Picture Me Rollin: 15 Things We Learned About Ethan Hawke's Getaway

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What do you get when you place Ethan Hawke and Selena Gomez in a car for a long time in Bulgaria? Find out the answer after the break.

Yesterday (August 21), we were on hand at the Ritz-Carlton Hotel nearby New York’s famed Central Park for a presser with the two stars of director Courtney Solomon‘s Getaway. The adventure-action-thriller mixes a blend of elements in an homage to the likes of Steve McQueen and other legendary anti-heroes.

The film tells the story of a husband, Brent Magna (Hawke), who is forced by a mysterious villain to perform a series of tasks, including theft and kidnapping. He must do these things to save his kidnapped wife, played by Rebecca Budig. A skilled driver in his own right, Hawke’s character is joined by “The Kid” (Gomez), as his partner-in-crime. Together they must work to save the day from the evil Jon Voight, whose character is simply listed as “The Voice” on IMDB.

There’s plenty of car crashes, explosions, shootouts, exhilarating car chases in this film, as Getaway finds Ethan Hawke more like Ethan Hulk on the screen.

While we were in attendance at the press junket, the two stars (Hawke and Gomez) talked about the filming process, their first cars, and more in this first account look at Getaway.

You can check out the trailer for the film and what we learned on the next pages.

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Photos: Warner Bros.

Filming in Bulgaria for the entire shoot was…

Cold. According to the duo, being in the car for most of the shoot allowed the two to be warm, energetic and fresh. Even though there were some points when the monotony of being in a car would get to them.

In the film, they would use every way possible to…

Capture each car scene as possible. Director Courtney Solomon even noted that in addition to utilizing every traditional way to film while driving, they built a custom rig that allowed the car to stay on the ground to record hitting the corners at 60 miles-per-hour.

There’s no way that…

Getawaywould have been allowed “to be filmed in any city in America,” according to actor Ethan Hawke. There’s a lot of action presented in this movie which made filming “very fun” for an adrenaline junkie such as Ethan.

Did you know that…

Selena Gomez is not a tech-head, or even a car junkie. After professing her first rebellious streak as a young kid (“I took some chapstick from a store when I was seven.”), Getaway allows “The Kid” to learn how to hold a gun properly, kick arse along side her co-star partner, and more.

Speaking of cars…

Ethan, self-admittedly an appreciative gear-head, also told us that his very first car was a “kind of sad” Toyota Corolla that his parents had for 16 years. For Selena, her’s was a Ford Escape that she let sit for two years in favor of letting her mom drive her around.

What was the director’s first whip, you ask…?

Courtney Solomon’s first car was Honda Accord, and it belonged to his mother. “This is why we’re doing a film about a Shelby Mustang Super Snake,” said Ethan Hawke to uproarious laughter.

Filmed in Bulgaria, the stunt crew was…

“Great!” in the words of director Courtney Solomon. The 35-manned crew really wanted to “one-up” whatever he wanted them do. All of the stunts are real in the film and there isn’t a lick of CG used in Getaway.

No human was injured on the set, but…

About 130 car were “killed” during the making of Getaway. “There’s a literal junkyard from where we towed the cars when we were done,” director Courtney Solomon told us. On-screen, there’s about 58 that actually get wrecked in the film.

Ethan Hawke and Selena Gomez…

Rehearsed a lot of their lines together in-between takes, and “tried to find something decent to eat,” according to Ethan Hawke. When the repetitious task of filming in a car became too much for Selena, she says that Ethan was “right there” to pick up her and energize her.

Ethan Hawke scared Selena Gomez when…

Before the first day of production, he tells her that he doesn’t know how to drive, and then proceeds to speed down the runway (“We’re on an airport strip.”) to do some driving tricks. “He scared the mess out of me,” Gomez admitted.

The duo drew upon…

Their own imaginations to perform the more intense scenes in Getaway. “The stronger your imagination, the more alive a scene becomes,” says Ethan. There are some genuinely scary moments in this film that made the both of them perk up.

Director Courtney Solomon…

Does not consider Getaway a “horror movie,” but does believe that Jon Voight (“The Voice”) is similar to Jigsaw in the SAWhorror pictures. “He adds an element of horror in the picture, and serves as motivation for Ethan’s character to drive.”

The cast of Getaway…

Did not all film or rehearse their scenes together. While the production took place in Sofia, Bulgaria and Atlanta, Georgia, respectively, Ethan, Selena, Jon and Courtney all managed to get on the speakerphone together to run lines once before production began.

Getaway is…

Intended to be a “feel good movie where you don’t have to think much,” according to director Courtney Solomon. The fast paced action, tight, tensioned-filled moments makes this film akin to Fast and Furious for adrenaline lovers.

From here on out…

You should look forward to seeing Justin Bieber‘s ex-beau just on the big screen. The “Come & Get It” singer admits that she’s putting her music endeavors “on hold” after touring in favor of pursuing a career in acting.