Vince Vaughn Discusses the Decline of Big-Screen Comedies and Shares Insights on ‘Mike & Nick & Nick & Alice’ and ‘Bad Monkey’ Season 2 at SXSW Studio
The landscape of big-screen comedies has shifted significantly, raising questions about their viability in today’s film industry. Vince Vaughn, a central figure in this genre, has been instrumental in its past successes, with a filmography that has amassed $3.7 billion at the global box office.
Vaughn commented on the current state of comedy, emphasizing the hunger for authentic live experiences. “Look at stand-up comedy. People are packing into Madison Square Garden. They want that live experience if it feels fun and authentic. I think however they got there, we lost a little bit of what all these music and movies were, which is the wrong business. It was always young people, in the culture, getting a chance to tell stories,” he stated.
Expressing a desire for greater creative freedom, Vaughn added, “I’d love to see some people under 30 get a camera in their hand and be left alone, whether it’s a comedy or anything that they’re interested in. And there was always a certain amount of swings of that type that the industry would take that they just don’t take anymore.”
He also lamented the changing dynamics for independent films, noting a significant shift since the 1990s. “The issue becomes [that] you don’t have the win for independent films like we did in the ’90s. There were places you could release them, and that would buy them. And now you got a lot of really good movies made that do well at the festivals. But there’s not really the economics of it, because there’s only a couple of streamers and they’re not going to overpay for it,” Vaughn explained. “So it’s really a self-imposed problem where we’re not letting the movie and or the music business be what it is, which is a place to further culture or explore stories and not have one size fits all.”
(L-R) Eiza González, James Marsden, and Vince Vaughn in ‘Mike & Nick & Nick & Alice’
Directed by BenDavid Grabinski, the upcoming film Mike & Nick & Nick & Alice features Vaughn as Nick, a mobster whose older self travels back in time to prevent a significant crime. The plot unfolds around a love triangle involving Nick, his wife Alice (Eiza González), and his friend Quick Draw Mike (James Marsden). The film premiered at the South by Southwest (SXSW) festival on Saturday and is set to stream on Hulu beginning March 27.
Vaughn described the film as a morality tale centered on characters grappling with the consequences of their poor decisions: “a bunch of characters who’ve made terrible choices, and then they’re struggling their way through those consequences.”
Highlighting the audience’s appetite for fresh content, Vaughn noted the positive reception of the film’s trailer. “It’s a huge crowd movie. It’s got action and comedy and actually the buzz on it is stronger because it is something fresh. People are tired, people are fatigued by the rehash. People want to see new stories,” he stated.
In addition to discussing Mike & Nick & Nick & Alice, Vaughn provided limited details about the upcoming second season of Apple TV’s Bad Monkey. While much of the production was based in California, some scenes were filmed in Florida. Vaughn confirmed that Season 2 will not be based on Carl Hiaasen’s novel Razor Girl, but is an interim narrative. “David Dobkin, the director of Wedding Crashers, came in and did a bunch of episodes,” he noted.
Vaughn also touched on his dual role in Mike & Nick & Nick & Alice and mentioned the long-anticipated Wedding Crashers 2.
