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The Chronicles of Reddick: Interview with Tamara Scribe Jeffrey Reddick!

Making the World Safe for Sissies, One Naughty Teen at a Time

We've all heard the old saying, "Spare the rod and spoil the child". Well, in the case of screenwriter Jeffrey Reddick, it's all about rods and spoiling when it comes to teens. Wait -- that didn't come out right...

First, the doomed kids of Reddick's Final Destination lost more than their frequent flier miles when they jumped off a doomed flight to Europe. The sequel (which he also exec produced) threw more horrified hotties in harm's way. Now this clever scripter is back, with a new tale to tell -- the supernatural revenge slasher Tamara. In this deliciously nasty tale, a mean prank goes awry, leaving an unpopular girl dead -- but not for long. Thanks to her dabblings in the occult, Tamara comes back with a vengeance, and the kids behind the trick get served their just desserts, and then some.

Reddick is one of a select few writers who has managed to launch a hugely successful studio horror franchise and also happens to be gay (see also: Child's Play's Don Mancini, Scream's Kevin Williamson, and others). We here at CampBlood were thrilled to have a chance to poke and prod this charming fella (charming when he's not eviscerating teens, of course) about his upcoming movie, his career, and what a gay old time the horror movie biz can be.

Read on for the good stuff...

Payback's a bitch.
(Tamara)

The Interview

Let’s start at the beginning. You’re a Midwestern boy, right? Or Southern? Corn-fed and all that?
I grew up in Eastern Kentucky…and yes, we had a farm, where we grew our own food (and ate them) and a garden with corn and many other assorted vegetables. My uncles grew tobacco too. I think we’re technically considered Midwest, but we all say Southern.

Is it true that you got your job at New Line by writing a letter of complaint to the president after they refused your treatment for a Nightmare on Elm Street prequel? And you were, like, 8 or something?
That story has been told in many forms over the years. Actually, I was 14 when I saw “A Nightmare On Elm Street.” I was totally blown away and sat down with my crappy typewriter and wrote a prequel. I sent it directly to Bob Shaye (who’s the founder of New Line.) Of course I got a standard form from New Line stating that they didn’t accept unsolicited material. So, I was a hillbilly and didn’t like taking no for an answer, so I wrote him back and was like, “Look, I’ve seen 3 of your movies and I’ve spent about $5 on your stuff, so you can take 10 minutes to read my story.” To my surprise, he read it and wrote me back. He was very encouraging and told me to work on my craft. But from 14 through my sophomore year in college, I stayed in touch with Bob Shaye and his assistant, Joy Mann. She was awesome, sending me posters and scripts. So I went to New York after my sophmore year to study acting. And Joy got me an internship at the company. I worked there for over 10 years…until after “Final Destination” came out. I really credit Bob Shaye and Joy Mann for my career. And that’s also why “A Nightmare on Elm Street” is my favorite movie. Aside from being great, it really started this whole ball rolling.

You are credited with the story of Final Destination. How involved were you in the process?
I actually received sole story and shared screenplay credit on the film. New Line bought my extensive treatment for the film and hired me to write the first draft of the screenplay. When writer/director’s James Wong and Glen Morgan came onboard they retained many of my original elements, characters and twists. Bob Shaye has always been really great to writers and he had me give notes on the subsequent drafts, so I was involved until the film was greenlit.

Were there any changes to the script? Did they "de-gay" it?
Actually, in the original Wong/Morgan script...aside from the character of Tod mouthing "fag" on the plane - in the scene where Tod tells Alex to go to the bathroom with him before the flight takes off, Alex made a George Michael/gay joke - and then during the scene at the memorial service, where Tod goes up to Alex - he said something like, "Not to sound gay....but I miss you." This was three things in the first 30 pages of the script. So, I said something and pointed out that at a memorial service where a kid has lost most of his class, it wouldn't worry about sounding gay by telling his best friend he missed him. So that line went as did the George Michael/gay joke. It's the little things sometimes.

You are also credited for story on Final Destination 2, and were also an executive producer. I personally found the sequel to be much meaner than the original – what was it like to have your story told be a different set of filmmakers?
My story was a little closer in tone to the original film. But the one thing I wanted to do was expand the story outward and not just rehash the first film. So I wanted to focus on a group of people who’s fate’s were inadvertently affected by the survivors of the original film. But having worked at a studio, I know how things go….and the studio wanted something bigger and badder than the first movie. I actually enjoy the sequel a lot. It’s a fast, furious ride….and one of the bloodiest movies I’ve seen in years. I think the screenwriters and director did a great job in delivering a worthy sequel.

Damn -- if the afterlife looks this good, I'm on the wrong track! WORK!
(Jenna Dewan as Tamara)

This brings us to Tamara, which seems like it might be a more personal project for you, as it’s your original idea and you’ve been involved through the entire process. What’s the experience been like?
Writing “Tamara” was a lot of fun. Jeremy Haft, the director and Martin Wiley, the producer really kept me in the loop the whole time. We had to trim about 20 pages because of the budget and shooting schedule. It would have been standard just to bring in someone to do it for free…but they let me do it, which was nice.

You’ve mentioned that the original script had a lot more explicit queer content than the finished product, which is more suggestive. At what point did the cuts happen? Are there any juicy bits on the cutting room floor?
There was one cut and a toned down scene that really bothered me. One involved the character of Chloe, who in the script, was dealing with coming out. It gave her character a lot more layers and it paid off in a really powerful way. However, the plotline dealt with her parents and because of budget constraints, we couldn’t afford actors to her parents, so we lost that whole subplot. The funny thing is that this storyline also had a key shower scene where Tamara notices that Chloe’s gaze in lingering on a female coed. So since we lost the subplot, we also lost the shower scene, so the straight guys lost out too.

The other scene *SPOILER* involves these two jocks who torment Tamara. They also have a habit of drugging and taking advantage of freshmen girls. So Tamara acts like she’s going to seduce the boys and takes them up stairs to the bedroom…and forces them to do to each other, what they’ve done to these girls. In the script, the scene was very intense…and I was surprised that no nervous nellies told me to take it out. However, as the days leading up to shooting the scene got closer, people started asking questions. I fought, as did the director, Jeremy Haft to keep the scene. But they really toned the scene down, so even though it’s still there, I feel it’s been really watered down. For a mainstream teenage horror flick, it’s shocking….but it ain’t no “Brokeback Mountain” tent scene. I know there’s some footage of the actors going at it a little longer than they do now…maybe we can put it in to an unrated version of the dvd someday.

Of course, there’s a little tension between Tamara and Kisha in a scene that starts off sexy and goes very dark. (Hollywood is more comfortable with two ladies.) See I was trying to put something in there for everyone. I also wrote in an interracial couple, which nobody had a problem with….so I was going all out.

One thing I really liked about Tamara is the way in which it blends several subgenres, referencing some of my favorite horror films in the process (there are elements of I Know What You Did Last Summer, Carrie, Jennifer, even Night of the Demons). Where did the idea start?
After “Final Destination” people kept wanting me to come up with a really original, high concept supernatural film. Now really original ideas are hard to come by. So I decided to write something that had all of the elements that I wanted to see in a movie. I basically wanted to write a fun, gory, envelope-pushing horror movie. I also love strong female characters. When I was little, I used to geek out when I saw that Batgirl was gonna be in an episode of Batman. I loved Wonder Woman and The Bionic Woman. Another inspiration for ‘bad Tamara‘ was the character of “Diana” from the old “V” mini-series. Jane Badler, who played her, is beautiful and strong. And her character had the quality of being evil and using her sexuality to get others to do what she wanted. She’s one of my all time favorite villains. She’d say the most evil one-liner’s and I loved that. It’s funny that both gay and straight people love seeing beautiful women kicking ass. Freud might have had a field day with that.

Also, “Carrie” is one of my favorite movies and the set up was definitely a purposeful homage to that movie. That movie dealt with the universal of feeling of not fitting in. Obviously gay people can relate to this….but really everyone I’ve talked to from the geeks to the jocks…when they were adults, felt like they didn’t fit in high school. So this theme was something I feel is still really resonant. But I also thought, wouldn’t it be cool if the mistreated girl died in first act and spent the rest of the movie getting revenge?
Not only that, but Tamara comes back as this hot girl, who’s not afraid to go after what she wants. Once she was a girl that no one paid attention to and now everyone wants her. Also, with the help of her newfound supernatural powers, she can put people under her spell and make them do whatever she wants. (An ability I think a lot of us would like to have.)

Were you on set for much of the filming? Is Matthew Marsden just yummier than words?
I went to the set for two weeks and had an amazing time. I even have a cameo in the hospital. As for the hunk factor, if I don’t say that Jeremy and Martin are yummy, they’ll kick my ass….. But I have to say, we had a really attractive cast. All of the ladies were beautiful and just sweethearts. The whole cast and crew were wonderful. But since you asked… Matthew is from England, so when he wasn’t in character he’d speak in that English accent and I was like….”keep talking.” My first two gay movies growing up were “Another Country” and “Maurice”…both set in London, so I’ve always dreamed of settling down with an English lad. But the other guys I met, Chad and Gil, who play Jesse and Gil were cool and easy on the eyes too. I never got to meet the dude who played Shawn, or the guy who played the geek, Roger. But let’s just say, most of my friends of Dorothy found him very cute.

In the end, it seems like Tamara just wants to get her kitty punched. Which do you think is less acceptable: using witchcraft to pork your hot English teacher, or playing a trick on a person you don’t like?
That’s a tough one. In Tamara’s defense, she doesn’t just want to get her garden hosed, she actually loves her teacher and wants him to fall in love with her. She casts a spell at the beginning to make him, but doesn’t go through with it. And after she comes back, dressed hotter and hotter each time, she doesn’t use her magic on him…she just tries to seduce him. As for me, morally, I’d have issues using magic to bone a hot English teacher….since they wouldn’t be doing it of their own free wheel. Now if we were both drunk….hmmmm….we could blame it on Jack Daniels. As for playing a trick on someone I don’t like, I wouldn’t waste my time doing that. There’s some folks in Hollywood who have tried to screw me over, but I think success is the best revenge.

One thing I’m a big fan of is when innocent people get caught in the crossfire – because let’s be honest, good behavior is not a get-out-of-peril-free card. Even Tamara is half villain/half victim here – did this kind of slippery morality complicate your writing, or was it not a concern?
I tend to write like that in all of my work. I even open the movie with a discussion of the duality of man. Some people think I was only talking about what happens with Tamara, but I’m also discussing the decisions that all of the characters make in the film. Some of Tamara’s tormentors are bad apples, but several of them are nice/innocent kids. But they get caught in a bad spot and even though you can understand their reasons, they didn’t do the right thing.

Tamara makes two of the guys have sex with each other, and they seem to enjoy it. But if they were enjoying it, what was the point? Did Tamara get off on breaking down their jock personas? I guess what I’m really asking is, how do I do this at home?
Invite a jock over for a kegger. I don’t know if it works now, but I had some luck back in college. The scene you’re talking about is one we worked hard on. We wanted to make sure that it wasn’t like “Oh, she’s punishing these guys by making the have sex with each other.” These jocks basically date-raped women. So Tamara wanted them to know what it was like to be taken advantage of. In the script, one of the guys is immobilized and the other guy basically rapes him. It was shocking, but appropriate for the plot. But during the shooting, everyone was getting a little nervous…actors, producer….so they decided to go for “titillation“ (ie…pussying out.) So yeah, now it looks like the guys are making sweet love to each other. I didn’t know this until I saw dailies when the film was finished and I wasn’t happy. The studio actually wanted to show even less and I was like, “You can see more than this on HBO or Desperate Housewives.” Fortunately, Jeremy fought to keep the kiss in….but you haven’t seen the last of homoeroticism in my film.

You’re writing the Day of the Dead remake for director Steve Miner, who directed one of my faves, Friday 2. What’s it been like working with him so far?
“Friday 2” is one of my favorites too. Just an interesting side note, but everyone that I’ve met….especially gay men….think Amy Steel was the best heroine ever in that series. As for Steve Miner, he’s done a lot of my favorite films as well. Aside from “Friday 2,” “House” and “Warlock,” I think he did a great job on “Halloween H20.” His attachment as a director is what really got me to sign on. I know everyone is sick of remakes, but I knew he would direct a good film, so that outwayed the fan boy hatred. I figure it’s better to have a horror fan write the sequel than someone who doesn’t know, or respect, the genre.


And for my next trick, I'm gonna get these guys to make out.
No, seriously.
(Tamara works her magic)

 

 


She's not lesbian, she's just a LUG -- Lethal Undead Girl.
(Jenna Dewan and Melissa Elias)

Dammit, Kisha -- I said, "No more margaritas"!
(from Tamara)


Tamara, before ProActiv.

What can you tell me about the script? Are you sticking fairly close to the original?
I can’t give away too many details. But the touchtones are there….Sarah, Captain Rhodes, the military bunker and of course “Bub.” But I don’t think that doing a straight up remake is a good idea. If you do a remake of a classic and stick closely to it, you basically saying that you’re doing the same movie again, but just “fixing” things that you feel didn’t work in the original. I think that’s insulting, especially to a master like George Romero. The remake of “Dawn Of The Dead” was a remake, but really had it’s one story to tell. This movie is different, but will have things that fans will see are true to the original. For you comic book fans, I kind of see it like the new “Ultimate” line of comics. For instance, in “Ultimate X-men” or “Ultimate Spiderman” they’re revamped stories and characters for a new generation. You see familiar characters and situations, but with a twist.

Are there any gay characters in the Day script? How about Bub? He always seemed to be a bit light in the loafers.
Why was Bud life in the loafers? Just because his “daddy” Dr. Logan bossed him around and kept him happy with a steady stream of fresh meat…..oh wait, I see it now.

I’m writing the script as we speak. I originally had a gay character, but we needed to keep the story tight and his character was involved in a subplot that didn’t work. But as I’m writing it…who knows?

So “A Nightmare on Elm Street” was obviously an important film for you as a kid – what other movies were big influences on you?
“Texas Chainsaw Massacre,” “Night of The Living Dead,” “Candyman,” “Suspiria,” “Psycho.” “The Evil Dead,” “Alien,’ “Star Wars,” “Empire Strikes Back.” There’s a lot more, but those are nine in my top 20.

What’s the gayest horror movie ever made?
I missed “Hellbent,” the recent gay slasher flick. Hmmmm….Well, according to Peter Bracke, who wrote a great book called “Crystal Lake Memories” “Friday the 13th, Part 7” was the gayest behind-the-scenes horror movie. But on screen…I’d have to say it’s “Sleepaway Camp.” It’s not so much because of gay characters, but it’s gay, campy fun, there’s a hell of a twist….and the movie if filled with hot guys running around in really tight short-shorts.

What other projects do you have coming up – do you have a “dream project”?
Well, as for upcoming projects, there are several projects in the works, but I’m working with a business associate to create supernatural horror films and our next project is called, “The Horror Show.” It’s my passion project and I plan to direct it. (No gay characters in that one) - but I have another script with a gay couple. But I have 3 absolute dream projects - doing “A Nightmare On Elm Street” movie; an “X-men” movie and a good, gay horror flick.

Any advice to aspiring filmmakers or writers, gay or otherwise?
It’s always hard to answer this question, because my journey was very unique. But some of the basics are this….if you want to be a writer…read scripts, study your craft, and most importantly….write. You can have a millions great ideas, but if you don’t do the work and put them to paper, you’ll never get anywhere. Also, don’t let fear keep you from finishing a script. There have been times where I’ve rewritten the first 25 pages of a script for months and then I get burned out and never finish it…then I’m off to the next one.

It takes time to find your voice as a writer, but I’ve seen writers with passion to spare, but they don’t have the skills. And I’ve met writers who ask you to read their stuff, but if you offer an opinion, they get defensive and don’t want to hear it. Find people that you trust to read your work and be open to constructive criticism. That’ll the only way you’ll grow.

As for directors, I’m all for people shooting either a low budget film or short…even if it’s on HD. It makes a great calling card and can open doors for you. Don’t wait for Hollywood to come searching for you. But if do a cheap film, like “Evil Dead,” “Blair Witch” or “Saw” they will take note.

And if you ever meet a director or producer or anyone, who says that they can get you a job if you sleep with them…tell them to go fuck themselves and leave.

Strong Women, Horny Straight Guys, and Gore

About that last bit of advice from Jeffrey -- it doesn't apply if it's a horror webmaster who isn't actually planning on paying you for that job. Just to make that clear.

But more importantly, huge thanks and best of luck to Jeffrey on Tamara (which opens on February 3rd in a number of cities before bowing on DVD), Day of the Dead, and whatever else might come along his way. Just don't let your teenage nieces and nephews get too close to him -- they may lose an arm.

In the meantime, be sure to check out the official Tamara site for more pics, as well as the site for Jeffrey's production company, Short End Productions.