Snakes on a Plane doesn’t hit theaters until August 18, 2006 but it’s already one of the most talked about films of the year – at least on the Internet. One of Jackson’s co-stars, the beautiful Sunny Mabrey, says she had absolutely no idea the film would catch on and become the Internet phenomenon it’s quickly turned into.
Mabrey, while chatting about the indie film, One Last Thing, spilled the beans on her role in Snakes on a Plane:
Sunny Mabrey’s Role in Snakes on a Plane: “I play one of the flight attendants and I’m pretty much on that plane the entire movie, so it was pretty intense,” explained Mabrey. “There’s four of us [flight attendants]. There’s not four at the end but there’s four of us in the beginning. My name is Tiffany. We sort of have the task of, even though we’re these females, normally, I’m not saying anything, but the guys would take care of the snakes and chop their heads off. But the girls, we’re flight attendants and there’s one guy flight attendant, and we have the task of sort of making sure everybody’s in their seat, sort of taking care of everybody. We’re ushering them here and there. So throughout the whole thing we did have to not only be terrified, but take care of everybody else.”
A Mixture of CGI Snakes and Real Ones: Mabrey said both were used in filming Snakes on a Plane. “First of all, there was a 20’ Burmese Python and that’s really the only real snake that I did a scene with,” said Mabrey. “They made a copy of that, which is crazy. You couldn’t tell the difference. A lot of it was CGI, a lot of rubber snakes too. You think ‘rubber snakes,’ like the kind you get at the dollar mart, but these were very real-looking rubber snakes. And then real snakes….
There was a snake room with a snake wrangler, and we went in there all the time. I have a miniature pincher and I kept her in my trailer. I was like, ‘Don’t come out!’ because if she got near that Burmese Python, you wouldn’t even see a dent. It was that big. But it was intense because of that - and because of constant action. I mean, the airplane was on a [gimble] and this is a huge lifesize replica inside a studio. It was not like just a two seater; it was a luxury plane with an upstairs first class with a bar. It’s like Virgin or British Airways flying to London or something. It was crazy because that thing would shake and there would be smoke. Part of the plane got jerked out and there were holes.”
The Buzz Builds for Snakes on a Plane: “I had no idea [it would be like this]. When I first read it, I was like, ‘Okay, Samuel Jackson is doing this and it’s about snakes on an airplane.’ And it’s pretty entertaining. I couldn’t stop reading it. I couldn’t stop reading it because it’s about snakes on an airplane and finally I was like, ‘Okay, what a nice way to spend the summer.’
I went up there and I mean, I saw all the other people that were like, ‘This is about snakes on an airplane,’ and there was a ton of us. We just made it as best an experience as it could be. The people working on it were very experienced, like geniuses at action. I mean, David Ellis is the director and he used to be a stunt coordinator. He’s perfect for this and he’s good with the actors too. So it just came together and I don’t know what people expect from it, but whatever it is, I think it’ll deliver that.”
The Reshoots: New Line decided to reshoot some scenes and add in even more thrills. Mabrey said, “They did some more stuff recently. I wasn’t involved in that. I’m actually kind of thankful because most of it was to make it rated R as opposed to PG-13. I was like, ‘Hey, why didn’t you ask me to do reshoots? Am I cut out?’ Everybody always worries about that. Every actor worries if they cut them out right before the movie, even if you’re the lead. Even on this one, I was like, ‘I hope they didn’t cut me out.’ My husband’s like, ‘They can’t cut you out.’
I was nervous about [being cut out of] Snakes on a Plane but I’ve seen tons of pictures with me in them. I’m like, ‘Hi, I’m in this movie.’ But it’s a huge cast. It’s an ensemble cast. Julianna Margulies, Samuel L. Jackson, Rachel Blanchard, so many people. We’ve got some comedians in there too. So it’s funny but terrifying, I think. I’m looking forward to it.”
On Working with Snakes: “I actually never have a snake on me, but pretty much everybody else did. I mean, I never had that exact experience. I had snakes crash down next to me on the floor. I screamed at fake snakes. Snakes got wrapped around my friends’ throat, but I never had an experience with a snake myself.”
