How Alita: Battle Angel Still Feels Like An Indie Film

I do what's going on?

Tony Morris.

They said Tony Morales.

What's going on, guys?

How was my lip gloss?

Your lip gloss is is popping.

Thank you.

You're young Hollywood.

popping.

You're team earlier messed up my name.

I just actually just got my hair and makeup done to sit here and hang out with you guys.

You did.

I haven't got my hair and makeup done since like junior high school.

They did great on the bronzer.

They did a good look like a caramel baby.

It's like it's like if you didn't tell us if you didn't tell us, we wouldn't know.

You're natural.

You're natural.

You're about to be you.

Sorry.

Dude, this is you're about to throw a rager.

I it looks like, right?

People are here to have fun.

You know, that's what we want to do.

We want to create entertainment that's fun and we want to create events that are fun.

Tell me what your park were in the film.

Well, I play Alita, the titular character.

I I loved what James Cameron said about it in his breakdown.

He wrote a four-page uh breakdown on on Alita and all of the characters.

Uh but he said Alita is like uh it's like a rock pummeling through the world, growing bigger and bigger and and affecting everyone's life around her.

She everything is new to her and she's dropped into this fantastic universe known as Iron City.

What's it like working on a set like that?

Because that's pretty like authentic.

It's amazing.

I mean, you have all of these practical rooms.

The you you can go into the restaurant and and a meal can be cooked in there and can be served in there.

I mean, it's it's all practical.

Um and it really it helps to have that.

It it it's for an actor it helps you step into that world.

It helps you transform.

Did you make any of this, the set yourself or did you of course you long-time collaborators designed it and we went through design press, we looked at reference and we built something that will double for the entire city.

So, we built it where everywhere you look, it looks a little bit like a different part of town.

This is massive.

This is like a 70,000 square foot.

You were making indie films way back in the day.

You didn't have all this.

You just you you worked from nothing, but it still came out so amazing.

How was that from today?

Now you have John Landau, you have killing it for you.

Yeah, well, you know, when you start like that though.

You still have that indie spirit because like like if you look at this particular direction, you see that building on the right, that building on the left.

After a while, you start noticing it too much.

So, I would use my old low budget trick of flipping the image.

So that that building's over there, that building's over there and have everyone act backwards.

And that doubled your set like that.

So that's an old school trick.

that you still bring to things like this.

He he was telling us how you got casted.

Yeah.

That's pretty cool.

Yeah.

They knew like right away, but then they kind of messed with you a little bit throughout the process.

Yeah.

I mean, I walked in there and and uh I don't know, we both kind of cried.

I the the story was very powerful even in our in my sides and so you were crying?

Well, I mean Robert cried in the audition and he's like he's like, "People told me I should work with you."

And I walked out and I said, "I agree."

And I and I walk out into the hallway and I'm like, "Are you what did why did you say that?

I agree with you, Robert.

Oh my God."

And then now he tells that story like he's like, he's like, "That was so endearing."

But at the time, you know, four months went by.

So I'm like, I knew I know it's because I said I agree.

I should have said I agree.

I should have said that.

Well, guys, thank you so much for letting me get my makeup.

I'm going to have some tacos.

I look hot.

You look hot.

You look like a caramel baby.

Thank you.