After giving
The Last Exorcism a
less than glowing review, I attended the press junket at the Soho Hotel with some trepidation. Although the soft pastel decorated walls of the rather grand hotel rooms and lavish spread of cookies, cakes and all other things delicious went some way to alleviate my tensions, I did get that sinking feeling when I, and three fellow journalists, were summoned to interview the producer, Mr.
Eli Roth. Draped out on the sofa, he rose to greet us with delight; he shook our hands and made eye contact with those intense, devilish eyes that look deep into your soul. Thankfully they did not turn red when I introduced myself and announced whom I wrote for. Perhaps he wasnt aware of my review or he didnt care; I suspect the latter to be correct. And why should he care? On the morning I met him he had just discovered The Last Exorcism was number one at the U.S. box office, something that pleased him as much as it shocked him.
Its amazing for such a low budget movie to gross over $20 million on opening weekend. But the film is that good it deserves it, and Im so pleased for everyone involved with it.
Roth is no stranger to the lofty heights of the U.S. box office, having topped it twice with
Hostel and
Hostel II; nor was this the first time he has had monumental success with a low budget film, his first feature
Cabin Fever cost a mere $1.5 million and grossed over $20 million in America alone. There is an air of supreme confidence about Roth that comes close to but never enters into arrogance. Im in a position where I control my career, and I get to make the movies I want to make, says Roth when quizzed about what attracted him to the project. It was a wonderful script, that kept me guessing. Every time I thought I had it figured out it took me in another direction. Although Roth said he enjoyed producing as much as directing, he showed great humility, directing all the praise at his actors and director.
When I took the chance to pose him the playful question, if you could possess anyone, who would it be and what would you make him or her do? Roth laughed and answered with the unpredictable: I would possess
Harold Ramis and get him to remake
Caddyshack 2. This perfectly sums up Roth. Underneath that intimidating exterior and behind the harsh eyes, there lies a true lover of cinema, whose knowledge and passion for his craft are equalled by perhaps only his mentor, one
Quentin Tarantino. He references films from all genres that even the most avid film fan struggles to place, yet he seems to possess an encyclopaedic knowledge of. And despite his success he remains true to his original goal as a filmmaker: your primary goal when making a movie should always be to entertain. Always. The meeting was an entirely cordial affair until the P.R. people announced we only had time for one final question and the female journalist took this opportunity to quiz Roth on his attitude towards women, and asked why he represented them so poorly in his films. Suddenly proceedings turned sour; Roth exclaimed, Why would you ask a stupid question like that? If I wrote weak female characters women wouldnt go and watch my movies. The fact is they do. And Ive killed way more men than I have women. That is a really stupid question to ask. Hostel II received a barrage of bad press and critical backlash because of several scenes where women were subjected to hardcore torture and the film was labelled as torture porn. These wounds suffered as a result of that have obviously still not healed.
Roth will be putting his producer hat straight back on again to collaborate with
Wu-Tang clan member
RZA, as he attempts to write, direct and star in
The Man with the Iron Fist, due to start filming in China in October, before following in
Robert Rodriguezs footsteps and turning his Grindhouse trailer
Thanksgiving into a full-length movie. Its still at the script stage. We kind of stopped after twelve pages and said, weve already had thirty eight kills and were only on page twelve. So something has got to change. While Roths track record is as of yet faultless, dont be surprised whether the performance of Rodriguezs forthcoming
Machete influences the production of Thanksgiving in any small way. Next it was on to meet the films director
Daniel Stamm, who is new to the rigors of promoting a movie this is his first major release but he didnt seem fazed and was very happy with the finished product and the reception his first major film was receiving. Its amazing the difference of opinion that it (The Last Exorcism) has received. And what I have noticed particularly is how American audiences in test screenings engage with the movie in a completely different way than Europeans. Americans love the violence and the mystery but are frustrated by the lack of answers, where the Europeans love it for that very fact.
Standing well over 6 foot 5 inches, and speaking with a German accent, you might think Stamm would be a terrifying character; yet he is slight of build and incredibly soft spoken with a welcoming demeanour. Just like Roth he is quick to lavish praise on his stars.
Patrick Fabian was brilliant. He came in and just spoke that banana bread speech out of nowhere and I knew then he was my man. And he can do that at the spin of a coin, at any speed you like. He was also extremely honest when a fellow journalist and I asked him about our favourite scenes both involving
Ashley Bell. The scene with the red Doc Martens was luck. We got there and realised we could not have a girl running around barefoot on that plantation. No insurance company in the world would cover us. So my ex-girlfriend used to wear this red Doc Marten, that I loved so thats the story behind that. And the scene where Bell contorts her body was all real too, but had no bearing on her casting. We were in a hotel lobby, discussing the scenes and Ashley just said maybe I can do this and our jaws dropped as she started twisting and contorting her body. It completely changed the way we shot the scene.
Stamm is a director with a rich past; after a sheltered childhood he volunteered and served two years as a peace worker in Northern Ireland at the peak of the conflict, an experience he says always inspires him when he is writing: I had bricks thrown through my windows there, two of the homes I was staying at were burned down it was rough, but an interesting experience, a million worlds away from my upbringing. And Stamm had even more reason to be happy, as revealed that he is on the verge of signing a deal to direct his first narrative feature, it will be a thriller, written by an award winning screenwriter and produced by my film hero. Although Stamm could not divulge the name of his hero, he did let my fellow journalists and I guess:
Ridley Scott, Christopher Nolan, M. Night Shyamalan and
David Lynch were ventured. Whos your money on?
The Last Exorcism is on general release from this Friday, and despite
this critics reservations about the finished piece, I cannot question the passion displayed for the project by its makers.