Why Adam Green is So Cool
Friday, June 8th 2007
I missed the hockey game for this interview. Not just any hockey game.
It was game five of the Stanley Cup Finals and my team, the Anaheim Ducks,
was up against the Ottawa Senators. Knowing they could win the cup and
I could completely miss the game, I still interviewed Adam Green, director
of the upcoming and highly anticipated slasher film, Hatchet.
It was worth it.
I knew that I would like him right away when he walked into our Hollywood
meeting spot wearing an old Marilyn Manson Smells Like Children shirt. He won me over just like that.
When Green and I sat down, he immediately started talking about everything--growing
up, his dad’s incredible work ethic, his coming of age year, Dee Snider
as his guardian angel, his upcoming film Hatchet and the awesome
cast and crew he had the chance to work with, and about being in one of
J-Lo’s music videos.
Yup. You read that correctly. He was an extra in one of J-Lo’s videos.
“I did it for the pizza,” he explained.
Green grew up in Holliston, Massachusetts with two hard working parents.
His dad had many jobs including teaching gym class. Besides playing soccer
when he was a kid, Green didn’t partake in any sports. In fact, he was
more of a drama nerd. He revealed to me that part of the appeal was that
all the drama kids would hook up with each other. “If I could go back,
I’d do it again,” he said. No regrets.
While in high school one of his biggest accomplishments was making a video
to Metallica’s Master of Puppets that dealt with some gritty shit
while other kids were shooting happy sports videos to Journey songs. He
went on to work his ass off and has lots of crazy stories to prove it.
Beer in hand, he told me what amazing things led to him making Hatchet.
But I’d have to write a book if you want to hear them all, so you’re all
out of luck for now.
What is extremely important for you all to hear is that I, along with other
horror fans, have been itching for a decent slasher film for quite sometime
now. Since the 80s, we haven’t really had an awesome new slasher franchise
(i.e. A Nightmare on Elm Street, Halloween, Friday the 13th). In
the 90’s we had Scream and all of those copycats, but really, the
slasher has been hibernating for a while. Green is ready to bring him out
of hiding with his Victor Crowley slasher character.
Like how many scary legends are brewed, Crowley came from a summer camp
story. While at camp when he was eight, Green invented the story and scared
the other kids. And so it goes…
For Hatchet, he was most influenced by Friday the 13th Part 2 and Scream. Friday the 13th for the gore and monster aspect and Scream because of the humor and good acting. He wanted to make a movie where “you’re
laughing because it’s really funny.” Green succeeded in the humor bit and
as for the acting: “He’s still one of the best things about the movie,”
he said of star Joel Moore, who has been seen in films such as the hilarious, Dodgeball. Moore stars with greats Kane Hodder and Robert Englund.
And is also accompanied by one of my personal favorites, Parry Shen, from Better Luck Tomorrow. I can’t wait to see him onscreen again!
“If horror fans give a shit about the genre, show up!” Green said. He explained
that he thinks we’re going to be in a drought soon because everything has
been remade. Fans are going to revolt and stop going. But Hatchet could definitely change it. If horror fans support it, then we’ll see more
original films. If no one supports it, then no more good horror films will
be made. It’s as simple as that, really. I, personally urge everyone to
go out and see the film OPENING WEEKEND.
Anchor Bay, who never does theatrical releases (this should say something
about the quality of the film), is releasing Hatchet in 20 markets
on September 7th. If it does well, it could be released pretty much everywhere.
It’s screened and done extraordinarily well at several film festivals including
the Tribeca Film Festival. Along with being a fantastic movie, Green said
about the film, “Its heart is in the right place.”
One of the main reasons I loved interviewing Green was because he radiated
passion. And I’m not just saying that because I would love to be in Hatchet
2 (wink wink nudge nudge). It was just a refreshing and motivational
conversation overall. Green said, “I’ve always been really motivated. I
don’t know why.”
I always ask a standard question to filmmakers and entertainers. What exactly
do you want to be known for? Green’s answer was the best and most humble
I’ve heard so far. He said, “I just want to make stuff that I like.”
Princess Jolene ORDERS all of you to see Hatchet its opening weekend.
Let’s support some good old-fashioned horror!
MORE HATCHET INFO!
http://www.hatchetmovie.com
http://www.myspace.com/victorcrowleylives
http://www.hatchetmovie.com/trailers-main.htm
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