Studio Cut

“American Pie” sensation Seann William Scott, appears opposite Bruce Willis in Warner Bros.’ new buddy comedy “Cop Out.”

Directed by Kevin Smith (“Zack and Miri Make a Porno”), “Cop Out” features two longtime NYPD partners on the trail of a stolen, rare, mint-condition baseball card who find themselves up against a merciless, memorabilia-obsessed gangster.  Jimmy (Willis) is the veteran detective whose missing collectible is his only hope to pay for his daughter’s upcoming wedding, and Paul (Tracy Morgan) is his “partner-against-crime” whose preoccupation with his wife’s alleged infidelity makes it hard for him to keep his eye on the ball.

Scott plays Dave, the accidental third stooge in the Jimmy-Paul partnership and a thief who employs the physical discipline of Parkour as one of the tools of his trade…and who makes off with Jimmy’s precious baseball card.

“We started with a great script, and had brilliant ad-libbers in the cast.  We always knew there’d be the scripted take, and then the takes where we would deviate and see where it went,” says Smith.  “Some of the coolest stuff in the movie is the flights of fancy that happened on set.”

Turning out to be one of best ad-libbers was Scott. “Seann had the role of Dave,” says Smith.  “It’s just a great, enjoyable part and I think Seann made it a pitch-perfect, 21st-century version of a kind of Bugs Bunny: he’s both charming and an instigator.  Of course, Seann is the first to say that he’s not a comedian, he’s just cast in comedic parts.  But I’ve seen Seann’s movies and his performance in this flick, and if he’s not a comedian I don’t know who is.  Like Bugs, he’s effortlessly charming.”

“Dave’s just a really fun, really weird guy,” says Scott.  “It’s a character I love because he’s different from other characters I’ve played.  He’s not this jock jerk frat boy, but he’s still inappropriate, and just as nuts.”

“In a way, Dave is to Paul what Paul is to Jimmy, so Jimmy kind of loves Dave, because he frustrates Paul so much,” Smith grins.

Seann William Scott recently starred opposite Paul Rudd in the hit comedy “Role Models,” and lent his voice to the animated feature “Planet 51,” along with Dwayne Johnson and Jessica Biel.  “Cop Out” marks Scotts’ second outing with director Kevin Smith, having made a cameo in Smith’s comedy “Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back.”

Scott’s first appearance in a feature film was in the blockbuster comedy “American Pie,” in which he created the memorable Steve Stifler, a character he would revisit in two hit sequels, “American Pie 2” and “American Wedding.”  Scott also starred in the feature film version of the popular ’80s television series “The Dukes of Hazzard”; “Road Trip,” with Breckin Meyer and Amy Smart; and the hit comedy “Dude, Where’s My Car?” opposite Ashton Kutcher.

Opening across the Philippines on March 3, “Cop Out,” is distributed worldwide by Warner Bros. Pictures, a Warner Bros. Entertainment Company.  The film’s gala premiere was recently held at The Podium.