Video:Chris Massoglia The Vampire's Assistant Interview
with Rebecca MurrayChris Massoglia stars in Universal Pictures' 'Cirque du Freak: The Vampire's Assistant' based on the bestselling book series. Massoglia joins the ranks of young actors sinking their teeth into the role of a vampire, & vampires are definitely hot now.
Transcript:Chris Massoglia The Vampire's Assistant Interview
Rebecca Murray from About.com Hollywood Movies at Spike TV's SCREAM 2009.
Chris Massoglia – 'Darren' in Cirque du Freak: The Vampire's Assistant
Okay are you ready to be another one of these teen sensations because you're a vampire?
Chris Massoglia: "I don't know."
Does it come with the territory?
Chris Massoglia: "I don't think so. No. I mean we'll see. I don't know. You never really know."
But you didn't sign onto it because of that, right?
Chris Massoglia: "No, no, no. I did it because it's a cool movie."
Did you read the books?
Chris Massoglia: "I had not read the books before I did the movie."
Did you read them afterwards?
Chris Massoglia: "Yeah, when I got the part I went to Barnes and Noble. The movie's actually based on the first three books put together, so when I got the role I went to Barnes and Noble and flipped through the first three."
And did they draw you in?
Chris Massoglia: "Yeah, they're cool. They're really nice because they're not very long. It's really easy. You can read them really quick. They're cool."
Do you get to do lots of cool action?
Chris Massoglia: "Yeah. There's two big fight scenes in the movie, like seven minutes long each. So there's a lot of different stuff. There's a cemetery scene and then a fight with me and Josh Hutcherson. It was fun."
You get to work so closely with John C Reilly. Did he give you any tips?
Chris Massoglia: "Yeah, he gave me a lot of tips. And I mean just being able to watch him was enough, you know? Last week someone asked him what tips he would give me and he said, 'Do what you love. Don't do a role because of money or don't do a film because you want money or because you want to be with a girl or whatever. Do it because you really like the character and you'll really have fun and do what you love.' And that's really good advice. It was really awesome being able to do like my first big movie with such an experienced actor."
Did you have any qualms at all about being involved in a movie about vampires, being that vampires are so trendy right now, or did that even come up?
Chris Massoglia: "Well, when we were filming the whole vampire thing hadn't even hit because we were filming the same time as the first Twilight movie. So it didn't really come to my mind."
Are you signed on for two, three, four and five?
Chris Massoglia: "Yeah, I'm signed on for three."
And do you want to keep doing them?
Chris Massoglia: "Yeah, I'd love to."
Do you have any scenes with Salma Hayek?
Chris Massoglia: "Yeah, I have a couple of scenes with Salma and it's really funny. She's really great. She plays the bearded lady. She grows a beard whenever she gets turned on by a man. It's really freaky and cool and funny at the same time."
Which age group is it aiming for?
Chris Massoglia: "Well, you know, there's some scary stuff so I wouldn't take like little little kids. You know, like six or seven. But my brother saw it and he's 12 and he loved it, so anywhere from 12 to adult because there's a lot of sophisticated stuff, too. Obviously you mentioned John C Reilly, there's a lot of adults who are really big fans. I'd say anywhere from 12 up."
Did you have to do any makeup for this one?
Chris Massoglia: "The whole vampire makeup we didn't really do that. It was just kind of more natural looking. It wasn't like deathly pale and red lips or anything like that."
The whole thing with those books is these vampires flit.
Chris Massoglia: "Yeah, yeah."
Do you get to flit?
Chris Massoglia: "Yeah, I get to flit in the movie. It's weird. Flitting is like a combination of slowing down time and running really fast. So it's pretty fun I got to do that."
How did you do that?
Chris Massoglia: "Usually it's special effects. We'll just kind of start jogging in place and then freeze, and then they'll make us flit."
And being that this is the SCREAM Awards, what scares you?
Chris Massoglia: "I just did a movie about your worst fears."
Is that the one from Joe Dante?
Chris Massoglia: "Yes, Joe Dante - The Hole. So I was doing that and I was kind of thinking about it and I think right now one of my worst fears is being caught speeding by the cops."
Really?
Chris Massoglia: "Yeah. I don't know, I'm just like really, really scared of that."
Do you always drive fast?
Chris Massoglia: "You know, I live in Minnesota. No, I'm just kidding."
That really is your worst fear?
Chris Massoglia: "I don't know. Yeah, I mean I think so. Doing that movie I was kind of like thinking about it and that's one of them. Yeah, definitely."
How was working with Joe Dante?
Chris Massoglia: "It was awesome. He's really cool. He's really, really experienced and he knows what he's doing. He's got a plan and he knows what he wants to do and he knows how to do it."