In 1974, one movie changed the face of horror. In 2013, a dark new chapter begins… and WAMG got the chance to sit down with the cast, as well as the director of the all-new TEXAS CHAINSAW 3D in a roundtable discussion about the film. Alexandra Daddario (Heather), Tremaine “Trey Songz” Aldon Neverson (Ryan), Tania Raymonde (Nikki), Scott Eastwood (Carl), Dan Yeager (Leatherface), and director John Luessenhop were all in attendance at the Los Angeles Press Day. Check out highlights from the discussion below.
Decades later and hundreds of miles away from the original massacre, a young woman named Heather learns that she has inherited a Texas estate from a grandmother she never knew she had. After embarking on a road trip with friends to uncover her roots, she finds she is the sole owner of a lavish, isolated Victorian mansion. But her newfound wealth comes at a price as she stumbles upon a horror that awaits her in the mansion’s dank cellars.
What does it mean for you to be part of this huge legacy of the series?
Trey Songz: It’s an honor, I would say. And… (to Alexandra) especially for you, I would imagine. To have such a vital role in the film.
Alexandra Daddario: I was really excited about this project, and also a little nervous going into it knowing that I was jumping into something that has been around for thirty plus years… that’s so iconic… but really, really excited. I worked really hard to try to make the film as great and scary as I could make it.
Tania Raymonde: It’s a great pleasure, and an honor. It’s a really cool feeling.
Scott Eastwood: Yeah.
Tania Raymonde: Especially when you’re making a film that’s “a direct (correlation)” to the original, which is such an iconic horror film. It’s a great thing to be part of something like that. You kind of never know… You wonder in your career if you’re going to be part of these epic, cult sort-of movies, and if you’re going to do a remake of something famous or not, so that’s always a very cool feeling. It’s very unique.
Alexandra Daddario: Besides just being the franchise, I think that this film will surprise people in being different that what they expect. There’s a twist to it. My character isn’t the complete cliché character that you’d expect. I thought there was something really great about that, and having this tough side, and this dark side. It’s a darker character than I’ve played before, and I really enjoyed playing that.
Were you fans of the original movie, or did you watch it after you accepted your roles?
Tania Raymonde: Yeah, I mean (To Scott) Did you see it when you were little?
Scott Eastwood: I had seen the later ones. I’d seen the Jessica Biel one, and I always like that. Obviously I watched the original when I got cast in this.
Tania Raymonde: I use to watch all of these classic movies with my dad. That’s kind of like my movie… learning about movies through my father, because he was a big movie buff, and he would show me everything when I was a little kid. Movies way too advanced for me… and the strangest things that you would never show a child. (laughs) Anyway, I saw this, I remember, when I was 12. I watched THE SHINING that week, then a couple of days later we watched THE TEXAS CHAINSAW MASSACRE. He told me that “this was the first movie to do a slasher flick in this way” and “this is why this movie’s famous” et cetera, et cetera. So, it marked me very much from then. When I got this part I watched the original again to sort of put me back in that mindset.
Alexandra Daddario: I think it’s part physical; a lot of running around and working yourself up. A lot of it is emotionally drawing on things from my own life that make me upset, and building on that, and using my imagination to almost imagine things that are more horrible than they are. Combined with the physicality of the role, you can sort of bring yourself to this level of hysteria. Also, I worked with really amazing young actors who gave me a lot to work with. When you’re having someone screaming, and you’re screaming, the energy gets really high for both of you, and it made it a lot easier.
Trey, how exciting was this for you to jump into this franchise?
Trey Songz: It was exciting, first of all, to be involved in any major film… me being a musician and having this opportunity of films and scripts being sent my way for years now. This one, oddly enough, ended up being the one that struck me as the right film. I make jokes about , but the cliche’ of black people in horror films (laughs) is very brutal. So, that was something John and I discussed. First of all, I think that a lot of musicians that transition into acting sometimes take on roles where the movie is reliant on them. They take on that first starring role, and the whole movie is based on their success or failure. I think with this role, and having a young cast that was there to support me, and having Alex there to take off most of the pressure, that his was a movie where I still had room to grow. It was a movie where I didn’t have to go into layers of depth of studying the character. He’s a pretty easygoing guy. He’s basically just there to support her.
How did you go about preparing for the role? You said it was pretty easy, but was there any preparation involved?
Trey Songz: Watching the original film was something that, I think, all of us felt was very vital and imperative to our success. I felt much more honored to be apart of it after watching the original, and seeing the way it was tied into the new script. The preparation was basically learning as much as I could and soaking up all the energy. Alex will tell you, I asked a million questions. I’d go to the bay and watch after every take I shot. I would throw the glasses on and watch. I would ask the DP about camera focuses. I was very in-tune and willing to soak up any information that I could.
Was it ever awkward when you two did your love scenes?
Trey Songz: I don’t know. (To Alexandra) Did you feel awkward?
Alexandra Daddario: No. (Laughs) I mean, it’s always weird, but I feel really comfortable with Trey, and we had gotten to know each other at that point, all of us, so we were really comfortable together. It’s just another scene, but it’s always weird. Trey definitely made it comfortable.
Not only are you acting in the film, but your music appears in the film. How did that influence your viewing experience, because not only are you seeing yourself in a film for the first time, but you’re hearing your music along with it? Not many people get to experience both.
Trey Songz: That’s actually my song playing while I’m at the pool table. John and I talked about it first. He really wanted the song in there. I was like “What part do you want to put it at?” and he’s like “I was thinking about using it at the pool table.” (laughs) and I was like “Ok. That’s cool. That’s your business.” I think it’s actually real, because… for a lot of people who come and see me in this movie, they will view me as “Trey Songz” so it kind of ties in the fact that I am still that musician, and that I’m making this transition, but you still get to identify with whom I am… who I’ve already given myself to the world as.
Dan, did you speak to Gunnar (Hansen) about this role, and how you thought it had changed throughout the years?
Dan Yeager: I met Gunnar, actually, in the Sawyer house that we built. It was absolutely surreal. I’ve been a big fan of the movie since I saw it at a drive-in in Las Vegas in 1981 or 82. I always loved Leatherface, but when I met Gunnar, I told him right up front that I studied what he did in great detail. I went back and watched the movie so many more times. I’d seen it a hundred times, and then watched it even more. I use to enjoy falling asleep to it. (Laughs) It’s a great movie. Anyway, I told him that I had studied him, and I did everything I could, as unapologetically as I could. It was probably halfway through the production when we finally met, and I was afraid that he had seen some daily’s or something, and would not approve, but at that point we were already committed to it. It was great (though). We did a little ceremony. It was me, Gunnar… Carl was there, and the still photographer… and they had a chainsaw. We were just kind of goofing around and, I don’t remember… I think it might have been Gunnar who suggested “Oh, we should have a passing of the saw.” There’s some pictures somewhere, that the still photographer, I’m sure, has… the passing of the saw. That actually became a really poignant and meaningful moment. The weight of it kind of hit me at that point. This is something. I don’t know if I had an answer as to what that was, or still do… I said earlier in the day that I’ve typed the word “surreal” on Facebook so many times lately… looking at these billboards, and watching the trailers, and people all over the world excited for this movie… Surreal is my point of view right now.
Going back to the 1974 film, and the time frame of these film… I noticed that the year of the event isn’t shown in the film. It’s omitted from the papers, and from being mentioned in anything other than the trailer. How did you go about approaching it, because the film clearly took place in 2012?
John Luessenhop: Should I tap dance over here? (Laughs) Yeah, we danced around it. Otherwise. I’d start with a 38-year-old heroine. I love older women, cause you know, my wife… (Laughs) These movies call for a girl in her twenties. I thought of it like PRIZZI’S HONOR where you didn’t know what year it really was… was to mask it… because otherwise Leatherface is, you wanna say 60? 62? 65? I just thought, you know, that the commerciality of the picture would be hurt by it. It’s a stretch, and it’s not accurate or intended to be. It’s just, that happened before, and right now we’re here.
TEXAS CHAINSAW 3D opens nationwide January 4th, 2013
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