Matthew Perry and Bruce Willis simply had "fun" working on their new film, The Whole Ten Yards. This sequel to the 2000 film, The Whole Nine Yards, is scheduled to be released nationwide on April 9. The plot follows the "hit-man with a heart of gold," Jimmy "The Tulip" Tudeski (Willis), who has traded his murderous past for domestic bliss with his wife, Jill (Amanda Peet, Something's Gotta Give). With the help of his former neighbor Oz (Perry), Jimmy faked his own death to quietly slip out of the hit-man world. However, Oz needs "the Tulip's" help in rescuing his wife, who was abducted by the Hungarian mob. Jimmy reluctantly agrees, and as the plot unfolds, he discovers he took on a greater job than he imagined."People really liked the first movie," Perry said, obviously in eager anticipation of the release of The Whole Ten Yards. Willis expressed a similar sentiment, saying "I was excited [about the sequel]...I wanted to do it again." In a recent phone conference, Willis and Perry voiced their thoughts on working together on a second feature and potential future projects.

Perry and Willis have great chemistry, and this was clear in their banter during the interview.

"We're better friends. We know so much more about each other's comedic timing," Willis said, indicating that this made The Whole Ten Yards a more relaxed experience. These guys just wanted to have fun with the film, and they hope that their enjoyment working on it is projected to the audience. "We just tried to be goofy, just to make people laugh. We work together here as friends," Willis affirmed. Perry agreed, saying "it's a great creative process [making the film]. We've tried to assemble the best team. It's funny, wacky and funny. We set out to do a good job."

The easiest part of production was, in Willis' eyes, "working with the same, funny crew of people who had a big, fun time on The Whole Nine Yards." Contrary to his acting rsum, which includes many action hits such as Tears of the Sun, The Fifth Element and, of course, the Die Hard series, Willis is a big fan of working on comedies. "I always enjoy comedy, trying to do comedy" and he described the shift from dramatic work to comedy as "not hard; it's fun."

Perry, on the other hand, is looking to expand his horizons, and move away from his past romantic, slapstick roles, such as in Serving Sara, Fools Rush In, and as the sarcastic yet sweet Chandler on Friends.
"[I] kind of get typecast a bit," he admitted. "Most people just think of me as just doing slapstick." When asked about his future projects, Perry enthusiastically revealed "I'm focusing more on Hawaiian Punch commercials," and "I've been looking to get more figure skating into [my work]." Naturally, he plans on remaining an actor, but didn't specify what his next move after Friends would be.

As The Whole Ten Yards takes place several years after the first movie, Willis and Perry had to explore their character growth. Jimmy is married, and very focused on household duties, such as cooking and cleaning, taking on the stereotypical "female" role. Oz is thrust back into the underground, hit-man world; something he thought was completely behind him after Jimmy moved away.

"I think the characters...hate each other in a weird way, and love each other in a weird way," Willis observed. "Well, I've gotten a lot better looking," Perry joked, and revealed that Buster Keaton was a major influence "for the physical comedy."

When asked which actors they would most like to work on a film with, the pair voiced contrasting preferences. Willis vaguely voiced his aspirations, and said "a ton of guys...the Coen brothers...A-List guys." Perry answered he wanted to work alongside "any of your famous cartoon characters."

At times, it was hard to discern how serious Willis and Perry were during the interview. They joked back and forth, giving truly hilarious answers to some often clichd questions. Their interaction was a pleasure to listen to, and one can only wait eagerly to see if they convey the same friendly, comic competition in The Whole Ten Yards.