Bill & Ted's Bogus Journey - Starburst - Interview with Peter Hewitt

 STARBURST

No. 162, Volume 14, No. 6
February 1992

BILL AND TED'S BOGUS JOURNEY
A Starburst interview by Alan Jones
Part One

With a BAFTA award for Best Short Film tucked under his arm, British born director Peter Hewitt flew off to California to promote interest in his career.

His intention was to sell the idea of expanding his 30 minute short The Candy Show into a full length feature.  What exactly happened took the 29 year-old by surprise.  For producer Scott Kroopf saw the fast-paced special effects extravaganza, centered on one man’s addiction to television, amongst many sample directing reels.  And out of the blue Kroopf offered him the chance to helm the sequel to Orion’s popular cult movie Bill and Ted’s Excellent Adventure.  Eighteen months later Hewitt still can’t quite believe it all happened.  But Bill and Ted’s Bogus Journey is now on release proving it actually did!  I caught up with Hewitt just after the movie opened in America to mixed reviews, but great box-office, to hear all about his Hollywood baptism by fire.

Endless Producers

Landing Bill and Ted’s Bogus Journey wasn’t quite the cut and dried affair the publicity machine would have you believe though, noted Hewitt.  "I was chosen from fifty other directors and I did have to sell myself.  I can’t remember how many producers I ended up seeing who were attached to the show.  To begin with I didn’t know who was important and who wasn’t or what was the purpose of each meeting.  Was it an important one or a lesser one?  Because I had no idea I kept pitching myself differently every time.  Then they gave me the job.  To this day I don’t know why.  I think I never imagined they’d consider me so I decided to say exactly what I thought about their script ideas: what I didn’t like and would want to change as much as what I wanted left in to build on.  Perhaps they admired my honesty and the fact I wasn’t scared to speak my mind".

Once Hewitt was signed he refused to be daunted by the prospect of directing a £20 million sequel.  As he pointed out, "When you boil it down every movie, even The Candy Show, is one camera, a set, and a few people standing around.  The logistics are always the same.  What I did do was meet each crew member one at a time to plan everything out to the last detail during the six months of pre-production available.  If you become a family working towards the same goal, film-making is an easier experience".  Minutely planning out the "Medium scale" production was essential according to Hewitt for another reason.  "Orion Pictures insisted on it being a Summer film Stateside, but we couldn’t start the ten week shoot until January 7, 1991 because Keanu Reeves was busy on My Own Private Idaho.  So we made sure everything was up to speed with regards the creature effects, matte paintings, miniatures and opticals.  You name it, Bogus Journey had it and you can’t attempt this kind of special effects laden picture on the fly.

"The first script given to Hewitt was a lot similar to Excellent Adventure he revealed, although he didn’t see that movie until he’d read the sequel screenplay.  "Bill and Ted went to Heaven and Hell bringing back from each place a bunch of historical figures to help them build a real live Wild Stallyn to defeat their evil robot doubles.  That changed after my involvement to more or less what you see on screen now.  Before I came on board there was an idea knocking around where Bill and Ted kidnap characters from famous novels to help them pass their literature exams.  I would not have been interested in that concept."

In Tune

And what does Hewitt himself put Bill and Ted’s appeal down to?  Why have they become such a beloved cult creation?  "Because they are true friends.  We all have friendships where we are so in tune with someone just a look or a raised eyebrow is the only communication needed.  Over and above that there’s the teen audience who can relate directly because they speak and act like them.  Where that doesn’t apply, like in Britain, audiences key into their lunatic Pythonesque qualities.  The one question I’m asked most is, ‘Being.British, is it difficult to understand these California surfing dudes’ dialogue?’  The answer is no, of course.  The only difference between Bill and Ted, as opposed to other trendy fashions, is they say the words ‘Excellent’ and ‘Triumphant’ instead of ‘Groovy’, ‘Fab’ or ‘Gear’.  Once you’ve spent five minutes getting into that speech mode, you’ve got it, and you go along with it."

But did being British mean Hewitt could comment more on such an American lifestyle?  "You draw your own conclusions when I tell you the first Bogus Journey cut was far darker than it is now.  That’s a definite British trait.  The humour was black comedy almost.  The Evil Us’s were really evil!  I went for it and had them running riot doing despicable things.  But test screen audiences couldn’t take it.  That approach turned them off Bill and Ted.  My original cut would have played well in Britain.  I’m to blame because I was so anxious to broaden the concept out.  That’s why Joss Ackland plays De Nomolos like a Nazi and Death is a Czechoslovakian.  Thanks to me those largely European elements found their way into the movie."

Originally Bogus Journey was titled Bill and Ted Go to Hell and Hewitt gives the reason why it was changed.  "The Hell sequence was far longer in my original cut.  At one point demon guards gave Bill and Ted hammers which they started bashing each other over the heads with.  The joke was they enjoyed it so much they nearly decide to stay!  Preview audiences didn’t like that either.  But the title had to change simply because you can’t advertise anything with the word Hell in it on American television until after 9 pm.  As half the target audience would have been in bed by then, the title had to go".

While Hewitt and company were shooting Bogus Journey, "Sometimes working 22 hours a day.  I had rings under my eyes and resembled a panda!"  Orion Pictures nearly went bust and had to be financially restructured.  Even the vast fortunes Dances With Wolves and The Silence of the Lambs were accumulating didn’t help.  That’s why their most costly production The Addams Family was sold to Paramount in America and Columbia-TriStar here.  Hewitt shrugged, "We were aware of the problems but it didn’t affect us.  We just forged ahead and kept making jokes.  The running on-set gag was ‘If it’s 4.30pm, we’re with Universal, if it’s 5.00pm, Paramount’.  Apparently Fox made an offer for the picture at one time as we were deemed a hot property.  But Orion were anxious to keep hold of us so they were only accepting bids half-heartedly."

Next issue, Peter Hewitt talks about the appearance of Star Trek, an earlier version of the end, Death, Heaven, Hell and the effects.

STARBURST
No. 163, Volume 14, No. 7
March 1992

BILL AND TED'S BOGUS JOURNEY
A Starburst interview by Alan Jones
Part Two

Last issue, director Peter Hewitt talked about landing the job, how the film was originally much darker and how the plot differed, and the success of Bill and Ted.

There were no problems directing Keanu Reeves and Alex Winter said Hewitt.  "They do have their Bill and Ted characters well locked down by now.  Most of the time all I did was sit back, watch, and laugh out loud.  Both are so good at playing those characters theyíd mess around as Bill and Ted off camera also.  The whole point of Bogus Journey was it was 5 years after their Excellent Adventure and they had to be allowed to grow up.  They donít live at home, theyíre not at high school and theyíre talking seriously about getting married.  My major worry was this; could it work with those adult differences or should they have remained as teenagers.  Truthfully, Iím still not sure it does work."

Star Trek

Another perspective Hewitt had to keep uppermost in his mind was that Bogus Journey was primarily a comedy and not a special effects showcase.  "My credo was, if it was remotely funny, do it.  Iíd like to think I went for the funnier take rather than the one that looked prettier effects-wise.  Keanu and Alex were consistent throughout the filmmaking process and when they did have to take a back seat to all the wires and rubber, they did fully understand why I had to accent it".  A good example of Hewittís subliminal comedy approach is the Star Trek gag, as the avid ëTrekkerí explained.  "When the Evil Usís take Bill and Ted out to Death Valley and throw them off the cliff, I first wanted it shot in Utah with a red sand background.  We couldnít afford that so we went to Vasquez Rock in the California desert to look around for a suitable location.  We came across this jagged rock and I thought it looked familiar.  I turned to my first assistant director and said, ëIsnít this the alien planet in every Star Trek episode?í  And it was.  So I rented a videotape of the Arena episode, played it in my trailer, froze the shot, looked out of the window and worked out the exact place the TV crew had pitched their camera.  That was fun to do."

There was a lot more instant improvisation along those lines too.  "I encouraged the scriptwriters, Ed Solomon and Chris Matheson, to be around the set as much as possible should sudden gag inspiration strike.  They dashed off the Benjamin and Aretha Franklin line in seconds to give George Carlin something extra to say.  Another of my flashes was the Butch and Sundance: The Early Years gag in Heaven when everyoneís playing Charades.  It never got a single laugh in any test screenings!  Again, too British.  Also Kevin Yagherís Stations creatures were originally supposed to bounce around and jump in the air.  That proved to be an impossibility because the actors had 16 lbs. of equipment to carry."  With regards to the Stations, Hewitt agrees the creatures are a running gag non-starter.  "They were originally one little green alien.  But my idea was to have two monsters that combined and formed a really smart guy.  I saw them as martian versions of Bill and Ted.  There were the real ones, the Evil Usís, the good robots, the ghosts, and baby Bill and Teds.  Why not have an alien duo whose language comprises of one word, stations, said with different inflections so it could mean anything?  Ed and Chris probably cracked up over that when writing the script, but it doesnít really translate well on screení.

Bill And Ted Army

Even more Bill and Ted incarnations would have made it had the original ending been kept.  Hewitt elaborated, "Bill and Ted brought themselves back from the Future every minute for ten years so we could show whole armies of them.  Then the concert audience pulled off masks to reveal they were Bills and Teds too!  This concept was axed when it became clear the entire ending would have to be reshot because it didnít gell and, anyway, preview audiences didnít like it.  We went back into the studio for ten days to shoot the new ending you see.  Thatís why it now relies heavily on the Time travel idea used briefly and effectively in the first picture."

Along with most critics, Hewitt agrees that William Sadlerís Death steals the Bogus Journey show.  "Once I conceptualized Death as a Bergmanesque cartoon, William threw himself into the role.  He was unstoppable and came up with my favourite stuff in the picture.  At first I thought he was too small at 5' 8" in height to play the part as I definitely wanted Death to be very tall.  Once I made him stagger around in foot high clogs and enormous shoulder pads, he was perfect.  Bogus Journey ended with Bill and Ted playing guitar over the credits, but I didnít think it was enough and wanted Death in there somewhere hence the reason why Ed and Chris came up with all those headlines showing how the ëWild Stallynsí finally do become world famous."

Heaven and Hell

Look closely at the production design for Heaven in Bogus Journey and you may notice many sight gags revealing Hewittís personal idols.  "Heaven was modelled after the celestial stairway in Michael Powellís A Matter of Life and Death, one of my favourite filmmakers.  Thereís a statue of Powell and the filmís star, David Niven, situated among the others when Bill and Ted enter the pearly gates.  And Elvis, and Laurel and Hardy too!  Iíll forgive you for not noticing though as the scene is so brightly lit you canít really make anything out.  Perhaps thatís me just being picky."  Hewitt conceptualized Heaven as civilizations on large discs floating around for eternity because, "That was in keeping with the overall style of the movie.  Hell is this huge fiery rock with circular rocks chained around it.  The future is depicted in a series of large domes.  I chose a through-line of curves and circles in a desperate need to tie it all up stylistically.  Each place is instantly recognizable, but not sterotypically otherworldly.  Otherwise Bill and Ted would have had to have said at some stage, ëWhere are we?í, as they arenít the smartest guys in the world."

Hewitt admits he prefers sleight of hand, mirrors and string rather than using the more accepted special effects methods.  "Only when thereís no other way will I ever use expensive equipment.  It was more fun to have Alex and Keanu act with doubles than use motion control cameras.  Thereís only one motion control sequence in the whole movie.  The rest were simple split screens.  I took a lot of time auditioning doubles who were actors than just mere stand-ins so they could move the way Alex and Keanu did to give them both something to act opposite.  Whip pans, chewing gum and sticky back plastic wins every time!  We computer generated all the Hell backgrounds and the shot when Bill dives into his fatherís ear.  The technology is now so sophisticated we were able to achieve smoky backgrounds with a rough and ready look that didnít retain the smooth, obviously computer generated, surfaces.  One of the more complex shots was the opening in Heaven which was a computer generated background, plus matte-work, with a live-action section placed in at the bottom."

A Nightmare

Thatís why Hewitt would do it all again despite the Bogus Journey schedule being a nightmare.  "As a learning tool, I couldnít have had a better one.  I worked for 18 months on a picture containing every single known film technique.  I learnt more during this period than 6 years in film school!"  And does he think he achieved his much quoted aim of setting out to make the most absurdist film ever?  "I came close.  It is ridiculous.  Everyone involved refused to make the standard sequel.  But how do you really do that?  Youíre either accused of cashing in the first one too much or not remaining true to the original!  Once I became determined to take Bill and Ted off into strange tangents, it got weirder and weirder.  Having them cope with God and the Devil, as opposed to Freud and Joan of Arc, I made everything they came up against fairly serious.  The Devil could easily have deteriorated into a jokey figure rather than the scary one we have.  Letís face it, Hell to Bill and Ted could have been being locked in a shopping mall!  Instead it really is Hell and the movie works strongly when theyíre pitted against universal adversaries.  The major trick I pulled off was to make all the disparate elements come together so it didnít resemble one huge mess.  That could have easily happened."

But it didnít.  And Hewitt found himself being hailed as a cross between Terry Gilliam and Tim Burton in the more positive American reviews.  What is his honest opinion of the finished product though?  "Well, itís definitely a broader picture than the first.  Everyone was interested in a wider appeal.  My thoughts on Excellent Adventure were it was inadvertent and charming.  Itís hard to define what charm Bill and Ted have, but itís there in the first picture.  Some say itís missing in the second.  I made a colourful pop art comic book, Bogus Journey was my take on Bill and Tedís zany universe.  Love it or hate it, I donít think you can forget it.  The best review I could get would be one that said something along the lines of ëItís like being slapped around the face with a wet fish for 96 minutesí.  The more people who come out of the cinema saying ëWhat the hell was all that about?í, the better!"