The 'Bad Words' That Jason Bateman and a Rooster Have in Common

Jason Bateman has made a career out of playing prickly-yet-strangely-loveable characters. Now, he’s trying to make a go at directing one too.

In “Bad Words,” Bateman makes his feature film directorial debut while also playing Guy Trilby, a jerk of an adult trying to capitalize on a loophole in the rules and beat out a bunch of over-achieving kids in the Golden Quill National Spelling Bee. Trilby could very accurately be described with the first word you think of when you look at the first of our three exclusive South-by-Southwest posters below.

To commemorate the film’s premiere this evening at SXSW, a limited number of these posters are being distributed around the annual all-things-cool festival in Austin, Texas.

In our Insider Access video above, Bateman explains why “Bad Words” is the perfect film to help kick off the fest and why the posters are so unique. Honestly, how often does a film poster feature actors who didn’t make the final cut?

[Related: Jason Bateman Is About to Unleash Some ‘Bad Words’ in the Poster Reveal]

We were also lucky enough to visit the set back in December of 2012 (along with a very select group of journalists) and watch Bateman in action while filming one of the spelling bee rounds at the American Legion hall in Hollywood.

While on set, we spoke at length not just with Bateman, but also with co-stars Allison Janney (“The West Wing,” “American Beauty”), Philip Baker Hall (“Magnolia”), Ben Falcone (“Bridesmaids”), and Rohan Chand (“Homefront”).

Here’s what we learned about each of their characters in the film:

Jason Bateman: [Guy Trilby] just recently found something out that has really upset him and he’s trying to right a wrong and doing it in a very aggressive, petulant way. If he were any more emotionally advanced he wouldn’t do what he is doing. We wouldn’t have a movie, so he’s kind of acting out. And by the time he gets a good head on his shoulders, the movie is over and he makes an apology. This is a Spelling Bee which is the second best Spelling Bee in the country. So the kids here, the judges here, the parents here, it’s all kind of a little dank. People in this world are sort of in the fringes of society that we live in. They are the people that you drive by but you never really talk to. They are kind of all around us. And as a result of that they are capable of doing things that we wouldn’t necessarily do, my character being one of them. They can justify behaving in a way that they’re not super consistent with what society is used to.

Allison Janney: I play Bernice Deagan, who is the director of the Golden Quill national spelling bee. This is her world, this is her life, this is what she lives for, she has been doing this for twenty years and she is hard as nails, and doesn’t suffer fools. She means business and Jason’s character enters into her world and she wants him out. So we are not fond of each other in this movie. We have a lot of animosity — well not for me, but he’s ruining my life basically and everybody is looking at me to fix it, and I try and — I don’t want to give anything away, but it is my job to get him thrown out of this spelling bee.

Rohan Chand: His name is Chaitanya Chopra. He just loves spelling more than anything else. But kids think he’s a nerd and because of that they pick on him.

[Photos: ‘Bad Words’ Movie Poster and Stills]

Philip Baker Hall: I’m the administrator and founder of the Golden Quill. I was a college professor of linguistics and somehow I became obsessed with words and language, which ultimately formed this spelling bee that attracts people from all over the worlds. In the story we’re on national television that’s a pretty big event every year. I share the announcing booth with Ben Falcone, like they do in sports events they present and chit chat as contestants succeed or fail. There are some mysterious plotlines with him that are interesting also, outside of the event. He’s very upset with Jason’s character and his schemes. He’s a bit of a control monster, given the nature of the event. It’s been going on for 30 years and now the story is this adult. Not only is Jason’s character an adult in the competition but he’s undefeatable! My character senses early on that this guy might win and destroy the reputation of The Golden Quill. So he’s at war.

Ben Falcone: I play Pete Fowler the announcer, I’m thinking of a Charlie Rose type of guy. The Quill Institute President played by Philip Baker Hall didn’t want ESPN to broadcast it and he chose National Public Television instead, so I’m sort of an up and coming announcer. So I’m just there to announce it in a very professional way and it required me to learn long speeches in a hosty fashion, which is not my specialty at all.

“Bad Words" opens in limited release on March 14 and expands wide on March 28.

See the theatrical trailer for “Bad Words”: