“In a German film, it has to work on the first take”

In 1991, Til Schweiger and Tina Ruland celebrated their cinema breakthrough as the Ruhrpott couple Bertie and Uschi in Manta, Manta. They took their time for a reunion for a little over three decades. The sequel Manta, Manta – Second Part has been in cinemas since Thursday.

Manta Manta – Part two introduces a new generation of Manta

Because money worries are the constant companions of Ruhrpott hero Bertie (Til Schweiger), but when he cannot repay a loan on time, the bank suddenly gives him the prospect of forced expropriation. So Bertie takes on a risky project: in the upcoming Classic race, there is a high bonus for victory, which he wants to get hold of.

Check out the teaser trailer for Manta Manta – Part Two:

As if the schedule wasn’t tight enough, Uschi suddenly tells him that he now has to take his son Daniel (Tim Oliver Schultz) into his care. Would he like to follow in his father’s footsteps and become a racing driver too?

But how do you update a Manta film thirty years after the Opel Manta cult died down? Is Manta, Manta – Zwoter part secretly the German Top Gun: Maverick? And how did the most impressive stunt in the movie (which is largely an action-poor comedy) come about? In an interview with Moviepilot, Til Schweiger and Tina Ruland answer these questions.

Moviepilot: I’ll just jump back a few years. Imagine if you hadn’t made Manta, Manta. Where do you think your career would have gone?

Til: To be honest, I never thought about it, but after that it all fell into place like a cog. Back then there really were friends who said to me: “Til, you’re already in Lindenstrasse!” And at that time Lindenstraße was about the last of the social recognition as an actor. They said: “If you play a Manta driver as well, then your career will be over before it even started.” I said to them: are you stupid? This is Bernd Eichinger! When do you have the chance to play a leading role in a Bernd Eichinger film? I think if I hadn’t done that, my career would never have gone the way it did.

And Tina, how about you?

tina: Well, it would definitely have been a different way, because then this very special film would have been missing. Actually, I don’t even want to think about what that would be like, because then we probably wouldn’t be sitting here now. That would be dramatic.

Til, as a director and co-writer, did you particularly think about how to wrap the essence of Manta, Manta into something new? Something more modern maybe?

Til: I was asked: “Who wants to see that?” So I answered: Folks, this is the German cult film. There is no film that has been shown more often on television, more than 130 times, i.e. for 30 years, an average of six times a year. The fans who celebrated it back then want to see it, I’m convinced.

But of course I also want them to be able to take their children with them. That’s why I put a lot of effort into creating new characters. So our children, Tim Oliver Schultz or Luna. We have a great ensemble of young actors with whom the young viewers identify much more than they do with us.

What Manta Manta 2 and Top Gun: Maverick have in common

tina: But what’s also important: How many films are there that have actually continued with the original cast after 30 years? I can only think of Tom Cruise with Top Gun: Maverick.

Til: That’s exactly what you said back then in Hollywood: “Tom Cruise and Maverick, he’s way too old, that doesn’t work.” He was smart enough and created his role appropriately. He no longer said: I’m a pilot now, but he’s the warhorse. The new guy was Miles Teller who is great. And the film is Tom Cruise’s highest grossing film. I think that will be the case with us too.

In terms of action, the gravel pit sequence was really impressive. How did that come about and did it really work out on the first take?

tile: In a German film, it has to work on the first take. We don’t have the Hollywood budget, so we say let’s do it 17 times and 17 Opel Calibras knock down the cliff. I have a really great stunt director, Christoph Domanski, who used to do a lot of work for Cobra 11 – The Motorway Police. Opinions can be divided about the scripts of Cobra 11, but the stunts have always been Hollywood standards. He thought it all up.

Tina, did you ever think: a car stunt like that would be something for me? I was really happy about the scene in which Uschi comes into the garage with the Manta.

tina: Yes, I think it’s great too. I was thrilled from the first moment that Til let my Uschi grow up and created a very strong woman, so she really developed the role further. But honestly, no I would never do stunts myself. That’s why there are stunt people who know what they’re doing. I do not know it. They have years of training. I think it should always be done by professionals.

Manta Manta – Part Three? When it comes to the stars…

Are you ready for part 3? Where do you see Bertie and Uschi in ten years? Do you think the two are still together?

Til: I think so. We’ve been apart for so long now

tina: Yes, exactly. With our children.

Til: They probably need to work together to guide their children to the right path.

tina: Probably with grandchildren. Oh god, this is blooming for us. But yes, definitely. Part 3. Immediately. In the cast, with the director, with the screenwriter, with the co-producer and above all with the leading actor. Immediately.

Thank you for the interview!

This interview has been shortened and condensed.