A-Team Movie Director Joe Carnahan speaks about the new Hannibal Smith character


“The important parts of Hannibal were obviously the cigar, and I wanted that same kind of [authority] for Liam,” explained “Smokin’ Aces” director Carnahan, comparing Neeson’s performance to the Col. John “Hannibal” smith role originated on '80s TV by George Peppard. “And beyond that, I think Liam was insistent that 'I'm not going to do a George Peppard imitation.' This is Liam Neeson, you know?”

The trailer gives us a few peeks at Hannibal flashing his trademark cigar, smile and catchphrase, but Carnahan insisted that the role wasn’t just about mimickry.

“[Hannibal] commands just because of this deference, and I think Liam understood who this guy was,” Carnahan said. “I told him who I thought this Hannibal is: Lee Marvin, with a much easier smile. He's a guy who is very tough, and very determined and very capable, but not someone who [barks orders]; he's not a drill instructor.”

As such, much of the Neeson performance that fans are excited to see when the film hits theaters on June 11th won’t be spiced with over-the-top line deliveries, but subtlety. “It was just these very subtle things that I thought we did. The sense of humor and the adventure and exploration, all made Hannibal this fun character.”

As for the beloved creation of the late Peppard, Carnahan said fans will still appreciate the roots of the A-Team leader. “[The old Hannibal] is absolutely there,” he insisted. “I don't think we sacrificed that one bit.”

Source: http://moviesblog.mtv.com/2010/02/05/a-team-week-liam-neeson-channels-lee-marvin-for-hannibal/

“Jessie, she's a captain with DCIS, which is the Defense Criminal Investigative Service,” director Joe Carnahan explained of the new character, who shares an uncomfortable dating history with Bradley Cooper’s Face. “They’re basically the department of the defense, and she supersedes [military officials] - if she goes on a base, it doesn't matter if you’re a general, she can supplant you.”
Although technically not a bad guy, in the June 11th flick she’ll run neck-and-neck alongside Patrick Wilson’s Lynch as the main threat to the A-Team’s underground existence. “She's kind of the chief nemesis, because of her relationship with Bradley's character,” Carnahan explained. “[The A-Team] are invariably always up to no good; they’re renegades, and she believes people like this need to be policed and shut down.”
Don’t think Biel’s only job in the movie will be to show up and look hot. “She's not wallpaper. In the same way as Bradley, Jessie got really good with the weapon training,” the “Smokin’ Aces” filmmaker insisted. “She and I had conversation after conversation: 'You can't just be this female testosterone component.'”
“She retained every bit of her femininity, without resorting to just looking tough,” Carnahan explained, making the character sound a bit like Jennifer Lopez’s “Out of Sight” badass Karen Sisco, and Face sounding a bit like George Clooney’s bank-robbing rogue Jack Foley. “She and Bradley had such fantastic chemistry. There's a lot of ad-libbing between them that is just great; it sounds like people who used to date. [They bicker about] where it went sour, for all of these small stupid reasons.”
As for whether Sosa is an ally or an enemy to the A-Team, Carnahan said it’s a bit of both. “She’s not really [on their side]; she's kind of their chief pursuer,” he reasoned. “And some things happen, and then some plot twists and character revelations, and things go a different way. But, she is their nemesis.”

Dirk Benedict will play Milt, Bradley Cooper's prison tanning buddy.  No, no don't get the wrong idea.  See below.



Whenever a classic franchise like “The A-Team” is adapted for the big screen, it’s no surprise that fans are fascinated by cameos from original cast members. From Mr. T to Dwight Schultz, director Joe Carnahan has been open about where he stands with the original commandos. Now, Bradley Cooper is spilling the beans on the details behind the Dirk Benedict cameo that will bring two famous Face-Men together.

“He plays a guy named Milt,” Cooper said of Benedict’s scene, which teases both actors’ good looks as well as the vanity of Templeton Peck. “We’re in a tanning bed, in prison together.”
Recently, Carnahan told us that Cooper’s take on the character is a bit more testosterone-fueled. And when we caught up with Cooper on the red carpet for this weekend’s “Valentine’s Day,” he said that working opposite the '80s TV icon was one of his favorite days on the “A-Team” movie.
“What a lovely, lovely guy,” Cooper said of Benedict, who has always been so willing to make in-jokes about his past that he even did a “Battlestar Galactica” wink in the original show “A-Team” show. “We talked for a long time; we spent the afternoon together. I learned so much about him, and he’s fantastic.”
While on set, Benedict told Cooper that his take was the sort of tougher “Face” that he had always wanted to do on the show. Some elements, however, have been kept as similar as possible.
“I don’t know if [mine] is tougher, but he loves running his M-4 machine gun, he’s a soldier,” Cooper said of how we’ll see his Templeton Peck in the June 11th film. “I don’t know about ‘Face’ in the TV show, if that was his thing. He didn’t love violence the way [mine does]; you’d see him more sweet talk you.”
“The ‘Face’ that I play, he’s a great pick-pocket; he does that,” Cooper revealed. “But he doesn’t mind getting a little rough too.”

Source: http://moviesblog.mtv.com/2010/02/10/exclusive-bradley-cooper-reveals-a-team-cameo-details-for-original-face-actor-dirk-benedict/#more-29860