September 20, 2017 The Skanner Page 7
Arts & Entertainment
Olivia Munn: “The LEGO Ninjago Movie” Interview
By Kam Williams
For The Skanner News
L
isa Olivia Munn was
born in Oklahoma
City on July 3, 1980
to a mother of Chi-
nese extraction, and to
a father of English, Irish
and German descent. She
spent most of her child-
hood in Tokyo where she
learned to speak fluent
Japanese. She moved
back to the U.S. in her
mid-teens to finish high
school before attending
the University of Okla-
homa.
In 2006, Olivia joined
G4 Network’s popular
“Attack of the Show!” as
co-host. She subsequent-
ly joined “The Daily
Show with Jon Stewart”
as a correspondent, be-
coming one of five female
cast members to ever ap-
pear on the program. Her
first book, “Suck It, Won-
der Woman! The Misad-
ventures of a Hollywood
Geek” debuted on both
the New York Times and
Los Angeles Times best
seller lists upon its re-
lease in 2010.
Last year, she co-
starred in “Office Christ-
mas Party,” alongside
Jason Bateman and Jenni-
fer Aniston, and as Psy-
locke in “X-Men: Apoca-
lypse.” Priot to that, she
appeared in Ride Along
2 as a homicide detective,
opposite Kevin Hart and
Ice Cube. And she’ll be in
The Predator, opposite
Keegan-Michael Key and
Sterling K. Brown, which
is slated to be released on
August 3, 2018.
Lauded in 2014 by Vari-
ety as the Breakthrough
Actress of the Year, Ol-
“
Olivia serves as a
spokeswoman on numer-
ous environmental is-
sues, including working
with the U.S. Environ-
mental Protection Agen-
cy and the Sierra Club.
Here, she talks about her
latest outing as the voice
of Koko in LEGO Ninjago,
an animated action-ad-
venture co-starring Jack-
ie Chan, Dave Franco and
Fred Armisen.
Kam Williams: Hi Ol-
You can’t choose your par-
ents or what life you were
born into, but you can
choose the kind of person
you want to be
ivia’s other film credits
include Mortdecai, De-
liver Us from Evil, Mag-
ic Mike and Iron Man
2. She enjoyed an arc
on the Fox Emmy-nomi-
nated sitcom “New Girl,”
and appeared in the Em-
my-winning Showtime
environmental
docu-
mentary series “Years
of Living Dangerously,”
from James Cameron and
Jerry Weintraub.
Review cont’d from pg 6
there as an engineer, too.
So, with the help of Ruby (who sold
her beloved yellow moped) and many
of their neighbors, Sami soon raised
enough to relocate to Chicago, where
he’d been offered a position with an
engineering firm. However, only after
arriving in the states was he informed
by the sassy sister in Human Resourc-
es (Patricia Belcher) that he was being
hired as a draftsman and at a much
lower salary than that of an engineer.
To add insult to injury, he’s mugged
on the street right after politely de-
clining the bait-and-switch demotion.
Suddenly broke and homeless, Sami
thanks his lucky stars to be befriend-
ed by Babu (Rizwan Manji), a Paki-
stani who came to the country a year
ago.
Next thing you know, Sami reluc-
tantly moves into the tiny apartment
the affable stranger shares with about
a dozen, other Southeast Asian immi-
grants. And after hearing how they’re
ivia. I’m honored to have
this opportunity to speak
with you.
Olivia Munn: Thanks.
It’s nice to speak to you,
too, Kam.
KW: I loved this film.
Had you seen the oth-
er LEGO movies before
making this one?
OM: Yes! They were so
great.
all underemployed, he just as grudg-
ingly accepts a gig that’s way beneath
him. That doesn’t bode well for his
relationship with Ruby, And the plot
thickens when she and her demand-
ing dad arrive in the country expect-
ing to find Sami faring far better.
Thus unfolds “The Tiger Hunter,” a
charming romantic comedy marking
the marvelous directorial debut of
UCLA Film School Grad Lena Khan.
Lena also co-wrote the relentless-
ly-funny script that’s so convincingly
executed by its talented cast that the
picture keeps you in stitches from be-
ginning to end.
A lighthearted look at the pursuit of
the elusive American Dream from the
perspective of a lovesick expat from
the subcontinent.
Excellent HHHH
Unrated
Running time: 94 min.
Production Studio: Sneaky Sneaky
Films
To see a trailer for The Tiger Hunt-
er, visit: TheSkanner.com.
Kam Williams
Movie Previews at
Award
winnin
movie crit g
ic
Revealing
celebrity s
interview
NEW MOVIES OPENING EVERY WEEK!
Olivia Munn (right) performing the voice of Koko (left) in ‘The LEGO Ninjago Movie’
KW: How did you like
playing Koko, Lloyd’s
mom?
OM: I loved playing
the upbeat, positive per-
son that Koko is. and it
was also nice that I was
encouraged to let my in-
hibitions go and create a
really fun character.
KW: I found the film
both hilarious and very
touching. What’s the
key to generating chem-
istry to that extent in
an animated adventure,
when you don’t even get
to act opposite other ac-
tors?
OM: That’s an interest-
ing question. Thankful-
ly, we had an amazing
director [Charlie Bean]
who knew what every-
body else was doing, so
he could guide us in the
right direction, and make
sure we’re always in sync
and using the right tone.
Basically, it’s really just
like playing pretend.
KW: What message
do you think people will
take away from?
OM: I think the mes-
sage of the movie is
“Be okay with who you
are. And that you can’t
choose your parents or
what life you were born
into, but you can choose
the kind of person you
want to be.” That’s what
Lloyd is figuring out. He
comes to understand that
you don’t get to choose a
lot in life, but you do get
to choose your character.
KW: I really enjoyed
your book, “Suck It,
Wonder Woman!” Do
you have any plans to
write another?
OM: I don’t have a
plan, but it’s been rolling
around in my head re-
cently that I should do an-
other book. I have some
ideas for it that I’ve been
thinking about. Well, as
a writer, you know how
hard it is to focus your
brain on one specific top-
ic for such a long time,
and have to organize the
material and put it all to-
gether. But, yes, I guess I
would like to do another
one.
KW: “LEGO Ninjago”
is a sequel, and so are
a number of your up-
coming movies: “X:Men:
Dark Phoenix,” “The
Predator” and “Ocean’s
Eight.”
OM: I just do a cameo
in those films, although
it’s exciting to be a part
of them.
KW: But you’re going
to have a prominent roll
in “The Buddy Games,”
Josh Duhamel’s directo-
rial debut.
OM: Yeah, he wrote it
and stars in it, too. It has
such a great cast: [Ol-
ivia’s boyfriend] Nick
Swardson, Dax Shepard,
James Roday, Kevin Dil-
lon, Dan Bakkedahl....
Honestly, it was one of
the most fun shoots I’ve
been on. Those guys had
me laughing constantly.
It really was a testament
to Josh how all these
friends were eager to
participate in his passion
project. As actors, we al-
ways want to step up and
help out each other. And
he knew exactly how to
cast each of us.
KW: Is there any ques-
tion no one ever asks
you, that you wish some-
one would?
OM: I enjoy when peo-
ple just ask me random
stuff.
KW: Okay, I got a lot of
random questions. Ling-
See INTERVIEW on page 11
