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*Back with a bang, Halle Berry takes a stand as a strong, black woman in “X-Men: The Last Stand.” There was some fear that she might not return because of her dissatisfaction with Storm’s limited role in the previous two “X-Men” films, but Berry says that was all a hoax. “I was threatening that, but it wasn’t for real,” she laughs. “My complaining wasn't about me wanting to be onscreen more. It was just that these movies take a big chunk out of our work year, seven or eight or nine months sometimes, and I thought that if I was going to put in the time that I just wanted a little more to do than hang around for nine months and do little to nothing.” This third film in the Fox franchise centers on a “cure” for the mutancy present among the X-Men, rendering each with special powers. For the first time, mutants have a choice to either keep their uniqueness, though it isolates and alienates them, or give up their powers and become human. The opposing viewpoints of mutant leaders Charles Xavier, who preaches tolerance, and Magneto, who believes in the survival of the fittest, leads to an all-out war. Storm, whose power can change the weather at will. In the comic books, Storm served as co-leader of the X-Men and was one of the more powerful mutants. But in the first two films, she did little more than just change the weather. “I didn’t want more hours, I wanted to have a point of view,” she says of reservations for joining “Last Stand.” “If [Storm] talked for five minutes, then let it be five minutes about something. Let her fight more and be involved. I was happy when I read the new script and when Brett [Ratner] came on. He appreciated Storm even more, which I appreciated.” More specifically, Berry felt Storm should grow a pair and become “outspoken.” “I thought that it was time for her to really stand up to Wolverine, that she somehow asserts her power and that you realize she is as powerful as Wolverine, as Professor X, as anyone,” she says. “In the comic book she is [powerful]. She was an African princess and she was revered in her country and I thought, 'Why does she get to America and get weak?' She's a strong persona with a strong personality, and I really wanted that to be a part of this and have Storm come out of her shell.” Berry, herself, came out of her shell to perform all of her own stunts, a practice she first tackled in one of her previous films. “I’ve done wire work in ‘Catwoman,’” she said, uttering “Catwoman” in a very low murmer. “I loved ‘Catwoman,’” I interjected. A spirited Berry jumped up and gave me a high five, saying, “Yes!” Had the film hired another director and overhauled some of the bizarre scenes, the criticisms would’ve been at a minimum. For the most part, “Catwoman” showed a strong black woman who took control of her life. The character trait is also present in Storm, who is asked in the film to replace the leader of the “X-Men.” “That wasn't even in the script. That sort of evolved as we were shooting,” Berry admits.
In 'X-Men 3' Storm (Halle Berry) takes charge and enlists the help of Wolverine (Hugh Jackson) as their mentor Xavier (Patrick Stewart), in the background, looks on.
Director Brett Ratner’s addition to the film to replace Bryan Singer brought with it some tweaking that gives the film resonance beyond its mutant issues. At one point, Rebecca Romijn’s Mystique is called upon to testify. She retorts: “I don’t answer to my slave name.” That subject was often the topic of conversation during Malcolm X’s era. Also in the movie, Hugh Jackman’s Wolverine, snaps at someone: “Did you just call me boy?” All of these allusions, and many others, are no doubt the brainstorms of Ratner.
The director, who has dated tennis star Serena Williams and Naomi Campbell, had his career jump started when long time friend Russell Simmons gave him his first substantial job, shooting a Public Enemy video. Ratner went on to direct over 100 videos for artists including Jay Z, Wu Tang Clan, Mary J. Blige, P Diddy, Heavy D, Foxy Brown, D’Angelo, Mariah Carey and Madonna before helming the two “Rush Hour” films.
Needless to say, it was not surprising that Ratner’s answer to our question about infusing his ideas into the script was an affirmative one.
“I mean it was necessary because I had to execute the movie and it's important that you kind of make sense of it all,” he says. “But still I didn't change the structure of the film.”
Away from the set, Ratner spends much of his time involved in philanthropic projects.
“I do give back a lot. I spend a lot of time just contributing to things that I believe in,” he says. “I'm very involved in a thing called Chrysalis, which is a homeless organization that gives homeless people training, and teaches them how to get a job. In Los Angeles, there are more hungry people than there are in New York City but they're all in a five-block radius.
“It’s housed in downtown Los Angeles but this is a place that doesn't hand out food or money or clothes. It's just literally people walking in, 2,000 a year walk in here and 92% of them get a job and reunite with their families. It's a fantastic cause.”
X-Man Hugh Jackman is a shining example of what the film preaches, tolerance. The father of an interracial child in real life, Jackman’s Woleverine is a mutant with father-figure tendencies. Oftentimes in “X-Men: The Last Stand,” Wolverine is caught between Xavier and Magneto, whom he compares to Malcolm X and Martin Luther King.
The Film Strip wanted to know if Jackman ever expected “X-Men” to blow up as it did. Growing extremely animated, he responded: “No one did! I'll be honest with you, I finished the film and my agent said, 'Well, you have to hangout in Hollywood and do a few meetings and auditions.' I did that and I got into auditions, but there was no sense of, 'Oh, this guy is really coming up with something. This is the guy to watch.' Trust me, there was none of that. I never even thought that. They asked what I'd been doing and I said that I'd just finished a film called 'X-Men' where I played Wolverine. They were like, 'What?' The phone would ring and they would be like, 'I have to get that.'
“So when the movie opened it shocked everyone and trust me, they were drunk at Fox for about a week. No one was expecting the success that they had. I think that they underestimated the fan base for it and how happy the fans were for the movie. So that Monday, my phone never stopped ringing. That weekend I was in New York about to start filming 'Someone Like You.' That Monday morning I got out of my trailer to walk to the set and there were about eight paparazzi guys running across the road taking photos, and I'm not exaggerating. I was like, 'Oh, who is here?' I was looking around and then I thought, 'Oh, they're taking photos of me.' So it kind of changed over night. Then all of a sudden my agent was getting calls rather than calling people.”