Breck Eisner is the helmer behind Romero remake The Crazies. He tells us why horror fans are the hardest to please and why we’ll never so the alternative ending.
How do you approach a remake?
The key is first deciding why you want to remake a movie. What about it is worth retelling and why is it worth retelling. For The Crazies that was the important issue. The original anti-war concept still had resonance in a post 9/11 world so I think it made sense given the message of the movie. Yet at the same time [George] Romero had really limited means so we had the chance to open up the movie, cast up the movie and redesign it.
Were you a fan of the original?
I hadn’t seen the original in years when I was approached by Michael Aguilar and Dean Georgaris about making the movie, but I’d seen it as a kid, a friend brought over a Betamax tape of something. So I’d seen it but I didn’t really remember it, apart from a few key scenes. It wasn’t one of Romero’s movies I was as obsessed with.
How did leading man Timothy Olyphant get on board?
He was the first and only choice for me. We wrote the movie without cast in mind but as soon as we got to the place where we were able to think about cast he was number one on my list. [Tim’s] a real performer who’s intelligent, educated and someone who’s going to dive into the text and the subtext of the movie and really bring the character to life. He’s also a guy who has a real movie star quality. I think he’s on the precipice of blowing up in a big way.
Are DVD extras important to you?
The DVD is where most people end up seeing the movie. I think it’s really important to deliver as good a product as you can. In our case the studio really were willing to push the envelope and spend the money and take the time to do the extras. There’s obviously a lot of cost involved so I was thrilled they were supporting the movie in this way.
And what about deleted scenes and different cuts?
A big debate for me is when people show additional endings to a movie. I shot two endings: one was dark, and one was bleak! I cut the two endings, viewed it, showed it to some friends and choose the ending that made it into the theatres. Then we had this other ending that wasn’t right for the movie. We decided not to put the ending on because it kind of kicks away the choice of the director and the conviction of the movie.
Did you request anything specifically for the disc?
I made them put a couple of Easter Eggs on the DVD which they were happy to do.
Why do horror movies tend to do so well on DVD?
Horror fans are the most die-hard film fans. They’re the ones who are going to buy Blu-rays, they’re the ones who are going to listen to the commentary and they’re the ones who appreciate the filmmaking. They’re the hardest fans to win over by far, but once you do they are loyal!
The Crazies is available on DVD and Blu-ray now, and is reviewed in the latest issue of DVD & Blu-ray Review
