Based on the novel of the same name by Bret Easton Ellis, "The Rules of Attraction" stars a cast of young Hollywood up-and-comers including Shannyn Sossamon, Kate Bosworth, James Van Der Beek, Kip Pardue and Ian Somerhalder. For many of these young actors, their characters in "The Rules of Attraction" are distinctly different - and much darker - from anything they've done before.
The film tells the story of college students, their friendships, and their raging hormones. James Van Der Beek's character is one of the central figures in the film, and no one will confuse this performance by Van Der Beek with anything he's done on "Dawson's Creek."
Director Roger Avary admits that casting Van Der Beek was perceived by many as a surprising move. "'The Beek' is one of the coolest guys I've ever met, and has just the qualities I needed for my version of Bateman - not to mention the will to go there," explains Avary.
JAMES VAN DER BEEK (Sean Bateman)
Did you have any reservations about this dark material, or were you looking for something that was the opposite of your normal roles?
No reservations at all. It was one of the strongest scripts I'd ever read, one of the most complex [and] most fascinating characters I'd ever come across. I met with Roger [Avary] and just really thought he was very smart and very creative and completely fearless. [I] really thought he could pull off what he was talking about pulling off.
Sean is a very complex character. How would you describe him?
There's a huge difference between what Sean is and what he wants to be. He's very unhappy with his plot in life and what he feels is his fate, his destiny. He's constantly battling that and he's not quite sure how to fix it. At one point, he decides that it's love, it's this girl that's going to be his salvation, that's going to take him off the track that leads him to the office right next to his older brother, Patrick. He's a very conflicted guy and kind of tragic in that way. He's really terrified that his fate is already decided for him and that he's doomed.
Were you familiar with writer Bret Easton Ellis' work?
I had started reading "American Psycho" so I was definitely familiar with Bret. I just thought him one of those people that you're kinda glad is out there.
Did you like your character?
I had to find a reason to love him a little bit. You can't stand in judgment of your characters, not that you can excuse a lot of what he does. What did I like about him? There is that machismo, that defense mechanism. He's almost bulletproof in a way. I think anybody with an insecurity, which is everyone, appreciates the fact that it's much easier to be a predator than it is to be prey. Sean is definitely a predator. There is that strength to him, but all that's rooted in deep insecurity anyway. The fact that he doesn't care at all what other people think about him, that's kinda liberating. That's a fun quality to give to your character because then you just run on instinct, and primal instinct at that.
How is doing a film different from working on "Dawson's Creek?"
"Dawson's" is a well-oiled machine at this point. You're shooting about eight pages a day and when you're shooting a TV show, there's a pretty consistent look that the producers are expecting and that the editors are looking for. In our case, it's a master and then you get into a tight single right away. In film, you've got a bigger screen to play with. Because it's shot differently, the whole storytelling process is kind of different in terms of things can play in a master and a two shot. It gives you a lot more freedom, actually. And in film, you've got the time where if Shannyn has this completely out of the blue choice that she makes in the moment, you can run with it and you can take advantage of it, even if it's not what's in the script. In TV it's a little bit more of a machine because it has to be. You're making a lot of TV at a very quick pace so you can't stray too, too much.
What are your goals for after "Dawson's Creek" ends?
Ultimately, I'd love to be able to work in film.
Roger said you were so good, he could direct you to raise one eyebrow instead of the other.
I don't think Roger ever got that technical with me. It was more just kind of if you're in a take and something's going really well and somebody goes like that, you realize the camera's blocked, and you know to do whatever. Really, just being able to help other out actors too. I was very useful for that. Like knowing when a take was still usable and being able to backtrack, knowing what it would be cutting to.
You must have known a lot would be made of the kiss, but what has surprised you about people's reactions?
You know, I actually had this fantasy that people would guard it so it actually was a surprise. I really liked it in the script. I liked the fact that it was there. I liked how it was done in the split screen. To throw something like that at the audience I think comes - I really was hoping that nobody would talk about it and Lion's Gate would protect it. I even talked to Roger at one point because he put the script out on the Internet. I was saying, "Do you think maybe we should either leave it ambiguous or not put it out there, just so that it is a surprise when people - because I have a feeling they're going to cling to it." But there's no way to keep that cat in the bag, but everybody's been pretty cool about it. It's just so funny to me because it's something that happens so quickly in the script and really, from my character's perspective, it doesn't even exist. So, when it's the first question out of people's mouths, you just kinda wonder what their priorities or their issues are sometimes.
Your character goes off campus at one point. Did the scenes with Clifton Collins, Jr. feel like a different movie?
No, it all kinda felt like the same film. But that is the one time, except for the European trip, that people get off campus. Roger and I talked about this too, just that when you live on campus, eat on campus, sleep on campus and have class, it kind of becomes this little bubble society and perspectives get warped. Not that going to Rupert's house is a refreshing dose of reality, but we definitely talked about the difference between being on campus and off campus.
How did your college experience compare to the film's?
When I read the script, I thought it was really truthful. I thought the movie really zeroed in on the confusion of the time and a lot of the insecurities and questions and choices that people make and the perspective that they gain in this society that they're in a bubble. You start thinking the world is a certain way and forgetting that there's another world outside of the campus boundaries that has nothing to do with what is your world at the time.
Have you seen the finished film?
I saw it once on tape when they still had cartoon drawings instead of digital effects. I saw that once and then I saw it at the premiere. I probably won't watch it in New York at the premiere there. I don't want to watch it too much, but I really liked it. One thing I still want to do is see it with an audience that's not a premiere audience. I just want to see it play to real people, see what their reaction is.
What did you do to lighten the mood between takes?
It was a really fun set. Roger knew what he wanted, was organized, was a good guy and treated everybody with respect so it was really a great set.
How weird was it walking through a set full of naked girls?
I don't know if weird is the word I'd use, but everybody's agent showed up that day. "Hey, just wanted to come by, drop by the set." Oh really?
What was your creative breakthrough on "The Rules of Attraction?"
The scene that I did where I pull up in the car with Thomas Ian Nicholas. In the script, he says, "You're an a**hole, Bateman" and I get out of the car and toss the cocaine vials in. We had done the split screen shot that day which was like a huge technical challenge and we felt like we've gotten it, so I was just kinda riding on a high. It was the second or third day of shooting...I think it was the second day of shooting. Roger was saying, "You know, we can [play] with this a little bit." I said, "I was thinking about it last night. I wanna call him a pussy." He said, "Okay, all right." So, he just kinda said, "Do whatever you want." I think it was the "Hey, why don't you hit me? Come on." It freaked him out but Thomas was great actually. He really just rolled with it and didn't get into that like, "I can't let somebody else be more macho than me on screen." He was very cool about that and then the spitting. Everybody was just letting loose and not editing yourself and afterwards going, "Where did that come from?" That felt like kind of a breakthrough. I remember they brought in a TV monitor and were showing those dailies to other people, so that was kinda cool. I felt like I was doing something, like I was doing well at that point. It was very early on, so it was a fun experience.
