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From HouseofHorrors.com Interviews
HoH: Can you share with the fans how you came on board to helm The Hills Have Eyes remake?
AA: I grew up watching with my writing partner all the movies we could find, and I have to say that Wes Craven’s early works from the 70s had a major influence on our will to become filmmakers. High Tension was a tribute to all those kinds of films. Later Wes called us and that was amazing, because he loved High Tension. He asked us if we knew The Hills Have Eyes, because he would like to make a new version, but he wanted us to try to think about taking another approach, something new, something to justify why we were making the movie today in 2006. We came back about a week after we decided on an interesting background and everything else was very simple then. He (Wes Craven) was very excited and trusted us. We took a year to write the script and make the movie. It is two years later and here we are just a few days away from the release.
HoH: While writing and making this film, did you spend a lot of time revisiting the original?
AA: When we were thinking about a new approach, we re-watched the original movie like 5 times, so when we started writing, we decided we were not going to write with the movie, but without it. We decided that we were going to forbid ourselves from watching the original until the movie was finished. What is so funny is that even without watching the film, there is so much of it in your head. It is very hard to forget. Now today, I am a little nervous to watch it (original) again.
HoH: Did you get any resistance from the studio while making this film?
AA: We started the movie with Dimension and Dimension dropped us along the process. It was a crazy story, but was really for the best. Then Fox Searchlight joined use for the adventure, because they were in love with the script and the direction we took. It was really amazing that they let me do the movie I wanted to see.
HoH: You talked about making this film the European way. What does that mean to you as a filmmaker?
AA: I was involved in the whole process. The movie was made with American money and everything American, but the way we made this movie was exactly the European way. I was there from the beginning of the process until today. It was really great to realize the movie I wanted to do. I wasn’t expecting that and it was great to be protected by one of the masters.
HoH: This is your first English-speaking film. Did you encounter any obstacles in trying to communicate your vision to the actors?
AA: Even today, English is not my first language and even though I have been speaking it for several years, it can be very hard. Sometimes when working with the actors, I feel I have to do my own interpretation of the scene to show them what I expect. It is just another way to work and very interesting.
HoH: We have heard that you had some problems with your first-cut of the film and the MPAA. Can share with us a little about this process?
AA: We cut two minutes of the movie really for pacing and that was my decision. Two more minutes were cut as a result of the MPAA.
HoH: It is so nice to have an all out hardcore, gore-filled R-rated film. Is it really possibly to make these films with anything less (i.e., PG-13)?
AA: There are stories that even an R-rating is too tight for. They are talking about re-making The Last House on the Left, which is one of my favorite movies and I think it is a mistake, but whatever. I don’t think they could remake that film in this system.
HoH: Can you tell us a little about the design of the make-up effects?
AA: With the idea of the effects of nuclear fallout as the background, the design of the clan was very easy. We based our ideas on real footage from Chernobyl, Hiroshima, and the effects of Agent Orange in Vietnam. Nature is pretty wild when it comes to mutations. So everything was based on real footage, and documentation. We passed this stuff and the script to onto Greg Nicotero at KNB and we worked together on all the designs.
HoH: Did you ever consider bringing in Giannetto De Rossi (Zombie, The Beyond, and High Tension) to work on this film?
AA: When we first got the film, we were interested in using Giannetto for the make-up effects, because we had worked with him on High Tension, but he was already working on another film. I was lucky that Greg Nicotero had been working with Wes Craven for years, so they were very close. It was like working with a friend, which made it so easy. I was very familiar with his work. We actually weren’t thinking about Giannetto for the gross people (i.e., the clan) makeup, but only for the Carter family makeup. We thought he would have been great for the evolution of the victims of the story.
HoH: Tell us a little about Wes Craven’s involvement?
AA: Wes wasn’t really involved in the writing of the film or coming on the set, but more as our godfather protecting us from outside interference. He really trusted us and our vision of the film.
HoH: What are your favorite horror films and do you think they should be remade?
AA: Movies that I am really fond of include: The Shining, Last House on the Left, Texas Chainsaw Massacre, Deliverance, and even the first Halloween. I don’t think they should be remade. It is just impossible. Even Texas Chainsaw Massacre was just a masterpiece and I think the remake wasn't as good as the original.
HoH: Can you tell us about your next project?
AA: We have begun working on a film called The Waiting which is a supernatural ghost movie. It is very different and I hope people who like High Tension and Hills will like it, but it really all depends on the casting which we are doing right now. It really is a different film and I hope it will be as scary as both High Tension and Hills. We hope to begin shooting in December of this year.
HoH: The ending of High Tension has been controversial among horror fans. Fans either love or hate this film based on the ending. Can you share with us the reasoning behind the ending?
AA: In the original draft of the movie, we were suppose to do, it was to begin in the hospital room with Marie (Cécile De France) telling the story and at the end of the movie when the killer was the killer, we come back to the room where we find the doctor bringing in a VCR to show her video of her killing the guy in the gas station. Then you understand she is the one. Everything you saw was a vision of what happened and the true story was another film. Our producers asked us to double up the final 25 minutes of the movie. Of course this brought in a lot of logical questions. Before these changes, everything was told as flashbacks from a subjective point of view. So now in the last 25 minutes it becomes objective and then subjective again at the end.
The House of Horrors, would like to thank both Alexandre Aja and Fox Searchlight for giving us the opportunity to conduct this interview and we wish them success with their release of The Hills Have Eyes opening nationwide on Friday, March 10th. We ask everyone to support their efforts and go see this movie in the theater. © Copyright by HouseofHorrors.com |
