H: First of all, I'm sure you're bored
of doing this now, but can you give us a quick rundown of what The
Amityville Horror is about?
M: It's a remake of the seventies film
with Margot Kidder and James Brolin, and it was a true story of
what happened in the 70's in a town called Amityville. It's about
a man that murdered his whole family, and he said he did it because
he heard voices, so this guy is in Jail today. So the house is on
the market, and this family buy it - one of which is the character
I'm playing, Kathy Lutz - they move in and slowly over 28 days,
which is all they lasted in the house, my husband tries to murder
myself and the children, as he believes he heard the voices as well.
So it's a true story, and Kathy and George Lutz are real people,
and it's the story of them living in this house - that's pretty
much it.
H: So it's supposedly based on a true
story - how much of that do you believe?
M: I think a lot of it is true - for
a family to not be in the house any longer than 28 days, and to
leave everything behind - something must have happened. They didn't
come back for even their personal belongings, so... That to me says
that some of it must have been true. I'm sure some elements of it
have been exaggerated over time, but then our movie that we're making
is also based on new evidence, and new evidence about what really
went on, from the coroners and the police, and the real people involved
[The original is based purely on Jay Anson's novel 'The Amityville
Horror']. So we're almost in a way adding on to the old film.
H: So you don't go for the story that
there was a psychosomatic element to what they experienced?
S: I believe that there may be some
sort of psychological aspect to it, but... I mean look, some people
say they imagined it, but when you read what really went on, I don't
think that's the case at all.
H: So, it must have been a scary movie
to be taking part in?
M: It was really scary - we had to
live the moment, and there were some really tough conditions with
the rain and storms and so much action... But this movie is so great
because it's not just a slasher film - it's not just running and
screaming, that's just a small section of it. It also has this great
psychological element to it that's quite disturbing, so there were
a lot of great scenes to do.
H: What would you say to somebody who
has seen the original version, to persuade them to come and see
the remake?
M: Well, our version is very modernized
and updated - we're actually showing what happened in the house
and I believe we're delivering what the audience will want to see.
H: So will it be an effects-heavy film
then?
M: No effects at all, no - all the
stunts were real, everything was created on-set.
H: Was it an emotional film to work
on?
M: Yeah, emotionally grueling. Because
there's this poor family and the mother doesn't know what's happening
to her husband and she's trying to keep the kids happy, and keep
him happy, and all the while she's discovering all this evil stuff
to do with the basement of the house. And she's a very religious
woman, so she doesn't believe in demons but then she's forced to
realise it's true - so it was a fantastic acting role to get.
H: You're working with Ryan Reynolds
in the movie - how was he to work with?
M: Oh brilliant - he made me laugh
every second of the day. We were making this horrific film, but
there was so much laughter involved, it was wonderful.
H: Presumably in a film such as this
you need to keep your spirits up ('scuse the pun!) while not in
character?
M: Exactly. But also, when you're working
on these very heavy scenes, you've got to be so focused and in to
the character, so you don't really muck around too much. But then
the beginning quarter of the film is very romantic - George and
Kathy are very much in love, and so happy to be buying this house,
and they just got married, so there's lots of comedy elements in
the beginning parts.
H: So which part do you prefer, the
lighthearted parts or the meatier acting?
M: I love all of it, I like to play
different ranges. when you get really deeply involved in the emotional
parts - I enjoy that just as much as the fun and laughter.
H: Would you do a horror movie again?
M: I think so, yeah - although I think
I've pretty much done the best one around at the moment, so who
knows. If it was an offer I simply couldn't turn down, then I guess
so.
H: You often hear stories about ghostly
goings-on around horror movies - did you experience anything out
of the ordinary?
M: There were a couple of things, definitely.
The first week of filming, the real Kathy Lutz sadly passed away,
so that spooked me a bit, and then another night all the lights
suddenly turned on in the house for no reason. The police were called,
and security came out, but there was nobody at all in the house
- we don't know what happened, so that was kinda freaky. Oh and
on the second night of filming I woke up at 3:15 in the morning,
which is when everybody keeps waking up in the movie - so when you
the film you'll understand why that was more than a little spooky.
H: How much of that do you think was
down to the expectations everyone has when working on horror films?
M: I guess it could just be the fact
that you're playing that kind of role, and bringing that sort of
energy to the set - when you're acting you have to try to live the
character, so maybe subconsciously you're scaring yourself. Like
when the lights thing happened, the first thing you think of is
that it must be something to do with the story, whereas normally
you may just conclude it was some electrical problem. But the set
and the whole crew were all a little bit more aware, their fear
was a little bit heightened.
H: So does that heightened edge make
it easier to act the part?
M: Yeah it does. But you know, the
part I enjoy about acting is just having that imagination - taking
your mind to a place that your wouldn't normally necessarily go
to. So I enjoy just imagining the scary elements anyway. No matter
what the character is, I just say to myself 'If I, Melissa George,
was in that situation, how would I react?' and once you do that
you can just go for it, and hopefully the performance comes through.
H: I'm very much looking forward to
seeing it.
M: Yeah, I can't wait! The trailer
has just been cut, and I'm very happy. Hopefully it'll do well,
though you never know with movies, whether they open up on the right
weekend or not - you just need a bit of movie magic now. I've done
the best I can, and the director's up for a DGA (Director's Guild
America) this weekend, so hopefully it will all come together.
H: You're next movie project after
Amityville is Derailed - can you tell us a bit about that?
M: It's based on the book of the same
name, and it's actually a story about the authors life [as an advertising
creative]. It stars Clive Owen and Myself, Jennifer Aniston and
Vincent Cassell, and it's a story about a man whose life is falling
apart. It was an honour to be asked to play his wife, and basically
he's on the train to work one day and it gets derailed, and so does
his life and that of the people around him. It's beautifully directed
by Mikael Håfström, who's a great director - he did a
wonderful Swedish movie, called 'Evil' and he was great to work
with.
H: When is Derailed scheduled for release?
M: Around August I believe.
H: So was Derailed an enjoyable movie
to work on?
M: For me, it was a great, mature role.
The story is that they got marriage when they were teenagers, so
they've been together so long, and they have this daughter who is
not at all well - their marriage is basically falling apart. So
for me it was a good acting piece - nothing fluffy about it. It
was really dramatic, very mature - I had to grow up a little bit
to play it. But I really enjoyed it.
H: Derailed is based on a novel - do
you know how close it sticks to the story from the book?
M: I think it's pretty close. Although
my character is a little bigger than she is in the book, apparently,
so it's great for me. It started out quite small, but then I ended
up having about a third of the work to do in the film, so it was
pretty great.
H: Did you get to work a lot with Vincent
Cassell and Jennifer Aniston, or is it mainly with Clive Owen?
M: Mainly with Clive, and I did some
things with Vincent, but with Jennifer, No.
H: It sounds like you've got some great
movies coming out?
M: All I know is that in my opinion,
Amityville and Derailed are two of the best scripts out this year,
so I'm very lucky. When I got both of those jobs I was like 'Oh
my god, this is too great!'
H: So you got them both at a similar
sort of time?
M: Yeah, I was up for both, and I got
Amityville first. Then while I was filming I got a call from the
people at Miramax saying 'We want you to be in Derailed as well'
- and I had to leave 8 hours after we wrapped on Amityville! I was
in this tank drowning and all I could think about was 'Oh my god,
I have to be in London tomorrow for Derailed'. So on the plane over
to the UK, I was doing a lot of cleansing - trying to get rid of
the evils of Amityville. I literally used that plane journey to
try to erase from my mind the difficult, harrowing experience of
the character in Amityville, just trying to dissolve it. And then
I'm in the UK, on set with Clive Owen for a month and a half, thinking
to myself 'This is fantastic!'
H: Was it hard going from playing a
70's character to a more modern-day role?
M: I was a little, yes. But then I
think I was so well oiled from Amityville, it was easier trying
to interpret the change. And of course the character in Amityville
was a mother trying to keep the family and her marriage together,
and my character in Derailed was also a wife and mother going through
similar experiences. I thought it was going to be difficult, but
being in London and having such a great director, it seemed to work
out really well.
H: Are you a little concerned at all
that you might become stereotyped in these mothery roles?
M: Oh gosh, well Amityville was set
in the 70's, and back then my mother had had three children by the
time she was 23, so that's fine by me. And then you look at Angelina
Jolie, who player Colin Farrell's mother in Alexander - it doesn't
even matter, do you know what I mean? The roles that I'm getting...
Amityville for instance, she's not a 'mother' role, it's a strong
woman who ends up being the hero of the film. And then Derailed
was offered to me, and you don't turn down the chance to star opposite
Clive Owen, regardless of the character! There were concerns that
I wasn't old enough to play the role, but at the end of the day,
you can play any age, any character you want to. Some people have
been saying 'It's very new for you to be playing the role of wife
and mother', but I have to point out that in Home and Away I was
16 with two children - that was twelve years ago, so you can probably
see what I mean.
H: Has playing a mother made you feel
broody at all?
M: No, not too much. Not at all actually!
I think looking at my husband makes me feel broody, but not so much
the working with children.
H: How were the children to work with?
M: Oh, just wondeful, really great.
We were so freezing cold, the kids and myself on the roof on that
set, with rain machines - it was zero degrees in Chicago. But the
children were incredible, so professional.
H: Before these latest two movies you
spent some time on the US show ALIAS. Do you have any plans to return?
M: You know, there's discussion about
it, sure - it would be great, and the show is just rating through
the roof this year. I'm not sure though. Doing movies is one of
the things I love, and I'll be pretty busy with publicity for both
of these for the next few months, so who knows?
H: How did Andrew Douglas compare to
other directors you've worked with, like Soderbergh and Lynch?
M: Pretty much the same - he's just
a genius! So is Mikael Håfström. I've been blessed, absolutely
blessed - people wanted to meet me this week for meetings, just
based on the directors I've worked with. I've been so lucky, the
directors I've worked with have been so gifted and incredibly talented.
H: So, what's up next for you in 2005?
M: No firm plans, but all I know
at the moment is I'm on a big publicity trail for both movies, and
then trying to figure out when I can go back to Chile - because
my husband is directing his first movie, starting tomorrow. I hope
to go back to Buenos Aries, and hang out there for a little bit
too - I've been studying Spanish. That has been sooooo difficult...
