Year One: A 'historic' road trip

MANILA, Philippines - In the beginning, there was nothing. Then, Harold Ramis had an idea. “I was thinking about two things in comedy that I love,” says the writer-director-producer. “One was Mel Brooks’ Two-Thousand-Year-Old Man, and the other was an improvisation I staged many years ago where Bill Murray played a Cro-Magnon man with a completely hip and contemporary vibe.” For Columbia Pictures’ new comedy Year One, Ramis had those inspirations in mind, thinking, “It would be really interesting to put someone with a contemporary consciousness in an ancient setting.”

That’s when he hit upon the idea for Year One.  In his words: “Two innocent, know-nothing Paleolithic hunter-gatherers, Zed and Oh, get kicked out of their Garden of Eden paradise and begin a search for what life is all about.” 

Taking that trek is none other than Jack Black. “Zed is living a very tribal lifestyle in his primitive village with hunters and gatherers,” Black says, “but he’s wondering if there’s more to life than just hunting, gathering, and sleeping.”

Joining Zed on the first road trip in history is Oh, played by Michael Cera. While Zed is aggressive in his pursuit of meaning, Oh dragged into the unknown kicking and screaming. “We called this character ‘Oh’ because he’s completely reacting to life and everything in life that is a threat to his character — and he does suffer a lot in the movie,” says the director.

“Harold Ramis loves actors. He encourages us to do our thing, he wants us to play,” Black says of the director. Black goes on to say that it’s the approach that Ramis feels is right for the movie, but also what Ramis himself seems to enjoy. “I could always hear him laughing from video village. Whenever I heard ‘snortle chortle,’ it warmed me. But I’d also be thinking, ‘Keep it down and don’t ruin the take!’”

“Harold is relaxed as a director, very open to ideas but also sure of what he wants,” says Cera. “You have freedom to do whatever you want. If it’s funny, you get a laugh, and that’s a great feeling. If it’s not funny, he’ll tell you to move on.”

Opening in theaters on Sept. 2, Year One is distributed by Columbia Pictures, local office of Sony Pictures Releasing International. Visit www.sonypictures.com.ph to see the latest trailers, get free downloads and play free movie games.