TEMPLE OF LEW

To many, Lew Temple is probably best known as Adam Banjo from “The Devil’s Rejects.” Lew doesn’t seem to mind. “That’s enough, ain’t it,” he says when PollyStaffle.com first sits down to talk with him at Fangoria’s Weekend of Horrors in Los Angeles.

Lew later credits Rob Zombie with finding an “honest character” in him – a southern, hard working man that is out to get what’s owed him. Seeing as how he was born and raised in the Bayou Country of Louisiana and later spent several years living in Texas as a professional baseball player, coach and scout in the Houston Astros organization, its obvious his southern ways are not a put on. The hard working aspect is dead on as well, seeing as how he has a resume of nearly fifty credits to his name.

While we weren’t being interupted by friends of his or an idiot convention goer, PollyStaffle.com got the chance to talk with Lew about his upcoming film “Trailer Park of Terror,” as well as his work with Rob Zombie. Here’s how that went.

CCF: What can you tell me about “Trailer Park of Terror”?

LT: I like to use the tagline of “Tales from the Crypt” meets “Dukes of Hazard.”

CCF: (LOL)

LT: It’s really tongue in cheek. It’s a dark comedy about a community of zombies that are coexisting in this trailer park. They’re redneck zombies and they function off the perils of man kind that come across the trailer park. They are in the business of delivering souls to the man they work for – the man below – Satan. They are sort of in a cursed situation. They can exist in zombie form for eternity, but in order to do that they must deliver these souls. They usually find out in the trailer park with the flaws of these souls are. Everybody has a dark secret and they are able to discover those and they take care of them and send them down to hell.

CCF: And you play?

LT: I play Marv. My character is second in command to a woman that runs the show named Norma. She is a hot zombie redneck queen.

CCF: (LOL)

LT: She is the Daisy Duke of zombies.

CCF: Right.

LT: …and she is calling all the shots, but in human form I was the boss that sort of had a thing for her. We abused her every since she was a child, so then she gets her redemption in a deal with the devil. She comes back, slaughters the trailer park and in doing that we have to take on this zombie life. It’s very interesting.

CCF: Sounds like it.

LT: What’s great about this, the director Steven Goldman has taken great pains to write and direct an actual story. These are people that you get to know. They’re characters that have a life very similar to how Rob Zombie has a life for his characters. You really get to know Banjo and Sullivan and you root for them. I’m very happy and pleased that the “Trailer Park of Terror” characters are the same. They have desire, they have needs, ethos and pathos, you understand these characters and their fabric. They’re your heroes and so you are pulling for them even though they are causing some mayhem. Steven’s done a really great job. Jonathan Bogner is the producer and he bought this. It’s a comic book franchise out of Pennsylvania. He was at Comic Con a few years back and he bought them.

LEW INTERUPTED

Bill Mosley’s manager approaches.

He and Lew exchange “how’s the family” type questions.

Lew then wonders how much it is to rent a booth at Fangoria.

I am sitting at a table that Lew is trying to sell autographs at, but evidently he snuck into the convention. Well, he didn’t sneak in, but he’s borrowing somebody’s unused booth. But that’s just the kind of guy Lew Temple is and he’s so damn nice it’s not like anyone can say anything to him.

Adrienne Shelly’s film “Waitress” is mentioned and Lew calls it his proudest work so far.

Lew says he has to get back to our interview and the man leaves.

Before we can pick back up where we left off, a makeup artist that Lew has worked with before approaches.

Lew (pictured above with actor/filmmaker Sean Cain the first day of Fangoria) is an extremely honest and heartfelt guy. It is no wonder so many people that know him, like him and stop by to talk to him.

After Lew exchanges phone numbers with the makeup artist, I note that he is quite popular with the behind the scenes people at the convention, but not as much so with the fans. “I think I’m too cleaned up,” he responds.

Finally, it looks like our interview can resume.

But then a “fan” approaches.

FAN: I watched this the other night. (pointing to a photo from “Halloween.” Lew’s big scene, which he is killed in, was cut from the theatrical version, but is in the director’s cut.)

LT: What did you think of it?

FAN: I don’t know. I just don’t know why he did it like he did with all the stuff with the little kid. I was talking with Sid Hag (yes, he says Hag instead of Haig) and he said Rob Zombie was trying to show how this kid became a crazy killer.

LT: Yeah, but at the same time Doctor Loomis talks in the movie about how sometimes people are just born that evil.

FAN: Oh yeah, sometimes people come over to my house and see it stacked full on the wall of horror movies and they say are you a sick, twisted, sadistic person? I say, no I’m actually more normal than most crazy people.

LT: Yeah.

FAN: Most crazy people are the ones that are crazy. I’m normal.

LT: It takes all kinds.

FAN: I got a lot of different friends that have the same kind of collection and they’re nuts.

LT: Right.

FAN: I’m the only sane one.

LT: Well, as long as you guys can distinguish who’s crazy and who’s not. Who’s driving?

FAN: Yeah, I’ll walk. They ask me, “You wanna ride?” I’ll walk.

LT: Gotcha.

FAN: I’m just here trying to get work.

LT: Oh, yeah. What do you do?

FAN: I’m an effects artist. I actually ended up getting six jobs.

LT: Fantastic. Good for you.

FAN: I just gotta pick one.

LT: Fuck that. Pick all six. Work’s hard to come by. Get it.

FAN: It’s very hard to come by. The problem is they all overlap. That’s the problem.

LT: Make it work. That’s really the business of the business, making it work.

FAN: (Looking at the photo) Was that a really hard scene for you to do?

LT: It was. It was.

FAN: I guess it’s just one of those things, I guess.

LT: It was.

CCF: What about the scene in “The Devil’s Rejects” where you get killed?

LT: “The Devil’s Rejects” was tough too because it was so choreographed. It was so specific. We were working with three guys between Geoffrey Lewis, Bill (Mosely) and myself. Kane (Hodder) had choreographed it very ideally. So we were trying to make it happen and Rob was shooting it so much. And it was so fucking hot out there! It just kicked our ass. At least in “Halloween” it was very confined in the scene. But it was still violent. It was still really violent.

FAN: Yeah, well all Rob Zombie’s films are. I don’t think he’ll ever do anything mild.

LT: Yeah, I’m waiting for him to do a romantic comedy.

CCF: I’m sure he’ll do that and shock people.

FAN: It’d end up being two people eating each others faces off.

LT: Could happen. Could throw a little bit of cannibalism in there…

FAN: I’ve actually seen a lot of popular people here. A lot of them were actually really nice and helpful.

LT: Good.

FAN: I got a lot of good information and some jobs, which is something I’ve been having some problems with.

LT: That’s good. You’re networking.

FAN: Well, this is my very first horror convention I’ve ever been to.

LT: I’m sure it won’t be the last now.

FAN: Oh, it probably will.

LT: Really?

FAN: The only reason why is because I can either stand here and do this or go back to my shop and work.

LT: (Realizing the man isn’t going anywhere with his conversation and isn’t buying an autograph, Lew politely tells him to scram.) Yeah, there is no substitution for work. Well, thanks for stopping by and saying howdy man. Good on ya.

After the “fan” walks away, finally our interview resumes.

BACK TO BUSINESS

LT: I’m sorry. I apologize.

CCF: Oh, no. I understand.

LT: Sometimes you talk to people and you think they are going to have something to say and clearly…

CCF: (LOL)

LT: …you’ve been fooled. (Not missing a beat, Lew get’s back to business.) But I do like that “Trailer Park of Terror” is telling a story. You do get to know the characters and you root for them. I think that it is a smart zombie film. I love George Romero’s zombies, but these zombies actually have an idea and a life. They are protecting that life and fighting for the life that they have. They have a lot at stake and you see them meeting that. I think it is very interesting.

CCF: What was it like all decked out as a zombie?

LT: It was a blast. I enjoyed the process of working in prosthetics a lot. It’s the same studios – Drac Studios – that did “Hellboy,” “Van Helsing,” “The Mask,” “Tales from the Crypt” and “Pirates of the Caribbean.” So they were really good and our prosthetics are excellent. It was really a great experience to be able to work in a layer of latex and bring that to life.

CCF: So this was an independent film, but there was obviously some money behind it, right?

LT: It was. It was independent and privately funded, but they did put a lot of money behind it. It went to Slam Dance, did really well and got a lot of attention. In fact, Sundance came over and said, “We should have brought that movie into our festival.” It’s done really well at the Nashville Film Festival, the Philadelphia Film Festival and it’s playing Another Hole In the Head in San Francisco. So it’s definitely got a following and their in discussion with some distributors. So we’ll see how it goes.

CCF: The Rob Zombie stuff you’ve done obviously helped give you a little boost, but at the same time did it kind of type cast you? Here you are playing this other redneck.

LT: I think Rob found an honest character in Lew Temple that works. Not just for the horror genre, but in things like “Waitress,” in thing like “Domino” or things like “Déjà vu ” or “Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Beginning.” Yeah, I definitely have a place in the horror genre, but I think I fit in and Rob sees that and other people have cast me outside of this world. It’s a southern, blue collar, type of guy that is just trying to get his on most occasions. And because life isn’t always easy, he fights back a little bit or he becomes a victim. So has it typecast me? I don’t think so. I don’t mind being typecast in Rob Zombie movies, whether their horror movies, cartoons or romantic comedies. I think Rob is a great story teller regardless of what genre he is working in and I think we will see that. At some point, he’s going to jump out and do suspense thrillers. I think his movies are a bit suspense thriller in their own. I also think they are action-adventure. I think he has a filmmaker’s mentality that he is going to tell stories and tell it very well. I like working for him. I like working for Tony Scott. I’d like to work for Asia Argento or Guillermo del Torro. These are people I think are great filmmakers. Horror fans are not only very loyal, but very educated. I appreciate how well they know their movies, their storytelling and the stories that are told. They are very devout. I’m pleased to be connected to that.

CCF: I’ve heard people that were in John Waters movies say that being in his films it’s kind of like a family. People come in and they become a part of this big family. Rob Zombie’s films are a lot like that, aren’t they?

LT: Clearly we all are family. From Bill Mosely to Sid Haig, Ken Foree, to Sherri Moon-Zombie. Everybody is very supportive. What’s great is Rob hires people with an expectation and that is to bring something to the table. I think he knows his core group of people will all do that. I think he is very comfortable with what they are going to bring. I think it also allows him then to bring on someone new, work with them and get them to that speed. He knows when he has Ken Foree in a role, he just has to push record and its all going to happen. Maybe if he has a new actor, he can spend more time with that actor, get to know that actor a little more. I think he helps his process. I think he has us in mind when he writes a little bit or people like us in our character. I know that I fit what he was looking for in “The Devil’s Rejects” to a T and I think when he wrote “Halloween” he had me in mind and knew that I was going to up the ante. He knows that and then it is his job to pull in the reigns or say, “That’s good, lets push it a little bit more.” But yeah, we are absolutely a family and we are all happy to be there.

CCF: And what’s that like being on the set?

LT: It’s intense. There is a huge level of intensity on the set. We’re there to work. It’s great being amongst great friends, but its also great to be amongst craftsmen, people who work that are putting it out there. It raises the bar. I now know when I have a scene with Bill Mosley or Sid Haig, or Ken Foree, Pricilla Barnes or Leslie Easterbrook, the bar is raised and I have to bring my A game. Not that I ever just try to slide through, but it really makes you step up and deliver and I’m called on to do so.

CCF: Cool. Well, it was good talking with you.

LT: It was good talking with you. Thank you.

Check out the official site of Lew’s latest film at TrailerParkofTerror.com

- CCF, May 2008