Todd Phillips Interview For ‘Project X’

Directed by Nima Nourizadeh and produced by Todd Phillips (The Hangover, Old School) and Joel Silver (The Matrix), ‘Project X’ follows three seemingly anonymous high school seniors as they attempt to finally make a name for themselves. Their idea is innocent enough: let’s throw a party that no one will forget… but nothing could prepare them for this party. Word spreads quickly as dreams are ruined, records are blemished and legends are born. “Project X” is a warning to parents and police everywhere. This film has been rated R for crude and sexual content throughout, nudity, drugs, drinking, pervasive language, reckless behaviour and mayhem-all involving teens. Starring newcomers Miles Teller, Oliver Cooper, Jonathan Daniel Brown, Kirby Bliss Blanton, Dax Flame, Nichole O’Connor, and Alexis Knapp, ‘Project X’ is set for release March 2nd.

What was it about ‘Project X’ that appealed to you? And what do you think people will find relatable.

Todd Phillips: What I always really responded to ‘Project X’ was that it’s not really about “the nerds,” we’ve seen a million movies about “the nerds.” But more likely in high school situations, this film is really about the anonymous guys, they’re not even “the nerds,” they’re not this or that, they’re just really three guys at high school who nobody really notices. It’s very much about needing a sort of game changer. They feel like they’re these invisible kids, from their own perspective. They want to make a name, because they feel anonymous, they want to make a stand and make a change. I think that’s relatable because I think most people in high school fall into that group as opposed to “the jocks,” or “the nerds,” or this or that. Most fall into, or at least feel, like they’re in that anonymous sort of category. I found that interesting.

What was it about Nima Nourizadeh that made you think he was right for ‘Project X’?

Todd Phillips: Nima was the perfect match for ‘Project X.’ Nima comes from the commercials/music video world, he’s a London based director. He had never done a feature film before but some of his work we’d seen, particularly those Adidas commercials he did, they lend themselves to a style that ‘Project X’ is. But more than just his work, it was meeting Nima, and talking to Nima about the kind of movie that we wanted to make. Tonally, which is a such a big part of a directors job, he seemed to really get it.

There are some truly crazy, surprising moments in this film….

Todd Phillips: Oh yeah. There are things in it that I think are really crazy. To me it’s a movie that is funny, but also it’s more crazy than it is funny. You’re constantly like, “What the f*ck is going on in this movie?” (Laughs) Which is something I kind of like about it. It’s not even straight out comedy quite honestly, it’s a movie about a few bad decisions, and things spiralling out of control – which is always fun to document. With ‘Project X’ expect the unexpected, as cliché as that sounds (laughs).

Coming from a background of directing yourself, what was your approach of producing, and working with Nima on ‘Project X’?

Todd Phillips: Luckily for me, my first two movies were ‘Road Trip’ and ‘Old School,’ and both of those movies were produced by Ivan Reitman, who I owe a great deal to, and of course is a director in his own right. I learned a lot from the way Ivan handled me on those first two movies. He gave me room to stumble, to succeed, to whatever. He gave me room to let it all just happen, and I really learned a lot from that, in how to deal with a new director. It’s very much like that you don’t want to step on toes. You want to be there when you are needed, for the decisions that are needed, and for the support that is needed. But you also want, I certainly wanted, Nima to make this movie. I know how important it is for a movie to have a point of view. And a movie is always ultimately going to be the point of view of the director.