At HorrorFind 8 for Halloween 2007 by Rob Zombie in Hunt Valley, MD. This was done before either of us had seen the film and the big shock is he was cut out and it makes it more interesting that I had asked him about being cut.
Q: Did you have any scenes with Malcolm McDowell?
A: No, my scenes are mainly with Lew Temple. Me and Lew bring a girl into Mike Myers room and cause serious havoc. A not nice scene. I didn't have any direct scenes with Malcolm.
Q: Lew works in the asylum.
A: Correct, I also work in the asylum with him.
Q: How long was your shoot?
A: Just a couple of days. It's like a cameo. There's a lot of recognizable horror people that did all the small roles because we just wanted to be involved.
Q: What kind of direction to you get?
A: Quite a bit actually in terms of making decisions about the scene. It's really a nasty rape scene and there was dialog in it, but it's a very physical scene. So we finally concluded that the scene was pretty physical, so just go for that. Then we added a scene where Lew and I bring the girl, we take her down the hall and bring her to Mike Myers room. That gave us a backstory, that was how we worked it.
Q: There was no real dialog in your scene?
A: Well, we said stuff, but some of the stuff that was written in the dialog in
the original scene was not the stuff you'd be saying in an action moment if you
will. So we ended up putting back information in the prior scene. It took a
while to figure it out, but that's what he wanted to do. Rob's really good at
deconstructing a scene and looking for the truth in it and doing what he needs
to do to make that happen.
Q: Did you get to ad lib anything?
A: Oh yeah! A lot of the rape scene was pretty much all ad libbed.
Q: How was it compared to the script?
A: He changed it up a lot. I was told by other people that's exactly how it works and that's exactly how it happened. He made us throw the whole scene out and completely rework the scene.
Q: So you had the whole thing memorized and then it was gone?
A: I did...but yeah it got reworked. I was fairly prepared for it because I had been told he'll do that. If he didn't feel the scene was working he'll change it up. Which is great, because you want it to work. Bottom line is you want the scene to work.
Q: Did you get to hang out at all?
A: Just the couple days I was there. I didn't stay any more than that. I've been doing this a long time! (Laughs) I work, I go home.
Q: Did you get to see any other interesting scenes besides yours?
A: Not really. I mean Myers room is really cool because it has all these paper masks on the walls. I wanted to get one of those, I tried to snag one. I almost got one, but at the last minute one of the producers walked up and was like 'No! No! No! You can't take that.' The prop guys who designed them were more than happy to give me one and sign it because I dig masks. I have collection of Commedia dell'Arte masks, I like them.
Q: Did they explain how he had them all?
A: Well, he'd been making them since he was a little kid. That's his buffer from everybody. He wears different masks for different moods apparently.
Q: So did your character take the masks away?
A: No. No one messes with the masks because that's when he'll freak out on you. That's how we provoke him actually because we start putting on masks. That doesn't go over really well.
Q: That's when he's full size?
A: Yeah, not good.
Q: Have you seen any of the finished film?
A: I haven't seen anything. I just heard the premiere is the 23rd. I'll be there for that I imagine. They don't know what theater in LA yet. It could be any Hollywood theater you know? Usually Mann's, but I don't know.
Q: Do you think they'll have a more brutal version of your scene on the DVD?
A: I have a feeling there's going to be a lot of added scenes or a whole section of deleted scenes. There is a lot of cameos and we don't know who all made the movie at this point.
Q: That would be pretty bad if you didn't make the final cut.
A: Yeah, it might happen. There's a lot, a lot of cameos in this thing so the reality is you make a movie, you take out what isn't working. You've got to cut it down to an hour and a half, two hours.
Q: That's got to be an ego bruiser. What do you mean my scene didn't work?
A: Well, you know...I've never been cut out of a movie before, but I've also produced and I've been in the editing room so I know the reality of the situation. If I didn't make it... (he shrugs and smiles)
Q: Do you have any feeling about the remake controversy?
A: I think there's a lot of pressure. It's probably the quintessential horror film of all time. Because it's Rob people are giving him the benefit of the doubt, if it was anyone else they would be upset about it.
Q: Younger fans probably wouldn't care as much?
A: True, but there's definitely enough horror and Halloween fans that are coming too. If Rob pulls this off he's king, that's the bottom line, he will be king.
© 2007-08 Alex D. Thrawn for www.MalcolmMcDowell.net