By Julia Diddy
Fancast.com
Director John Landis and actress Maggie Lawson held court this morning (in conference call format, that is) to discuss the episode, “In Sickness and in Health,” on Fear Itself, in which Lawson plays a bride who, on her wedding day, receives a mysterious note that reads: “The person you are marrying is a serial killer.”
Here are some highlights of the conversation:
John, I know you’ve done some great horror work like American Werewolf and Innocent Blood, but are you surprised you’ve become very much a go-to guy for horror when your work has predominantly been in comedy?
JL: You know, directors, just like actors, get typed. Because I’ve made very successful comedies, it’s like, “Oh, he’s a comedy guy.” I enjoy comedy, and it’s not hard for me, but I like all genres. I’d really like to make a Western. As a filmmaker, I can do any story - I’m a storyteller…..if it’s a drama or a love story, whatever it is, I’m perfectly capable of doing it. However, the executives don’t think that way. They think, “What was he successful in? We’ll give him that!” Just like actresses get typed. I think it’s kind of amusing that I’m a “master of horror” now…..I like horror and fantasy. I want to stress that this particular episode, the screenplay by Victor Salva, when I read it…..it’s not what you expect. It’s more of a throwback. It’s more of …………a girl in jeopardy picture.
Is there room for a dark sense of humor in it, though?
JL: Oh, of course.
ML: Oh, always.
JL: It’s hard to approach this stuff without a sense of humor. In Hitchcock’s Psycho? Norman Bates says, “Mother’s not herself today.” (laughs) But for me – the truth - I directed two episodes of Psych. That’s a USA show with James Roday and Maggie Lawson. And Maggie on Psych - don’t get mad at me Maggie, but it makes me crazy – she’s underused…..when I was given this script – I’m also by the way a fan of James Roday, who’s a very good actor and really smart guy – I saw this as an opportunity. I called them. It was hard to work out, but for me, what’s exciting is this is a showpiece for Maggie Lawson because she’s playing a character so different than the character she plays on Psych, and she carries the show. And James is not the lovable light-hearted wisecracking guy he is on Psych. He’s more like Heathcliff in this one.
ML: Yeah. Exactly. He does very, very creepy very well. But all that is so flattering. I take any opportunity I can to work with the wonderful John Landis. He is a wonderful master of many genres.
So, Maggie, what’s the secret to acting as if in peril?
ML: Heavy breathing, eyes wide open….no! (laughs)….. I don’t really know. Every character is different, it’s sort of finding…literally putting yourself in their shoes. This is so interesting, because this is more, as John was saying, this is more of a psychological…..
JL: They haven’t seen it yet, so don’t give anything away.
ML: No, I won’t, I’ll be really good, even though I like telling secrets. This is more psychological….
JL: It’s a real melodrama. It’s like an old radio play.
ML: It is, actually. And it’s more about the unknown, which a lot of times I think is scarier. And without giving too much away, I’ll say that. It’s sort of not knowing what you’re up against. And the fear that comes with that.
Did you have to play against the idea that the audience might expect the two of you, or Maggie and James, to interact as you do on Psych?
ML: Absolutely. I think we were both very excited to play characters that were so, so different from what we play on Psych, and develop them, both of them, the way they dress, even our makeup and hair and looks, we went as far away from Psych as possible. And John was very helpful in that as well in sort of being in the whole process of creating a specific look that was great for the piece Fear Itself. I think we’re completely different from our characters. In fact as I was doing ADR and watching, I completely forgot that we play detectives Juliet O’Hara and Shawn Spencer on Psych. I hope the audience feels the same way…..for [James] to sort of play this dark, ominous, creepy kind of guy in Fear Itself, it shows the talent and his range.
JL: Well, they’re actors. That’s the thing people get confused about TV stars because they’re playing the same characters every week. I once worked with Don Knotts on a show, and I was shocked, the guy was brilliant – because people just want to see Barney Fife, they want to see that nervous character he created……. he never got a chance to show how really good an actor he was. …so for me it’s very exciting that these two get to do this. Boy are they different in this one!
Maggie, did you particularly enjoy doing horror, and would you like to do it again?
ML: I will do horror any day of the week that John Landis is directing it, for sure. Actually, I liked it surprisingly more than I thought I would. It’s interesting in acting when you have to put yourself in a character’s shoes…….scary is a challenge. There’s a fine line between being real, bringing a level of reality to it, which I think is what makes horror work in a lot of ways, and not making it over dramatic. If an audience is taken out of a movie, in a horror movie, even just for a second, it’s very hard to reel them back in. It’s a challenge I think as an actor to play believable scared, believable horror, terror….and I really enjoyed it. It was a really fun adventure and project to sink my teeth into, and something different than I’ve ever done before.
Maggie, did this scare you at all about the day when you get married?
ML: I think the normal fear is that the other person doesn’t show up or that you’re going to pass out on the altar. This takes it a step further. And I have to say that the wedding scene – shooting it……..John is so good at setting a scene The shots and the lighting, they all play a role, they are their own characters in the show. And walking into that church that day, it did take my breath away. It was so creepy and ominous. It’s complete opposite of that day – you’re supposed to be so happy and it’s supposed to be so beautiful and be bright and cheery. It’s perfect the way he’s done it.
What do you think you would do in the situation, if someone did hand you that note?
ML: If someone handed me that note on my wedding day, I would probably laugh.
In terms of selecting this script, Victor Salva’s script, was it easy to go for something old-school…is that what you were looking for Fear Itself?
JL: Honestly, no. I was preparing another script and then I had to abandon it because I was working on a film, so Mary Herron directed that one. And then when I became available, they gave me two scripts, and of the two, I liked Victor’s better.
John, what fascinated you about this killer, as compared to your Masters of Horror episode?
JL: This isn’t necessarily a story I would have created myself or done. When I read the script, my first reaction was how old fashioned it was. ….it was very much like an episode of Alfred Hitchcock presents. A good old-fashioned suspense kind of thing. And when I read it, I thought, “Holy sh**, is this a good part for Maggie Lawson!”
What kind of changes did you work through with Victor, if any?
JL: I made some minor changes, I added some red herrings. But in fact, it’s pretty much Victor’s script.
What is the most disturbing part of the episode?
JL: It’s about Maggie’s character, Samantha. She’s this very lovely girl who is given this ridiculous note. It’s about doubt, and uncertainty, and suspicion. I think it deals with the fears of getting married, the fear of “Do I really know this person?”
Have you seen other episodes [of Fear Itself]?
JL: I saw “Eater.” It’s creepy.
The Landis-helmed, Lawson-headlining episode of Fear Itself will air June 26th on NBC. This week’s episode, "Family Man" is directed by Ronny Yu ("Freddy vs. Jason," "Bride of Chucky") and written by Dan Knauf ("Carnivàle," "Supernatural"), and focuses on a likeable family man (Colin Ferguson, “Eureka”) who switches bodies with a serial killer (Clifton Collins Jr., “Star Trek”) after a near-death experience. Tune in, and let us know what you think!
