Not too many moviegoers followed the title
advice and "Let Me In" into their weekend viewing plans. It came in a dismal
seventh in grosseswith $5.3 million. I think that opening on the same day as the also excellent
"The Social Network," which appealed perhaps to the same more sophisticated
crowd and topped the box office at $23 million, couldn't have helped.
At any rate, here's part two of my interview
with the director Matt Reeves and the actor Kodi Smit-McPhee, in which they
talk about the uses of genre, the future of "Cloverfield," and the perils of being
young, or maybe not so young, and in love and killing people.
Q: Matt, "Cloverfield" was in theaters when "Paranormal
Activity"
launched
the Slam Dance film festival in Utah.
Do you think you're kind of like the father of this type of blur between
reality TV and low budget horror ?
MR: Sure, I mean the thing about it is that..."Blair Witch" (1999)
had done it
before we did it, actually, but to me I'm just interested in taking sort of
absurd, fantastical ideas in genre films but doing them in ways that lend an air
of reality to them because there's something about that which on the one hand
is seemingly ridiculous but on the other hand feels utterly real, or at least
that's the attempt that creates a great energy to it. And for me the fun of "Cloverfield"
was finding a way to do that movie as realistically as possible...notwithstanding
people saying ‘how could they keep filming?' (laughter) but that was the idea.
And so I think when you see those movies done well, it's
because of this blurring of our collective vision of reality is, and the
illusion that you're creating. Any time you're creating a movie, the idea of
what is real and what is not real is a learned thing. We know from having seen
real handy-cam movies or real documentaries that there are of cues and visual
signals that tell us what is supposed to be real. And so, when we use some of
that as a way to create reality in stories that otherwise wouldn't feel real, I
think it can be very exciting. It depends on the project and how committed one
is to trying to bring a kind of authenticity
Obviously the other appeal was that if we did it the other
way, it could cost $200,000,000...and we did have a decent effects budget, but
that was the whole budget for the film. We spent $25,000,000...if you were gonna
make that movie another way, you would have had to spend much, much more. So I
think there are probably a lot of reasons why people are draw, especially now,
there's this idea that you can go out and you can literally make a movie with a
handy cam and I think the key to it is you just have to be really passionately
connected to what that thing is, otherwise it gets kind of boring.
Q: Is there going to be a "Cloverfield 2?"
MR: Is there going to be a "Cloverfield 2?" Time will tell.
I don't know; we'll see.
Q: What about casting Kodi and Chloe in this movie?
MR: Well to me; it's interesting; in the original film those
two performances by two children...that's what the movie was about; it's about
that relationship. And I had said to myself I wouldn't make the movie unless we
could find somebody, and in my case I thought there was an even stronger
challenge to find someone who could play certain scenes...like when he talks to
his father on the phone. That scene...I thought, I want the whole movie to kind
of turn on that one moment for his character because he suddenly realizes what
she is and he, in a way, is at his lowest point. It's almost like a nervous
breakdown.
And I was inspired by the scene in "Rosemary's Baby" where
Mia Farrow is on the payphone
and you're watching her essentially have a
nervous breakdown and the camera sort of holds on her...and I thought that's what
we need to do, we need to get to understand what he's going through emotionally
and abandoned because he can't get the help he needs from his parents who are
both struggling. And he can't articulate the pain he's in...and I wrote it and I
thought, "now what 12 or 13 year-old is going to be able to do this?" and so I
was really worried. I wasn't sure we could make the movie.
And then Kodi came in. And he blew me away. The thing about
it is that's one of those scenes that could be very...you could imagine someone
pushing for the emotion...Kodi doesn't do that; Kodi never does that. He's very,
very real in a way that's kind of astonishing. I've worked with a lot of terrific
actors, and a lot of terrific young actors. But it's not that Kodi is a great
young actor; Kodi's a great actor. And when he came in I was so relieved. I
knew it had to be him...literally, I didn't want to see anyone else after I found
Kodi. And then I went looking on the same search for Chloe, and when Chloe came
in there was just something about her immediately. It's interesting because
people have seen remarkable work from both of them, but I didn't get to...well,
actually I saw Kodi's but he was much younger...but nobody would let me see
anything from "The Road." And the same with "Kick-Ass." I talked to Matthew
Vaughn and he said, "you don't understand; she's a genius; you're gonna love
her'...
Q: But you couldn't see anything...
MR: But you can't see anything, right. So I had to base it
completely on my experience in the room with both of them and the experience of
being with them was that you just knew that these were two incredible young
people.
Q:: There's a weird sort of sexuality in this movie and in
the original and in the book also. How did you handle that as far as if it
would work for a mainstream, wider audience?
MR: Did you say sexuality?
Q: Yeah
MR: Well, it's interesting because the thing about that idea
is...there's this moment in a young person's life, this sort of strange position
where you're sort of still stuck in that area of innocence and also sort of
sexual discovery and there's a lot of confusion. And I think their relationship
in the film is incredibly innocent on a sexual level. He has sexual
fascinations; I think he's very drawn to the woman across the way;
and all that
is probably frightening and exciting and so there's that aspect to the film.
But one of the things that makes the film so resonant - at
least with me - is that it's sort of taking this innocence and then juxtaposing
it with this sort of darker, more confusing nature.. And so the idea of that
mix is incredibly interesting. They have the scene together where they're lying
next to each other in bed, and I don't think you could really say that's a
sexual scene; it's actually really beautiful and innocent. But these two lying
next to each other makes the story very provocative and powerful.
Q: The shot in the car. Tell me how you did that.
MR: Oh, of course. Jenkins is a great stuntman...in a way I
don't want to spoil it for people who haven't seen the movie...
Q: Kodi, what are you doing next?
KSM: Just reading scripts and stuff
Q: And are you happy when you're not acting or do you only
come alive when you're in front of a camera?
KSM: I'm happy either way; acting is kind of my life right
now that's why I'm here. So I'm working, and I love when I'm not working ‘cause
I have time off...and I love when I am working cause it's fun.
Q: Matt there was a title change; what happened?
MR: Oh, well after I read the book...the book that I read was
called ‘Let Me In,' and that's because they originally...when the American
publisher released the book here, they felt that title would be more accessible
to American audiences. And then I saw that title I said, oh let's just use the
American title, just to differentiate.
Q: Kodi do you have a favorite vampire movie outside of this
one?
KSM: I had a question like this before and I said I actually do like "Twilight."
Q: Are you Team Jacob or Team Edward?
KSM: You have to be team Edward ‘cause he's just so epic and
awesome...and he's a vampire.
Q: Matt, just quickly...are you going to make "The Invisible
Woman?"
MR: I hope so, yes.
Q: After two genre films now, do you think you'll do
something that doesn't involve a monster or a vampire?
MR: I think so, yes, I mean I love this because of this
whole idea of being able to sneak something in under the surface, I love it. So
I'm sure I'll do more of those.
Q: I interviewed Keri Russell and she said "I want Matt to
do something like ‘Felicity'...like an indie movie."
MR: I would love to work with her again...but right now it's
challenging to get funding for a film that isn't a certain genre.
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