Aisha Tyler, best-known for her writing and hosting of the E! Network’s sketch show Talk Soup, has made the jump into the film world with the release of Balls Of Fury, a Rogue Pictures film that follows the rise, fall and redemption of professional ping pong player Randy Daytona.
Tyler plays Mahogany, a 7-foot-tall vixen who serves as the right-hand-woman to the evil Feng (Christopher Walken).
In the unsanctioned, underground, and unhinged world of extreme Ping-Pong, the competition is brutal and the stakes are deadly. Now, this outrageous new comedy serves up this secret world for the first time on-screen. Down-and-out former professional Ping-Pong phenom Randy Daytona (Dan Fogler) is sucked into this maelstrom when FBI Agent Rodriguez (George Lopez) recruits him for a secret mission.
Randy is determined to bounce back and recapture his former glory, and to smoke out his father's (Robert Patrick) killer - one of the FBI's Most Wanted, arch-fiend Feng (Christopher Walken). But, after two decades out of the game, Randy can't turn his life around and avenge his father's murder without a team of his own. He calls upon the spiritual guidance of blind Ping-Pong sage and restaurateur Wong (James Hong), and the training expertise of Master Wong's wildly sexy niece Maggie (Maggie Q), both of whom also have a dark history with Feng.
All roads lead to Feng's mysterious jungle compound and the most unique Ping-Pong tournaments ever staged. There, Randy faces such formidable players as his long-ago Olympics opponent, the still-vicious Karl Wolfschtagg (Thomas Lennon). Can Randy keep his eye on the ball? Will he achieve the redemption he craves while wielding a paddle? Is his backhand strong enough to triumph over rampant wickedness?
Tyler took a few minutes to talk with Monsters and Critics about Ball of Fury, the writer’s strike and her love of action flicks.
M&C: I heard around that you’re a big action flick fan. What kind of actions movies do you really like…what’s your favorite?
Tyler: Oh, wow. Like lately or of all-time?
M&C: Your all-time favorite.
Tyler: Oh, man…I’d have to go with the original Die Hard as the original greatest action movie of all-time. It’s a total classic and it really holds up. I’ve probably seen it three or four times. Right now I’m obsessed with the Bourne series.
The newest one just hit DVD yesterday, so of course I rushed out to get that one. I really like a lot of Asian films as well. I like a lot of the Chan-wook Park movies. Old Boy is a favorite of mine. I also really loved The Departed, and Internal Affairs, which the movie was based on. That’s kind of like all the movies I own. I ran out and picked up 300 on the day it dropped.
M&C: What drew you to Balls of Fury?
Tyler: I got to play an assassin! I mean, that’s all you have to say. I went in to interview with Ben [Garant] and Tom [Lennon] and they said, “We’re making this movie that’s kind of like Enter the Dragon meets Dodgeball, and you get to play a 7-foot-tall assassin.” And I was like, “Done.” And she’s just a badass, ya know? She doesn’t have much to say, but she’ll mess you up.
M&C: Tell us a little bit about your character.
Tyler: I play Mahogany, who, like I said, is a 7-foot-tall assassin. She’s Christopher Walken’s character’s henchperson. He plays Feng, this warlord/ping-pong aficionado. I’m like the Grace Jones character, but hopefully a little bit foxier than Grace Jones. And she’s a badass…she’s got like 4-inch nails and she kills people with a 7-foot-long mahogany dart gun.
I got to wear all these crazy costumes and lots of leather. It’s really hard to stand and walk in that stuff, but luckily Chris [Walken] and I were both dressed up like drag queens and so we helped each other out a lot.
M&C: Did you have to have any special training on the blow dart gun?
Tyler: It’s pretty much a point-and-shoot device. You put the dart in the hole and then you blow. If you can’t figure that out then you need to go back to school, but it was really heavy. It wasn’t plastic…it was a really heavy, custom-made mahogany blowgun.
It was actually taller than me, so holding it up for a really long time was a lot of work. My biceps got really tight. I got to kill somebody with it, so I was pretty happy about that.
M&C: In TV and movies you worked in both smaller and ensemble casts. Is one more difficult that the other? What are the differences?
Tyler: It’s really not more of a challenge or less of a challenge. I mean, you look at a show like 24, and there’s so much going on in an episode. And so the biggest challenge is making sure that your time on screen stands out where it counts, and that your character not only advances the story, but that you also stand out.
On that season of 24, I played a pretty important character, the mole, although I didn’t know that in the beginning. They don’t tell you much. You just kind of find out as you go along. And it’s important that you make your character is effective in that job, and that you’re sinister and a bad-ass. You can’t phone it in. With a smaller cast you do get the chance to relax into the character a little bit more. And not that it isn’t hard work, it’s just that when your screen time is limited you really have to bring it.
M&C: After working in TV, film and stand-up, what gave you the idea to get into writing?
Tyler: I was always a writer, in the sense that I started out in stand-up and so I was always writing my own material. And when I was on Talk Soup, I was a staff writer. It was just a natural progression for me.
We had to cover so much material on that show and I got so used to writing every day, that after it was over, it was like a break for me. I wasn’t writing as much as I was before, so for me, it was a natural step to start writing my book, and then some screenplays.
M&C: It must be a big asset to be so versatile.
Tyler: You said it right there. You know, I love what I do, and I love being an actor, but the more things you are able to do as an artist, the more satisfied you are creatively. You have more places to put your creative energy. Also, if you have a great idea for a film, you can get out there and make it instead of waiting for someone else to offer it to you. If you look at a lot of the guys who are doing this kind of work…I mean, you look at Sean Penn or Ben Affleck, who just did Gone Baby Gone, actors spend so much time on sets that they really get a much more diverse skillset.
They know about all the different elements that it takes to make a film. But it also works well for actors because they are used to saying these words. There are writers out there that don’t act, and of course there are actors that don’t write, but if you can do both of those things, it’s much more fulfilling creatively.
M&C: Speaking of writing…what are your thoughts on the Writer’s Guild strike?
Tyler: I’ll say that I’m on the side of the writers. I think you have to blind not to see what’s happening with DVD’s and the Internet. It’s only going to get bigger and more lucrative for everyone involved. And it’s going to extend to every other guild in Hollywood, too.
The directors, writers, etc. realize that there is the new way to deliver creative content. And right now it’s not completely defined as to how it’s going to be a money-making venture, but it will be. There’s no doubt about that. The writer’s are fighting for their fair share, but I think they got screwed into accepting a very small cut from DVD sales, but that sort of comes from not knowing if DVD’s were going to sell well. “Let’s try out these DVD’s and see if they sell well.”
And what happened is that DVD’s became this super lucrative part of the industry and the people involved in making them weren’t getting their cut of the profits. I’m bummed that it’s gone on for as long as it has, and I think the writers are bummed that it’s going on as well.
We all kind of have our fingers crossed that everyone will sit back down at the table and work something out. This is the way that television and film and everything is going. Everything will be on the web eventually. We just have to figure out a way to share it.
M&C: Was it pretty hectic on the set of Balls of Fury?
Tyler: It was hilarious. The cast is unbelievable. I got to spend every day with Chris Walken, and he’s completely wild, and says whatever comes into his mind. It’s always so funny, and to be around a guy who is a legend. He’s telling stories about Marlon Brando and theater in New York City with Pacino and it’s just so cool. So I just hung out with him all the time and just stared at him. I tried not to creepy him out. It was just such a funny, talented group of people that you can just laugh at.
M&C: Who encouraged you to act in movies instead of just staying in TV?
Tyler: Nobody in particular. For me, as an actor, to be able to make a transition between the two is the best thing, because there is more work available to you. And I’m the kind of person that wants to push myself creatively and try something new.
For me, it’s just about the opportunity to challenge myself and try something else. I never want to feel comfortable. And it’s great, I get to work more than if I was just in one or the other. I’m glad to have those kinds of opportunities. I’m really grateful for them.
M&C: It’s refreshing to meet somebody who values the creative freedom over money or putting themselves out there.
Tyler: Yeah, I’m weird that way. I mean, money is fine; everyone needs to pay the bills. But I didn’t really get into this to get rich. I really wanted to do good work, and challenge myself, and put stuff out there that people will want to see. And like you mentioned before, I’ve always loved action films and I grew up loving movies.
I would go when I was like ten years old and pay $1.50 for a matinee. I’d sit in the theater and watch every movie in the theater, which was probably pretty illegal. And that’s why I get into what I do and have a passion for it. The whole money thing is just a bunch of bullshit.
M&C: About Talk Soup…how much of your comedic style did you find on the show, and how much was just you?
Tyler: That’s a good question. The format of the show was pretty interesting in that you’re just setting these clips up and then you’re punching them out. But I had been doing stand-up up until that point and so it really was my style. The writers on that show were some really funny guys and so in the beginning, the show was really about finding how your style fits the show, and then each person on their had their own style. John Henson was kind of wild, crazy sort of guy and Hal Sparks was really dry and sarcastic. Mine was kind of what we called “goofy, dirty, kinky”.
We wanted there to be a sort of intellectual side to the jokes, but not be afraid to be a little smarmy, or a little dirty. When I joined on the show it started to be a little different than it had been in the past; it was more like a variety show. Previously the clips had be two or three minutes and we really narrowed them down to around 30 seconds so that we could get to the jokes faster.
It was really like, “What jokes are we going to do in this bit? What sketches are we going to write?” I was really proud of it and I loved doing it and I really had a fun time. It’s such a cult show now. People still remember me for it, more than anything else I’ve done since then.
M&C: When you made the move to movies and other shows, did you ever struggle with having to give the control over to somebody else?
Tyler: You know, if you’re working with interesting and talented people, you want to collaborate. You want to meet people with vision. You don’t always want to be in charge. Sometimes you disagree with the writing, or wish things were different and if you have an idea, hopefully you’re working with someone who is open to it.
It’s all about collaborating. Occasionally you work with a director who doesn’t want to hear your ideas, and then you just work under the condition that you’re in.
M&C: What is a role that you would absolutely kill for?
Tyler: Wow…that’s a good question. I wrote a movie that I’m about to direct…I play a character that is really great and a real bad-ass…
M&C: What’s the name?
Tyler: Well, I can’t tell you that…but that kind of role. Like the leads in the movies that I loved growing up…Lethal Weapon and Die Hard. Like the Linda Hamilton character in The Terminator.
Balls of Fury is now available at Amazon . As of yet, there is not a release date for the UK. Visit the DVD database for more information. Be sure to check out the Tournament of Balls online game at www.ballsoffury.com/game for the chance to unlock special DVD features!
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