August 30, 2009

Earlier this week, ICONS OF FRIGHT was invited to join in on a series of roundtable interviews for HALLOWEEN 2. (Now playing in theaters!) We’ve decided to pair up the interviews in batches and offer them to you in their entirety. (‘Tis the ICONS way!) Beware of major spoilers! We’ve done our best to mark them before you get to them, that way you can come back after you’ve seen the movie. Keep in mind that several journalists are asking questions here, so ICONS is credited when it’s us asking. First up? How ’bout Michael Myers and Dr. Loomis? Enjoy!

Tyler Mane:

Did you need any help lifting the car?

Um, I practiced on weekends. It was a lot of fun! No, I had a little assistance… but it looks pretty cool doesn’t it?

Was it a crane underneath that was removed?

Well… I’m not going to tell you how we did it! Movie magic.

ICONS: Can you talk about the character of Michael Myers in this one? You probably had an inkling you were going to come back and do another one….

I was signed to another one.

ICONS: But what’s cool is you’re more of a character then Michael’s ever been in any of the other movies. I love the half mask. It’s great to be able to have you wear the mask and yet see your face at the same time. How’d you approach this version of Michael Myers?

I knew it was going to be different, because the first one followed the HALLOWEEN story and I knew Rob was going to have a little bit more free reign with this one and I was excited to see what he’d come up with. And it turned out really well.

ICONS: Did he give you a heads up to start growing the beard in advance?

Um, I might’ve gotten a call. (Laughs)

How grueling is it making this kind of movie?

It’s very physically exhausting. I mean, at the end of the day if you have to kill somebody 10 times, especially the way we do it in this movie. Like in the nurses scene. I stick her a few times. And then the last stick, I just looked up and said, ‘Rob, I’m done!’ (Laughs) And he said, ‘I like it! It’s good!’ But yeah, it’s very physically demanding and intense. At the end of the day I had to unwind with a cigar and a glass of wine.

Does the mask start to stink after you sweat in it for a while?

No, it was taken care of very well. I was very appreciative of that extra opening though! It let air move in a little better then the last version.

Are you a horror film fan at all? And how did this change your look on them?

I was not really into horror films all that much, because when JAWS came out, I was a really young kid and after seeing that, I didn’t want to go in the bathtub let alone the beach! So, I gradually have come to appreciate them since taking on the role of Michael Myers.

What appeals to you in horror?

What I like to see and it’s sad to say, but I like to see the dirty kills. The very realistic kills, because in a lot of horror movies you go ‘no way that would ever happen’. And the one thing I said if I was going to be doing this is that I wanted the kills to be more realistic and dirty. If you see any of those shows on death, there’s a definite aftermath. We’re making movies here and it’s all pretend but it does happen in the real world. If you see those shows, there’s a definite aftermath that is left behind and that is what is shown in this HALLOWEEN. Like a crime scene.

More realistic the scarier.

This HALLOWEEN is definitely not your typical cookie-cutter horror film. I call it more of a Greek tragedy because everyone is a tragedy and no one comes away unscathed one way or another. Everybody’s lives has changed. By the end of it – I felt like I was run out. This was the first movie that I’d ever done where at the end of it, I said I’ve got to see it again. It’s just that intense.

What’d you think of the white horse motif? (In the film, Deborah Myers appears to Michael with a white horse. Young Michael Myers speaks to her.)

I saw the white horse in person! That’s a big ass horse! (Laughs) It is a symbol to him of the white horse given to him by his mother. I mean, that is what Michael Myers draws to. When he gets out of the crash, he thinks he sees his mother and the little white horse. You’ve probably had toys as a kid that mean something to you, like a toy car or a little motorcycle or something. And that’s exactly what’s going on with Michael Myers.

Favorite kill in HALLOWEEN 2?

It’s hard to say. The rednecks got it pretty good. The nurse got it real good. Danielle put up a hell of a fight. So it’s hard to say. Each one has their own separate little thing to it.

ICONS: How collaborative are orchestrating the kills between you, Wayne Toth and Rob Zombie? Do you guys talk about it and try to put a little more into each one?

Yeah, when you’re filming something like that you have to take a look at it and see – sometimes you have to change the angle or the movement, because sometimes a realistic movement doesn’t play as well as a little tweak here or there. (For the camera) So it’s very collaborative. And you do it, you see playback and for me, I look at it and go ‘what if I do this? Would you get what you’re looking for?’ And we give it a shot. So it’s very collaborative.

Have you ever met Derek Mears who recreated Jason Voorhees?

Derek Mears and I are buddies. And we live about a block and a half away from each other. He’s a great guy.

Fan reaction to your Michael Myers?

Overall, it’s been really great. People were a little skeptical at first with the first movie, but since they saw it and seeing how I played Michael Myers, they’ve been very receptive.

How’d you feel when Rob first called you about playing Michael Myers?

To tell you the truth, I was up in Canada getting ready to talk to producers and the phone rang and it was Rob and he says, “Hey, I want you to play Michael Myers” in HALLOWEEN and I said, “Rob… I don’t want to be the guy with the hockey mask.” (Laughs) “Dude… wrong mask!” So that shows you what I knew about it. I’d seen the original HALLOWEEN when I was younger, but I’ve enjoy doing it now.

ICONS: Did you go back and watch the previous films to see how other people portrayed Michael Myers?

Oh yeah. I’ve seen all of them except for 3 where Michael doesn’t appear. I’m definitely the tallest Michael. Well, all the other Michael Myers’ were very one dimensional characters. I wanted to give Michael Myers the depth that he deserved and that came from all my research because if you look at any serial killer, they could walk out into the street and no one would think they’d be capable of doing what they’d done. I wanted to bring that to it. So to bring the physicality to this movie and different moods to it, gives it a whole lot more.

I noticed a lot of audible grunts in the new movie. Don’t remember that in the first, but was that something you added?

It was there (in the first HALLOWEEN), we did the ADR for the 1st one, but the ones we did on the day, like when I stabbed the nurse it was pretty intense. That’s what Rob and I brought to it. You would be doing something like that if you were stabbing someone like that.

ICONS: I think besides George Wilbur, you’re the first actor to play him more then once. Would you do it again should the opportunity come?

(Pause)

ICONS: How ’bout this… Are you obligated to play him again?

No, I signed on for 2. I did the 2. But it’s hard to say. I’d have to see who’s doing it. And just see which way we wanted to take it. It’s kind of going to be hard to carry on from this one, and … if Michael Myers is going into space, well, I ain’t going! (Laughs)

ICONS: Did you guys shoot multiple endings? I thought I saw a little something on set that was different then what’s in the movie.

Well there were parts from what you saw used. When you shoot something, you’re always shooting different things and you have to add to it and work out the way you wanted it to originally come out.

(SPOILER ALERT)

ICONS: I’m not one of those fans that cries blasphemy at the idea of your Michael talking. I know you said the word “Boo” in the first one. And I’m pretty sure I heard you say something on set for this one. So did you film stuff of Michael talking?

Well, hey, you have to realize you’re doing several takes. And it was probably Malcolm screwing with me, and I just screamed out “die”! “Die already!” I think he wanted a Shakespearean death and we were like no he’s just going to die!

(END SPOILER)

What’s next for you?

I’m starting up Mane Entertainment and my first project is sort of along these same lines, it’s a horror/thriller called PENANCE LANE. And hopefully we’ll be filming that this winter. I’m producing it and going to be in it. I play a con that gets out of prison, and he goes around on a mission to this house and people turn out to be different then they appear – it’s got a lot of twists and turns.

What’s your favorite horror movie of the last 3 years or so?

Last few years? HALLOWEEN and HALLOWEEN II. Wait – can’t be those? THE SHINING is my favorite. Although that’s not recent. But it is classic!

Malcolm McDowell:

What’s the attraction to horror for most people?

I think people just love to be scared but know that they’re safe really. They love the thrill to be frightened. Personally I find them incredibly boring but that’s just me. As an individual. I’m not a great fan of horror films, but people love ‘em. They’re big genre movies. These horror conventions are just jammed with people that love ‘em. Rob’s a good director so that helps. It’s nice if you get a good director to do it. I haven’t seen this one and apparently it’s a bit different.

Were you able to be collaborative about Loomis this time out?

Yes, I wanted to bring a bit of comedy to it. I got bored playing the other Loomis, we just completely changed the character arbitrarily. I just got bored.

How’s Loomis different this time? He’s kind of a jerk this time.

It was dictated not by his success but more by his near death experience. I thought if somebody is that close to death from this big, raging, bulky guy and um – I mean then I think you’d be pissed off. So I decided to play it that way, which was fun. I had this wonderful actress Mary Birdsong who played my publicist & she was great. We were able to sort of improvise it. Which was great. I don’t know if a lot of it made it into the film, but we had a lot of fun making it.

Have you seen the first HALLOWEEN you did a lot? Do you watch your movies?

Yeah, I watched the first one once. I saw it at the premiere, I’ll probably never see it again. I don’t watch any of my films more then once. If there’s a premiere, if there’s not I never see them at all. I would say there’s a good 20 films I’ve made that I’ve never seen.

Like?

I don’t know! I’ll meet someone in the cast and they’ll say ‘we were in blah blah blah together’ and I don’t even remember being in that movie? I do too many movies. The good ones I remember.

Have you seen CLOCKWORK ORANGE more then once?

Oh yeah, I remember that one! (Laughs) Of course I’ve seen that one more then once, it’s a classic. But I have to go back every 10 years to see it again because there’s always some big thing going on so I’m invited to sit there, because it’s rude if I tip toe out. People will go ‘he’s leaving!’ So I sit there and watch it. It’s coming up again, I’ve got to sit through the damn thing again. The 40th anniversary is coming up.

Does it take on new meaning over the years?

Well, it takes on new meaning for the new audiences that find it. The kids, they love that film. It is a remarkable film. I got very lucky with that, so um, it’s a great film and as you say, it holds up. Of course it is about a timeless subject. Which is great, the brilliance of Burgess, plus Kubrick – it’s a great film really, the essence. Last time I saw it was around 5 years ago at the Egyptian theater. Now I got this email asking if I’d go back to the Egyptian since they’re going to screen it again. I don’t know why they’re going to when they showed it 5 years ago! But anyway, I’ll probably go back, because it’s nice – films like that, or the Lindsay Anderson films are so great. It’s nice to see them occasionally although I wouldn’t want to – I mean, my kids, they’ve never seen them. They’ve seen CLOCKWORK ORANGE. My older kids. My daughter called me when she went to college, she goes, “Dad! Um, I’ve been into a few dorms of my friends and … there’s posters of you up on them!” She had no idea. She had never seen the film.

How old were they when they saw A CLOCKWORK ORANGE?

My daughter was in college so she was 18. My son saw it when he was 20. So I think the boys can kind of take it. Maybe. I don’t know. I kept saying, ‘No, you’re far too young. You can’t see that one.’

What’s scary to you?

Well, it’s horror but it’s horror of the mind. Psychological horror. It’s much more affective in a way. Psychological stuff – when you get into a character that can be very disquieting. Yeah, that was… of course, the whole thing has changed. The meaning of the movie (CLOCKWORK ORANGE) has changed so much over the years. When it first opened, it was a big scandal. This really violet film, it’s not really violet today. People just couldn’t get past the violence at all when it opened. I mean, people were running out of the theater and throwing up in the lobby. Rob – he’s certainly a great talent and very interesting, and I think he tried to do something different with this film. Well, what do you want to see? The same old boring HALLOWEEN again and again? So, just put it on repeat and sit there watching the same damn movie.

Considering the ending of Rob’s first HALLOWEEN, did you think you could come back?

Of course! (Laughs) I’ll be back for the third one! Even though I know I lost my head! Who cares? It’s not real.

ICONS: This was your second feature length with Rob, so how’d this differ from the first time out? Was it easier considering you’ve developed a friendship and rapport since the first?

Well, yeah – Absolutely. Rob and I are good friends. He was a little more harassed by the studio people this time. They were cutting days and pretty much driving him nuts. I felt bad for him because he was under a lot of pressure. But he stuck to his guns and did what he wanted. I think so, because they were coming down on budget and going crazy and blah blah blah. That’s the film business.

ICONS: Can you talk about shooting in Georgia? It was some cold nights out there!

Yeah! There were cold nights in good old Georgia. I quite enjoyed it, I thought that Georgia was quite a nice state. I hadn’t really been anywhere outside of Atlanta. And to actually get into the countryside and the small towns, east of Atlanta. I thought they were very beautiful and terrific and good golf courses, of course. That’s what’s important to me. The food? Heart attack waiting to happen. Couldn’t live there, but no, I mean once in a while it was great. I think Georgia is a beautiful state, I really do. And the people were very nice, I had a great time. A lot of fun.

Do you consider yourself American or an Englishman?

I don’t consider myself an American or an Englishman to be honest. I consider myself a Californian. (Laughs) I feel more of a Californian then I do an American and an Englishman. California is of course a huge state. My kids are American because they were born here.

ICONS: Can you talk about the Weird Al scene in HALLOWEEN 2? It’s one of the highlights of the whole film.

He is great! I don’t know how it happened, he came down. I’d never really heard about him. Weird Al, I didn’t know who he was, but I loved working with him. The whole thing where I’m getting pissed off was so perfect. It was all improvised. Like when I called him “Mr. Weird”. I thought, well his name is Weird Al, so I guess I’ll call him Mister Weird. I don’t know! He goes “zapped!” He does something weird, and I said, ‘how the hell do you think you are?’ It was just great. Of course, they paired down the scene we had together but it was great fun working with him. He’s a terrific guy. We had so much fun doing that. It was shot in half a day, the whole thing.