Fright Night: Anton Yelchin and Christopher Mintz-Plasse
What the two young stars thought of working with David Tennant, sharing a pool with Colin Farrell and the original version of their new horror comedy.
Although we weren't crazy about Craig Gillespie's remake of Fright Night, one thing it certainly had going for it were the excellent cast. We headed to a press conference with stars Anton Yelchin and Christopher Mintz-Plasse to hear what Chekhov and McLovin made of their time shooting the horror comedy...
Fright Night came out before you were born, so how aware of it were you?
Christopher: I wasn’t, I didn’t know it existed until I got the script for this one. I just heard that this was a remake, and I went in and got the part. Then I bought the original and watched it. I thought it was great.
Anton: Pretty much the same. I wasn’t really aware of it and then when I got the script I watched it, and have it now.
Some people would stay away from the original movie when taking on something like this, in case watching William Ragsdale and Stephen Geoffreys colours your performances - was that a concern?
Christopher: No, I wanted to watch it for that reason and I thought he did an amazing job as the original Evil Ed, but it was very wacky and zany and very 80s and over the top. I wanted to see that so I knew what not to do in a way. I didn’t want to act like I was imitating him, because he was so great. So I watched it and I knew what things not to do for my Evil Ed.
At any point did you get close to his delivery, which is very high pitched and squeaky?
Christopher: I don’t think my voice could do that, because his delivery was kind of just like mocking you in a way, ‘you’re so cool Brewster!’ but in this one it’s like he really hurt my feelings in this one, and he did in a way. It’s more of a depressed one.
There's an interesting relationship on screen - a feeling of a friendship lost and spurned.
Anton: I fight that every day with you dude. It was in the script, and credit to Craig because he really let us play around quite a bit. We hung out, we hung out in Albuquerque and we both knew what was happening with that relationship and because of the way that Craig is he just let us play.
Christopher: With improv of lines and whatnot.
How well did you know David Tennant before this film, and have you seen him in Doctor Who?
Christopher: I did not know who he was when I did this movie, but I’d heard that he was very talented and I knew that people were very into Doctor Who. I kind of was excited that I didn’t know who he was, because then I got to work with him and I got to see up front what kind of actor he was. He was super hilarious. He’s the best part of this movie really, he’s my favourite part.
Anton: He’s so good, he’s really so much fun to watch. On screen and then while we were shooting it was just a blast. I wish they could have put everything that he said in there. You could make a whole movie out of that character.
So there was lots of improv from him then?
Anton: Massive amounts, my favourite lines in the movie are ones that he improvised. Like where says ‘shall I make you a Shirley Temple?’. On the day I found that really funny.
Did David stay in character?
Anton: No, he didn’t stay in character. I mean, that character is so ridiculous that I kind of would have liked to see him stay in character. But he didn’t. He’s a really nice man, though. We just talked about all sorts of things. We shot a lot together and we shot in these grimy environments, especially towards the end in that pit. And he just is one of those people who always has a good sense of humour about him and is always funny – wow, that’s not redundant – but he’s just smart and funny. I don’t know, he’s not one of those people who brings energy down at work. He maintains such a positive attitude. It sounds kind of cheesy and lame but it’s true, when you’re working 17 hours or 18 hours, you need that person who is like: 'Oh, it’s alright, it’s 18 hours, I’m rolling around in a pit of shit, but it’s fun; life is good.' So, he’s really great. But he just kept the accent up.
How was working with Colin? Chris, you get to share a pool scene...
Christopher: Four people came in today and they all said it was homoerotic! That was not quite what we were going for. It was awesome working with Colin. He’s a very sweet guy. We shot that pool scene and we had to stay in the pool together for two hours because there was a bunch of shots going on, so we just kind of chatted. I got to know about his kids and he got to know about my family and what not. It was very sweet of him to ask.
Anton: In my head, it’s the two of you doggy paddling...
Christopher: Treading water in the pool?
Anton, you have a very interesting relationship with Colin in the movie. He’s a very feral vampire. I imagine Colin wasn’t method off-set I’d imagine?
Anton: No, he’s the nicest man. He’s just like a really nice, charming, funny human being. And he is that way all the time until he goes into character. I enjoyed watching it happen so much because it was so good. You just knew how good it was – every take something was new and interesting. It was the same with David... just watching them create these awesome characters, you know?
Are you guys big vampire fans?
Christopher: I’m a big horror buff. I enjoy horror movies, I saw Blade with my Dad when I was younger. But The Thing is one of my favourite horror movies, and The Strangers. I just like violence and blood.
Anton: I’m not a huge vampire guy. I like the original Nosferatu and I like the Herzog remake; I either like cerebral vampire movies or gory, fucked up violent ones. Like I like From Dusk Till Dawn. It’s not really gory or fucked up but Gary Oldman is so good in the Coppola Dracula. He’s amazing in that. It’s extraordinary. I’m not really a fan of the suburban melodramatic lovesick...
Are there particular films in the horror genre that made an impression on you as a teenager?
Christopher: The first horror movie that I saw in theatres was Starship Troopers, and I was like eight. That was the first movie I saw boobs in too, so it was a double win for me. My Dad took me to that one, it was my first impression of aliens and blood and action and stuff like that. I loved it, and I loved it [ever] since.
Anton: I didn’t really do any sneaking [in to films] my parents were always really cool with me watching things. One of the first things I saw in theatres was Con Air, I remember being seven or eight. And I remember the words ‘I’d better not see that cock pop out of your pants,’. What the fuck? Just the sound of that ‘don’t let that cock pop out of your pants,’. But yeah, I didn’t really watch a lot of horror when I was younger. I watched Nosferatu with my Dad when I was a little kid. I guess Cape Fear has those elements, the remake has horrific elements to it, and that was one of my favourite movies when I was little.
How easy was it get the tone in a comedy horror film like this - did Colin Farrell and David Tennant help in that?
Christopher: Tennant definitely got the humour and Colin definitely got the horror elements in it, but it wasn’t them that really helped us it was Craig the director, who did Lars and the Real Girl and the performances in that movie are incredible. Gosling and everybody else, so I kind of knew going into this that Craig was going to get good performances, comedic or horror, out of everybody. He did a fantastic job of it.
How are 3D films for actors on location, and how does it affect your performances?
Christopher: The 3D cameras... there wasn’t much difference. They’re bigger and they’re heavier but it didn’t really affect us at all. They move a bit slower.
Anton: It’s more for the operator because they’re so large. I would have assumed that we’d have a lot of changes, technically, in terms of positions and distance and all that. But I don’t remember it affecting us at all.
Before you did Fright Night how knowledgeable were you about the various ways to kill a vampire? And do you think you’d have been able to take a vamp down?
Christopher: I could not take a vampire down, I’m a weakling. I’m a frail boy. But that’s what I like about Fright Night – they have the garlic and stakes, standing in the sunlight... it’s the old school vampire stuff to kill a vampire. And that’s how I would try to take down a vampire.
This is one of a plethora of remakes at the moment. Is there any films in your past you’d like to see re-made?
Christopher: I don’t think so. I’m pretty happy with all my favourite movies and what not. There’s not any movie that I can think of that’s horrible, that needs to be remade.
Anton: Maybe like Jesus Chris Superstar or something, with me and you.
Anton, you’re pretty much the king of reboots at the moment, with Star Trek, Fright Night and Terminator: Salvation - are you particularly drawn to that sort of material?
Anton: I don’t know. I think it just kind of lands in my lap. If I like the character and I like the story... I mean, Terminator was a little different because when that opportunity came to me I felt really lucky because that was actually one of my favourite movies growing up. But yeah, I don’t really seek it out, no. I think it’s just the condition of sort of mainstream filmmaking. It’s like most films, you know...
If some movies from the past were to be remade, is there one that you’d like to be in?
Christopher: When I’m older I want to play Kurt Russell in The Thing because he’s just so freakin’ handsome in that! He’s got a luscious beard and like that thick head of hair. I want to be that guy.
How’s your beard?
Christopher: It’s not coming along. My facial hair is like someone grabbed a pile of dirt and said [gestures throwing]: “Here’s your face hair, asshole!” It just sticks there and that’s all I can do.
Anton, is there a remake you’d particularly like to be a part of?
Anton: I guess if I had to choose it would be a film noir. Maybe like... there’s a great one called Gun Crazy, so that would be cool. But I don’t want to remake my favourite movies. They’re great. If I re-made them I’d fuck it up.
How do you cope with being recognised by your own fans? Is there a particular thing they recognise you for?
Christopher: Well, I get McLovin sometimes from Superbad. And then people really enjoy... mainly over here I get Kick-Ass more than in the US. People really enjoyed that. But everyone’s been really sweet. They come up and want a picture or they want to meet us, which is really nice.
Anton: It doesn’t really happen to me that often but it’s nice. It’s nice when someone comes up and says: 'We appreciate your work.' You realise that you actually maybe do something for people a little bit, in whatever way. I don't know if it’s healthy or unhealthy or what...
Chris, in your career path since Superbad, you haven’t really played the McLovin’ character again. Have you had to resist the temptation to do that again as a career choice?
Christopher: Yeah definitely. You don’t really want to play the same character in any movies but specifically that one because that was my first movie and it was a High School movie and I’d just graduated High School at the time, so I kind of wanted to stay away from High School comedies like that because I had just done it.
Do you know anything about Kick-Ass 2?
Christopher: We don’t know yet. I know we would all love to but everyone’s super busy. Chloe’s working on stuff and Matthew’s working on stuff, so at the moment there’s nothing.
Anton, you seem quite steeped in movie history. Does that mean you’d like to do more in the future like directing?
Anton: Yeah, I’d definitely love to direct one day. I love movies. It’s all I really care about. I mean it’s not all I care about... it’s probably top two: my family and movies are pretty much it. So, I’d love to, yeah.
So are you picking up tips all the time?
Anton: I do a lot of watching. I feel like a film set is the best school you could go to, you know? Especially when you’re with technicians that are really excellent. I just finished a movie in New Mexico and the guys on the movie... or this film. Javier, the DP, is a brilliant DP and watching him work and watching him interact with the operator, Ian, who is great... on this last movie I did all the camera guys and electricians and the main guys worked on Michael Bay’s films. So however you look at those films, they’re technical films so the technicians on those movies are top notch and watching them work is really... you learn so much about dolly moves and how focus works and how to fuck with them and not hit your mark and all sorts of things like that. So yeah, it’s the best kind of school being there watching them every day.
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