What's new

Interview Exclusive HTF Interview with Jeremy Howard (Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles - 2014) (1 Viewer)

Neil Middlemiss

Premium
Reviewer
Senior HTF Member
Joined
Nov 15, 2001
Messages
5,317
Real Name
Neil Middlemiss
Home Theater Forum recently had the pleasure to speak with Jeremy Howard who portrays Donatello in Paramount's recent Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles big screen adventure. Jeremy Howard played the tech-geek wizard turtle, donned in the special motion capture suit through the production, with special cameras capturing the finer details of facial expressions, Howard along with his fellow turtle cast-mates delivered boisterous performances augmented by state of the art visual effects work.

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles made its bow on Blu-ray, 3D Blu-ray, DVD and Digital on December 16.
Jeremy_Howard.jpg
TMNT_Cover.jpg


HTF: I had the chance to watch the film last night and had fun with it. I was surprised at how slickly produced it was. It felt like a huge blockbuster film, were you surprised by how big it was?

Jeremy Howard: I was not surprised. I mean, Michael Bay is producing, so you hear his name, you know it's gonna be something really big, especially when it's an action genre. I know he produces a lot of horror, smaller things that are also successful, but when you see something like this, you hear TMNT, you know it's something that they're gonna try and franchise. I knew it was gonna be pretty big going in.
side_by_side.jpg

HTF: Speaking of franchises, the film did very, very well and I believe the sequel has been green lit. Have you been contacted about that?

Jeremy Howard: Honestly, I have not been contacted about that yet. But obviously I'm trying to stay up on the news when I can. I hear they may be bringing on a new director and we may see some new characters, so as a fan, I'm certainly excited I would love to be a part of more.

HTF: So how did you prepare for being Donatello? I know you're a fan, so besides relying on your years as a fan, did you immerse yourself in the comic books? Did you go back and watch some of the earlier incarnations - the cartoons, the earlier films, or did you just say that you know this character, I'm gonna take this along with the director and the writer and what they're putting on the page and thinking for the screen, and I'm just going to go my own path?

Jeremy Howard: I did exactly what you just said. As soon as I got the part, I went back and I watched the original TMNT from 1990, just because I had such nostalgia going on. I hadn't seen it in 20 years, so it helped me. Some of that magic goes away a little bit, but you still feel some of those feelings that you had when you were 10 seeing it. That was the first step for me to start getting back into that mindset. And I had all the toys, which I sadly don't have anymore, but I remember all the joy I had with them. Then it became about this incarnation. I knew Donatello, just like you said, because I was such a huge fan. I knew all the turtles but it became about what the director wants for this incarnation? What do the writers have in mind? What do the producers see happening with this character, and what can I bring to the character. And then you know we’re going to add some new things. This character is still a tech genius. And the technology has advanced, so we see that physically on Donatello in this. We've never seen that before, but I love that because I'm into gadgets and I think it's great that in this day and age that you can have a character with so many new technological things at his fingertips - surveillance cameras with every feed in the city, and so much more. And then there was the physical preparation. We were in New York for a month before we even started shooting, just learning karate katas, weapons training, and individual training with the bow staff for me, and the other guys with their weapons. Getting in shape for a lot of stuff that we had to do and even stuff you don't see in the film. We shot so much footage on this movie that you'll never see. But we had to be ready for it, training for a lot of action sequences that didn't make it in the film unfortunately. But that's what happens on a big budget movie.
ninja-turtles-premiere-los-angeles-imagen-8.jpg

HTF: So when the film came out theatrically, I had the chance to interview Randall Lobb, who had produced a documentary, A Definitive History of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, covering the rise from very humble beginnings of Eastman and Laird's creation. And it covered what was unique and captivating about the characters. One of the things that I think was of great success in the new film was the dynamic of the turtles themselves. So I wanted to ask how your relationship with your fellow actors influenced how you performed on screen with them.
Characeter_shots.jpg

Jeremy Howard: I'd say what's sort of fascinating about the relationship that the four of us have, and didn't realize, is that it's pretty similar to what you see on screen.

I mean it's, we're certainly playing hyped up versions of ourselves, but when the four of us were cast I immediately called the other three guys just to say hello, congratulate them, and find out a bit about who they were. We had all just been in a chemistry read the day before where there were about ten guys, and they slowly pared it down and found the best chemistry I guess. They were looking for the actors they wanted mixed together, and the four of us just seemed to have this natural camaraderie that then kind of flourished once we got to know each other.
on_set.jpg

So I think the producers knew going into this that the four turtles were going to be the meat and bones of a movie like this because people wanna see that interaction. They wanted to see that brotherhood. It's really what everything rests on, so coming into shooting, Noel [Fischer], Alan[Ritchson], Pete[Ploszek] and I really kinda fit those roles, the casting was perfect. Alan is Raphael, Pete is a natural leader, and Noel is probably the most outgoing and goofy, and he just fit into Michelangelo perfectly. And when anybody had an iPhone problem, they'd speak to me (laughs.)
TMNT-Donatello-630x362.jpg

HTF: So I'm gonna put you on the spot here a little bit. A good friend of mine's daughter, her name is Kimani Oshun, she is an enormous Turtles' fan, and so, as Donatello, what would your advice be to a 9-year-old girl who sometimes has to remind her male classmates that Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles aren't just for boys, they're for everyone.

Jeremy Howard: Oh, Kimani, keep believing with the strength the Turtles give you, and the joy that they bring you. It just doesn't matter if you’re a boy or a girl, Turtles are for everybody. I've had hundreds of fans write or show up at events to tell me how excited they are about Turtles and how huge a fans they are, both boys and girls, so you are not alone. Turtles are for everyone, no matter what!

HTF: Thank you very much. We wish you much success with the film and hope to see you in the sequel.

Jeremy Howard: Wonderful. Thank you so much Neil.
tmnt-reboot-logo.jpg
 

Attachments

  • donatello_in_tmnt_2014_movie-t2.jpg
    donatello_in_tmnt_2014_movie-t2.jpg
    49.1 KB · Views: 240

Users who are viewing this thread

Latest Articles

Forum statistics

Threads
356,710
Messages
5,121,132
Members
144,146
Latest member
SaladinNagasawa
Recent bookmarks
0
Top