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DIE LAUGHINGSome folks think 'Freeway' director Matthew Bright has made a comedy about serial killer Ted Bundy. He disagrees... |
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When Ted Bundy showed at London's Frightfest in 2003, it was a surprise to hear people laughing... Matthew Bright: "Let them laugh! We didn't make it funny on purpose. Maybe it came out like that because we were holding the subject at arm's length. There's only so much sadness and horror you can have in one movie." But some people were laughing during the murder scenes - even the double murder in the shack... Bright: "Jesus Christ! F**k. That thing is hard for me to watch. I was pale while we were shooting it. The only time I had fun, was were we executed the son of a bitch! An extra started vomiting uncontrollably behind me. Then I stopped laughing." You seemed to enjoy shooting the pre-execution scene when Bundy had his backside stuffed with cotton wool. Bright: "Yeah, I thought that would have pissed him off more than anything. I hate Ted Bundy. I hate him for not looking like the son of a bitch that he really was; I hate him for being such a mean prick... I just hate him." Do you think some people laugh at the movie through nervousness? Bright: "I think so. I used to laugh at horror movies like The Texas Chain Saw Massacre. There was this girl on a meathook and I was laughing. It was just so hideous." Are you worried about how different people might react to Ted Bundy? Bright: "No - movies don't make psychos. Certain parents do. I do believe in the death penalty. Some sons of bitches will kill over and over again - they're just mean. I put them on the same level as Himmler or Pol Pot or any of these motherf**kers. They're executioners, and they're scum." Did you not find the people celebrating Bundy's death - seen in real footage in the movie - a mite disturbing, though? Bright: "Well those are yahoos. I would honk my horn going by the prison or something, but those guys jumping around and getting drunk? That's the kind of thing George Bush would have done." How did you tell star Matthew Reilly Burke to approach the role? Bright: "I just wrote the script! They write about how Ted was this normal guy and I wanted to portray how he made his living as a thief - he didn't work. He snatched purses on the street, he shoplifted, burgled houses. I only showed the ones that were talked about, because I didn't make it up. In the book, he talked about stealing a plant - this was from his own mouth. I wanted it to be realistic and it came out funny, but it's not funny to me. It's funny initially, until you see what he's doing. Then it's not funny." Did you want people to laugh at first, then clam up, as in Man Bites Dog, say? Bright: "No, I didn't know how it was going to turn out. But there's a funny angle on anything. I mean, this guy's dressed in a suit and he's doing this stuff..." Isn't it scary how people seemingly trust anybody in a suit? Bright: "I think they did... I don't think they do now. And that's a good thing. If there's anything to be had from this movie beyond the entertainment of being horrified, it's that people will maybe think twice. My son in high school is in a health class. Their teacher said to all the kids, 'If you break down on the freeway, go see the movie Freeway and you'll know what not to do!'. My kid told them, 'My dad made that movie!'. Maybe Ted Bundy, the movie, will save some girl. I was initially trying to make a horror movie, but make it through the reality of what happened. When I wrote the script, I realised it was so sad, and that's worse than horror." |