Lights, Camera, Cameo!
Dax Shepard Breaks Down the Art of the Cameo
By Whitney Spaner
In Dax Shepard's hilarious new indie-action-comedy Hit and Run, the Parenthood star and
former Punk'd actor plays an ex-getaway driver who leaves the witness protection program for his girlfriend (played by actual GF Kristen Bell). A self-proclaimed "gearhead," Shepard, also the film's writer-director-producer, used his own cars and did his own driving in the many car chase scenes. He also enlisted his own friends -- from Sean Hayes, to Jason Bateman to his Parenthood costar Joy Bryant -- to make appearances. Here he gives us tips on how to make the perfect cameo.
They should be just the right size.
There's a sweet spot with cameos. They can become distracting. Like the Tom Cruise one
[in Tropic Thunder] was a good length. He was in there long enough that you got over the fact that it was him and then you could enjoy.
Use the voice first and the face later.
There's a little trick I do with the Jason Bateman cameo in our movie; you hear his voice before you see him in a long tracking shot, so the audience hears that voice and they know it's familiar. The first few lines of his are complete throwaways. I knew that people would be whispering to their friends, "Is that Jason Bateman?" "Yes it is, I agree" and then they see him and it's like this little reward.
They should never deliver important news.
You don't want the doctor who comes in to tell the lead character he has cancer to be like Marilyn Manson or something. Odds are it will get missed. Someone at the studio suggested that we try to get Jim Carrey to give Kristin the news about her job and I'm like, 'No one would ever hear the news,' they would just be like, "How the fuck is Jim Carrey in this movie? They must know Jim Carrey. Did you see Yes Man? Yeah, that was pretty good." And then it's "Oh the movie's over!"
Hit and Run is out August 24th.
former Punk'd actor plays an ex-getaway driver who leaves the witness protection program for his girlfriend (played by actual GF Kristen Bell). A self-proclaimed "gearhead," Shepard, also the film's writer-director-producer, used his own cars and did his own driving in the many car chase scenes. He also enlisted his own friends -- from Sean Hayes, to Jason Bateman to his Parenthood costar Joy Bryant -- to make appearances. Here he gives us tips on how to make the perfect cameo.
They should be just the right size.
There's a sweet spot with cameos. They can become distracting. Like the Tom Cruise one
[in Tropic Thunder] was a good length. He was in there long enough that you got over the fact that it was him and then you could enjoy.
Use the voice first and the face later.
There's a little trick I do with the Jason Bateman cameo in our movie; you hear his voice before you see him in a long tracking shot, so the audience hears that voice and they know it's familiar. The first few lines of his are complete throwaways. I knew that people would be whispering to their friends, "Is that Jason Bateman?" "Yes it is, I agree" and then they see him and it's like this little reward.
They should never deliver important news.
You don't want the doctor who comes in to tell the lead character he has cancer to be like Marilyn Manson or something. Odds are it will get missed. Someone at the studio suggested that we try to get Jim Carrey to give Kristin the news about her job and I'm like, 'No one would ever hear the news,' they would just be like, "How the fuck is Jim Carrey in this movie? They must know Jim Carrey. Did you see Yes Man? Yeah, that was pretty good." And then it's "Oh the movie's over!"
Hit and Run is out August 24th.
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