SCARY MOVIE 4 - Q&A with REGINA HALL
Anna Faris says you always make her laugh when you work together?
She does it to me too! I laugh when I hear her being Cindy. I think we just have fun. We are usually cracking jokes together.
Is this friendship because you started out together on the first SCARY MOVIE?
That probably had something to do with it. But I think we also just liked each other.
Did you immediately say yes to SCARY MOVIE 4?
I think so. Once I knew Anna was in it and David Zucker was back on board.
Is it fun to do?
It's not always that fun. It doesn't look like a lot of work but it is. It is so precise. But it is more important that it looks fun to do than it is fun to do. It's a comedy so we are glad it looks fun. But some days it was a lot of fun. Especially when we were all working together. When there was more of the cast involved then that was good.
Is physical humour tough to do?
It is because you have to act like you don't see the knock on the head coming. It's not like performing heart surgery but it is so specific that you have to go through a lot of takes. We also have deadlines that we have to stick to because since SCARY MOVIE is parodying movies that are recent it has to be shot and edited in a fast turn around.
How hard is it to keep the comedy fresh when you have to do a number of takes?
You do get tired and sometimes you don't even know when it's showing and so that's when it is great to have a director who is paying attention to the monitor. And you think that you have to get it together or else you'll be doing the scene again. You have to get it right or it doesn't work. Sometimes when the stunt doesn't work and you have to do it again you can feel that it isn't funny. You might think that you have done it five times and it was funny the first two. But you just keep doing it - that's the part of it that's a big part of your job. I just dig deep, take a breath and decide that I'm going to fly through the air like I've never flown through the air before.
You trained to be a journalist before acting?
I have my Masters in journalism but I did not get the opportunity to work in the field because as soon as I finished school I went to acting school.
Were your parents worried when you decided on an acting career?
Yes my mother said...just when I thought you were finally going to get a job. But it did not feel that risky. The thing about doing certain things at different stages in your life is that you don't see the risk. It was something I wanted to do so I felt that I should just do it. Now I wouldn't do it because I have more knowledge and experience. Thank God I was ignorant then and decided to go for it.
Did you ever suffer stage fright?
Yes. I always get nervous but the great thing about it is that by the time you actually start doing it - it goes away and turns into a strange sort of adrenaline. If I feel nervous in a scene or audition I know that feeling will soon go away and I will be fine.
What was the hardest scene for you in SCARY MOVIE 4?
We had to stay for about a week in those helmets in the SAW bathroom. Those helmets were really heavy and wearing them was not that easy. Also the green screen stuff was not easy either.
Do you keep a diary?
I should! I keep one every time my heart gets broken - then once I am happy again I stop writing. Going back and reading those diaries really makes me happy. I was reading one when I had poured my heart out and it was poetic. As I read it I thought that I didn't even remember feeling like that. It's amazing! When I read it...I almost said I can't go on! There were things like 'the dull ache in my heart'....'I'm crying again as I think of you'...Whatever! I read it and thought I was out of my mind. (Laughs) Every time I fall in love or I am heartbroken it is just as devastating. But in hindsight it is pretty funny. Those diaries make me laugh. I should go and crack them open right now because when you get over something you forget. So it is a reminder. The funny thing is one of the guys still thinks I feel about him the way I did then. But a woman has moved on.
What about doing ALLY McBEAL?
I enjoyed that and working with Calista Flockhart and Peter McNichol. They are insanely talented.
What's next?
I have two indie films coming out - DANIKA with Craig Bierko and then THE OPTIMIST. THE OPTIMIST is about a crazy Russian family living in America and DANIKA is a psychological thriller with a lot of twists and turns.
Do you prefer comedy or drama?
I like them both. Sometimes it's nice to do a comedy and you don't have to get in a state of emotional upheaval and be crying.
Do you like scary movies?
I do. I like thrillers but I like scary movies too. I thought THE TEXAS CHAINSAW MASSACRE was really gory, but I still watched it. When I was younger I sometimes had nightmares after seeing scary movies. The worst thing about a scary dream is trying to wake up and you are still in the dream. And you want to wake up so badly!
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