John Slattery Sees 'Eight More Sequels' to Confess, Fletch

There is plenty of source material, so why not make the most of it?

Ahead of the Confess, Fletch official release, ComingSoon spoke with John Slattery, who stated that audiences would see many movies involving the titular hero of Confess, Fletch, if things were up to him. Fletch is a character invented by author Gregory Mcdonald, who wrote about 11 novels featuring the irreverent investigative journalist. Confess, Fletch will begin its run in theatres, on digital, and on-demand starting September 16.

“In this delightful comedy romp, Jon Hamm stars as the roguishly charming and endlessly troublesome Fletch, who becomes the prime suspect in a murder case while searching for a stolen art collection,” reads the synopsis. “The only way to prove his innocence? Find out which of the long list of suspects is the culprit—from the eccentric art dealer and a missing playboy to a crazy neighbor and Fletch’s Italian girlfriend. Crime, in fact, has never been this disorganized.”

Tudor Leonte: In the movie, you portray an editor-in-chief. How important is the role media play in suspect murder cases like the one involving Fletch?

John Slattery: Well, I suppose it’s important in getting to the truth, which is what everybody in the movie is trying to do. I mean, they’re trying to figure out what happened. I think he needs my help to find out a couple of facts and he’s trying to get himself off the hook. I think the character of Frank plays a pretty important yet small part and they have a history and that’s fun and funny. As far as the media, you could argue it used to be about the truth. I’m not sure it is anymore, but everybody has their own truth these days.

You and Jon Hamm worked together in Mad Men, how was it for you to join forces again for this project?

It’s always fun to see him and work with him. We’ve remained good friends since the Mad Men days. It’s easy, we get along very easily. We work very easily together. We just kind of fell right into it. The scenes were funny. It was simple.

Considering how popular the first Fletch movies are, what was the biggest challenge in acting the Fletch reboot?

I didn’t really put that kind of pressure on myself to recreate any specific scene, moment, vibe, or anything from the original that was a long time ago. It’s a great film. This is a different film, it’s got a specific energy and humor and story. My job is just to come in and play the scenes as best I can and help tell the story and maybe get a few laughs. I really didn’t feel the pressure to recreate anything.

You mentioned getting a few laughs. Do you have a particular line you will remember from this movie?

‘Go f**k yourself’ is probably a highlight. Always. Anytime you get to say that in a movie is… it usually comes out pretty easily.

And it’s a good password as well, right?

Yeah. [Laughs].

The Fletch comedies were released in the eighties. Is there still anything you felt in the modern movie from the eighties, is there a particular atmosphere or something, or is everything modern?

I think the main reason that Fletch worked initially was Chevy Chase’s sort of insane sense of humor. I think this wisely relies on Jon Ham’s sense of humor. It’s a different vibe because he’s a different actor. He’s very funny. He’s very charming. He’s a great actor. Wisely, the story is in the book and in the script, but I think the vibe that they are trying to create is an original one. It would’ve been pointless to go try and recreate the feeling or the style of the original. I don’t think anybody was interested in that.

Do you see a sequel to this story?

I see about eight sequels or nine. I think there are 11 books all in and they made two. So this is number three. So yeah, I can see eight more sequels.