During the summer of 2007, IGN visited the Toronto Film Studios lot where American Pie Presents: Beta House was wrapping principle photography. We had a chance to chat with the actors, to discover friendships both on and off camera, and to learn a little bit about Peter O'Toole's anal virginity. Hey, it's still American Pie. And on this set, sometimes a pool table is not just a pool table.
This latest slice of pie is a sequel to the previous DTV release, The Naked Mile, with the writer and most of the cast returning. This time around, the cousins Stifler wreck havoc on the tried and true tradition that is the college fraternity. Dwight (Steve Talley), the head of Beta House, must fight off his rivals, the GEK "geek" house, in a series of forbidden challenges known as the Greek Games. Meanwhile, Erik Stifler (John White) falls for a new girl, Ashely (Meghan Heffern), and is supported by friends The Cooze (Jake Siegel) and Bobby (rapper Nic Nac), as the three of them pledge to become Betas. There's a lot going on here, but the cast, coming off the success of their previous film (one of the hottest selling DTV's of last year), are determined to stay focused and up the ante.
As we sit with Siegel, under a tent in the studio parking lot, we discover the easiest way to bond with another dude: nudity. "With The Naked Mile last year, we all had to get really close really quick because we're all naked together," remembers the actor with a grin. "There's a certain bond that develops when a bunch of guys have to stand around naked. I don't know what that bond is... but after that, we all became best friends. John [White] and I live together in Los Angeles. [Steve] Talley lives right up the street."
The naturally charming Siegel, who describes himself as "a 50 year old trapped in a 24 year old's body... which can sometimes hurt," speaks with sincerity about the relationships that form the foundation of Beta House. With many of the actors best friends both on- and off-camera, the relationships infuse the film with a chemistry that cannot be manufactured. This is the element that the best teen films exhibit: the sincerity that can only come from being real. And if those real situations happen to lead one to a dominatrix or to a sex-addict group, who's to hold back that special bit of magic?
White, whose Erik Stifler begins this film trying to remake himself after a broken relationship, recalls one of the cast's bonding experiences: "We went up to [local hotspot] Wasaga Beach a couple days ago. It's like a tradition. Last year we went up for a weekend and this year we went up as well. We get a few cabins and go out for a couple nights, have a really great time, and decompress. We almost got busted for drinking on the beach by the cops, but they let us go."
White has nothing but admiration for his friends and co-stars, "I know it's like a cliché, but we get along famously."
It's not just nakedness that forges friendships, but narrowly escaping the cold gauntlet of the law, it seems, can also bring people together.
Later, we chat with a jazzed-up Heffern as she gets ready for a fancy wig-and-outfit sequence. Her character, Meghan, is one of the few females in what is otherwise a very "guy" movie. When we wonder why there couldn't have been more female leads, like in the original films, she explains: "I think this movie is more about the friendships with the guys -- them getting together and beating the geeks and finishing pledging the frat, all towards one goal."
While Heffern's character is there to support the Betas, she gets to have some fun, too. "I do get to participate in the wife-carry. It consists of standing up, 69, and running an obstacle course."
Funny, White didn't mention this? Again, going back to the bonding experiences, running, 69, with a girl like Meghan Heffern, well... that may not be one the cops would let slide.
Taking a break from the sunny parking lot, extras and technicians wandering to and fro, we wander back into the darkened studio. Today's shoot is for interior frat house scenes. A formal, stylish room, one of Toronto Film Studio standing sets -- which once hosted serious discussions in Michael Douglas's The Sentinel -- has now been transformed into a party palace. The dimly-lit main area is packed with odds and ends, complete with a bar covered in bear-fur, 13 kegs in the corner, and a medley of tiki lanterns and medieval swords adorning the walls. Watch out geek house!
A few rooms over, the crew is shooting one of the key emotional scenes in the movie. Talley's Dwight Stifler is trying to defend his cousin, the quieter Erik Stifler, in front of his fellow Betas. A discouraged Erik, who happens to be walking by, listens through the nearby doorway. Essentially, it's a moment where you learn that people don't take you seriously, but that you have a friend who is willing to defend you. You've got some good and you've got some bad.
They shoot a few takes of Erik reacting to the Betas' comments about him. The look on his face lets us know that this is not his best day ever. Director Andrew Waller stops the action and asks White to emphasize his look of surprise on a different beat. You can never have too many options in the editing room.
We take a trip back outside to what has now become our interview tent-cum-smoke-break lounge to speak with one of the film's new cast members, rapper Nic Nac. The Milwaukee native (real name Nick Nicotera) leans back in his chair and tells us about his start in show business. "I never came to L.A. to act," he says. "Ever. It was always at the back of my mind that I wanted to do that eventually, but I came to rap."
As with everyone, starting out was tough, but Nic Nac didn't have to keep his job at a sushi restaurant for long before he was approached by a management company. He was asked to do an audition for the role of Turtle in HBO's Entourage, but the part went to Jerry Ferrara before Nic could get his headshots and contracts in order. Having served hard time as the president of his military school's drama club, Nic, after warming up on other projects (including the Roger Corman-produced Supergator) was very excited to join the Pie team.
He recalls, "My manager tends to mess with me whenever he books something. He makes me run through hoops. He'll come down on me, like, 'You need more headshots, and you got to get yourself into an acting class' and this and that. Then, 'Oh, by the way, you're gonna fly to Canada because you booked American Pie!'. I'm, like, jumping on the table. I was genuinely excited about it."
Nic starts to tell us how friendly the team has been when we are interrupted by an Assistant Director. Nic is needed back on the set. The rapper, an otherwise hardcore-looking guy, turns to us and apologizes. Disappointed that a multi-million dollar movie "schedule" has gotten in the way of an otherwise enjoyable chat, we accept his apology and follow him back inside.
As Nic goes off to shoot his scene, we discover Dwight Stifler himself having an in-character exchange with a behind-the-scenes camera. Talley is giving a tour of the main room of the frat house, adding that winning Stifler-esque color to anything he can. He gestures to the pool table, "And this, right here, is where Peter O'Toole lost his anal virginity." He continues throughout the room, playing up whatever he can, before taking a seat behind the bar. The interviewer asks him to sign off, and he does, without missing a beat, "This is Dwight Stifler saying thanks for watching. Now, enjoy getting back to your horse-porn." He's a Stifler, all right, but when we speak with Talley only moments later, we discover he's also something else: uncertain.
"I'm not even sure I like it," he says of acting. "Sometimes I just feel silly. Like, it's my job. I'm a grown man, but I get paid to run around like an idiot. Steve McQueen and Marlon Brando both thought that professional acting is kind of a ridiculous thing for a grown man to be doing. When you have your grandparents who -- my grandfather worked in a factory seven days a week for 40 years. I'm not exactly working hard here. Well, it is hard work, but in a completely different way."
Talley, nevertheless, takes his career seriously. "It's a studio movie. It fulfills that part of you that, as an actor, growing up, you think about being a movie star, being in movies. This is the kind of situation you think about. You have people to look after you. You have a trailer. With some indie movies I've done, you have a wardrobe change and someone tosses you your clothes in a plastic bag. You have to go into the bathroom of some stranger's house on a street where you're shooting. It's not exactly the same thing."
When Talley is asked what he will remember about the summer of '07 10, 20, 30 years from now, he is quick to respond, "The friendships, man. The friendships. It'll probably be a night where I throw on some music, drink a couple of beers, smoke a couple hundred cigarettes, and think about all of these great people. Having done two movies with somebody, you see them every day for seven, eight weeks, and you're working hard..."
All semblance of Stiflerism gone, the person who speaks to us now is Steve Talley, a young actor who has just had the summer of his life. "It'll probably be like a Bruce Springsteen song. I'll kick back and... I'll get really sentimental about that."
American Pie Presents: Beta House will be released on DVD by Universal Studios Home Entertainment this holiday season.
