| Flying the Fear Filled Sky - Wes Craven Talks About RED EYE! |
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| Thursday, 18 August 2005 | |
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A FEARSmag.com Exclusive! BY Joseph B. Mauceri  Lisa Reisert (Rachel McAdams) is taking the night flight from Dallas to Miami, on her way back home to after her grandmotherís funeral. Lisa hates to fly, but the fear she will experience on this trip will have nothing to do with a fear of flying.Moments after takeoff, Lisaís seatmate, Jackson (Cillian Murphy), menacingly reveals the real reason heís on board: He is an operative in a plot to kill the Deputy Secretary of Homeland Security and Lisa is the key to its success. If she refuses to cooperate, her father (Brian Cox) will be assassinated by one of his colleagues keeping watch outside her fatherís home. He is awaiting a call from Jackson. Trapped within the confines of a jet at 30,000 feet, Lisa has nowhere to run and no way to summon help without endangering her father, her fellow passengers, or her own life. As the time and miles tick by, Lisa knows she is running out of options and is desperately trying to find a way to thwart her ruthless captor and stop a terrible murder. Director Wes Craven has been best known for terrifying audiences since his 1972 feature ìThe Last House on the Left.î Born in Cleveland in 1939, he left Cleveland to study for a degree in English Literature, at Wheaton College, Illinois. But after illness, he left the school for one year before returning to study psychology. In 1963 he took a degree in writing and psychology and in 1964 received his Masters from J. Hopkins University. A series of events lead Wes into working as a sound editor for a post-production company in New York. And after the co-direction of the 1971 feature ìTogetherî with Sean S. Cunningham, Wes made ìThe Last House on the Leftî in 1972. It was a big success, as was his second movie, the 1977 ìThe Hills Have Eyesî, which won the critics prize at the Sitges Film Festival. Wes has gone onto win many more awards, including one for the best movie at the Avoriaz Film Festival for ìA Nightmare On Elm Street.î In 1994 he directed ìMusic of the Heart.î a change of direction from the horror genre for which he is known. In 1996 he scared a new generation of young horror fans with the irreverent horror films ìScream.î Craven followed up on the original with two equally successful sequels, ìScream 2î and ìScream 3.î Wes has also brought his unique style of filmmaking and terror to the small screening, having directed numerous of the 1985 rebirth of ìThe Twilight Zone,î an episode of ìNight Visions,î and created the series ìNightmare CafÈ,î to name just a few of his television credits. For more than three decades now Craven has demonstrated his ability as a visionary filmmaker with an unbridled imagination and someone who possesses the ability to touch and terrify audiences. FEARS: How did you first hear about RED EYE?  Wes Craven: My producer, Marianne Maddalena, told me that the agency had sent over this script called RED EYE and that DreamWorks was interested in talking to me about making this thriller for them. That was it! I told them to send it over, but I didnít really think I wanted to be working just then because I was finishing up ìCursedî at the time. Iíd just spent about over two-years working on that film. That quickly changed when I read Carl Ellsworthís screenplay. It was so good that I decided to take a meeting with them and signed on to make the film. FEARS: This is a DreamWorks project and a while ago you wrote a book titled The Fountain Society that was optioned by the studio. Did that come into play in regards to their sending you RED EYE to read? Wes Craven: I donít think so. My sense was that they didnít even know I was doing that other project. I was doing that other one with a company called Image Movers, and they had a deal with DreamWorks. I donít know if the studio knew I was a part of that project. Itís interesting because Iíve found that many of the studios are made up of these young executives who usually come up to me and tell me about one of my movies they watched when they were in their teens. I actually had one of them come up to me at the premier for RED EYE who told me that I scared the hell out of him when he watched ìNightmare on Elm Street,î back when he was in high school, and now he was excited because he had the opportunity to make this film with me. FEARS: Iíve worked in the travel industry and was surprised at how accurate Ellsworthís take on these characters is. Wes Craven: I think Carl researched that very carefully. FEARS: Was the dialogue one of the elements that attracted you to the project?  Wes Craven: I think everyone in Carlís screenplay sounded real. They definitely had the lingo, and it seemed to me that they had the experience to go with the lingo. That was intriguing. I think what drew me in more was the originality of the character Rippner I found him really interesting. He is never just a villain. There was something about him, that from time to time, where he could be your friend, or a big brother. One moment you think you understand him, heís vulnerable, and maybe he even loves Lisa. I remember just thinking that this character has this amazing shattered personality. Depending on what time of the day you catch him, or whether he feels like he is in control or not, he can be a totally different person. Rachelís character, in a more subtle way, makes this a real actor/director type of a movie. Itís not about special effects. I knew that this film was going to depend on getting those performances. I found that the most interesting element of all. FEARS: Hitchcock was once asked what he thought the hardest film would be to make. His response was something along the lines of directing a man in a phone booth. I think the next hardest situation would be the setup of putting these two characters in this situation on a plane. As a director of genre films, how did you approach the film to build momentum and tension, and did the location pose any unique problems? Wes Craven: Part of it was in the story. We talked at length about the situation Rachelís character was in and how she would react to Rippner. Carl anticipated a lot of our questions and knew that some of these ìwhat ifsî could present problems. So he came up with these elements, like the lady who needs help with her luggage, and the little old lady who wants to chat about the book. He created all these things where people who fly a lot would recognize these situations from their own personal flying experience. Those were all very interesting. I than build some aspects on top of those characters. For example, in Carlís script the irate passenger, who gets upset by people going in front of him, wasnít a doctor. There was a point in the story where I knew we would need a doctor to explain what kind of a wound they were seeing so the audience would know this other character wouldnít just bleed to death. They suggested we put a doctor on the plain, and I suggested we make him the irate passenger. So we were able to take that role in another direction. There were a few other things that I felt we should add, like some of the action on the part by the stewardesses and the little girl passenger. It was all about trying to make these little moments payoff just a bit more. FEARS: Itís been several years since weíve seen a film of this nature and a setting on a plane. Given recent events and the current world climate, did the basic plot of RED EYE pose any concerns for you? Wes Craven: No! In fact, personally, it was kind of gratifying to confront that subject matter in a way that was interesting and tasteful. I had actually been thinking about what kind of film we could make that would come to terms with some of these things and that was respectful to the actual events that transpired, and show America at its best. When I read this screenplay I felt that here was a story that was going to appeal to people who had lived through a traumatic part of our countryís history in away that will give them a little hope, maybe. FEARS: Over the years when weíve talked you mentioned that you wanted to branch out of the horror genre to do more accessible thrillers. Is RED EYE that turning point in your career or are there things brewing that will take you back into the world of monsters and nightmares?  Wes Craven: No, there is nothing right now that will take me back in that direction. Iíve kind of left my schedule open, one reason being to enjoy being around for the release of this film. If the transitional indications work, I hope the studios start thinking that Iím their man to make something like a romantic comedy, or something that has a lot of humor in it. There is a lot of humor in the first act of RED EYE, especially between the main characters. There are two or three other scripts that weíve developed that arenít genre films and if RED EYE does well Iíd like to make one of them. If the studio and the audience will go for it I wonít have to do just genre films anymore. FEARS: Back in 1999 you directed ìMusic of the Heart,î which starred Meryl Streep and Angela Basset, which was a drastic departure from the type of films you were known for. I think RED EYE is a more natural evolution out of the horror genre. Wes Craven: Iíve worked with producer Marianne Maddalena for years now. She felt that a smart move would be to make a thriller because a studio could still get behind it and still sell it as a ìWes Craven filmî if I did it right. So we were keeping our eyes open for the right project, and we hadnít found one until the studio sent RED EYE to Marianne. We both felt that it would make a terrific film. This film is not about a serial killer, but often there is a certain amount of clichÈs involved when you do a thriller. This was both complex and psychologically interesting, and I felt that this was the time and moment in my career to make this movie. FEARS: It doesnít sound like youíve completely given up on projects like ìMusic of the Heart.î I know that ìRiver Danceî flew you into New York City for their 10th Anniversary show. Wes Craven: They did, but as it turned out my first grandson was born on that night so we stayed home. However, we are talking to those people and we are pretty far down the line on approaching a deal to make a Vegas style illusionist show. Itís a very large-scale project called ìWes Cravenís Magic Macabre.î It would involve an illusionist and a very dark and scary environment. Thatís a long-term project, and I think it will be about two-years before it premiers for the public. FEARS: It would seem natural to be involved with a project called Magic Macabre, but how do you make the transition for being a filmmaker to doing a Vegas type grand spectacular? On what level will you be involved with the project? Wes Craven: Iíd be very involved, certainly in the conceptualizing and the script. Weíve had several meetings with other creative people weíd like to get involved. Weíre talking to a special effects guy who did one of the biggest magic shows in Vegas and a production designed whoís worked with Cirque du Soleil. There would be other people who would be bringing their abilities and ideas to the project on a very high level. I think it will be an extremely fun collaboration. FEARS: I guess you would be approaching it like a Broadway director, where once you get the show up and running at a certainly level you could walk away from it for a while to work on other projects.  Wes Craven: I donít know because Iíve never directed anything on Broadway. The best way for me to approach it is as someone who has worked in a visual medium. Hopefully Iím smart enough to say that for 1500 people sitting in a room ñ which I believe is the size of the venue weíre talking about ñ how do I approach this and ìwowî them? I want to see if I can make that transition. The guy who came to me, the guy who does the ìRiver Danceî shows, has this vision and I think it would be fantastic to be part of that show. This is so totally different from anything that Iíve done and Iím very excited about it. FEARS: I know there has been some talk about you doing an episode for ìMasters of Horror,î and youíre waiting to see how things go with RED EYE, but is there anything else we might hear about you working on in the not too distant future? Wes Craven: Mick Garris and the folks working on ìMasters of Horrorî have approached me, but, frankly, Iíve been just so happy with the way RED EYE has turn out that I didnít want to go directly into producing another project. So I took about a month and a half vacation, came back to do press, and I just want to wait and see what happens. I want to see what the offers are and be able to go in any direction. LINK THIS ARTICLE             |
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