Taglines: You can’t run from evil when it lives next door.
Senior Charlie Brewster (Anton Yelchin) finally has it all going on: he’s running with the popular crowd and dating the most coveted girl in his high school. In fact, he’s so cool he’s even dissing his best friend. But trouble arrives when Jerry (Colin Farrell) moves in next door.
He seems like a great guy at first, but there’s something not quite right—but everyone, including Charlie’s mom (Toni Collette), doesn’t notice. After observing some very strange activity, Charlie comes to an unmistakable conclusion: Jerry is a vampire preying on the neighborhood. Unable to convince anyone, Charlie has to find a way to get rid of the monster himself in this Craig Gillespie-helmed revamp.
About the Production
When teenager Charley Brewster can’t get anyone to listen to him—not even his mom or his girlfriend—he takes it upon himself to get rid of the menace that is terrorizing his peaceful, suburban neighborhood in DreamWorks Pictures’ horror-filled, fun ride “Fright Night.” “Fright Night” is directed by Craig Gillespie and produced by Michael De Luca and Alison Rosenzweig. Executive producers are Ray Angelic, Josh Bratman, Michael Gaeta and Lloyd Miller. The screenplay is by Marti Noxon, from a story by Tom Holland, based on the film “Fright Night.”
Given our current cultural fascination with vampires, the timing was perfect for a reimagining of “Fright Night,” the beloved 1985 horror film classic. As producer Alison Rosenzweig and executive producer Michael Gaeta, who are big fans of genre films, vampire movies, and this one in particular, said, “We had been tracking the rights to the property for a couple of years, and when we realized that they were going to become available we pounced.”
The duo immediately brought the project to Michael De Luca, a fellow genre aficionado who took it to DreamWorks and then things began to move very quickly. “DreamWorks really responded to the concept and also were fans of the original film,” De Luca says. Focus on Story
A good story idea will always attract creative writers who are eager to use their imagination to bring the concept to life. As producer Alison Rosenzweig says, “‘Fright Night’ is one of those titles that has so much awareness among people who love these kinds of movies that we got many calls from very good writers and agents. But when we met Marti Noxon it became clear that she was the one for the job.”
The filmmakers knew from the start that they wanted to maintain the basic story and the delicate balance of comedy and horror of the original film. “What I loved about the script is that there are really horrific moments that are very scary and also very human moments,” director Gillespie says. “It wasn’t just a straight genre film. Marti managed to balance thriller, humor and horror.”
Screenwriter Marti Noxon says, “At a time when vampires are part of the mainstream for moviegoers and TV watchers, some of the shock value and mystery surrounding vampire practices is gone. There’s a sort of romantic vampire that’s prevalent in the culture right now. We went away from that. I think we are very true to the spirit of the original film,” concludes Noxon about her script.
The story follows Charley Brewster (Anton Yelchin), a high school senior who’s on top of the world: he’s running with the popular crowd and dating the most coveted girl in his high school. In fact, he’s so cool he’s even dissing his best friend Ed (Christopher Mintz-Plasse). But trouble arrives when Jerry (Colin Farrell) moves in next door. He seems like a nice guy at first, but there’s something not quite right—and no one else, including Charley’s mom (Toni Collette), seems to notice!
After observing some very strange activity, Charley comes to an unmistakable conclusion: Jerry is a vampire preying on the neighborhood. Unable to convince anyone, Charley looks to popular Las Vegas illusionist Peter Vincent for help and advice before taking matters into his own hands to get rid of the monster.
With his success directing the feature film “Lars and the Real Girl,” as well as the Showtime original series “United States of Tara,” there was no doubt that Craig Gillespie would bring his filmmaking integrity to “Fright Night.” Upon reading Noxon’s screenplay, Gillespie found that he could not stop thinking about it and was eager to immerse himself in the project. “I wasn’t looking to do a vampire movie at the time, but the script was so well written it gripped me the whole way through,” he says.
Casting Notes
Colin Farrell, who plays the role of Jerry, the vampire, admits he was at first skeptical about remaking this classic film because he holds the original in such high regard. “I was eleven or twelve years old the first time I saw ‘Fright Night,’” Farrell recalls. “I don’t want to say it’s sacrosanct,” he explains about his take on the original film, “but in a way it is and it’s kind of perfect in its own form.
“So I was frustrated when I read Marti’s script,” he continues with a twinkle in his eye, “because it was so good I really wanted to do it! Just like the original, it seemed to straddle the line between horror and a kind of sweet tongue-in-cheek comedy.”
The entire cast seems like a hypothetical wish list beginning with Farrell who was the filmmakers’ first choice to play Jerry, the centuries-old vampire. “I was so excited that we could get him,” says director Gillespie about casting Farrell for the complex lead role. “I couldn’t think of anybody more perfect. Jerry’s an incredibly charismatic personality as written, but there is a sinister aspect to him. I thought Colin would embody that perfectly.”
With feature film blockbusters “Star Trek” and “Terminator: Salvation” among his credits, Anton Yelchin was cast in the pivotal role of Charley, the teenager confronted with an evil force in the form of his vampire next‐door neighbor.
Yelchin was the filmmakers’ first choice for the role of Charley because of the actor’s ability to create rich performances that give fullness to his film characters. Yelchin was excited about taking on the challenge of giving dimension to this character. “I liked the relationships in the story,” Yelchin explains. “Charley versus Jerry, Charley and his girlfriend, whom he must protect, Charley and the friend who he has shunned, are all interesting elements. With Craig Gillespie at the helm, we got to develop the nuances of all the relationships.”
Another of Charley’s relationships is with his mom, Jane. The role went to Toni Collette who had worked with director Gillespie on “United States of Tara.” Reflecting on her eagerness to join the “Fright Night” cast, Collette says, “I love working with Craig Gillespie. If I’d been offered this film and there was another director, I really don’t know if I’d have taken it, but I trust him wholeheartedly. I think he’s going to make the film scarier by making it real and honest. But you know,” she adds wistfully, “I don’t get to play a vampire or be seduced by one.”
Fright Night
The part of Peter Vincent, the Las Vegas magician/illusionist to whom Charley goes for help, went to David Tennant, a classically trained British actor whose role as the Tenth Doctor in the BBC series “Dr. Who” has garnered wide acclaim. “We were really excited to get David Tennant for this role,” says Gillespie. “He hasn’t done a lot of work in the States and this is such a great platform for him. He has excellent comic timing and also comes from the dramatic arena.”
David Tennant found the story to be an old-fashioned monster movie with a 21st century sensibility. “The vampires in this film are just proper old rip-your-head-off, run-screaming for-your-life type of vampires. And I like that,” he says.
Finding the right young actress to play Amy, who is Charley’s beautiful and popular girlfriend took some doing. After searching far and wide, they finally found the perfect mix of youth, beauty, a certain innocence and great acting skills in British actress Imogen Poots.
“When I first read the screenplay, it was exciting because there’s a real combination of horror and humor,” Poots says. “It’s not a purely gruesome film. It has real character. Amy’s relationship with Charley is sweet. As the story unfolds they’re obviously on this adventure together. It’s really about what they learn about one another, and themselves,” she says.
Ed, later known as Evil Ed, is the boyhood friend being betrayed and left behind by Charley. The character is so iconic for fans of the original movie that the filmmakers felt they needed a new version that pays homage to its predecessor but also stands on its own. They chose Christopher Mintz-Plasse for the role.
“The screenplay is very deep into relationships,” says Mintz-Plasse. “I have a lot of scenes where Charley and Ed argue and bicker. We got to improv a lot, which was amazing, so hopefully we get a few laughs with that.”
“I knew Christopher would be able to bring out the humor in the role,” says director Gillespie. “But what impressed me the most about him is the emotional story that he’s got going on and how he carries that in the film. That’s what makes you root for him throughout the movie.”
Colin Farrell echoes equal praise for director Gillespie. “When I met Craig, he was enthusiastic and had a very clear idea of how he wanted to tell this story. I want to say it was a no‐brainer, but it really was a pretty easy choice for me to make to be in his film. Putting the Fright in “Fright Night”
“Horror movies are all about dread and building up dread,” says Michael De Luca, who has produced several films that were shot in 3D. “The use of 3D here helps audiences get into the scene and sit through the dread that the characters are in as the scares come.”
Max Penner, a pioneer of modern 3D who began working with the technique almost 20 years ago, was chosen to be the stereographer on “Fright Night.” As the stereographer he controls how deep the 3D is and where it is to be placed. This is achieved by using a 3D‐rig that is a combination of two cameras, or two sensors and two sets of optics that work simultaneously and in synchronicity and takes a picture from two different points, very much like eyes.
Special make-up designers Howard Berger and Greg Nicotero of KNB Effects Group are heroes to genre fans for their Oscar®-winning effects makeup. In designing the makeup for “Fright Night,” Berger and Nicotero found there were a lot of things they had to do differently because of the 3D process. “We have to use different product,” explains Berger. “We have to use makeups that are very sheer and we have to watch out for where we put all the edge lines and seams that we glue down so they won’t read on high-def 3D. Even the colors of the bloods we use are different,” Berger continues. “There are certain bloods that look more realistic on 3D.
“For Colin’s character Jerry, we’ve designed five different stages of makeups with prosthetics, contact lenses, dentures, ears, hands and full face appliances,” Berger says. “Craig Gillespie let us know he really wanted us to go broad. He wanted the film to end up with something that was a great homage to the original ‘Fright Night.’ So that was great fun for us.”
A big part of the remagining of the story was to update the Peter Vincent (played by David Tennant) character. What better way to maintain his connections with all things horrific than to make him a popular stage magician and illusionist with a big show in Las Vegas called “Fright Night.”
To add to Peter’s fantastic “Fright Night” stage show, costume designer Susan Matheson constructed original costumes that could only be described as “Fellini meets Vegas,” including a leather ensemble for Peter and fantastical Goth‐inspired black gowns for his nymphs. While Peter Vincent resides in his penthouse atop a Las Vegas hotel, Jerry lives in his subterranean world beneath his seemingly normal suburban home where he’s dug out the basement to create a cave in which to “store” his victims and his crypt.
As darkness settles in theaters, “Fright Night” in 3D will bite a brand-new generation of horror-film fans with an imaginative take on a cult classic. “Fright Night” delivers an entertaining ride of great scary fun and will make viewers laugh too.
As director Craig Gillespie concludes, “This ‘Fright Night’ is a great addition to the canon of Vampire films. Some of the scenes are going to be hard to watch, in the best possible sense, but there are also some very warm, sincere moments, as well as just flat‐out humor.” “Fright Night” opens in theaters nationwide on August 19, 2011.
Fright Night
Starring: Anton Yelchin, Colin Farrell, Toni Collette, David Tennant, Imogen Poots, Sandra Vergara, Emily Montague, Grace Phipps, Chelsea Tavares, Lisa Loeb
Directed by: Craig Gillespie
Screenplay by: Marti Noxon, Tom Holland
Production Design by: Richard Bridgland
Cinematography by: Javier Aguirresarobe
Film Editing by: Tatiana S. Riegel
Costume Design by: Susan Matheson
Set Decoration by: K.C. Fox, Nancy Molleur
Art Direction by: Randy Moore, James F. Oberlander
Music by: Ramin Djawadi
MPAA Rating: R for pervasive strong crude sexual content and language, some graphic nudity and drug use.
Studio: DreamWorks Pictures
Release Date: August 19, 2011
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