Interviews
[Interview] Jessica Biel On Defying Convention With Pascal Laugier And The Ending Of ‘The Tall Man’
Now on VOD platforms (and in theaters August 31) from Image Entertainment is The Tall Man, featuring Jessica Biel (Texas Chainsaw Massacre, Blade: Trinity, Total Recall). A few journalists (including myself) hopped on the phone with Biel to discuss her character, whether or not seeing Martyrs gave her any pause in taking the part, and the challenging nature of the film’s ending.
Directed by Pascal Laugier of Martyrs fame, “In an isolated, slowly dying mining town, children are vanishing without a trace – abducted, the townsfolk whisper, by a mysterious entity known locally as “The Tall Man.” Town nurse Julia Denning (Biel) seems skeptical…until her young David disappears in the middle of night. Frantic to rescue the boy, Julia lives every parent’s darkest nightmare in this twisting, shock-around-each-corner thriller from acclaimed director Pascal Laugier.”
Silent Hill‘s Jodelle Ferland also stars with Stephen McHattie (Pontypool, Watchmen), William B. Davis and Samantha Ferris.
So had you seen Martyrs before coming onboard? If so, were you concerned about the content?
Is it weird to say that I saw Martyrs and I loved it? I knew it was going to be torture and I did it anyway.
What were your initial thoughts when you read the script for?
You know, I was completely surprised by the script. Every page I got further into it, I had no idea what was going on. Then, after the first twist and then the second twist, I just said, “my God, I have to do this movie.” I loved Martyrs. It was so hard to watch and brutal but it was elegant. I was so impressed by Pascal’s work, I had to work with him.
Without giving anything away, your character is fairly complex. How did you find your way into her?
I was really interested in the psyche of this woman. Basically, the backstory we had created was that she was part of an organization, like Doctors Without Borders, and was able to experience all of these different clinics all over the world dealing with underprivileged children and families. It was the bureaucracy bullsh*t and red tape of the bullshit she deals with that overwhelms her because of her inability to help everybody. So she broke a little bit and has become obsessed with saving all of these kids in sort of a ‘micro idea’ but in a ‘macro way’. That is really who Julia is. She’s just trying to do good and has gone way overboard but she believes that in the end what she’s doing is right and that it is the only way to get through all of the crap.
Pascal and I definitely worked together to create a real, intense human being who had all of this back story. Julia was definitely on the page but we were constantly feeling her out, “how can we make this woman more genuine and more sympathetic?” That really is Pascal’s specialty. Yes, Pascal wants to make the movie look beautiful and yes, he cares about the suspense and the scares but he was so diligent and relentless with me about character that it was always highly important to him that we got it right.
The ending of The Tall Man could be considered challenging. Did you have any concerns about that going into the project?
Definitely. The ambiguity of the ending is very concerning. No one knows how to market this movie – it’s been a real conundrum for everybody. I mean, how do we put this movie out there to a mass audience. I know the ending isn’t fulfilling, I know you wind up feeling like “I don’t know what I like or what I feel?” But I think that’s what Pascal wanted. So in that, we succeeded at what we wanted to do. It’s kind of like a foreign film in a way in that it doesn’t wrap anything up and you’re wanting to discuss it and that’s what we want to do from the start.
People don’t like the ending? Oh well! We’re making art and that’s what this is. I think it’s hard to compare what a French filmmaker would do to it compared to what an American filmmaker would do to it. On the surface, you could say an American filmmaker would do something totally different, but that’s not entirely true. David Fincher, doesn’t make obvious movies with obvious endings.
Only one episode remains in Season 3 of “Chucky,” and what a bloody road it’s been so far, especially for actor Devon Sawa. The actor has now officially died twice on screen this season, pulling double duty as President James Collins and body double Randall Jenkins.
If you thought Chucky’s ruthless eye-gouging of the President was bloody, this week’s Episode 7 traps Randall Jenkins in an elevator that feels straight out of an iconic horror classic.
Bloody Disgusting spoke with series creator Don Mancini and actor Devon Sawa about that ultra-bloody death sequence and how the actor inspires Mancini’s writing on the series.
Mancini explains, “Devon’s a bit of a muse. Idle Hands and Final Destination is where my Devon Sawa fandom started, like a lot of people; although yours may have started with Casper. I was a bit too old for that. But it’s really just about how I love writing for actors that I respect and then know. So, it’s like having worked with Devon for three years now, I’m just always thinking, ‘Oh, what would be a fun thing to throw his way that would be unexpected and different that he hasn’t done?’ That’s really what motivates me.”
For Sawa, “Chucky“ is an actor’s dream in that the series gives him not one but multiple roles to sink his teeth into, often within the same season. But the actor is also a huge horror fan, and Season 3: Part 2 gives him the opportunity to pay homage to a classic: Kubrick’s The Shining.
CHUCKY — “There Will Be Blood” Episode 307 — Pictured in this screengrab: (l-r) Devon Sawa as President James Collins, K.C. Collins as Coop — (Photo by: SYFY)
“Collectively, it’s just amazing to put on the different outfits, to do the hair differently, to get different types of dialogue,“ Sawa says of working on the series. “The elevator scene, it’s like being a kid again. I was up to my eyeballs in blood, and it felt very Kubrick. Everybody there was having such a good time, and we were all doing this cool horror stuff, and it felt amazing. It really was a good day.”
Sawa elaborates on being submerged in so much blood, “It was uncomfortable, cold, and sticky, and it got in my ears and my nose. But it was well worth it. I didn’t complain once. I was like, ‘This is why I do what I do, to do scenes like this,‘ the scenes that I grew up watching on VHS cassette, and now we’re doing it in HD, and it’s all so cool.“
It’s always the characters and the actors behind them that matter most to Mancini, even when he delights in coming up with inventive kills and incorporating horror references. And he’s killed Devon Sawa’s characters often. Could future seasons top the record of on-screen Sawa deaths?
“Well, I guess we did it twice in season one and once in season two,“ Mancini counts. “So yeah, I guess I would have to up the ante next season. I’ll really be juggling a lot of falls. But I think it’s hopefully as much about quality as quantity. I want to give him a good role that he’s going to enjoy sinking his teeth into as an actor. It’s not just about the deaths.”
Sawa adds, “Don’s never really talked about how many times could we kill you. He’s always talking about, ‘How can I make this death better,’ and that’s what I think excites him is how he can top each death. The electricity, to me blowing up to, obviously in this season, the eyes and with the elevator, which was my favorite one to shoot. So if it goes on, we’ll see if he could top the deaths.”
CHUCKY — “Death Becomes Her” Episode 305 — Pictured in this screengrab: Devon Sawa as James Collins — (Photo by: SYFY)
The actor has played a handful of distinctly different characters since the series launch, each one meeting a grisly end thanks to Chucky. And Season 3 gave Sawa his favorite characters yet.
“I would say the second one was a lot of fun to shoot,“ the actor says of Randall Jenkins. “The President was great. I liked playing the President. He was the most grounded, I hope, of all the characters. I did like playing him a lot.” Mancini adds, “He’s grounded, but he’s also really traumatized, and I thought you did that really well, too.”
The series creator also reveals a surprise correlation between President James Collins’ character arc and a ’90s horror favorite.
“I saw Devon’s role as the president in Season 3; he’s very Kennedy-esque,“ Mancini explains. “But then given the supernatural plot turns that happen, to me, the analogy is Michelle Pfeiffer in What Lies Beneath, the character that is seeing these weird little things happening around the house that is starting to screw with his sanity and he starts to insist, ‘I’m seeing a ghost,‘ and his spouse thinks he’s nuts. So I always like that. That’s Michelle Pfeiffer in What Lies Beneath, which is a movie I love.”
The finale of “Chucky” Season 3: Part 2 airs Wednesday, May 1 on USA & SYFY.
Dev Patel’s ‘Monkey Man’ Is Now Available to Watch at Home!
‘Infested’ Review – One of the Best Spiders Attack Horror Movies in Years
Five Underseen Vampire Horror Movies to Stream This Week
Limited Edition ‘Creature from the Black Lagoon’ Monster High Doll Releasing This Week!
Rated “R” ‘The Little Mermaid’ Horror Movie Coming Soon; Watch the Trailer
You must be logged in to post a comment.