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Comedian Paul Scheer Talks Being ‘Piranha’ Bait!

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Dimension Films’ Piranha 3D has quickly shot to the top of Bloody-Disgusting’s “must-see of 2010” list. Not only does it have French director Alex Aja behind the camera, but it sees him return to his ultra-violence roots that made him famous. While his injection of terror didn’t work in Mirrors, he’s going in a completely diffrent direction with this remake as he’s speckled Piranha with some comedy. With the casting of “Human Giant” star Paul Scheer, the movie took a turn in the right direction. Beyond the break you can read out exclusive interview with Scheer, who can be seen in Year Zero this weekend.
Paul ScheerDuring Spring Break, after a sudden underwater tremor sets free scores of the prehistoric man-eating fish, an unlikely group of strangers must band together to stop themselves from becoming fish food for the area’s new razor-toothed residents. But our heroine (Elisabeth Shue) is seriously outnumbered, and with only one chance to save the lake and her family from totally being devoured, she must risk everything to destroy the aquatic carnivores herself.

As revealed in some behind-the-scenes photos, PIRANHA carries a spoof of ‘Girls Gone Wild”, which is where Paul Scheer’s character comes into play. “Jerry O’Connell and I play guys from a company called WILD, WILD GIRLS. A Joe Francis-esque type of company that comes to Lake Victoria (AKA Havasu) to shoot some Spring Break “Videos”. I obviously took the part very seriously,” Scheer jokes with Bloody-Disgusting adding that he did hours of research for hsi role. “I watched hours of Girl Gone Wild videos, I had to do intense research about how to pour the proper body shots, it was hard work.

A question many readers have been asking is, does this movie has some “comedic moments” or is it a horror/comedy? “PIRANHA 3-D is a full blown horror film,” he reveals. “There are comedic moments because it takes place during Spring Break, but it’s not trying to be jokey. By the way, Spring break anywhere is pretty crazy, but in Havasu it is INSANE. I was watching some footage that they had of real partiers and I couldn’t believe the stuff I saw, it’s mind blowing and so funny how drunk these kids get.” He continues, “So, Alex captured it perfectly…now add 3-D Piranha into the mix, it’s going to pretty awesome and funny when you see a drunk dude with beads get devoured.

Being part of a skit show like “Human Giant”, Scheer has the ability to improv like there’s no tomorrow, a talent he brought to the table in PIRANHA. “Alex was always open to us adding little beats to the scenes,” he explains. “He is incredibly collaborative in that way, but it’s not like a Judd Apatow movie; he’s not going for a full-blown comedy, he just wanted us to make it seem natural and fill in the gaps and help develop our characters, when it’s called for.” How about getting an entire crowd all riled up and screaming profanity? “Jerry and I were able to do a lot of fun stuff because we are such sleeze bags in the film, it was fun to push the limits on that. There is one point in the film where my character is trying to psych up the spring breakers for a “show” with 2 of the girls and I got 500 extras chanting the most offensive and sexual graphic stuff I could think of. Then in the middle of that I saw out of the corner of my eye a family with three little children standing on a hillside, listening to me. I think I corrupted them forever,” Scheer adds jokingly.

A little spoiler warning for those continuing on as Scheer talks a bit about “meeting his fate” – when he’s not being raped by a dinosaur (“Human Giant” inside joke). “Speaking as a person who has now been attacked by 2 prehistoric creatures… I have to say I’d much rather be raped by a dinosaur than fall victim to these pre-historic piranha. I can’t give anything away, but all I can say is that Piranha show no mercy!” He continues on talking about his experience with the infamous KNB, who did the special FX for PIRANHA. “The KNB guys are the most talented FX guys I’ve ever worked with. Not only have they worked on every amazing recent film that you can think of but they have the most incredible stories from set – I totally geeked on them – I loved hearing stories about Hellboy, Sin City, Collateral, Kill Bill, etc…” He continues talking about being in the make-up chair, “Sometimes people dread sitting the FX makeup chair – because it’s so long – but I loved it. I wish I could have been in the chair more. Little known fact about the KNB guys, they are all amazing Karaoke singers. Seriously, you haven’t heard HELL BELLS by AC/DC till you’ve seen Mike [McCarty] sing it.

Working with them actually reminded me of the Sci Fi Makeup Sketch that we did on Human Giant.” Enjoy it below.

Hanging with the KNB crew gave him an idea of just how bloody PIRANHA could be. “From what I can tell, it’s going to be insanely bloody and violent, but I think it’s going to be really fun and visceral to watch.” He continues, “It’s exactly what you’d hope for in a movie like this. I believe the KNB guys on their website said they used more blood on this movie than Kill Bill. I think they used like 800 gallons of blood in the course of a week. Lake Havasu was blood red when they were done with one sequence. I think after the movie comes out, people will want to be attacked by Piranha.

More horror in the future for Scheer? How about porn instead? “Without a doubt [I want to do more horror], this was such a highlight in my career. It’s fun to do something different than I’m used to, that’s why now I’m exploring porn,” he jokes. “But seriously, everyone was so amazingly great to work with, and Alex assembles such a great cast and crew, that it is fun to go to work everyday.

Scheer tells us that when he heard about the movie, he personally went after it. “When I heard about this movie, I called up my agent and told him, I have to audition for this movie. The cast sounded amazing and the concept is just perfect. I’m also a huge fan of Alex so I was excited to go in.” Being a big horror fan, he tells us a few of his personal favs, “Does High School Musical count? That movie scared the crap out of me,” he jokingly adds before listing off a few real horror flicks. “I’m definitely a horror fan. I love a lot of classic ones like Psycho, The Thing, Jaws, Dawn of the Dead, and Alien. More recently I’m a fan of Scream, High Tension, Evil Dead, Audition, The Ring, 28 Days Later. I just saw Drag Me to Hell and thought that was great too. I’m sure I’m missing a few…

Paul twittered and blogged a lot about his support of D-Box Movie Theater Seating (Vibrating Seats At Mann’s Chinese in CA), what if PIRANHA 3D was featured with D-Box seating? I think it would be safe to say his life will have come full circle… “Fuck Yeah! What more could you ask for, besides Ving Rhames sitting next to you and comforting you when you are scared, during the film? (I’m still trying to get him to agree to that.)

To get some laughs on the go, check out Paul Scheer on Twitter and don’t forget to catch him in YEAR ZERO this Friday.

PIRANHA 3D attacks theaters March 19, 2010.

Paul Scheer

Horror movie fanatic who co-founded Bloody Disgusting in 2001. Producer on Southbound, V/H/S/2/3/94, SiREN, Under the Bed, and A Horrible Way to Die. Chicago-based. Horror, pizza and basketball connoisseur. Taco Bell daily. Franchise favs: Hellraiser, Child's Play, A Nightmare on Elm Street, Halloween, Scream and Friday the 13th. Horror 365 days a year.

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‘Late Night With the Devil’ – Exclusive Clip Begins the Supernatural Horror on Halloween 1977

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The upcoming Late Night With the Devil is one of the most buzzed about horror movies of the year, currently 100% fresh on Rotten Tomatoes and earning rave reviews from both Stephen King and Kevin Smith. King raves that the film is “absolutely brilliant,” adding that he couldn’t take his eyes off it. Smith comments, “I love it. It’s Rosemary’s Baby meets Network.”

David Dastmalchian (Dune, The Suicide Squad) stars as the host of a late-night talk show that descends into a nightmare in the Ghostwatch and WNUF Halloween Special-inspired film.

IFC Films & Shudder will release the hotly anticipated Late Night with the Devil theatrically on March 22 before it heads to Shudder exclusively on April 19, 2024.

Begin the horror with a brand new EXCLUSIVE clip below…

David Dastmalchian stars as Jack Delroy, the charismatic host of “Night Owls,” and the film traces the ill-fated taping of a live Halloween special in 1977 plagued by a demonic presence.

The energetic and innovative feature hails from Australian writing-directing team Colin and Cameron Cairnes (100 Bloody Acres, Scare Campaign). 

The film premiered last year at SXSW. Meagan wrote in her review out of the fest, “Late Night with the Devil captures the chaotic energy of a late night show, embracing the irreverent comedy and stress of live television with a pastiche style. It’s a clever trojan horse for a surprising horror movie that goes full throttle on unhinged demonic mayhem.

“The ingenuity, the painstaking period recreation, a riveting performance by Dastmalchian, and a showstopper of a finale make for one Halloween event you won’t want to miss.”

Spooky Pictures founders Roy Lee (It, The Grudge, The Ring) and Steven Schneider (Pet Sematary, Paranormal Activity, Insidious), Derek Dauchy (“Al Kameen”) and Future Pictures’ Mat Govoni (“Lone Wolf”) and Adam White (“Lone Wolf”) and John Molloy are all producing.

Joel Anderson (Lake Mungo), Rami Yasin, and David Dastmalchian executive produce.

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