The Uwe Boll Interview
This is the gutsy director behind Heart of America, Alone in the Dark, and even House of the Dead. He has done quite a few movies and was the director of last years, House of the Dead. I got the chance to interview Mr. Boll and find out what he is up to. Check it out.
Marcus: First off, let's get to
know the man behind the camera. What is the real "Uwe Boll" like?
Uwe:: For this, you must ask my friend, Shawn Williamson. My bio is on my
website "www.boll-kg.de" In
general I make movies since I'm ten. I wrote 20 script and I'm a film freak. I
go minimum one time per week to the theatre.
Marcus:: You have been into movies since you were very young, what sparked your interest and love for movies? When did you know you wanted to be in the business?
Uwe::
To write and to film was a escape out of the real boring world. After I did my first REAL movie GERMAN FRIED MOVIE I thought: "It is too hard and to much work to do everything for free. I must be in the film business to earn also some money!"
Marcus:: Basic question, what are your favorite horror movies and non-horror movies?
Uwe:: SHINING, NOSFERATU, Roman Polanskis TANZ DER VAMPIRE, THE RING
Non Horror Movies: Citizen Kane, Clockwerk Orange, Silents of the Lambs, Moby Dick, Fargo, El Dorado, Godfather, Godfellas, Once upon a time in America, Once upon in the West
Marcus::And which movie do you feel, influenced you the most?
Uwe:: Breaking the Waves from Lars von Trier because it shows what movies can do
Marcus::
As you know from the review, I wasn't the biggest fan of House of the Dead, however, after watching the DVD and the behind the scenes featurettes, it changed my perspective of things (plus the kick ass sound 6.1 DTS oh yeah) When you first read the script, what was it about it that caught your eye?
Uwe:: The gore and the possible horror effects
Marcus:: You have said that you felt the script was more action oriented, what was it about the video games that made you feel that way?
Uwe::The game is NONSTOP ACTION and the Horror element are the Zombies and the Gore.
Marcus:: Which one of the 3 House Of The Dead's is your favorite?
Uwe:: House Of the Dead 2
Marcus:: On the DVD it is said that you had over 300 cameras for the film, what was it like having so many at your disposal?
Uwe:: 300 cameras only for the MATRIX set up. We used 3 cameras in the normaöl scenes up to 6 for the HOUSE EXPLOSION
Marcus:: Do you have any funny stories you can share with everyone about things that went on
during the shoot?
Uwe:: A lot of friends turned into ZOMBIES and I did not recognized the guys under the make up. The WATER ZOMBIES
always popped up out of the water. It was impossible to dive - and this looked funny.
Marcus:: I hear you are in talks with Lions Gate Films about doing the sequel to HOD. What can you tell us about the sequel?
Uwe:: It is darker, harder, no teen horror. An army against ZOMBIES
Marcus:: If you could go back and change anything in House Of The Dead, would you or would you leave it as is?
Uwe:: I would change the dialogue, the characters and a lot of other stuff
Marcus:: What scene are you most proud of in the movie?
Uwe:: The BIG BATTLE in front of the house.- I think 5000 cuts in 12 minutes - This is pop art and I think so far the best hommage to a videogame.
Marcus:: My favorite character in HOD was Captain Kirk played by Das Boot's Jurgen Prochnow, who I have been a fan of since I saw him play Sutter Cane in John Carpenter's In The Mouth Of Madness. This isn't the first time you worked with him, he also starred in your movie, Heart of America (which was really good) along with Clint Howard who appears in HOD as well. What are they like off screen and in person?
Uwe:: Clint is the nicest guy ever. He has great humor and big talent. Jürgen is on the point fit and allways prepared, very diciplined. I like him and a lot of young actors could learn a lot from him.
Marcus:: And also, will they be appearing in any more future projects of yours together?
Uwe:: I hope so but it depends on the script.
Marcus:: Your newest movie, Alone in the Dark, based off of the video game series is coming out very soon. What can you divulge about it? Will the movie be extremely gory like the games are? (Hoping for an R-rating)
Uwe:: Check out www.alone-in-the-dark.com - the new trailer. We will do a R RATED version and I hope the distributor will not change this.
Marcus:: Speaking of the games, the first 3 AITD's are very different from the 4th one and newest one. Which one of the 4 games would you say the movie takes after the most?
Uwe:: NUMBER 4
Marcus:: Also, if you have played the games, which one was your favorite?
Uwe:: They are all good and interesting. Number 4 was the best in graphic etc.
Marcus:: The movie has an all star cast, Christian Slater, Tara Reid, Will Sanderson and Stephen Dorff! What was it like working with all of them?
Uwe:: Slater is a real STAR and allways nice and positiv. Very experienced. Will is a little like him - but not a star yet. Dorff is a HUGH HUGH TALENT -maybe one of the best actors in Hollywood - but very carefull and concerned about everything. Tara is a nice person and she looks good on screen.
Marcus:: I know it's early but are there any plans for a sequel? If oppurtunity arose, would you take on the sequel to AITD?
Uwe:: We have to do a sequel because the story is not over after part 1.
Marcus:: I noticed you are also directing another video game adaptaion, Blood Rayne. I have yet to play the game, but what can you tell me about the movie? How far along is it in production?
Uwe:: Script is coming from GUIN TURNER (AMERICAN PSYCHO) and I hope we can shoot in September
Marcus:: Also, I don't know if this is just a rumor, but word is you will also be doing Far Cry, a action/shooter video game movie. Is this true and if so, how far along is it?
Uwe:: RÖSCH and SCHEERER are writing right now the script.
Marcus::
Between, House of the Dead, Alone In The Dark, Blood Rayne, and Far Cry, you have become the video game movie king. Are you a video game fan yourself? If so, what are some of your favorite games?
Uwe:: GAMES are great and better as TV looking. My favorites are HITMAN and SILENT HILL and I try to make this movies also.
Marcus:: Horror seems to be going back to its roots (finally) How 
do you feel about the recent onslaught of horror films? What is the next you would like to see happen in the horror genre?
Uwe:: In the last few years were some good remakes (TEXAS CHAINSAW MASSACRE, DAWN OF THE DEAD, THE RING) in the theatres. Because I'm a big HORROR FAN I'm happy about it. I enjoyed also FINAL DESTINATION 2
Marcus:: Going back, you did a film called Blackwoods, I have yet been able to find this movie but am interested in it. What can you tell me about it?
Uwe:: www.BLACKWOODS-THE-MOVIE.com A dark thriller - more like SECRET WINDOW meets FIGHT CLUB. It was released on PAY TV and on DVD by VELOCITY/THINKFILM
Marcus:: Seems like you are going to be a very busy man, with a bunch of new projects attached to you. Is there anything else we should keep our eyes out for?
Uwe:: The biggest thing I develop is with David Freeman DUNGEON SIEGE from MICROSOFT/GAS POWERED GAMES. We plan it as a BRAVEHEART meets CONAN meets LOTR
Marcus::
Before we go, is there anything you would like to say to your fans out there?
Uwe:: Dont be upset about HOD 1 - in total it is cheesy with weak characters but there is a lot of
gore, great editing and sound and if you think about all VIDEOGAME BASED movies - you see that HOD is the closest one to a VIDEOGAME (in editing, music, effects etc.). And before you judge it as SHIT - please be objective: the pictures in CINEMASCOPE looks very good and there is no BIG WHOLE in the story. I like the new DAWN OF THE DEAD but for example where the truck drives in front of the mall - the CUT IS ABSURD AND COMPLETLY IDIOTIC : after the drivers are climbing up and two of our heros are running back in the mall. NEXT SCENE IS that all the people from the truck are in he mall , save and rescued - AND THIS AFTER WE SAW THAT THERE IS NO WAY THAT THEY CAN EXIT THE TRUCK AND RUN IN THE MALL.
There you have it folks, he is a very busy man. We all have alot to look forward to in the near future from Mr. Boll, I eagerly await Alone In The Dark and can't wait to see how it turns out. From the looks, it is looking pretty damn good. To find out more about Uwe Boll, check out his website "http://www.boll.kg.de" To checkout more on Alone in the Dark, plus check out the trailer, go to "Http://www.alone-in-the-dark.com" And Check out ALONE IN THE DARK when it hits theatres later this year
