  Actor Pierce Brosnan laughs during a news conference for the movie The Matador during the Toronto International Film Festival in Toronto, Thursday Sept 15, 2005.(CP PHOTO/Adrian Wyld)
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It's hard to take notes when you're laughing. But Pierce Brosnan, Greg Kinnear and writer-director Richard Shepard had so much fun at this afternoon's press conference for their film, "The Matador," it was hard to stay focused.
As Shepard recounted his wonderment at how organizers at the Deauville Film Festival were able to subtitle certain off colour barbs, Brosnan (who also produced the flick) and Kinnear volleyed compliments back and forth.
A popcorn flick with heart, "The Matador" tells the story of a chance meeting in a Mexican bar between Julian (played with stinging wit by Brosnan), a "facilitator of fatalities," and Danny (played by Kinnear), a middle-of-the-road businessman from Denver.
Julian, facing a mid-life career crisis of killer proportions, befriends the straitlaced Danny, and before they know it, the two complete opposites are sharing margaritas and cerveza, while taking in an afternoon at the bullfights. But Julian's crisis is worsening, and the wisecracking assassin wants out. So it falls to Danny's family man mentality to help his "friend" see the light.
"There's a real emotional element to Pierce's character," Shepard said. "What these guys brought to their roles was a sense of humanity."
"I've painted myself into a corner with some of the parts I've played," a proudly grey looking Brosnan said. "So I thank god for Richard Shepard and "The Matador." I read it, and thought it was outrageous and said, 'Let's do it!'"
"I loved Julian," he continued. "He was the kind of guy who finds himself, his heart and his humanity in a bar in Mexico."
"But," he added, "it's a comedy."
"And the comedy works more because of the humanity," Shepard said.
Clearly not wanting to play the stiff, actor-type today, after seeing Brosnan's work, Kinnear said he's looking forward to playing his first bad guy.
"I like the idea of playing a homicidal maniac," he quipped. "Look for me in 'American Psycho 3.'"
The film works the pair's nicely choreographed two-step into a head bopping three-piece frenzy by the time Hope Davis enters the picture (as Danny's wife, Bean). So it seems this type of movie would lend itself to lots of steady improv on the set. But Brosnan told JAM! he only adlibbed one line.
"There was a little improv, but not a lot," Shepard said. "These guys just had something going on. It was fun to watch them go."
"Pierce and I had a beer and talked about it," Kinnear said. "He liked me immediately."
"I had the time of my life playing this character," Brosnan said.
And while the film slowly builds a positive word of mouth by playing some of the world's most important film festivals (it premiered at the Sundance Film Festival in January), Shepard, who has dabbled mostly in independent film, is enjoying the ride.
"Film festivals are the perfect environment for things that aren't straight ahead," he said. "We went to Sundance without a distributor (the Weinstein's have since picked it up). So, for me it's been a blast. It's a lot of hard work and dark days trying to get a film made."
Trying to elicit some of Brosnan's razor sharp wit, someone asked whether shooting in Mexico was arduous. The trio gamely complimented the country and local crews that helped out on the film. And just when it seemed that the group were out of jokes, Brosnan and Kinnear told journalists what kept the cast going.
"Tequila. Lots of tequila," they said almost in unison. "In fact, does anyone have some?"
Newsflash fellas, you don't need any to enjoy this movie.
"The Matador" is in theatres November 23.
