The legendary filmmaker on his new movie Burying the Ex, that Gremlins reboot and more.
(laughs)
Right.
Theres not very many cast members.
But it just appealed to me because I liked the script.
And if you took the zombie aspect out of the equation, you could play it straight, practically.
Thats pretty much true.
That was kind of what appealed to me.
The zombie part of it was just sort of icing on the cake.
You made the film sort of guerilla style.
What was that like for you?
Did that sort of flex those old muscles from the Roger Corman days of keeping things lean and mean?
Id been also doing a lot of television, and television is very fast.
Not as fast as that movie, but pretty fast.
So Im used to making decisions.
Making movies is all problem solving.
Theres not a lot of downtime.
So everybody is sort of in the trenches together.
Everybody is encouraged to contribute and come up with stuff.
Its just the time you have to consider what it is you are going to do is very compressed.
Do you think the actors respond to that differently than when theyre on the set of a huge blockbuster?
I dont know that they respond differently.
Alexandra madeSan Andreasafter our picture.
She was in aTexas Chainsawmovie.
Shes paid her dues, I think.
Theyre professional actors, so they sort of adapt to the occasion.
It was particularly difficult for Ashley because she had to undergo a lot of makeup.
All that stuff you have to take into consideration.
But I think they just got into the spirit of it.
It was fun directing them.
And it was fun watching them.
Ive been doing it since I started.
That scene was an attempt to say, Well, see, we already know this stuff.
What was the most challenging shot you had to get off during the production?
Its always challenging to have somebody come out of a grave.
Ive done it numerous times.
There are different techniques to do it.
Its like, Wait a minute.
Did they bring a chainsaw with them?
How did they get out of that coffin?
But I guess thats just sort of a horror movie trope.
You have to put them underground.
You have to confirm they can breathe.
And its done at night.
And when its done for no money, it skirts the edge of being dangerous.
So thats always something difficult to do.
And on a low budget movie that takes time that you really dont have.
What is your view on the way the makeup effects world has changed?
We lost Dick Smith a little while back, and Rick Baker is retiring.
Well, I think we have lost Rick Baker, too, in a way.
I think theres very little real understanding in the executive suites of makeup and prosthetics.
And thats obviously not the case.
And Rick is too good for that.
Hes too good to be treated like that.
Hes a genius and hes got the Academy Awards to prove it.
What does that say to you about the craft of doing makeup?
30, 35 years later, where do you think the art stands?
Its all different now.
I mean a number of techniques wouldnt be used today.
And they were state-of-the-art at the time, much like the way we madeGremlinswas state-of-the-art.
But if they make anotherGremlinsmovie, theyre certainly not going to use those techniques because they are old.
I think they are not exactly outdated.
I think they can be improved and still used.
But its a different time.
Different people are running the studios.
Different audiences are going to the movies.
They are not seen even on film anymore.
You just have to roll with the punches.
Its not the same world it was 30 years ago.
Burying the Exhas obviously gone out on VOD and different distribution methods before coming out on DVD and Blu-ray.
What are the advantages and the disadvantages of the way distribution is changing?
I think were shortchanging the audience.
I think theyre not getting as much out of the movies as they could.
And then they are going to be seen primarily on VOD, or Blu-ray, or whatever.
So with that kind of paradigm I dont see how anybody could make any money on VOD.
Of all your films, which would you say was the best, happiest experience for you making it?
Ive been pretty lucky.
Maybe notExplorersbecause they didnt let me finish it.
AndInnerspacewas a lot of fun because it was just a fun movie to make with a fun cast.
And I enjoyed makingMatinee, even though it was very humid (laughs).
I like my job.
I like directing movies.
Its all problem solving.
And thats why I guess Im still doing it.
You dont sound discouraged.
Ive talked to a couple of filmmakers who have sounded a bit defeated.
Theres certainly enough justification to feel defeated if you want to.
I mean its a completely different business from the business I got into.
We dont even project or shoot on film anymore.
Who would have imagined that?
It was so quick, the transition from film to video in terms of projection.
It was like overnight the studios said, We dont want projectors.
We dont want prints.
All of a sudden there werent any.
Its all a big plus.
But I think weve lost the communal value of experiencing the art.
Ive been seeing online a re-appreciation ofInnerspacein the wake ofAnt-Mancoming out.
Have you caught onto that?
I heard about it.
I havent actually encountered it.
What do you hear about theGremlinsreboot that keeps surfacing?
I know just about as much about it as you do.
Things are going to get remade, and then if the remake doesnt work its going to get forgotten.
Nobody remembers the first twoMaltese Falcons.
They only remember the third one with Bogart, because thats the one that clicked.
When they say, Lets rentRobocop, they are not going to go to the new one.
They are going to go to the original.
I think people can remake whatever they want to remake.
And if they do a good remake, then theyll bring something new to the party.
They can turnHere Comes Mr. JordanintoHeaven Can Waitand everybody will say theyre both good movies.
So I cant say, Dont remake stuff, certainly not my stuff.
But I think some of the things that get remade are just not suited for this particular period.
Gremlinswas a fairly perfect movie as it is.
Im not quite sure what they would do with that, but who knows?
I think theyre not sure either.
(laughs)
Whats next on your plate?
Of course Ive got my Roger Corman movie Im trying to get made about him shootingThe Trip.
Ive got a European passport, so Ive been actually investigating a number of European possibilities.
Burying the Exis out now on Blu-ray and DVD.
