Video:Friday the 13th - Ben Feldman and Nick Mennell Interviews
with Rebecca MurrayThe cast of the 2009 version of the horror movie 'Friday the 13th,' including Ben Feldman and Nick Mennell, turned up for the film's LA premiere, and each member of the huge ensemble had special memories of the iconic villain, Jason Voorhees.
Transcript:Friday the 13th - Ben Feldman and Nick Mennell Interviews
Rebecca Murray from About.com Hollywood Movies at the LA Premiere of Friday the 13th.
Ben Feldman – 'Richie' in Friday the 13th
Why do we still love Jason?Ben Feldman: "Why do we still love him? Well, I don't think our fears of a crazy freak running through the woods trying to kill us run out. I think that's something that will always be scary, now, 20 years ago, and 100 years from now."
And why do we need to remake Friday the 13th? Why do we need to see the old one back again?
Ben Feldman: "You know, we're not seeing the old one back again, and that's sort of the thing. I love Friday the 13th. I grew up on it just like the next guy. I think it's cool, but I think that belonged in its time. It was a part of its time and it was so great we need that again, but we need it for our time. I think this is a little sexier, it's a little bloodier. It's a little glossier. It's a pretty film, but it's also really, really creepy horrifying."
You are the first person that's called this movie a 'pretty' film.
Ben Feldman: "You'll see. It's a pretty film. The movie opens up with a shot of me and a group of friends – Nick [Mennell] and some other people – walking through the woods. And when we first set up the shot, it was one of the first shots we shot. And they had a giant machine blowing pollen past us, and that's how Marcus [Nispel] the director shoots. He shoots these beautiful shots that are sort of awesome. We saw that pollen blowing through the air and the camera dollied through, and that's the kind of film he shoots. He shoots a pretty picture."
So what did you think the first time you saw Derek [Mears] on the set with the mask on?
Ben Feldman: "Derek's the nicest guy in the world, but if you need motivation…. People are always like, 'Oh, were you really acting? Was it easy to get into that place?' And it's real easy because Derek is not Derek when he comes out there. He's got all this stuff on his and he's huge, and his chest is huge. He looks like a mummy and he's holding a machete. I mean, anybody would scream. I don't care if there's 80,000 cameras around me. That's horrifying."
Do you have a real masculine scream?
Ben Feldman: "Actually, you know what? Compared to him [pointing to Jonathan Sadowski], yeah I promise you I do. I think so. It's kind of more of a guttural ahhhh! I think sometimes people go with the falsetto but I don't do that. I bring it down."
Why is it good to bring a date to this movie? It comes out on Valentine's Day practically.
Ben Feldman: "For me, I don't like the conventional Valentine's Day thing. I think it's cheesy and I think it's been done so many times, how do you do it that's different? How are you cooler than your girlfriend's buddy who's taking his girlfriend out to whatever dinner with whatever? I think it's the most ideal thing in the world that Valentine's Day is the day after Friday the 13th and Friday the 13th comes out. You couldn't ask for a bigger antithesis to Valentine's Day – a more alternative thing to do. It's ideal."
Nick Mennell – 'Mike' in Friday the 13th
Nick Mennell: "He's just one of these iconic images, you know? He's been around for decades. I grew up with him. I remember the first time I saw him I was probably like four years old. I think that the hockey mask with the large, dark figure…carrying the machete might help also. It just inspires fear. It's age old. Even the Greeks had scary theatre with masks and that was centuries and centuries ago."Do you have to know the whole mythology of Friday the 13th to get this one?
Nick Mennell: "No, you don't. I think they completely reinvented the franchise. Film has changed so much and also people's tastes and what scares people has changed, right? It's not the same as it used to be. They think they've reinvigorated the franchise with modern filmmaking techniques, modern lighting techniques, greater action. And the Jason…is big and bad. He's an athlete. Jason's your quintessential hunter in this."
Why is Friday the 13th the perfect date movie, since it's coming out right by Valentine's Day?
Nick Mennell: "Why is it the perfect date movie? What other sort of genre film could you think of that would inspire cuddling, make the women sort of feel like my guy's got to take care of me all night because she'll be scared for days to come. Value life…value lovemaking because who knows, you might be making love in the woods and get butchered by a 6'7" dude in a hockey mask, right? So I think it inspires romance."