Jack Black has channelled his inner Jack (Nicholson) while portraying the author R.L. Stine in Goosebumps releasing on October 30. The film, directed by Rob Letterman, is based on Stine’s bestselling Goosebumps series. In Cancun, Mexico, amid a raging storm, Black spoke about his favourite monsters, books and why he does the films he does. Excerpts:
Why did you want to make Goosebumps?
I read the script and loved it. I thought it was really funny and scary in the right amounts. It was something that I could take my kids to see. I have a seven-year-old and a nine-year-old, and they love to be scared. They’re obsessed with it, and I think part of it is that it’s cool if you can watch something scary, and you’re brave enough to watch it. Rob (Letterman, the director) has kids about the same age as mine; so we were conscious of making something scary that they would like and think is cool, but without crossing the boundary and giving them nightmares.
Could you tell us about your meeting with R.L. Stine?
I met with R.L. Stine in an attic of an old building in New York City, but it was a nice attic. It wasn’t like a creepy attic; there were no scary cobwebs. It was at Scholastic Publishing. Anyway, I get to the attic and he is there, wearing black, and he looks at me, and he smiles. We sat down and talked about the movie and our plans and I said to R.L., “I am not going to be doing an imitation of you. I’d like to do an interpretation of you because the movie calls for this dark, sinister, intimidating presence and obviously you are a sweetheart.” I didn’t want to ruin the movie by doing an exact impersonation of all the actual R.L. Stine. He was pleased. He said, “I totally get it, and do whatever you have to do to make a good movie.” And he loved the script. In the meeting it was just me, R.L., Rob Letterman, a couple of executives and then Slappy the doll was there sitting in a chair staring at us the whole time in a really creepy way.
How challenging was it to play this character?
This felt very natural to me, maybe because I have entered a dark period of my life (laughs). I am able to play more characters with a little more depth, a little more darkness, of a little more intimidating nature.
Who is your professional nemesis?
I will never tell you my professional nemeses! If I told you my nemeses then they would win! They would be like “Ah see! I am better than him”.
How important is the music in this movie?
We have the best music for this movie! It is done by the incredible Danny Elfman. I can’t imagine a better composer because when you think — who makes funny and scary music? There’s only Danny Elfman.
What do you think an adult audience will take from this film?
This film has great comedians in it, from top to bottom. The duo that play the police officers are incredibly funny and you might recognise them from other television shows.
You really packed a lot of monsters into the movie…
The monsters are great. We have an incredible group of CGI animators on the case. The gigantic praying mantis is just incredible, and Rob Letterman is really brilliant with CGI and electronic generated and animated things so I am really stoked that he is following through so stridently. I think Slappy is my favourite.
What are your favourite movie monsters?
I like the classics, your Frankensteins and your Draculas and all the Werewolves. But Darth Vader was huge for me when I was a kid. Did you ever see John Carpenter’s The Thing? That was terrifying. It was a shape-shifter.
What scary movies do you watch with your kids?
Again, mostly the old movies because the old movies aren’t really scary anymore, like the original Frankenstein.
All of those black and white ones are open season — except for Psycho! That one is a little too much; Hitchcock was tapping into something very hairy and scary with that movie.
Which books influenced you when you were growing up?
The first book I ever really enjoyed was science fiction for children, A Wrinkle In Time. It was great and then I also liked all the science fiction by people like Ray Bradbury. I loved The Martian Chronicles. And then Isaac Asimov’s I, Robot. I also really liked Kurt Vonnegut.
I loved his books because he had a great sense of existential crisis. I really got into Edgar Allen Poe as well and loved all of his stories. They were the first scary stories that I read.
Do you get scared easily?
I do get scared easily, unfortunately. Anywhere there is danger. If a hurricane were to happen, I would be the first out of this room. My adrenalin kicks in, but, unfortunately, it doesn’t translate into the heroic. I would probably run out of here and save myself before you. If you needed saving, you would probably be better off yelling for someone else.
