|
|
 |
| 首頁 Home | 電影 Films | 評論 Opinions | 戲院 Cinemas | 資訊 Information | 網站地圖 Site Map |
首頁 ->
電影 -> 香港每年上映電影
->
Home -> Films ->
Films Released in Hong Kong by Year ->
| 開畫日期 Release Date | ||
| 片長（分鐘） Running Time (Min.) | ||
| 級別 Category | ||
| 上映戲院（首週） Cinema Line-Up (First Week) |
娃鬼怪嬰
Seed of Chucky
邪惡兇殘的魔鬼娃娃卓奇再度回歸，他與其妻子蒂芬妮重回人間，再加上由他倆所生的小娃娃格蘭，這個娃鬼家庭會否把世界弄得天翻地覆呢？
故事大綱
一部關於卓奇（由畢特杜利聲演）及蒂芬妮（由珍妮花泰莉聲演）傳說的電影正準備開拍，由這兩個邪惡娃娃所生的格蘭（由比利貝特聲演）因此向荷李活進發，其父母卓奇及蒂芬妮感到兒子的呼召，得以從死亡中復生，並希望到荷李活再次瘋狂殺戮，奈何卓奇發現格蘭竟然不想步父親殺人如麻的後塵，他只是一心希望與父母組織一個快樂的家庭。
另一方面，由饒舌歌手轉變為電影導演的列文（由列文飾演），計劃開拍一部有關聖經故事的大製作，蒂芬妮發現擔任電影女主角的竟是其喜愛的女演員珍妮花泰莉，她認為珍妮花豔光四射及擁有世上最美妙的聲線。蒂芬妮最想化身成珍妮花泰莉，希望成為一個荷李活明星，她覺得珍妮花在影壇一直被低估，一旦她成功進入其生命，會設法改變珍妮花的事業，因此珍妮花開始受到蒂芬妮的追蹤和威脅，不幸成為這個邪惡娃娃家庭的新目標……
製作花絮
《娃鬼》系列家喻戶曉
拍攝續集一向是荷李活影壇的傳統，而且有電影更長拍長有，發展成一個系列，然而恐怖鬼片能成為系列的例子卻並不常見，其中《猛鬼街》系列可算是經典之作，自84年第1集面世，10年間共拍攝了7集；而80年上映的《黑色星期五》歷時更長，直至01年的第10集《太凶殺人狂》，整個系列足足橫跨超過20年。
而被視為史上最驚嚇電影的《驅魔人》，在今年較早時也推出此系列的第4部電影《驅魔人前傳》。
能夠與以上經典恐怖傑作相提並論，相信只有由本片導演唐麥錫尼一手創作的《娃鬼》系列，首集《娃鬼回魂》在88年面世，其後《娃鬼回魂第二集》、《娃鬼回魂第三集》及《娃鬼新娘》分別於90、91及98年上映，而本片《娃鬼怪嬰》則是系列的第五部電影，系列的靈魂人物邪惡娃娃卓奇，更已成為萬千影迷心目中的至愛電影角色，經典程度媲美《猛鬼街》的Freddy及《黑色星期五》的Jason，可算是歷來cult片中的象徵人物。
追溯《娃鬼》誕生的歷史，卓奇在第１集中原本是一個可愛娃娃，但戴著護身符的連環殺手Charles在百貨公司遭警方開槍伏擊，他臨死前透過護身符的巫術力量，把自己的靈魂轉移至最接近他的兩呎高娃娃卓奇，自此卓奇變成滿手鮮血的殺人狂，而且還不斷纏擾其新主人，企圖把靈魂轉移至主人身體，並想把他殺死。直至上集《娃鬼新娘》，Charles的女友蒂芬妮再次令他以卓奇的形態重生，之後卓奇殺死女友，把她的靈魂轉移至一個新娘娃娃，兩隻娃鬼繼續找尋新目標，並順理成章結成夫婦，蒂芬妮最終更誕下在本片首度亮相的格蘭。
原創者如願當導演
由《娃鬼》系列原創者兼編劇唐麥錫尼（Don Mancini）擔任本片導演，可謂最適合不過，早在拍攝上集《娃鬼新娘》時，唐麥錫尼已身兼該片執行監製，當時監製大衛卻沙納（David Kirschner）已答應若開拍第5集，導演一定非麥錫尼莫屬，如今麥錫尼終如願以償。本片的監製都覺得麥錫尼對卓奇的神話有很深的認識和對整部電影充滿熱情。為本片設計動畫角色及效果的東尼加納（Tony Gardner）說：「唐對整部電影的剪接的拿揑時間控制得非常準確，他也對每個角色的個性都瞭如指掌，清楚他們做的每件事及為什麼要這樣做。而且他也有很好的喜劇感。」而珍妮花泰莉（Jennifer Tilly）也對麥錫尼有很高評價：「我認為唯一能與他相提並論的處女導演是當年與我合作拍攝《大膽的愛小心的偷》（Bound）的華高斯基兄弟（Wachowski Brothers）。唐準備充足及很清楚自己需要甚麼，他為每個場面都準備了劇情描繪板，但他做事也相當有彈性。」
新片大玩黑色幽默
正如監製哥利仙納加（Corey Sienega）所言，為了令《娃鬼》系列更長壽，一直發展下去，電影有需要作出適當的演化，首3集很明顯是以恐怖掛帥的電影，但上集製作人毅然決定加入幽默元素，給觀眾一個驚喜，而本片除了繼續延續這種黑色幽默，也會帶出卓奇鮮為人知的另一面。哥利說：「我們保留忠實影迷喜歡看的元素，同時也希望增加觀眾層次，尤其吸納一些知道卓奇是一個恐怖象徵但又從未看過前作的人。我認為本片的幽默風格能吸引長期支持者之外，觀眾層面也變得更闊。」據知唐麥錫尼已構思拍攝第6集，並已開始籌備及詳細規劃。
邪惡父親Vs善良孩子
邪惡娃鬼卓奇在88年上映的《娃鬼回魂》中首度出現，經過16年，時至今日身高2呎、滿臉疤痕及一頭紅髮的卓奇已成為極具代表性的恐怖象徵，也是流行文化中的反英雄人物。然而卓奇與同樣兇殘的妻子蒂芬妮生下的格蘭，性格卻與父親大相逕庭。
麥錫尼把格蘭設計成一個害羞及內向的角色，就像狄更斯小說中的孤兒一樣，無依無靠的格蘭只夢想擁有一個快樂的家庭，無意像父親一樣到處殺戮，而蒂芬妮在兒子影響下，似乎也沒有像以往般殘暴。麥錫尼坦言把格蘭塑造成一個和平主義者，正好突顯片中黑色幽默的一面，他說：「開始時大家都期望格蘭會是另一個殺人娃娃，但我認為如果卓奇的孩子反對暴力才更有趣，這肯定使卓奇變得更瘋狂。」另外格蘭的生理構造也出現問題，性別亦不明顯，這種混亂使這個娃鬼家庭處於緊張狀態。卓奇想格蘭成為他夢想中的兒子，但蒂芬妮就希望有一個完美女兒，格蘭被迫夾在中間。
卓奇與蒂芬妮重逢
與導演麥錫尼一樣，畢特杜利也是參與了所有五部《娃鬼》電影，他今次繼續為卓奇配音，可謂駕輕就熟。正如麥錫尼所言，卓奇這個角色就像是畢特個人所擁有，他為卓奇配音使這角色更讓人信服。
在電影未正式開拍前，為三個主要娃鬼角色配音的演員，已率先在錄音室把對話部份的錄音工作完成，他們像電台廣播劇般錄音，而且工作人員更把配音時的情況錄影下來，好讓操控娃娃的技師能捕捉演員們的動作及神髓，然後將之溶入娃娃的言行之中。由於為蒂芬妮配音的珍妮花已是第二度參演《娃鬼》系列，所以她與畢特特別合拍，二人還安排一起配音，令錄音工作更事半巧倍。
而麥錫尼選擇比利貝特為格蘭配音，原來源於他在《魔戒》系列中的演出：「我記得《魔戒三部曲》中一場面，比利扮演的哈比人皮聘唱歌，我覺得他正正擁有純真和孩子氣的特質，這與初出場時的天真無邪的格蘭不謀而合。」由於畢特與珍妮花已一早為卓奇及蒂芬妮錄音，所以有助從未在電影中配音的比利構想格蘭的聲音。
珍妮花一人飾兩角
珍妮花與列文在片中都是扮演自己，不過角色的性格就與真實有很大出入，當麥錫尼告知珍妮花如何撰寫本片劇本時，她要求他把角色設計成一個最潑辣刻薄的女星，她說：「扮演『自己』的有趣之處是你可以做出很多誇張的表現，所以我在片中穿著很多貼身裙、神奇胸圍及假眼睫毛，這就是豔光四射的珍妮花泰莉，而不是剛起床穿著睡衣的珍妮花泰莉，我希望成為大家都仰慕的珍妮花泰莉。」
而對於在片中一人分飾兩角的珍妮花而言，她在很多場面中都要與一個甚至多個娃娃演戲，她不諱言這種情況非常古怪，但似乎並難不倒她，她幽默地說：「我覺得與無生命的物體演戲並不困難，我經常都這樣做，當你與大明星合作，他們只拍攝一些特寫鏡頭，然後就離開，而你就是與預先錄好的帶子演戲。」
新作隱含經典影子
麥錫尼喜愛意大利的恐怖電影，包括意大利恐怖片大師Dario Argento的《陰風陣陣》（Suspiria），而大導演白賴仁狄龐馬（Brian De Palma）的作品也對他有很大影響，因此本片的鮮明色彩會讓人憶起兩位大師的作品。此外，唐麥錫尼還特別邀請曾與以上2位著名導演合作的作曲家賓奴當納治奧（Pino Donaggio）為本片配樂。
唐麥錫尼認為以風格而言，這部電影可能類似《鬼追人》及《屍變》等作品，都是恐怖喜劇，場面殘暴但引人發笑，而且又會讓人覺得害怕及毛骨悚然。有些觀眾也會指出本片與經典恐怖片《再見亦是猛鬼》的相似之處，兩片都是戲中有戲，而且也是有某些演員演回自己，但他指出《娃鬼怪嬰》絕對是一部與別不同的恐怖喜劇。反而他承認50年代電視劇集《I Love Lucy》讓他得到啟發，劇中不時有真實的名人如尊榮（John Wayne）等參演，而蒂芬妮就與該劇女主角Lucy一樣，都是想進軍荷李活，希望在那裡發展事業，蒂芬妮也像Lucy般跟蹤她喜愛的影星珍妮花泰莉。
娃鬼家庭勞師動眾
本片的戲份主要是在洛杉磯以及在歐洲第2大、全羅馬尼亞最大規模的片場拍攝，年前奧斯卡提名電影《亂世情天》也是在此地拍攝。而在片場內的設計也是與別不同，由於本片的主要角色如卓奇、格蘭及蒂芬妮都是木偶娃娃，因此還有15個有接近30年設計木偶經驗的技師，辛苦地蹲在地面下，透過螢光幕負責控制每個娃娃，但只要其中1人不在，整個拍攝工作都不能再進行。
根據負責設計動畫角色及效果的東尼仙加納表示，自上集至今，娃娃的控制系統有長足的進步，而他們為了設計新娃娃格蘭，分別做了7、8個塑像，然後把1個選好的塑像照片傳輸入電腦，技術員再逐一搭配適合的頭髮顏色、眼眉及斑點等，跟著就設計其服飾、面形及膚色。而娃娃的頭及手都是由泡沫塑膠與矽混合所製成，好讓娃娃活動時不會出現皺紋及摺痕，而且同時要確保娃娃皮膚的吸光能力與真正肉體的皮膚接近。每個娃娃角色都備有2個普通表情的頭部及1個尖叫的頭部、多雙手部和多個身體，以配合劇情需要。
娃鬼家庭雖然只有3個成員，但卻有很多人在背後工作：包括53人製作3個娃娃、7人負責每日運送娃娃出入及15人在拍攝時操控娃娃如何活動。雖然科技比上集進步，但娃娃背部仍繫著接駁控制器的電線，單是頭部就有3名技師負責操控，1個操作眼睛、1個操作眼眉及1個操控口部，而娃娃身體其他部位，都分別由不同技師用他們靈巧的手指控制，另外東尼更引入電腦系統，令娃娃口部的發音動作更準確。
發行公司獨具慧眼
本片的劇本其實早於數年前已完成，奈何當時因種種原因而未能開拍，直至去年環球電影公司旗下的Focus Features獨具慧眼決定製作本片，並由旗下為製作恐怖電影而設立的Rogue Pictures拍攝。Focus Features以出品高質素電影聞名，其中包括奧斯卡得獎作品《鋼琴戰曲》（The Pianist）及《迷失東京》（Lost in Translation）、奧斯卡提名電影《天上人間》（Far From Heaven）和《21克－生命可以有多重？》（21 Grams）、法國名作《8美千嬌》（8 femmes）以及獲一致看好可問鼎明年奧斯卡的《無痛失戀》（Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind）等，Focus Feature今次決定交由旗下公司Rogue Pictures製作本片，證明本片的質素絕對不容懷疑。
演員簡介
珍妮花泰莉
1958年9月16日在加州出生的珍妮花泰莉（Jennifer Tilly）擁有東方人血統，其父親是一名中國人。珍妮花在讀書時已開始對演戲產生興趣，後來她走到洛杉磯開展事業，開始時演出舞台劇，其後向電視及電影發展。她最讓人印象難忘的作品可算是主演由活地阿倫執導的電影《子彈橫飛百老匯》（Bullets Over Broadway），她更憑此片入圍提名奧斯卡最佳女配角，98年她首度在電影《娃鬼新娘》（Bride of Chucky）中扮演卓奇女友，表現大獲好評，並獲Saturn電影頒獎禮最佳女主角提名。珍妮花戲路甚廣，曾演出的電影還有喜劇《大話王》（Liar Liar）及華高斯基兄弟（The Wachowski Brothers）的處女作《大膽的愛小心的偷》（Bound）等。
畢特杜利
現年54歲的資深演員畢特杜利（Brad Dourif），已經是第5度為娃鬼卓奇配音，也是唯一一位參與所有5部《娃鬼》系列電影的演員。畢特讀書時已開始參與戲劇演出，他在19歲時毅然離開老家遠赴紐約，受聘於一個劇團，他演出過多個舞台劇，期間他獲導演米路士科曼（Milos Forman）賞識，邀請參演電影《飛越瘋人院》，正式展開其電影之路，畢特也憑此片榮膺金球獎及英國電影大獎最佳男配角及奧斯卡最佳男配角提名。從影30年的畢特，演出過數十部作品，當中為人所熟識的包括《藍色夜合花》（Blue Velvet）、《烈血暴潮》（Mississippi Burning）、《黑夜之色》（Color of Night）、《異形4集之逆種》（Alien: Resurrection）及《魔戒二部曲：雙城奇謀》（The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers）等。
比利貝特
現年36歲的比利貝特（Billy Boyd）於蘇格蘭格拉斯哥土生土長，他畢業於皇家蘇格蘭音樂及戲劇學院戲劇藝術系，其後在蘇格蘭及英國參與過無數戲劇演出，他也演出過電視節目及多個電台廣播劇。比利最為人熟悉的演出肯定是在史詩式巨製《魔戒三部曲》（The Lord of the Rings）中扮演哈比人皮聘，另外去年他也參演了由金像影帝羅素高爾（Russell Crowe）主演的奧斯卡得獎電影《軍天勇將：戰海豪情》（Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World）。
列文
1970年4月17日於新澤西出生的列文（Redman），是多才多藝的饒舌歌手，92年他推出的處女大碟《Whut? Thee Album》，廣泛被認為是hip hop音樂界中的經典作品，其第6張個人大碟《Red Gone Wild》快將面世。列文過往的作品曾獲格林美獎提名，而他與Christina Aguilera合作的《Dirrty》又獲MTV音樂錄影帶頒獎禮提名及Teen Choice頒獎禮提名。列文最近與好友Method Man合作演出電視節目《Method & Red》，而他以往也曾為不少電影如《舞動激情》（Save the Last Dance）及《狂野時速》（The Fast and the Furious）等創作電影歌曲。
導演簡介
唐麥錫尼
本片是唐麥錫尼（Don Mancini）首部執導的作品，事實上他是《娃鬼》系列的原創者，撰寫了《娃鬼》系列所有5部電影，包括《娃鬼回魂》（Child's Play）、《娃鬼回魂第二集》（Child's Play 2）、《娃鬼回魂第三集》（Child's Play 3）、《娃鬼新娘》（Bride of Chucky）及本片。99年麥錫尼在專為表揚科幻、魔幻及恐怖電影而設的Saturn電影頒獎禮中，憑《娃鬼新娘》榮獲最佳編劇提名。
| 演員： | 珍妮花泰莉 （Jennifer Tilly） |
《鬼咁多大屋》（The Haunted Mansion） 《娃鬼新娘》（Bride of 卓奇） 《大話王》（Liar Liar） 《大膽的愛小心的偷》（Bound） 《子彈橫飛百老匯》（Bullets Over Broadway） |
||
| 畢特杜利 （Brad Dourif） |
《魔戒二部曲：雙城奇謀》（The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers） 《異形4集之逆種》（Alien: Resurrection） 《烈血暴潮》（Mississippi Burning） 《藍色夜合花》（Blue Velvet） 《飛越瘋人院》（One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest） |
|||
| 比利貝特 （Billy Boyd） |
《軍天勇將：戰海豪情》（Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World） 《魔戒三部曲：王者再臨》（The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King） 《魔戒三部曲：雙城奇謀》（The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers） 《魔戒三部曲：魔戒現身》（The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring） |
|||
| 導演： | 唐麥錫尼 （Don Mancini） |
《娃鬼新娘》（Bride of 卓奇）－編劇 《娃鬼回魂第三集》（Child's Play 3）－編劇 《娃鬼回魂第二集》（Child's Play 2）－編劇 《娃鬼回魂》（Child's Play）－編劇 |
| 上映日期： | 1月27日 | |
| 發行﹕ | 泛亞影業有限公司 | |
| 片長： | 待定 | |
| 級別： | 待定 | |
| 院線： | 待定 |
Seed of Chucky
Synopsis
The killer doll is back - and his family must slay together in order to stay together. Seed of Chucky, the fifth in the popular series of Chucky (Child's Play) horror comedies, marks the feature directorial debut of Don Mancini, creator of the Chucky franchise and screenwriter on all five movies. Returning as producers are Chucky, Tiffany, and Glen dolls creator and series producer David Kirschner, and producing partner Corey Sienega. This core creative team takes the Chucky saga to the next level with Seed of Chucky. Following the courtship of and marriage to his homicidal honey Tiffany in Bride of Chucky, devilish-doll-come-to-life Chucky now finds his family expanding further (and faster) while on a wild ride through Hollywood.
Seed of Chucky introduces Glen (voiced by The Lord of the Rings star Billy Boyd), the orphan doll offspring of the irrepressible Chucky (voiced as always by Brad Dourif) and his equally twisted bride Tiffany (voiced by Jennifer Tilly, reprising her Bride of Chucky role). When production starts on a movie detailing the urban legend of his parents' lethal exploits, Glen heads for Hollywood - where he brings his bloodthirsty parents back from the dead. The family dynamics are far from perfect as Chucky and Tiffany go Hollywood and get rolling on a new spree of murderous mayhem, much to gentle Glen's horror. Chucky can't believe that his child doesn't want to walk in his murdering footsteps, and star-struck Tiffany can't believe that the movie will star her favorite actress, Jennifer Tilly (playing herself), who soon becomes an unwitting hostess to the family in more ways than one…
Costarring are hip-hop superstar Redman (playing himself), as a rapper-turned-director casting a Bible epic which Jennifer is determined to headline; U.K. actress/singer Hannah Spearritt as Joan, the gracious but put-upon personal assistant/confidante to Jennifer who finds out firsthand how crazy the movie business can really get; and notorious filmmaker John Waters, as sleazy tabloid paparazzo Pete Peters.
Rogue Pictures presents a David Kirschner Production in association with La Sienega Productions. A Don Mancini Film. Jennifer Tilly. Seed of Chucky. Redman, Hannah Spearritt, John Waters. With Billy Boyd as the voice of Glen and Brad Dourif as the voice of Chucky. Casting by Kate Plantin. Costume Designer, Oana Paunescu. Co-Producer, Laura Moskowitz. Music by Pino Donaggio. Chucky, Tiffany, and Glen Dolls Created by David Kirschner. Based on Characters Created by Don Mancini. Animatronic Characters and Effects by Tony Gardner. Editor, Chris Dickens. Visual Consultant, Richard Holland. Production Designers, Peter James Russell, Cristian Niculescu. Director of Photography, Vernon Layton, B.S.C. Executive Producer, Guy J. Louthan. Produced by David Kirschner, Corey Sienega. Written and Directed by Don Mancini. A Rogue Pictures Release.
Seed of Chucky
Chuck Amuck: The Saga So Far
In the sixteen years since he first tore across the silver screen (and into his terrified prey) with his shock of red hair (among even nastier shocks), Chucky has become a horror icon. Referenced in everything from hip-hop shout-outs to TV series to talk radio, Chucky is a pop-culture antihero whose appeal extends beyond that of other latter-day movie fiends. Now, the creative team that has been behind this killer doll since the beginning is taking him to the next nefarious level with Seed of Chucky.
Chucky was brought to life in the late 1980s. At that time, screenwriter Don Mancini (who wrote the story and co-wrote the screenplay for the first movie in the Chucky series, Child's Play) and producer David Kirschner (who created the actual doll itself as part of making that first movie) began a creative collaboration on the Chucky movies that continues to this day. Child's Play, released in November 1988, was a sleeper boxoffice hit, spawning a successful franchise that has fans all over the world.
In the first movie, Chucky (voiced in all five movies by Brad Dourif) was introduced as a "Good Guy" doll come to life - but gone psychopathic. An amulet-wearing serial killer, Charles Lee Ray (played by Dourif), had been hunted down and shot by Chicago police in a department store. As the murderer lay dying, he summoned the voodoo power of the ancient amulet to cast an incantation transferring his soul into the nearest body - which was that of the two-foot-tall doll. Chucky went on the attack against unsuspecting and unlucky humans, panicking his new "owner," young Andy Barclay (played by Alex Vincent and, later, Justin Whalin). Wherever Andy fled to, Chucky pursued him, intent on transferring his soul into Andy's body to live - and kill - anew as a human being. Child's Play 2 (1990) and Child's Play 3 (1991) further followed the tooth-and-plastic battle between the two "friends to the end," establishing Chucky's persona as a unique screen villain - one whose demeanor could turn on a dime from humorous to frightening.
Mancini and Kirschner, joined by the latter's producing partner Corey Sienega, reunited to take the series (and Chucky) in a new direction for Bride of Chucky (1998). Charles Lee Ray's lovelorn and lethal girlfriend, Tiffany (played by Jennifer Tilly), cast a voodoo spell to resurrect Chucky. Then, she herself migrated into the body of a doll (voiced by Tilly), and proved to be just as deadly as Chucky. The two killer dolls married and Tiffany became pregnant, but tragically their baby outlived them…
…until now.
The Direct Approach
When the Child Play series was being revived, reconceived, and retitled with Bride of Chucky, from producer David Kirschner's concept of a mate for the little maniac, screenwriter Don Mancini recalls, "With Tiffany as Chucky's girlfriend - and, later, wife - we could show a whole other side of Chucky that had not been seen in the previous movies. I structured Bride in such a way that the relationship between Chucky and Tiffany went through all of the stages of a romance. They courted, they went on a date, they had sex, they got married, they fought, and they killed each other."
On Bride, Kirschner's producing partner Corey Sienega joined Team Chucky, and Mancini was afforded the opportunity to direct 2nd unit on the shoot. Kirschner remembers, "I also brought Don in to executive-produce, knowing that he had always wanted to direct. So I told him, 'Live it, breathe it, and if we get to do [movie #] five, then you can direct.'"
A fifth movie in the hit series was certainly a likely prospect since, as returning star Jennifer Tilly sagely notes, "We know that in successful horror movie franchises the villains never actually die."
Immersed in all day-to-day aspects of Bride, Mancini rose to every challenge. Kirschner, who had created the dolls' designs and looks, states, "Don brought so much to that movie. He was part of literally every frame. As creator of the property, he has a strong understanding of the Chucky character's mythology and a complete passion for the project. So when we were ready to make Seed of Chucky, it was clear that Don would be not only the writer but also the director."
Mancini reflects, "David has produced all of the Chucky movies. He allowed me to be around on the sets of them all, where I soaked up a lot of experience. It's something that most writers in Hollywood rarely get the chance to do, and I learned a lot."
Sienega says, "Nobody knows Chucky better than Don, so he was not just the natural choice to direct Seed of Chucky - he was the only choice. David was planning this. He has believed in Don's talent for many years; they have a lot in common as far as their fascination with movies, especially genre and horror movies. The three of us are bonded by a sick love for Chucky."
For the love of Chucky, the series had to evolve in order to continue. Mancini points out, "With Bride of Chucky, we changed the tone. The first three were fairly straightforward horror movies. Previous movies and TV shows had featured the 'killer doll' concept, but no one had ever treated the doll as a full-fledged character with dialogue scenes. For a fourth movie, in order to ensure the longevity of the series, we had to reinvent."
Sienega adds, "It was a big, and conscious, decision we made on Bride of Chucky to embrace the humor. The fans know where the series has been so far, and by combining more humor with horror, we keep everyone a little off-balance. It's helpful to leave a few
years in-between the movies to keep an element of surprise, and with Seed of Chucky we wanted to take everything much further. We intend to deliver what the true fans want, while also expanding our audience to include people who know Chucky as an icon but maybe haven't seen the previous movies. I think the style of the humor in Seed makes for a movie that will appeal to a wider audience as well as the longtime Chucky fans."
While the ante had already been upped with Bride, Mancini came up with a fresh take on the characters he knows so well. After all, first comes love, then comes marriage, then comes…something completely different. As Mancini explains, "Bride parodied romantic comedies, so with this one I felt we needed to bring out yet another side of Chucky that we had never seen before. It seemed natural that we would now evolve into a parody of domestic dramas - such as Ordinary People or Kramer vs. Kramer - where the child is turf for a battlefield."
Mancini's newest addition to the Ray family is Glen, who Sienega describes as being "nothing like his parents, who he's in search of. He's shy and introverted, a sort of Dickensian waif." Having grown up orphaned, Glen has no concept of the murderous tendencies that are his lineage, and dreams of a warm happy family. Making Chucky and Tiffany's child a tender pacifist who resurrects his parents with the best of intentions allowed Mancini to explore and explode family dynamics, as well as mine a fresh vein of dark humor. He comments, "Expectations initially will be that Glen is a chip off the old block, another killer doll. But I thought it would be much more interesting if Chucky's kid was diametrically opposed to violence. He's a passive peacemaker - which of course drives Chucky crazy - or, crazier…"
"We also learn that Glen was also born anatomically incorrect. His gender confusion further ratchets up the family tensions," reveals the writer/director.
Sienega adds, "Glen is stuck in the middle. Chucky wants Glen to be the son he's always dreamt of, while Tiffany is really looking for the perfect daughter."
Mancini enjoyed having the new dynamic bring a more human sensibility to the pint-sized pathological parents and their newfound son. Having longed to be flesh-and-blood again, Chucky and Tiffany now get more emotions than they can easily handle or process. Mancini says, "It's classic behavior; when there are fathers and sons, they're going to butt heads. In real life, it can be about career choices or drugs or whatever. In Seed, we treat the whole idea of these dolls' murderous tendencies as a metaphor for family discord."
Kirschner notes, "I think Don surpasses himself with Seed. It's so outrageous, and very funny. In a strange way, everyone can relate to it, whether as parent or child. The dynamic between these two parents is familiar; even though these two parents are insane murderers, they are still a family. Mind you, the weirdest two-foot-tall family you've ever seen, but a family nonetheless…
"Many of the fans who grew up with Chucky now have children of their own. Chucky himself now faces some of the same trials and tribulations that his original audience does, albeit with puddles of blood and agonizing screams. Under Don, Chucky has matured."
Sienega adds, "Chucky is a monster, yet he has also evolved into a real character. In Seed, he faces dilemmas that many of us face within our families. Of course, he takes care of things however he sees fit, whereas most of us have to show a little more restraint."
Tilly muses, "Chucky's been around long enough that people have started to have affection for the horrifying little gremlin. They can relate to him because they can get their aggressions out through him. He's unapologetic about what he does."
"I suspect Don uses Chucky to say all the things he wouldn't allow himself to say," offers Sienega. "Don is the sweetest guy, but he also has a wicked sense of humor. In fact, I think Chucky is Don's alter ego…"
Tony Gardner, who captains the film's puppeteers for the animatronic characters and effects, demurs, "I think these movies are therapy for David. He does so many family films, and, every five years, does this little catharsis that we all get to participate in. Better he lets it out with the killer doll…"
Therapeutic or not, once production got underway it was clear the producers had made the right directorial choice. Sienega reports, "Everyone said, 'Don seems so relaxed.' I'm not quite sure how relaxed he actually was, but I think what they were really noticing was how completely prepared he was. He wouldn't call himself an artist. Yet, he did thumbnails of all the storyboards, took them to our storyboard artist, and then worked from there."
Gardner says, "One good thing about Don directing his own script was that he had a real sense of the timing of the edits he would be making. More and more, during filming, he would say, 'I'm going to cut on that so we can end this shot here.'
"He also knew exactly who the characters were and why they were doing what they were doing. He would talk to us almost as the characters - 'She's mortified because of this.' 'He's like, "I told you so."' His insight helped us to perform [the dolls]."
Kirschner concurs, saying, "Don knows these characters so well - he knows what works and what doesn't work. He was able to cut the movie in his head, which not a lot of directors can do. He also has a great sense of comedic timing."
Tilly states, "The only other time I've encountered a first-time director comparable to Don was with the Wachowski Brothers, on Bound. Don was so prepared and knew exactly what he wants. He had everything storyboarded out, but he was also flexible."
Executive producer Guy Louthan comments, "Don is one of the most prepared first-time directors I've ever worked with - and I've worked with 17 in my time. He's lived and
breathed these characters for so long - and got to do exactly what he'd worked so long and so hard towards."
Deep Throats
Some of the movies' greatest actors, such as Peter Sellers, have first needed to create and perfect their characters' speaking voices before the rest of the portrayal could crystallize.
On the Chucky movies, several key characters' voices - first by one, later by two, and now (on Seed of Chucky) by three, actors - also come first. The dialogue for the dolls is "laid down" (i.e., recorded) in a studio prior to the start of principal photography.
"We tape it like a radio play," reveals Corey Sienega. "We also videotape it because the recording sessions offer performance/body details from the actors that the puppeteers use for the dolls. You might be able to recognize little elements like Jennifer's trademark lip-quivering in Tiffany."
The voice that continues to set the tone for the series emanates from the one and only actor to ever speak for Chucky, Brad Dourif. In Seed of Chucky, the actor's distinctive voiceover portrayal once again fully conveys "the Chuck" in all his scary, profane, and wisecracking glory.
Don Mancini marvels, "Brad just owns this character. The combination of his gruff voiceover with this diminutive doll is always terrific. Chucky clearly has a Napoleon complex - he's a little guy with a lot of rage."
For the second time in the series, Dourif is partnered with Jennifer Tilly, voicing the girlish and ghoulish Tiffany. As with Bride of Chucky, these two actors convened early on in the same recording space to most effectively play off of each other. Tilly recalls, "Don made sure to set it up where both Brad and I would perform our dialogue at the same time. Usually, when you're recording voices, you're all by yourself and unable to work off anyone."
The proximity of the actors provides genuine give/take in Chucky and Tiffany's spirited (and lethal) family conferences. Tilly says, "I love performing dialogue at the same time as Brad. He's so sweet and he makes it so easy. He doesn't even mind if I make noises all through his speeches, as long as it's as Tiffany.
"Brad brings such conviction to recording Chucky. There's a crucial speech near the end of Seed which marks an important transition point for the character, and Brad was like, 'Hold on a second.' He went off into a corner and worked on it with Don. They found the reality in this doll."
While Mancini notes that "Jennifer has this wonderfully distinctive voice, which is of course crucial for Tiffany," Tilly clarifies that she "tries to make a clear delineation between the way Tiffany speaks and the way I speak. Tiffany has a little more of a doll-y
voice. Obviously, she does sound like me - and Don wrote some jokes about this into Seed - but I keep them apart because Tiffany is a very different character than myself…"
Joining the returning players in voicing a doll protagonist is Billy Boyd, fresh from the phenomenally successful The Lord of the Rings trilogy. "Billy is a fantastic addition," enthuses Sienega.
Mancini adds, "Like the rest of the world, I had seen the Lord of the Rings movies. When the last one came out, I watched and listened to a scene where [Boyd's Hobbit character] Pippin sings. It just struck me that Billy had the right boyish ingenuous quality to embody Glen, who is a complete innocent - at least at first…"
When contacted, Boyd was excited by the invitation to contribute to the Chucky legend. He says, "This was an opportunity I didn't want to miss. Everyone knows Chucky; he has penetrated pop culture all over the world."
Boyd flew to London from his native Scotland to join Mancini in the recording studio and perfect the character of Glen. He recalls, "Don was great - very sure of what he wanted, yet open to suggestions; we laughed a lot."
Although Boyd had performed in numerous radio plays, this was the first time that he was providing a voice for a physically on-screen character. He says, "Don brought out prints of how Glen was going to look, which really helped me to get into character. I had the picture in my head. Brad and Jennifer had previously laid down the dialogue for Chucky and Tiffany, which also helped me to form Glen's voice."
Boyd concludes, "Voicing the different sides of Glen was a lot of fun to do." Audiences watching - and listening to - Seed of Chucky will be surprised at just how much fun - and vocal flexibility - the actor has.
Jennifer Tilly Is Ready For Her Close-Up
Corey Sienega remembers, back in 1998, Team Chucky having "a really late night on the mixing stage of Bride of Chucky when we realized we were really sorry to have killed off Jennifer Tilly in the movie." Bride had gotten plenty of spark from the actress, first in human and then in doll (voiceover) form.
Don Mancini reveals, "I didn't know Jennifer before Bride, but I wrote that script with her in mind. I've been a big fan of hers since Bound and Bullets over Broadway. We all enjoyed working with her so much on Bride. She's a great comedienne and very sexy, with a wonderful physical presence. She humanizes the dolls, which is something that a lot of actors are unable to do - they will instead condescend. But Jennifer makes you believe that she's sharing the screen with another character, not an animatronic puppet, and that became an important foundation for us to base Seed of Chucky on."
Sienega confirms, "When she's in a scene with a doll character, she helps bring them to life as three-dimensional. We love her, and we wanted to bring her back."
Mancini says, "In the interim between Bride and Seed, I'd gotten to know Jennifer as a friend. I thought that there could be no more amusing character for Jennifer to play than a funhouse version of herself."
Sienega exclaims, "Who better for her to play than 'Jennifer Tilly?' She has a great sense of humor, so she loved the idea. When I first read the script, I thought that Don had perhaps overestimated what she would do for him. The movie has a lot of fun with Jennifer's persona, but she was always ready to take it further."
Mancini's brainstorm of Tilly playing a larger-than-life high-maintenance version of herself was catnip to the actress. Tilly laughs, "Well, I didn't want anyone else playing the character and giving a different interpretation! Mine is gentle, yet realistic…
"When Don told me about the new script he was writing, I said, 'Oh, you'll have to make me the bitchy diva from Hell.' So he did a draft where I was just the meanest girl ever, and people said, 'Oh, she's too mean, she has to be more likable!' I thought, 'Ah, they're rejecting the real me,'" jokes Tilly.
The Jennifer Tilly depicted in Seed is at once completely real and completely unreal. Tilly confides, "What's really fun about playing 'yourself' is, you can do an exaggeration of what your image is, and how self-involved actors are. So in the movie I'm running around in skintight dresses, push-up bras, and false eyelashes because it's the glamorous Jennifer Tilly, not the Jennifer Tilly who shuffles out of bed in her pajamas. I want to be the Jennifer Tilly that people adore - or abhor!
"Don and I would have lunch and we'd think of more stuff we could put in. Some of it was just too 'inside' for a mainstream movie, but we left in enough to make it entertaining. I did have a lot of framed pictures shipped over from my house and put up on the walls…However, I tried to play my scenes realistically; otherwise, it's just an extended sketch."
Mancini notes, "There was also comedy to be mined from Jennifer's coming face-to-face with Tiffany, the persona she created for Bride."
Tilly explains, "Tiffany adores Jennifer Tilly because she thinks Jennifer is so glamorous and has the most beautiful voice in the world. Tiffany decides that when she takes human form again - hope springs eternal - she wants to be Jennifer Tilly, she wants to be a star. She thinks I'm under-appreciated in Hollywood, and that once she gets into my life she will turn my career around.
"There's a sequence where I'm being chased and threatened by Tiffany - who's wielding my E! Television Golden Hanger Award - and she scolds me for my career choices. The most fantastical element of the movie is not that you have living dolls, or that a rap artist
is going to direct the biggest Bible epic ever, but that I am up for the same part as Julia Roberts. I love Don for putting that in."
For Seed, Tiffany has been modified; after all, how else could she share the screen with the glamorous Jennifer Tilly? "I was happy to see that they gave her a makeover for this movie," admits Tilly. "I feel territorial towards her, of course. In Bride, she was somewhat limited in her facial expressions - kind of stiff. But when I saw the new Tiffany they'd fashioned, I was pleased; she's a lot cuter and has more facial muscles.
"Character-wise, Tiffany is still looney-tunes and is still a big Martha Stewart fan, like in the last movie. She has a great deal of sympathy for what Martha is going through now."
Once again, Tiffany and Chucky differ in their approaches to homemaking and family values. Tilly says, "Tiffany is still killing people, but she feels bad about it. Chucky doesn't, and so an archetypal parental struggle breaks out between them over raising their newfound son. With Glen, they both see what they want to see."
On the set, Tilly played many of her scenes opposite one or more dolls. She notes, "It's very bizarre to be looking at a little doll with her tiny eyes blinking at you, saying, 'Miss Tilly, you can do it the easy way or you can do it the hard way.'
"Is it difficult to act with inanimate objects? No; I do it all the time - when you work with big stars, they're there for a close-up and then they go home. Crew members put a piece of tape on something and you have to play to that."
Another challenge for the actress is how much screaming is too much screaming. She muses, "When I did scenes fleeing from Tiffany, I tried to think what I would feel like if I were accosted by a killer doll that has a voice like mine. I tried not to scream too loud, but the louder I screamed the better it was for the believability of the movie. I have several screams - horrified, labor-pain screams, and short staccato bursts. Also, I tried not to move my face so much that I look unattractive."
Seed spotlights more extensive sequences of humans interacting with the dolls than the earlier films. Tilly says, "Here's the vanity actress point of view: with Chucky on Bride, I learned very early on that low-angle camera angles are the worst. When the camera's looking up at you, you're talking major double-chin time. So I always try to pick Chucky up and hold him at arm's length when I'm talking to him - as Jennifer. Another option is to get down on the floor with the dolls, so the camera's not tilting up at you."
It was also on Bride that Tilly first got to know Mancini. She recalls, "We were doing a scene, and he was off on the sidelines saying, 'Jennifer, can you say the line the way I wrote it?' And I was like, 'Who let the writer on the set!?' Then I got to know him and realized that he was right every time; he's very precise and spends a lot of time writing these lines. Now, as writer and director of Seed, he doesn't waste time but if someone has an idea he'll listen to it."
As far as audience appeal, Tilly remarks, "I think Seed will cross over. It's a perfect mix of high camp and low humor, which I guess is exactly the same thing. There are horrifying moments, and a dash of glamour too. I don't have a single scene in this where I'm not showing cleavage, even when I'm pregnant; I give the audiences what they want."
Guy Louthan confides, "I wish Jennifer were on every movie I do. She's fantastic, very easy to work with and as funny off-screen as she is on. She buys the crew beers, too!"
I'm Your Biggest Fan
Rounding out the cast of Seed of Chucky are three diverse talents who all have one thing in common - they are fans of Chucky.
Several names were brainstormed to play the film director making the biblical epic that Jennifer Tilly is hell-bent on toplining. Corey Sienega explains, "Don Mancini's idea was always to have someone playing 'himself,' whether this person was already a director or not." When the filmmakers heard from a studio executive that top-selling rap artist Redman was a huge Chucky fan, he became the logical choice - and Redman became the director (on-screen, that is).
Mancini and the producers watched Redman's hit comedy How High, and, the writer/director notes, "saw that he had a natural comedic ability which we thought would mesh very well with Jennifer's. It did; they are hilarious together, because they come from completely different worlds. They're such a contrast that they're a match."
Tilly remarks, "It makes me look younger and hipper to be making out with Redman; he has a cool aesthetic."
Redman had already name-checked Chucky and Bride of Chucky in one of his songs. He exclaims, "I wanted to be part of this, big-time. When they knocked on my door, I was like 'I am there!' I'll go down in history for being in a Chucky movie. I still live in a 'hood, you know, so I can't do corny. When I told my neighbors I was shooting a Chucky movie, they were like, 'Chucky!!!' And I was like, 'That's right, boys!'
"Chucky is hard, he's a mean little guy - think Joe Pesci, just a little shorter, you know? He's in the movie killer top five, with Jason, Michael Myers, Pinhead, and Freddy Krueger. I liked the last movie, Bride of Chucky; introducing Tiffany kept Chucky in good killing form. Don Mancini's got a good plot for Seed ; he had to, because Chucky is like the last of the Mohicans - he's the last of those top killers left; I was disappointed by Freddy vs. Jason."
Redman admits, "I was expecting that Don wouldn't allow too much room for improvisation. I listened when he told me what he wanted. But he'd also let me know when I could play around with a certain word or line. I would come to him and be like, 'How about this?' And he'd say no or he'd say yes. He gave me some leeway. He also set
the right vibe; everybody came to the set each morning with a lot of energy and a good attitude.
"The hardest thing about acting is not saying anything, letting your actions speak. I tried to be very focused on the set and not just come on as a musical artist; I'm trying to learn the art of acting. Jennifer made me feel comfortable in all of our scenes, working out our lines together. She's a good lady, very positive - and it was fun to make out with her."
As a fan, Redman found himself with another acting challenge when playing scenes opposite a killer doll. "Watching the first four movies, I used to wonder, 'How are they doing that with the doll?!' and got the s-t scared out of me. Now, being in the scene and seeing them take an hour to set it up right, I knew I had to work to get it right too, so the audience can get scared by our scene."
Another cast member who has been cultivating both music and acting careers is U.K. ingénue Hannah Spearritt, late of the pop group S Club 7. For the role of Joan, Jennifer Tilly's loyal personal assistant, the filmmakers knew they needed someone "who could hold their own and keep up with Jennifer," laughs Sienega. "Hannah has spark, but her naturally sweet and angelic qualities are always near the surface. Plus, she's a good sport."
Mancini remarks, "Hannah was a natural to play Joan, who is the most grounded character in the movie, because she is very grounded in real life."
"She's adorable," adds Tilly. "Hannah has light in her. Visually, she's a good contrast to me because there's so much of me and so little of her."
It was an even littler Hannah Spearritt who was a Chucky fan. She explains, "When I first heard about this movie, I got excited because I'd watched Child's Play as a kid, and it had completely horrified me and given me big nightmares. I couldn't believe that now I'd be part of the series, which has come a long way since that first movie.
"I felt for the character of Joan, who will do anything for Jennifer. She puts up with a lot, as so many assistants do in show business. I mean, I would have left a while before…Jennifer brings so much energy and enthusiasm to the set. From Bride of Chucky, I knew she'd be fantastic to work with on this. Also, I never saw Don angry. Nothing seemed to faze him at all; he definitely knows what he wants, because he wrote it and he knows the material so well."
Spearritt, like Redman, impressed her friends with the news that she'd be appearing in a new Chucky movie. She reports, "They said, 'Wicked, man!' They were truly excited for me. I'm looking forward to watching Seed in the cinema and seeing people next to me get scared, and laugh."
Despite these displays of enthusiasm, the biggest Chucky fan in the cast was and remains John Waters. The notorious filmmaker's avowed admiration for Chucky has been a
longstanding point of pride for Team Chucky. Mancini recalls, "Over ten years ago, Justin Whalin - who was the lead in Child's Play 3 - was making Serial Mom with John Waters. Justin told me that John was a big Chucky fan, and had a doll in his house.
"Over the years, I would periodically see John's interviews where he would say things like, 'My acting days are behind me, I'm going to stick to directing from now on, except I'm just dying to be in a Chucky movie.' And I'd think, we can't pass this up…So I wrote the role of sleazy tabloid photographer Pete Peters specifically for John. I was thrilled when he said yes!"
Sienega adds, "We'd also seen John at the Independent Spirit Awards with Jennifer Tilly one year, when he'd brought a Chucky doll with him to the show. That was proof that he really was a fan!"
"It was after Bride of Chucky," clarifies Tilly. "He told me he loved it, that he wanted to be in a Chucky movie, and that he would sign a contract on a napkin then and there. I called Don, who said, 'I've already heard this and I'm writing a part for him.'"
Reflecting on the appeal of Chucky, Waters muses, "He's like my little childhood friend I wished I had, my little evil friend. I think Chucky is better than all of them; he's better than Freddy Krueger. Better than Norman Bates. He has the most style, to me, of all - and now he's multiplying, which is even better.
"My favorite line, as much as something from Gone with the Wind, is in Bride of Chucky, when Chucky and Tiffany are about to have sex and she says, 'Use a rubber,' and says, 'I am rubber!' How much better does it get than that?"
The two writer/directors did not meet until Waters reported to the set, ready to work as actor only. Waters comments, "Don wrote Seed of Chucky, and I always believe that the directors who write their own material are the best - because they've been playing it in their minds for months before anyone even sees it.
"Playing a sleazy paparazzo is easier than playing a football player. I mean, the parts I get offered - pedophile priests, hotel owners, used-car salesmen, porno directors, bartenders…I think I'm typecast, even with the small acting career I have."
Waters was reunited on-set with Tilly, of whom he says, "She's a good actress and a good comedienne. She understands how ludicrous a show business career is, and now she's celebrating it and having fun with it. She's not a whiner."
Filming Seed was a busman's holiday for Waters, who affirmed that the first-time feature director did "great. Don had the faith to know what he wanted. A bad director is somebody that can never make up his mind. That's a producer's nightmare, too.
"I understood what Don was going through every day; I'm usually the first one on the set every morning, thinking about how many set-ups we've got, looking at my watch,
herding people up, worrying that the shot doesn't match - all things that I didn't have to think about on Seed."
While Redman and Spearritt were able to brag to their friends about being in a Chucky movie, Waters reports, "I told my cleaning lady Rose that I was going to be in this movie, and she said, 'I'm not seeing it.' I have a Chucky doll at home, and she will not go into a room if it's in there, because she believes that it's possessed by the Devil. I said, 'Rose, you don't really believe that.' She said, 'Not really, but I'm not going to be in the room with him.'"
Of the people who were in the same room as Chucky, helping the doll hit his marks, Waters remarks, "Chucky has a bigger entourage than any star I've ever worked with. So many people are working him, and it's complicated."
But the high point of the shoot for Waters came when he "saw Chucky, his wife, and his son all together in this one shot; I was so happy I was in show business."
When Lucy Met Dario
Don Mancini remembers, "The idea of Chucky and Tiffany in Hollywood quite appealed to me." From that jumping-off point, the writer/director affectionately steered his characters through some hallmarks of the horror genre's - and Hollywood's - past.
David Kirschner states, "Don loves horror films and has a true understanding of their history and their perspective."
Corey Sienega elaborates, "There's a wonderful tradition of self-referential horror comedies, but on Seed of Chucky we really go all-out. Don has a great sense of visual flair. You can see his love of movies in the main set designs; the look is so lush and rich - which helps to sell the dolls as real characters. Don's references are steeped in a rich sense of film history. In Seed, horror fans will find a lot to appreciate. Although the Chucky movies are more popcorn pictures, there are references here that reflect Don's film aesthetics.
"Anyone who admires Italian horror movies, such as those by Dario Argento, will see certain touches or influences; Argento's Suspiria, to name one example. Brian De Palma is also a big influence on Don. The bold colors in Seed recall the work of both directors." Strengthening this tie, composer Pino Donaggio (long admired for his collaborations with De Palma and Argento) has done the score for Seed of Chucky.
Mancini comments, "As to the tone, the models for this movie were pictures like An American Werewolf in London and The Evil Dead. Those are horror comedies that are outrageous and hilarious, but also frightening and shocking. Some viewers will also cite similarities between this movie and Wes Craven's New Nightmare, in that there's a film-within-the-film and that certain people are playing 'real-life' versions of their fictional characters. While Seed is definitely self-referential, I believe it's different from other self-referential horror comedies in that I think we're not being precious but truly irreverent.
Everyone in our film-within-the-film has a completely condescending attitude towards the picture that they're making."
"But I was just as inspired - if not more so - by the I Love Lucy episodes that took place in Hollywood. Those episodes had real-life celebrities - John Wayne, William Holden, et al. - interacting with the fictional Ricardo and Mertz characters. Tiffany reminded me of Lucy Ricardo in the sense that she wants to be in the Hollywood show; she wants a career there. And, like Lucy, she stalks her favorite star - Jennifer Tilly."
"Tiffany is a doll stalker!," laughs Tilly. "So we're parodying Single White Female a bit, too - Single White Doll. Also, I'd say, De Palma's Body Double - especially with Pino Donaggio doing the music…
"Don knows all the horror movie conventions. We were filming one scene where he made sure to show an empty room behind one character, because the audience expectation will be that a doll is about to come from behind."
As a filmmaker himself, John Waters had his own flashes of inspiration and on cinema history while acting in Seed. He notes, "You know, I'm always adding things in my mind to every image that I see. There's one sequence I'm in with Jennifer where she enters, a Movie Star with mink coat and sunglasses; it was like La Dolce Vita. I also kept thinking of a great Russ Meyer movie called Good Morning…and Goodbye!, where the actress is naked and horny, and she puts on a mink coat and drives in a convertible to a construction site and leans on the horn until someone comes and has sex with her…
"Not to give it away, but there's a scene in Seed where sulfuric acid goes in my face - which is a throwback, in a good way, to [Waters' own] Female Trouble, where Edith Massey throws acid in Divine's face. So, acid-throwing in people's faces is a great cinematic tradition; it's something that doesn't happen too much in real life…"
Reflecting on a possible movie lineage for the Chucky character, Waters adds, "When I was a kid, I loved [the character of] child murderess Rhoda Penmark in The Bad Seed. Chucky and Rhoda could have hung out together."
It was not only the cast to whom Mancini communicated his enthusiasm and affection for cinematic touchstones, but also the crew. Many were able to get the same wavelength. Visual effects supervisor Graham Cristie reports, "I've got a similar taste in films as Don, so he was quite good to work with. When we would talk about shots, he would give me a couple of references and I'd know exactly what he meant. We spoke the same cinematic language."
Tilly comments, "Don does not patronize horror film fans. He's one himself; he loves, loves, loves horror films. I think that comes through in Seed of Chucky."
Six Feet Over and Under
While making Seed of Chucky, "a whole world existed six feet under the ground," reveals Corey Sienega.
The producer is revealing a secret of the Chucky trade; many of the sets for the movie - including the Hollywood manse where Jennifer Tilly lives in movie-star style - were constructed six feet off the ground. Underneath were crawlspaces for the puppeteer teams who were monitoring and working each individual doll character.
In keeping with the origins of both the series and the Chucky character, the element of physical believability is crucial - which allows the dolls' actions to play as all the more outrageous. On Seed, this was established by building sets of considerable depth. Sienega notes, "With the dolls, you have to make the most of the space and size of every set. One way in which they are threatening is that they can be stealthy and maneuver within confined spaces, based on their size. You don't want to box them in; you want to show that they are moving freely through whatever area they're in, with the live actors."
Don Mancini explains, "Bringing the doll characters to life is a complicated task. There are teams of puppeteers working to make that happen. A large part of that involves breaking down character and emotion into very specific gestures - down to raising an eyebrow or curling the corner of a mouth."
With those specific gestures, the puppeteers were often working from the actors' performances, in that they were given videotapes of the voiceover sessions, as well as audiotapes of the dialogue. Sienega reports, "It's actually the first step of the process. They studied the videotapes for performance details from Jennifer, Brad, and especially Billy."
Guy Louthan comments, "You begin to feel empathy for a character that is latex and steel when all these emotions are coming through; you do sense the performers in the dolls. It's remarkable - and scary."
Seed bucks the current special effects trend in that CGI was largely eschewed in favor of advanced animatronics. Since Mancini's expanding storyline called for a new walking and talking (among other things) doll character, one had to be designed and built from scratch.
David Kirschner, as he had done years prior with first the Chucky and then the Tiffany dolls, created Glen - conceiving and designing the doll's look. He then brought in Tony Gardner to oversee the animatronic characters and effects, having worked with Gardner on two previous productions, Hocus Pocus and Secondhand Lions.
Gardner remembers, "David had several pictures ready, including some drawings, so we knew from the very beginning the specific look he had in mind. Our goal was to take his concept and make it succeed in three dimensions, as well as to figure out how to make
Glen's design complement his parents'. Also, we had to leave enough space for all the mechanical requirements. In the years since Bride of Chucky, there have been significant advances made in the control systems for the dolls.
"With regard to Chucky, there was already a frame of reference; he's supposed to look like he did in Bride - exactly the same, which was almost harder, actually. The work on him had to be exact down to the placement of every stitch and hair. Chucky's scars and cuts are all flushed red as if they were real skin. His hair is punched in as a doll's would be, but we've also made it look like what's become Chucky's organic, growing hair - stringy, long, lank…even a little balding, now."
Tiffany's makeover was more appropriate, given the Hollywood setting. Gardner says, "With her, everyone felt there were areas that could be improved upon. We wanted to improve and increase her performance ability, so we had to make changes to her physically to accommodate more radios and motors and get better articulation."
Tilly remarks, "Tiffany now has almost as big of an entourage as Chucky, in terms of the number of puppeteers crawling along the floor for her."
Gardner reports, "John Waters said we sexed her up a little bit and made her look a little hotter. For when she is in a neutral, inert state, we tried to make her look more pleasant and attractive than before."
For Glen, Gardner and his team went through the script and made a detailed breakdown of Glen's actions, range of emotions, and overall personality. Gardner notes, "With Glen, we were trying to find the median among Tiffany, Chucky, and what Chucky used to look like - all in a gangly body that would look believable next to the others'. Glen was described as having a big wide-eyed look, so his eyes became physically bigger than his parents'."
Working off of Kirschner's drawings, Gardner's team made "7 or 8 different sculptures. We were following the given parameters, but also seeing how far we could push it. Don, David, and Corey actually all gravitated in one direction fairly immediately, so from there it was clear which way to go." A photo of the chosen sculpture then went into a computer, where technicians experimented with everything from Glen's hair color and length to the size of his freckles, eyebrows, and the widening pupils.
"We had to design the wardrobe to complement his face and his skin tone as well," adds Gardner. "We tried to incorporate kids' clothing with a timeless feel. The same with the hair - it's trimmed like an 8-year-old's.
"When we sculpted all the dolls, we did separate heads and hands. This was because they would definitely be seen, so they were cast out of a different material. The body had to be the right shape of the character while also packing in mechanical equipment. So the body and its plastic needed to be as thin as possible; that way, when the doll's costumes came
off, we would be able to see all the motors. We'd monitor if a radio had gone out or a line had come disconnected; there were warning lights in the bodies."
The heads and hands were cast in a combination of foam latex and silicone, plasticized enough so as not to wrinkle or buckle during movement. Gardner elaborates, "You can't just fold and coat skin atop a machine. We wanted to approximate the translucency and depth of skin. The way that skin absorbs light is very important, and we wanted these dolls' skins to read as real. You're already suspending belief, so it was crucial that we sustain the illusion that these dolls are alive. Working on all this was very surreal!"
All told, the doll family of Seed had a lot of human beings working for them: 53 people to build the trio, 7 people to carry each doll onto and around the set, and 15 people to set up and fully operate each doll during shooting. The latter group, remarks Gardner, "had mostly never worked together before, and suddenly they're together under scaffolding or behind couches. They could be in the room, and on stage whenever we weren't seeing the ground in a shot. But they were often underneath the floor.
"We learned everyone's strengths and tried to use them to their best advantage. Some of these people had been puppeteers for 20-30 years, and they would literally dive in, or down, to do whatever it took for the dolls to achieve the necessary physical performance."
Each doll character had two neutral heads and one screaming head, all mechanically functioning. During the initial sculpting process, several (spare) pairs of arms and multiple bodies were made - anticipating the injuries and mayhem detailed in Mancini's screenplay.
Although there had been advances in the technology since Bride, there were still cables extending from the backs of the dolls and leading to the controllers facilitating the movement of the arms, legs, and torsos. For the heads alone, there were three radio-controlled transmitting puppeteers - one operating the eyes, one the eyebrows, and one the mouth. To get even more exact articulation with the mouths, Gardner brought in a computer system that was only just starting to be deployed for feature films. He says, "We used it to drive the performances of Chucky, Tiffany, and Glen which nobody had yet done to the extent we did. These three were sort of the guinea pigs, which made it all the more exciting and gratifying."
The new technology used for the dolls' mouths first required a CD of the doll character's dialogue, already recorded by the actor. The CD was then converted into wave files and transferred into the computer. Gardner reports, "We could play it back either as audio or on a computer screen - you know, when somebody talks and it makes the zigzaggy line."
Next, a puppeteer worked with a quad box. Gardner describes the latter as "a box that you fit your hand on top of and your fingers into. The fingers rest on these pods that slide around the top of the box, so the shape of the mouth is being created - including what the lips are articulating as they move forward. The jaw movement is also controlled at the
same time, so you now don't have to wear a head device that moves the doll's mouth with your own. The dialogue is played back one line at a time and you mouth along with it - by hand. The motor movement is then recorded on top of the audio line of dialogue, since the quad box is connected to the main performance system. If we noticed that, say, the jaw didn't move enough on a line, we were able to play back the lips moving and then rerecord the jawbone by itself and add that to the tracks.
"We got perspective from watching playback and dailies. We'd see how Don was utilizing things, and how [cinematographer] Vernon Layton was lighting the dolls and adjusting for the concept of silicone versus skin."
Gardner also feels that the process is not unlike recording a musical number. He states, "We had separate tracks recording at the same time; think of every function of your mouth…there's the upper lip, the smile pulls on the corner, the lower jaw pushes out as the lower lip pulls down...Now we can tweak those tracks to finesse the visual performance to go with the line readings that the actors have already recorded. If it's something added or new, we can do it on the spot."
While cast members and much of the crew working on the set, the puppeteers, armed with quad boxes, cables, radio transmitters, headsets, and video monitors worked six feet below. Each puppeteer operated a different body part - fingers on the left hand, fingers on the right hand, eyes, arms, head, or torso.
Gardner comments, "Everyone has to be working in tandem to create believable performances from the dolls. Don, David, and Corey understand this, which not a lot of people in the business do; several people have to think as one character, and then together make it work."
Mancini's direction was passed down to the puppeteers through Gardner, who refers to that part of the process as being "the ambassador of good performance. We're performers as well here, getting and taking direction - 'OK, on 'three,' I need him to look out this window…' We had a sound system down below, and monitors, since the floor was actually closed up around and above."
When "Action!" was called, the resulting fluid movement and performance of the dolls would often transfix everyone on - and under - the set. Gardner remembers, "On Seed, there weren't the typical cheap cutaways like in so many genre films. These characters were taken to another level here, and truly integrated into the sequences, which enhances their believability. Our groups pulled off some scenes with all three dolls in the same shot where there was spontaneous applause from all over."
Redman reports, "The puppeteers did a great job. Big ups to them. They're under the floor, scrunched down on their knees - I knew how their backs were hurting…"
From producing so many fantasy and adventure projects, David Kirschner has long admired puppeteers' craft and dedication. He praises them as "a wonderful army. They
have to be on point like the Rockettes - here are 15 people working joysticks and servos, and if one is off then the entire shot and whole performance is off."
"When it works, it's a thrill," says Gardner. One good measure of the effectiveness of his groups' efforts on behalf of Seed of Chucky is the scene that features all three dolls onscreen with Gardner himself as a puppeteer, as his work literally goes to his head.
Never Say Die
As the tiny terror has become part of a deadly duo and now a twisted trio, the signature mixture of horror and comedy has been refined and enhanced by everyone on Team Chucky, from the puppeteers behind the dolls to the writer who has now gotten behind the camera.
"Laughter and screaming are a great combination for a movie," says Don Mancini. "That's what I hope I've delivered with Seed of Chucky."
"Over the course of the series, Chucky has always been wrestling with life as a doll. In Seed, Chucky has an epiphany, and it's one that I think a lot of people will be able to relate to - not just Chucky fans," comments Corey Sienega.
"With Glen, now there are more possibilities. Don already has an idea for a sixth movie; he's already got the opening shot mapped out. I don't want to give anything away, but it's fabulous," confides Jennifer Tilly.
John Waters confidently states, "I think there will be a sixth and seventh movie, and I think one should be a musical. There could be Chucky fighting Jason and Freddy and then Gorgo, the Hulk - all of them. It could keep going until he took over the world, and it was the end of the world and there was only Chucky. And I'll pay to see every one of them, right to the end."
Seed of Chucky
About the Cast
JENNIFER TILLY (Herself; voice of Tiffany)
An actress who always attracts audiences' attention, Jennifer Tilly is by turns funny, sexy, compassionate, and compelling - and often all at once.
Her breakthrough movie role tapped into all of those qualities - failing singer Blanche "Monica" Moran in Steve Kloves' The Fabulous Baker Boys, opposite Jeff and Beau Bridges.
A few years later, Jennifer earned an Academy Award nomination for her portrayal of the aspiring, but hopelessly untalented, actress Olive Neal in Woody Allen's Bullets over Broadway.
She has become well-known to filmgoers for both major studio and independent films. In Tom Shadyac's blockbuster Liar Liar, she kept pace with star Jim Carrey. Her steamy performance opposite Gina Gershon helped make the Wachowski Brothers' Bound a breakout indie success at the Sundance Film Festival and then in theatrical release. The latter film also expanded Jennifer's already significant gay and lesbian following.
She successfully cultivated another fan base with the revitalization of the Child's Play horror comedy franchise. For Bride of Chucky, directed by Ronny Yu, the filmmakers turned to Jennifer to play the character who would spark the series in a new direction. She met the challenge and established a new horror icon in Tiffany, a role she reprises in Seed of Chucky.
Jennifer's pitch-perfect voiceover work as Tiffany is not the only instance of her being able to incarnate a character from the vocal chords out. Families know her distinctive cadences from the recent Disney hits Home on the Range (in which Jennifer voiced a new-age bovine), directed by Will Finn and John Sanford; The Haunted Mansion (in which Jennifer acted from the neck up only), directed by Rob Minkoff; and the Pixar blockbuster Monsters, Inc. (voicing Mike's love interest Celia), directed by Pete Docter, David Silverman, and Lee Unkrich.
She began her acting career as a teenager, putting herself through the theater program at Stephens College in Missouri by winning writing competitions. She then headed to Los Angeles. While she continued to act on the stage (earning a Dramalogue Award for her performance in Vanities), movies and television immediately came calling for the actress with the unique voice and visage.
Her many films include Neil Jordan's High Spirits, Oliver Stone's The Doors, Richard Benjamin's Made in America, Roger Donaldson's The Getaway, Joe Pytka's Let It Ride, P.J. Castellaneta's Relax…It's Just Sex, Michael Radford's Dancing at the Blue Iguana, and Peter Bogdanovich's The Cat's Meow (in which she played Louella Parsons).
Jennifer has also continued to act on the stage. She won a Theater World Award for her performance in off-Broadway's One Shoe Off, and starred on Broadway in the 2001 revival of The Women (which was later taped for, and broadcast on, PBS).
She next stars with Jeff Bridges in Terry Gilliam's highly anticipated new film Tideland.
REDMAN (Himself)
Multi-talented and multi-platinum recording star Redman recently produced the Fox Network comedy series Method & Red, in which he starred opposite his friend and frequent collaborator Method Man.
A seminal rap artist whose career began over a decade ago, Redman recorded five solo albums on Def Jam Recordings, all of which were been top-sellers: "Whut? Thee Album" (which included the single "Blow Your Mind," which hit #1 on the rap music charts); "Dare Iz A Darkside"; "Muddy Waters"; "Doc's da Name 2000"; and "Malpractice." A sixth album, "Red Gone Wild," is due out in November 2004.
He also released two successful collaboration albums: "Blackout!" (with Method Man) and "El Nino" (with Def Squad). Another collaboration, this time with De La Soul, brought Redman a Grammy Award nomination for the single "Ooohh." Recently, Redman was again a Grammy Award nominee for his performance on Christina Aguilera's "Dirrty," for which he also received a MTV Video Music Award nomination and a Teen Choice Award nomination.
A native of Newark, New Jersey, Redman starred with Method Man in Jesse Dylan's popular comedy How High, for which he also composed songs. He has appeared in several music documentaries, including Rhyme & Reason and Backstage; and has composed songs for such films as Charles Stone III's Paid in Full, Rob Cohen's The Fast and the Furious, and Thomas Carter's Save the Last Dance.
Redman's latest mix tape is "Ill At Will Volume 1," and his latest solo album is "Red Gone Wild." His Gilla House Records is the home of such recording artists as Mally G., Saukratus, Icaurus, and two R & B Soul acts: Melanie Rutherford and Ellis Hall III.
HANNAH SPEARRITT (Joan)
Actress/singer Hannah Spearritt has a fan following in not only her native U.K. but also around the world.
Hannah previously starred on-screen, opposite Frankie Muniz, in Kevin Allen's Agent Cody Banks: Destination London. She has long been actively involved in theatre, and as such has performed onstage in both the U.S. and the U.K. (beginning with a production of Annie). Her other acting credits, for U.K. television, include The Inspector Pitt Mysteries and the children's series Blue Peter, as well as various commercials.
She became well-known all over the globe as one of the members of the British pop music group S Club 7. The group's television specials and series, S Club 7 in Miami, provided Hannah with the opportunity to pursue both her acting and singing careers. The latter show debuted on the BBC in 1999 and was soon syndicated to America and other countries. Four globally successful S Club 7 albums followed, with such hit singles as "Bring it All Back," "Two In A Million," "S Club Party," "Don't Stop Movin'," and "Never Had A Dream Come True" topping the U.K. charts and charting worldwide as well.
JOHN WATERS (Pete Peters)
John Waters is the renowned, revered, and reviled writer/director from Baltimore who has created some of the most controversial motion pictures of the last four decades.
Beginning in the early 1960s, John assembled a cast of close friends, mostly native Baltimoreans, to create such underground favorites as the short films Hag in a Black Leather Jacket, Roman Candles (his first film with Divine and Mink Stole), Eat Your Makeup, and The Diane Linkletter Story; Mondo Trasho, his first full-length feature, during the shooting of which he and two actors were arrested for "participating in a misdemeanor" (basically, indecent exposure); and Multiple Maniacs, which spotlighted "The Cavalcade of Perversions."
With the release of the unforgettable Pink Flamingos (starring Divine), John was launched into the cult of celebrity as the film went on to become a smash success at midnight screenings in the U.S. and all over the world. His subsequent films included Female Trouble, Desperate Living, and Polyester. The latter was lensed in glorious "Odorama," allowing the audience to smell along with the characters in their fragrant search for romantic happiness.
John's 1988 feature Hairspray was the last film to star his friend Divine. The movie was later adapted into a Tony Award-winning musical, which opened on Broadway in 2002 and has been successfully running ever since, with concurrent stagings around the world.
His other movies include Cry-Baby, Serial Mom, Pecker, Cecil B. DeMented, and, most recently, A Dirty Shame.
In addition to making movies, John has authored several books: Shock Value, Trash Trio, Crackpot, and Director's Cut. With Bruce Hainley, he co-authored Art: A Sex Book.
His photographs have been displayed in galleries all over the world. In February 2004, the New Museum of Contemporary Art in New York City presented "John Waters: Change of Life," featuring rare items and photographs from his personal collections. A catalogue of the same title, now available from Abrams Publishing, accompanied the exhibition.
BILLY BOYD (voice of Glen)
Billy Boyd attained worldwide fame and acclaim with his portrayal of Peregrin "Pippin" Took in Peter Jackson's epic film trilogy adaptation of J. R. R. Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings (The Fellowship of the Ring, The Two Towers, and The Return of the King).
Billy holds the distinction of starring as part of an extraordinary ensemble in two of this past year's Academy Award nominees for Best Picture: The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (which won 11 Academy Awards, including the Best Picture prize) and Peter Weir's Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World (which won 2 Academy Awards).
His other film credits include Geneviève Jolliffe's Urban Ghost Story, Robert Cavanah and Iain Macdonald's The Soldier's Leap, and Gaby Dellal's upcoming On a Clear Day (in which he stars with Peter Mullan and Brenda Blethyn).
A native of Glasgow, Billy graduated from the Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama with a diploma in Dramatic Arts. He then performed in numerous theatre productions in Scotland and the U.K. His stage work includes St. Andrew's Repertory productions of The Secret Diary of Adrian Mole and The Slab Boys; the Original Shakespeare Company production of Much Ado About Nothing; the Royal Lyceum productions of The Merchant of Venice, Hansel & Gretel, Britannia Rules, Thérèse Raquin, and An Experienced Woman Gives Advice; and the Traverse Theatre productions of The Chic Nerds, Kill the Old, Torture Their Young, and The Speculator. He toured the U.K. in stage productions of Trainspotting (starring as Tommy and Sick Boy), Widows, Caledonia Dreaming, and The Ballad of Crazy Paola.
For U.K. television, Billy has appeared in such shows as Taggart and Still Game, as well as Annie Griffin's feature Coming Soon and Paul Holmes' short Sniper 470. He has also performed in numerous radio plays.
BRAD DOURIF (voice of Chucky)
Brad Dourif played Charles Lee Ray and also voiced Chucky in the original Child's Play. By popular demand, he has continued to speak for the latter character ever since and is the only actor to have starred in all five movies. The previous four movies in the series were directed by, respectively, Tom Holland, John Lafia, Jack Bender, and Ronny Yu.
Brad currently stars as Doc Cochran on the acclaimed HBO Western drama series Deadwood, for which he recently received an Emmy Award nomination.
His memorable portrayal of Billy Bibbit in Milos Forman's multi-Academy Award-winning One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest earned him Golden Globe and BAFTA Awards, as well as an Academy Award nomination.
Born and raised in Huntington, West Virginia, Brad started acting in school productions before progressing to community theater, joining the Huntington Community Players while attending Marshall University. He then moved to New York City, where he began working with the Circle Repertory Company. His performance in their production of When You Comin' Back, Red Ryder? brought him to the attention of Milos Forman, who cast him as Billy Bibbit (and would later cast him again, in Ragtime).
He has since appeared in dozens of movies, among them Irvin Kershner's Eyes of Laura Mars, John Huston's Wise Blood, Michael Cimino's Heaven's Gate, David Lynch's Dune and Blue Velvet, Alan Parker's Mississippi Burning, Spike Lee's Jungle Fever, Hanif Kureishi's London Kills Me, Dario Argento's Trauma, Richard Rush's Color of Night, Marc Rocco's Murder in the First, Jean-Pierre Jeunet's Alien Resurrection, and Peter Jackson's The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers.
Brad has guest-starred on several notable television series, including in a recurring role on Star Trek: Voyager. His other television credits include the series Ponderosa and the cult miniseries Wild Palms.
About the Filmmakers
DON MANCINI (Director; Writer)
Don Mancini, creator of the Chucky franchise and screenwriter on all five movies in the series, makes his feature directorial debut with Seed of Chucky.
While attending UCLA, he conceived the sleeper hit Child's Play. After receiving sole story and co-screenwriting credit on that film, Don has been the sole screenwriter on every subsequent film in the long-running series: Child's Play 2, Child's Play 3, Bride of Chucky (on which he also served as executive producer and second-unit director), and now Seed of Chucky.
Among Don's other screenwriting credits is the "Fitting Punishment" episode of HBO's Tales from the Crypt.
His screenplays in development include two adventure fantasies for legendary producer Dino de Laurentiis: Atlas and The Dog Who Cried Wolf. Most recently, he sold a screenplay for an all-CGI animated feature, The Fur Flies.
Don will also be reteaming with his Team Chucky colleague, producer David Kirschner, on the television project Salem P.D., from his original dramatic thriller concept. Don has
set the planned series in Salem, Massachusetts. Although he was born in Boston, Massachusetts, he grew up in Richmond, Virginia.
After two years as an English major at Columbia University, Mancini took a year off from school to work on the crew of the daytime drama Search For Tomorrow. Resuming his education, he transferred to UCLA for his junior year, enrolling in the school's film program and also conceiving Child's Play.
DAVID KIRSCHNER (Producer)
David Kirschner, producer on every movie in the popular Chucky series, created and designed the Chucky doll for the first movie in the series, Child's Play, which he produced. He has remained producer on every movie in the long-running series ever since, and has also created and designed the other dolls in the Ray family, Tiffany (who debuted in Bride of Chucky) and Glen (who debuts in Seed of Chucky). Bride Of Chucky received three Saturn Award nominations from the Academy of Science Fiction, Fantasy, and Horror Films: Best Horror Film, Best Screenplay, and Best Actress (for Jennifer Tilly). The film also brought Chucky himself an MTV Movie Award nomination for Best Villain.
He is partnered with producer Corey Sienega in David Kirschner Productions, which maintains an eclectic slate of projects, focusing primarily on family and genre films.
David began his career as an illustrator for Jim Henson's cherished Muppet and Sesame Street characters. At the age of 23, he conceived, wrote, and illustrated his own series of children's books, entitled Rose Petal Place. The stories spawned a total of sixteen books, two television specials, and over 1,100 different products.
In 1986, he created and executive-produced (with Steven Spielberg) the smash hit animated feature An American Tail. A sequel, An American Tail 2: Fievel Goes West, followed, as did a Saturday morning animated series (Fievel's American Tails) and three more direct-to-video features.
David conceived the story for, and produced, the live-action hit comedy-thriller Hocus Pocus starring Bette Midler, Sarah Jessica Parker, and Kathy Najimy; and co-wrote and produced the animated musical Once Upon a Forest.
He created and produced a number of innovative television specials, including the Emmy Award-winning The Last Halloween, the first-ever longform television program to combine computer-generated images with live action and miniatures; the Emmy Award-nominated The Dreamer of Oz, based on the life of The Wonderful Wizard of Oz creator L. Frank Baum, starring John Ritter and Annette O'Toole; and The Halloween Tree, written and narrated by Ray Bradbury, which won an Emmy Award for Best Animated Children's Program.
Returning to movies, David produced the boxoffice smash The Flintstones, again in partnership with Steven Spielberg, before co-writing and producing the combination live-action and animated fantasy The Pagemaster. That film starred Macaulay Culkin (in both the live-action and the animated segments), as well as the voices of Whoopi Goldberg, Leonard Nimoy, and Patrick Stewart. The Pagemaster was based upon a book which he co-wrote that was named the American Library Association's Children's Book of the Year. The book went on to be published in 14 languages.
He next produced the animated musical feature Cats Don't Dance, which was honored with the Golden Crown at Annecy and the prestigious Annie (American Animation) Award for Best Feature. The movie's score was by Randy Newman, with vocals by Natalie Cole and choreography by the legendary Gene Kelly.
David next worked on two sci-fi projects, producing the animated adventure film Titan A.E. (which starred, in voiceover, Matt Damon and Drew Barrymore) and executive-producing the Emmy Award-nominated series Gene Roddenberry's Earth: Final Conflict, which aired for five seasons and can still be seen all over the world.
His next film projects as producer were the critically acclaimed psychological thriller Frailty, starring Bill Paxton and Matthew McConaughey; and the family favorite Secondhand Lions, which starred Michael Caine, Robert Duvall, and Haley Joel Osment.
For Universal Pictures, David is currently making Curious George, an animated adaptation of the classic children's books, which he is producing with Ron Howard and Brian Grazer. Will Ferrell is voicing Curious George's friend, The Man in the Yellow Hat.
David Kirschner Productions will next partner with Mike Medavoy's Phoenix Pictures to produce Miss Potter, written by Tony Award winner Richard Maltby. David will direct the CGI-animated sequences in the romantic biographical drama about famed children's author and illustrator Beatrix Potter. Bruce Beresford is slated to direct the film.
David will also produce The Martian Child, a comedy-drama based on the Hugo and Nebula Award-winning short story by sci-fi luminary David Gerrold, to star John Cusack for writer/director Menno Meyjes.
COREY SIENEGA (Producer)
Corey Sienega is a producing partner in David Kirschner Productions, and was executive producer of Bride of Chucky (directed by Ronny Yu).
The California native attended San Francisco State University's School of Cinema. After working as a contributing writer for Film Threat, she began a new career in the literary department at the talent agency Susan Smith and Associates.
After working in development at Meg Ryan's production company Fandango Films, Corey joined David Kirschner Productions in 1993 and has been a producing partner there since 1998. The company maintains an eclectic slate of projects, focusing primarily on family and genre films.
She has produced the critically acclaimed psychological thriller Frailty, starring Bill Paxton (who also directed the film) and Matthew McConaughey; and the family favorite Secondhand Lions, which starred Michael Caine, Robert Duvall, and Haley Joel Osment and was written and directed by Tim McCanlies.
David Kirschner Productions will next partner with Mike Medavoy's Phoenix Pictures to produce Miss Potter, written by Tony Award winner Richard Maltby. David will direct the CGI-animated sequences in the romantic biographical drama about famed children's author and illustrator Beatrix Potter. Bruce Beresford is slated to direct the film.
Corey has recently established her own production banner, La Sienega Productions, which marks its debut with, in association with David Kirschner Productions on, Seed of Chucky.
She will next produce The Martian Child, a comedy-drama based on the Hugo and Nebula Award-winning short story by sci-fi luminary David Gerrold, to star John Cusack for writer/director Menno Meyjes. That film will be the second joint project for David Kirschner Productions and La Sienega Productions.
GUY J. LOUTHAN (Executive Producer)
Guy J. Louthan recently produced Duncan Roy's Method, starring Elizabeth Hurley and Jeremy Sisto; line-produced Peter Hyams' A Sound of Thunder, starring Edward Burns and Sir Ben Kingsley; and executive-produced Jaume Balaguero's Darkness (a.k.a. The Dark), starring Anna Paquin and Lena Olin.
He also recently was writer and director on the documentary series West End Nights, about the London social scene, for the U.K.'s Channel 5; and wrote three episodes of the television series Dark Realm.
Guy's other credits include producing Mary Lambert's independent feature Clubland, starring Alexis Arquette; co-producing Lisa Krueger's Committed, starring Heather Graham; associate-producing and producing, respectively, Penelope Spheeris' documentaries The Decline Of Western Civilization Parts II and III; co-producing Leslie Greif's Keys to Tulsa, starring James Spader; producing Elodie Keene's telefilm On the Line, starring Linda Hamilton; and line-producing Marc Rocco's Where the Day Takes You.
As vice president in charge of feature film production at ITC Entertainment Group, he oversaw the production of nine movies, including Rusty Cundieff's Fear of a Black Hat
and John Dahl's critically applauded The Last Seduction, starring Linda Fiorentino and Bill Pullman.
Guy previously produced, among other projects, Kurt Voss' independent feature Genuine Risk, starring Terence Stamp, Peter Berg, and Michelle Johnson; Bert Dragin's Twice Dead; and Penelope Spheeris' documentary Thud. He also headed physical production for Columbia Pictures' Discovery Program.
VERNON LAYTON, B.S.C. (Director of Photography)
British cinematographer Vernon Layton has spent the past four decades working at his craft. He began as a camera operator for LWT, where he shot television dramas as well as the pop program, Ready Steady Go, recording on camera such legends as The Beatles, Jimi Hendrix, and The Who. He also shot The Rolling Stones Rock'n'Roll Circus, which featured Jethro Tull, John Lennon, and Yoko Ono (among others) along with the Stones.
Academy Award-winning cinematographer Walter Lassally encouraged Vernon to make the leap to director of photography. He did so, and began shooting commercials directed by Ridley Scott as well as such documentaries as John Jeremy's Jazz is Our Religion.
His first feature as cinematographer was Tom Clegg's McVicar, starring Roger Daltrey. Among the subsequent features he has shot are Simon Moore's Under Suspicion, Danny Cannon's The Young Americans and I Still Know What You Did Last Summer, Christopher Monger's The Englishman Who Went Up a Hill But Came Down a Mountain, Hart Bochner's High School High, Willi Patterson's Don't Go Breaking My Heart, Ben Bolt's telefilm Second Nature, and Laurent Firode's upcoming My First Wedding, starring Rachael Leigh Cook.
Vernon's television work as cinematographer also includes episodes of The Professionals and Poirot (starring David Suchet).
PETER JAMES RUSSELL (Production Designer)
Seed of Chucky is Peter James Russell's first movie as production designer. He was supervising art director on all three films in George Lucas' second Star Wars trilogy: Star Wars: Episode I - The Phantom Menace, Star Wars: Episode II - Attack of the Clones, and the globally awaited Star Wars: Episode III - Revenge of the Sith.
He was the Malta art director on Ridley Scott's Academy Award-winning Gladiator, for which he shared an Art Director Guild Award for Excellence in Production Design.
Peter has also worked as art director on Marc Forster's Finding Neverland, Stephen Sommers' The Mummy, Michael Cohn's Snow White: A Tale of Terror, Mel Smith's Radioland Murders, Agnieszka Holland's The Secret Garden, Mark Herman's Blame It on the Bellboy, and Bernard Rose's Chicago Joe and the Showgirl.
He was senior draughtsman on Danny Cannon's Judge Dredd, and prior to that worked as draughtsman on such films as David Seltzer's Shining Through, starring Michael Douglas and Melanie Griffith, David S. Ward's King Ralph, Jonathan Lynn's Nuns on the Run, Steven Spielberg's Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade, and Robert Zemeckis' Who Framed Roger Rabbit.
Peter was assistant art director on such projects as Ridley Scott's 1492: Conquest Of Paradise, Bob Rafelson's Mountains of the Moon, and Steven Spielberg's Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom.
CRISTIAN NICULESCU (Production Designer)
Cristian Niculescu worked as art director on Anthony Minghella's Cold Mountain.
Cristian was previously production designer on such horror and thriller features as Simon Fellows' Blessed, Duncan Roy's Method, J.T. Petty's Mimic: Sentinel (the third in the horror series), Joe Chappelle's Dark Prince: The True Story of Dracula, and David DeCoteau's Frankenstein Reborn!
The Romanian native has also been production designer on Luke Cresswell and Steve McNicholas' Vacuums and Radu Mihaileanu's Train of Life, among other films.
His other films as art director include Thom Fitzgerald's Wolf Girl, Douglas Aarniokoski's Highlander: Endgame, and Pete Hewitt's telefilm Princess of Thieves.
CHRIS DICKENS (Editor)
Chris Dickens recently edited another Rogue Pictures release, Edgar Wright's Shaun of the Dead. Working with the latter creative team, he edited both BAFTA Award-nominated series of the U.K. television comedy Spaced.
He has also worked on the editing department of such features as Eugene Brady's The Nephew, Patrick Dewolf's Innocent Lies, and Ralph Ziman's Hearts and Minds.
Chris' many U.K. television drama and comedy editing credits include Declan Lowney's telefilm Cruise of the Gods, Gareth Marenghi's The Told, Lenny Blue, Lucky Jim, and At Home with the Braithwaites.
TONY GARDNER (Animatronic Characters and Effects)
As special effects and make-up artist, Tony Gardner has been responsible for some memorable screen images. His recent handiwork includes ballooning Selma Blair's bust for John Waters' A Dirty Shame; crafting Academy Award winner Chris Cooper's dental deficiencies in Spike Jonze's Adaptation; transforming Gwyneth Paltrow into a 375-lb. woman in the Farrelly Brothers' Shallow Hal; tracking the internal trajectory of a bullet
in David O. Russell's Three Kings; and outfitting a dog in a full-body cast (and more) in the Farrellys' There's Something About Mary.
Tony began his career learning from Rick Baker on Michael Jackson's landmark "Thriller" video, directed by John Landis. Similarly, he has had the privilege of working with Greg Cannom and Stan Winston multiple times.
He previously worked with producers David Kirschner and Corey Sienega on Tim McCanlies' Secondhand Lions. Among the many other feature projects Tony has contributed to are Dan O'Bannon's The Return of the Living Dead, Sam Raimi's Darkman, Oliver Stone's The Doors, Barry Sonnenfeld's The Addams Family, Kenny Ortega's Hocus Pocus (produced by David Kirschner), Jan De Bont's Speed, Andrew Fleming's The Craft, Michael Bay's The Rock, P.J. Hogan's My Best Friend's Wedding, Joel Schumacher's Batman and Robin, Robert Zemeckis' Contact, Mel Smith's Bean, David Koepp's Stir of Echoes, the Farrellys' Me, Myself and Irene and Stuck on You, Michel Gondry's Human Nature, Jeff Tremaine's jackass: the movie, Renny Harlin's Mindhunters, and Mike Mitchell's Surviving Christmas.
For television, Tony has worked on such shows as ER, Arrested Development, Alien Hunter, jackass, The Tick, Sabrina the Teenage Witch, Another World, Mad About You, the telefilm The Darkling (directed by Po-Chih Leong), and the miniseries Stephen King's 'The Tommyknockers' (directed by John Power).
He has also done numerous television commercials and contributed to park rides for Disneyland, Disney's California Adventure, and Disney's Epcot Center.
PINO DONAGGIO (Music)
Pino Donaggio is perhaps best-known among movie buffs for his collaborations with filmmaker Brian De Palma. The two first teamed on the 1976 classic Carrie, followed by (among other projects) Dressed to Kill, Blow Out, Body Double, and Raising Cain. The duo plans to reunite for the upcoming Toyer.
Pino is also the author of one of pop's most enduring anthems, "You Don't Have to Say You Love Me," which has been performed by over 250 artists (including Dusty Springfield, Elvis Presley and Cher) and has sold over 67 million records.
Beginning with Nicolas Roeg's Don't Look Now, the Italian-born composer has scored over 100 films, including Herb Freed's Haunts, Joe Dante's Piranha and The Howling, Tim Hunter's Tex, Herbert Ross' Dancers, Tina Rathborne's Zelly and Me, Dario Argento and George A. Romero's Two Evil Eyes, Dario Argento's Trauma, and Philip and Belinda Haas' Up at the Villa.
Pino has been honored with a Career Award from the Academy of Science Fiction, Fantasy and Horror Films.
OANA PAUNESCU (Costume Designer)
Oana Paunescu worked as Romanian costume coordinator on Anthony Minghella's Cold Mountain.
The Romanian native's work as costume designer spans over a decade and includes many movies in the horror genre. Among these are Duncan Roy's Method, Simon Fellows' Blessed, Thom Fitzgerald's Wolf Girl, Joe Chappelle's Dark Prince: The True Story of Dracula, and David DeCoteau's Witchouse.
Oana attended the Art Academy of Bucharest and graduated with a diploma of Scenic Design.
註：以上資訊由片主或其推廣代表提供。本網並不保證此等資訊是否正確。
Note: The information above is provided by the owners of the film or their agents
who are responsible for the promotion of the film. We do not guarantee the accuracy
of such information.
相關連結 Related Links
|
Copyright(C)
1999-2011 Hong Kong Internet Ventures. All rights reserved.
|