ROTTEN TOMATOES: RT Talks To "Texas Chainsaw Massacre" Director Jonathan Liebesman; "Friday The 13th" Sequel In Negotiations

RT Talks To "Texas Chainsaw Massacre" Director Jonathan Liebesman; "Friday The 13th" Sequel In Negotiations

by Tim Ryan | October 02, 2006

Leatherface is back, and director Jonathan Liebesman is now giving audiences the creation myth of famed killer in "The Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Beginning." Liebesman (who may also be directing the next "Friday the 13th" film) spoke with Rotten Tomatoes about reviving an iconic character and the visceral impact of horror films, among other things.

Rotten Tomatoes: When you're taking a series or a character that's been around for a long time, how do you approach this material and make it new?

Jonathan Liebesman: Well, I think firstly, you've never seen the story of how Leatherface became Leatherface. In itself, the story was new. Stylistically, what was cool was Marcus [Nispel, director of "The Texas Chainsaw Massacre"], with the remake, started a new wave this kind of almost pornographic gore/horror. And certain movies after that pushed that. So it's almost like you get to take this new style of horror filmmaking and marry it to Tobe Hooper's movie, and couple that with a brand new story which no one's ever seen -- we've never seen how this family became killers -- and I think everything about it is exciting and fresh.

Director Jonathan Liebesman with producer Michael Bay

RT: Do you think the iconic story here sets it apart from a lot of contemporary horror films?

JL: I think the trend now is realism, with "Saw," "Hostel," all that stuff. The cool thing about doing franchise horror is you're dealing with mythic characters, and I love that. I think it gives you a chance to tell a story that has certain moments that have much more weight because they have the baggage of 30 years of movies behind them. A lot of people might say that's a weakness, but to me that's awesome, because the movie itself is a star that's been going for a while, and you're reviving the star's career. I think that's an exciting opportunity.

"The Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Beginning" opens Friday, and stars Jordana Brewster and Andrew Bryniarski. Click here for the complete interview.

Related Items

Celeb:	Jonathan Liebesman
	Michael Bay
	Tobe Hooper
	Andrew Bryniarski
	Marcus Nispel
	Jordana Brewster
Movie:	Friday the 13th - Part 1
	Hostel
	Saw
	The Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Beginning
	The Texas Chainsaw Massacre
	The Texas Chainsaw Massacre

(1-15 of 15 posts) | Reply

daycare writes:
on Oct 02 2006 05:35 PM

he did a hell of a job with this new TCM movie. maybe he can pull off the Friday the 13th movie as well.

(Reply to this)

EmmG389 writes:
on Oct 02 2006 07:41 PM

[b]This guy sounds like a complete hack[/b]
He praised Nispel's remake and the way he created a kind of pornographic gore/horror. What the hell does that mean? You are one sick bastard liebesman. Why don't you try something called suspense? That is not having a cat jump out of a closet. Its about creating fun characters that you actually give a shit about and giving the audience some kind of hope that they will survive. I am probably talking about the wrong genre, but didn't Scream do that? And how the hell are you going to show how this family became killers in 84 minutes? The trailer looks like a retread of the remake so half of the film is following the same formula as the remake. That leaves the rest of the film for a character driven origin story.
I could see the brilliant origin now. Leatherface picks up a chainsaw and kills somebody and the audience will be shocked.

(Reply to this)

Mikeal420 writes:
on Oct 02 2006 07:51 PM

In reply to this comment (#845570)
[b]Completly Agree[/b]
Frankly, I prefer my porn to be erotic rather than violent, but for all you sickies there are films like "Hostel" and "Texas Chainsaw" to satitisfy your every need

Also, it's not the extreme violence that makes it pornography, it's that fact that it's done without any thought at all, the same way sexual porn is thoughtless eroticism

(Reply to this)

taran72 writes:
on Oct 02 2006 08:59 PM

I agree with everyone about these Massacre sequels/prequels/whatever. How did Hollywood completely lose sight of what made these movies great? Not just the suspense, but the the fact that the movies themselves were different, raw and improvised heavily.

"The cool thing about doing franchise horror is you're dealing with mythic characters" You mean EXPLOITING mythic characters.

(Reply to this)

yodas gooch writes:
on Oct 03 2006 12:31 AM

man, I hate these 'creation mythology' films - Exorcist- The Beginning anyone?? anyone at all ? or better yet..The Phantom (freekin') Menace?

...what ever happened to ohh...I dunno...COMING UP WITH A NEW IDEA???

I wont be watching this or 'Young Hannibal'...way to go you morons, you just ruined a few more classic movies...whats next? "Alien: Origin of Facehugger part 3"
I just got a brain tumour from this stupid article

(Reply to this)

yodas gooch writes:
on Oct 03 2006 12:42 AM

Better yet, lets have a creation mythology about the chumps who greenlight creation mythology movies for someone elses original 30 year old horror film idea and call it...
"Bottom Feeding Studio Whores Riding on the Shoulders of Giants: Part 5 -The Second Last Beginning End"

(Reply to this)

yodas gooch writes:
on Oct 03 2006 12:45 AM

Any film described as 'Creation Mythology' is kinda like "Reimagining" (read 'Plagarism')

I hate humanity

(Reply to this)

poedude99 writes:
on Oct 03 2006 09:33 AM

[b]i've been looking forward to this for years[/b]
I saw TCM (1974) during a 1981 re-release; I did not like it on the first viewing-- except for the scenes at Leatherface's house... the grandpa who lost his job at the slaughterhouse.... the dude who cuts his hand and takes the pix was cool too... Leatherface's origin has got to be as interesting as Darth Vader's, no? I'll be there and I have not seen Saw or Hostel yet....

check out this neato free horror story:

www.lostharvest.com

(Reply to this)

jbutle4 writes:
on Oct 03 2006 12:10 PM

Was TCM: The Beginning not screened to critics? If so, why aren't there any reviews up yet?

(Reply to this)

narcissusbleh writes:
on Oct 03 2006 12:54 PM

[b]Hrmm.[/b]
Slasher movies are mindless fun. It's either your cup of tea or it's not. Don't try and make them more important than they are. Geez.

Personally, I'll catch the movie, just because when it comes to this genre, I'll watch anything that's rated R.

Besides, it'll keep me going until Rob Zombie's version of Halloween.

(Reply to this)

SIRxxxTMG writes:
on Oct 03 2006 02:38 PM

The Texas Chainsaw remake was absolutely horrible... The new Friday the 13th movies are horrible... If this guy is directing any upcoming ones, prepare for the worst.

(Reply to this)

Mikeal420 writes:
on Oct 03 2006 02:59 PM

In reply to this comment (#845578)
I agree with what your saying, but to say one genre is more important than another is kinda offensive to a movie buff

Also, what is a slasher movie, is it a horror movie that includes multiple scenes of people being "slashed", or is a movie completed devoted to the idea of seeing people "slashed"

Rob Zombie's films use people being slashed as a way to be funny (and it usually works), "The Descent" used people being "slashed" as a means to scare us(and it worked), while "Hostel", "Wolf Creek", "Saw" etc. use people being slashed simply for the purpose of seeing people slashed

That's sounds more like a staged snuff film to me

(Reply to this)

narcissusbleh writes:
on Oct 03 2006 05:40 PM

I didn't say any genre was more important than another. I simply said that slasher films are not meant to be so over-analyzed. It's not Hitchcock. They're just fun movies.

Also, slasher films were born in the late 70s/early 80s. Films like Halloween, Nightmare, Hellraiser, etc. Films about some immortal creature that chases around a bunch of teenagers, killing them one by one. They normally include drugs, sex and a virginal heroine. It's become a total cliche, but eh.

(Reply to this)

Mikeal420 writes:
on Oct 03 2006 07:45 PM

In reply to this comment (#845581)
you mention Holloween and Hailraiser as "slasher" films, but are they the same as "Saw" or "Hostel" didn't Clive Barker use violence as a means to scare us in Hellraiser, rather than just to please our taste for violence

Also, every movie, just like all art, should be anylized to death by as many different people as possible. The only movies that should not be anylized are films like "Employee of the Month" or "Just MY Luck", which are more akin to advertising than art

(Reply to this)

narcissusbleh writes:
on Oct 04 2006 07:50 AM

Hostel is definitely not a slasher, as there is no particular "mythical" character chacing the victims around. Saw is to a point, but not really. It has more of a Mystery, Crime Investigation feel to it.

About Hellraiser, I don't think it was scary because it was overly violent. It was scary because we didn't understand the creature, or how it could possibly be defeated. The violence just sort of amplified that. If you see Halloween, you'll notice that there is only one scene in the entire film where blood is shown.

I don't think you understand what slasher films are. Slasher films have an almost celebrety-type murderous character, in a way, the main character (Chucky, Michael Myers, Leatherface, Jason, etc). Some modern slashers would include Jeepers Creepers and House of Wax.

And again, most of these films are not social commentary, though some are. It's one thing to analyze, another is to pick it apart. It kills the fun for me, personally, though I do understand what you're saying.

(Reply to this)