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with Fred Dekker
Interview
with: Troy
Brownfield
Usually
in the Big Question, we have guests from the realm of comics.
Notable exceptions are author Steve Beai, Jeph Loeb (who has
an awesome comics career but also writes films) and icon Julie
Strain. However, this time I’m pleased to announce that we
have secured our first interview with a film director.
At this
point, I’ll admit that I’ve been very excited to have this
guest. One of my sentimental favorite films from my teen years
is The Monster Squad, and this gentlemen co-created and directed
that film! He’s also the man behind Night of the Creeps, Robocop
3, and quite a bit more, as you’ll see.
Before
we begin, I do have to note one funny thing. Fred actually
came to our site via my big Best Horror Movies of all time
article (wherein I named Monster Squad as a favorite). He
wrote me a very nice email, agreeing with some picks and really
giving it to me over some others. Needless to say, I was flattered
that he took the time, and I’m very pleased that he agreed
to be interviewed here. Ladies and gentlemen, Fred Dekker!
You've
worked extensively as a writer and director. How did you "break
in"?
First,
I got rejected from every film school I applied to (well,
two). This freed me up to enroll as an English major at UCLA,
where I made a bunch of great friends and started writing
screenplays. The first three sucked -- screenplays, not friends
-- and had to be put in a drawer. The drawer was burned, the
ashes scattered, the room fumigated. The fourth script wasn’t
terrible. I was friends with Ed Solomon (Men In Black, Charlie’s
Angels) who had just broken into television writing. I asked
him how he went about getting an agent, and he gave me some
names of agents he had met but not signed with. I called the
first one on the list and sent him my meager-but-not-sucky
effort; a science fiction thriller entitled The Forever Factor.
This particular agent read it, asked to represent me, and
represents me to this day.
Around
this time, Steve Miner (Halloween H:20, Texas Rangers, etc.)
had optioned the rights from Toho to make an American Godzilla
movie (this was years before the Emmerich/Devlin version).
Steve wanted to do it in 3D like he had done the third Friday
the 13th, and based on The Forever Factor asked me to write
the script. So that was my first job in the movie business.
After
Godzilla 3D I sold a pitch to Tri-Star Pictures (a “pitch”
is when you sell someone on an idea, then they pay you to
write it, as opposed to presenting a completed script). It
was called Teen Agent and eventually became a terrible piece
of dog poo called If Looks Could Kill. Despite the stench
of this film, I maintain my original script rocked.
My next
script was a low-budget horror-comedy I insisted on directing.
It was called Night of the Creeps, and the rest is hardly
history, but you can catch it on cable at 3 a.m.
You
noted that you've worked as an uncredited writer on films
like Ricochet, Lethal Weapon 4 and Titan A.E. How does that
happen, and do you find it frustrating to know you worked
on a project that doesn't carry your name?
Unlike
most writers (who are scurrilous credit-hogs), I prefer my
name to appear on projects that I actually care about, the
ones I had a real hand in and weren’t shat upon or re-written
beyond recognition.
Ricochet
was an original screenplay of mine, originally intended as
a Dirty Harry movie. Joel Silver bought it (he told me Clint
Eastwood found it “too grim”) and I was briefly going to direct
it with Kurt Russell possibly playing the lead. For reasons
I can’t recall, I left the project. The screenplay was re-written
by Menno Meyjes, then Steve DeSouza. All three of us retain
screen credit, but I count only four things in the movie that
are mine. Because I originated it, Writers Guild rules automatically
awarded me “Story by” credit. Interesting addendum: the opening
scene of my original Ricochet script (or a variation thereof)
is being used in the new Steven Segal movie, Exit Wounds.
Because Warner Bros. owns the script, they can do whatever
they want with it.
Lethal
4 arose out of my relationship with Joel Silver and director
Richard Donner who wanted more “Whammos” (that’s Silver-speak
for action scenes). We had a meeting and I said, “How about
if Riggs and Murtaugh jump a car off a freeway and drive it
through a high-rise office building?” A week or two later,
they were filming it. I didn’t want or receive screen credit,
but I did get paid very well and got to hang around the set
and drink coffee. Thanks, Joel!
The less
said about Titan A.E., the better.
I’ve also
worked on Demolition Man, Anastasia, and numerous unmade projects
including my favorite script, the live-action feature film
version of Jonny Quest.
Tell
us about your involvement with Tales from the Crypt.
I’d always
loved the old EC Comics and the Amicus movie versions, so
it was a thrill when Robert Zemeckis (and again, Joel Silver
and Dick Donner) asked me to write the very first filmed episode,
“…And All Through The House”. I’ve been a huge Bob Z. fan
ever since Used Cars, so working with him was a dream. When
the series sold to HBO, I worked on it on and off for the
first two seasons, writing five episodes and directing one.
My favorites were probably “Lower Berth,” a period piece that
FX maestro Kevin Yagher directed (brilliantly), and my own
“The Thing From The Grave” mostly because I got Teri Hatcher
to wear a blue silk teddy and fall in love with a zombie (I
suspect she’s still mad at me).
Everybody
here at Shotgun Reviews loves The Monster Squad. In fact,
it's kind of hard to figure out a way into the topic. How
did that project originate with you and Shane Black?
Any discussion
of The Monster Squad has to start with Abbott and Costello
Meet Frankenstein (hereafter “A&CMF”). As a boyhood fan of
both Abbott and Costello and the Universal monster series,
this was probably the Holy Grail of my pre-teen years. Only
later did I come to appreciate how difficult it is to pull
off a “comedy/horror” film (obviously, it’s the genre I explored
with mixed results in Night of the Creeps). A&CMF is an exception;
a movie that is genuinely hilarious and scary at the same
time. An American Werewolf in London would be another, coincidentally
made by another A&CMF fan, John Landis. But I’d have to say
there are only a handful of other films that have pulled off
this difficult balancing act (I’m not a fan of Fright Night
or the Scream movies).
As a kid,
l also loved the Little Rascals shorts that ran on local TV
(my favorites are the first talkies through to 1936 or ’37).
After Creeps, the idea of an “Our Gang” meeting the classic
Universal monsters seemed appealing to me; an obvious tribute
to my misspent youth in front of the television. Shane was
a college buddy and we shared a love of many things, including
A&CMF. He had just started writing, which meant I could still
afford him. So I asked him to take a crack at a first draft
of Monster Squad based on a story we concocted together. It
ended up being a 50/50 collaboration, to the point where I
honestly can’t remember who wrote what. The 100-Year-Old-Amulet-That-Can-Tip-The-Scales-Between-Good-And-Evil
is pretty much every episode of “Buffy The Vampire Slayer,”
but I can’t remember where we got it, although Shane may have
read Lovecraft at some point since he’s as voracious a reader
as I am a film buff.
I showed
the script to producer Jonathan Zimbert who was then partnered
with director/writer/cinematographer Peter Hyams, a hero of
mine for films like Capricorn One and Hanover Street. Although
Peter was not crazy about Night of the Creeps, he did like
the Monster Squad script and agreed to produce the movie.
We made a deal with a company called Taft/Barrish, whose bigshots
Keith Barrish and Rob Cohen (also a director and a great guy)
executive produced.
Obviously,
my first preference was to do the picture at Universal, which
would allow us to resurrect the classic Jack Pierce make-ups.
In their infinite wisdom, Universal passed (look at the mileage
they get out of those monsters NOW! Again, ahead of our time,
I guess). So the great Stan Winston designed our monsters,
all in the spirit of Universal without crossing the copyright
line. I was particularly happy with the Creature… sorry, “Gill
Man” (played by FX genius Tom Woodruff) and the mummy, who
I decided was probably a boy prince when he was mummified.
I wondered why mummies were always depicted as big and lumbering.
Besides, we already had a big lumbering guy.
The shoot
was a baptism-by-fire. My hero Peter Hyams turned out to be
a stern father figure, who sometimes wanted things done his
way or the highway. Much of the time, we agreed, but when
we didn’t, it got sticky. To make matters worse, the crew
was made up of people he’d worked with before, so if there
were sides to pick, they mostly picked his. Peter’s input
was mostly in casting and shooting style. Creeps had been
an aesthetic I like: moving camera, bright colors, wide lenses;
Peter’s is more smoky and classic, earth tones, long lens
master shots, that kind of thing. Our styles clashed a bit
(I think Rob Cohen kept Peter from firing me) until he finally
decided I knew what I was doing. For this reason, the last
third of the movie -- I think the best part -– I was left
totally alone. It was great shooting in wide-screen (Panavision),
and I loved working with cinematographer Bradford May, now
a highly paid TV director. Oh, and the kids were all terrific.
I had
also loved Bruce Broughton’s music for Silverado -- its playful
combination of pastiche, emotion and rousing adventure --
so I asked him to score the movie before we even started shooting.
I think the score is one of his best, and added immeasurably
to the feel of the movie. Peter subsequently hired Bruce for
several of his films, so he must have thought I was doing
something right.
In the
final analysis, I can’t decide if the movie’s box office failure
was the studio’s fault, or the audience’s (I’ll take the fall
for RoboCop 3). Tri-Star did the best they could with something
that straddled kid’s movie, comedy, and horror, and this was
years before these elements became mainstream (Goosebumps,
Harry Potter, etc.) I think parents were afraid their kids
would be scared, and teens and adults thought it was a kids’
film, so we ended up with, essentially, no audience.
Until
the magic of home video, of course.
Speaking
of which: all Monster Squad fans should unite and write your
favorite home video company requesting a new, remastered,
widescreen DVD (with director audio commentary, of course!).
I don’t want to be self-serving by starting the ball rolling,
but you guys can -- Just pretend it was your idea! A letter-writing
campaign will have more effect than a phone call from a sniveling
director. Those pan-scanned VHS tapes must be banished into
the vortex!
Here's
a really specific question about The Monster Squad: when Rudy
is fighting the monsters toward the end, we definitely see
him kill two of Dracula's brides. However, to my recollection,
the third is never shown as being slain onscreen. Could you
explain that bit?
I learned
many valuable lessons from editor Jim Mitchell, and one thing
he taught me was cheating. Next time you look at the movie,
check out the kids in the scary mansion being stalked by the
monsters while Sean tries to figure how to spring the trap
door. In one shot, Eugene’s holding Pete the dog. In the next,
Pete’s on the ground. In the next, he’s back in Eugene’s hands.
And so on. Jim would say, “If the audience is watching the
dog while the kids are about to be killed by monsters, we’re
in big trouble.” In other words, editing is cheating. The
trick is not to get caught. (At the end of the movie, as the
vortex recedes, Phoebe repositions herself behind a bench,
then – in a reaction shot – is back where she started. That
always drove me crazy, but we never fixed it.)
As for
the vampire brides (two of them played by college crushes
of mine, the third by a stuntwoman), my eye was on getting
to the next story beat: Dracula/Bat, Sean’s Dad arrives, Wolfman,
etc. I figured, “We know Rudy’s killing the brides, so let’s
move on.” In other words, I cheated on the third bride. You
just caught me, that’s all.
(Here’s
a question: where do the vampire brides’ bodies go when the
sheriffs’ cars drive up to battle the Wolfman and the Creature?
Also, why is Frank sucked into the vortex when he’s one of
the good guys? Damn! Maybe I should look at this movie again.)
Why
do you think that movie (The Monster Squad) resonates so strongly
with the viewers who saw it in their teens?
Truly,
I have no idea, but I’ll take a crack at it. It’s the same
reason Harry Potter and “Buffy” and Nickelodeon are all so
popular now. Two words: Teen Empowerment. John Hughes aside,
how many movies were made in the ‘80s that didn’t depict kids
as cliches (horny, jocky, nerdy, stupid)? Answer: not a lot.
Here was a movie with a simple premise: Grown-ups don’t get
it. It featured teens who are smart and resourceful, who form
a club based on mutual interest, who tease but do not rebuke
each other, who do not let their personal problems get in
the way of friendship, and finally, most importantly, have
enough simple, pure IMAGINATION to solve a problem in an unconventional
way. In other words, smart teens who save the world: How could
that not resonate with teen viewers? Of course, that’s just
my theory.
Monster
Squad Fun Facts (exclusive for Shotgun Reviews):
-- Liam
Neeson was hired to play Dracula’s mysterious alter ego, but
we cut his scenes from the script before shooting them.
-- Paul
Reiser auditioned to play “Del Crenshaw” but Peter Hyams thought
he looked too young to play the kids’ father.
-- Dustin
Diamond (“Screech” from TV’s “Saved By The Bell”) acted in,
but was cut out of, an early school scene with Sean and Patrick.
-- Mary
Ellen Trainor who played “Emily Crenshaw” is married to director
Robert Zemeckis.
-- Michael
Faustino who played “Eugene” is the younger brother of David
Faustino from “Married With Children”.
-- My
friend and college roommate Ethan Wiley was making House 2:
The Second Story at the Culver Studios the same time we were
making Squad, so we’d visit each others’ sets.
-- Other
visitors to the Monster Squad set included Alyssa Milano and
the Ackermonster himself, Forrest J. Ackerman.
-- Sound
mixer Richard Portman also worked on such classics as The
Godfather, The Deer Hunter, Nashville, Young Frankenstein,
and Star Wars (he also mixed my “Tales From The Crypt” episode).
Tell
us what projects you have coming up.
I recently
sold a pilot to Columbia-Tri-Star television, which I will
write, direct and executive produce with Barry Sonnenfeld
and Barry Josephson (the Men In Black guys). Entitled “Rocket
City,” it’s my attempt to create a live-action version of
Japanese anime, blending science-fiction, girls in school
uniforms, ninja assassins, secret agents, robots, artificial
intelligence, and an assassinated President who still runs
the country from a top secret underground command post. In
other words, it’s too cool for TV, so it will probably die
on the vine.
I am also
writing a feature I plan to direct which could be described
as a realistic, Dogma 95-style re-working of Night of the
Creeps. In other words: Be afraid. Be very afraid.
Meanwhile,
enjoy my wife’s work as Story Editor and writer on the new
James Cameron/ Fox television show, “Dark Angel.” Her name’s
Moira Kirland Dekker and not only is she a wonderful writer,
she’s also cute.
The team
at Shotgun Reviews would like to thank Mr. Dekker for his
time! Personally, I’d love to see Rocket City make it onto
someone’s schedule. In the meantime, let’s bombard Anchor
Bay, a noted rescuer of films for DVD, and get them on
the ball about Monster Squad! Thanks again to Mr. Dekker,
and maybe we’ll be able to have him back someday. Go rent
Night of the Creeps.
Troy
Brownfield is the Editor-in-Chief of Shotgun Reviews. He’s
proud to admit that his Master’s Thesis short novel, The Order,
was influenced by The Monster Squad. Email Troy at psikotyk@aol.com.
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