Can you match the success of the first "Scooby-Doo" movie?
I think we’ve already surpassed the success, in my book, because for me the goal all along was to make a better movie. I believe we made a far better movie. It’s faster, it’s funnier, it has more action and more heart. So I think this movie is already, to me, more successful than the first movie.
Can you address the 'more heart-more emotional' tone of "Scooby-Doo 2?" Why is that so important for the second film?
I think we just learned what worked and what didn’t in the first movie. We loved the relationship between Shaggy and Scooby and this movie is all about learning to be yourself and accept yourself the way you are. And that’s what I think we made a movie about. I’m really happy with the way it touches kids. I’ve been with a lot of audiences that have seen the movie, and it just works really well.
When you were writing this and there’s so many different things you can pull from the cartoon, is it tough to figure out what storylines you are going to put in?
Yeah, it is. It was tough deciding what monsters we were going to use because I love so many of them. Every time I chose one that means I wasn’t choosing another one, so that broke my heart quite a bit. But I’m really happy with the monsters that we chose.
Who couldn’t you include that you really wanted to?
There’s a giant owl called the Willawaw that we couldn’t have in there. And we didn’t have Redbeard’s Ghost and a couple of others.
So they’ll be in "Scooby-Doo 3?"
I don’t know about number three. I think we’ll go in a whole new direction with number three. We’ll do something to surprise the audience.
There will definitely be a number three?
We’ll see what happens. It depends on what this movie does. Maybe in number three we’ll have the monsters be the good guys.
When you sit down to write something like this as opposed to "Dawn of the Dead," are you in a whole different mindset?
I think it’s the difference between speaking to an adult and speaking to a child, or at least speaking to a child with his parents. Writing "Dawn of the Dead" is like I’m speaking to one audience, and writing "Scooby-Doo"... I’m using the same muscles, I’m using the imagination, they are both horror movies with a lot of comedy in them, but they are different audiences.
Was it daunting to write the script for a 2004 version of "Dawn of the Dead" since the original is such a cult classic?
People ask me that all the time but it never freaked me out. No, when I write I just write stories that I think are fun and I never even think about it. When you’re writing you don’t even know if the movie is going to get made in the first place. I had a blast writing "Dawn of the Dead." It was the most fun I’ve ever had writing anything.
Is it more of a release to write something like this than it is to write "Dawn of the Dead?"
I think it’s great to know that for sure this movie is going to be made. It’s great to know that we’re going to have kids out there that love us. I learned so much. And especially it was great because these people have become like my family. Matt Lillard and Linda Cardellini and Freddie – these people are my best friends in the world. We’ve been working together for four years, so that really is a different situation.
When you wrote this one, you already knew what the characters are like because the actors who played them are all returning.
It’s easier. It’s so much easier. When I was writing Shaggy in the first one, I had no idea of who was going to play him. It could have been anybody. And in this movie, knowing who my actors are and knowing what they are really good at, it made it so much easier and a lot more fun, too.
Will "Dawn of the Dead" beat "The Passion" during its opening weekend?
It is definitely going to beat "The Passion" this weekend. I woke up yesterday morning and I got on my knees to pray and Jesus spoke to me. He told me "Dawn of the Dead" will beat "The Passion." He said, “Not only that, but I like 'Dawn of the Dead' more than 'The Passion.'" And he said, “Who wants to see one guy rising from the dead when you can see 1000?”
What's next for you?
...A gritty take on the superhero genre. It’s sort of like the "Taxi Driver" of superhero movies. The superhero's name is the Crimson Bolt. He has no superhero powers but it’s about him and his striving to be super.
What does he do?
He doesn’t really do much. He’s kind of weak but he wants to fight evil but he doesn’t really know where evil is. He wanders around and tries to fight it.
Is there anyone attached to star?
No, we just started it last week.
Who do you want?
I love Matt Lillard. He’s my best friend so I want Matt Lillard in it.
ADDITIONAL "SCOOBY-DOO 2" RESOURCES
"Scooby-Doo 2" Interviews - Seth Green / Linda Cardellini / Raja Gosnell
"Scooby-Doo 2" Premiere Photos
"Scooby-Doo 2" Trailer, Credits and Movie News
