Interviews

Mark J. Harris isn’t just a Distinguished Professor of Film and TV Production in the School of Cinematic Arts at USC. He’s a three-time Oscar winner (most recently for writing/directing the 2001 documentary, “Into the Arms of Strangers: Stories of the Kindertransport.”)

Here’s part 2 of WWTW’s chat with the professor/filmmaker: (Here’s Part 1)

WWTW: Are your students well versed in modern filmmaking technology before they set foot on campus? What technological advances do they see as the most beneficial to their careers?

MH: Students grow up these days with computers and digital recorders and are adept at using them. Although we make a point of accepting students with no film experience, many come to us having made videos and edited them at home with Final Cut Pro.

What we look for first when we screen applicants, though, is not technical facility but fresh ideas. We?’re looking for students who have something they?’re burning to say, who have ideas they want to explore. If they have something to say, we believe we can teach them how to communicate their ideas in film or video.

Most students who have grown up with computers are comfortable with the current technology of filmmaking, particularly post-production. But it doesn?t matter how skilled you are with the tools, or how quickly you master them, if you have nothing interesting to communicate.

WWTW: Are students pragmatic about their chances for success in the film industry?

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If you shoot a film with Seann William Scott, expect to get hit - hard - by on-set pranks.

Especially if your nickname happens to be “McLovin.”

Scott tells WWTW he put a dead fish in the car of his “Role Models” co-star Paul Rudd during the shoot, and the actor finally found out a whole week and a half later.

(Scott says Rudd got his revenge later by unleashing some foul-smelling material - dirty diapers - in Scott’s film trailer.)

But that was nothing compared to how Scott tormented McLovin — his “Role Models” co-star Christopher Mintz-Plasse.

“McLovin got his pretty bad,” Scott says with a smirk.

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Seann William Scott played against type in a very big way for the little comedy “The Promotion.”

And hardly anybody actually saw him stretch.

“It was heartbreaking … that movie meant a lot to me,” Scott told WWTW. “The last couple of years I’ve tried these little films, like “Southland Tales,” and they either take two years to come out or they don’t [come out at all].”

He’s not afraid to criticize “The Promotion’s” marketing push.

Both the film poster and the trailer were “terrible,” he says. Critics didn’t help matters much. One journalist told Scott she though the film was “a little bit racist,” he recalls.

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For Seann William Scott, it’s finally safe to play the Stifler card again.

Scott recalls watching Vince Vaughn mugging it up in “Wedding Crashers” and thinking, “it’s so cool to see him go back to that ‘Swingers’ character,” he told WWTW.

“It’s good to cater toward that audience that started your career,” says Scott, who crashed Hollywood’s gates with a star-making turn in “American Pie” as the wild and crazy Stifler.

Scott channels his Stifler mojo once more for “Role Models,” a new R-rated comedy coming out Nov. 7 pairing him with Paul Rudd. The two play energy drink salesmen who get in trouble with the law and must do community service with a Big Brothers-style mentoring service or face jail time.

They start wishing they opted for prison when they meet their “little brothers” — played by “Superbad’s” Christopher Mintz-Plasse and Bobb’e J. Thompson.

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It’s pretty rare when two iconic characters meet on screen.

I’m not talking about Godzilla and King Kong — it’s the pairing of Seann William Scott (”American Pie’s” Stifler) and Christopher Mintz-Plasse (”Superbad’s” McLovin) in “Role Models,” hitting theaters Nov. 7.

Scott spoke to WWTW recently on behalf of the new film - I’ll post our chat later this week. For now, enjoy Scott’s advice for the young Mintz-Plasse on the set of the ribald comedy.

Here’s Scott recalling a conversation the pair had about the “McLovin” effect:

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Does horror have a future?

Scott Glosserman, who wrote and directed “Behind the Mask: The Rise of Leslie Vernon,” a snarky takedown of horror movies, thinks so. Here, Glosserman looks to the young guns of horror … and his own immediate future.

WWTW: Which young horror directors do you see as the future of the horror genre?

SG: As in, 35-and-under, young? Juan Antonio Bayona (”The Orphanage”). I await his next film with as much anticipation as just about any other director out there.

I think Lucky McKee got a bad shake on his follow-up to MAY, so I’m really psyched to see RED, which I missed in August. But, he’s a guy who was thinking outside the box.

The world is pretty much Darren Bousman’s oyster after three ultra-successful SAW movies. If he chose to, he could do whatever he wanted in horror, I’m sure. He’s not even 30, I don’t think. He’s probably the youngest horror director who’s going to have access to the best quality horror material in town. So, he’s the horse to bet on, by default. (Same goes for James Wan, naturally).

WWTW: Do you have plans to write or direct any horror movies in the future?

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Scott Glosserman made sure the “Scream” trilogy wasn’t the final word on deconstructing horror films.

Glosserman wrote and directed “Behind the Mask: The Rise of Leslie Vernon,” one of my Halloween sleeper pics and a loving tweak of modern horror conventions. He’s hard at work on two psychological horror films, but he took time out to answer a few questions regarding horror movies.

WWTW: What’s your take on the current state of the horror genre?

SG: Honestly, I think the quality-side of horror films is as unpredictable as the stock market right now. What is for certain is that horror movies are continuing to be churned out. The consolidation of the movie business means far fewer films are going to be made.

Generally, when budgets tighten and commodity movies are sought after, movie execs look for genre films that can be made on small budgets and that don’t need big stars. Present circumstances, therefore, favor horror films. And, horror films tend to be best when they’re lean and mean.

The question is, will this demand for horror film output exceed supply of quality material and/or directors who know what to do with it. Well, let’s take Richard Kelly. Really interesting director – DONNIE DARKO was brilliant (or pointless and he completely fooled us) — either way, he’s adapting one of my favorite “Twilight Zone” episodes, THE BOX, into a feature for Warner Bros.. There’s a quality director with a superb piece of material.

Frank Darabont optioned my favorite Stephen King novella, THE LONG WALK. ‘Nuff said.

I’m glad we finally seem to be emerging from the torture/porn era. There was, indeed, a post-9/11 time and place for that, but we have hope on the horizon (hopefully).

So, brutality displayed through hopelessness, grounded in realistic despair as a conscious or subconscious form of social commentary in horror films should subside. I believe gross-out, not-so-serious, tongue-and-cheek horror, on the one hand, and serious horror movies as social commentary for Populism (fighting for Joe-the-whatever) are on their way. That’s my prognostication.

WWTW: What modern factors are helping/hurting the genre?

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Will Ritter can whip up some pretty incredible effects for the big screen — assuming you have a strong enough stomach to watch them.

Ritter creates special effects for movies like “Kill Bill” and “Pirates of the Caribbean.” He also teaches the fine art of movie makeup at the Douglas Education Center in Monessen, Pa.

Ritter instructs students in special make-up effects like mold making, casting, animation fabrication, prosthetics and creature design.

The program is part of Tom Savini’s Digital Film Production Program.

Don’t know who Tom Savini is? Well, he’s only one of the foremost FX men in Hollywood, having designed the makeup for “Dawn of the Dead,” “Friday the 13th,” “Creepshow” and other horror staples.

I checked in with Ritter about his curious craft … and his thoughts about the current state of movie effects:

WWTW: Tell me about the kind of FX work you typically do for Hollywood features - with an example or two of your past work.

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The tale of a misfit who finds approval, and self worth, by tugging on a fuzzy blue mascot outfit is loosely based on a true story.

Two, in fact.

Scott Prendergast, the writer/director/star of the new-to-DVD “Kabluey,” actually did don a colorful suit once - he wore a superhero-style outfit to earn extra bucks.

And, like his character in the film, he once moved in with his sister-in-law when his brother was shipped out to Iraq.

“She was having a difficult time … she was so worried about my brother,” says Prendergast, who helped watch his two nephews ages two and four. Prendergast simply took those experiences and melded them together to make “Kabluey,” an eccentric comedy about a man who steps up when his family needs him most.

Turns out the little monsters depicted in “Kabluey” weren’t far off from their real-life inspirations.

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