Original subtitles

I'm Mick Garris and I'm the director of

Stephen King's Sleepwalkers and I'm here

with

>> Brian Krauss who played Charles Brady

>> and man Ach

innocent Virgin Tanya.

>> Tanya Roberts.

>> No, Tanya Robertson.

>> Yes,

>> Tanya.

>> No, that's a different Tanya.

>> Not a skater. this se this opening

sequence we actually put in the

description this this uh definition of

what they are because when you see the

movie without it you don't know where

the hell the sleepwalkers came from

>> and so I came up with the idea of

putting this in there

>> and this is really from an encyclopedia

>> I I made it up

>> oh you're so smart

totally bought it Stephen King rewrote

it but that we want people to believe

that was written

>> of course

>> this scene originally was not in the

film

>> yeah I remember I was so surprised by

this new scene. It was so great.

>> And Bodega Bay, by the way, is where The

Birds, Alfred Hitchcock's The Birds is

set.

>> And even though he's not credited, this

of course is Mark Ham.

>> That is a handsome mustache.

>> I am living for that right now. Was it

his real mustache at the time?

>> Um, it was not a real mustache. It was

definitely a uh a glued on mustache. But

this scene and the ending were shot

after the film was done because uh the

studio felt it wasn't powerful enough

and that it needed some background like

that definition in the title.

>> This beginning or

>> this beginning gives a history and it

shows

>> the cats.

>> The cats.

>> E.

>> Yeah.

>> Yeah. Pretty nasty. Especially for me a

vegan to watch this right now.

>> Right. Okay. There we go. There's some

detail.

>> Yes. So I I I hate to say those were

>> those were real cats.

>> Really?

>> They were real cat corpses and and they

were collected by the makeup team from

the the pound were

>> this too.

>> Uh that is not a real cat. No. Any of

them that people actually interact with.

>> How did you feel when they wanted you to

shoot something? Did you agree that it

needed something in the beginning or

were you on the fence?

>> I actually did. Uh, you know, I thought

it was helpful to have this sequence in

here and it was great to be able to call

Mark and ask him if he wanted to do

>> this and have kind of a surprise, but to

open with a shock.

>> Yeah, for sure.

>> Rather than than so there, you know

where you are. You're in the Stephen

King world.

>> And so who ended up writing this scene?

>> Actually, uh, King wrote this and the

ending.

Cat Scare. You can't have a horror movie

without a cat.

>> Nope.

>> And

>> the one that made it.

>> Our director of photography.

>> Okay.

>> And she's still in my office, by the

way.

>> Is she?

>> Yes.

>> How's she doing today?

>> She's doing good. She Does she have a

name?

>> She's a little girl.

>> Oh. And the only way you can tell she's

a little girl, uh, we put braces on her

teeth.

>> Oh, right. Great.

>> Because otherwise it could be a

90-year-old woman.

>> Yeah. You wouldn't know

>> exactly.

>> It's a little girl.

>> What's that in her hair?

>> I got girl.

>> This director of photography had done uh

Psycho 4 with me, Rodney. And I first

found him on the Friday the 13th TV

series, which was beautifully

photographed.

And now we're into it. We're in the

world of the sleepwalkers.

>> So the titles again give a background.

These these ancient Egyptian

>> I think this is why I went into assuming

it was going to be more vampire-ish

because I remember that in the script

these sort of Egyptian ancient

tales.

But how cool is that? Like a like a

>> Yeah, we had these pieces built and I

actually still have that uh that piece

as well. to give that history of the the

cat human interaction from way back in

Egyptian times. And uh so this was

designed Jeff Oaken who was our visual

effects supervisor um had uh had put

this together. He also did the the title

sequence and unfortunately Glenn Shadex

is no longer with us who played Mr.

Fallows but wonderful actor who had come

I had first seen in Beetlejuice and he

was fantastic. Do you know who drew that

picture there? That's great.

>> I'm not sure who drew them. Nicholas

Pike was a guy I first worked with on on

Critters 2. He did the score, this 40

piece orchestra for a cheap little uh

lowbudget sequel to a ripoff of

Gremlins. And uh here we have a 60 piece

orchestra for this that gives the movie.

>> You add some glow to that soul sucking.

>> We did.

>> Yeah, I can see it.

>> Yes. Recognize the color?

>> Yeah.

Brian certainly does.

>> I'm all about the purple.

>> So again, because in the script, it

really doesn't explain the history of

the Sleepwalkers. The title, it was the

title, put it in the sequence. Yeah.

>> And this was Steve's first screenplay

written directly for the screen, not

based on one of his novels or short

stories.

>> And Mark Victor and Michael Grace were

the writers, the original writers on

Poltergeist, and they moved into this

So, this was originally the first shot

of the movie

>> and the song by Santo and Johnny was the

inspiration for Steve to write this. And

we actually

>> that's on the back lot.

>> Yeah, that was the Walton's house.

>> Warner Brothers.

>> The Warner Brothers back

>> Warner Brothers.

>> But now we're on a stage at Colombia at

the on a Sony lot. And this was a tricky

shot. The camera operator, Phil Lee, was

really struggling because I wanted to be

looking right down on the record and

then go down and around it and then into

Brian in one uncut shot. It's not

exactly what I intended, but um

>> but you had to work with the arc of the

the the arm.

>> Yes, you're going straight down, going

around, coming up and in without a cut.

And the attempt

>> There he is. That's what we were waiting

to see.

>> Oh my gosh. Woo!

>> Ladies and gentlemen, introducing Mr.

Brian Cross.

>> Are you naturally hairless, Brian?

>> You just had you not grown your man

hairs yet?

>> I have no hair.

>> You still don't have any hair?

>> Anyway,

>> every once in a while I get like a a

sprig.

>> It's all on your head. That's why.

>> That's right.

>> So, this was

>> I don't recommend this to anyone.

>> Yeah. Jailhouse tattoo.

>> I still have that tea.

So that was obvious

>> such a beauty.

>> Anyway, that was obviously a prosthetic

on top of uh Brian's actual bicep.

>> Yeah.

>> That was provided by Tony Gardner and

his team. And there was a blood bag

underneath it. So when you cut into it,

you'd get a little pop and it would come

out.

>> Look at that.

>> A science fair president as I I was an

accomplisher.

National merit scholar

>> and then Alice

>> Alice Cregera and of course the meat in

that trap was actually latex and this

was wired so that it was very and it was

a simple plastic trap. It's not a steel

trap although we did use steel traps not

with the actual cats. So there's a

YouTube video for all you cat lovers

there.

So Alice Krieger I had first seen in

Ghost Story and just was knocked out by

her. And I I read a lot of actresses for

Mary Brady, but she just blew me away.

She was so good and and so feline. Part

of what we talked about was the cat

being something that motivate how would

motivate how she was. She would rub up

against you and you remember Brian that

she was very sensual in this.

So, this was one of the first scenes

that we shot with the two of you

together, right?

>> I believe so.

>> Yeah.

>> And how did you end up uh casting her?

>> Well,

>> how did what did that process?

>> Well, like I said, we we looked at a lot

of people and some really good actors.

Um, but she had had knocked me out with

Ghost Story. She's

>> creepy and sexy at the same time, but

>> just conveys something otherworldly as

well. And she really got into it. I

mean, she was she stayed in character

most of the time, right, Brian?

>> 100%. Uh, the sensuality and passion,

it was incredible. You know, me being a

young budding man,

>> uh,

>> and actor,

>> yeah, I was

I was taken back.

>> Yeah. So this was really I mean you had

had a teen romance role right before

this in Blue Lagoon, but this was a sexy

role.

>> Very different. Uh

>> tell me what it was like, what the two

of you rehearsed like when it was when I

wasn't there. Well, we had met a few

times uh at the soup plantation over

salad uh and talked about the

relationship and you know, she very much

talked about, you know, following the

movements of cats and how she was

studying them and you know, the coming

and going and how fickle a cat can be.

And then uh so there was a lot of kind

of watching documentaries on different

cats, not just house cats, but you know,

a lion, a tigers, and that that was

definitely the passion that she brought.

>> Yeah, you can see my nose sweat there.

I'm a little nervous.

>> Well,

>> oh, picking her up, taking Yeah, here we

go.

>> So, this

>> and I kind of saw a trip. How? So, tell

us about that, Brian.

>> The trip. Uh, again, nervous.

>> Nervous. Nervousness.

>> Nervous.

>> Prince Charming needs a little practice.

I'm just

>> You should have seen this in the Chinese

theater with,200 people on opening night

when that kiss happens. Every one of

them went

>> and the glow.

>> And there's the first example of the

glow, the force, the mysterious force we

discover. Oh, maybe the sequel to

Sleepwalkers could be called The Glow.

>> The Purple Glow.

>> The Purple Glow.

>> So, this was my first musical number.

>> I love this sequence. I love this. This

is brilliant. And I remember when you

guys were doing it, I was like, "Wow,

>> talk about technically what was

happening."

>> Well, there is a steady cam operator on

a crane and the crane lowers them down

and the steady cam steps off of the

crane and starts walking in here.

>> So, seamless. I considered doing the

whole thing in one shot, but because it

was such a lively musical number, I

thought it could really be helped with

>> covering it and getting more pieces and

>> and I'd never done a musical number

before and I really was into it.

>> Walkman, but the the smoothness of

Walkman thing, right? The Walkman. You

stick it on your belt and away you went.

>> And you know, it was Sony. That's why it

was a Walkman and not another brand.

Well, I loved the sequence because this

was like I I was a dancer up until I

moved to Los Angeles and so I'm always

game to dance. Give me a a reason

>> and I'm there.

>> Well, how do you not how do you not fall

in love with this girl? You know, Steve

King had written a scene

>> and nothing had started yet. Basically,

this was something we came up with on

the

>> This holds up even now. I have fans that

that post this all the time. They love

it. They love it.

>> But it's such a great introduction to

this sweet, lively, smart girl who is is

immediately embarrassed. And it's very

Midwest, but but it just is so lively.

And originally, like I said, this was

going to be the second scene in the

movie rather rather than after the long

introduction.

>> That that that floor sweeper was always

a good date. Always.

>> No comment.

Oh, I remember we had to like

specifically like place those popcorn

things so that they fell on my hand.

>> They would fall on action. Yeah.

>> So, again, trying to do something

playful here. And you guys were so game

and so easy. It just felt so genuine

here. I mean, you had met before, but

this was I think this was your first

scene that you shot together, or was

that in

>> I'm because we were shooting on

location. Yeah, I think it was. I think

it was.

>> Well, isn't that great that it ends up

being the first thing that we shot

together? I think Brian did such a good

job with the character because like he

he is putting on the persona of being

this like young guy, but he's been

around for centuries

de

>> well pretty young fella at the time.

>> You hear?

>> Yeah. But I mean you you had this like

maturity about you which was really good

because in the bigger story, you know,

you guys have been alive for how long?

Hundreds and hundreds of years. Hundreds

of years. Yeah. And this is shot at the

Arrow Theater, which is now uh one of

the two American cinema techch theaters

in Los Angeles.

>> Did they save it? Did it

>> It's still there. And it is part of the

cinematic and we actually screened this

movie uh there a couple of years ago and

it was amazing to go back to the scene

of the crime.

>> Yeah.

>> And have the audience and it hasn't

changed much. The theater itself hasn't.

the uh the lobby doesn't look quite so

quite so much the same since it's been

uh

>> I'm I'm a big um advocate for saving

historic buildings. I I I'm on the board

of saving especially like um apartment

buildings and stuff like that. So, I'm

constantly going downtown and testifying

and saving them left and right. So, I'm

glad to hear that this theater is still

around.

>> Oh, it's still there. Yeah. And uh it

was quite the experience. Now, Mr. Pib.

There's a reason we had to use Mr. Pib

instead of Dr. Pepper because we had to

license it. And whoever it was, I think

maybe Coca-Cola, was it Coca-Cola or

Pepsi that's on our fountain here.

>> Coca-Cola.

>> Yeah. So, Coca-Cola makes Mr. Pib and

that's why we had to use that. We had to

use

>> See, that's such a great little detail

there, too, where you turn off the

theater lights so we know, all right,

it's the end of the night. She's going

home. I loved working with him. Lyman

War.

>> Sweet.

>> Well, he and

he was Mr. Beller.

>> Yeah.

>> And Cindy Picket was Mrs. Beller in

Ferris Beller and we got them back for

this

>> and they play husband and wife and they

were actually husband and wife

>> until a little while after this movie

and then they're no longer husband and

wife.

>> You could have hid yourself a little bit

better here.

>> I You didn't see me. You didn't see me?

>> No. Okay.

>> Or did or did you?

I saw those pants, that's for sure.

>> My Jord dashes. They're a widelegg. Wide

leg in those years.

>> So, we went from that was uh on location

in Santa Monica. Then the car driving

and the clock was on the back lot at

Warner Brothers.

>> That is the same area that they filmed

Gilmore Girls. That was their town

center.

>> Ah. And this

>> I was there all the time.

>> The house is the house of the Waltons on

the back lot at Warner Brothers. This

has been torn down. Oh, how do you tear

down the Walton's house?

>> Well, I don't know. Or the Brady's house

for that matter. Yeah.

>> Yeah.

>> I was so envious of Alice in general cuz

she was she had so much grace and power,

sweetness, and just so beautiful. Like

the hair and she was in she was so fit

and strong. I was like, "Wow, I want to

grow up like that."

>> And you did.

>> I don't know. I don't know if I can

throw somebody over my shoulder like she

threw me.

>> Well, we'll get to that. because there's

a lot to talk about there. Um, this

location, I mean, we're setting up the

fear of the cats and everything here,

obviously, but

>> Brian was whose idea was the blonde

hair?

>> I, you know, I think from Blue Lagoon, I

was blonde and I just I think everybody

had me keep it. I as a child I was like

a tow head. Uh, then it just slowly went

darker.

>> Mine went back.

>> Well, plus it plays into the all

American boy, right? I think that's a

good that's a good look.

>> A lot of streaks and tips in there.

>> And now Alice was born in South Africa

and raised in Britain and uh so she

never really tried for a full-on

American accent and I like that. It adds

to the exotic quality of her and I

encouraged her to keep her voice her her

natural accent and not to try to be

middle American because the exotic

quality that she has first worldly.

>> Exactly. You feel that she has a history

and that it just isn't in Indiana.

>> Was she reluctant though? Because a lot

of times British actors have to be

really careful. They have to either be

really pure American so they prove that

they can do the accent or they or they

don't go near it at all. She was great

with it. She was terrific and uh totally

into it. I mean, just

>> Yeah. If I had a mom like that, that

that would not have been way more action

than Tanya. Way more. I'm not happy

about this at all.

>> Oh, Tanya was a good girl. Is she nice?

>> Actually, she was a nice girl.

>> Yeah. Okay. Where was this?

>> This is in Where was this? In North

Hollywood.

>> Los Felas. Yeah. Yeah. Yes. It was Los

Felis and it was this.

>> This was a fun day for me because

>> um

>> I ended up meeting all of these, you

know, actors that were playing my

friends and we had a real fun time

together.

>> Oh, you kids

>> having a good time. But like I said,

Glenn Shadex was somebody who'd been in

Beetlejuice and he's really funny and

really smart and really grounded and he

just plays the officious school teacher

we've all had so perfectly and it just

this feels very much like a Stephen King

world. But originally

he had written a book and said this is

my last Castle Rock story. this was a

Castle Rock script uh in the first draft

and then he realized, wait, I said I'm

not doing any more Castle Rock. So, he

went back and changed the names of all

the characters and to Travis Indiana

instead of Castle Rock, Maine and all of

that. So, did you draw that?

>> I can't draw.

>> This is the best.

Yeah, he's a stick in the mud

>> and becomes that literally later

eventually. So,

>> so when what

>> when you were playing Tanya?

>> Yeah.

>> Was there a certain way that you felt to

bring out the kind of purity of this

this virginal character? I mean, it's

important to the story that she was a

virgin.

>> Yeah, for sure. I just I just approached

her to be just very innocent and um pure

and I don't think that you can try to

play innocent. You just got to be really

genuine in everything that you do and

kind of brideeyed and and um you know a

lot of things surprise you and excite

you and um so that's kind of how I

approached her.

>> Well, you really feel like like

everything's dreamy. We knew those girls

who were always upbeat and could have

been cheerleaders at the time. That's

very much what Tanya is.

>> Yeah.

>> So, time passing in a dissolve. One of

my favorite tricks to do here with a

lock off.

>> But, uh, again, this look.

>> Yes. And that's my stepfather who just

passed by. And my, uh, really and my

brother Donald right next to him. They

come up again right here. Um, it is my

brother Donald having his ear grabbed by

That's my stepfather Don Peterson and my

brother Donald.

>> Oh, that's awesome.

>> Right there.

>> Great.

>> I remember doing this scene. We had to

do it a few times just to get it just

right. Like the people that are crossing

in front of us.

>> Yeah, we had amount of busy and

>> we had to have certain lines clear. And

this we couldn't have people crossing

because we were on a steady cam,

>> right? The steadyic cam operator was

walking backwards downstairs. Wow.

>> Yes.

>> Oh, this dress that I wore, I got to

take that home.

>> This was back in the day when you got to

keep some of your wardrobe, like your

favorite pieces. I loved that. I wore

that dress.

>> In fact, not too long after this is when

I uh was pregnant with my son.

>> Yes.

>> Who was born a year later and the same

year that this came out. And um I have

great pregnancy pictures in his dress.

>> Oh, really?

with my big little round belly. It's

cute.

>> Mommy tummy.

>> Yep.

>> So, there's both of you have eyes that

we went to great pains to illuminate.

>> You know, the the light in Tanya's eyes

and the light in Charles eyes was an

important, you know, when you're doing

exteriors, you can only do so much light

in this regard without looking stuff

like that.

>> Yeah. So, it was bounce cards and the

like. But when we're on the stu on the

studio lot or on the stages, we were

always making sure to illuminate the

eyes because so much was going on in

both of you.

>> Yeah.

>> And again,

>> look how cute and sexy you are, Brian.

>> Look at that. Killing killing hearts out

there.

>> Oh my gosh.

>> And I love the effect of a long lens

here where everything in the foreground

and background is unimportant and soft.

Yeah.

>> But this and there's no cuts in it. Just

the two of you back and forth

>> just on a dolly running the whole way.

Huh?

>> But there was a squeak when he said

sleepwalkers. So that one word. Do you

remember? We had to loop it.

>> No.

>> Yes. And it's the only often you'll want

to loop the words around it too so it's

a better match. But that one

>> you can tell there's a slight

>> Is it still there?

>> The loop is in there, but everything

else is not.

>> And of course,

>> I mean, you can get a lot of girls with

this kind of car.

>> Well, we got Tanya. Hey,

>> that was not a stunt double either. That

was Brian Krauss himself.

>> Y

>> leaping into kit

>> into kit. Yeah.

>> And so if you notice those those leaves

that blew after they were following it

rather than going the other way cuz we

waved them for the effect. Yes.

>> On purpose.

>> On purpose. Yeah. just so we could there

wasn't enough coming out of the car and

I wanted some movement of the the leaves

and give it a kind of a fall movement.

>> One of my favorite lines.

>> Double antandra coming up.

>> Here we go.

>> My mom does gravestone rubbings. Pretty

morbid, huh?

>> Waiting for it.

>> Oh, I like them.

>> You do?

>> Yeah.

>> That's so cute.

you know, Maidin and I worked again

later on um The Witches of East End, and

it was like, my god, no time has passed

at all. And it was 25 years, 24 years

later.

>> Yeah.

>> And it was as if and and you're also in

a time machine. You don't age.

>> So, it was But

>> I do I'll look a little older than that

right there.

>> Just a bit.

>> But that's all right. It's okay.

>> Better.

>> Yeah. Yeah. Yeah.

>> But you know what's so nice about

working with you, Mick, is that you know

at this point I was fairly new in the

business. I had done

>> Twin Peaks, you know, like I did the

pilot for Baywatch and

>> um a really small guest part in Star

Trek and an independent movie, The

Borrowers. So, you know, you were one of

the the few beginning directors for me

and and I really can look back now and

appreciate

>> people like you that you you shaped me

as a as an actress and you raised the

bar of how to have a relationship with a

director, a positive one.

>> And not be dictated to and have it be

collaborative and

>> feel really great.

>> Well, you got to get the best work from

people who who you work together with

and you do collaborate with and and do

it through encouragement, you know. And

I'm lucky enough to look this cast,

every member of this cast was somebody I

want to spend time with off the set,

too.

>> That's nice.

>> You know, these it was such a great

experience. And I know commentaries

often kiss each other's ass and the

like.

>> But it's it's really true when you get

people together that had a good time.

>> It's like recreating where we were.

>> Yeah.

>> And Cindy Picket I had first seen in a

Roger in a

>> Yeah. Roger Vadim movie where it's a

very erotic role and everything and I'd

forgotten all about that when I saw

Ferris Beller, right?

>> And then we saw Ferris Buer and thought,

wouldn't it be great to have Cindy

Picket and her real life husband who was

her husband in Ferris Beller play this

part, but she had just had a baby and so

was still embarrassed about carrying a

little of that mommy wake with her.

>> It worked perfectly for this role

though.

>> It It was so motherly and great.

>> It was great. Uh but she was

particularly embarrassed when she goes

through the uh uh the plate glass window

of the house a little bit later which

we'll get to.

>> Tell me Charles.

>> So this was very playful and um so but

Brian this was a different role for you

because you had a lot more to do in this

and and a lot more range than what you

had to do in for example in Blue Lagoon.

>> Yeah. Blue Lugan was very, you know,

just coming of age, running around on an

island. I I don't know that there was

much uh

>> emoting.

>> Emoting. Yeah. And I,

you know, for me, I just this was

>> far beyond my experience level. And it

was uh

>> well, it's a demanding role. You had to

be charming. You had to be somebody that

the audience would warm to and believe

that Tanya and her mother would warm to

and then you have to become something

really dangerous and then you have to

wear layers of latex and and be able to

perform under all these cases.

>> Who decided that you would always jump

in your car?

>> I think I just did it on the one take

outside of school and they were like,

"Oh, that's great. Do it again." Yeah,

>> it was. Yeah,

>> it was great.

>> It It was great. And it's it's a

character trait, you know. But this is

interesting because I had never directed

a car chase before. And uh well, this

isn't the car chase yet, so this is

different. We'll save the car chase talk

until later.

>> I I love that he drives a Beetle

>> a little. Yeah.

>> Great.

>> A Midwest teacher.

>> And he's keeping up, by the way, with

>> your muscle car.

>> Yeah,

>> he's he's driving it with authority.

>> Well, he is Mr. Ballows. The greater

bow.

>> I love Volkswagen bugs, by the way.

That's like right in my

>> wheelhouse.

>> Oh, I love vintage cars. So,

>> yes. Well,

>> I had a Volkswagen, a convertible

Volkswagen.

>> Really?

>> Yep. We repainted it black with sparkle.

>> Sparkle.

>> Yeah, we put some sparkle in it.

>> Nice.

Well, here we're out on location out in

Newbury Park and uh because of the

requirements

>> of the makeup effects, we actually had

to use the stunt double New Nori who who

doubled Brian in this. And we put the

makeup on him rather than putting it on

Brian for this sequence because it's a

three-hour makeup job,

>> right?

>> And putting him in the makeup. So, when

we actually do the morph that comes up

here, Brian morphs into Noon rather than

rather than morphing into himself with

his uh makeup on.

>> So, Hollywood secrets

>> he's being real creepy. I'm

>> Yes,

completely inappropriate.

>> Yeah, he you know, he likes blondes.

>> It's true.

>> The only medium of It's really This

whole movie is very very well.

>> Oops.

>> So, we had an air gun that blew the

blood against the window which was

settled in Brian's lap and it goes and

that's New Norati there grinning up

through the makeup.

>> But he was a close enough match.

>> Yeah.

>> And of course, we wanted a white VW bug

so that the blood would show up nicely.

>> Right. So,

I'm sorry.

>> That's the best.

>> I'm sorry.

>> So,

>> a little too late now, but

>> yeah, I'm sorry.

>> So, there was a stunt double for for

Glenn, but he did a lot of his own

running. I mean, that's not him, but um

what's coming up here, you know, that's

that's the double, but and that's New

Norati chasing in the Brian makeup, the

mustard. Now, this shot here, I was I

suspended a camera from a rope and I was

planning the shot and our line producer

said, "No, no, you don't want to do it."

Real strong New York guy, really anti-

everything. And I said, "Yeah, we're

going to pull the rope up a as this

happens." He said, "No, no, you can't do

that. It's going to spin. It's going to

twirl." I said, "Exactly

what I wanted it to do."

>> And uh so it turned out great. And it's

just a rope on a camera. He just ate He

just ate the flesh of that man. Does

that go with the thinking? So sometimes

you suck the soul, but sometimes you eat

the flesh.

>> Well, sometimes, you know, you got to

protect your

>> It was more of a kill. That was a kill.

>> I didn't know what he did with him other

than a revenge kill.

>> Okay. Okay.

>> So, he knew his secret, so he had to get

>> the bad guy. My favorite line in the

entire film. This sequence is my

favorite.

>> Yes. Now, there were eight there were

eight cats cast as Clovis. Each of them

with a specialty. One would hiss, one

would growl, one would swat at you.

>> Yeah.

>> We didn't use any of them except one

>> except for one hissing shot. This cat

was Sparks the cat was so great

>> that he did everything. He really did.

>> And Dan Martin as Andy as the deputy was

great. I've worked with him. He's in my

new movie uh Nightmare Cinema also.

>> Cool.

>> But a really wonderful actor.

>> The best

>> and loves horror movies.

>> He's got a lot of swag. I love it.

>> And uh the voice on the other end is my

wife Cynthia.

>> Yeah. And so now we're into the car

chase. Originally,

um, Mickey Moore, who was Steven

Spielberg's second unit director on the

Indiana Jones movies, uh, particularly

Raiders of the Lost Ark, he was hired to

be my second unit director on this and

to do this chase. He had a heart attack

before we started to shoot this scene.

>> So, we had his cameraman uh, and worked

with him.

>> But I basically ended up doing this

myself. I'd never done a car chase.

>> Wow. myself before and so I was kind of

learning on the job doing this and uh so

figuring out where to mount the cameras

and how to run them and and you know

it's

>> a tedious experience doing a car chase

everything takes forever.

>> Oh

>> things like that.

>> How do you do that? Let's compress that

with a long lens and bring them close

and

>> right

>> it's just a every camera mount takes

hours to set up and you set up several

cameras on the car itself mounted

>> enjoying this car.

>> Yeah, it's

>> Brian.

>> Me?

>> Yeah.

>> Yeah.

>> Yeah.

>> Brian and Charles were both enjoying it.

>> Yeah.

>> And uh the the guy with the stop sign

was our stunt coordinator.

>> Oh, that's great.

>> Phil.

Yeah, he had worked with John Landis

before, so I knew him from that. That

little girl who almost gets mowed down

is our dire producer Mark Victor's

daughter.

>> So, lots of cameos in here.

>> Go get him. Yeah. What the hell?

>> So, there's Sparks looked at the camera.

>> Looked at the camera.

>> Great.

>> Didn't pay attention to that lesson.

Yeah.

>> No,

>> but he was there the whole time. you

know, we that cat just never ceases to

amaze me. And you know, now that it's 26

years later, it's kind of obviously he's

no longer with us anymore. But

>> there should be a memorial built to

Sparks.

>> Sparks.

>> Yeah.

>> Now, it should also be said here,

particularly what what happens next,

that um that Brian is a very very

naughty boy.

>> Oh. Uhoh. So this

>> this was the second morphing movie ever

to come out and Terminator 2 had not

been released yet when we were shooting

this movie

>> and planning the transitions and the the

morphs into the Sleepwalkers. So this

was a very very early um morphing scene

and movie. So nobody had really worked

all of it out yet and we were kind of

inventing it as we went along. And the

baby face in that was Jeff Oaken's son.

Jeff Oaken was our visual effects

supervisor. So, like I said, there's

there's nepotism all over the movie.

>> Gotta do it.

>> That's noon.

>> Yeah, it's noon driving. I thought that

was you. That's you.

>> There you go.

>> Okay.

>> Concentrate.

>> Concentrate. Breathe deep.

>> Vision what you want to be. So this was

in the days when if you had to do a move

where something happened like a morph

like this,

>> right?

>> Uh you had to do it with motion control.

If they tell you it's going to take

where basically you set up a track and

computerize the move so you can repeat

the move as many times as you like and

put in a different car, take the car

out, do whatever, and you don't go down

a generation in in the film stock. In

this case with motion control, it if

they tell you it's going to take four

hours, double it and then quadruple it.

It is such an agonizingly slow process

that um it it takes just endlessly. So

fortunately

>> Oh

>> yes, there's kitty vision.

>> So how did you decide to throw that that

tint on?

>> Well, we put a filter on there. We

decided this is what cats

>> like infrared kind of thing.

>> That's how they see it. Exactly.

>> So he can't hear you when you're being

invisible. Obviously

>> the cat can. I don't know.

>> The cat can but the human can't.

>> Right.

>> This is complicated.

>> We're in kitty world at that point.

>> That's right. Invisible. Your audio and

visual all gone.

>> Okay. It's a good

>> except to cats.

>> Except cats.

>> Except to cats. But again, this is a

testament to how well this cat takes

direction.

>> Amazing. And he had good ideas of his

own, too.

>> Right. He was feeling it.

>> He was feling.

>> Yeah. How you get him to

>> feline?

>> You set me up. I'm sorry.

>> Wow. Knocked that one out of the park.

That looks like um like Ohigh or

something. Where

>> Oaks or something?

>> It's Newberry Park, which is near

Thousand Oaks. It's just north of north

uh northwest.

>> Do you remember if it was hot that day?

>> I don't think it was. This was not

summer. Um

>> because it would have been agonizing.

>> I like your choice of cars. I agree.

>> Thank you. Well, uh actually I think

they were scripted. Uh they were

scripted

>> and go into the Mustang and they talk

about it.

>> Boris, if you laugh, I'mma break your

jaw.

>> What is it?

>> Well, you know how I told you I couldn't

see him because of how fast we were

going, right?

>> Yeah. Well, that wasn't entirely true.

>> How's that?

>> Well, we were both doing 90. I pulled

right up beside him. We might as well

have been standing still, so you did get

a good look at him. But no, no, I

didn't. Cuz

see,

>> now obviously we shot this scene

>> before we shot the scene that preceded

it. Because it's not that he didn't have

a face. He had like six or seven faces,

>> right? But um it's something you hope

the audience doesn't notice at the time.

It it was a continuity thing that nobody

>> Well, I buy that. You know, he's saying

it's like a blur. Like he didn't see it

that clear. It just went from one to

another to another to

>> we did.

>> Well, we did. See, but

>> but he didn't. It was magic. That was

>> ah that's it.

>> You know, kind of like how

>> he didn't see him when he was invisible,

but the cat did see,

>> right?

>> The audience can see it, but

>> Okay. But he can't.

>> Yeah, we're like cats.

>> Yeah.

>> Okay, that makes sense.

>> Andy,

>> so Monty Bane played Horus, the deputy,

and Monty was a real character. He was

>> very much

>> I don't know if he was uh just really uh

method

>> method acting. Yeah.

>> Or that was him, but I have a strong

feeling that that was him. I haven't

seen him since, but he was he was a

character and really, as you can tell.

>> Oh,

>> that's my wife, Cynthia.

>> That's a pretty girl right there.

>> And uh yeah, we have a few cameos in

here coming up later that we'll talk

about. But um

>> if you listen closely here, you can hear

Clovis purring. He was such a happy cat.

He purr through that scene when he when

Dan gets close to him.

So now we're back on the Sony lot inside

the house.

>> Mother

>> mother's

bath.

>> So I think one of the reasons that King

approved me to direct this was because

he had seen Psycho 4, which was also

about a boy who sleeps with his mother.

>> Yes. Um, Henry Thomas playing a young

Norman Bates and his mother,

>> uh, played by Olivia Hussie, Mrs. Bates,

long before there was a Bates Motel.

>> Or at least a TV show called Bates

Motel.

>> Yeah.

>> Oh, what are you talking about?

>> Starving Charles. I need it.

>> You have to get it for me.

>> It's a good way to explain how this

works. And this you see her counting.

She goes one, two, because we had motion

control there and the camera is moving

and I said this is the count. You do it

on one and on two and she wasn't

supposed to say,

>> right? But it was one of those things

that overtakes you when you're acting

has to become technical,

>> right?

>> So it can be a real distraction.

>> But

>> see, that was that same that was at that

same rolling thing that I that I get on

later. That was very memorable.

>> Yes.

>> So, the whole point of this is kind of a

a a soul vampire. You know, it's not

sucking the blood, but it's sucking the

essence but of a virgin.

>> You know, people enjoy this movie so

much. Like when we got together and

watched at the cine family.

>> Yeah. Yeah.

>> Um it just reminds you like how

entertaining of a movie. every every

scene, every shot is just very rich, you

know, like I I feel like we're lacking

that a little bit with a lot of films

these days. So, I think this stands up

so well.

>> Well, you know, it's

>> it's a lot of fun.

>> It's interesting to see it after all

these years, plays in festivals and the

like and people see

>> a lot of times when you see something

that's has been done this long ago, it

looks a lot different.

>> It does. Yeah. Movies don't necessarily

>> It's nice when you see something hold

up, you know. Well, the audience seems

to have embraced it.

>> Uhoh.

>> Now, all of the uh this is one of my

favorite shots. It's just kind of an

elegant move into the fear

>> of people who incite fear, induce fear,

>> just enjoying being nuzzled.

>> Mama mama mommy.

>> Now, a these are very well-trained cats

and there are 126 of them. But they also

have tiny little harnesses.

>> I remember that. And those harnesses

were attached to posts.

>> They were like little. Yeah. Little

invisible harnesses that were put into

But they were so patient with it. They

were

>> They were They were trained to do it.

Now,

>> were they on catnip at the time?

>> Help them out.

>> No, they were method. They were method

method.

>> Now, this is an interesting scene.

>> Yes, it is.

>> I'm going to step out.

>> This is a very interesting scene. Well,

what's interesting about it is that we

could not get an R rating because of the

way it was shut shot. The intent was to

do it all in one shot and to reveal

the reality of them in the mirror as the

sleepwalker creatures all in one shot.

But because Brian's bottom was going up

and down, they would not give us an R

rating

>> really. So the elegance of the way

nowadays,

>> but the elegance of of how it was shot

was kind of destroyed by that.

>> Yeah.

>> But um

>> that's a compro that's an unfortunate

compromise.

>> Yeah. There were five different scenes

that had to be attenuated to get our R

rating. But there were things that could

be in other movies, not horror movies.

the the MPAA is much harder on horror

movies than they are on uh on dramas

because they don't like them basically.

I mean, there's no question.

>> They're like, you're taking off arms and

you're moving your butt too much. Too

much. Too far.

>> Exactly.

I was trying to figure out how to

beautifully shoot this scene and it just

was impossible. I I put that bowl of

fruit there to add the colors and

everything and to try and paint. One of

my favorite themes is Norman Rockwell

goes to hell

>> and Stephen King does that really well.

We did it in Critters Do and this

>> the whole point was to make that a

Norman Rockwell breakfast but I could

never really figure out how best to make

that beautiful. It's it bothers me that

it's so flat and

>> not rich. I mean, look at this. The the

hot spots of the sunlight coming

through,

>> right?

>> The soft background, the move that

reveals her behind him and the like. is

there's some feel and and elegance to it

and just that breakfast. You just have

to rely on the damned actress.

>> Charles,

>> uh-oh, there's a visitor.

>> You stay here.

>> Wait till you meet my mother.

>> Do we Did we know that Tanya was coming

over? Did we know that?

>> No.

>> Was it Was it?

>> No. You came over. You came over

unannounced.

>> Oh, dear. Bring her in.

>> The trouble she kissed herself into.

>> Look at those eyes. I mean, she was so

All of you were so committed to your

parts.

>> I like the little details. Like look at

the little heart earrings. You know,

like

>> every little detail tells a character

and costume designer thinks about those

little things.

>> See how we've got the highlights on you?

Look at Look at those eyes how they

light up. Come in, Tanya. I have

something for you.

>> Oh, do you?

>> Mhm. It's It was such a shame to waste

that beautiful face on the Borg Queen to

not see as much of it in the Star Trek

movie that she did. I mean, she's great

in it, but

>> yeah.

>> To to obscure so much of her.

>> We have a really simple trick coming up

here.

But uh it's a visual effect thing where

once again we're trying to hide the

actual look of sleepwalkers the way they

look in reality. That the way we did

that was very simple. It we did the shot

twice. Once with the sleepwalker in

place and once with Charles

>> you put your little splice somewhere

>> and then we just cut on the whip pan.

Yeah. So it's the oldest

special effect in the book and it still

works beautifully. You just lose it in

the pan.

>> You seem a little nervous there,

Charles.

>> Me?

>> Yeah. What What has you on edge?

>> It's the Mustang.

>> I don't trust my mother.

>> Who does?

>> Now, the uh production designer was John

Dur Jr. whose father John Decure was the

production designer on the original

Cleopatra. So, he had a long history of

production design and I don't know if

John's been working lately, but I don't

think he did a whole lot after this, but

um just an amazing production designer

and kind of

>> wanted to get that kind of craftsman

look inside that just a sense of history

to to this house.

>> So, that it didn't feel modern. It

doesn't feel like a subdivision. It just

>> there's pick up and move around a lot.

So they're going to be drawn to those

older

homes, right?

>> Yeah. Yes. And and just a visual

timeless. Yeah, it is.

>> Yes.

>> But just a a sense of timelessness and

to not feel the date of it.

>> Otherwise, I mean, in high school, we

feel 1992, but

>> feel the date of those shoes, though.

>> Oh my goodness.

>> And the hair.

and the hair and the white pants and my

really high jeans.

>> So, this is um Franklin Canyon in uh in

the literally the middle of Los Angeles.

There's a marker in the middle of

Franklin Canyon that says geographical

center of Los Angeles.

>> And so, we turned it into Homeland

Cemetery. And for those of you familiar

with Stephen King, Homeland is the

cemetery in all the Castle Rock stories.

And

>> this is the same location that I worked

with Anthony Perkins on.

>> Oh, the Toby Hooper movie.

>> The Toby Hooper movie. Um, we're the

infamous red dress.

>> Yes.

>> I'm dangerous tonight.

>> I'm dangerous tonight. Yeah.

>> Yeah.

>> That's interesting. And I first saw this

location when we were scouting it. I

mean, I I hike there all the time now,

but when we were scouting it, it was a

rainy 5 in the morning, uh, 6:00 in the

morning, and Madonna and her trainer

were were jogging through there. So,

that was my introduction to this

location. Now, it's very near where I

live.

>> One of the things that always bothers me

about this time period of my acting,

because I was young and new and finding

my way, is one of my nervous ticks was

to like bite my lip. So, I feel like I'm

just like licking and biting my lip

through like this entire movie,

>> just being adorable. That's

>> But, you know, it it works because Yeah.

She's cute and young and innocent.

>> Exactly. And so, the proverbial jump

scares where nothing really scary is

happening is kind of something you

>> that you have to put in your toolbox

when you're making uh films of this

genre.

>> Yeah.

>> But, um, this is an example of how

important sound is. I mean, it's a great

effect. And once again, it took endless

hours because of the motion control,

>> but um the sound of the metal stretching

and creaking and groaning really self.

>> So that's because he walked too far away

from the car and his magical morphing of

that car went away.

>> Yes. He didn't keep his concentration up

and it allowed itself to

>> I was a little distracted from some

high-waisted jeans.

>> Yeah. You have no clue. No clue how to

rub.

>> Oh,

>> leaving that alone, too.

>> Wait a minute. We just saw a scene that

proved he did.

>> Oh my god.

>> Originally, this scene ended with a lot

more punchlines,

>> but it seemed to undercut what had just

gone on here. So, there's a couple of

them left. Uh, but we didn't want to

Freddy Krueger it too much.

>> And this was something that I tried to

do here to keep them sort of stable and

the world around them going in a very

kind of dizzy romantic kind of shot. It

almost works, but we put a camera on a

sort of a a a trolley that would turn

>> and so just timed it with us. Yes,

exactly. So, we did it several times and

I'm sure you guys got a little dizzy.

I can't, Da.

>> So, it was

>> you feeling guilty. Are you feeling

cheating on my mother?

>> And then she takes over. She's not so

innocent, is she?

>> Mhm.

Getting on top.

>> Maybe she's not the one.

>> Nah, she's got the purple glow.

That was a challenge too to figure out

how do we indicate visually without

talking about it in dialogue that he's

removing the the virginal essence of

this girl and then feeding that virginal

essence to his mother which is what we

see when they're together which is how

we conceived of the purple glow

>> that it comes out of you and goes into

mom and it's a very strategically placed

virgin uh injection in in the movie. Um

the glow was very protective of two

actors.

>> If you listen to this commentary without

the visual it's incredibly

inappropriate.

>> Well, maybe with the visual it's even

more inappropriate.

>> Maybe. Maybe.

>> Fair enough.

>> So, this violence against women even in

making a movie is really tough for me.

Yeah,

>> this was really hard to do and I know it

was difficult for the both of you to to

orchestrate this and work this out and

make it

needy and violent without it being um

titilating and the violence of it being

just abusive in all the wrong ways

>> because metaphorically it is a rape,

>> right? But it could have gone that way

much more so. But

>> even though

>> it's long been history that women are

victims in horror films and and all

this, I just I didn't want brutalizing

here.

>> Um but it's a very fine line to walk.

It's a really difficult part to do. I

mean, even slugging a girl like that.

Yeah,

>> Brian, for you that

>> it's it's a it's a tough thing. And I've

In a few different movies, I've I've,

you know, been the bad guy and raped a

girl, beat up a girl, and it's murdered

people. And it's, you know, it's it's

never easy because you have to be in

that moment and make it a a realistic

moment. And it's, you know, something

I've never would never do, but

>> it's uh it's not I don't think it's easy

on either side.

>> Yeah.

>> Why don't you just think of yourself as

lunch?

>> So, here

That was fun

>> because we actually built a foam rubber

camera that you bash him in the face

with.

>> Yeah.

>> And here's the time when you want to be

in a movie theater with an audience.

>> Turn away

to leave. What are you doing?

>> So many cries I've heard over the years

of stupid What are you doing?

>> Literally

>> get out of there.

>> Yep. GET AWAY. WHY ARE YOU DOING THAT?

>> Because it's a horrible

>> Cuz it's true.

>> It does.

>> Now, this was also fun.

>> These were all very technical cuts that

we had to orchestrate, too.

>> Yeah. It's like doing a jigsaw puzzle.

>> And then you land here, and then you're

going to shoot it here. And then also to

stay

>> and that

>> emotionally, you know, in the right

place between shots and setups is

>> right because all of it each piece takes

time because it's different stages of

the makeup. You've got no makeup, no

creature makeup, then the morphed

makeup, then the eyeball out makeup.

>> And I love that you've got the ganglia

of the eyeball hanging on the end of the

cork

>> because it took so long

for the makeup. Did we shoot this in the

same day? We did.

>> Wasn't Wasn't this like a a week or two?

That whole sequence down in there?

>> Well, the sequence down in there was I

think that was three days or it might

have been more

>> actually. Yeah, I think it was a whole

week up in Franklin County.

>> So, some days had makeup and then other

days didn't have

>> Well, no, it was a scene at a time. So,

we didn't jump between scenes. So, we

would have to wait for the makeup

applications because that was all uh

Brian in that scene. Uh there was no new

noradi there. Now that song he was

singing, here comes Johnny with his

pecker in his hand, was something that

King had actually asked for. It wasn't

written in the script, but I didn't know

what the hell he was talking about. And

I talked to my brother Donald and he

said, "Oh yeah, that's his country song.

Yeah, it's called the cowboy song or

something like or or the pecker song. I

don't know what it was, but but we ended

up having to get the rights for it for

Dan to sing.

>> Pencil in the ear wasn't bad enough. I

had to do that." Oh,

>> cop cop on a cob.

>> Cop kebab. Yeah, that's it. Memorable

dialogue. So,

>> and again, now we've got another stage

of the makeup. And this is another It's

not the same day. And of course, he

survived the cop kebab. Of course,

>> he survived the cop kebab

>> because it's a movie.

>> Oh, God. But this was this was difficult

to to um choreograph because so many

things have to go on here. Um

>> and now you were you were rigged for the

squib, right?

>> Yeah. And then so was he. I've never

shot a gun in a movie here. And then I

remember when I shot him and you guys

had him on a big harness and he flew

back 50. pulled him back on a wire

>> and his chest blows up and

>> I made my lips purse and I went

>> when I fire the gun. I think you came up

to me and said, "Listen, I'm not going

to tell him why we're going again, but

if you if you make the sound again, I

will."

>> And the irony of it is this is Well,

here if you look closely at the bottom

of the frame, you can see the bottom of

the puppet.

>> Oh my gosh.

>> The cat puppet. That's the real Clovis.

And there it's intercut between that and

a puppeted cat with the claws that are

scratching the face and everything. But

uh the scene with Dan's belly blowing

out from the squibs and everything, we

actually had to cut that to get an R

rating.

>> And you've seen that in a hundred

movies.

>> Yeah.

>> But somehow we couldn't show it.

>> So

>> because we had butt movement.

>> Yeah.

>> Well, couldn't keep your butt. That was

one of the five different scene. I I

don't know why your bear ass was going

up and down in this scene, but we had to

cut it.

>> Please come.

>> Now look at this is an amazing shot.

>> Y

>> it's almost supernatural how how good

Sparks was at this. I mean, he literally

took direction to climb up on his chest

>> and just settle down there and look sad.

>> Yeah,

>> it's heartbreaking.

>> How did you do that?

>> Uh, very good trainers.

>> You know, you really should keep your

front yard in better condition. Maybe

you wouldn't get so many wild cats.

And now that you know that they're all

harnessed to their spots there, it kind

of changes how you see this.

>> Yeah.

>> Poor Charles.

>> This was pretty intense uh doing this

and it took a lot of time because the

makeup was rough.

>> Did it?

>> So, at this point, you've decided you're

you're you're committing to Charles not

having an eye now.

>> That's right. pretty blind at this

point.

>> And we also have under the the latex

where those scratches are, you've got

smoke coming out as well.

>> Tubes going everywhere. Everything is

running.

>> So, a lot of this was inspired I have

that lamp in my house. A lot of the

design here was inspired by my house,

the living room of my house that uh that

>> this was your full latex.

>> Yeah, I was stoked. They made me ripped.

Yeah.

>> Was this

>> is this is this when you were saying

that like it got very hot and

claustrophobic?

>> Hot. Yeah.

>> And you couldn't eat food?

>> Couldn't eat food. Not to be that

ripped. You got to have the right

>> but it would ruin your latex.

>> Very hot.

>> But you wanted to bring wanted to bring

this to life. And so that's why that

foam is there when you apply that sav

that she puts on. So it's not just

rubbing something on a pile of latex,

but it's interactive with the actors,

you know, so that it lives a little bit.

>> Yeah.

>> Also very challenging to find stages for

these makeups. You know, the the little

bit that's just mostly a brow piece that

you had in the earlier scene in the in

the graveyard.

>> Yeah. and then to this where you're

showing what the creatures are, but

you're not all the way there. You know,

it's kind of this is the halfway point.

>> You still got You still got your

original hair.

>> Well,

>> I can't, Mom. I can't do it.

>> It's all right on for both of us.

>> There's the car and the trash.

I'll take care of you.

Okay, so this

>> kebab didn't make it.

>> Obviously, this is Stephen King

>> and this is Toby Hooper with whom Magan

had made um I'm dangerous tonight.

>> Yeah.

>> And then we come up to none other than

Come on, come on, come on, play it

quick. Clive Barker. So, they're not

only in the same scene, but they're in

the same shot.

>> It was amazing. How did you How was it

directing all of them?

>> Well, it was really fun because Clive

and I had been friends and had worked

together, and he and King had never

worked before, never met before. And

King kind of made Clive's career in this

country by giving him a quote that says,

"I've seen the future of horror, and his

name is Clive Barker." And so, that made

him a best-selling writer. See, this was

hard for me to do because I was wanting

to enjoy all these legends in the same

scene, but I had to be in this state,

>> you know.

>> Yes. And

>> very emotional.

>> It's an incredibly emotional scene.

>> The irony of of having those guys in it,

that wasn't written in the script,

>> but it was an idea that I'd had and and

I wanted King to be there and these guys

to be there. And I'd never met Steve

until that scene

>> that morning in my morning granola

before we started shooting while we were

prepping. I broke a moler.

>> And I had to go down to my dentist and

actually get a a a temporary moler on

before King is coming. Hurry up. Hurry

up. I'm meeting Stephen King. And he was

only there for two hours.

>> So we had to do that scene in its

entirety with him and Clive and Toby in

two hours. And the funny part about it

is you could cut that scene completely.

Just cut in on where the sheriff goes to

Tanya.

>> Yeah.

>> And no one would ever notice except

>> Google Gobble, one of us, you know, we

we know who those guys are and to add to

the enjoyment to to the movie for the

fans.

>> But then this is an incredibly important

scene and really emotional. So let's get

our fun out of the way then get into it.

>> Get into it. Yeah.

And Horus is a very sensitive character.

>> He's got high-waisted pants, too.

>> Yeah, those are 92 pants. Yeah,

>> for sure.

>> 92 sheriff pants. At least movie sheriff

pants in '92.

>> Here it is.

>> It was very charming.

>> Charming is the word for Charles Brady.

And

>> man,

>> Tanya Robert, you broke her heart.

Charles,

>> I

>> wanted to keep your soul forever.

>> Well,

you asked nicely.

>> Maybe I would have given it to you.

>> Yeah, but your heart belonged to Clovis.

>> True.

>> True.

>> The cat saved my life.

>> Okay.

>> Thank you.

>> Now, here's sensitive man.

>> Do her parents know a class one assault

did not occur? You mean that they know

she managed to avoid being raped by the

bastard? Yes.

>> Okay.

>> Just what everybody wants in a

commentary track is when everybody goes

silent to listen to the line being

delivered.

>> It's so great though.

>> But again, all of this is in Franklin

Canyon in the middle of Los Angeles and

now we're back to the back lot at Warner

Brothers.

>> Yep.

>> And now we're back on the stage at Sony.

So this movie was the first one where I

really discovered how effective a wide

lens can be and now it's it's really

part of my toolbox is you know that at

that time really 14 was pretty ultra

wide then I'll go to a 10 now but to to

see the world around the characters and

really take in the entirety of their

plight is something that I think is

really important the geography and not

just faces in closeup but putting giving

them a sense of place. So,

>> the interior was on the Sony lot.

>> Sony lot. Yeah.

>> Yeah.

>> And um there's a good story coming up.

>> Yeah. That is a trailer shot. Her eyes

over

>> Yeah.

>> your bloody ruined monster face.

>> Sure.

>> But um these effects were something

again we kind of helped invent them.

There had been morphing. It had only

been in the Michael Jackson black and

white video which was directed by John

Landis and the same company did the

morphing that we did. But I'd never seen

anything like this before and I didn't

want the cars to just disappear and I

wanted to make sure the shot was moving

so that it carried the impact. You felt

it was really happening. So there was

that halfway stage where it's

transparent and then it's gone. It kind

of eats itself away. And so we were

really flying by the seat of our pants

at that time and kind of inventing how

to do this and combining

motion control, which was invented for

Star Wars back in 77. Combine that with

CGI and morphing uh qualities and and

really try and do something special with

it.

>> Charles Brady, if you're in there, come

out with your hands open and empty.

>> They're on to you. And the same thing

here once we do what we did with the

cars now with with Charles Brady again

it's motion control and uh every time

there's a motion control shot you just

basically throw away a third or a half

of your day to setting it over and over

especially when you've got stages of

makeup effects.

>> How many times did you have to do this

to get it right?

>> This was probably repeated about eight

times. Yeah.

>> And then you'd fade part of it out and

keep part of it solid and all that,

>> right? So it doesn't go at the same time

>> and it just feels more real. Yeah.

Organic if the movement is going there

and it it's those stages.

>> This is the first time I ever worked

with Ron Pearlman. And uh later we

worked on another Stephen King film

called Desperation where he plays uh the

evil Tac. Um, but uh,

>> and this is where he he he made you feel

like you were a complainer.

>> Tell him tell me about that, Brian.

>> Uh, you know, doing three hours of

makeup to get in and out. He told me

what it was like for him on Beauty and

the Beast and, you know, years of it.

Uh, which, you know, every day at 4:00

a.m. he'd be at work getting makeup on

and

>> over and over and over. So, um,

>> well, what a slacker you were.

>> Yeah, I was, uh, you know, I was new. I

was green. I was like, hey, you know.

>> Okay, don't complain. Got it.

>> Well, we put him in makeup in

desperation for part of that, but also

he was Hellboy, of course, in two

movies. So, there was hours of makeup

every day for that. And we also put him

in second season Masters of Horror that

John Carpenter directed.

I'd

>> like to set up a couple of checkpoints

in and out of town. The per history by

now. I

>> The most difficult thing in working on

movies is well driving scenes or stunt

scenes, but animals and kids.

>> Yeah. And I've done a lot with that. You

know, in desperation, we had a lot of

animals. In this, we have a lot of

animals. And you really need to rely on

really great trainers, but they have to

be humane trainers. Fortunately, there

is always a visit from the ASPCA when

you're shooting in in the US. So, they

always have to approve any animal

scenes. And I'm all for that. I'm a big

animal rights guy and and again I'm a

vegan so it's all because I love animals

and it's not necessarily for health

reasons although that's certainly a

benefit but I give a about that.

Yeah.

>> So here we are that same day that we

shot the earlier breakfast scene with

you and keeping the camera in the same

place because we were in a hurry trying

to make this beautiful night.

>> Now it's night.

>> She's been up there an awfully long

time. Honey, you think

>> she's taking a nice hot bath?

She just needs to get clean.

>> She just needs to get clean. Well,

that's what everybody said about Tanya

Robertson at this time. So,

>> there was a lot of suds in this scene.

And I remember you were so careful,

Mick, to make sure that I was covered. I

felt comfortable.

>> You had mole skin on your breasts. You

had everything was covered.

And I I just felt like you were a Tanya,

this sweet virginal kind of girl. And

and I felt very fatherly toward you and

very protective.

Is everything okay?

>> Yeah, I'm just getting out.

>> Your mother's keeping supper warm for

you.

>> This could easily have been a toddry

moment

having the high school girl in a

bathtub,

>> right? Yeah.

>> But the point of it is to make her put

her at her most vulnerable,

>> right?

>> And to to reflect the fear of this

character.

>> It is very bright though, isn't it? for

nighttime.

>> She just wants to protect her cat. Leave

me alone.

>> Where is he?

>> He's coming with the sheriff.

>> That's right. If I had if I were doing

that now, I would have turned off the

lights and put candles in there.

>> Oh, yeah.

>> Would have been much more effective.

>> Yeah, but then you might have been going

into a romantic feel, and that's not

what You know, she's she's

>> she's she's afraid. She's not going to

dim the lights.

>> You're right. Lights up.

>> Lights.

>> Lights up. Now, Roger Nolan, who's one

of the guys here who gets his head

bashed into the other, the guy on the

right, he was my next door neighbor at

the time. So,

>> actually, not at this time. I was living

in my other house, but a previous

nextoor neighbor.

>> So,

how do you crash people's heads together

in a movie? That was

>> melons.

>> Yes. But to do it actually like that.

>> Yeah. that we did it in reverse. We put

their heads together and pulled them

apart.

>> So, uh because it can be dangerous to do

it the other way

>> and especially because Alice

>> is really strong.

>> Yeah. No, this is when I got I got to

really realize her strength and power.

>> Yeah. You'll see this

>> during this sequence.

>> Mhm.

State police problem with S. Hope you

don't think he's going to question her

before I ever gets here.

>> I'll get this.

>> Oh, for this now. That's a breakaway

vase that she breaks on Lyman's face. So

Lyman said, "Well, wait. I'm not sure I

want this. You know, I I can't do that."

And so I said, "Look, I won't ask you to

do anything I wouldn't do." So I had the

stunt guy come up and go ahead and smash

it against my face.

>> Yeah.

>> And he did. And I said, "See, no

problem." And then I turned away and oh

Jesus,

>> that's terrible.

>> But it worked. So that's not normally my

directing style, but but in this case

>> now

>> the lengths that you filmmakers will go

to.

>> I know.

>> If you just call your daughter for me.

>> What? My son is badly hurt. He may be

dying. Your daughter tried to kill my

Charles.

>> Blood. I hope he dies. I hope you both

die. I HOPE YOU BOTH DIE AND RUN IN

HELL.

>> He's my son. My only son.

here. She went out the went to the

window and that's a stunt double. But

she said, "Thanks a lot for having her

come out with our legs open."

>> Yeah.

>> Landing that way.

>> But I love how terri This is like a

Warner Brothers cartoony.

>> He misses every

>> He's trying though. You got to give him

an A for trying.

>> Yep. Monty. Monty. Monty.

>> He's amazing.

So,

>> see? Yeah, this is when I realized this

is a very strong woman.

>> You cannot pull away.

>> She's a big yogi, Pilates.

>> I mean, you just look at her shoulders.

>> I know.

>> That's it.

>> And now we have a couple other cameos

right here. That's John Landis on the

right

>> and that's Joe Dante on the left. And uh

Joe actually we just worked together. We

he did a a segment of the Nightmare

Cinema anthology movie we just did.

There's Cynthia. There's Monty. And here

is, I think, the world, the cinema

world's first ever death by cobbing.

>> The best.

>> Yes.

>> It takes a lot of strength to get a cob

through a human body.

>> Through the spine. It's

>> And through his shirt, by the way.

>> And par boiled, not too boiled. Right.

It's got to be still solid.

>> Yeah. It's got to have some al denteness

to it.

>> You don't want mushy corn. Yeah. No. You

know, that's not

>> And it's got to get through that plastic

police suit, you know.

>> That's right. The whole

>> That's the

>> the penetration thing, you know.

>> Oh. Oh, Horus. Now,

>> here is a great show of strength coming

up. Oh, well, all of these cats I never

knew that cats ran with their tails up

until this scene. Look at all of them

have their Well,

>> if I'm correct, this is I heard that we

had a certain amount of trained cats

>> and there because there were so many

cats that lived on the the lot, they

joined in on this run.

>> Yes, there are feral cats there that had

escaped from earlier productions,

generations of them on the Warner

Brothers back lot

>> and our our line producer Dick Stenta

did the second unit for that because we

were busy shooting this. But um we shot

it at slow motion at like 48 frames a

second, so it gave them a little more

grace in the run. But uh yeah, there are

feral cats that joined in uh and were

parading around. Uh

>> I was wearing a harness for this so that

she could pull my hair without pulling

my hair.

>> Yep. And then here's another sequence

that had to be cut short to get our R

rating because those fingers did pull

out of her mouth with stretchy bands of

flesh that came out and then they spit

out and hit them.

>> Yeah.

So, it should be said, too, that that

the music is a really important part of

this. And it was great to be on the Sony

lot with one of with Nicholas Pike and a

60piece acoustic orchestra and have all

the orchestra members. They knew they

were doing a quote horror film and

looking back and going, "Wow, what is

this music? This is way better than

>> stunt doubles." No, this we had a stunt

double to pick up man and do all of this

>> and in heels

>> and in heels

>> and in heels and she

>> but the stunt double couldn't pick up

man and Alice did it without even

struggling.

>> Yeah in heels in heels.

>> Now one of my pet peeves is how big the

head is on the cop who bursts into

flames because he's got a protective

helmet on basically and the hat is way

too small.

>> And now we're in a Burbank neighborhood.

shooting in not on a studio lot.

>> Jump out of the window, Tanya.

>> Yes.

>> Jump out.

>> Well, she tried to get out, but yeah.

And

>> so this was shooting in the middle of

the night in a neighborhood. I'm sure

annoying the hell out of all of the poor

Burbank neighbors there.

>> You just got to roll down the window,

Tanya, and jump out.

>> Yeah. You know, don't make such a big

move.

>> Too strong.

>> More and more cats.

>> Yeah.

>> This I think we're tapped out at our 126

right here.

>> Yeah.

>> So,

the best way to not confront cats in the

world of Stephen King

>> is

>> is to crash.

>> Wait for it.

>> Yes. Drum roll everyone

>> is to put your pedal to the metal and

just crash into the house.

>> But I appreciate she put on the perfect

red lip for this occasion.

>> Exactly. Well, she was meeting the

parents.

>> Yeah.

>> Yeah.

>> Now, that was one of the cats who was

doubling for Clovis because he did hiss.

>> Wow.

>> And this is a favorite. So, fake cat,

not a not a real cat,

>> but we did rig it so that it broke when

she

>> snapped.

>> Why was I trying to push the window and

not just open the door again?

>> Because it was too tight. It was pushed

up against the wall

>> and you couldn't get out.

>> I remember that.

>> Okay. Oh, he's not looking good.

>> We've gone even further.

>> Not looking good.

>> Gone even further. And now, let's bring

ourselves back to the theme. the piece

of music that inspired this movie in the

first place because Charles

>> He's pining.

He's not dead.

>> Yeah,

>> look at that.

>> Even his hair is not looking good now.

>> Big head. Got a big head. It's a lot of

latex there.

>> There's a lot of crying that happened

this day. Remember?

>> Yes. This was a tearful day.

We're all stopping and watching. She

captivated us.

>> She's kicking it in.

>> The theme comes back.

>> You know, that's a good trick for every

party.

>> Yes. Telekinetic uh music launch. Yes.

Yeah. Everyone should have it.

>> On the record player.

>> That's a power.

So the most interesting thing about this

scene in many ways once the dancing

starts is that we had a visitor.

>> There was

>> there were three movies shooting on the

lot at the time on the Sony lot.

>> Francis Copela was shooting Dracula and

Steven Spielberg was shooting Hook

>> which I had been cast in Dracula.

>> Really?

>> Yeah. Francis cast me in Dracula and the

studio

uh made them fire everyone who wasn't

British because they were very concerned

about accents.

>> Really?

>> Um and my my voice coach went to bat for

me and said, "No, no, no, no, no. M's

like one of the few that actually knows

how to do the accent."

>> Yeah, no kidding.

>> So, he was very sad to give me the news

that I couldn't do that movie.

>> Oh,

>> yeah.

>> Well,

at the same time that movie was being

shot on the lot. Well, see, there you

go. I wouldn't have been able to have

done this one.

>> Exactly.

>> And it was the lead. So, there you go.

>> Y

>> Anyway, there was another shoot, movie

shooting there, and that was Hook,

>> right?

>> So, Steven Spielberg was directing Hook

and visiting, everybody was visiting

each other's sets. Um, this day when

this dance was taking place, Spielberg

decided he wanted to come and visit.

>> Yeah. which was one of the hardest

things for me to film acting wise

because I just felt like I was doing

such a bad job.

>> Oh, and that's not

>> And then I had Spilbergs watching me. I

was like, I'm great.

>> And I kept saying, you know, what can I

do for you? I I thought he might be

there for a reason. No, no, I just want

to watch. And he went back in the corner

and just for a couple of hours and I was

on edge as well, of course.

>> Now, Stephen is the guy who gave me a

career. He's the first guy to hire me as

a screenwriter on Amazing Stories and

then as a director later on.

No,

no,

>> this shot. That was hard.

>> But that was me. That was me on a on a

little dolly thing. And that was

>> You were mounted with the camera.

>> Yeah. I was on the monster.

>> Yeah. And so he has one eye. So what do

you do?

>> Shoot from the other side.

>> No, you poked his eye out.

>> But yeah, so Spielberg was there. And

what I didn't realize is afterwards he

wanted to talk to me about directing a

movie from Plastic Man.

>> Yeah.

>> And uh the movie never got made. But

there you go.

>> Well, you know, now you're blind.

>> Get him.

>> She You know, don't mess with Tanya.

>> That's pretty nasty. And that's the

hissing uh the hissing cat. The only

other one that plays Clovis here besides

Sparks.

And now I remember we had to think of a

way to knock his hat off to match the

shot that we'd shot afterwards

or we shot before. Right there he knocks

his hat off because the scene the shot

that comes up after he's without a hat.

>> So

this was great. I mean obviously the

cats are being thrown onto her or

they're running up onto a double. Uh and

we had a couple fake ones that were

stitched onto her back including

There's a fake. That one is attached and

blown away. Literally blown away.

>> So now this motion control shot to save

time, we had to move in and stop before

we did the morph.

>> So we wouldn't have to keep repeating

it. It would have taken us another four

hours.

>> Now this when those doors don't work.

He's like, "Don't wor don't worry about

the door."

>> Well, it's nothing compared to trying to

start a car. And then and then you trip.

You always trip when you're trying to

get away. Always.

>> Clumsy girls. Yeah. Uh

>> oh.

>> Invisible.

>> Yeah.

So originally

>> Oh yeah.

>> He not only lands well

>> everything awful that can happen.

>> Yeah. That's a bad day.

>> You go. Really bad day.

>> And this scene too was not in the

original script or in the original

shoot.

>> They must not be very strong. on these

seat belts. They can't get into Oh,

>> she broke the glass. There we go. Okay,

>> now here's a little gratuitous moment

right there.

>> Yeah.

>> Wham.

>> Wow.

>> So,

>> that's that's a good aim.

>> Cars have trouble starting in

>> They do. They you know, doors don't

open.

>> Engines won't start.

>> It's what King referred to Roger Eert

called it the kidding battery. Oh,

that's originally unfortunate.

>> Originally, there was a shot of him of

her pushing him onto those spikes and

they come out through his chest.

>> That went for the R rating also.

>> So, you had to reshoot it or you just

had to cut

>> No, I had to cut it cut that shot out of

it.

So, here we've got a bunch of cats on

there, but also some of them we did the

close ones with the actual cat

scratching at the sleepwalkers with its

with their paws.

are puppeted cats.

>> There we go.

>> There it finally starts.

>> It's going to turn.

>> Come on. Come on. Come on.

>> Come on.

>> But we had like the equivalent of

matches and striking pieces under the

latex so that it would actually ignite

with the claws as they did that.

>> The real cats.

>> No, no, with the puppet cats.

>> Oh, okay.

>> But they were all trained to jump onto

the stunt double and do all this. This

had to be done very quickly because

stunt people can't breathe when they're

a flame

>> on fire.

>> Yes.

>> Well, you got a lot of footage out of

it.

>> Yeah,

>> we did multiple camera.

>> Um,

>> so there's there's Yeah, there's a shot

coming up.

>> Are you going to go back into the house?

>> And there's Alice on fire. She was quite

quite

>> She's hot.

>> She's hot and very helpful. Just a very

cooperative actor.

>> Of course, she hit the tree.

>> Damn it. The tree is in the way. Oh,

well. At least she's away from the

burning corpse.

>> True.

>> Of Mary Brady.

>> Oh, see, it was just too much.

>> Oh, cat scare.

>> It's too much.

>> Until

>> until

>> Okay, good.

>> Yeah. Um, I didn't want to reveal to you

guys as I was up for this part how

allergic I am to cats. What?

>> So,

>> here's another one. So am I.

>> Here we go. So, I waited until I was

cast. I waited until I'd gone through

wardrobe fittings and rehearsals and

then I very gently said, "Oh, um, so by

the way, I'm really allergic to cats."

>> Do you think that maybe when we do that

shot where I'm hugging the cat, we do it

at the end of the night?

You got your wish?

>> Yeah, I got my wish.

>> And I love cats, but I'm so allergic to

them.

>> Yeah. Wow. I used to be badly allergic.

Not so much anymore.

>> Really? I haven't grown out of mine. I

wish I I wish I could.

>> This piece of music by Enya is

beautiful. It's beautiful and beloved.

But originally,

>> I showed this a rough cut of this movie

to my favorite band at the time, Crowded

House. and Crowded House gave me a song.

Well, they wrote a song, an original

song for the end of this and I wasn't

allowed to use it because Sony would not

pay for it and so we ended up choosing

this piece by Enya instead. This may be

more appropriate, but the Crowded House

song was great

>> and I love Crowded House,

>> but this really works great. So, there

you are. That is Stephen King's

Sleepwalkers.

>> Amazing.

>> Yay. Great job.

>> That was a great experience

>> for all of us, I'm sure. You know, it

was it was a rough one to make and it

was tough to make a studio movie. Um,

>> how many days did it take? Do you

remember?

>> I think it was 40

>> 40 days.

>> 40 days. And on a studio level, I mean,

the the budget for a studio movie was

very very low. If it were an independent

movie, it would have been plenty. But um

the producer really had a whip and at

the end of every day would say I'm

pulling the plug after 12 hours and then

we came in $300,000 under budget he told

me. So he said make sure you get to use

the orchestra and I said um

>> you know $300,000 is several days worth

of work that I could have put into this

movie

>> that you didn't let me. So

>> yeah,

>> but I'm sure he got a a nice bonus.

>> I didn't see any of that.

everybody.

>> It is kind of sad.

>> I this I played this song for my kids.

>> Um my son would listen to the song over

and over and over. I'm sure he probably

has like PTSD from it.

>> But it's so beautiful. That whole album

was so beautiful, especially for like

kids to fall asleep to at night.

>> Well, it's a good lullabi. Yeah,

>> especially knowing that you lived. Then

it's okay.

>> That's right. Have your kids seen this

movie.

>> I don't I don't know if they have

actually.

>> Mine hasn't.

>> My son hasn't watched anything.

>> Are you kidding? You've got to get them

to watch this movie.

>> Nothing.

I If I had kids, I'd have raised them on

this movie.

>> Yeah. My kids did. My kids

>> My my son wouldn't watch it. My my well

my kids always heard about Twin Peaks

but they didn't watch Twin Peaks until

they were in high school and they were

actually studying it

>> and at one point they were like mom how

did you not tell us that you were in the

best TV show ever and I was like well

you guys didn't seem very interested in

it so that's I think what the moment

then they were like oh you're an actress

and you've been on interesting things

and they started to pay more attention

by that point

>> anyway Stephen King Sleepwalkers

>> yay Y

>> Mitch and Brian, thanks so much. It's

always great to spend time having us

here.

>> Yeah.