Q&A: Joel Moore and Brittany Snow

She screamed her way through the slasher pic “Prom Night” and snagged the Amber von Tussle role in the song and dance redo “Hairspray.”

He shined as the lovable, energetic goofball in everything from “Dodgeball: A True Underdog Story” to “Grandma’s Boy" and has a starring turn in James Cameron's highly anticipated "Avatar."

Together they are Brittany Snow and Joel Moore, and they've teamed up to co-star alongside Abigail Breslin in the Des Moines-shot indie drama “Janie Jones.” The talkative twosome took time out of their busy shooting sked to sit down with Metromix to riff on the new flick, their famous Oscar-nominated co-star (she’s only 13!) and what else? Booze and ... oh, yeah: marriage proposals. Seriously.

Hey guys! Let’s start first by talking about the movie and who you both play in “Janie Jones.”
Joel Moore: The movie stars Abigail Breslin as a teenage girl who has to go on tour with a rock band after getting stuck in a lousy predicament for herself. However, it becomes a life lesson for her father - the lead singer of the band played by Alessandro Nivola - and of course for her character. I play the bass player in the band.
Brittany Snow: I play the girlfriend of Alessandro’s character, who is shocked to find out that he has a daughter. It’s a sweet story about these alternate worlds coming together to bond and learning lessons along the way about life and what really makes you happy.

You both have had your fair share of costars but how has it been working with Abigail?
J.M.: A) She can’t act. B) She can never cry. And C) She has never done a good movie (laughs). I mean come on, seriously. She is almost flawless. It’s unreal. She is a better actor, by far, than I am, so I don’t like to hang out with her a lot because she makes me jealous.
B.S.: She is probably the most secure, confident, funny, most into-her-own-skin 13-year-old that I have ever had the pleasure of meeting. She’s unbelievable! When I was 13, I was so awkward and insecure about everything I was saying and doing. She has this thing about her that is so real that you usually don’t gain until you are in your 20s or 30s, and she just has it. It's amazing to see. She is already amazing, but she is going to be one of the greats.

What did you think when your agents called and said you would be going to Des Moines to do a movie?
J.M.: Because of the tax incentives, I was here last November. I came here in a flurry for a 10 day in-and-out part on a movie called “Ticket Out” with Ray Liotta. It was feets of snow and negative 30 wind chill, and we were doing action sequences in the snow. It was awful but also awesome because I love snow. However, it was so cold, almost ridiculous. During the shoot, we went to Court Avenue to hang out and, even in that negative 30 degree weather, there were still people out partying, which I appreciate. Anywhere you go in the world people still love to drink. But when I came back this time, I finally got to see that this is such a pleasant town, though it feels like nobody is here. It's almost like 'Field of Dreams' in that someone thought if they build it, people will come. This is a very spread out town, so at times it feels like there is no one on the road. So if you’re out there reading this, get on the road! But the other nice thing about a place like this is that there is not a pretentiousness; everyone is really nice. (People) are just going to their job and going to the bar afterwards to have a drink and get to know other people.
B.S.: When I first thought of Des Moines, I just thought flat, and my friends would joke, ‘Oh you are going to be shucking corn,’ which I’m sure is a very typical thing to say. But I didn’t have an opinion about it. But I just knew I was excited to get away from L.A. and kind of slow down a little bit. I love L.A., but it’s nice not having any kind of scene or chaos when you go out to a bar to have some drinks. I can appreciate that, and that’s what I needed right now.

With most projects shot on location, the cast and crew almost always become a family. Your cast seems to be especially friendly with one another. Did you expect that to happen?
B.S.: It happened organically where everyone just gets along and that’s been great to experience.
J.M.: The nice thing about this industry, you are allowed to go to camp for the time you are there, and everybody bonds and hangs out and you just sort of know that these people are going to be your best friends for a few months or a couple weeks depending on how long the project is. I enjoy that. (Acting) has taken me around the world, and I’ve gotten to see and experience some great things on a production's dime.

You both knew the tax incentive program was bringing a lot of movies to Iowa, but have you been surprised to walk into a restaurant or bar at night and see actors like Amy Smart and Rose McGowan? Does it make it seem like L.A. in a weird way?
B.S.: It’s been really cool; I’ve known Rose for a really long time, so it was cool to see her again, but this is so not like L.A. because even if I walked into the Continental and there were 10 or 20 celebrities, it’s still not L.A. because there is such a relaxed atmosphere here and everyone is wearing jeans and T-shirts and throwing drinks back. In L.A., it would be a whole thing; you’d have to dress up and talk to the right people and all that. It’s nice just to see people who are here to work and get along with their castmates.

What was your reaction to the tax incentive scandal?
J.M.: I was disappointed with the production that it happened on, but I have to say that if you go to Wal-Mart or Starbucks or wherever, you are going to find bad apples. The president of Starbucks can’t shut down all his stores because one guy was stealing money. That’s not the way it works. I implore any state that has problems with their tax incentive programs to look at the person creating the problems and deal with them. Be tight and look over your money - that’s very important - but in the end this is a great thing we are doing by making movies that cost millions of dollars and infusing that money back into local economies. Your state has offered a really great tax incentive which is good for production, but it's also good for the state. Every dollar we bring to the state, we are spending here. We are hiring local crew and local talent from gaffers to electricians. Look at places like Detroit, which was hit hard by the economy. Now Michigan has a great tax incentive, and Hollywood is putting a lot of money back there and putting people to work who have been out of jobs since the economy collapsed and the car industry shut down. This is a really good thing for America. While so many other industries are going overseas, we are trying to keep things local in our states, and that’s how it should be since these are stories about America, American families, American situations. We can’t let one bad apple spoil the bunch.

Would you come back if you got another movie here?
J.M.: Yes, we would love to come back, but that’s up to your state and up to your governor. I’m a producer and director as well, and I would love to bring a project here. It's very important to have the opportunity here to put tax incentives in a budget because an investor feels like they are getting more bang for their buck.

Have you been recognized around town?
B.S.: I usually never get recognized, ever. So it’s sort of always weird when people recognize me because it doesn’t usually happen, especially in L.A. But it has happened here and everyone has been really great, by just saying simply, ‘I love you and I love your work,’ and then just walking away which then makes you want to talk to them more. Like, ‘Wait, wait, come back!’ That’s something I have found that’s different here than other places. It’s very sweet. I have had some great conversations with people about the city and what we are doing here.

Any fun anecdotes in particular about getting recognized?
B.S.: When Joel and I go places together it’s very interesting, because, depending on where we are, either people recognize him or they recognize me. If there are guys any age from 15 to 30, they are like ‘It’s Joel Moore!‘ But if we are at the mall and it’s 12-year-old girls who love Zac Efron (Snow’s costar in “Hairspray”), they freak out.
J.M.: She has the easy version of it because little girls come up to her and act like she’s a God, and they just want her to sign something. Or randomly we were at the movies and they come up with this huge 'Prom Night' poster, like where the hell did that just come from? But I get the hard ones because I get the ‘Hey man, how’s it going’ with a hard slap on the back and an offer to buy me seven shots in the next four minutes that they spend with me. I get the shit end of that deal (laughs).

So obviously you’ve been out to Jordan Creek. Where else have you been?
J.M.: We went to Iowa State University in Ames to see Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros perform at the college concert venue. They were absolutely fantastic. Our buddy in the movie knew the lead singer, so he dragged us and it was amazing.
B.S.: We have tried to do everything we can, like go to the movies and go to the mall and getting massages. We also have spent a lot of time at the Locust Tap and the Continental. We go to Court Avenue and we go to Fong’s Pizza, which is really good, especially at 3 in the morning.
J.M.: Actually, we have just spent a lot of time with alcohol.
B.S.: Other than Abigail Breslin, I’m pretty much the only girl in the cast, so I’ve been trying to hang out the boys and keep up with them in terms of alcohol consumption. It’s been really fun (laughs).

How is that working out so far?
J.M.: It’s been hard for Brittany, I’ll admit, because all of the guys want attention, so she has to share her attention with every guy. I really feel for her. When we are out at night and drinking, she has to sit right in the middle of the table, and there are seven or eight guys in the cast, and she has to divide her time. Actors are born wanting attention, so just imagine having one girl in the cast to get it from.

How do you juggle all that Brittany?
B.S.: I am just trying to get by (laughs). But seriously, it’s been fun because everyone is really, really great. I couldn’t ask for a better cast of guys to be around and have fun with.

I have to ask then, are you single?
B.S.: Oh, yeah, I’m single, though that has nothing to do with it (laughs).
J.M.: Yeah, she’s single, and out of the eight cast members she has had four marriage proposals and growing. So we’ll see what happens. Time will tell.

We’ll wait it out. So, after “Janie Jones” what’s up next for the two of you?
B.S.: I have a movie called 'The Vicious Kind' that comes out on DVD soon and a movie called 'Black Water Transit' coming out soon, but there is no official release date yet. 
J.M.: I have James Cameron’s 'Avatar' coming out Dec. 18, worldwide in IMAX and 3D, and it’s going to be excellent. It may cure the common cold, that’s how good it is.

It’s Cameron's big return to filmmaking, right?
J.M.: Yes, I am as excited as anyone to see the final cut. I have seen a lot of it, and everything I have seen has been mind-blowing. It was an adventure to shoot, and it's going to be an adventure for people to see.

We can’t wait.