In “People Like Us,” Chris Pine’s character, Sam, wrestles with a secret.
His former big-deal music producer father, Jerry, has died and left him cryptic instructions to deliver a wad of cash -- money that Sam needs desperately -- to a mysterious woman.
The immediate assumption is that this woman, Frankie, is a mistress raising Jerry’s love child.
That would be the plot in a gazillion other movies.
But “People Like Us” really is about relationships and emotions, so guess what? Frankie isn’t some secret love of Jerry’s, but the sister Sam never knew about.
It might sound telenovela-like, but the story is actually loosely based on a real-life occurrence in director Alex Kurtzman’s life.
Kurtzman, the writer-executive producer of some of Hollywood’s biggest recent moneymakers -- “Star Trek,” “Transformers” and “Mission Impossible III” -- scaled things down several million notches for his directorial debut with “People.” But it’s a personal project, since Kurtzman, too, was reunited with a sister he never knew he had.
Kurtzman met Pine while working on “Star Trek,” and once "People" became reality, Pine was his first choice to play the emotionally dented Sam.
With a cast that includes Michelle Pfeiffer as Sam’s self-absorbed mother, Lillian; Elizabeth Banks as Frankie, his doubly damaged sister; and, as Frankie’s son, mop-topped teen Michael Hall D’Addario -- who has many great scenes, including one in the Rhino Records in Los Angeles -- “People Like Us” shows its heart.
On a visit to Atlanta earlier this month, Pine, in dark jeans and a charcoal cardigan, and Kurtzman, a compact guy in dark-rimmed glasses, stopped by the Mandarin Oriental in Buckhead to discuss the film.
Q: Chris, even though you’ve done a lot of stage work, people are used to seeing you in action movies or romantic comedies. Was it hard for you to get into this role?
A: [Pine] When I began acting, I began doing stage, and onstage your theatrics are limited. It was by no means easy, but it's harder to get used to doing these bigger films. Those are larger shoes to step into. This was a difficult piece, but I relished the opportunity to do something on film that I felt like I had done onstage before and to get a chance to work those muscles that oftentimes, with these bigger films, are harder to exercise. This is basically an independent movie within the studio system.
Q: Alex, since this was influenced by your own life story, is it difficult for you to talk about and rehash while promoting the film?
A: [Kurtzman] The truth is, I'm not going to ever tire of talking about it. It was with me for eight years before the film became a reality and it was an obsession I never thought would see the light of day. There's a certain romanticism to returning the studio system to movies that are about people. Not in any way to knock the other kind of movies we do!
Q: The original title of the movie was “Welcome to People.” Why the change?
A: [Kurtzman] When we were testing the movie, it was testing really well, but the one thing audiences were having a hard time getting their heads around was the title. Chris and I both loved, loved, loved the title because it suggested the idea of people as a destination and it's about the arrival of becoming a person by the end of the movie.
Q: The character of Sam is a bit of a jerk in the beginning. Chris, how did you approach getting into the role?
A: [Pine] I'm very protective of Sam. I never read him as the jerk many people see him as. I read him as a guy who clearly makes mistakes, and the largest is that he violates the trust of the woman who is his sister. If anyone goes into this movie judging Sam and being self-righteous, they better take a long look at how they act and how they approach people in their lives. None of us are without fault and none of us are without the ability to grow and mature.
Q: You filmed this over a year ago, but the movie is coming out while Elizabeth [Banks] has been on a roll. What was she like to work with?
A: [Pine] Elizabeth is an intelligent, focus-driven woman. You get the sense she's been her own woman for a long time. With her being so talented, if you're not up to the task, she can just railroad over you! But I loved sparring with her. One of my favorite scenes is at [Henry's Tacos] because it's a microcosmic moment for these people. There was a lot of improv and I loved doing that with Liz because she's a great comedian.
Q: Were you intimidated working with Michelle Pfeiffer?
A: [Pine] I went into this movie wanting to fight for Sam, and I was ready to go to war for him. Every time I faced [her character] Lillian, it was like Sam was protecting himself from this narcissistic woman. I didn't even look at her like she was Michelle Pfeiffer, I was raring to fight for Sam. But Michelle was absolutely a movie star in the classic sense. She is stunningly beautiful and has those eyes. There wasn't a lot of talking off set with Michelle. It wasn't some method actor [stuff], just that everybody was there to get the job done.
