BadRonald: I remember you
saying that you were in South America
(is that correct?) reading a Ketchum book... what a weird experience that
must've been. Have you topped that on?
Andrew van den Houten: I honestly haven't
topped that experience...being sick with food poisoning reading THE GIRL NEXT
DOOR for the first time will hopefully never be repeated!
BR: You've produced,
mostly. But you've also directed. What inspires you to take the lead as
director? And on the flipside, what
makes you hand over the reigns to another director?
AVDH Stories that
inspire me to (want to) direct and take the lead tend to connect with me in a more
personal way. Not to say I don't produce
projects I'm not personally enthusiastic about, but there is just a deeper
connection to those projects I end up directing. Usually, I connect to creative material too
based on where I am at in my life. After
The Girl Next Door, I wanted to direct something down and dirty with plenty of
gore. Offspring, based on Ketchum's
novel, was the perfect '70's throwback to explore the themes I was trying to
play with. Also, it was great because Jack
could have his first adaptation brought to the screen.
As a producer I
always ask myself who will be the best director for any given project. I have to be willing to put ego aside and
make the best decision for the film. The
only way I've grown as a director is by working with more talented directors
than myself. I soak up what they teach
me and use those techniques I like and leave the rest behind.
BR: After the relative
success of The Girl Next Door, Jack Ketchum stories were sought after. And in three years time THE LOST, OFFSPRING
and RED were adapted for screen, with either you or Lucky McKee involved. How did it happen, then, that the three of
you all came together on The Woman?
AVDH Lucky was
introduced to me through Jack. He asked
if I wanted to do THE PASSENGER, which at the time I passed on. A couple years later, as a fan of Lucky, I
figured he'd be the perfect writer and director to work with myself and Jack to
do the continuation of Offspring story, hence The Woman saga began!
BR: There was a big
brouhaha at Sundance over The Woman, with the infamous home video of the irate
gentleman accusing the film of being negative towards women. Can you talk about that incident, and have
you heard nay more from that particular man?
AVDH: First let me say,
it seems that incident has made this film somewhat infamous. No, Sundance Guy hasn't reached out to us
ever since, however, I should thank him for all the publicity he has given the
film.
In short, when the
guy got up to protest Lucky and the film, everyone was a bit off guard. Nobody saw it coming and it was especially
strange because a woman had just past out in the back of the theatre at the end
of the film. This guy honestly was being
very insensitive towards her and blatantly rude to Lucky and everyone who
showed up to see the film. He should
have raised his hand and waited to be called on to express his feeling towards
The Woman.
As far as we all
were concerned this guy could have been another dangerous lunatic, especially
given the timing. The GabrielleGifford's incident had just happened a few weeks before, so everyone was on
high alert. In the end, I guess you
call it Karma...He hated the film and chose the wrong time to comment on the
movie, and now people actually want to see if more because of his public
outburst caught on video, now on youtube.
BR: Has there been any
other harsh words from viewers? How is
the film being received?
AVDH: Actually, the film
has been received incredibly well by critics and audiences alike. We have won numerous awards at very
prestigious festivals, including FrightFest in London.
Distributors have flocked to the film as well and we have closed many
solid deals all over the world. The
film's controversy continues to stir people and get them to the theatre. People seem to be intrigued by what they hear
from critics and online in blogs and ultimately want to make their own
judgements about our film.
In the end, most
people find The Woman to be much different than what they expect. In many regards the film is feminist in what
it says, which is incredibly rare for the genre. People have found all kinds of
representations in the movie, political and otherwise. No matter how many times I've seen The Woman,
it's still really exciting just to listen and watch how an audience responds
from inside a dark theatre!
BR: How did you become
interested in making horror movies?
AVDH: I've always been
interested in just making films. As a
fan of horror, when William M. Miller sent me a horror script that later became
developed into Headspace, I thought it would be a fun movie to make...that's
how it all started. One horror script led
to more, however, since then I have also made a comedy, family movie and a
drama. I find all kinds of stories
interesting but I will always have a passion for horror.
BR: What or who
are your influences? Have you watched
any of the so-called French Extremism horror?
Your films aren't as gory, or as overtly violent as these films, but
they certainly share the same penchant for strong character development.
AVDH: I have many
influences, including Roman Polanski, Martin Scorcese, and David
Cronenberg. I appreciate the way true
filmmakers bring story, acting, set-design, lighting and photography all into
one being. Also, great filmmakers don't
need to over emphasize what they are doing but use slight of hand. Many times the most subtle sound or camera
movement is more effective than the largest explosion Hollywood can produce.
As far as French
Extremism goes, I haven't really looked to their films as an influence as much
as I have Asian Extremism. Filmmakers
like Takashi Miike and Chan-wook
Park have made stronger
and more lasting impressions on me.
BR: Now that you and
Lucky and Jack are all hanging out in the cob-webbed, dank recesses of the
darkness -- what's next for you guys?
AVDH: Honestly, I see
more to follow with The Woman storyline, especially since Jack and Lucky have
left it in such a great place to continue.
I also very much would like to explore further to see what Lucky's next
"dream project" might be. Ever
since May I've felt Lucky has not done something quite as personal. That movie is special and he's got a really
unique viewpoint on life that is shared through May. I would love to see if inside the depths of
his soul there's another masterpiece like that.
I would sign up in a heart beat to produce...After the creative freedom
he had on The Woman, I would be confident in saying he might be down too.
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