#AlexOLoughlin & Jennifer Lopez on ET, talking about The Back Up Plan – Feb 2010

In February 2010, Alex and JLo did some Valentines promotions for The Back-Up Plan.

This was their interview with Kevin Frazier of Entertainment Tonight, at the time.

Transcript.

Kevin: How much fun was it making this movie? You kind of walked away from it for a second now, and you can look back. How much fun was it?

Jennifer: It was a lot of fun.

Alex: It was good.

Jennifer: It was …. We had a great time. I mean, honestly, I said many times, that it was one of the best experiences I had. Just the group of people. And the movie itself. It was ….there was …. there’s a lot of funny in the movie, so that always makes for a great day.

Kevin: Hmmm

Jennifer: And ah ….

Alex: You did say that a lot. You would regularly, most days, you would come to …. when you saw me, you would say it ….

Jennifer: Yeah [giggle]

Alex: Jokes aside … That was such a great experience.

Jennifer: It’s true.

 

Kevin: Was it the project ….. Did it turn out to be the project that you wanted after 3 years off? Did you …. Do you think people will say, “Ah, there she is. She’s back”?

Jennifer: I hope so. I mean, I would hope so. I mean, for me, personally, it absolutely was.

I love romantic comedies. I love doing them. I love watching them. And this was like the dream one, for me. You know what I mean. I also loved, after not doing a movie for, I don’t know, 2 and a half – 3 years.

Ah … ah …. I just … I just love the whole, new thing, that I was able to bring, because of having the babies. And the experience of that. And the fact that the subject matter of the movie, dealt with that was well. Like, being able to, you know, bring all of that experience to it.

Kevin: Does this move make you want to have more babies? [To Alex] Or does it make you want to have babies?

Jennifer: I want to have more babies.

Alex: Yeah … ah … yeah …

Kevin: [Laughing]

Alex: I’m trying to work out whether … I think it wants me to get married first, and then have babies. It … It’s made it  …. It made me realize how complicated this could be, if you did it backwards.

Jennifer: But that’s the thing you can  … It’s so funny you ask us that. But  …. That’s the whole subject of the movie. You can’t plan your life.

Alex: Right.

Kevin: Hmmm

Jennifer: And as much as you would like to. As much as you say, this is what I want to do,   … And is how I want to do it. And by this time. And it’s all going to be perfect.

It’s … that’s …. that’s not really, life. You know, that’s not how it is. And you have to just be willing to go with what happens.

Alex: I think the thing that it did … I mean,  we’re both parents. And I think the thing, for me …. ‘cos I just saw the film a couple of days ago. I think it’s great.

Jennifer: You saw it?

Alex: Yeah, it’s good. You’ve seen it.

You’ve seen it 50 times.

Jennifer: How funny is it though?

Alex:  You were editing it, right?

Jennifer: Nah-ah.That’s what I am trying to …

Alex: But it’s  …

Jennifer: If they would let me, I would.

Alex: It’s … It’s really funny. I went  …. I drove to the Orange County …

Jennifer: It’s really funny.

Alex:  ….. and saw it with a real audience and … a Non-Hollywood audience. ‘Cos I wanted to just see how … and they loved it. They’re like … I was …. I couldn’t believe how …. how much they loved it.

Jennifer: It’s funny.

Alex: And I loved it too.

Kevin: Did anybody catch you?

Alex: No! They snuck me in … and Maggie Schmit pulled me in.

Jennifer: They sneak you out through the kitchen.

Alex: And the snuck  …. through the kitchen, and ….. you know.

Jennifer: [Giggles]

Alex: I think, that the thing …. like despite all the madness that these characters go through, and … and everything is upside down, and back to front. And they try to work everything …….  Once the kids arrive … I mean I think, one of the big things in this movie is …. is it shows how, once children come into your life,  everything is put in perspective.

And as a person, whether you’re a father of a mother… you know, kids, you realize why we are here on a fundamental level. And for the first time, despite yourself, you will love another person, more than you love yourself. I mean, that’s what kids sort of do.

Kevin: Hmmm … hmmm

What is there about her that surprised you?

Alex: Probably that, she was so …. she’s … 3^rd person, she is right next to me.

Probably that you were so down to earth, you know, living in this kind of  … bubble of iconic fame that you exist in. Which I did not know anything about. I don’t know, I … I don’t have that.

I come from … I just ….. I don’t have that. My life is very different … and so … I guess not living in that … we all have different ideas about what it’s like for other people in different circumstances. But just ….

Jennifer: He expected me to be really weird.

Alex: No, it’s not true

Jennifer: [Laughs] Normal.

Alex: No is such a ..

Jennifer: Semi-normal.

Alex: No, no … but I  don’t think I did  …. I didn’t expect.

Jennifer: Whatever normal is?

Alex: We met at your house and we hit it off.

Jennifer: Yeah.

Alex: I don’t think I put anything on it, in the beginning. So it was just a series of …. .

Jennifer: But you have those preconceived notions …

Alex: No, but I did not have that many.

Jennifer: Yeah. That’s good.

Alex: But you …. When I went to ….. when I went to Jennifer and Marc’s house to meet them, before we all agree to do the picture. I was at the house and …. and … one of the … I guess your maid or … or someone like, let me through the house. And I hadn’t met them yet. And they … and they took me and sat me in …. What do call that room? Like den of something?

Jennifer: The office.

Alex: The office. And it’s beautiful … beautiful, everything. But it’s just wall to wall, like Platinum Records, of them both. And I was like, you know ….

Jennifer: [Laughing]

Alex: It was just like, ….. this power couple!

Kevin: Would you guys do something together again?

Jennifer: Yeah, I would

Alex: Work wise? I thought you meant …. you were going to ask if there is something right now …

Absolutely.

Well, what am I going to say? … “Not really”… [Laughing]

Jennifer: [Laughing]

Kevin: In three years, when you look like ….

Alex: Absolutely.

Actually, I was watching this movie the other night and at the end … Diana, my assistant, was with us, and we walked out and she was like, “That’s begging for a sequel”.  And I was like …

Jennifer: [Laughing]

Alex: …. really?

Jennifer: Like that?

Alex: Yeah, and then …

Jennifer: With the kids and all ….

Alex: Absolutely, I’d love to.

[Alex & Jennifer High Five]

Jennifer: High five.

Kevin: Advice for couples for Valentine’s day?

Jennifer: I don’t know what we’re going to do this year?

Kevin: Really?

Jennifer: I don’t know what we are doing. Haven’t … honestly, I haven’t even thought about it. I have no advice for couples, on love. You know.

Kevin: [Giggle]

Jennifer: I always feel like I’m still figuring everything out. I go day by day with my thing.

Link to Video:

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#AlexOLoughlin – Today, 10 Years Ago

Not all of us can recall exactly where we were today 10 years ago, but it is kind of easy for Alex this time. Of course he was on the set of The Back-Up Plan with Jennifer Lopez, celebrating her 4oth birthday with the cast and crew. They filmed the movie during the months of April to July 2009 and spesifically shots some scenes the day before her birthday untill midnight, when they all congratulated and celebrated with her.

Today on 24 July, Jennifer turns 50 and we thought it might be good to recap with some pretty pictures and links to our old posts, some of the quotes and news and stories of Alex, from his time on the film with Jennifer, a decade ago ……

“Some actors are good on TV and get lost in a movie. Alex can do both. And especially on the big screen, you want somebody who can hold your attention, and Alex proved he is one of those people who can do just that.”

– Jennifer Lopez

Times Colonist (April 2010)

• Link to a video with the transcript of an interview with Alex on set in 2009.

Alex O’Loughlin about Stan and the Back-Up Plan – 2009

• A link to one of the interviews with Alex during their promotion of The Back-Up Plan:

Alex interview with Cinema Magazine – March 2010

 

“Alex is a movie star. Working with him has been amazing, given that he’s never done flat-out comedy before. He’s a classically trained actor from the Australian stage, so it was a learning process for him to find the comedy rhythms without sacrificing any emotional integrity. He’s an incredible talent. Alex and Jennifer also have such fantastic chemistry. They dig each other both as characters and as people.”

– Alan Poul (Director of The Back-Up Plan)

FlimInk (September 2009)

• Alex about working with Jennifer:

And we both realized that we were to the other, someone who we could work with. I knew I could work with her closely because I kind of ‘got her’. She was funny! That’s a big thing. If she was someone who really took herself seriously and didn’t know how to laugh, I think I would have been like, ‘Weeeellll, I don’t know, it’s going to be a challenge to get to those important scenes,’ you know?”

– Alex O’Loughlin.

on Beyond Beautiful JLO, (April 2010)

• Alex talking about the time on set:

“It’s the best, really. A film set is like an adult’s playground and we spend so much time on them … I work and live on them. To be on a film set where there’s a family vibe, and a family feel is kind of unusual and very refreshing. It was great to have [Jennifer’s] kids there so much and Marc there when he could be there, when he wasn’t working. [Also] to have my son there, and my best friend would [visit], and her best friend was there, and her family. It was just awesome. It was the best time.”

– Alex O’Loughlin (April 2010)

• Link to an article by Jenny Cooney at the time of the release of the film:

Baby, I Love Your Way – May 2010

• Link to another article where Alex not only give thoughts about The Back Up Plan, but also about his TV shows, Moonlight, Three Rivers and Hawaii Five-0.

Alex O’Loughlin stars in first romantic comedy with “The Back-Up Plan” – April 2010

• Link to one of the fun video and articles we posted about the filming of a spesific scene on The Back-Up Plan:

Alex O’Loughlin: “Your ass is on fire!”

• In May 2009, Alex also supported Jennifer by attending the Noche de Niños Gala at the Beverly Hilton. It is an annual celebration and concert benefiting the Children’s Hospital Los Angeles.

• Alex was one of the guests at Jennifer Lopez’s 40^th birthday bash on 27 July 2009. ‘An Evening with Lola’ was a surprise birthday party for Jennifer, organized for her by her then husband Marc Anthony.

 

Alex O’Loughlin attends Jennifer Lopez’s 40th Birthday Party Celebration. Held @ The Edison Ballroom, New York City, NY. July 25, 2009. © Carmen Valdes/Photo Image Press

•  Video taken at midnight on the set of The Back-Up Plan:

 

Jennifer: “Alex, make a toast!” 

Alex: “Okay, here we go.”

Jennifer: “Alex is going to make a toast.”

Alex: “Here we go. To Jennifer, Happy Birthday. Welcome back, baby! [Cheers all around] …… To Jennifer!”

 

• This photo was taken while the little video was filmed:

There are so many photos and articles and interviews from that time that we have shared over the years, and this post is just a small fraction of it all.

Hope you enjoyed the trip down memory lane!

And

Happy Birthday Jennifer!!

It would be interesting to see where we will all be 10 years from now ……….

Aussie has Back-up Plan before tackling McGarrett (2010)

New star of Hawaii Five-O reboot plays nice guy in Lopez comedy.

in Times Colonist

20 April 2010

wrtten by BOB THOMPSON

LOS ANGELES — Even the acerbic Aussie Alex O’Loughlin knows when to speak softly and carry on with very little shtick.

The moment arrives when he’s asked about the American TV institution called Hawaii Five-O. O’Loughlin has signed to play the role of Hawaii state police Det. Steve McGarrett, defined by Jack Lord in the classic 1960s cops ’n’ robbers series that ran from 1968 to 1980.

But he’s hesitant to divulge much about the modern makeover, or offer his critical impressions of the original show, which featured a stylized brand of acting and lots of location filming in Hawaii. “I’m not really sure how much I should say,” admits a diplomatic O’Loughlin during a recent chat promoting the Jennifer Lopez romantic comedy, The Back-up Plan, opening Friday.

Some things Hawaii Five-O won’t change, notes the actor. The memorable theme song will be the same, and his McGarrett will utter the classic “Book ’em Danno” at the end of the pilot.

And, while O’Loughlin’s McGarrett will continue to track down bad guys each episode, he’ll do it with more intensity, and a great deal more hand-to-hand combat, as a former special-ops Navy SEAL commander.

“That’s a lot of fun to do,” the 33year-old says of his action scenes in the series, which wrapped shooting its pilot last month.

For something completely different, there’s The Back-up Plan. In the Alan Poul-directed romantic comedy, O’Loughlin plays a nice guy instead of a villain, a tough guy or an investigator with an attitude. Instead, he’s Stan, a nice guy who meets Zoe (Jennifer Lopez) when they both try to grab the same Manhattan cab at the same time. One thing leads to another as they slowly fall for each other — but there are complications.

Zoe is a forceful independent business woman who has already decided to conceive through artificial insemination because she was getting frustrated waiting for the right guy to come along. So Stan has a lot to consider when Zoe eventually confesses to him that she’s pregnant with twins. Cue the laughs as The Back-up Plan explores, and exploits, the dilemma, mostly for chuckles.

That’s where Lopez comes in, O’Loughlin says. He was surprised and pleasantly pleased by her comic abilities. “Jennifer’s the true queen of romantic comedies,” says O’Loughlin. “And I actually learned a lot from her.”

Lopez, who had script and actor approval, reports that they connected almost immediately, which helped both of them. O’Loughlin’s a rookie in the romantic comedy genre, and Lopez was returning to work after being away for a few years to care for her fraternal twins.

O’Loughlin took a few years to get into the swing of things after starring in several Australian TV series. He joined the cast of the well-received U.S. cable series, The Shield, portraying Detective Kevin Hiatt, but really broke through as the private detective and vampire Mick St. John in Moonlight.

Lopez says O’Loughlin has an onscreen presence that is rare, and should serve him well in his future roles.

“Some actors are good on TV and get lost in a movie,” Lopez reports.“Alex can do both. And especially on the big screen, you want somebody who can hold your attention, and Alex proved he is one of those people who can do just that.”

Scan:

#AlexOLoughlin – being Stan

“I have trained a lot for this role.

My only duty was to be beautiful”.

– Alex O’Loughlin

(about being Stan in ‘The Back-up Plan‘)

Vanity Fair (Italy)

May 2010

My thought:

Oh my dear Alex, I promise you, you were more than just beautiful!

They say ……. #AlexOLoughlin Has Effortless Masculinity

The Back-up Plan director Alan Poul talks about the importance of casting the right leading man:

We spent a long time looking for Stan. It’s especially difficult, because the movie belongs more to Zoe. I knew from the moment when I read the script that if we didn’t cast Stan correctly, the movie would collapse because Stan would seem like a wimp and a loser.

So we looked very hard all around and Alex has that combination of qualities of a kind of effortless masculinity that doesn’t take itself too seriously and he also, I think, has enough charisma that he can hold the screen with Jennifer.

Once you cast that role, an awful lot of the movie is determined.