Fright Night – Anton Yelchin interview

ANTON Yelchin talks about some of the challenges of making Fright Night and why he believes this remake is about returning to a more feral form of monster movie. He also talks about his career to date, including what he learns from working with the likes of Mel Gibson and Robert Downey Jr and why he somehow seems drawn to reboots…

Q. I’d imagine that part of the appeal of remaking Fright Night is that it puts a contemporary spin on a well-worn genre and gives vampires back their bite?
Anton Yelchin: Yeah, when I read the script that’s what I loved about it. It’s a monster film. It’s not a suburban melodrama; it’s just a monster film where the vampires sort of represent what they used to, which is a sort of lurking darkness.

Q. The original Fright Night came out before you were born, so how aware of it were you?
Anton Yelchin: I wasn’t really aware of it and then when I got the script I watched it, and have it now.

Q. Are you a big vampire fan?
Anton Yelchin: I’m not a huge vampire guy, I like the original Nosferatu and I like the Herzog remake. I either like cerebral vampire movies or gory, fucked up violent ones. Like I like From Dusk Till Dawn, and it’s not really gory or fucked up but Gary Oldman is so good in the Coppola Dracula. He’s amazing in that. It’s extraordinary.

Q. How was working with Colin Farrell?
Anton Yelchin: He’s great. It was such a privilege to watch him create this character, which is just brilliant. But he’s the nicest, funniest, most charming, pleasant man.

Q. And how well did you know David Tennant before this film? Had you seen him in Doctor Who?
Anton Yelchin: He’s so good, he’s really so much fun to watch. On screen and then while we were shooting it was just a blast. I wish they could have put everything that he said in there. You could make a whole movie out of that character.

Q. So there was lots of improv from him then?
Anton Yelchin: Massive amounts, my favourite lines in the movie are ones that he improvised. Like where says ‘shall I make you a Shirley Temple?’. On the day I found that really funny.

Q. Did he stay in character?
Anton Yelchin: No, he didn’t stay in character. I mean, that character is so ridiculous that I kind of would have liked to see him stay in character. But he didn’t. He’s a really nice man, though. We just talked about all sorts of things. We shot a lot together and we shot in these grimy environments, especially towards the end in that pit. And he just is one of those people who always has a good sense of humour about him and is always funny – wow, that’s not redundant – but he’s just smart and funny. I don’t know, he’s not one of those people who brings energy down at work. He maintains such a positive attitude. It sounds kind of cheesy and lame but it’s true, when you’re working 17 hours or 18 hours, you need that person who is like: “Oh, it’s alright, it’s 18 hours, I’m rolling around in a pit of shit, but it’s fun; life is good.” So, he’s really great. But he just kept the accent up. 

Q. What was it like using so many vampire slaying devices?
Anton Yelchin: It was great. The prop master, Ben Lowney, designed these beautiful, beautiful props. David [Tennant]’s gun is actually from World War One – a shotgun. Ben does all this research and it really adds texture to the movie because it’s so specific and everything is really well thought out.

Q. Did you have to have any special training in crossbow use?
Anton Yelchin: Not really. We did a little with the crossbow, but not really much. It was pretty much point and shoot [laughs]. [That said] I did almost shoot Davy [Tennant] in the head which is really… we were shooting that last sequence in the pit and it was really late, we did all nights, even though it was on stages those were still all nighters. And I don’t know what happened, it usually never happens to me. I was just turning, and I was supposed to fire here and I literally turned and just fired maybe two feet away from him. It was really scary, because even though it’s a blank it’s still dangerous. But that was just me.

Q. How much of it is you when Charley suits up at the end?
Anton Yelchin: You mean on fire? Well they set my chest and arms and legs on fire, but most of it is the stunt guy Chris Brewster, who’s great. And the co-ordinator on the film, Bob Brown, is really great. Actually Bob Brown does a 40 storey freefall on fire, on YouTube. It’s so crazy. I remember Colin going: “I bet your wife was so worried about you…” And he said: “No, she’s a producer.” So, I really feel like Chris Brewster and Bob Brown and that whole crew deserve… because they threw Brewster around for a day, they just threw him in the shit all day, on fire. And he’s really great at what he does, a really good guy.

Q. What’s it like seeing yourself on fire?
Anton Yelchin: It’s great, I love it. It’s awesome. I wanted to do it because I think fire is really interesting. The thing is you are really cold because they wrap you in layers of this freezing jelly. You put on these long-johns and they pour it down the front of your pants, the back of your pants, down the front of your shirt and the back of your shirt and it’s that feeling of not being able to breathe because it’s so cold. By the time you’re set on fire it feels great because you’re so fucking cold. It feels like just being next to a heater.

Q. You’re pretty much the king of reboots at the moment, with Star Trek, Fright Night and Terminator: Salvation… Are you particularly drawn to that sort of material?
Anton Yelchin: I don’t know. I think it just kind of lands in my lap. If I like the character and I like the story… I mean, Terminator was a little different because when that opportunity came to me I felt really lucky because that was actually one of my favourite movies growing up. But yeah, I don’t really seek it out, no. I think it’s just the condition of sort of mainstream filmmaking. It’s like most films, you know…

Q. You’ve also worked with some amazing actors so far in your career – Mel Gibson, Robert Downey Jr, Colin Farrell – so what do you take away from those experiences?
Anton Yelchin: You end up seeing people and their behaviour and the quality that they bring to the workplace, which is very inspiring.

Q. Are there any particular films in the horror genre that made an impression on you as a teenager?
Anton Yelchin: I didn’t really do any sneaking [in to films] my parents were always really cool with me watching things. One of the first things I saw in theatres was Con Air, I remember being seven or eight. And I remember the words: “I’d better not see that cock pop out of your pants…” I was like: “What the fuck?” Just the sound of that: “Don’t let that cock pop out of your pants…” I was like: “No, really don’t!” But yeah, I didn’t really watch a lot of horror when I was younger. I watched Nosferatu with my Dad when I was a little kid. I guess Cape Fear has those elements, the remake has horrific elements to it, and that was one of my favourite movies when I was little.

Q. Why did you see Con Air as a seven year old?
Anton Yelchin: Yeah, my parents said they were taking me to see a movie, I don’t know. And then they felt really bad. At that time I could take movies, but that was just too much. I remember that we went to Blockbuster and rented a cartoon or something, immediately after. And the cartoon had the words ‘don’t let the cock pop out of your pants,’ as well [he joked].

Q. How do you cope with being recognised by your own fans? Is there a particular thing they recognise you for?
Anton Yelchin: It doesn’t really happen to me that often but it’s nice. It’s nice when someone comes up and says: “We appreciate your work.” You realise that you actually maybe do something for people a little bit, in whatever way. I don’t know if it’s healthy or unhealthy or what…

Q. What is the current state of play with your Star Trek sequel?
Anton Yelchin: I think we’re definitely making another film I just don’t know when or what.

Q. You seem quite steeped in movie history. Does that mean you’d like to do more in the future like directing?
Anton Yelchin: Yeah, I’d definitely love to direct one day. I love movies. It’s all I really care about. I mean it’s not all I care about… it’s probably top two: my family and movies are pretty much it. So, I’d love to, yeah.

Q. So are you picking up tips all the time?
Anton Yelchin: I do a lot of watching. I feel like a film set is the best school you could go to, you know? Especially when you’re with technicians that are really excellent. I just finished a movie in New Mexico and the guys on the movie… or this film. Javier, the DP, is a brilliant DP and watching him work and watching him interact with the operator, Ian, who is great… on this last movie I did all the camera guys and electricians and the main guys worked on Michael Bay’s films. So however you look at those films, they’re technical films so the technicians on those movies are top notch and watching them work is really… you learn so much about dolly moves and how focus works and how to fuck with them and not hit your mark and all sorts of things like that. So yeah, it’s the best kind of school being there watching them every day.