Carell, Hathaway discuss getting ‘Smart’

Hathaway: I always tell people regarding improvising, Steve's an abstract expressionist and I finger paint. I'm a very good finger painter, but it's on a different level.

AP: Why has "Get Smart" endured so well?

Hathaway: It's sophisticated family humor. That's what the show had going for it. My parents watched it when they were kids, and then when it was on Nick at Nite in reruns, I would watch it with them when I was a kid. In addition to it just being so funny was the chemistry that Don Adams and Barbara Feldon had. You couldn't take your eyes off them. It was fun to watch them play. ... Don Adams, people don't remember that he was a fantastic actor. There's this one episode where he has to pretend he's gone bad and he has to convince 99 that he's gone bad, and he plays it so straight. It's a different Max. It's colder and harder and harsher. Don Adams was a really, really good straight actor.

Carell: Also, look at who created it. Mel Brooks and Buck Henry. In terms of having longevity, "Young Frankenstein" is still one of my favorite movies. "The Producers," obviously. His stuff just holds up. For the most part, it really does. That's a huge element, the writing staff, if you look at the people involved.

Hathaway: Steve, you're such a nice person. I'm like, "It was the actors. The actors are what endured."

AP: The movie's more an action comedy than a spy spoof. Were you trying to avoid parodying spy flicks?

Carell: When I first started talking to Pete (Segal the director) about just tonally what the movie could potentially look like, I said, "What about a comedic `Bourne Identity?'" You take the action in that and you make it a legitimate spy movie that's funny, as opposed to taking the cliches of spy movies and turning them on their heads. If the villains are like Terence Stamp, these guys are scary and actually have some threat to them. There's some sense of jeopardy. The comedy laid on top of that might resonate more.

Hathaway: There's a great story about Terence. He was switching hotels when we were shooting in Montreal. He just went downstairs and he couldn't find a taxi. He was standing around looking for a taxi and some guy just drove up and went, "Zod?" And he goes, "Yes." And the guy goes, "What are you doing in Montreal?" "I'm making a movie. Can you give me a ride?" And the guy goes, "Absolutely." So the guy drove him to his hotel.

AP: I hope the guy didn't make him say, "Kneel before Zod."

Carell: I'm sure he's had to say it to like, cash a check.

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