|
|
|
HOT SAUCE, WATER WINGS, AND PIZZA THE SIZE OF BABIES: AN EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW WITH SARA PAXTON ON 'THE LAST HOUSE ON THE LEFT'
Interview by Michael J. Lee, Executive Editor for RadioFree.com
March 1, 2009
For the better part of her career, Sara Paxton has excelled at comedic roles, from the mean girl in Sleepover and Sydney White to the plucky heroine in Aquamarine and TV's Darcy's Wild Life. It's a skill that seems to come naturally for the young actress, who has a bubbly sense of humor that is readily apparent: there is an unabashed enthusiasm in her voice when she gets riled up about a topic of interest, and an inherent comic timing in her storytelling.
But in her latest film, The Last House on the Left, a remake the 1972 horror written and directed by Wes Craven, Sara takes a significant departure from the comfort zone of comedy to tackle a decidedly violent project. In her role as Mari Collingwood, she is one of two girls terrorized and assaulted by a group of criminals fleeing the authorities. After being raped, shot, and left for dead, she crawls to her family's lake house, where her parents piece the crime together and decide to take vengeance and justice into their own hands.
The Last House on the Left also stars Tony Goldwyn and Monica Potter as Mari's parents; Martha MacIsaac as her friend and fellow victim; and Garret Dillahunt, Riki Lindhome, Aaron Paul, and Spencer Treat Clark as the group that puts her through the traumatizing ordeal.
In this exclusive interview, Sara talks about working on this particularly brutal movie, and takes us behind the scenes for the lighter side of things. And since Sara has often made time for us in the past and has always been a pleasure, we kicked things off with an unconventional token of our appreciation...
|
The Interview
|
RadioFree.com: I have a gift for you, but it's sort of a gag gift... [whips out a large bottle of Cholula hot sauce] I think I remember you saying that you were hooked on this stuff on your MTV Cribs appearance...
SARA: Oh my God! Thank you so much! Where were you at breakfast this morning? [laughs]
They didn't have any for you?
I know, I'm like, "I need my Cholula!" Thank you...Jumbo-sized! You know how long this is going to last? Maybe a week, maybe a month...
So...The Last House on the Left! Have you gotten any fan reaction to this project yet?
There's definitely been reactions, because there's, of course, huge fans of the original--you know, it's a cult classic, horror fans love it. I think they've been really harsh, because the word "remake" kind of comes with a certain stigma. I know that if somebody was remaking my favorite movie, I, too, would be a little bit peeved. But I hope that they will come to the theater with an open mind, and I think they will like the movie if they do. Because we weren't trying to make a "better Last House on the Left," we were just trying to breathe new life into the story.
Given your background in family-friendly movies and TV shows, have people been surprised by your role in this film?
I haven't heard any fans say things like that, but today I've heard a lot of reaction about that [from the press]. I really love doing comedy. I love doing all that. But I really wanted to challenge myself. And I don't ever want to be placed in any kind of box, you know? I don't want people to think, "Oh, that's Sara Paxton, she only does this, and she can only do that." I wanted to do something completely different.
How do you think some of your longtime fans will react? Although I guess they might skew a little younger than the target audience for this movie...
Right. I think that younger fans of mine who may have been fans of Aquamarine or Darcy's Wild Life, if they're really young, probably don't even realize it's me. I mean, I have brown hair. [laughs] They're probably not watching channels that show scary movie previews, unless you're watching MTV, commercials generated towards 20 to 30 year olds. I've talked to some kids that have come up to me in the last couple days, and they're like, "Are you in anything else?" And I'm like, "Last House on the Left." And they're like, [squeaky voice] "What's that? I'm 8. What's Last House on the Left?" So maybe it'll bring new fans, and start a new audience that will know who I am.
When we first spoke to you about Aquamarine, you talked about how you had always been big on swimming, and now your Last House character Mari is an accomplished swimmer. Did your background in that help you in the more grueling water scenes?
[laughs] You're right, I was convinced I was an excellent swimmer! I had a pool my whole life, I would swim in the pool, I would race, I would win every time, I thought I was amazing, I played a mermaid. So when I went into the audition for this and Dennis the director said, "Are you a good swimmer?", I was just bragging. I talked myself up like I was amazing! And then finally we get out there, and you know what? Swimming in a pool in your house is a lot different than swimming in a real lake! Not as buoyant! Not as buoyant...No, you sink. You sink a lot easier. [laughs] So all I remember is the first take, and I come up from the water like, [gasps]. And Dennis was like, [dramatically] "My God, she lied! She's drowning! She's a bad swimmer! Get her floaties!" And I was like, "I thought I was a good swimmer!" So I guess I'm not that good.
But it fits your character. She's distressed...
[unconvinced] Yeeeah...
So she's not supposed to come up like an Olympic diver.
[jokes, matter-of-factly] No, she is. [laughs] In the beginning of the movie, you see her not in distress and swimming professionally. And some of that was me, and [intentionally mumbles] "some of it wasn't." [laughs]
What proved to be more difficult: swimming while emotionally distressed and terrorized in Last House, or swimming with a giant prosthetic mermaid tail in Aquamarine?
Well, it's hard to say because it's been so long since I did Aquamarine. [feigns melodrama] "It's kind of hard to remember the pain that I went through putting on that tail!" It's a trade-off. Because I didn't have to wear a tail. I was wearing one outfit the entire movie, so I was free. But then again, I was covered in sticky blood that felt like honey, and gross all day, and freezing temperatures in the pool. So there's always a different challenge you gotta go through.
|
|
We're told that the vibe on horror sets is usually one of two extremes: a lot of joking and goofing around that alleviates tension, or intense gloom that keeps everyone in character. What was this set like?
We were mostly trying to keep it light-hearted and ease the tension, and we all became really good friends and bonded really quickly. And so a big thing for us was going to dinner after work and relaxing and unwinding and talking about the day. Just not keeping it in, because I feel like I'd go insane if I didn't have the support of my fellow actors and friends, you know? But of course, there are some days where you can't goof off, you gotta be in character. Like in the scene with the assault. That day, I wasn't goofing off one minute and then crying the next minute. That day, I had to just be in that state of mind and that mode all day long.
Speaking of which, your crying skills have seriously improved! Do you have a secret to that, or was it a case of just acting out a much darker scene?
Thanks! I think it's just what we were doing felt so real. We weren't on a soundstage. You know, a soundstage takes you out of character so much, because you're on the set, and then all of a sudden the bell rings, and you can like walk out into real life. Here, we never got to go into "real life." We were in the real forest with real animals that could possibly kill us at any moment! You know, we had to watch out for wild baboons constantly. And all I could think, just looking around in the woods, was, "Oh my gosh, some girl just like me has possibly died alone and scared in these woods." And you don't need acting once that thought crosses your mind. [laughs]
Filming on location in Cape Town, South Africa, was there anything for you to check out during your downtime?
Oh my God, it's beautiful! It was amazing. There was pure white sand beaches with huge, smooth boulders in the ocean, and you look behind you, and there's jagged, rocky mountain peaks. And it's just beautiful. And nobody would think that penguins would live in Africa, but there is penguins! And we checked that out. And we went to Table Mountain, Lion's Head...I mean, there's just so much to see and do there. It was amazing.
Did you develop a favorite pastime there?
Our favorite pastime was going to dinner and eating food and relaxing afterwards! [laughs] We would have like movie night, we'd get together, we'd vote on whose place we were going to go and watch a movie. We did a lot of activities together as a group, every weekend, every day.
What were some of your earliest experiences with horror movies? Have you been a longtime fan of the genre?
When I was little, I got really scared from horror movies. The first scary movies that I ever saw were Poltergeist and The Exorcist, and those both really scared the crap out of me! I got so scared that I never wanted to see a scary movie again. And then, of course, you become a teenager "everyone's going to see a scary movie!" I did that, too. I really wasn't a true fan of the genre until I did this movie, because I researched, and of course, I know so much more than I ever did doing this movie. So I'm definitely a fan now.
What did your research involve?
To be honest...I knew who Wes Craven was, of course, but I had never heard of The Last House on the Left. And so it was really interesting to me, especially hearing from Wes and [producer] Sean Cunningham--hearing their personal stories of the behind-the-scenes filming. They're so full of information about the genre and everything. I mean, I just heard so many things, and it was great. I learned a lot.
Now that you have a horror movie under your belt, do you have any on-set survival tips?
I definitely think that in order to get through it, you need to have trust and respect with the people that you're working with. I know in my personal experience, as an actor, I wouldn't have been able to open up as much in the scenes had I not truly trusted and respected my peers, and felt that they had my back, from the crew to the producers. I felt they all had my back.
What kind of support did your co-stars give you?
We all just bonded. I mean, the first two weeks of even being there were just rehearsals--every day for seven hours a day, just rehearsals. We all lived in the same apartment complex. We didn't want to be alone, I'd call Martha and say, "Hey Martha, you want to go to dinner?" "Oh yeah, let me call Garret and Spencer and Monica, let's all go." And then pretty soon, it's all of us. And then pretty soon, we liked it so much, every night we'd be hanging out together. And it helped a lot.
[Editor's note: At this point in the interview, we're about to wrap up, and Sara again expresses gratitude for the Cholula hot sauce. Thus, the next question seems like a bit of a non sequitur. Still, it's fun, and there's something to be said for a down-to-earth gal with a healthy obsession for food.]
What do you like about that sauce? Is it the flavor, or do like spicy in general?
I like the flavor. And it's not that spicy...And you can put it on anything. I just love it. [gasps] I love it with my eggs, or a hamburger! I eat plenty of hamburgers.
I've recently started watching Man v. Food on the Travel Channel, where this guy discovers new restaurants across the country and takes on eating challenges...
Oh, I love that show! I love the host. He's so funny.
What do you think his most impressive feat has been?
I thought the funniest was when he tried to eat that [giant] pizza, and then he held up the slice of pizza to the baby and compared [the two]. [laughs] I thought that was hilarious! Or the giant burger? I mean, that burger was like the size of this table. Like I don't even know how he did that...It's crazy. And I get so hungry watching that! I love watching food shows. I love Top Chef, Anthony Bourdain. I love Travel Channel and Bravo and Food Network. I love watching food shows. Because then I want to eat it all.
Sara, thank you again for taking the time to speak to us!
Thank you so much, it was good seeing you!
|
|
|
