We caught up with Clockstoppers stars Jesse Bradford and Paula Garces to find out more about their new movie.
This is a film for younger audiences. What is it about the film that appealed to you? Jesse: I saw [it being for younger audiences] as a good thing. Why not go a little younger? The only thing I maybe am tired of doing is playing a character so much younger than me. [Jesse is 22, but his character is 16]. But I love the idea that it's a movie that everyone can go see — adults, teens, and grandparents are all going to watch and go, "Yeah, that's cool!" Paula: I was on a soap opera, and I just wanted to work on a movie — but I was very lucky that it was Clockstoppers. When I first read it, I really fell in love with the story. I love my character, too — she plays sports and she's smart and she speaks out. She gets her man out of trouble. It was a dream role for me.
Is it weird playing characters who are way younger than you? Paula: No, I'm really proud of the film, and I think I pulled off the age. Jesse: I'm almost 23, and I'm at a stage in my life where I'm trying very hard to be an adult. But this whole movie has given me the opportunity to be a kid again, and it's reminded me that it's totally cool. Paula: And this movie is really empowering for kids. All these new movies have characters that kids can admire, [who] have the freedom to voice what they think.
Is there a movie role out there that made you think, "That should have been mine"? Jesse: The one I wanted was the role in In the Bedroom. It was down to me and Nick [Stahl] for that and he got it, but I wanted it. When it ended up getting all this hype that it was a good movie, I was like, "I saw that one coming, and I really wanted that one." Paula: Mine was Girlfight. I went back many times for it and actually saw Michelle [Rodriguez] auditioning, too. But she's awesome, and she did a great job.
Jesse, are you in college now? Jesse: Yeah, for the last five years! I'm almost done. I'm like a super senior. I could have finished on time, but Bring It On came out at the very beginning of my senior year, so I took some time off. I've written my thesis now, and it's really downhill from here. I have, like, five classes left. I'll even do it this summer or next summer or maybe one more semester — however I decide to squeeze it in.
Paula, is it true that you sing in your next movie? Paula: In Marcy X? I do sing, but I sing badly. That's the joke. I don't know if you guys know the premise of Marcy X, but it just wanted to make fun of the record business the way it is now — like, I think we have like a Suge Knight character, a Puffy character played by Damon Wayans, and I play sort of like a cross between Lil' Kim and J. Lo. Lisa Kudrow owns the record company, and she's a real New Yorker, so we all play these stereotypes. It will be a lot of fun.
Clockstoppers reminds us a lot of Back to the Future. Did you feel that? Jesse: To me that's one of the biggest compliments. It's definitely something that we were hoping [people would think]. Paula: It definitely reaches the wide audience. It's a feel-good movie and it brings up those thoughts: "What would you do if you could travel back in time?" All those things are very similar, and hopefully we are as charismatic as Michael J. Fox was in that movie! Jesse: There's a cool throwback to it in the soundtrack, too, which is really '80s and that made me so happy, to hear that. The soundtrack wasn't in place the last time I saw the film, and then I just saw the premiere and there was music, and I was so happy because it just fit in well. It's the right kind of music put in that movie, and it's like a little homage to Back to the Future.
