Sarah Michelle Gellar

Gunn talks Scooby 2 and Dawn of the Dead
Posted on Sun, 15-Feb-2004

James Gunn, screenwriter of "Scooby Doo 2 : Monsters Unleashed" and "Dawn of the Dead", told Moviehole a little bit about both of the films, set to open in little over a month.

Gunn tells us he’s equally excited about both films coming out, despite having less to do with "Dawn". "What excites me the most about making movies, though, is actually making movies. Nothing’s better than actually seeing them get made. The release stuff can be a little nerve-wracking at times. That said, I can’t wait to sit in the premiere of Scooby Doo 2 with my family and friends, a movie I’ve been deeply involved with for a long time now, and that’s very close to my heart."

Gunn shed some light on his involvement with the "Dawn of the Dead" remake. "Basically my involvement was writing the original scripts. Dawn and Scooby shot at the same time, and I had producing duties to attend to on Scooby 2. The remake aspect (of ’Dawn’) didn’t appeal to me all that much. What appealed to me was a hardcore zombie horror apocalypse film set in a mall. And I did think because of the title the movie would get made. A script as violent as it was probably would not have gotten greenlit if it didn’t have the Dawn title. It differs from the original in most ways, besides the central premise of a sole band of survivors being trapped in a mall surrounded by a sea of zombies. Other than that, it’s its own thing."

And how’s the finished ’Scooby 2’ look? "It’s sleeker, faster, and furrier. The cast were much more comfortable with their roles, and have all upped their game. Raja was much more confidant, which shows up on screen. The movie is a lot more character-oriented, actually. The studio was a little freaked out when they first saw it - in a good way. It’s a lot like Mystic River, only imagine the Sean Penn character as a talking dog... well, maybe not, but it is a lot different from the first movie. The mystery is much more of a mystery - in the last movie we had one real suspect, and then a couple of faux suspects. In this movie we have at least four real suspects. Oh yeah, and the action - there are many bigger, more fun action sequences in this movie. We have a great sequence with Scooby and Shaggy dirt-boarding down the side of a mountain on trash can lids, followed by a couple of skeleton men with eyeballs for heads. We also have a great sequence with the Pterodactyl Ghost chasing the Mystery Machine through the city streets of Coolsville. Mary Vernieu did an excellent job casting. I really didn’t think we’d get somebody like Seth Green to play Patrick Wisely. Seth is just a fabulous actor, and he brings so much to the role. He’s strangely dangerous as the character. Peter Boyle is funny as hell. He did the table read and was exactly how I imagined Old Man Wickles. It was uncanny. And Alicia’s perfect. She’s a real sweetheart on top of being great in the movie."

Gunn says he’s not sure he wants to write the sequel to "Dawn of the Dead" at the moment - though it is on the table - but meantime will be working with producer Chuck Roven ["Batman : Intimidation"] on a film next year.