Hi, I'm Ruben Fleischer...
...and I'm here with my friends...
...Paul Wernick and Rhett Reese, the writers of the movie...
...and Jesse Eisenberg and Woody Harrelson...
...the stars of the movie.
Say hello, everybody, so they can hear your voices.
- Hello. - Hello.
Now you know who everybody is.
This first shot is kind of interesting...
...just because it was shot in a parking lot in Georgia.
And we rotoscoped everything...
...and made it look like Washington, D.C., but this was in fact...
Is that Bush?
Oh, no.
...shot in a parking lot in Georgia.
Bush was shot in a parking lot in Georgia?
Oh, I'm sure they're gonna edit that one out.
Yeah, really, I hope they do edit it, Paul Wernick.
A lot of the graphics in this movie were done by a company called Logan...
...which is a great motion-graphics company.
And they did this globe...
...as well as this rule that you're about to see...
...as well as all the other rules in the movie.
Now, did you give them ideas...
...on how you wanted those rules to be presented on-screen?
Or they just took their own cue on it?
No, they must have done about 100 different versions...
...before we found the ones we liked.
I mean, it really was a belaboured process.
It would be something like how many Jesse had to do of the narrations...
...which ultimately paid off.
Right.
So can I ask Rhett and Paul, these rules...
...like, were these the original four rules you had?
Absolutely.
From start to finish, yeah, they were the same rules.
- That's not true. - It's not?
No, beware of bathrooms was...
Oh, that's right. I forgot, beware of bathrooms.
Yes, it used to be Ziploc bags.
You know, we missed...
We had this whole Ziploc bag runner which you...
There's a dangling participle in the 406 scene...
...but this was a last minute thing that we added in...
...because we changed the order of the flashback.
And we had this leftover Mike White piece...
...and we thought it'd be good to set up Columbus' fear of bathrooms...
...which we'll see later twice evident in the movie.
I think this is my favourite sequence of these rules.
Maybe it contains my favourite shot of the movie, this sequence.
But it was incredible getting to put zombie contact lenses in 5-year-olds.
Like, God bless Georgia...
...for letting us put zombie contact lenses in 5-year-old girls...
...and get them to act like zombies.
But this shot coming up here is my favourite shot in the movie.
It's incredible.
And it was achieved through a combination of a real car accident...
...and a real woman being hoisted on a ratchet on green screen...
...then composited with fake glass and fake Beanie Babies.
But how...?
The landing is what is so bizarre...
...because she smashes her face into the pavement.
How did you achieve that?
It was on a ratchet, and we had pads on the ground.
And so we just painted out the pads...
...and, like, made it feel like she was on the actual cement.
But, yes, she really did fly, and she really did land on the ground...
...but it was a softer ground than a real pavement.
And then we added the blood when her face hits in post.
Yeah, that does a nice trick.
What I love about that seatbelt shot is...
...it's that moment in the theatre when the audience...
...you just know they get the movie.
Like, you can almost hear the...
That moment and...
- Right, the specific tone of comedy. - Yes.
And then Metallica...
They always seem to like this part too.
Yeah. Then Metallica comes in.
- Because the guy's in the suit. - And drives us home.
But this was shot with a camera called the Phantom camera...
...which shoots 1000 frames a second and is a digital camera.
And then, again, Logan just killed it with these titles.
I love opening title sequences.
And I think Fincher maybe is the best at doing opening title sequences...
...and so a lot of people have compared this to the Watchmen...
...but I actually did this before I even saw Watchmen, so...
But I am really proud...
I'm proud of these opening title sequence.
Ladies and gentlemen, Mr. Rhett Reese.
Yes.
Cameo appearance by our writer, Rhett Reese.
I'm picturing my writing partner, Paul, in front of me as I'm shooting that gun.
- Oh, I didn't even know that was you. - Yeah.
I regret not being the zombie running behind you on that one.
I wish you were.
That guy down there is me.
Jesse, what do you remember about shooting this sequence?
Well, it was, you know, it was a complicated camera move...
...and the opening of the character.
I was a little nervous of how it's presented.
I remember thinking, "I did great," and I remember watching it...
...thinking, "I overacted in this particular shot."
But you cut out just before I really overact.
The face right in the next frame was just absurd.
It's Brechtian in its absurdity.
And then this was one night, right?
This was one night, this whole sequence.
Yeah... It was actually two nights.
It was one night on this side of the thing...
...and a second night around the corner...
- ...where you smash into that thing. - Right.
You did a lot of running. and you were really fast.
These zombies couldn't keep up with you.
That toilet paper wouldn't stick to that zombie's shoe.
He was supposed to run with the toilet paper trailing behind...
...but it just wouldn't stick.
But don't you feel like that bit kind of got used up in the first few seconds?
- I'm glad it worked out the way it did. - Yeah, yeah.
I'll try again.
Didn't mean to be impertinent, Rhett. Seems like you're...
- I'm hurt, Woody. - I love that bell sound.
I think that's the comedy bell sound.
The official comedy bell sound on the cardio.
What was the idea behind the...?
- The bell? - Yeah.
I don't know, it was just funny.
It's a funny sound, I think, no matter what.
The Saab was actually Rhett's first car.
- Is that right, Rhett? - I think so. Really similar.
It's a nice first car to have.
I love that Chuck Mangione, that song that he's listening to in the car.
- I love that too. - Yeah.
Just really soft and sweet.
That was one of the few tracks that was in there from the very first cut...
...that made it all the way to the end.
But this guy...
I'd never had done very many stunts before working on this movie...
...and I have so much respect for these stunt people.
When that guy flies through the window...
...it's actually a real person.
And he really was going super fast...
...and really flew head-first through that window.
It looks like a dummy, it's so fast, but he really did it.
And he was a junior Olympic high diver.
Yes, Victor Paguia.
And a lot of the stunt guys come from a diving background.
These guys who do these high falls and stunts...
...come from a diving background, which I never would have guessed.
And if you go back and look closely...
...he actually slams his ankle onto that top of that flower...
Yeah, it's incredible.
He lives directly across the street from me in New York, incidentally.
Really?
Yeah, so that's why I was extra careful while fake shooting him.
I gotta say...
...this location was my absolute favourite, I think, of the shoot.
We had this elaborate kind of ground plan...
...that our production designer, Maher Ahmad, had constructed...
...kind of laying out where the cars would be.
It was kind of done with these pseudo-Matchbox cars in the road.
And we knew exactly where we were gonna position the accidents.
And you see these little models...
...and then you show up on the actual day...
...and you see it in real life, and it's breathtaking.
It really was, like, one of the coolest experiences I've had.
Just seeing it come to life...
...and the scale of it and everything was just so extreme.
And then, actually, Paul Linden, our visual-effects supervisor...
...did a great job of augmenting it with the city in the background...
...and then the 747 that you'll see later.
Isn't the cars...?
Did they hire extras to just bring their cars and park them and...?
- That's right. - Yeah.
And they filled their cars with stuff to make it look like they were escaping.
So, like, a lot of these cars, you'll notice in the traffic...
...have back seats full of, like, everything.
That was part of the extras' job...
...was just to make it look like they were escaping a city.
So do you think the extras are watching this...
...and going, "That's my car"?
- I hope so. - Awesome.
- I would be if that was me. - Me too.
There should be a commentary for the people who own the cars.
A car-mentary?
You know, it bears mentioning though...
...that those sunglasses...
Remember I wanted to wear them through the whole thing?
And you didn't want them on for this.
You had that one shot. Yeah.
Yeah, so then you never see them again...
...but I did like those sunglasses.
- I think it worked out for the best. - Yeah, yeah.
I told you...
My argument was that...
...if God gives you pearly blue eyes like that...
...you can't hide them from the world, you have to share them.
Well, now that you brought God into it, I can't argue with that.
- What are you looking for? - Nothing. I just have this list.
This scene, I think, was written a lot longer...
...and we really pared it down in post.
And Jesse's... The...
I think the two biggest laughs were actually improvs from Jesse.
Knocking over your alcohol with your knife...
...and then also the whole tossing the drink out the window.
With no disrespect to our writers...
...but I think Jesse should be really proud.
Let's give it up for our writers for... Come on.
No. This was my audition scene.
It was probably like a three-page scene.
And the same day I auditioned for this movie...
...I auditioned for, like, what was considered like a prestigious drama.
My friend and I were going over my lines before both auditions...
...and we both agreed that this script was so far superior in every way...
...to, you know, like, the drama that I also auditioned for.
The drama was Hamlet.
Yeah.
Yeah, we didn't think the writer really captured his characters in Hamlet.
It seemed like it was just a first draught.
And we all know Shakespeare is really De Vries.
Sorry, go ahead.
You're very nice, Jesse.
It was just so clever. I mean, the whole movie.
I know you guys... Oh, there's the 747.
We had a pilot actually fly that in just like the cars.
- His name was Paul Linden. - It was Sully.
That's the guy who landed on the Hudson.
Oh, Sully...
That was his less successful venture.
Oh, that's kind.
So Georgia was really generous...
...with, like, shutting down highways and freeways and everything with us.
And it was incredible to just get full highways that were shut down...
...as you saw in that last scene, as well as in this one.
You know, just...
It really sells the emptiness of the world...
...and the desolation.
And I really...
I just love the locations...
...which add to the production value of the movie.
I love the way that, you know...
...those rules come in and just lighten the moment even a little more.
Yeah, I'm proud of the fact that words get laughs.
Like, it's funny. They're punchlines. Like in that "limber up."
And then, again, we'll see with the later "limber up"...
...that they get laughs, just the words on the screen themselves.
It's like you're part of the inside joke.
It's the kind of thing where you, like, nudge your friend who saw it too...
...but you wanna let him know that you saw it.
Now, didn't we have a thing at the end of this scene...
...I realised that I had made the mistake of not jumping on those?
And you said, "All right, let's shoot it again."
And we shot this after.
The thing of jumping up and down on the Sno Balls?
I honestly don't remember that, but I'll take you for your word.
- I thought so. - It is super, super funny.
I mean, it gets laughs...
...just, like, the popping of those bags, which is a great sound.
Like, as you step on them, all the air comes out and makes pop sounds.
You're like stepping on all those bags of Sno...
And this... I love this so much.
Woody, you just brought it. It's so funny.
I remember standing by the monitor...
...waiting to go in to do the scene.
And it was scripted that he was waiting for me outside the car.
I looked at the monitor and said, "What is he doing?"
- Yeah. - And it was so funny.
I mean, it's like... It's, you know...
This is a unique movie in that, like, most of the time we're all together.
So the special times when you're not in the scene with each other...
...it's fun to watch each other and...
It was just so funny.
Well, it also was really hard selecting which part to take...
...because he did so many different versions that were all so funny.
And it really... It was hard to pick the one...
But I love what we ended up with.
And this right here... Look for Charlie Chaplin right now.
- Watch this. - I love this.
You see Charlie Chaplin right there?
Jesse is extraordinarily physically funny.
Well, that didn't come out right, but...
Especially naked.
Which you see in the...
- Next shot. - Yeah.
- Your topless scene. - Yeah.
You could have very easily been a silent film actor.
I've been told that I shouldn't speak in movies.
My whole life, all I'd ever wanted was to find a girl and fall in love...
There it is, ladies. Get it.
I look like my ancestors, who were victims in World War II.
- No. Come on. - The one thing we share is girth.
That's a great shot.
It's gonna be on Mr. Skin in about three months.
And I'll probably be masturbating to it.
Despite my accident.
This was our very first day of shooting in the whole movie.
And as a first-time director, I was really nervous about the whole thing.
But Jesse and Amber just really did a terrific job.
And it started the movie off on the right foot, I think.
Like, just...
I was really confident in these performances that we got.
And it really just...
It felt right, it felt good.
Jesse inhabited the character perfectly.
And Amber, actually, really did a terrific job.
Right. This was the first scene we shot.
The Ziploc bags. That's it.
- Yeah, exactly. - Keeps them crisp.
- Residual... - The dangling participle.
So tell me what happened.
Can you actually have a payoff without a plant?
Apparently. I feel like we do in this movie...
...because that "Ziploc bags" line gets laughs.
You were supposed to keep things that could be destroyed by moisture...
...like batteries or matches or ammunition in a Ziploc bag...
...so they wouldn't get spoiled, that was the rule.
Ruben, you ended up with one of those mustard-coloured...
No, actually, it's the other way around.
I was the inspiration for the mustard-coloured sweatshirt.
I'm a big fan of hoodies, and I had that exact one.
I was like, "I know it will look good.
It looks good on me so we might as well get it."
Amber was only there for just two days...
...and worked really hard while she was there.
And, I think, did a really strong performance.
Yeah.
No, no, no, you should be scared. A homeless man just tried to eat you.
That's the right kind of scared. That's reasonable.
I get scared for things that don't make sense, like clowns with red noses...
...or the rags they use to wipe tables...
Now, Jess, did you feel yourself falling in love?
When I first saw the movie, I fell in love with myself.
I think you just get behind the character right away.
I know you're worried that your girlfriend's listening...
...but it's okay, you're human.
Yeah, and it's okay to love one's self.
You know, I don't...
The irony of that whole clown thing is that your mom used to be a clown.
Yes, yes. According to Conan O'Brien.
No. Yeah, it's been the go-to interview question in the last few weeks.
But, yeah, my mom is a clown.
My mom was a birthday party clown growing up.
It was...
But she figured out a way to not be a frightening clown...
...by not wearing the big shoes and the red nose...
...which is why I fought for a red-nosed...
- The squishy red nose? - Yeah.
It's primarily for my mom.
This is the biggest scare in the movie.
And when I go to theatres now I like to turn around...
...and watch the audience jump in their seats when she appears.
- Yeah, it's pretty freaky. - Yeah.
What's that sound? Oh, yeah, I like this.
This is...
The movie is genuinely scary because every scare is specific.
Like when the girls are on the blast-off at the end.
Everybody that falls is scary.
And then when you see like...
When you see these movies that's just all special effects...
...you know, it just starts to dilute each one.
But that initial scare, you don't expect it coming...
...because you just have a five-minute scene...
...of, you know, ultimately, what is banter, right?
I love what you tell her: "I'm so fucking sorry."
I gotta say this scene was really great.
But when we switched over from our temp music...
...to the score that our composer, Dave Sardy, made...
...it elevated it to a whole other level, because it's very specifically scored...
...for every single moment, every single move that she does...
...and Dave really just elevated the film in a real way.
I think this scene is one of the shining moments...
...as well as the entire Pacific Playland sequence...
...which is almost like 15 minutes of non-stop composed music.
Like, beat for beat with the action.
And it's something that I had never...
A process I had never been through before, scoring music for a film.
And he really just nailed it so perfectly.
This punk rock, kind of rock 'n' roll version...
...with this horror tone, overtone.
It's, I think, something that people will be referring to in the future.
I think it's very strong.
Well, they can't refer to it in the past.
I love this part.
That toilet lid was actually half a lid, correct?
And then they added the other half in special effects.
Yeah, a lot of that happened with the bat too.
Like where the actors just hold half of the things...
...so that they can swing it closer to people's faces.
And then they augment it digitally to make it a full toilet lid.
I was wondering about that...
...because it really seemed like he just swung it right on.
Yeah, no, it's halfway there.
But that sound of the porcelain hitting her head...
...is a sound that's very satisfying.
And that was the most excited I saw Ruben on the entire shoot...
...was when that freeze-frame happened...
...and he pulled out his storyboard, and he held it up to the monitor.
And the storyboard looked precisely like the shot.
You got it just perfectly...
...with the lid poised and her head flying through the air.
It was just beautiful.
We were jumping up and down.
Yeah, it was day two. I was just really happy to be making a movie.
Probably that too.
Out west, we hear it's back east.
And this set was also great.
Although the scene feels like...
I mean, it's one of, like, maybe two scenes...
...that feels, like, not as pumped as other scenes...
...but the set is so great.
Why? Like, it doesn't necessarily progress the story.
We actually had this out for a long time...
...but Gavin Polone, our producer...
...made a big argument for, like, just showing the devastation.
And that applies to this scene...
...as well as the one where you guys are walking through the town.
And he says there's value...
...even though the jokes aren't, like, laugh-a-minute...
...just seeing kind of the scale of it.
But I'm sure it wasn't very environmental...
...but they took all those cars to a parking lot and lit them all on fire.
The bus and everything that's in that scene...
...and then carried them to the set.
So they look amazing, but I'm sure...
...there were some noxious fumes...
...that were released to the atmosphere...
...as a result of that, so I apologise, Woody.
- Oh, no need. - Okay.
- It's only Earth, you know. - Yeah, apologise to God.
So, what about you?
Me? I...
Aye, aye, aye.
Oh, my God. It makes you sick.
You know, it makes you sad, it makes you...
It makes you think if you can go back to the way things were right now...
...you know, you'd be...
You'd be out in the backyard, you know, trying to catch fireflies.
And instead this.
- I mean, it makes you... - Hungry.
I'm worried about you.
Look, whatever you have waiting for you in Columbus...
...I promise you it ain't prettier than our friend here enjoying her Manwich.
Tallahassee had a sick sense of humour when it came to zombies.
Zombies aren't the most lovable creatures, but he really hated them.
The only thing he was more obsessed with than killing zombies...
...was finding a Twinkie.
Something about a Twinkie reminded him of a time not so long ago...
...when things were simple and not so fucking psychotic.
It was like if he got a taste of that comforting childhood treat...
...the world would become innocent, and everything would return to normal.
What, are you prospecting?
Jesus Christ.
You are a dangerous man.
You're gonna risk our lives for a Twinkie?
There is a box of Twinkies in that grocery store.
Not just any box of Twinkies.
The last box of Twinkies that anyone will enjoy in the whole universe.
Believe it or not, Twinkies have an expiration date.
Someday very soon, life's little Twinkie gauge is gonna go empty.
Time to nut up or shut up.
There's the tag line.
I'm really glad Gavin, our producer...
...fought really hard to have that be the tag line.
I thought it was a little crass to have it, you know...
...forced upon the public the way it's been.
But I think it's really nice that it has become our slogan.
I'm proud of it. I think it's good.
Gavin would be here today, except he's playing poker.
Woody played this banjo...
- Where at? - I'm sorry, go ahead.
Woody played this banjo himself, and really studied...
I mean, it was sprung on him at the last minute.
And he really studied last minute to learn that song so he could play it.
And the notes in there are actually his notes from playing it live on set.
Yeah, it seemed like I didn't even know we were doing that.
Was it, like, a last-minute idea to...?
Yeah, it was totally a last-minute idea.
Because originally, it was scripted as a guitar...
...but we thought a banjo would be a more lethal weapon.
Oh, you're right.
I think you actually came up with the idea of playing that song.
But it was very much like:
"Well, if I'm gonna have a banjo I have to play 'Dueling Banjos."'
But you had to figure out how to play it in order to do it.
And so it was a little stressful, but you, as always, rose to the occasion...
...and nailed it.
And it gets a huge laugh when you play that...
...so it was again, like, a brilliant contribution on your part.
Well, thank you so much, Ruben.
One thing I wanna talk about just in this scene...
...is, like, all the blood in this movie is...
...including that drip that was on the scissors there, it's all fake.
All the blood in this whole scene is done with visual effects.
We didn't have any practical blood on set.
And we worked with a really talented company...
...that augmented all those scenes and filled it out with the splatter...
...and I think it's, you know, for a zombie audience, very satisfying.
But also, you know, it just adds to the zombie factor of the movie.
Hey.
I'll catch up.
Introduction of a new character, Emma Stone.
We were very lucky to get Emma.
She is someone that I've always loved...
...from Superbad and The House Bunny...
...and she's just really original.
I don't think people really can believe that she's only 20 years old...
...because she's so mature and she looks so adult.
But she's so young and has such poise and is so great...
...and really stepped up to the role.
I don't know if this is appropriate to say...
...but she actually was originally cast as 406...
...and then through a series of circumstances...
...got elevated to Wichita, and she completely kills it.
So I feel very lucky that everything happened the way it did.
We're just looking for a way out.
No, no, no, no. She's just a little girl.
Don't talk about me like I'm not here.
Right, sorry.
Look, I know that you're really sick.
Emma is the funniest person you will ever meet.
Man, woman, child.
It just so happens that she's, like, a beautiful woman as well...
...but she is the funniest person you'll ever meet in your life.
She really is funny and such a joy to hang out with.
And then Abigail, a new... The other newly introduced character.
Abigail's another just, like, force of nature.
I mean, the fact that she's 12 years old...
...and you talk to her like she's your peer, and she's...
I mean, she's a kid.
You forget that she's a kid because she's just so mature...
...and so insanely talented.
You forget till she gets into Hannah Montana.
But, yeah, she is so great.
And in this scene, she was...
Remember she was crying through the whole thing.
Like, really crying.
And then when it turned around...
...and you were shooting other people's, you know, overs and stuff...
...she kept crying. Like, she was so amazing, I thought.
She's amazingly talented.
It's no surprise she was nominated for an Academy Award...
...when she was like 8, because she's supernaturally talented.
We cajoled her into saying the word fuck for the first time in this movie.
A couple of times, and then it didn't even make it in.
Now that you mention it...
...we'll take your weapons, car keys, your ammunition.
- And if you've got it, sugarless gum. - What the fuck?
Wait, why are you guys doing this?
We had to actually get Abby's mom's approval for her saying fuck.
- Correct? - Yeah, for sure.
But it was funny because she was so uncomfortable saying it.
But she... It's just so funny when she does.
I felt bad that it didn't make it in into the edit.
But everything I did...
Like we killed so many babies, as the cliché goes...
...in the process of editing this film.
There's so many funny, funny moments got lost.
But I just really always tried to focus on story and character.
And I never want anything to be gratuitous or lagging.
So I just try to keep it as pared down as possible.
Having not seen a lot of these movies...
...is it rare for these movies to have characters that feel...?
I also don't get sent these scripts necessarily.
So, like, I don't read them that much and I also don't see them.
But, like, is it rare for, like, the characters to seem this rich and full?
- I mean, it seems... - No, I think that's why we're all here.
Is because Rhett and Paul wrote such an incredible script...
...with such well-rounded characters and, you know, I think all of us...
...had a sort of just inherent rejection of the genre.
I don't wanna admit that, you know, to our genre fans...
...but, like, we were a little intimidated by the title.
And I think it was only after opening the script and reading it...
...that we were all so smitten by the characters...
...and the original voice and the sense of humour...
...that Rhett and Paul created that attracted us all to the project.
You know, that's true. They created a hell of a world here.
Can we give it up for Rhett and Paul?
We're really truly like...
We're all very lucky to be here.
And it's because of what you guys wrote.
And, yeah, I think you guys should really be proud.
Conversely, when you're sitting alone in your apartment...
...envisioning a world to have you, gentlemen and the ladies, bring it...
...and everyone who worked on the movie bring it to life...
...and have it be better than your imagination...
...it just fills you with a joy I cannot describe.
Oh, that's very sweet.
The tank actually was not added in post, correct?
No, this is the scene that Gavin fought for...
...just because he thought there was such production value.
That even though that conversation about zombie kill of the week...
...it does set out the concept of zombie killing.
It doesn't get huge laughs, but he thought there was so much value...
...in just portraying this devastated world.
And this was Newnan, Georgia...
...a small town outside of Atlanta that we shut down...
...and filled it with our production designing.
Once again, this is fully representation of the talent...
...and hard work of Maher Ahmad, our production designer...
...who just transformed this world so significantly.
And that tank was actually a... Someone's personal collection.
That is a U.S. government tank that was owned by a private citizen.
And a full-working tank, so beware Newnan, Georgia.
You can buy a tank. You can actually buy a tank.
That shouldn't be allowed.
That was the scene where I remember Ruben told me I was overacting.
When I was watching Woody bash the van in.
Because there was always...
You wanted me to overact a little bit more than I was hoping to...
...except for that scene.
Was this an improv, Woody, this middle finger?
I think you came up with this on the set, this stuff.
And it gets a big laugh.
This hand on the wheel is the funniest thing, and doesn't get a laugh.
But when Woody pulls the finger, gets a big laugh.
And then this following line...
...is one of the biggest laughs in the whole movie.
"Rednecks," which also was an improv.
- Right? - It was.
Yeah, it was, I'm sorry.
I just wanna say I'm sorry to Rhett and Paul.
- Not at all. - And rednecks.
- To rednecks. - Rednecks.
Don't apologise to Rhett and Paul, apologise to the rednecks.
You wanna know...? You wanna know something?
I've heard from multiple people now who have seen the movie in the South.
And apparently, they go crazy for that line.
Bigger than any other line. They think it's hilarious.
Yeah, my parents saw it in North Carolina last night.
And they said that got more laughs than anything.
And again, Van Halen was in the trailer.
And the marketing guys actually put it in there.
And it was so great in the trailer that we decided to include it in the movie.
And it just adds a lot of energy and...
It's kind of the defining song in the movie in a weird way.
This bugged me. I'm over-steering this wheel.
Oh, boy, we had to compensate for that.
That point where I thought that... I don't know, I thought...
I pictured myself weaving in and out and...
I don't know what I was doing. Like, "Fuck."
Woody's talking about the fact that all the driving in this movie...
...with the exception of one scene was shot on green screen.
So, what you're watching now actually was in a studio...
Actually, a warehouse in Georgia...
...and was shot against green screen...
...and we composited in the backgrounds.
I just wanna mention really quickly that this dog is Abigail Breslin's dog...
...who she adopted while we were shooting at the grocery store.
There was, like, a veterinary hospital, and they had that dog there...
...and she fell in love with it.
Because we were gonna use a different dog, right?
Right, yeah. We auditioned a couple dogs.
She adopted that dog. His name's Sully.
When she adopted the dog, we said:
"Okay, we're gonna get him training so it can be Woody's dog, Buck."
And that's Abby's dog, who she still has to this day.
Incidentally, the dog is now a person. It's become a little blond boy.
It's now Abby's brother.
But again, this is a green-screen driving...
...that we just happen to fill in the background.
This was my... This is another terrific location.
It's called Spears Road.
It was about an hour and 10 minutes outside of Atlanta.
We scouted forever.
I just wanted it to look like middle-American.
Unfortunately in Georgia...
...you gotta get a ways out of Atlanta to find this kind of look.
But this road just is amazing.
And one of my fondest memories of making this movie...
...are those hay bales in the background in this shot.
- They just happened to be there? - No, we put them all there.
Maher, again, once brought in all the hay bales.
But we had to move them for camera.
So in between shots we'd have to like push them back.
And I went over and I started rolling it.
And Woody Harrelson comes over and starts rolling it alongside of me.
Me and Woody Harrelson are pushing that hay bale along...
...on the side of the road, on Spears Road...
...way far out in Georgia.
I just was so happy at that moment. I was like, "We're making a movie."
It was really great.
I can't watch the scene without staring at that gun the entire time.
- It's the greatest gun in the movie. - I wish I could remember the name.
- A Benelli shotgun or something? - Exactly.
Well, it's an Italian shotgun, it's an automatic shotgun.
And it just looks so badass when he says, "These are really big guns."
That gun really is a big gun.
- Part of the joy... - A Benelli is what it is called.
Yeah, part of the joy of zombie movies is the killing.
People always ask us, "What was the best kill?"
And things like that, or, "What was your favourite kill?"
But I just am a big believer...
...that part of the vicarious thrill of a zombie movie...
...is this idea of committing acts of violence with big weaponry...
...without consequence, you know.
As maybe embarrassing as that is to admit...
...I think there's a little bit of that in all of us.
And so it's fun to see guys with big guns.
I'm gonna use a set-up line but hey, Woody...
...what was your favourite kill in this whole movie?
Oh, I remember. The one...
You actually cut it out. It was a beautiful moment.
It was where Jesse Eisenberg killed one with kindness.
And anyway, didn't make it into the final...
I always thought of this movie as kind of an unrecognized romantic comedy.
I mean... What was that, Woody?
- What was that? - Yeah.
Okay, this is good.
- Underappreciated romantic comedy. - I'm misunderstood.
That's an Oliver Stone movie.
That's what I would say about Natural Born Killers.
Yeah.
So again, this is shot on a stage.
And I think this one you can actually tell it was shot on a stage.
I'm not so pleased with the background.
This flashback was one that was in and out, in and out.
I really, actually to this day, kind of felt bad about including it.
Because I don't... This is my favourite shot actually.
I love that reflection shot which our Steadicam operator, Neal...
...A-camera operator, came up with.
He's responsible for a lot of the great shots in the movie.
As well as our DP, Michael Bonvillain.
But this scene, I was so quick to pull out.
I really just didn't wanna include it. I felt it slowed things down.
I don't think we need this back story. We've already seen them con people.
But audiences really wanna know more about the characters.
And I think that's what is great is that we inform them.
Like everybody, Woody, Jesse and now the girls...
...all have a little flashback to show who they were...
...before the zombie apocalypse happened.
And we get the sense that these girls were always up to no good and...
Despite my best efforts, we managed to keep this scene in the movie.
And it seems to really help the heart...
...and sell the girls as not just a bunch of damsels in distress...
...but, you know, these conniving women.
There was a lot of push and pull on this particular scene...
...throughout the process of the script.
You know, and four and a half years ago, in summer of 2005...
...when we wrote it as a pilot, it got pulled out by CBS, interestingly.
And then when they did not make the pilot, we put it right back in.
And again, it's just been one of those contentious scenes...
...that seems to have come in and out of the script throughout the process.
It is a little slow.
It also gives you a sense of why each of these characters...
...has survived post-Zombieland.
If you learn their traits pre-Zombieland...
...you understand why they've been able to survive post-Zombieland.
It helps explains that, I think.
But in the original version of the script, it actually was...
In the page order of the script...
...we meet the girls for the first time in this flashback.
And it was through post that we realised...
...by introducing them with this flashback...
...that it completely spoils when you meet them in the grocery store.
Because you're like...
You know, you already know they're up to no good.
And people a smell a rat as soon as they come on-screen.
So we flipped the order and we put the grocery store...
...when we very first meet them, they pull up kind of like:
"Oh, my God, I didn't see that coming."
And then this further informs:
"Oh, these girls were always up to no good."
And I think it works for the best that way.
Every time I watch this movie, there's a line...
...that I think was improvised that follows this.
Where when they pull their guns back...
After they pull their guns back, Woody says, "Let me be the mature one."
And then they both pull their guns back.
And then Woody says, "You be the fool."
Every time I watch that I hear that in my head because I loved it.
For whatever reason, it didn't register with the audience so we pulled it.
There he pulls his gun back, he says, "You be the fool."
Pulls the gun back on Emma and pull...
There's an extended stand-off, but we ended...
Oh, I thought it was like... That I said, "Psyche," or something.
No, you said, "Let me be the mature one."
And then you both pull your guns back.
And you say, "And you be the fool." And then you pull it back on her.
- But, yeah, it didn't make the final cut. - Yeah.
- It wasn't funny apparently. - Yeah, apparently.
This is funny though. When he makes this face.
Well, first, a huge laugh right here in my mind.
And then also when he mocks Pacific Playland.
Two really huge laughs in this scene.
And that's just Woody just having fun, I think, with the dialogue...
...and making it his own.
Yeah, we heard.
You know, I may not shoot you, but you have still...
This part right here, Pacific Playland.
...and I'm not going to play with you at Pacific Playland.
Yeah, big laugh.
It's so fun watching this movie with an audience.
I come from a video and commercial background...
...where everything, you never get to watch with an audience...
...because it just goes online or on TV or wherever it goes.
A true pleasure, which I recommend to anyone who directs movies...
...is to go sit down and watch their movie with an audience.
And it's one of the most gratifying things in the world.
It got a little weird that we went to the midnight showing...
...Thursday night of its open.
And Rhett, myself and Ruben were sitting in the midnight screening.
In the theatre watching people watch the movie.
And we can just imagine what they're thinking...
...as we're watching their faces watching the screen.
Really, really creepy.
- Were there a lot of people? - Yeah, yeah.
...or the realisation that I never really had much of a family to begin with.
How do you balance the sentimentality?
Especially, you know, this being maybe the height of sentimentality.
And in addition to Woody's revelation...
...later in the movie, like with the comedy having it come.
I mean, when you watch it, it feels, like, great and consistent.
But when we were shooting it, I was always concerned.
Like, "This is gonna be melodramatic," you know.
Juxtaposed to the following scenes and preceding scenes.
Gavin was really worried about these particular scenes...
...because he just thought that it would bring the audience down.
You know, here Columbus learns that his family is essentially dead.
And it just works, you know. I don't know why it works, but it works.
It's one of the things that makes you care about these characters.
It keeps it real.
And the movie, it demonstrates this amazing ability to shift on a dime.
It can be really sad, and then one second later, a joke...
...and everybody's laughing. That Titanic line does that.
For some reason, the audience is able and willing...
...to move through from laughter to sadness and back again...
...in a very short period of time.
There.
One of the things in post that we did a lot of work on...
...was trying to really accentuate this relationship...
...between Columbus and Wichita.
And this a scene is an example of it.
Where just through some extended looks and some back-and-forth cuts...
...we really built in something that maybe wasn't there when we shot it.
No, not as far as performance.
- I mean... - I'm sitting right here.
No, I mean... No, I'm not judging anybody.
But I'm just saying, like, we really spent a lot of time...
...just working on these meaningful looks...
...and just trying to build a relationship.
So that when it came time at the end that you brush her hair over the ear...
...people would applaud in the theatre.
And it did take some like... We found...
And it's a credit to our editor, Alan Baumgarten...
...who, like, really mined the material and found, like, these moments...
...that are just looks, just simple looks to extend the relationship.
Because it wasn't always said on the page.
But he really felt strongly about, like, building that connection.
And I think it pays off really at the end.
And one of the most gratifying things...
...is when you do go to brush her hair at the end...
...that people applaud.
Which makes me so proud because that's...
That means the movie works because they've invested in the characters.
And I think it's a true credit to Alan and all of his hard work...
...to find those moments.
And we'll actually see one in just a little bit that I'll point out.
- But... - Oh, right, the laughing.
But in the same way, Woody's and Abigail's relationship...
...also develops in this... Like in this...
I mean, he teaches her to shoot and then she uses the shooting at the end.
Well, that was scripted.
Something always intended by Rhett and Paul.
I mean, that's a real structured thing.
But some of this relationship stuff, in our early cuts, wasn't as evident.
People ask, "Why would she...?"
With no disrespect to your charisma, Jesse.
But people would say, "Why doesn't she just go for Woody?
- She would've seen Adventureland. - Yeah, that's what it was.
Hey, that was a nice question.
So zombie kill of the week...
Why don't you talk about how this was originally intended as a TV show...
...and zombie kill of the week was a weekly feature on the television show.
Yeah, well, it was originally a spec TV pilot that we sold to CBS...
...and they didn't make it and it ended up becoming a movie later.
But you still see some vestiges of the show it was intended to be...
...and one of those is the zombie kill of the week...
...which was supposed to happen every week.
And I think the end of the movie...
...also flows from the fact that it was a TV show.
Because it's very much a cliffhanger.
People always say, "Hey, you could really do a sequel with this.
It's kind of set up for a sequel, and that's because it was intended to be...
...you know, the second in a series of 23 episodes.
- It would be 23 sequels to this movie. - Yes, let's hope.
Remind me to write a thank-you letter to CBS about this.
Right, because as we speak...
...Zombieland is the number-one movie in the country.
- In the country. - Correct.
In the world.
We are very self-satisfied people, I will say that.
- Like, I think... - In the whole universe.
And I got a call from my girlfriend...
...which is the country that secretly bombed Cambodia during Vietnam...
...has made this movie its number-one movie.
We should all be really proud.
She is so adorable.
The country that invaded Guatemala and Nicaragua...
...during the Reagan era has made this movie their number-one film.
We also saved the world from Hitler, though. Let's not forget that.
- Some people, you know... - Don't see it that way.
And we actually resisted going in.
This is another scene that was, like, on the bubble.
For some reason, audiences don't...
They love the interaction between Jesse and Woody...
...with the perfume and the spray.
But this scene where they start smashing shit...
...feels pretty gratuitous to some audiences.
But what I intended...
...when I asked Rhett and Paul to come up with something for this...
...was just to have the joy of, like, doing something...
...in a world where you can only...
Like only in a post-apocalyptic world...
...can you smash the shit out of a, you know, racist trading post.
And I really...
To me, this hearkens back to my music-video background...
...because it really is just music and images in slow-motion...
...and trying to make as visual a thing as possible.
This was all shot, this entire sequence...
...starting from the outside all the way in the inside was shot all in one night.
It was, I think, our longest day of shooting...
I think we shot for 17 hours doing all this.
And it was stressful and hectic.
Despite what anyone else might think, I'm really proud of this sequence.
I think it's lyrical and cool and I like the music.
- You should be. It looks amazing. - I love it.
I threw out my elbow throwing a pot against the wall...
...after you guys wrapped shooting.
Now, this next scene, I think, is a real credit to the talent of our actors.
Like, this entire thing. For what...
I forget how it came to be, but we had a montage...
...driving to L.A. just to show passage of time.
And we basically just set up a four-shot...
...and played musical chairs...
...and we would just let everybody riff and come up with funny things...
...and Woody and Abby have, like, a hilarious dynamic...
...and Jesse and Emma are hilarious too.
And Woody and Jesse have a hilarious dynamic.
Everything that's said in this whole process...
...was all just kind of improvised, basically.
Wasn't this the last day of shooting in all green screen, this last day?
It may have been. I don't remember.
- Jesse, I think, wasn't it? - Yeah, I think so. Yeah.
And Abby Breslin is obsessed with Hannah Montana in real life.
And so she just started riffing on Hannah Montana...
...and your reaction to that, Woody, was priceless.
Wasn't the Willie Nelson a response to the Hannah Montana?
So we started out with the Willie Nelson...
...but actually, she talked about Hannah Montana...
...then Woody started talking about things she might not know about.
And we only shot for one day in Los Angeles, California.
And this is our day. We'll see it in these series of shots.
It's the Fourth Street Bridge, which was, for me...
...a very exciting thing to shut down and cover it...
...with abandoned cars and baby shoes and strollers...
...and whatever else that, like, our production designer...
...wanted to put along the post-apocalyptic world.
But it was pretty neat to get to, like, have such an iconic shot...
...as downtown Los Angeles and entering into it...
...and shut it down, then to shut down Hollywood Boulevard...
...and Mann's Chinese Theatre, it was an absolute dream come true.
And like, it really felt like the scale of the movie was huge...
...when you have something as iconic as the Chinese Theatre...
...with 2012, which was actually put in post...
...but, like, such a funny joke to me.
And to just devastate Hollywood Boulevard was a cool thing.
Charlie Chaplin's zombie, one of the audience's favourites.
This was a big day for me.
That's Emma's favourite kill right there, by the way.
- Charlie Chaplin? - Yeah.
This was our last day of shooting. This whole Los Angeles thing...
...was our last day of shooting with the cast.
We all shot in Georgia and then we flew back to L.A...
...and owed this one day that we shot, as you saw in Fourth Street Bridge...
...Hollywood Boulevard, and now, this is Beverly Drive in Beverly Hills.
And the tilt-down from the palm trees to the cars...
...like that classic kind of iconic Annie Hall, Beverly Hills Cop shot.
And now we're back in Georgia.
This mansion was a 40,000 square foot mansion...
...in Georgia that we were able to use as a location.
An acre of land is 43,000 square feet...
...and this house is 3000 square feet shy of an acre.
- That's how big this house was. - Yeah, it is huge.
There's nothing shy about this house.
I agree with that.
- That reveal was a huge laugh. - That's the biggest laugh in the movie.
- Woody, tell us a story, please.
How we managed to procure your friend as a part of this film.
No, what happened was someone dropped out...
...who will go unnamed who was gonna do it.
Also a friend.
And so, really, the last minute, I think, it was probably like...
...less than two weeks before we were shooting it.
It was less than a week.
It was supposed to be a generic Jewish couple in Beverly Hills which...
- I don't know. - Bubbie and pupil.
Anyways, so thank God, he, you know.
It's the one thing in the script...
I loved the script. I always hated the celebrity appearance.
- It's... - But do you hate it now?
And now, it's like the greatest thing in any movie ever.
I always hated it because I thought it...
You know, I thought it just... I don't know.
I never understood the tone of the movie...
...until I saw it for the first time.
You don't like popular culture.
I also try to pretend like popular culture doesn't exist.
Hey, come here.
He has his own movie theatre?
Okay, I'm gonna teach you something about Bill Murray.
A king slept right here.
Dibs on the bed.
Too soft for me, anyway.
Oh, this is so exciting. You're about to learn who you gonna call.
So Jesse and Abby were kind of in their own world in the theatre.
This was actually an extra. This was a stand-in.
And we wanted to build the tension, kind of like the classic horror movie.
Woody's actually dancing to Kenny Loggins' "It's All Right"...
...from Caddyshack instead of the Ghostbusters song.
But we decided to run the "Ghostbusters"...
...through all the way because it was just too discordant...
...to have so many different songs happening at once...
...the horror music, the Kenny Loggins and the "Ghostbusters"...
...so we just went with horror music and "Ghostbusters."
Every time I watched this following scene, I feel regret...
...because Woody had an idea for a shot that I didn't get.
After he gets hit with this, he wanted to have a blurry POV.
The shot right here, I wanted to have a blurry POV...
...and he suggested it and I didn't shoot it.
And now, we're left with an over...
...and I really regret it because it would have been better.
And that was a good solid hit right there, by the way.
I'm on fire!
You're not a zombie, you're talking, and...
- You're okay? - The hell I am!
I'm sorry. I didn't know that it was "you" you.
Are you...? What's with the get-up?
Oh, I do it to blend in. You know.
Zombies don't mess with other zombies.
Buddy of mine showed me how to do this.
Cornstarch. You know, some berries, a little liquorice for the ladies.
Suits my lifestyle, you know.
If you spend time with Woody in public...
...you see how many people come up to him and do this kind of thing to him.
Was it fun for you or interesting to turn the tables...
...and be doing this kind of shtick to another actor?
Well, it really wasn't just shtick...
...because I really do feel that way about him...
...even though I know him, I just think he's so great, you know?
I even love your dramatic roles and just everything.
Six people left in the world, one of them is Bill fucking Murray!
I know that's not your middle name. I been watching you since I was like...
Since I could masturbate. I mean, not that they're connected.
"A former greenskeeper about to become the Masters champion."
Woody murders this scene.
Like, a lot of this is improv.
A lot of this is Woody...
...just completely stepping up and blowing us all away.
And Woody is the big hero of this scene, and...
Specifically, this scene and just murders it...
...and I don't know, I think this is a true testament...
...to the hilarity and talent of Woody Harrelson, this scene.
Oh, that's very kind of you, Ruben. Thank you, sir.
No, I mean it when I say it, though. You really...
You get all the laughs.
And then, this next shot, this insert shot right here...
...this is Alan Baumgarten that...
Work with a talented person who is more talented and smarter...
...and more experienced than you and they will make you better as a director.
That's my advice to young, aspiring directors.
The insert shot, he was like, "This is a comedy insert"...
...and we actually shot that as a pickup because it's funnier.
This is the actual Peter Venkman...
...and the actual proton pack that Sony-Columbia Pictures...
...was nice enough to send out for this.
Don't cross the streams!
- I don't wanna cross... - Oh, no, he's awful.
Don't cross the streams!
Thirty-five feet long, weighing approximately 600 pounds.
That's a big Twinkie.
Your sister is single, right?
There's nothing long distance or anything?
- No. - Oh, good, good.
And if she had, like, a type, you know...
...if you can have a type, what would that be, you think?
A lot of people tell me their favourite scene in the movie...
...is when they're recreating Ghostbusters.
- Is that right? - Yeah.
But I love this...
That was Paul's idea, that throwing away the popcorn.
Super funny.
And then this. When we watched this with an audience...
...people here start to titter when he says, "I'll get him."
People titter because they know something's gonna happen...
...but I can't tell if they know what's gonna happen.
I don't think they can tell he's gonna be shot.
No, I don't think so.
They know something's about to happen, they don't know what.
And then this, biggest laugh in the movie.
- By far. - You can't hear the next few lines.
I mean, I can't tell you how exhilarating it was...
...to watch this with an audience for the first time.
People would go bananas.
They, like, can't believe we did it.
And I gotta thank Rhett and Paul for coming up with a brilliant idea.
But this scene is just a delight to watch every time.
- Bill? - Yeah?
I don't think we're gonna be able to stitch this.
That's still tender.
You think you might pull through?
No.
That slow burn.
He's the master.
That sometimes gets lost in the theatre...
...because they're still laughing from the previous stuff.
One of my favourite reviews, I mean, we're so self-content...
...but one of my favourite reviews described this as the undead-pan.
Because he's the master of deadpan but, like, the zombie version.
I think that sums it up. It's so surreal but so, so funny.
And the expressions on Woody's face and Jesse's face...
...the sheer horror of what's happened...
...it just really sells the comedy.
But then, also the intrigue here, like, Woody looking, like, "Really?
Is he still alive?"
It's so funny to me.
That look to me kills me every time.
And then, Emma really buttons it, like perfectly.
Like when she covers up her laugh here, when she goes straight.
- Yeah, she like murders. I love it. - So funny.
- She's so great. - I love her.
And then, this was a really funny kind of just...
The head bash into the door, and as Rhett and Paul said, like:
"Body comedy's funny. Go with the body comedy."
This was our Weekend at Bernie's moment here.
A lot of people...
Again, we're so self-content, but a lot of people say:
"Why does Jesse have the double-barrel throughout the movie?"
I don't know. I just think it suits his character.
He's not gonna go with the most practical gun.
Like, I actually fought our producer as to why Jesse has the double-barrel...
...which you would want a weapon that holds more than two bullets.
But I like that he only has a double-barrel.
Right. He sticks with what he's comfortable with.
Yeah, and there's actually a line saying that it was his grandfather's.
- Right. - But that didn't make it in the movie.
This scene again, Woody just really...
I think, actually, you were so impressed...
...by Abigail's ability to bring it with the tears...
...that you felt you had to step up to it.
She did raise the bar, I gotta say.
She raised the bar, and Woody, in this scene, just...
And it's funny to me watching...
We keep talking about the audience, but watching this with the audience...
...is really interesting.
Because at first, when it's suggested...
...the laugh, the fact that he would have a laugh...
...gets a laugh, because people think it's incongruous...
...that his dog would laugh. They go, "That's funny, the dog would laugh."
And then, all the way through the flashback, up, like, as he carries...
I'm a little ahead of the picture.
But as he carries the pancake that's shaped in the shape of an animal...
...which my father used to make me when I was a young boy...
...that gets a laugh all the way.
Until you actually see the child...
...people can't believe that we're going there...
...with this emotional depth of this character in such a broad comedy...
...but like, what I love about this movie...
...is that we're not afraid to have a grown man cry.
We're not afraid to show Woody really being torn up...
...by the fact that his son was killed by zombies...
...and hearkens back to Mad Max...
...and various other, like, post-apocalyptic movies.
I think that's what makes this movie special...
...is that it has like such a breadth of feeling.
And, boy, did you shoot the crap out of these two scenes.
I mean, they're just beautiful to look at.
And that wallet, Woody, you made with your daughter.
Yeah, Zoe made that wallet.
But I just wanted to say...
...I really like the fact that you guys went for this emotional depth...
...in what could have been, you know, just more of a superficial comedy.
I think it really adds so much to, you know...
...people's embracing of the characters, you know?
I mean, that's primarily as an actor, like, why I would wanna do a movie.
Having said that, I auditioned several times...
...but, I mean, like, this is like...
You know, this is what makes it desirable for actors.
Not just because they're...
And that doesn't mean that you just put them in indiscriminately...
...but that there's actually so much thought behind it...
...and it comes out in scenes like that.
And this scene is really about, you know...
...him starting to come to grips with the loss of his son...
...and forming a father-figure relationship with Abby.
I never realised on the heels of the scene prior to it.
A hint.
A lot of people don't know this was actually outside.
This guy has a pool and a garage with a full plate-glass window...
...into his garage so he can look at his Rolls-Royces.
And this is an exterior scene...
...but it looks like an interior because of the vastness...
No, because you never really see the sky out here, do you?
Right.
This is, again, one of my favourite scenes in the movie.
This is my favourite scene.
Yeah, I always tell people this. I love this scene.
Yeah, this was the audition scene for I don't think my character...
...but it was the scene for the girl's character.
I remember after I had gotten cast, I was involved in the auditions...
...for all the women who were auditioning for this part...
...and Emma came in and just, like, blew me out of the water.
Because I was like improvising all day...
...and showing you how funny I could be.
I could come up a different thing for each actress.
You know, bring him on a different, you know, PG-13 or R-rated movie...
...and then, she just came in and just destroyed me.
She was so funny. She made me look like an idiot.
No.
I'm sure that's not the case. You might have thought that but...
She's hysterical. She's genuinely hysterical.
She doesn't ask you to laugh at her.
She's not the kind of person that makes a joke...
...and waits for you to appreciate it.
She's just really genuinely funny.
And without sounding super pervy, like, just seeing her in a T-shirt...
...as opposed to her leather jacket, which she wears through the movie...
It's like, just a T-shirt, she looks sexy.
Which is, like, really cool, you know.
That is super pervy.
That's the four glasses of champagne talking.
- I apologise. - You really went creepy pervy on us.
- This is where it gets weird. - All right.
See her drinking that bottle of wine?
I'm gonna kill myself when I see her drinking that bottle of wine.
Just wanna jump in a big thing of pudding.
She's tremendous. She's absolutely tremendous.
- One thing... - But Jesse...
Oh, sorry. Go ahead.
One thing that kills me every time I watch this scene...
...is that our production-design department...
...completely slacked on our wine bottles.
Like she's drinking B.V., and there's actually Two-Buck Chuck...
...and like, nobody will watch this except me...
...but all I can look at is the labels and how cheap they are.
- Those bitches. - I know.
No, I will not stand for this. No. You know what?
On behalf of all the eighth-grade girls, I would like to make it up to you.
Relax.
Scotty's old news.
There was a fine line with the character of Columbus.
You have to make him geeky enough...
...that we get that he's never gotten the girl.
And yet, we had to make him charismatic enough...
...to sell to the audience that he actually could get this girl.
And that all rested with Jesse...
...and his ability to play socially awkward...
...but also charming and even self- confident in some strange little ways.
Like, it's...
- You rode that line and it worked. - It's my bread and butter.
I love when you put your hands up on her shoulders there...
...when she first hugs you.
Yeah. The classic eighth-grade Frankenstein dance.
- We all did that, at one point. - Well, thanks, Rhett.
Yeah, that's one of the things that was in written into the script...
...is that, you know, he has this kind of like arc and becomes more of a man.
But, yeah, I was always...
...considering, like, you wanna like this guy in a way that's not sympathetic.
People are just so pulling for you guys to get together here.
And one of my...
I think my favourite Jesse moment...
...you know, here, you're realising she just said, "I could hit that."
And then you're, like, just gonna kiss each other, the look on your face here.
I'm about to vomit on her. That's what it looks like.
I love this.
- It's pure terror. - Yeah.
It's so funny.
We're making a fort.
It's funny to me that "a little help" doesn't get any laughs...
...but the "making a fort" kills.
Yeah. Inevitably.
And we really had a funny take when he, like, stuck his head back in...
...which was so funny.
...but my sister and I are gonna do whatever it takes to survive, so...
There was a big chunk of movie cut out here...
...where Wichita makes a shower and then...
...and then Woody uses all the water from the barrel of water...
...and then that's why they leave.
And we are so glad that was gone.
We had a naked Woody, the full buttocks in that shot...
...which was very exciting for all of us to shoot...
...but, ultimately, we decided to spare your eye.
Once again, the four glasses of champagne talking there.
The girls' departure...
...we decided to ground in the characters' relationship...
...so that the girls... Wichita felt herself getting too vulnerable...
...and that's why she left as opposed to just being frustrated...
...that the shower that they'd been aspiring to was gone.
We tried to base it off their relationships.
...zombie apocalypse and drove halfway across the country.
Where are you gonna go?
I'm going to Pacific Playland.
And this is a great shot and Abby delivering that line.
It's a difficult line.
It's like a necessary line, "I'm going to Pacific Playland."
It's a difficult line.
It's a necessary line in a movie but it's like the skill of, like...
It's such a rare skill, like 12 years old, like she has this self-aware irony...
...that she's able to...
Sell a bad line? Is that what you're saying?
No, it's a necessary line.
It's just a hard line for an actor when you're...
You have to act excited about something.
It's a difficult thing, you know, because there's no way to like...
There's no way... It's hard to do it sincerely.
And she just balances it so cutely.
Wonderfully.
- It just made me feel more alone. - Hey.
This always gets a laugh too. The surfboard comes into frame.
No, it's actually the reveal. It's a classic reveal. The hat.
No, before it cuts out, people are laughing.
Or maybe it's just...
There was another take where you were carrying a little green ghost...
...from Ghostbusters that was really funny too.
You can see that in a later shot, the Slimer, actually.
Oh, I'm sorry.
Whatever.
We should probably just watch the movie from here on out.
We shot this in Valdosta, Georgia.
It's about four hours south of Atlanta.
This specific set, we actually built.
They didn't have an actual control box for all the different power things.
Wait, they really didn't have a fake movie control box?
- Yeah. - Wherever she gets a big handle?
Get the lights on. I was super...
I love this shot with the roller coaster moving in the background.
I think you teared up when you shot this, didn't you?
I was really... No, Rhett teared up.
Rhett teared up watching this.
Because it really was like the storyboards exactly.
The look on Abby's face is so just angelic.
And it's incredible.
Well, a lot of this movie is about pining for the past...
...and for innocence in a time when the world's been destroyed.
And seeing her face...
...looking at that amusement park really captures that...
...just as Woody's face as he eats the Twinkie captures that.
That's one of the big themes of the movie.
I gotta say, we got really lucky to get to shoot at this amusement park...
...because we scouted in New Mexico, we scouted in Louisiana...
...and we scouted a much bigger park close to Atlanta.
But through various circumstances...
...we ended up in a small town in the very south of Georgia.
And it ended to be...
And it ended up being the best option just because it was so cinematic.
The park was so agreeable.
The people who worked there worked so hard to accommodate our vision.
This was all night shoots...
...during the night in the freezing cold in February.
And we had hundreds of extras acting like zombies and they just really...
Everybody just really, you know, stepped up.
And I'm very thankful for the hard work of the people in Georgia...
...to help us realise this vision.
This was the first time we see...
This was the first time we shot zombies, correct, in the movie?
- Yeah, this was like day three or... - It's also the beginning...
Yeah, beginning of the shooting.
People would always ask at these question and answer sessions...
...that Woody and I have done, like, about the number three which is...
In the script it says, "In memory of the late great Dale Earnhardt, Jr."
- This is number three on Woody's car. - Dale Earnhardt, Sr., yes.
I'm sorry, senior. Oh, right, I'm sorry.
Why put something in a script that's not...
I mean, I like it. It's such a, you know, cute detail.
And I may have gotten it knowing a little about NASCAR, but why...
What was the inspiration, and why did you put it in if it was never explained?
Well, I just loved Dale Earnhardt.
And I thought that Tallahassee would love Dale Earnhardt.
Dale Earnhardt was the intimidator, that was what he was like.
And he was a badass and he was from the South.
And I just felt like all those things would have made Tallahassee a fan.
Also Tallahassee's age, you know, that would just...
Dale Earnhardt would have been in his wheelhouse.
But if it's not explained, like what...
- Oh, I think... - It's I think...
I think it's rule number 32, you know, enjoy the little things.
Oh, paint... Right.
We love to just find those little details...
...that aren't necessarily explained and over-expositioned.
And just people who get it, get it and enjoy it so...
She got a lot of shells in that shotgun of hers.
I just wanna say that.
...that'll do, pig.
That's the worst goodbye I've ever heard...
...and you stole it from a movie.
This is my worst line reading in the movie.
But I had an idea for it and it didn't come across.
- What was the idea? - I can't remember now.
I remember thinking, "This is the way the line needs to be read."
Every time I watch the movie I'm like, "Why did the character suddenly...?"
Like, I don't know, it's not... It's wrong.
To what extent do you plan and think, "Oh, this is so funny."
Two takes for this motorcycle...
My agent and I always go through each line.
- Two takes. - And my lawyer.
The second one was this one.
And then after he did it, the stunt guy, we're just like, "It's done."
It was so perfect.
You can't get a better accidental crash than that.
So that wasn't Jesse?
- I hate to give away movie secrets. - No, I...
I did it once but I actually made it out the driveway.
Funny, in the commercial for this movie...
...which is, you know, ubiquitous now, like, there's like a:
Like a character screaming in a high-pitched voice...
...over that shot of falling in the thing.
- Is that right? - It was so humiliating.
- Yeah. - Just embarrassing.
I think I lost a job because of that commercial.
We rode this ride the first night we went there to scout.
Remember that, with Gavin?
- You were really like a little girl... - Oh, man, I was...
That noise that they put in over Jesse crashing the motorcycle...
...you were making that noise.
That's awesome.
When I see that shot of the thing go up there...
...I actually can feel in my stomach what I felt on that ride.
This is semi-interesting, not terribly interesting...
...but what was originally scripted was a ride...
...that went very slowly to the top then dropped freefall to the bottom.
And we had to make adjustments...
...because this ride rocketed to the top and then slowly went down.
And so we had to make adjustments to the script to accommodate that.
This shot, I'm actually kind of proud of.
This is a real dummy that then gets...
A real dummy?
Which gets replaced with a digital double and split in half.
What do you do with the dummy? You have to erase it from each frame?
We erased the dummy and then filled it in with a digital dummy.
But it's a combination of the two.
I also love the score in this. Dave Sardy killed this, like...
Just this... I rock out when this comes on.
I just headbang to this, the score right here.
The music is one of the stars of this movie...
...I think. The music is just awesome.
Does it get back-end?
We're trying to negotiate for the sequel.
I love how you call back that exhale but it's just so subtle, you know.
- It's so perfectly done. - It's like so many things in the script.
You don't lean on it too much, you just move on.
It's so great, yeah.
This was my first night of shooting with Woody Harrelson.
And I gotta admit I was a little nervous this night.
I didn't know what to expect and I was intimidated.
But luckily, Woody just was so generous...
...with his talent and so accommodating and...
And it ended up being a beautiful partnership.
Well, that's another beautiful, kind thing you said.
I've disagreed every time he said those things.
Rhett is still holding that early thing, you would say.
I can't remember what I said but...
Some of this driving is done by Tim Trella...
...the stunt, I guess, co-stunt coordinator on this with George?
No, he was a stunt double.
Oh, I thought he did some... And he is just the most...
I was the passenger in some of the stunts...
...and it was just the most exhilarating experience I've ever had...
...him doing these 360s.
Every time, he would hit it exactly on point.
You and Tim have worked for a long time together.
Yeah, we've done a lot of movies together.
And he's done so many great stunts, I gotta say, made me look good...
...but his driving skills are through the roof.
This was a challenging scene for you to play, Jesse.
I remember you having a lot of questions about this.
It didn't make any sense the way we were doing it.
There was something illogical about it.
And it's cut together now fine but, you know, like...
You know actors like...
I mean, it's not uncommon, you know, to question everything...
...not realising that it's gonna be cut together as an action movie.
But, like, it's just there was something off about the blocking.
And I just... It bothered me so much.
Anyway, it looks... I mean, it's good now.
And you cut the scene down, you know, a hundred percent.
- We trimmed this down a lot, yeah. - Yeah.
It's so sweet and I asked my mother... My mother saw the movie, I said:
"I just have one question.
Did you understand that Woody's character...
...is sacrificing himself for me?"
She's like, "Yeah, of course. I'm not stupid."
That's one thing I was worried with. Would it be clear he's doing that?
Because it's such a sweet kind of resolution for them.
I never got that till now, ironically.
I'll give you my mom's number. She'll explain the whole thing to you.
Yeah, just half kidding.
Yeah, right.
I actually love that people are really worried about you, Woody.
And that people think you're gonna die, especially in the box.
And I don't mean to ruin the surprise for everyone...
...but it's so gratifying for me when you're alive...
...and we do that tilt up off the bodies...
...which Manohla Dargis described as a holocaust scene...
...that you actually survive...
...and people applaud in the theatre, it fills me with joy.
I think probably every DVD commentary...
...takes revenge on Manohla Dargis that's ever been recorded, right?
Right.
Woody, you actually did that stunt. You were flying around, shooting.
I was but I think that...
I thought Tim did the jumping over the fence and jumping on to the ride.
I'm quite sure and then I'm just like on the ride, you know.
- You're duct taped on to the ride. - Yeah, like...
I had it pretty easy, let me put it that way.
But again, we shot all the amusement park stuff...
...the first two weeks of the movie and I was very, very, very lucky...
...to work with a gentleman by the name of George Aguilar...
...who was our second-unit director and stunt coordinator.
He and Woody would just go off...
...and shoot all this amazingly fun stuff while...
Not to say, what I was doing wasn't fun.
But he and Woody would go do the roller coaster...
...and that spinning-around ride and the box and like...
It's just a testament to the talent of George Aguilar...
...that these sequences look so good...
...because I had nothing to do with any of them.
This just reminds me of a video game right here.
- It's just so cool, you know. - Right.
All right, this shot behind him is so exciting...
...especially the one following this where he shoots the guy.
- This one. - I love watching this.
- Yeah. - It's so exciting.
Yeah, that's nice.
This haunted house was not on location at the amusement park.
This was actually up near Atlanta. It was a real haunted house.
This was one of the hardest scenes to cut and...
I don't wanna admit this, but one of my greatest regrets in this movie...
...was that I didn't do a better job shooting the horror...
...of this haunted house.
Well, we can let go of our regrets today, can't we, people?
It's the number-one movie in the country.
- All right, we're so self-content. - It's a big country.
- Number-one topic on Twitter. - All right, all right, all right.
Back to the movie.
There's nothing self-satisfying about that.
That's just a obvious statement.
Facts.
- You can't argue with the truth. - Yeah.
And some people...
I have a little bit of a regret here. I'll go ahead and say it.
Some people have complained about the fact that these smart girls...
...jump on to this blast-off and put themselves in a precarious position.
It's not the smartest move ever.
And I do feel a little stupid that we didn't motivate that better.
Let me just say that this piece of music...
...which Dave titled "The Ecstasy of Blood," "Estasi Dell Volto"...
...is my favourite piece of music in the movie and...
Morricone and Sergio Leone were a huge influence on this film...
...and there's a really hard act to follow when you got Morricone involved.
And I feel like Dave Sardy...
...just absolutely surpassed him with this piece of music.
This is great. This is Jesse's favourite kill.
Oh, yeah, the upcoming.
This is my least favourite shot in the whole movie.
That shot, that slow-mo shot which was done...
...at 24 frames and slowed down to make it look slow.
It's like a weird John Woo, Tarantino slow-mo which I'm not proud of.
Here's my favourite shot, my favourite shot here.
Jesse going over the fence.
It's such a heroic thing, I just... I love it, man, it's just...
- It's the nerd becomes a hero. - But this, boom.
It's so creative.
- And this guy got hit here, right? - Emma...
Yeah, he got stitches...
...as a result of Emma batting him in the chin with the butt of her gun.
And this is the Manohla Dargis shot.
And then this is...
People cheer when they see Woody...
...that he manages to survive this whole onslaught.
I remember trying to get that spinning of the gun at the last second like that.
Oh, boy, that was tough.
And I was so pissed at myself not being able to get it.
- Took some time. - But you did get it.
Finally, yeah, I did.
This line, this, "Look at this fucking clown"...
...was suggested by our sound supervisor, Kami Asgar...
...who just came up with it on the spot and we all laughed.
It ended up making its way into the movie.
And this guy, Derek Graf, was a lineman for USC.
His father is, like, a hugely famous...
- NFL quarterback? - No, stunt coordinator.
His dad's, like, a big stunt coordinator.
And Derek is the most menacing and scary clown...
...you can possibly imagine and...
We had a lot of trouble with this sequence...
...because I didn't shoot it well. There's not nearly enough beats to it.
And thankfully, because Alan, our editor, is so talented...
...and Dave scored it so well, it is satisfying but...
What would you have added, shot-wise?
Just extended the fight a little bit more.
It's a little too easy how you knock him down and then smashed his head.
But that's a happy accident.
That was, like, a real blood bag that Jesse smashed.
And it just happened to hit the lens.
And that expression that he has through the blood is...
I mean, you couldn't ask for more in a zombie movie.
But it was completely unintentional and a happy accident.
This, to me, is like the whole brake thing and I blame myself.
But for some reason, people buy it but it just...
We needed to get the movie over with. He's gotta kill everybody.
We assume he killed the final boss and there's just one more person...
The girls are in jeopardy, he gets them.
But I love how the music restores to the kind of carnival music...
...telling the audience everything's good.
Then this Black Keys cue is one of my favourites.
I think it's my favourite piece of music that's not original in the movie.
And then the thing I'm proudest of in the entire movie...
...is that audiences seem to really appreciate...
...when he brushes her hair behind her ear...
...because it's something we established early on.
They love it.
And it's a sign that they invest in the characters and that...
This is our DP's favourite shot, the 150-millimetre lens on Emma...
...with those eyes, it's a really flattering shot.
She looks gorgeous and it's a...
It's Michael Bonvillain's favourite shot in the movie, that shot right there.
I think for other reasons besides the 150-millimetre lens.
- She just looks so pretty. - I can't think of the other reasons.
This is a little...
- A little awkward. - It's a little staged.
Yeah, I don't like that... I wish I had just been standing there.
- Who is he talking to? - Now walk.
What's he walking forward for?
- But, it's a living. - We could have cut that one out.
But we actually couldn't, we tried to.
You can't because you need some commentary...
...and some separation on it.
But it is, in retrospect, a very staged, presentational shot...
...that wouldn't be in the reality of the film.
This...
When I was a virginal young man, I...
Many years ago, when I was a virgin...
...I wanted to brush a girl's hair over her ears so badly.
And when I finally did, it was such a moment of tiny little courage.
And it was... It meant a lot to me.
And I get so choked up every time I see you do that, Jesse.
It just makes... It's very personal.
No, it's personal for me too. I mean, I didn't write the...
But when I read that I was like:
"Yes, that's exactly the thing everybody wants to do."
Because it's like...
There was something so emotional about it.
- Anyway, I'm shutting up now. - Did you ever get to do that?
- Yeah. - He's still waiting for that day.
It was a hooker.
Yeah, a woman who would sleep with me for money.
Twinkies, this is a really satisfying moment...
...I think for audiences and ourselves alike.
Like, getting to see Woody have the frustration of getting the Twinkies...
...and have them destroyed by Columbus' errant shot.
And the buckshot line was a Jesse improv that's really funny.
And then we come out and the girls are taking off.
And I think this voice-over...
...is very heartfelt and sums it all up.
It's very satisfying.
These are also very beautiful shots on long lenses...
...to make the background lights look all blurred out and pretty and...
Where does Abby get the Twinkie from?
She actually went into the snack shack previous to you guys' arrival...
...in anticipation of meeting up with you guys again and saved it.
And perhaps she might run across Tallahassee in the future.
I thought she got it from the Props Department.
Woody, you had us in hysterics.
These facial expressions here, eating the Twinkie.
I mean, we were at the monitors just crying, we were laughing so hard.
Pure elation, the greatest thing that's ever happened...
I would think.
I remember this starting to go and then...
Yeah.
Milk that a little bit.
Yeah.
Cardio, seat belts...
And Ruben, you staged this final shot so beautifully.
It almost seems fake. And it's not at all fake, right?
- It's entirely real. - Entirely.
But do you guys remember when Abby...
They drove off down in the car.
And then the actors came back and Abby was like in tears.
And I was like, "What happened? What happened?"
She said she was scared of the zombie.
The zombie came up and tried to play a joke and scare her.
And I was like, "Oh, God, I'm so sorry. Can't believe he did that to you."
And then they're like:
"Joke's on you. You felt bad for the little girl...
...but really she wasn't that scared."
And I felt like a dummy.
But Abby...
Abby is one of the funniest people I think I've ever met.
She's amazingly funny.
I'm sure everybody's listening to this commentary at this point.
But all these names that appear on this screen...
One of the things I'd like to say...
...that's unique to the experience of a director...
...is that you are the person that gets to work...
...with every one of these people.
Like, everyone in production never met anybody in post.
Like, the actors didn't get to meet a lot of these people, like...
But I'm lucky enough to have worked with all these people...
...and I really do know who they all are.
And previous to working on this film...
...I never would've expected that anyone would know...
...who all the names at the end of a movie are...
...but it's a testament to how hard and how collaborative it is...
...to make a film that, like, these hundreds of people...
...all contributed in various, significant ways to make this movie.
And I feel like everyone whose name's listed on this film...
...should feel really proud about what we all collectively contributed to.
And that's my thing that will probably get edited out.
But we kind of have to fill the time...
...because there's a very exciting thing at the end that, like...
I used to be the guy who waited...
...till the end of the credits every time in a movie.
And then you'd be so frustrated...
...when there wasn't something to reward you at the end of the credits.
So I made sure that if anybody who actually sat through all these names...
...who mean nothing to them got some reward for doing that.
It's also a way to lure someone back to the theatre who did leave too early...
...and then found out, subsequently, that they missed it at the end.
And then they come back.
They have to come back to see it the second time.
My wife went and saw this last night in a theatre in Maui...
...and everybody was leaving and she was yelling out:
"Stay. Stay for the end."
- People thought she was nuts. - That's awesome. That's awesome.
We were really lucky...
I felt so cool to have Jack White, like, sing us out...
...like, on the way, to have this Raconteurs track.
And then I was so pleased to be able to reprise...
...the Dave Sardy "Ecstasy of Blood" which I previously mentioned...
...as a part of this ending music.
Which you guys will only have to suffer through a little bit longer...
...if anyone is actually still listening, to get to see the final little snippet.
All these great songs.
Phenomenal job selecting these.
I'm proud of the soundtrack. I will say that.
I know I've said I'm proud a lot tonight...
...but actually, I'm pretty proud of the soundtrack.
I think it's cool, it's diverse...
...and there are some really just terrific bands on this soundtrack.
Which will never be released as a soundtrack...
...but that, when you watch the film, hopefully, you will enjoy.
I think we're getting down toward it now, this last little scene.
Is there anything you wanna say about it?
We fought really hard...
...about whether or not this would be included in the body of the film...
...because there was a funny moment after he dies...
...where he comes back to life. Where Woody is saying his eulogy...
...and it was in the body of the film.
I thought it was a bit too surreal and took people out of the film.
And I felt like it was gratuitous, so it was an outtake.
I didn't feel right including it...
...but I think it works really well as a coda on the film.
I'm gonna time that perfectly to the music...
...so that it all ends right as he appears on film.
In the words of the immortal Jean-Paul Sartre...
This is truly an outtake.
I couldn't get it.
In the... In the immortal... How do you do it?
"How do you do it?"
In the words of the immortal philosopher Jean-Paul Sartre...
...au revoir, gopher.
Okay.
- And God bless you. - Thanks all.
God bless Gavin Polone...
...for having the name of his company be Pariah.
Thank you, Sony.
- All right. - Thank you all.
- This was fun. - Thank you.
Thanks, guys.