- Hi, I'm Jason Momoa and I play Ray Cooper in "Sweet Girl".
- I'm Brian Mendoza, the director of "Sweet Girl"
and this is The Long Take.
(groovy music)
- There are no rules in a fight.
Remember, people do not... - Fight fair!
- How do you win an unfair fight?
- Always fight harder!
- Most people would say
you've played classically masculine roles,
would you consider roles opposite of that?
- Well, I try to put no limitations on what I would play.
I mean, there's so many roles I would love to play
and period pieces and, you know,
what was great about this film,
I love, you know, being a father, being a husband
and, you know, being put in this position.
It was fun playing this role because
I never got to play the every day man
and I love the idea of just being a single father,
kind of raising his daughter,
and also experiencing what it would be like
to lose my wife, which was probably
one of the hardest scenes I've ever had to do.
And I wanted to go on that journey.
(somber music)
(Ray cries)
Making my wife pass in my mind.
Being to connected to Adria
and seeing her with the prosthetics,
which they did a great job.
- What you looking at, man?
(somber music)
- I'm looking at you, woman.
You know, I didn't want to see her
that day until the moment I laid eyes on her
and it just breaks your heart, you know?
Just thinking about someone that you love that much
and watching them, you know, die to cancer.
I've had the opportunity to kind of,
during the pandemic, go in to a lot of people's homes
and film them and spend time with them
and let them know how important they are.
And so I think that's been really fun
to be able to not just let that vanish
and really get to know the people
that are in your communities.
- It's not happening.
We're going to order something with vegetables.
- No!
- Fries do not count. - Hey!
- No.
What advice would you give yourself at 18, Bryan?
- Talk more.
(both laugh)
- I think my wife always told me, she was just like...
Just, you know, for a very long time
she would just tell me to relax,
it's all gonna happen.
You know, I had a lot of weight on my shoulders
supporting babies in the family
and not really making a lot of money
for a very long time.
Really against all odds to survive as an actor
and chose to direct to put food on the table
and this man was my DP and producing partner.
So, you know, never settle and just keep...
Just do what you believe in man.
We never had so many cameras.
There's all these grips and things doing it.
Normally, we just have a friend tied to the front.
- Yeah, we good.
- It's a lot of work to try to get to even here
and there're 24 hour days and you're working all the time.
And I think, if anything,
trying to step back a little bit
and sort of enjoy the ride a little bit more
and be able to kind of find those other passions
'cause sometimes it's just, it's so all consuming.
- Being a part of the whole process,
it's something that I have my whole heart in to.
It's a full on passion project
and I think that's what "Sweet Girl" is on this.
(car engine revs)
- You were the one that chose the car
that Cooper drives, what made you
chose the Oldsmobile 442?
Because I think it's such
an unspoken character in the film.
- I think I've seen the old pickup truck
and all these things so many times
and the images in my head were just,
they're living out of this thing,
it felt like a cocoon in the back of this thing,
and I wanted just to see her, like, literally
sleeping in the back of that car
and it's such a throwback that it is
kind of a muscle car but its a poor man's muscle car.
That big old, you know, GM freaking Detroit style car,
just felt like appropriate.
- I loved it.
There's something about the glass in the car
that when you shoot through the glass,
if, you know, never wanting to roll down the windows
but keep the windows up 'cause the glass
just kind of gave it some dirtiness.
Something that made it raw.
- There's just these things where you get it right
and it's like, that's the symbol.
It couldn't be without that one thing.
To me, it looks beautiful.
Drive through.
(Jason imitates punching sound)
- A little higher.
- You're want it higher? - Yeah, go for his ear.
Go for his ear.
- Just a... - Here?
- It's gotta go straight through.
- You wanna go up? - Yeah.
Yeah, that's it!
- What did you enjoy most about working on the film?
- Well, I mean, we hired all of our friends and our family.
I picked the cast, exactly who I wanted.
I thought Mano was amazing.
You know, I wanted Isabela. I wanted Adria.
And just, all of our friends got to work on it.
And Pittsburgh is a very special place
in my heart for that spot.
So, I really vibed with the city
and the people and it was
the perfect backdrop to our movie.
That's my sweet girl.
- How was it working with Isabela?
- I would work with Isabela for the rest of my life.
I love her, I think she's a hard worker.
- My dad doesn't know I'm doing this.
(somber music)
He's a good man, he just needs help.
- She was amazing in her scenes.
She's professional, she's beautiful.
Her fight scenes were fantastic.
She's just an itty-bitty thing
so she's a little pit bull.
- Take good shots.
That's it, open him up.
- Her and Adria.
I think we have a phenomenal cast
and they really felt like a family.
- With the state of the world right now,
what role do you think art or cinema plays in it?
- How about I just take that question,
reverse it around to you.
What do you think, Bry?
- What really drives us as a partnership
and wanting to go create stories
is I think they have a large impact on people.
If it's comedy and changing their day
or it's introducing an idea or theme to somebody new.
You know, even just the idea of touching upon,
sort of, the pharmaceutical industry in this film
is something that drew me to sort of,
just, the topic of conversation.
It's not trying to put one view or another but,
you know, hopefully, someone that's done watching it will go
"Wait, is that really happening?"
- The makers of Infirmam paid
the manufacturer to delay Sparrow's release.
Indefinitely.
- And also, at the same time,
hopefully your entertained and have fun
and go on an emotional ride.
- What is the cost of spending
just a little bit more time with a loved one?
A year? A month? A day?
It's impossible to put a price on it.
(suspenseful music)
- If my wife dies, it's your death sentence.
I will hunt you down and kill you with my bare hands.
- I'm supposed to ask how we first met
but I think it would be a lot funnier
to describe what you thought of me when we first met.
- I didn't know you spoke.
That was the first thing.
It was like pulling teeth to get an answer out of ya.
But you had this eye and there's this same eye
that I don't have with anyone else in the world.
- [Woman] And action.
(Jason grunts)
(lamp shatters)
- Our relationship in the past was with him director
and me a DP and us both producing.
And, you know, he's running around
from department to department,
able to just capture these amazing
set pieces and amazing moments.
(man yells in pain)
(men grunt)
- No!
(glass shatters)
I was able to really, like,
sit back and learn from that
and see how he works so well with everybody.
And the final product ends up
just becoming so much better
than what you ever thought it was going to be.
(Jason pants)
- [Woman] Suspect on foot.
I repeat, suspect on foot.
(slow music)
- Check out "Sweet Girl" now streaming on Netflix.
(slow music)