Who’s badder than The Bad Guys? The Bad Girls.
In the new chapter from DreamWorks Animation’s acclaimed 2022 action-comedy hit about a crackerjack criminal crew of animal outlaws, The Bad Guys are struggling to find trust and acceptance in their newly minted lives as Good Guys, when they are pulled out of retirement and forced to do “one last job” by an all-female squad of criminals.
Based on the New York Times best-selling book series by Aaron Blabey, The Bad Guys 2 reunites the film’s all-star cast, including Sam Rockwell as dashing reformed pickpocket Mr. Wolf; Marc Maron as safe-cracker Mr. Snake, Craig Robinson as master-of-disguise Mr. Shark, Anthony Ramos as the short-fused Mr. Piranha and Awkwafina as expert hacker Ms. Tarantula, aka “Webs.”
As The Bad Guys 2 readies to sneak itself into Australian cinemas on September 18 (with advance screenings September 6,7, 13 and 14), Nick L’Barrow spoke with the mastermind author behind this hit series, Aaron Blabey, about the terror of job interviews, and going bigger and bolder for this sequel.
Nick: Aaron, it’s so great to chat with you again! How are you today?
Aaron Blabey: I’m doing very well, thank you!
Nick: When we spoke for The Bad Guys, I told you how much I enjoyed the film. And it’s the same sentiment this time around! I had a great time with The Bad Guys 2.
Aaron Blabey: Oh, thank you!
Nick: I’d love to begin our chat at the beginning of the film where Mr. Wolf is going through the terrifying ordeal of having to apply for jobs and go through the tough interview process for the first time in his life. I’m curious to know, do you remember your first job interview?
Aaron Blabey: Oh, my god! My first job… I had a singular focus when I moved out of home at 17. I was living in Melbourne by myself, and at the time, I was determined to be an actor. So, most of my job interviews were God awful auditions. It took me a decade to figure out that wasn’t the road I was meant to be on.
I can tell you this – actors have more job interviews than anybody else, and they were always uncomfortable, horrific, humiliating, and soul destroying. And then occasionally, you’d get a gig! But that would have its own issues as well. But, for 13 years, I alternated being terrible in TV shows and plays, and working in video stores and things like that. That was my experience, so I completely empathise with Mr. Wolf.
Nick: I didn’t know you worked in a video store! I worked in one as well for 5 years, and I was 14 when I got the job, so that experience was so formative for my love of movies. I often tell people it’s the best job I will probably ever have…
Aaron Blabey: Yeah, I worked at one called Video Box – a little independent store. Actually, I worked in a few, but this one stuck with me the most because it was also an arcade. So, if I ever did a 10 hour shift by yourself, by the end of the day you’d be out of your mind, because there was no sunlight that got into the store!
And it would always be at the end of a 10 hour shift on a Sunday, 5 minutes before you close, and you haven’t seen anyone in 4 hours. And then someone would rock up! That would drive me crazy! There was one particular day that I was very grouchy, and someone turned up 5 minutes before we closed, and they presented their credit card, and it was Robert Towne, who wrote Chinatown. He just happened to be in Sydney. I think he was script doctoring Mission: Impossible II or something like that. He was very gracious and lovely, and he rented a whole bunch of movies that I don’t think we saw again [laughs]. That was my big memory from the video store.
Nick: That’s an amazing story! I’d love to ask about your process when it comes to creating new stories within The Bad Guys universe. This movie is undoubtedly bigger and bolder than the first film, but it still manages to hold onto the emotional core that was present in the first film, too. How do you, as a writer, balance keeping those emotional elements whilst taking the story to new, exciting heights?
Aaron Blabey: Absolutely. All the way through the books, at their core, it’s about the friendship between these shady characters, and their desire to try and be better. But, I guess, the “game” for me with all the books was to up the stakes with every single instalment. And I kind of reached a crossroads with book five, where I thought that I can’t continue to do Earth-bound adventures with these guys. So I figured we could do things like explode the universe or make the villain an alien. That just gave me so many more options.
But I was always able to continue to focus on the relationship between Wolf and Snake at the heart of it all, and have that growing and continuing, while all hell breaks loose around them constantly.
Thankfully, to my delight, DreamWorks have completely picked up on that, because it was a bold choice of the studio to go where this story goes. They could have just stayed with these heist movies with diminishing returns, but the fact they jumped on board and went with the moon launch rocket sequence, giving the alien teasers later in the film. I think it’s really admirable because in the world of movies, there’s always a fear that they’re going to jump the shark.
But, it’s important with The Bad Guys, and I think this is why the books are so popular, that it’s a universe where anything was kind of possible, but it’s grounded by these characters that have been judged constantly and who want to be better, you know? It’s very satisfying that the core tonal element of my books is alive and well inside the movie.
Nick: You mentioned the rocket sequence, and I have to mention how incredible and immersive the sound design is during that scene. My cinema was genuinely vibrating during that moment, and I loved it. I’m curious, when you are writing these stories, do you have a sort of soundscape that plays in your head that you saw come to life during the movie?
Aaron Blabey: Oh, that’s interesting. Not really, but I definitely do feel like I’m watching a movie in my head when I write, and that’s sort of dictating things like conversations between the characters. When I’m drawing, on the other hand, I listen to music that I think people would be surprised by. Like, I would draw for 10 to 12 hours a day, and churn through entire genres of music. There was a constant soundtrack, but it was often at odds with what I was actually drawing. I think I used it more to energise myself, really.
But when I was watching the movie, the sound scape was specific to telling the story. I think it’s a combination of Daniel Pemberton’s score, which just rocks, and sound design like the rocket launch. We initially had a needle drop over that scene, but it just wasn’t working. So, Daniel went off and recorded something orchestral and it was amazing.
For me, I love the Mission: Impossible movies, but I do feel like the last two have felt a little overblown. But I watched our rocket sequence and thought, “Wow! We have out Mission: Impossible’d Mission: Impossible!” I got the same buzz watching the rocket launch as I did watching the Dubai hotel sequence.
Nick: I had that thrill during the Luchador scene. And I truly mean this Aaron – I think that is one of the most exciting action scenes in any film from this year!
Aaron Blabey: Isn’t it great!? I saw the film again yesterday at our Melbourne screen, and that moment in the film where the audience awkwardly freezes, and then there is that beautiful POV shot of them running after The Bad Guys… the audience loved it! Pierre and JP, the two directors, are just so talented.
Nick: I’m getting close to our time here, Aaron, and I don’t want to diminish such a great chat we’ve had, but when this thing happens in movies, I have to ask about it. I am obsessed with filmmakers and writers who pull off incredibly smart and funny fart jokes. The fart joke with Piranha and the space suit here is great. What is the key to making a good fart joke?
Aaron Blabey: Look, it’s a strange thing for a grown man to be proud of that particular gag, because that is normally the kind of comedy that the powers that be within children’s literature heavily frown upon. And I just belligerently thought book five in the series was the time to make it so central, so intrinsic, to the plot that it transcends just being a joke. And kids have always particularly loved that episode! So, if the fart has a purpose, that is genuinely funny, and all bets are off!
Thank you to Aaron for his time, and to Universal Pictures for organising the chat. The Bad Guys 2 is in Australian cinemas September 18, with advance screenings September 6,7, 13 and 14.
