WAMG Interview: FRIGHT NIGHT Director Craig Gillespie

Interview conducted by Tom Stockman August 12th 2011

The remake of the 1985 fave FRIGHT NIGHT opens this Friday. In the original film the story revolved around high-schooler Charley Brewster who discovers that his new next-door neighbor is a vampire looking to kill, cause chaos, and generally make life hell for the young lad, though no one will believe him. We Are Movie Geeks got a sneak peak at the film last week and liked what we saw. How far does this new one stick to the laughs-and-chills formula of the original? Find out this weekend. The new FRIGHT NIGHT is directed by Craig Gillespie, an Australian film director best known for directing the acclaimed 2007 indie LARS AND THE REAL GIRL. Gillespie’s background is in commercials and he won the “Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Commercials” in 2006 for his Ameriquest and Altoids ads.  Gillespie took time to speak to We Are Movie geeks About FRIGHT NIGHT.

We Are Movie Geeks: Congratulations on FRIGHT NIGHT. We saw it last night and it was quite good. The crowd really enjoyed it

Craig Gillespie: Tom, were you scared?

WAMG: Oh yeah, at the scary parts and I laughed when I was supposed to.

CG: Good. Did you see it with a crowd?

WAMG: Yes, a big crowd, everyone liked it. Were you a fan of the original?

CG: I was vaguely familiar with the original. I hadn’t seen it for decades. I couldn’t even tell you the whole plot when I picked up this script to read it. I chose this script on its own merit really. It was a great script that Marti (Noxon) wrote. A perfect blend of horror and humor and that’s what attracted me to it. I didn’t go back and revisit the original until we started shooting.

WAMG: Why do you think the original has such a huge cult following?

CG: You know what, it’s so committed. It has such a great comic tone to it. It really has fun with itself and the characters are fun. And the effects, they’re just crazy and it’s the effects that we wanted to pay homage to. You just didn’t see vampires like that since, or before. You know, with the big mouth full of fangs. I don’t think anyone else has gone to that extreme.

WAMG: Are you a big fan of horror films in general?

CG: No, I wouldn’t say horror in particular, but I do love Science Fiction and action DISTRICT 9 was one of my favorite films of recent years.

WAMG: Where are you from?

CG: I’m from Australia

WAMG: Australian? I didn’t realize that. Did you grow up watching films in Australia? Were you a movie buff?

CG: Not really. When I was growing up in the ’80s, my favorite film was AN AMERICAN WEREWOLF IN LONDON. What a fun ride that was. And when I read the script for FRIGHT NIGHT, it had that tone, that combination of humor and the horror. Horror films today are just that, pure horror and that roller coaster ride with the humor, that’s just a refreshing thing to see.

WAMG: Did you meet or consult with Tom Holland (the director/writer of the original FRIGHT NIGHT) at all?

CG: No, but Chris Sarandon we spoke with.

WAMG: Yes, he has a great cameo. In fact people applauded when they saw Chris Sarandon in the film last night. Was he excited about doing the cameo?

CG: Oh yes, absolutely. In fact he reached out to us first and I said yes, I’d love to have him in it. He had read the script and contacted us.

WAMG: You’ve been hanging out with Colin Farrell a lot promoting this film. What is he like?

CG: He’s such a great guy. Down to earth with a wicked sense of humor. He’s got great comic timing which is why he was perfect for this role because we needed someone who was going to have fun with the role.

WAMG: I’d say the Jerry in the remake is more monstrous and less romantic than the way Sarandon had played him.

CG: Oh there’s no romance and that’s what I liked about the script. He’s more of a serial killer, a predator. So we had to approach more in the sense of him being this primal beast with these sexual undertones that are part of his drive. I like that the character was stripped down to his bare essentials.

WAMG: Who were some other actors that you considered for the role of Jerry?

CG: You know, Colin was at the top of the list. This was one of the rare times in the movies where the stars lined up immediately. I met Colin on day three of shooting and knew right away his was going to be perfect. Toni (Collete) and I had worked together (on United States of Tara) and she came on board and we had to use people that had good senses of humor because of the subject. And it turned out that Colin was a big fan of the original too. Chris Mintz-Plasse auditioned and he really surprised me. I was impressed with the emotional weight he could carry. And of course David Tennant, this was his first American film.

WAMG: And that was a much different character than the way Roddy McDowell played him. How involved in the script were you?

CG: The script was so well-conceived by the time it was sent to me there was very little to revise. We did work on the ending a little bit. Sometimes the actors would take a line and improvise.

WAMG: Some of Chris Mintz-Plasse’s lines seemed improvised. Is that true?

CG: Not necessarily on the day we shot but yes, some of his own lines eventually made it in there. Were people laughing at his lines?

WAMG: Definitely. He had the best lines and he seems like such a funny kid, I just wondered if he came up with some of that stuff on his own.

CG: Yes, the lines about Stretch Armstrong were all his.

WAMG: Would you like to get back to smaller independent films like LARS AND THE REAL GIRL or do you prefer these bigger budget blockbuster types?

CG: I would like to do both. Actually, I’m committed to directing PRIDE, PREJUDICE AND ZOMBIES right now but after that I’d love to go back to something small and intimate like LARS.

WAMG: What about FRIGHT NIGHT PART 2?

CG: Ha!, We’ll see. I don’t want to count my eggs before they’re hatched.

WAMG: Well, good luck with FRIGHT NIGHT and all your future projects and thanks for talking with We Are Movie Geeks

CG: Absolutely. My pleasure