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Scott Spiegel "Has a hundred good reasons why he shouldn't blow your head clean off, but right now he can't think of one!"
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| FRIGHT FACTOR: As some people may know, Intruder was inspired by a super-8 film you made titled Night Crew. How did Night Crew help with the production of Intruder? |
| SPIEGEL: Well, the fact that I had already done it, more or less, and had the basic scenario, you know, with the maniac loose in a supermarket, which worked for a low-budget, one Location kind of picture. The two were very similar. The 1979 version of Night Crew featured a very Michael Myers-like character. Intruder had many more character and plot twists. That was pretty much the only difference between the two. Night Crew was the twenty minute precursor to Intruder. |
| FF: many of today's film makers used super-8 when growing up. Do you think that there is a difference between that and the kids today who use video to make their films? |
| SS: It's like the difference between writing with a pen and using a computer. With super-8, you can actually have hands-on experience. You can take the film, hold it up the light, and make cuts. You can feel it. Super-8 cameras have features such as slow/fast motion, time lapse, and pixilation, which enable you to achieve all the cool effects you come to expect from a "movie." I'm sure that video has many advantages, but the bottom line is the "look." Unfortunately, video looks like video. |
| FF: Would you, knowing the risk, produce an unrated film theatrically? |
 SS: Perhaps, if I felt strongly about
the subject matter, but it depends on so much. Many cities won't run
unrated ads, in print or on television. It's very difficult now. It
was a lot different ten years ago when films like Dawn of the Dead
had virtually no problem going out unrated. The only way to go,
really, is to have the R rated version in the theatre, where every
body can see it, and then release the video unrated, like they did
with Hellbound: Hellraiser II. |
| FF: What do you think of film critics? |
| SS: Critics are a valuable part of the film industry. However, I don't feel we need those critics who captiously vilify one's work. There is such a thing as constructive criticism. |
| FF: Would you feel responsible if someone were to commit a bandsaw murder in real life? |
| SS: It's an ugly thought, but if someone were to actually murder via a scene from my movie, I would feel partly responsible. But you have to put it in perspective. Someone would have to mentally handicapped to begin with. However, before Paramount released Intruder, they cut out all the violence and gore, and the MPAA slapped it with an R rating. The hardcore horror audience has somehow gotten the uncensored Intruder and for all intents and purposes, they are the audience the film was made for. |
| FF: What would you have done differently in Intruder if you had more time and/or money? |
| SS: I would've had very intricate and complex shots, more attention and a tighter beginning, it's a series of so many different things, actually. I would've had an original music score. As it was, I was about fifty percent satisfied. |
| FF: Would you do another film as gory as Intruder? |
| SS: I don't know. Maybe not. The market's changing. Intruder was kind of a "get it all out of your system" movie. There's some pretty nasty stuff in there. If I do another film that's gory, I will set it in a fantastic, surreal world to justify the "gorror." If you crush The Fly's head in a compressor, somehow it's not as horrendous as crushing a real person's head. |
| FF: Having appeared in so many films, do you plan on doing more acting? |
SS:  Yeah, as long as they keep asking me, I'll do
it. I've been in several films this year. I appeared in Darkman,
Vietnam Texas, The Wrong Bet, (A.K.A. "AWOL") Teen Bimbos, Robot
Ninja, and Skinner Alive, to name a few. However, because most of
these films haven't been released yet, I'm not sure how much of me
will end up in the films or on the cutting room floor. |
| FF: What are you working on now? |
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SS: I'm putting the finishing touches on The Rookie, with Boaz Yakin for Warner Brothers. Clint Eastwood and Charlie Sheen will star, and Eastwood will direct. Raul Julia will be the bad guy. It'll be a real rock'em sock'em action flick. |
Scott Spiegel, co-writer of the
infamous Evil Dead II, has been a busy boy. He wrote and directed
Intruder, co-wrote and produced Thou Shalt Not Kill ... Except, and
is currently writing for Flint