What was your initial reaction to the script?
When I first got the script I wasn’t sure about it because you know when you remake a really good movie, a lot of times they can mess it up, especially if it’s a big studio project. It can become sort of generic and soft around the edges. When I met the guys I knew that they were sick and twisted and they were going to come up with something really sick and twisted – and they did. I also felt that they were going to play it really straight up, in the vein of what Philip Kaufman did with “Invasion of the Body Snatchers.” I thought that was really interesting and I just kind of got along with the guys. Whenever you sign on to do a project, or someone signs you on to do a project, it’s because there’s a meeting of the minds and you feel like you can have a good time together for a few months, and that you can be proud of it at the end. Sometimes it doesn’t work out that way, but in this case it has.
This is a re-envisioning and not a remake. What do you think is the difference between the two?
I think it’s always a re-envisioning. I mean, I think any filmmaker worth his salt is going to have to put his own personal touch on it. You know even when Gus Van Sant redid “Psycho,” even though that was shot-for-shot, it was really his own personal movie. I think you have to do that. You pay homage to the original in ways that are respectful, and Zack [Snyder] has done that by putting some of the original cast members in, by including a lot of the humor, by getting an independent, kind of dirty feel to it, and by putting it in a sort of social context that the first film exists in. It’s bigger, it’s louder, it’s more punk rock. I think it may be a little more rough than the first one, which I think is really cool for a studio movie.
Speaking of Zack Snyder, what’s it like working with a first time director?
I never have any qualms about working with first time directors because they are usually really creative and really collaborative. They are usually not megalomaniac. And Zack’s had a lot of experience making very, very cool commercials with great visual aesthetics. And he has a great sense of humor about all this stuff. I had no questions at all that he was going to be competent, but he was also really cool and fun and never lost his temper and never got upset. That’s really cool, you know?
What is it about zombies that people find so fascinating?
I don’t know what it is about zombies. They’re just mindless; they’ve got a big appetite. They’re sort of like automatons. There is something scary about them because they are completely unreflective. They are just all about appetite - and you can take that wherever you want.
What’s happening with “Summerville?”
I don’t know what’s going on with that. I haven’t heard anything about that recently. That’s a school that I went to when I was a kid and they are trying to develop that movie, but I don’t know what the status of that is. It’ll get made sooner or later.
KEVIN ZEGERS ('Terry'):
What you can you tell me about your character?
I play Terry in the film who is a mall worker who is a security guard. Everyone kind of comes in and he’s a little bit of a wimp and but then ends up shedding his wimpiness and moving over to the good team of guys and kicking some ass – that’s pretty much what goes on.
Could you relate to him at all?
I could because I’m a little bit - with everything - kind of quiet and methodical about things. It was good to kind of just kick some ass because that’s really what I’d like to do in real life sometimes (laughing).
Why is it that people find zombies so fascinating?
I don’t know. I think it’s just that people find things fascinating that they’ve never seen before, and the fact that they’re so relatable in the way that they still look a little bit like human beings. Even for me, it’s a little bit creepy. It’s not something that’s very normal to see.
Were they a little creepy to look at on the set?
Yeah, they were. And then just sitting down and eating lunch with them is another kind of thing that was a little bit creepy.
And you’ve got “Hollow” coming up soon, right?
Yes, I do.
What can we expect from that movie?
It’s good. It’s campy, and it’s fun. It’s fun.
And you play a descendant of Ichabod Crane?
Yes, I play the great-great grandson.
Is there a headless horseman in the movie?
(Smiling) There is.
ADDITIONAL "DAWN OF THE DEAD" RESOURCES:
Sarah Polley and Ving Rhames Interviews
Dave Draiman (from the band Disturbed) and Scott Reiniger Interviews
Interview with Director Zack Snyder
"Dawn of the Dead" Photo Gallery
"Dawn of the Dead" Trailer, Credits and Movie News
