"You're so cool, Brewster!"
Christopher Mintz-Plasse was up against it when he signed on to play Evil Ed in Craig Gillespie's FRIGHT NIGHT remake. Though Tom Holland's original is filled with terrific performances, none of them pop quite like Stephen Geoffreys's portrayal of Charley Brewster's antagonistic best friend. Every single line reading is an adventure with Geoffreys, yet when he's turned into a vampire by Chris Sarandon's Jerry Dandrige, you feel genuine sadness for this lost, tortured little boy. In a weird way, the heart of Holland's FRIGHT NIGHT resides in Geoffreys's indelible performance.
Fortunately, Mintz-Plasse knows from indelible performances. He's four years into a career that started off with one. That there is a career - a thriving one, no less - at this juncture is a testament to Mintz-Plasse's talent; if people were simply buying SUPERBAD's McLovin, he'd be out of business by now. At this point, it's a slightly off-kilter presence that keeps Mintz-Plasse working, and it's fascinating to see how - in Matthew Vaughn's KICK-ASS, for example - that awkwardness can switch from ingratiating to menacing at the drop of a hat.
There's mostly menace in Mintz-Plasse's Evil Ed. In the beginning of the film, when he's trying to convince an incredulous Charley that there be vampires lurking in their subdivision, Ed is, at best, a panicky, blackmailing asshole; when he reappears later in the film, he's a little more dangerous (spoiler alert: he's a vampire). It's not light years from what Mintz-Plasse has done in the past, but it is different. Most importantly, there's not a shred of Geoffreys's madness to be found. It's really nice work, and I've a feeling it's going to lead to more interesting roles in the future.
The below interview was conducted at last July's San Diego Comic Con, so it's fairly brief. Though we mostly discuss FRIGHT NIGHT, we did manage to talk a little bit about what's going on with KICK-ASS 2 (answer: not a whole lot).
When I started recording, we were reminiscing about KICK-ASS' triumphant debut at BNAT XI.
Christopher Mintz-Plasse: We blew the speakers out!
Mr. Beaks: Yep. And then you guys blew away AVATAR.
Mintz-Plasse: It's ridiculous. I mean, I don't know if we did, but it's nice of you to say that.
Beaks: I was in the room. You did.
Thanks, man!
Beaks: So this is a really nice performance from you [in FRIGHT NIGHT].
Mintz-Plasse: Thank you.
Beaks: It's been interesting to watch your evolution as an actor. How are you approaching it? Are you consciously trying to avoid going back to the role that launched you?
Mintz-Plasse: When I look at scripts that I want to do, it starts off with who's attached to it. On FRIGHT NIGHT, I saw that Craig Gillespie and Colin Farrell and Anton Yelchin were attached, so right off the bat I was already interested in it. Then I read the character, and... he was nerdy. I've done nerdy before, but there was something dark and depressing about him. The original Evil Ed was fantastic, but he was wacky and out there and zany. They really put a flip on this one, and made my character kind of depressed; Anton and I really butt heads in this. It was nice to be able to play this dark, depressed character - who changes into a vampire. (Laughs) Which is something I haven't done yet. That really drew me to the role.
Beaks: In both FRIGHT NIGHTs, you feel bad at times for Evil Ed, but he's not an entirely sympathetic character.
Mintz-Plasse: Not at all. He's kind of a dick. (Laughs)
Beaks: Did this version of Ed change at all when you came on? Did they rewrite it for you?
Mintz-Plasse: There were no rewrites, but Craig let Anton and I improv. In the script, [Ed] was very depressing, which he still is in the movie. I guess I brought some humor to the guy. In the script he was like (Pouty), "We were friends, and now we're not!" I didn't want to be that whiney, so I threw more attitude into it.
Beaks: He is more assertive.
Mintz-Plasse: Yeah. I'm glad you saw that.
Beaks: I want to talk about your transformation. You worked with [makeup artist] Howard Berger, who's one of the greats.
Mintz-Plasse: Yes! He's unbelievable. It was really cool. The first day I'm like, "Yes, I'm going to be a vampire!" Then five hours later, as they put the last piece on, I'm like, "Oh, god. Two more months of this?" But it looks fantastic! It looks beautiful. I like to say that the makeup is almost half the acting. You could ask Imogen [Poots] or Colin the same thing. When you look that good in the makeup, it's like the performance is already there. It really gets you into the character, which is nice.
Beaks: When you're under the makeup, do you find that you have to adjust your performance. Like maybe you wouldn't play something as big as you would without the makeup on?
Mintz-Plasse: Yeah, all the time. There were times when I'd play it very large, and Craig would say, "Tone it down. The makeup is there. You already look intense and scary. Hone in the character." It was awesome, though, because in between takes, you're still in this makeup. In a way, I didn't really leave character. So walking around set eating a sandwich, and people are staring at me... (Laughs) it was awesome.
Beaks: A movie like this, you have to think about franchise potential.
Mintz-Plasse: Absolutely. There was a sequel back in the '80s right?
Beaks: There was. And it's a lot better than its reputation suggests.
Mintz-Plasse: Really? I haven't seen it.
Beaks: It's good, but it's definitely not what you expect. Without giving too much away, could you see yourself coming back in a sequel?
Mintz-Plasse: If they wanted me back, they'd find some way to write it in. I want them to make a sequel, but I don't want them to change something just to have me in it.
Beaks: So no one's talked to you?
Mintz-Plasse: No, no. The higher-ups are probably already planning their sequel, but we haven't heard anything.
Beaks: How did you enjoy playing your big scene in the pool with Colin?
Mintz-Plasse: He's incredible in this movie. He really brings back the old-school vampire. But on set he's very sweet and down-to-earth and funny. But the scene in the pool where he changes me... we had to be in that pool for two hours together. We couldn't get out, so in between takes it was just me and Colin in this pool, like, (doing Colin's accent) "How're you doin', man? What's your family like?" He just wanted to get to know me. It was really sweet.
Beaks: We keep hearing ideas about KICK ASS 2.
Mintz-Plasse: We're at Comic Con, man. This is where I'm going to get the questions!
Beaks: But we haven't heard anything concrete about a sequel.
Mintz-Plasse: I honestly would love to do KICK ASS 2. The way they left my character after the first one... I mean, Mark Millar changed my name to "The Motherfucker" in KICK ASS 2. I become this insane villain. We all loved the first one. I've talked to Matthew [Vaughn], and he's interested in producing or directing it. But everyone's super busy right now, so there's no definitive word on if we're going to do it.
Beaks: So what are you looking to do from here?
Mintz-Plasse: Honestly, any project that I'd like to see in theaters is what I'd like to do. I'm not Daniel Day-Lewis, like, looking for roles that will challenge me. I mean, I do want to be challenged, but also I want to entertain the crowd. I want to make a living. So roles that I feel like I haven't done yet, and people who I want to work with, and projects I'd like to see is what really draws me into the script.
Beaks: But when your career begins with such an indelible character like McLovin... I mean, he's a pop culture icon like [Jeff] Spicoli.
Mintz-Plasse: I know. It's crazy.
Beaks: I remember reading about you taping promos for the NBA Playoffs, and LeBron James was excited to meet you.
Mintz-Plasse: (Laughs) Yes! His towel boy when he was in Cleveland was called McLovin.
Beaks: So you're okay with that following you around?
Mintz-Plasse: McLovin will probably be with me my whole life. That role got me FRIGHT NIGHT, ROLE MODELS and KICK-ASS, so I'm forever grateful for that.
FRIGHT NIGHT opens wide this Friday, August 19th.
Faithfully submitted,
Mr. Beaks
