ALEX WINTER:THE INTERVIEW

November 24,1997

You've always been very comedy orientated, who do you think are some of today's comedic geniuses? Or yesterday's for that matter?

AW: Buster Keaton is tops for me. Seeing his movies as a kid is what got me started making them. No one comes close, certainly not Chaplin. Peter Sellars and Spike Milligan are big influences. Monty Python, all that whacky British nonsense. Stateside; Richard Pryor, Rudy Ray Moore, John Kricfalusi (of Ren and Stimpy fame), and the late Bill Hicks are the kings.

You said in an interview that FREAKED has been through 7 names. I'm aware of 3 (Hideous Mutant Freekz, Freekz and Freaked) what were the others?

AW: "Very Special People" is actually the title we shot the film with. It was a gag to keep the Unions from finding us while we shot. They found us eventually anyway, and tried to persuade our crew to take part in union-organized sex-change operations. Many of our number took the bait, later suffering from severe bouts of depression and ending their lives in a gruesome variety of ways.

How did the idea for Freaked originate, and did you have any doubts that this was going to be the one for you and Tom to really sink your teeth into?

AW: It was all my idea. I don't care what Tom says. And Tim Burns is just an anagram for "Who's wearing my cravat?!"

I've seen some of the outs from FREAKED which are absolutely hilarious such as Rick's goodbye to his fellow freekz and the caption "Life Sucks the big..." y'know. Really great stuff, why didn't it make it to the final cut? Who had the final word, you guys or the studio?

AW: We did, I'm afraid. The UK print has that scene and the Wheel of Fortune scene. After much time, and having come out of my drug-addled haze, I have to say the film is better with those scenes in. Now I know what a "Director's Cut" means. It's when the director screws up and cuts something, only later to realize it should have stayed in, then he blames the studio and re-releases the film to much acclaim and a jumpstarted career.

Speaking of censors, " The Idiot Box " was truly cutting edge comedy, in my opinion. Were there any bits that didn't quite make it because it was for the MTV audience, or did they just let you go wild on it?

AW: They honestly let us go wild. We were amazed they aired it. Tom and I had to laugh because we had tame music videos get censored from MTV at the same time they were showing that depraved bit of business. You got to love 'em. The whole clueless, hopeless and evil, greedy, bloodsucking, child-murdering lot of 'em.

What sketches on "The Idiot Box" did you have the most fun on? Who were your favorite characters?

AW: Without a doubt it's Willard Shreck. It's the only decent bit of acting I've ever done. The Gimp also has a warm place in my heart. Actually, it's in my trousers, but the less said about that, the better.

I know you've said you always wanted to be the one to MAKE the movies, did you use acting as a means to this end or do you genuinely enjoy acting as well?

AW: I really do enjoy acting. But I've been making movies since I was eight years old. It's my first love, and if I can make a living doing it, then I don't worry about the acting. I do miss it, but it's a big commitment to be part of that scene and audition, etc. I just don't have the time right now.

Did starring in FREAKED change your view an acting at all? I mean, did it help that you were the one who created this character and wrote the dialog rather than having a character written for you by someone else?

AW: Well, that script was a collaborative process, so we all had a hand in creating the vile monster that is Ricky Coogin. It didn't really change my view, because we had all done the Idiot Box together (me, Tom and Tim). It was just like an extension of that show really.

Are there any plans to work with Tom again in the future?

AW: No definite plans, but a definite desire. We're both busy working on other things, and developing other projects. When the time is right, I'm sure we'll give it another whirl.

How do you like England, and are you planning on working over there or will you have another go at Hollywood?

AW: England is great for film right now. I've done some really interesting work here, with some amazing technicians and writers. I am developing a film now through Hollywood, and planning to do more commercial and video work in the states next year. But I'll miss the steady diet of pickled onions and lumps of cheese that keeps me going through these dark, drizzly British days.

What are some of your favorite movies or directors? What has influenced you the most?

AW: Too much to mention here. My favorite director is Andrei Tarkovsky. Music influences me heavily, as does architecture, and the little hairs that are beginning to show up on my toes. I can only say that I watch a lot of movies, but most of them were made before 1980. Film, heck art in general, is in dire straits these days. And American cinema is practically atrophied.

Do you think you'll stick with comedy or do you have any plans to tap into any other genres, such as horror?

AW: I've written a couple of films post-Freaked, and none of them are comedies. One is a very scientific horror film, another is a violent drama and I'm just finishing a psychological thriller which I hope to shoot next year.

You said you wrote some scripts for Sam Raimi. Is there anything you can tell me about these? Did anything, or will anything come of these?

AW: Tom and I wrote an anthology comedy which Sam wanted to produce for us to direct. It was years ago, right after Amazon Women on The Moon flopped, and we couldn't get it sold. Hollywood is weird that way. When a film flops hard they won't make another one vaguely like it for years, as if the whole genre is flawed. It never occurs to them that maybe that flop was simply an isolated pile of crap. Most of our script got turned into The Idiot Box.

What do you think of Peter Jackson's work? He's one of my faves right now- a fellow Raimi protege.

AW: I think he's great. I saw Meet the Feebles years ago and it blew me away. I think that's his best work, but I did enjoy Brain Dead and Heavenly Creatures.

What kind of music are you listening to right now? Who are your all-time favorites?

AW: I mostly listen to jazz and reggae music. My favorite rock bands are AC/DC and ZZ Top, so that tells you how unhip I am to most new bands. My feeling about current music is about the same as it is about cinema. Rock music is fully corporate these days, and it shows in the music. New good stuff from the states usually bubbles out of Bill Laswell's Axiom records. As a band, Blind Idiot God still reigns supreme. Good luck finding their records. And it's always worth raiding SST's back catalog for the Meat Puppets and Minutemen classics from when there was a real indie scene.

Do you have a dream list of bands or actors you would like to work with? Have you gotten to work with any of your idols as of yet?

AW: I got to shoot a vid for Bootsy Collins last year which was really a blast. We shot him on Wall street in the middle of the day. People were losing their minds. He was dressed in a red beaded tunic with a giant black Casper ghost embroidered on the front. What a champ!

What are you most proud of in your career? Is there anything you'd care to forget?

AW: I have a hard time looking at my past as a career. I know it sounds precious, but I really just work in the moment. I'm extremely happy with The Idiot Box. Also the Butthole Surfers short for Impact came out very well. A video I did recently for Helmet (which I don't think ever played) was immensely satisfying. There's bits and pieces in almost all of it that I enjoy. That's about as much as I can offer on that one.

Lastly, do you have any interesting stories to do with the making of FREAKED?

AW: Oh yeah. There were a million stories. The whole shoot was like tripping on acid on the set of a Fellini movie. The best anecdote is this little nugget: One sleepless, slightly delirious night we were filming the scene in the Big Tent where a "little" clown is standing on an overturned garbage can holding a megaphone and offering to fart the crowd's weight. Just watching this scene caused one to feel delirious, no matter how much sleep you had. The boom-mike operator was new, and this was his first night. He was a large, well-built black man, and about two-minutes into the take he shouts out: "Cut! I'm gettin' a shadow offa that midget!" Tom and I almost spat out our daquiries. The word Midget is as insulting to a "little" person as...(well, you know) would have been to that black gentlemen. Still, damage already done, we let it pass. Take two, not ten seconds in and he does it again, with even more gusto: "Dammit. Move that midget! I'm gettin' a shadow offa that midget!" Tom and I poked our heads up from behind the monitor to see how our poor clown was holding up. He was plenty pissed off, but he's a trooper, and he wouldn't let it get to him. Still, he was a pal (having occupied one of the martian suits on Bill and Ted), and I felt bad. So Tom and I got up like two stern parents and took this burly character aside, informing him that he should stop insulting our cast. "Just because they're not like us doesn't mean, blah-blah-blah." At which point he himself shrunk to the size of a pea, squeaking out the admission that he wasn't referring to our diminutive clown, but to a light in the corner known as a Mole Richardson Midget. I don't think I've laughed so hard in my whole life. The boom-mike operator wasn't laughing (his first night with us cruel bastards, remember) and solemnly apologized to the insulted clown, who also laughed his ass off. But not before farting a full ninety-five times for our camera.