Jason Bateman was left black and blue while shooting wrestling scenes with Melissa McCarthy in his new comedy 'Identity Thief'.
Jason Bateman was given "a couple of bloody noses" by Melissa McCarthy filming 'Identity Thief'.
The actress didn't hold back during fighting scenes for the new comedy and Jason admits things got pretty painful during some scenes.
He said: "She looks so sweet then she'll punch you in the throat. All of that tussling and wrestling was painful at times. I paid the bill with a couple of bloody noses. She hit me with a right hook, then a left, then grabbed her camera to take a photo of it."
Jason knew he wanted to work with Melissa right from when he saw her in 'Bridesmaids', especially after he how far she was prepared to go for her roles.

What was it about IDENTITY THIEF that made you want to star in the movie and also produce it?

IDENTITY THIEF was a script that came my way. It had an easy concept about someone who steals another person’s identity and it also involved a road trip. It was like two of my favorite movies, MIDNIGHT RUN and PLANES, TRAINS AND AUTOMOBILES put together.

Did you bring this project to filmmaker Seth Gordon?

Seth and I were in London working on the press tour for HORRIBLE BOSSES. I just talked him through it, as the project was in the beginning stages and looked like it could become a reality. He was excited about the concept. When I told him I had Melissa McCarthy in mind for the other main role, he said, “OK, I get it!”

What made Melissa McCarthy the right choice to play the thief that steals your character’s identity?

Melissa is one of the funniest people I know and she was open to playing the part.

What is Seth Gordon like as a director?

Seth is a very nice man that runs a very kind shoot. We were lucky he agreed to do this because he knows how to set a great tone. He is incredibly talented, but the greatest thing about Seth Gordon is that he is just a good guy. You want good people on a comedy set. He is a great leader in that sense.

How important is it in the comedy genre to be able to work on a fun set?

You can’t have a bunch of bad or nasty people on a comedy set and expect them to do anything that’s funny. You don’t want any tension.

You play Sandy Bigelow Patterson. Who is he?

Sandy is basically a guy that I think people are pretty used to seeing me play. He is sort of an everyman that is right down the middle. It is important in every comedy to have that character in the center that we can relate to. That way, we can appreciate all the absurdity that happens around him.

What can you say about Melissa McCarthy’s character?

Melissa’s character is one of the greatest on-screen antagonists I’ve seen in a long time.

What do you believe Melissa McCarthy brought to the role of Diana?

Melissa played Diana with a lot more heart than we had originally intended in the script. Maybe it was our fault to only think that this character has these colors and that character has those other ones. Melissa was able to do so much and not make the character one-dimensional. She can put heart in a scene where it was not intended. As a result, she gives you something more fulfilling to watch.

You hit Melissa with a guitar. What was it like to film that scene?

I don’t believe I have ever hit a woman on or off a set before. I remember apologetically suggesting the idea of hitting her with this guitar to stop her from getting away. Seth Gordon laughed and said it would be great. We built a little side-helmet for the stunt girl and went ahead with the scene.

Did you frequently improvise during this shoot?

There were some things that were improvised, but this script was written so beautifully by Craig Mazin that we didn’t need to do much. Still, we liked to surprise and say things differently with some of the final takes just to make people laugh. Some of those moments made it into the movie.

Even though the film is a comedy with some outrageous moments, it is also grounded in reality. Can you explain further?

In writing the script, Craig did a lot of research to make sure that everything was plausible. You always expand the borders when you take any kind of comedic license, but he tried to deal with all that as responsibly as he could.

Have you ever been the victim of any kind of identity theft?

Luckily, identity theft hasn’t happened to me yet, but it has happened to Melissa and many other people I know. Identity theft is happening more and more, since it is probably a little bit easier with the technology now. I’ve been very lucky so far.

Has your identity ever been mistaken with someone else’s?

I get mistaken for Jerry O’Connell quite a bit, but I don’t mind. He gets it the other way around as well. Every time we see each other, we compare stories.

Why did you decide to also produce the movie?

You don’t know how long you are going to be invited to this party, so it is fun to diversify. Like with any profession, you start to absorb and appreciate what other people you work with do, and some of those jobs are very interesting.

What do you enjoy about producing?

I enjoy trying to put together a group of people you really admire, whether you have full or limited access to them. It is kind of like building a sports team because you try to figure out who will do each job best.

Why did you decide to team up with Seth Gordon again?

I knew Seth would be a great guy to team up with again because we share a sensibility and he is such a nice guy. The same thing can be said about Craig Mazin.

What is the audience takeaway from IDENTITY THIEF, apart from all the fun and laughter?

IDENTITY THIEF is just a fun comedy. If there is a theme or a message, it is hopefully under many layers of light-hearted comedy. For me, that message would be that maybe, every once in a while, you should take a closer look at who you think you are because you probably could improve.

“Identity Thief” is released and distributed by United International Pictures through Solar Entertainment Corp. Showing May 1, 2013. Nationwide

Oscar®-nominated actress MELISSA MCCARTHY starred in the smash-hit comedy Bridesmaids as Megan, the confident sister of the groom, opposite Kristen Wiig. The film was directed by Paul Feig and produced by Judd Apatow. For her role in the film, McCarthy was nominated for a BAFTA, a Critics’ Choice Movie Award and a Screen Actors Guild Award. She won a 2012 MTV Movie Award for Comedic Performance of the Year. Last year, McCarthy won an Emmy Award, and she recently received her second Emmy nomination for starring as Molly on the top-rated CBS comedy Mike & Molly, which is currently airing in its second season. She also received a nomination for guest-hosting Saturday Night Live. McCarthy was last seen in Universal Pictures’ This Is 40, for director Judd Apatow.

Now the 42 year-old plays Diana in the comedy Identity Thief. Her character steals the identity of Sandy Bigelow Patterson, played by Jason Bateman.

What appealed to you about this project?

I was excited to get a call from Jason Bateman and was looking forward to meeting him
because I love the movies he has been involved with over the years. I thought we would
get along and be friends, which is the goofy thing every fan thinks.

Apart from starring in IDENTITY THIEF, Jason Bateman also produced the movie,
correct?

The truth is that once he said, “Let’s do it!” he really made everything happen very fast.
Jason is a good producer. He’s also nice and smart. I could tell he really wanted to
make the same kind of movie that I wanted to make.

What makes Jason a good producer?

Jason pays a lot of attention on set and actually watches what’s going on very carefully.
For him, to have the title of producer is not just a name, which was nice to see.

Jason plays the straight-shooting family man that becomes the victim of your
character, Diana, when she steals his identity and starts to spend his money. How
do you see these opposing characters?

I see the two characters as two very opposite people with wildly different lives. Even
though they are so different, they are also kind of stuck in their routine lives.

What do you think Jason Bateman brought to the role of Sandy Bigelow
Patterson?

Sandy is a family man and a really good guy and Jason was just very funny as Sandy.
It is really hard to play the kind and centered person that everyone can relate to and still
be so funny.

How do you see your character, Diana?

Diana is a slightly crazy character who is really just lonely and running the same cycle
over and over again because that is what she has always done.

Diana goes from someone we initially don’t like to a person the audience ends up
warming up to. Can you expand further?

Yes, that character arc was the whole point of Diana’s journey. I didn’t want her to be
that kind of one-dimensional thief that just doesn’t care. I thought it would be better if she
was the kind of person who hadn’t even thought about what she was doing to people,
then finally realized that she is destroying this nice man’s life and understand that her
actions have consequences. To see how she confronts the fact that what she does really
affects others is interesting because not a lot of comedies go there.

How do Sandy and Diana affect each other’s lives?

The interesting thing is that when Sandy and Diana get together they realize they are
both living lives they weren’t expecting. That is the weird common bond they have
that maybe allows them to become friends. In this way, they can both change. He can
become more in control of his situation and my character can take some responsibility
for what she is doing.

What can you say of director Seth Gordon?

A: When I first met Seth, he talked about how we were all going to get along well during
the shoot. He made sure everyone was nice and nobody was crazy, which really paid off
in the end.

Did you have a good time making this film?

Yes, we had such a good time! It wasn’t an easy movie to make because it was so
physical, but Seth played a big part in making sure we enjoyed the shoot. The same
goes for Jason, who knows how to keep a light tone on set.

IDENTITY THIEF is also a road movie. Do you enjoy road trips?

I really like road trips. I remember driving to California from New York and getting into
some really remote places where I could hardly recognize the country I was in. I loved
that experience and the variety of it.

Your character, Diana, is resilient, isn’t she?

I remember comparing Diana to a cockroach in regards to her resilience. Sometimes she
is in pure survival mode and manages to get back up and walk away from dangerous
situations.

Was it physically challenging to pay Diana at times?

Yes, it was very physically challenging! Both Jason and I had a lot of bruises and some
bloody noses along the way, but it was really fun.

Which action sequences were the toughest to shoot?

I think the sequence in Diana’s house, when Jason comes and tries to put handcuffs on
me, was the toughest to shoot because that house was in Atlanta and the air conditioner
was broken. It was hard to focus and think, but we had to spend two or three days
fighting.

Did you manage to develop a very effective throat punch?

I can say I have never before punched anyone else in the throat other than Jason
Bateman. Now that I kind of have a taste for it, anything can happen! After all, he did hit
me with a guitar, which was a fun improvised moment.

Do you enjoy improvising on set?

I love to improvise if I’m working off of a really well-structured script. I don’t like it when
you have to find what isn’t there or fix it. I prefer when everything is already there and
you can change something just to surprise people. Then, it becomes really fun.

Have you ever been the victim of identity theft?

Years ago, somebody managed to drain my entire checking account leaving me with
nothing. I couldn’t even put gas in my car, pay my bills or get food! I remember being in
a bank crying my eyes out and thinking, “I can’t leave without any money!” Somebody
had been writing out checks in my name for three days.

Did you meet with any real identity thieves to prepare for this role?

A lot of research had already been done by all of the production team, and I preferred
not to meet with identity thieves because I wanted to stick more to why she was doing
what she was doing rather than how she was doing it.

What do you think it takes to do something like stealing someone’s identity?

Nowadays, you would have to be tech savvy to steal someone’s identity. I don’t think
I could do it because I just have no ability with technology. I guess I would have to
pickpocket, as I can barely work a computer.

"IDENTITY THIEF" is released and distributed by United International Pictures through
Solar Entertainment Corp. Showing Nationwide. May 1, 2013