script.’ Them wanting to work with us, people like Ed Harris coming to us and handing us a project and going, ‘Here’s something I think is really interesting. Do you guys have any interest in making this?’ That’s the process you have to go through when you have a studio like this. It doesn’t happen overnight.”
WWE Studios is viewed differently.
“I don’t know if it’s critics or writers or whoever it is, but they look at us differently because it has a moniker on it of WWE,” Triple H said. “You have a spotlight on you right away. If we were something that nobody had ever heard of, starting this studio, I think they would be a lot less critical of us.
“It’s no different than it was for Marvel Comics. Marvel Comics took a while to hit its stride and make the right movies and make good movies. It’s just going to take us time to get there. We’re thinking of this long term.”
Where do you see your career going inside the ring and out?
“In the ring, listen, it’s a young man’s business,” Triple H said. “I love being able to get in there occasionally and still perform. We [WWE] have the greatest fan base in the world, the most rabid fan base in the world. Anytime I can get out in front of them and perform, as long as they still want to see me, I’m excited to do it, but at the same point, I don’t want to be doing it everyday.
“I enjoy the [TV] role I have right now, with being able to go out on the show, but to be quite frank, I enjoy the behind the scenes just as much. To me, it’s just as thrilling to help a young guy like a Sheamus or a Miz or somebody like that, help them with something and then see them go out there and do it and be successful, see it click for them. It’s just as exhilarating to me as being out there and doing it myself. So that part of it is a thrill for me to be behind the scenes and hopefully watching the business continue to thrive.”
Speaking of thriving, the WWE Super SmackDown Live show 8 p.m. on Aug. 30 did a very good number for Syfy, drawing more than three million viewers.
Syfy was No.1 in cable primetime with the WWE Super SmackDown Live, including besting Fox and CW. It marked Syfy’s highest SmackDown performer ever among Adults 18-49 and the highest performance in Adults 25-54 since April 2011. SmackDown is usually taped on Tuesdays and airs 8 p.m. Fridays on Syfy.
So will we see more live Tuesday SmackDowns?
“I’m sure if you ask Syfy, they would say, ‘Yes,’” Triple H said. “I think that’s certainly on the board. The beautiful thing about WWE is we truly are a fluid product, because we’re live, and we can do it from just about anywhere. We can moves things around and switch things around, and it’s what makes us such a valuable partner to people and networks like USA and Syfy. If USA or somebody needs a number to help them get over the hump in the ratings war, we can do a special and put them over the top.
“We can do a Tuesday live show and give somebody a kick. We can do all these different things, and that’s a very valuable commodity. I’m sure they’re looking, as well as everybody else is looking, to use that commodity in the best possible way they can.”
In the movie “Inside Out,” Triple H’s character AJ was released from prison and wants to turn his life around by making and selling pickles.
“It’s funny. It’s one of those quirky things. Every interview I have done everybody asks me about the pickles and the pickle concept,” Triple H said. “I don’t know where that came about. It was just in the script. It’s like this weird obsession with the character. I know the writer used it to show that he just wanted to have a simple life and do something completely different, but I don’t know why they settled on the pickles. I never really got an answer on it myself.”
Do you like pickles, and if so, do you still like pickles after eating so many with so many takes?
“I do like pickles, but the beautiful thing is I’m the only person in the entire movie who doesn’t eat a pickle,” Triple H chuckled. “[Michael] Rapaport ate a bunch. Parker [Posey] had to eat bunch. Juliette [Goglia], who plays my daughter in the movie, had to eat a ton of them, and she has a pickle phobia. Literally, the first day on set, when they opened up the jar for us to rehearse, she almost threw up.”
Were there any extra takes to make her eat more pickles?
“I do believe there was some takes we did just to get camera reactions of her,” he said. “They would be doing a scene of my close-up stuff, but they would also put one camera on her just to get her off camera reaction to having to eat the pickles to where she was turning yellow.”
The Rock loves pie, but Triple H loves pickles?
“Yea, it doesn’t really fit,” Triple H said. “If I had to write it myself, I might have written it a bit differently.”
• Triple H returns to the ring in a No DQ match against the controversial and outspoken CM Punk during WWE’s Night of Champions pay-per-view at 7:45 p.m. Sunday, Sept. 18 at the First Niagara Center, formerly HSBC Arena, in Buffalo.
In : Interviews