A glimpse at the movie “Goon”

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VANCOUVER (NEWS1130) – It’s a part of the game many could do without; others say it wouldn’t be hockey without fighting. News1130 is speaking with acclaimed Canadian director Michael Dowse about “Goon,” a new movie focusing on the hockey enforcer.

Labelled an outcast by his brainy family, Doug Glatt, a bouncer, overcomes long odds to lead a team of under performing misfits to semi-pro hockey glory, beating the crap out of everything that stands in his way.

Q: Michael, you’ve done films like FUBAR and It’s All Gone Pete Tong — Does Goon offer a straight-up take on the role of the enforcer?

A: I think it’s one of the most misunderstood positions in sports. What I wanted to do with the film and what Jay Baruchel and Evan Goldberg did with the script was to show not only the athletic virtuosity that goes into being an enforcer but how physically taxing it is; the bravery and also the sportsmanship. A lot of people don’t understand the position that well. It’s surrounded with a code that lends itself to being a pretty gentlemanly part of the game in a weird and ironic way.

Q: Do you have any pro hockey players seen the film?

A: Yeah, George Laraque is in the film and he loved it. He saw it in Toronto when it premiered at the festival there. Every time we did a screening, somebody who’s played professionally usually came up and said we did a great job. I think they’re appreciative that we’ve made a good hockey film because there have been a lot of bad ones.

Q: Nothing could be as bad as Young Blood! What is it about hockey films that most just are not done well?

A: I don’t know. I think in the States, at least, they feel that hockey isn’t enough. There’s not enough of a narrative within it, so they gimmick it up with tooth fairies and monkeys. I don’t know what it is, why it lends itself to such ridiculous concepts. My feeling is you don’t need that. Everything — the drama, the tension — is all there on the ice with the players. It’s such a beautiful game, such a fast game and it really lends itself well to film.

Q: How have Americans responded to Goon?

A: They’ve really liked it. The film came out in the UK on January 6th and it’s done really well there. What’s great about the film is that it sort of transcends being a hockey film. Women really like it, too. You don’t need to be a hockey fan to enjoy it. Sean William Scott really carries the film on his back. Everybody knows him as Stiffler from American Pie — they’ll get the comedy they’re expecting, he definitely delivers that, but he also delivers great heart to the film and really carries the emotional content. Anyone who’s seen it really comments on just how much they care about this character.

Q: When it came to the actors, how many of them had played hockey before. How did that go?

A: Some of the leads, Liev Schreiber and Sean and Marc Andre Grondin, they really took it seriously because they needed to be able to skate properly. So we got them trainers and they worked their butts off for six weeks before the shoot to become at least passable on skates. Some of the other characters? One of the prerequisites is they had to know how to skate but inevitably, if they’re an actor of any merit, they’ll lie thorough their teeth and figure it out later. That’s what I think half of them did.

Goon opens across Canada today, starring Seann William Scott, Jay Baruchel and Alison Pill.

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