Jesse Eisenberg: Most Unlikely Nightclub Research Ever

One of the more memorable scenes in "Holy Rollers" features Jesse Eisenberg in full Hasidic garb raving at a New York nightclub…on ecstasy.

Eisenberg tells PopcornBiz that he did not hit the clubs clad in the garb to prepare for the part in the movie (which rolls out in more cities this weekend). But just hitting the clubs was a strange enough experience for the star better known for his nerdy style of zombie killing.

"I went to the nightclubs to experience them, I don't normally go to them," says Eisenberg. "Regardless of having Hasidic garb or not, I felt very out of place."

It didn't hurt that one of the film's producers and stars is Danny Abeckaser, who is also the owner of Marquee nightclub in New York. Abeckaser was able to show Eisenberg around and the scenes were shot in the club as well.

In the movie, Eisenberg's music-and-lights overwhelmed character is not complete acting.

"Nightclubs are so sensory overload and overwhelming places to be," says Eisenberg. "It's a very unnatural experience for me. But some people like it very much."

The movie featuring the lives of two fallen Hasidic Jews who import millions of ecstasy drugs from around Europe is a fictionalized account of a true drug import scheme.  The nightclub part of the story was actually based on fact, says Eisenberg.

"A lot of the movie was fictionalized accounts of actual events, but the nightclub parts were not," he says. "As far as I know (my character) would celebrate in these clubs. That's an accurate story point."

As for the ecstasy, Eisenberg insists his role research didn't go far enough to actually trying it. But director Kevin Asch did have "days and days of footage of people on ecstasy."

"It was fascinating," says Eisenberg.

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