Scout Taylor-Compton
Tags: Halloween, rob zombie, H, Runaways, Lita Ford, Scout TaylorCompton
Still half a year shy of her 21st birthday, Scout Taylor-Compton is already an old hand at horror, able to speak from experience about things like working the convention circuit, keeping in touch with the legions of fans, and balancing a career with non-horror roles (shell next be seen as a young version of rock queen Lita Ford in the band biopic The Runaways.) Her horror credits include appearances in such indies as the zombie-children film Wicked Little Things and the possessed-by-God chiller Pearblossom, and she also took on the lead role in the 2008 remake of 80s horror comedy April Fools Day, which was ultimately denied a theatrical release. Her claim to fame, though, is reimagining sexy bookworm Laurie Strode, the heroine of John Carpenters 1978 classic Halloween, for Rob Zombies 2007 remake.
Whereas Jamie Lee Curtis played Laurie as an awkward, librarian-style dork, Scouts portrayal was more of an impish goody two-shoes, one without much of a care in the world until big brother Michael Myers escapes from an institution and blows into town. The film was a box-office smash, and Zombie was eventually lured back for a sequel with the promise that he could do, as he put it, anything I want. As a result, H2 is said to veer sharply away from the original series continuity, focusing largely on the crumbling sanity of sole survivor Laurie, who at the films beginning has lost her entire family and most of her friends thanks to one terrifying night. Scout Taylor-Compton recently dialed up SuicideGirls to talk about returning to battle big brother once more.
Ryan Stewart: What are you working on today?
Scout Taylor-Compton: I actually have the day off today. Ive been doing a lot of press for H2, but today is my breather day. We wrapped on The Runaways about three weeks ago.
RS:
Did you get to meet Lita Ford?
STC:
No, I didnt. I didnt get a chance to meet Lita, but Joan and Cherie were there a lot and we would hang out on set and stuff, it was really nice. Off set, too. I was kind of like their little buddy. I honestly had to pinch myself, because it was Joan Jett, you know?
RS:
But youre kind of young to be a rocker chick, arent you? I imagine you being into Beyonce and stuff.
STC:
No, I listen to a lot of rock and indie music. I dont care for hip-hop too much. Except when Im in the club dancing, maybe. But no, Im definitely a rocker girl.
RS:
Even with a last name like Compton.
STC:
[laughs] I know, everybody says that! Everybody is like, Hey, Compton! and Im like Eh, no.
RS:
Have you gotten into Rob Zombies music at all?
STC:
Ive listened to a little bit of Robs music. When we were doing the first Halloween he came up to me and he felt really bad about it, but he handed me all of his CDs and he was like I know you havent listened to any of my stuff, and I kind of feel really bad about doing this, but heres my stuff! Which I thought was really cool! And then I got into it and I was into it all the time. His CD is in my car right now.
RS:
Im sure hes big about playing music on the set.
STC:
Actually, when we were filming H2 I told him about The Runaways and how excited I was about it, and he was really excited for me, and he started playing Cherry Bomb and I Love Playing With Fire on his iPhone. Also, sometimes he would bust out some old-school rap, just to kind of lighten the mood on set, which was always funny.
RS:
Are you one of those actors who needs to listen to Metallica or whatever to get pumped up?
STC:
Oh no, I cant do that. I see a lot of people at auditions that have the headphones on, but I cant do that. I feel like I cant concentrate when Im also listening to music.
RS:
The studio hasnt shown me H2 yet, but people whove seen it say that its all about you.
STC:
Pretty much! That was really overwhelming. When Rob contacted me, he was like Ill send you the script, its gonna be fun, itll be cool, and Im thinking Okay, this is great, Im gonna be doing some screaming, whatever, fine, and then I get this script and its just
me. [laughs] I was like, Um, thanks dude! Thanks for the heads up! I have to fly out in two days and this whole thing is about me! Dimension had been pretty protective of the script [up to that point] and I had heard that these two French directors would be doing it, and I was passing on it, and then my contract got closed at the last minute. And then it was like, time to pick up and go. I literally found out about it like two weeks ahead. It was just crazy.
RS:
What happened with the French guys?
STC:
Those French guys were completely
their script was really different and just completely off the topic of anything Michael Myers related. But as for Rob, I think he had two drafts. I think he had one and then he went back and changed some stuff about it, and while we were filming we of course changed some stuff on the spot. But we basically stuck to the draft that he had. Sometimes there would be a spur-of-the-moment thing, like, lets cut this and add this dialogue here. Sometimes I would have an idea and I would tell him and hed totally go for it, and sometimes hed be like Eh, thats not working, lets try this. It was really great working with Rob, because theres a trust that I have with him that you dont often find between an actor and a director. Its actually rare.
RS:
Give me an example of that trust.
STC:
Okay, like in the first Halloween there was this scene we were doing in the kitchen where I fondle a bagel [she fingers the hole in a bagel as a sex joke] and then I get into it with my mother, and that was just something that he told to me. He was like I know this may sound weird, but I think it might be funny if you try this, and I just said Okay, lets do it. It was just the spur-of-the-moment things, the jokes here and there, or if it said in the script that I should cry and I thought it should be different, hed just be really open-minded about anything that I suggested.
RS:
Was there anything you particularly looked forward to shooting this time around?
STC:
I did these two scenes with Margot Kidder, who plays my psychiatrist, and they were really solid, intense scenes. One of them is very casual, just talking, yet still really powerful, and the other is angry and intense and
physical. I was really looking forward to doing those two scenes, and doing them with Margot was just amazing. I think those were my favorites.
RS:
The rumor is that Laurie starts to show a crazy side in this film. Like brother, like sister.
STC:
I dont necessarily think Lauries becoming the next Michael Myers. I honestly think what she went through in the first movie has gotten to her, like it should, realistically. I mean, if I went through that? Id go crazy. I wouldnt be able to handle it. My whole family, gone. My friends, gone. And this guy was chasing me around all night, trying to kill me? I would never be the same. And I think thats whats showing with Laurie. Shes having difficulty. Shes going crazy, but not like Michael Myers. Shes just depressed, and shes trying to deal with everything. Its a hard situation!
RS:
So, were definitely departing from the Jamie Lee Curtis character at this point.
STC:
Yes, completely. And I understand that some people will find it hard to understand, because theyll want to compare our Halloween to the original and compare me to Jamie Lee Curtis as she was in the second one, but I think the route that Rob and I have gone is much more realistic. Thats what I would say to anybody who is like Laurie is supposed to be a bookworm, shes supposed to be nice. Imagine yourself going through this would you be nice? Would you? [laughs] I would become the biggest bitch ever!
RS:
So, Lauries becoming a bitch?
STC:
Shes being everything you could possibly imagine. Shes being angry for no reason, and not being able to control it, shes being sad, shes being confused, shes going through all of these bi-polar moments, and she cant control them. Thats the worst feeling to ever have, to be helpless, you know?
RS:
What did you draw on to get to that dark place? Bad childhood? I read your Wikipedia page.
STC:
No, no, I had a normal childhood, I honestly did. I had a normal childhood, one where kids get stupid and go against their parents and run away because theyre angry and upset. I was young. I was sixteen and I took off. It just blew up into this big thing that it wasnt. Unfortunately, I had to go through it, but I do thank my parents for not wringing my neck when I came home.
RS:
So, youre still more of an HI Laurie than an H2 Laurie.
STC:
[laughs] Im both Lauries! I have a good amount of both in me.
RS:
Is it easy for you to cry in these films, when its called for?
STC:
Rob knows how I cry and what I have to do to cry. Sometimes, before a scene, hell yell at everyone to be quiet and then hell be like Whenever youre ready
Honestly, it just helps me to sit in a corner while everybody else is making noise, and just start crying and making sounds and stuff, like maybe a minute before we start rolling, just to get into it. And it helps me if theres a bunch of noise and nobody is paying attention to me sitting in the corner crying. So, its kind of weird. Rob knows when Im off in my corner, and hell be like Oh, okay.
RS:
Does this stuff ever get to you? Do you dream about Michael Myers?
STC:
No, because I know Tyler [Mane]. I dont picture anybody else as Michael Myers except Tyler. Tyler is like hes gonna get really mad that I said this hes like my dad. I mean, he honestly is. I always picture Tyler as Michael, so I dont think I could ever have a nightmare about Tyler.
RS:
Are you starting to get pulled into the whole Halloween fan industry, autograph conventions and stuff?
STC:
Yeah, I get that all the time now, I do. On my MySpace page, people ask me all the time to do conventions. And I do a few here and there I do, like, two of the big important ones just to see everybody. And its really good to support your fans, you know they love seeing you and they love talking to you. I love talking to the fans, because their interests are the same as my interests, so its kind of weird, like Im talking to friends. I also find the conventions fun because they always have a lot of neat stuff. I can buy some skulls for my house and stuff.
RS:
Thats how I am when I visit a movie set. I like to walk around and play with everyones props, touch everything. Do you do that?
STC:
Oh, totally. Always, all the time. Tyler has a fake knife and he also has a real knife. I tried on the mask a few times, and it looked ridiculous on me. Half of my face was like, out of the mask. I get to use a lot of the stuff in the film, I use Michaels knife, and I looked like a baby, holding a big, giant knife in my little baby hand. It was totally crazy. [laughs]
RS:
Do you think youre going to start pushing against doing horror, to keep the scream queen label from sticking?
STC:
Well, I just did The Runaways which is not horror at all, of course, and then I have another film coming out thats not horror. Its not that Im saying no to them, its just that Id like to try other things. But Id love to do another horror film. I mean, I love them in real life. Im a horror buff myself, I just want to make sure I show my other talents. And I like all kinds of horror, which I know sounds cliché, but I do. I love Freddy, I love Chucky Im obsessed with Chucky. I love the mysterious ones and I love the brutal ones, I really do. Plus, I dont get scared in scary movies, so its fun for me to go with friends.
RS:
So, is there a plan for continuing this story? I suspect its all kind of fly-by-night.
STC:
I know Robs not gonna do another one. And I know that Im saying that Im not gonna do another one, but I honestly dont know. If Tyler was into it, and I was into it, and I really liked the script, and we liked the direction it was going in
but if we thought it was just going to be a DVD release, with some stupid script that we knew would let the fans down, then I would not do it. Im sure that, to the studio, theres always more to tell, but I honestly think the way Rob and I ended this one is really good. Perfect, actually. Its an amazing way to end the movie and I give props to Rob for coming up with it. It explains a lot, it leaves the audience wanting more, and I think it should end here. It really should.
H2 opens in theaters everywhere this Friday.
H2 opens in theaters everywhere this Friday.
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