Alicia Malone
The man needs no introduction – he’s appeared in such cinematic gems as “Minority Report”, “Tigerland”, “In Bruges”, “Miami Vice” and “” – but for anyone under the age of fifteen, his two new films might. Products of the ’80s (though “Recall” was released in 1990 it went before the cameras in 1989), “Fright Night” and “Total Recall” – though two films that couldn’t be any more different – are favourites with Gen X, and to this day remain atop of many a Top 10 list of a film buff, and understandably, it’s those fans who are dead against a remake of either film. But as Colin Farrell told me earlier in the week we needn’t be worried about the remakes – both of which he stars in – not measuring up to the original films; for all intents and purposes, the flicks are their own beasts.
Colin, let’s begin with “Fright Night”. What is it about this one? Vampires? Why the heck is even obsessed with vampires at the moment?
Even as a kid, there was something incredibly exotic and incredibly mystical about the world of the vampires it seems. People have always tried to bend time to their favor. They’ve always longed to be in a world one can live longer and how they can continue to prosper in a youthful way and beat the ravages of time.
Indeed
Vampires do that because that’s an important aspect of their existence. Other thing is, we just imagine them as these incredibly central characters. Biting on the neck as a form of feeding and as a form of also a… Transformation and changing and all these things. So for me, it was a tick in a box. So I can say I’m a fan and I grew up on The Lost Boys and I grew up on Near Dark …
Near Dark. Nice!
…and I grew up on the original Fright Night, about 11. So the idea of getting to be a part for this, I kind of didn’t want to to like it when I read the script. It was… I just figured that it to walking in big shoes and stepping into a deeply cast shadow, but the script is different enough that it’s it’s own thing. My gut wants to do with it, couldn’t say no. I couldn’t say no.
Would it be impressed if I said that your vampire does remind me of Luke Perry in the original 1992 ”Buffy the Vampire Slayer” movie (though Perry didn’t play a vampire in that pic)? Did you see that movie?
No I didn’t see it. I know that’s [“Fright Night” scribe] Marti Noxon’s inspiration for the show…
It’s like the 90s…
I know. That was Marti. She liked the film as well.
So that didn’t come into it? Getting to play Luke Perry? [Laughs]
Seriously. No I didn’t. As long as it wasn’t Luke in 90210.
“Total Recall”. What can we expect. I loved the original.
Me too. Me too. I do think that I really do love the original. I saw it recently on telly, because it’s so great. I don’t know. I’m not actually… Again, I think Len Wiseman and the team of ours has created a world we haven’t seen before and it’s something that when I saw what they were going to do with it I was just, my jaw dropped and I said “I wanna be a part of that.”
What do you think Arnold Schwarzenegger will say when he sees it?
No idea. I couldn’t tell you [Laughs]
