Written by Steve âFrostyâ Weintraub
Opening tomorrow is Lionsgateâs remake of âMy Bloody Valentineâ. I managed to see the movie last week but I had to sign an embargo, so I canât say what I thought. That being said, Iâm not breaking any rule by telling you if youâre going to see this movie, GO AND SEE IT IN 3D. This movie was made to take advantage of the new 3D technology and itâsâ¦.man, I wish I could tell you what I thoughtâ¦But I promise if you go see this with a crowded theater and youâll all watching it in 3Dâ¦everyone is going to have a lot of fun.
Anyway, to help promote the movie, I recently participated in a roundtable interview with Jamie King. In the film she plays one of the leads and sheâs great in the film. During our interview she talked about all the challenges of making the movie in 3D, what she has coming up, and she reveals all the nerdy things sheâs into. Itâs a great interview and one worth reading. But before getting to the interviewâ¦hereâs a link to some movie clips and hereâs the synopsis. Ten years ago, a tragedy changed the town of Harmony forever. Tom Hanniger, an inexperienced coal miner, caused an accident in the tunnels that trapped and killed five men and sent the only survivor, Harry Warden, into a permanent coma. Then, exactly one year later, on Valentine's Day, Harry Warden woke up--and brutally murdered twenty-two people with a pickaxe before being killed. Ten years later, Tom Hanniger returns to Harmony on Valentine's Day, still haunted by the deaths he caused. Struggling to make amends with his past, he grapples with unresolved feelings for his ex-girlfriend Sarah, who is now married to his best friend Axel, the town sheriff. But tonight, after years of peace, something from Harmony's dark past has returned. Wearing a miner's mask and armed with a pickaxe, an unstoppable killer is on the loose. And as his footsteps come ever closer, Tom, Sarah and Axel realize in terror it just might be Harry Warden who's come back to claim them.As always, you can either read the transcript below or listen to the audio by clicking here. So did you have any sort of preconceptions of going into a 3-D movie about what that was going to be like?You know, it was at an interesting time when they sent the script about the 3-D because my husbandâheâs a directorâand he had just come home after seeing James Cameron/Spielberg doing this panel at the DGA about 3-D and about how stereo is going to be the wave of the future. And that this new technology was basically going to be how all movies are going to be made. So I had just heard that so I was really excited about the idea of doing a film that was going to be using this kind of technology.Had you seen the original film or if you hadnât did you go and watch it?No, when they sent me the script my writer friends were over the house and they freaked out because they were like âoh my God. This movieâs amazing.â It was like our favorite horror movie and blah, blah, blah because theyâre like film geeks and they were obsessed over it and then once I read it I didnât want to watch the original because I didnât want to feel likeâ¦I didnât know what it was going to be like and I didnât want to have some preconceived notion of what I should do orâ¦you know what I mean? I didnât want to have some kind of judgment or be locked like in a box about the way I should perform something and then I watched it after. It was pretty sweet. I particularly liked the killing with the wiener water. That was a classic, so I can understand why people appreciate that movie. Yeah.What was it like working with this 3-D environment? We heard it was a lot of lights, in the mines, you know all the stuff. Can you just talk a little bit about the on-location shooting of it?I mean it was pretty intense because the thing that we didnât know about the 3-D is how much time it took. It added like 30% more to our day. But since no one had used these cameras before then we found out once we started doing it that the rigs were really hard to move. It required so much light itâs ridiculous. Like when youâre lighting a scene, you canât believe it requires that much light. And then youâre trying to adjust to how bright it is and how hot it is. And then theyâd bring all these lights down into these mines that are not adapt for this kind of light and heat so then the mines would expand and things would fall off the roof and then theyâd be bats flying by you and then they added a 6th day to our schedule then so were shooting a minimum of 18 hours a day for 6 days a week. And then weâd wrap at 9:00 in the morning on Sunday after working 18 hours. Sunday would be our day off. And then youâd drive an hour and a half back to the hotel. You would sleep the whole day and get picked up the next day at 9:00 a.m. and that would be like your weekend. So that was kind of likeâ¦so when you really see us itâs all like (noises) like that itâs really because we really were but it works. You know? So I guess you were filming in Pittsburgh?Yeah, Pittsburgh.So I guess you didnât get to enjoy Pittsburgh too much?Not that much, but I just got back from there because my brother-in-law lives there, so you know, back into Pittsburgh.Just in general and without giving away the ending, are you pretty good at like figuring out these mystery who-done-it sort of things?I kind of am just because I read a lot of scripts, you know what I mean? So the more scripts that you read and you see the tendencies of what people go to and what writers do and the tricks and the things like that then yes. But a lot of my friends, it was really fun talking to everyone after the premiere because theyâre like âI thought it was that person. I thought it was that personâ and I loved that. It had that element to it because it just added a different layer to the film. I love the movie because itâs so balanced and all the things it offers. It offers like great gore and then the 3-D makes it such an event like such a like a roller coaster ride and then youâve got really funny things. Like itâs so absurd at times that youâre like laughing. Iâm like youâve got that awesome likeâ¦my favorite funny scene is likeâ¦and you donât realize its funny when youâre filming it and then youâre watching it and youâre like oh my God. That is pretty hilarious. Like the scene when weâre in the hospital and like Jensen has his cut on his arm and heâs getting fixed and all of a sudden weâre in the middle of this conversation and the Kerr pops out from behind the curtain and heâs like âand what would you be doing that for?â and itâs like so classic and funny, you know? So I love that you can be scared one minute and then laughing the next.When you read the script did you figure it out before you got to the end?Well, we shot a bunch of different endings. Oh, okay.We shot different ways that it could have gone. So I didnât really know until I actually saw the cut.Did you have a favorite kill scene?I have a couple of favorite scenes. My favorite kill scene, I really like the shovel situation with the girl. And my favorite scene is the first scene with a naked woman running around. That scene is so awesome. I loved that scene. Itâs like you kind of have to have nudity in a slasher film but I love how confident and like she didnât give a crap. She was like whatever. And she wouldnât even put a robe on. Sheâs like âwhat?â You know? Thatâs what this girl was like and I donât have the confidence to be that way. Iâm like can there just be one person on set please and can you light up the candle because I mean Iâm not like that ballsey at all. Yeah. I loved that scene. I just think itâs awesome. I just think itâs awesome. Itâs so funny.Do you like horror movies? Do you watch them?I like zombie movies. I like genre movies like âStar Warsâ and âLord of the Ringsâ and â2001â and âBattlestar Gallacticaâ thatâs like my kind of thing. I have like a real big imagination so I was never good with horror movies as a kid because I can never get out of my head. It seemed like something that would always linger and I couldnât sleep from it. But now after doing this one I have a much greater appreciation for it.I heard you might be developing a comic or two?I am right now. Iâm writing a sci-fi series withâ¦do you know Mark Anderko? He wrote âTorsoâ?Yeah.David Fincher is doing his comic book into a film with Matt Damon and heâs an awesome writer and he and I met at Golden Apple one day and just started chatting. We became friends. I had like 5 different ideas that I was working on developing into a comic series. He came over and we ended up choosing one of my ideas and we just started working on that. Iâve been writing since I was 7 and thatâs one of the reasons why I love film because I love great writing and itâs just been great working with Frank so much and with these great comic book people because now I feel like I have a great venue to really write and do that kind of format. So itâs really cool.So when would that be? Is there a plan for when it might be coming out?We just started working on it a couple weeks ago so weâll probably do it as a 6-part series to start out with. So I donât know exactly. We donât have like a time-table for it. We get together whenever we can because weâre both pretty busy and with this movie coming out and the movieâs coming out and weâre really focused on that like doing the press and so as soon as I get a second to focus then weâll probably knock it out really quick. Yeah.You mentioned Frank Miller and that should have a lot of effects involved as well on a very different way than this one. I wonder if you could talk a little bit about the differences in the shooting approach in your experience between âThe Spiritâ and âMy Bloody Valentineâ?Well the difference with something like âThe Spiritâ or how we did âSin Cityâ is that you literally have nothing around you. Itâs literally green-screen everything. So Rosario Dawson is one of my friends and it was really weird because weâve been friends since we were like 15 years old and weâve always wanted to do something and it was so weird. I was like âyeah, we finally get to do a movie together but Iâm taking to an X thatâs supposed to be you, you know?â Sheâs like âYeah, when can we actually do a scene together like a physical scene, you know?â Itâs just weird to see us in a scene together but we werenât really there together, you know? The difference with the effects is that with âMy Bloody Valentineâ we were on physical sets. We were physically with the actors. With âSin Cityâ it was just me and Mickey and âSpiritâ just me and Gabe and so just a whole different thing, but the only thing that was similar was that we were using things that had never been done before and that, I feel, very lucky to be a part of.Speaking of Frank Miller, honestly, do you think âSin City 2â is ever going to happen?Yeah, Frank just finished the script. I was with him the other night, so he just finished it and the thing is like I think when âSin Cityâ came out it was such a big hit for the studio, but the studio is frustrating because sometimes studios are really awesome because they have a great vision for something but then they wanted to do weird things with the 2nd one. And Robert didnât want to go down that route so weâve just been waiting until somebody knocks some sense into them when we can do it the way that we want to do it. None of the filmmakers or actors were like willing to sacrifice doing it in any other way than what we wanted to do it. So, yeah, Iâm hoping weâll do it sometime this year. But you know how movies are. I remember I was with Robert and Robertâs like weâre going in 2 months. I was like âoh, okay.â We have to work out everyoneâs schedule but then it got pushed. You know what I mean? So itâs like you never really know with movies. It happens when it happens.Do you think that with âSin City 2â do you know if heâs taking existing material or did he write new material?Both. Both. Yeah. So thereâs existing material and then thereâs things heâs added into it also. With âThe Spiritâ how was it playing kind of this phantom siren that glows? I mean itâs such a unique character.It really is a unique character. I mean I think that it was a great way for us to just hang out and work together again. It was really great because we were using a phantom camera that had never been used before and itâs a camera that shoots at 1,000 frames per second, so it makes like the shooting experience was unbelievable and it was fun to do that character because of my schedule I didnât have to be there the whole time because I was already committed to something else so I just got to fly down and shoot it really quickly and then they interwove it throughout the thing. The camera was amazing and working with Gabriel was really fun too because it was such a really fun experience because the DP and all the camera guys everybody was tripping out looking at this film because they couldnât believe they could shootâ¦.like I was jumping in the air doing these ballet moves and itâs literally as if I was hanging in the air for like 5 minutes, you know? So that part of it was really awesome to see what they could do with the film.Jaime, because youâve worked with 2 different types of technology now between the 3-D camera and the phantom camera, does that make you more in demand as an actress because youâve performed with them and been comfortable with them?I donât know. Iâve noticed that people hire me a lot for genre films and things of this kind of nature, but I think itâs just because Iâm such a fan of those kinds of films. When people send me scripts, those are the ones I typically gravitate towards, but I think it helps that Iâve been involved with working with this kind of technology and these kinds of cameras because I know how to be with them and be comfortable with them.You know how to be with them? What does that mean?Like some actors canât stand green-screen and some of them bitch and complain that people arenât there and there is no set and when I hear it it sounds like whiney littleâexcuse my languageâbitches to me because if youâre an actor youâre job is to create something thatâs real and authentic, you know what I mean? So, yeah itâs awkward and yeah itâs a little bit strange but you should be grateful (a) that youâre working, (b) with things that have never been used before and to be able to tell stories in a different way. And itâs like youâre a child again. You just make it up inside of you and you do your best to make it real. You may feel stupid at times because it feels awkward and strange but anything that you learning feels awkward and strange at first I think. You mentioned that youâre a little bit of a nerd for sci-fi âBattlestarâ, âLord of the Ringsâ, âStar Warsâ, is there any one of those things out there that you would really liked to have been a part of or one that youâre trying to pitch yourself for?Well, I harassed Dave Filoni and then he finally hired me so now Iâm doing voices for the âClone Warsâ so I was like âDude, hire me. Dude, hire me. Dude, hire me.â I would e-mail him and harass him and follow him around Comic-Con and then finallyâ¦.I have to interrupt. Was this for Kyle or was this for you?It was for me. The female characters from âStar Warsâ are bad-ass. And theyâre fun and of course my husband loves it because then he comes to all the recordings and stuff like that. And he gets to like geek out with everybody, but yeah thereâs certainly ones that Iâd love to be involved inâThe Dark Knight, you know? Play Catwoman or something like that or maybe be involved in the âIron Manâ films. Something like that would be really cool.What about âFanboysâ? Are we ever going to see that?Next month, finally.Iâve heard so many release dates.Yeah, tell me about it. Drives me up the wall. That studio is retarded.Did they put back the old ending or the old storyâ¦so Iâve heard?They did and you know what? This is what I want everyone to know is that through the power of the media, the Internet and fans he got his movie back. If it werenât for the fans and if it werenât for the Internet and the bloggers and everything like that, they would have taken his movie and totally raped it and pillaged it and turned it into like a really crappy spoof movie.Well, Jay Baruchel said they did do that.Oh, they did and then he got it back.Exactly.They just donât know what theyâre doing. Thatâs what happens when you get people who arenât really fans. I think they know whatâs funny and then they want to make a bunch of money and then they turn something and then you watch and youâre like âwhat is this?â I mean, half of the people didnât know what they were talking about, but because people really revolted, Kyle got his movie back and it was the most triumphantâ¦as much suffering that we went throughâ¦. through the whole process, it was extremely exciting to see the power that the Web and the fans have. So the story of the dying boy is back?Yeah.Well, Jay will be happy when he hears that.I know. I know. We hang out with Jay and heâll be happy. Yeah. Itâs great.I was going to go back to the âStar Warsâ thing. Theyâre doing like a live-action show.I know.With your in with the cartoonâ¦I know but you know what? Theyâre going to shoot in Australia.I heard that too.And as much as I love the idea of being in Australia I wouldnât want to move to Australia. Not for like 3 years because I love doing all different kinds of films and stuff like that so I think it would be hard for me to move to Australia for 3 years and take myself out of being able to make any other kinds of things. Iâm really happy playing all different kinds of characters just by doing the voices and stuff like that but I heard itâs going to be absolutely amazing because theyâve been writing it and itâs going to be really like dark and cool and so Iâm excited for that.I was going to say according to the always accurate IMDB, you have a few other projects coming up. Itâs so accurate. Donât you love the Internet? I love the stuff I read about myself.Yeah, so what is actually true? What do you have coming up in 2009?I definitely have âWaiting for Foreverâ coming out. That was a movie that I did with the Keach family with Rachel Bilson and Tom Sturridge and Nikki Blonsky. What else do I have coming out? âFanboysâ is coming out. I did a movie called âThe Pardonâ. Thatâs really awesome thatâs coming out. I donât know what else is on my resume. Thankfully Iâve been blessed to be working a lot, so thereâs a lot of things that Iâve done that are coming out this year, so Iâm very happy about that.