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How did you get
the cast for the film?
Rob Zombie: Priscilla Barnes
and Leslie Easterbrook where two people
that I didn’t actively pursue. So they
came in and read for the part. Cause if
somebody would have said their names I
would have been like I saw Three’s
Company but I never would have thought
of her doing anything like this. And
their were people on set who had worked
with her doing other films and they were
like ‘holy shit. I never knew she had
this in here’. So those were just lucky
auditions. They came in and they were
amazing.
Did you always
plan on doing a sequel?
Rob Zombie: Well, yes and no.
When I finished the first film I wrote
like a one line treatment for a sequel
because I knew in my contract that I was
contracted for a sequel. They were going
to make a sequel with or without. So, I
didn’t want it to be without me, so I
kind of had a little half half idea.
What experiences did you take from
the first movie that you bought to this
one?
Rob Zombie: Everything. The
first movie is like…its calamity. You
think you know what’s going to happen.
You think you know how movies are made.
But until your there…its complete
insanity from day one. The biggest thing
was just preproduction. Preproduction is
god. Because once you get on set the
time moves so fast that it seems like
you walk on set suddenly its like woe,
you’re behind schedule. Then its lunch.
Then the sun goes down. Terrific we’ve
accomplished nothing. But in this film,
preproduction was very intense. And the
other thing was finding…making sure your
key crew is great. I had one
cinematography that came in but I fired
him during the first week because he was
just not doing his job. We were falling
behind schedule everyday. Then the next
guy came in and he was fine and I’m like
oh what’s your name? And the next day we
start shooting but there’ like no vibe
what so ever. And then he couldn’t
return for the reshoot. So we brought in
another guy. And we didn’t get along at
all. We spent most of the time fighting
and that’s retarded. A literally people
were in mutiny like I can’t work with
this guy, you know. So the crews are
getting in their cars and going home. So
this time I made sure. That was the
first movie. That was a nightmare. So on
this movie, I made sure that everybody
was, you know…and I met with a lot of
cinematographers and I came back to Phil
Parmet who I could tell from his
personality that he’ll do whatever I
want, he’ll be a great guy to be around
all the time. And he was.
Is it hard
getting stars to work together in a
film?
Rob Zombie: Well, it’s really
easy because every actor’ so different,
that you don’t even notice because it’s
like you have to treat every single
actor like their the most important
person. Cause that’s the way they
probably all think of it. You have to
treat each of them like its all about
me. It’s not like we’ll treat everybody
this way and she’ll be like this. The
whole thing about directing is you have
to find a special way to manipulate each
actor to do exactly what you want yet
they think they thought of it. And that
you didn’t do anything.
Where do you
get the idea’ for these films?
Rob Zombie: I’ve always been
a fan of like…darker films. Like in Taxi
Driver. There are bleary lines of who’s
the good guy and who’s the bad guy in
those films. Like DeNiro in Taxi Driver,
there’s no redeeming characteristic to
him, what so ever. But he’s so
charismatic that you love him. And at
the end of the moving you like, you
know, have I been rooting for an
avenging hero or a nut case that’s gonna
open fire in the post office tomorrow?
So, you feel
like you are supposed to be rooting for
those people?
Rob Zombie: No. I feel like
you’re not supposed to know what you’re
doing. Because I like when people come
out and have different feelings like ‘oh
I was crying when they died’ and other
people are like ‘I hated them. I was
rooting for the sheriff the whole way’.
Everyone gets a totally different
opinion which is what I like.
Did you have
alternative endings in mind?
Rob Zombie: That was always
the ending. Every actor had a complaint
about that. Nobody makes a movie anymore
without a sequel. Its suicide. It’s like
the franchise, it’s gone. But I feel
like there’s never a definitive ending
anymore. Every movie ends with the
possibility of another one. It drives me
crazy. I’m like, why did I just invest 2
hours? It didn’t even end.
Did you have
any problems licensing the songs for the
film?
Rob Zombie: Yeah. There was
always problems but what I did this time
and that was very different was I
licensed all the songs in advance. So I
knew what I was shooting at the
beginning and I knew what I was getting
at the end. Cause there was no way…that
I was going to shoot it, get it to the
end, go into editing and then its I
don’t think so. Cause then your like now
what? What song are you going to replace
with that. That’s like the most gigantic
song. So I cleared up that problem in
advance so that I wouldn’t run into
that.
Where there any
key ways of how you wanted to go with
the film?
Rob Zombie: Well, there were
no real…I mean, the beginning was like
very West and the end was like Bonnie
and Clyde. The vibe to the violence was
very general I think.
The thing with
Hollywood about films is the watering
down of PG 13 type films. What’ your
take on that theory?
Rob Zombie: Well, I just want
to do things my own way. It fits what
I’m trying to do. I can do this film but
that doesn’t mean that I don’t want to
make a G rated movie for kids. But for
something like this…if this had to be PG
13 and watered down then what would be
watching? It be ridiculous. If a movie
is PG 13 that’s fine; it the way you
open up; we could do it wider, we could
do it younger. Its all marketing. None
of these decisions are based on what’
best for the movie. Its just what’ best
for the marketing.
Did you have
any trouble based on the R rating?
Rob Zombie: Yeah, that was
tough. The strange thing with the R
rating is the tone. The tactics of the
tones too dark. Well, I was like what do
you mean? They were like well, its not
that its too much violence or blood or
stuff…it’s the tone. Especially…it took
about 8 tries. And it all came down to
the motel scene. That’ what it was all
about. This one scene with Bill Mosley
and Priscilla Barnes and we cut about 2
minutes out of that. That was a really
long scene that made it really painful
to watch after awhile. But still I was
like there’s no real nudity, there’s no
real violence, there’ no real language.
They were like yeah, but its too dark.
Basically, it was sought of like telling
me your comedies too funny. It knowing
how to go in and cut it and taking some
of the intensity out of it. but, you
know, it retained enough of it.
It will
probably be restored on the DVD?
Rob Zombie: Yeah. Yeah.
Definitely.
What do you
take away from this? That may effect
your films?
Rob Zombie: Having a great
crew is everything. Everything happens
before you start shooting the movie.
That’s where you make or break the
movie.
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