Golden Globe-winner Dylan McDermott
(TV’s “The Practice,” “American Horror Story”) stars in Warner Bros.’ new
comedy “The Campaign” as Tim Wattley aka The Terminator, the baddest, toughest,
meanest and winning-est campaign manager who ever whipped a candidate into
shape for success.
In
the film, as Cam Brady (Will Ferrell) brazens through an embarrasing sex
scandal with his usual flair, the seasoned politico prepares to segue unopposed
into his fifth term in office. But this time, to his astonishment, a challenger
appears out of nowhere: local tour operator Marty Huggins (Zach Galifianakis) —
a dumpy, soft-spoken, cardigan-wrapped, fanny-pack-wearing oddball with zero
political experience. As Election Day closes in, the two are locked in a dead
heat, with insults quickly escalating to injury until all they care about is
burying each other.
On
Marty’s side is political operative Tim Wattley. “Political operatives and
consultants are like samurai warriors,” director Jay Roach explains. “Tim
Wattley is a dark, Rasputin-like character—like an assassin who just happens to
be a political consultant. He’s one of those guys who work below the surface
and get passed down from one administration to another for whoever needs them,
left or right, and is willing to pay for their services. They’re essentially
hired guns, but instead of people, they assassinate character. And Dylan is
great in the film. He brings some odd chemistry to the mix, which is exactly
what we wanted.”
As
the laser-focused Machiavellian, McDermott developed an even more severe take
on the character than was originally conceived. “Wattley arrives on the scene
like a commando and assesses the situation, sees what needs to be fixed and
fixes it,” the actor outlines. “He’s not afraid to get his hands dirty, which
is good because he’s dealing with a guy who looks like a gnome. He gets Marty
botox’d, gets his eyebrows trimmed, his teeth whitened, his hair styled and his
entire wardrobe overhauled. He gets Marty to the gym, teaches him how to walk,
how to talk, and what to say. He cleans out the house and puts the whole family
on notice. He even replaces their dogs.”
Under
Wattley’s tutelage, Marty also adopts a catch-phrase of his own, “It’s a Mess,”
aimed at anything and everything his opponent has supposedly
mishandled—without, of course, detailing any actual solutions.
“Wattley takes over Marty’s life and
Marty trusts him because he believes that if he does as instructed, he can win
this election and make his town a better place,” says Galifianakis.
At
least that’s part of the plan. But what Marty doesn’t realize is that, for all
his keen attention, Wattley doesn’t have the slightest interest in him or his
potential constituents. McDermott acknowledges, “Wattley is maybe the craziest
person in the movie, in his own way. His job is to get someone elected, period.
He couldn’t care less about this candidate or the one on the other side, or the
communities they serve or what they stand for, or any of that.”
“The Campaign” is distributed in the
Philippines by Warner Bros. Pictures, a Warner Bros. Entertainment Company.
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