Spooky season is officially upon us, folks! And we know that because all the creepy kooky movies are starting to emerge like vampires from their coffins! And that analogy couldn’t be more apt because Gary Dauberman’s reimagining of the classic Stephen King story, Salem’s Lot will be hitting Max tomorrow! So, yeah… nailed it!
Recently, we were given the very cool opportunity to chat with the cast of the upcoming adaptation at a roundtable junket we shared with other members of the press. Present at the event were cast members Lewis Pullman, Makenzie Leigh, Alfre Woodard, and Spencer Treat Clark. And all of them provided their amazing insight into the making of the movie, and the incredibly creepy time they had shooting it!
Here’s what they all had to say:
Lewis Pullman as “Ben Mears” and Makenzie Leigh as “Susan Norton”
Question: There’s a really easy and sweet chemistry between you two, to the point where when things go south it does break your heart a bit. What did you guys do to obtain that chemistry? Did you do chemistry reads or anything similar to prepare for this?
Pullman: Did we do one?
Leigh: We did! In fact, the chemistry was SO strong because it was over Zoom! COVID times were just beginning and so it was the first time auditions were being held over Zoom, and I just had a chemistry read with another actor for something else and, I was trying to figure out if the Wi-Fi was lagging because there was something off in the energy. And so I was heading into this chemistry read with Lewis… and it was gloriously easy, like how we’re all chatting now. But it was a surprise because chemistry reads over Zoom are pretty hard to feel out.
Pullman: Yeah. It’s like an oxymoron almost. But then when it works out like in this case, it’s like running with weights on. When you have chemistry over Zoom, where all odds are against you, you know it’s going to work out.
Question: If you were to do a spiritual sequel with the entire ensemble reunites on another King adaptation, what would the adaptation be?
Leigh: Dark Tower! Because in addition to being a horror fan, I’m also a fantasy girlie!
Pullman: And I’m just trying to be part of Makenzie’s Dark Tower franchise.
Leigh: We’ll see how the chemistry read goes!
Pullman: Yes hopefully we can do this IRL!
Alfre Woodard as “Dr. Cody”
Question: How was the morgue scene and was it fun to film?
Woodard: It was fun sometimes. It was painful physically sometimes. It was creepy because it was all real morgue equiptment… it was stuff that had been used before, and it was dated which made it look like torture instruments… So it was funny because – it always is when you’re pretending to be scared and you’d laugh… but then when the vampire comes flying across the room at Dr. Cody, that’s the stuntwoman. She’s muscle bound and strong. So the first time she hit me it was like, “whoa!”… I said I wanted to vampire, but I didn’t know I’d be fighting someone as strong as a vampire… the floor is cement and wet… the building is old, old — hundreds of years old… [the scene] was full and rich… there was a lot of energy so you knew it was going to be good. But it was also tiring and hilarious and scary AF, when you had to get up and say “can I go 10/100.” And you wanted someone to walk you to the bathroom so the vampires that don’t exist won’t get me!
Question: Did you ever discover anything unexpected about Dr. Cody as you dove deeper into the character as you were filming?
Woodard: If you’re able to believe it takes you a long way, even if it’s science… yes if you jump off a second story gravity will take you down, because you believe that because it’s been proven to you. What I discovered was that when people say “I’ve had these experiences” or “Someone has come to visit me”… and there’s belief there, it occurred to me that belief is very strong. Which allowed me as Dr. Cody to say “I’m going to show you nothing happens at sundown” but then the shoe drops literally…and before I know it, somebody I know who was gone and drained of blood sits up and starts talking… “GIVE ME THE CROSS”… again it’s belief, and it allows her to fight (and not lay down when she’s bitten)… that same belief is translated to “I’m going to be with you” the five people who didn’t leave town. And that’s the belief that, she’s smart, she would have fled to the next town and called the authorities to stop the plague. But if you have the ability to believe and be active about it, it tells you everything you need to do to portray that.
Spencer Treat Clark as “Mike Ryerson”
Question: Mike Ryerson has the worst job in the world. From a physical standpoint, did you have to go out there and pretend to dig, and was it physically challenging for you to go out there and do these grave digging scenes?
Clark: That’s so funny! Yeah, we’re filming in this huge spooky cemetery with big huge oak trees in the middle of the night! But I relish in that though. It’s such a privilege to get to do that instead of being on a sound stage. And there’s very minimal physical exertion. And also, that’s great! If you’re actually digging a grave and are able to pick up that shovel, I was hoping to get as much dirt as possible because it just helps you. But yeah. The cemetery itself had graves from — you know we’re in the Lexington-Concord area where Paul Revere road — it’s stooped in history where we were filming. And that graveyard was so old and creepy and wonderful and historic. And I’m really glad I wasn’t up against styrofoam or a piece of plastic that’s on a soundstage. And poor Nicholas, who plays Danny… they had to lower him into the ground and he was totally on board. I give him full credit!
Question: Salem’s Lot is one of those prolific vampire stories that we’ve grown with in pop culture. And there’s so many others that influence our view of vampires. When you took on the role of Mike did any famous vampires come to mind when you were chanelling Mike and his vampiric form?
Clark: Yeah that’s a great question. I didn’t realize how iconic it was until I told people I was part of it. I think because the mini-series… the generation above mine — Gen X — it resonated with. And it’s cool to see now it getting re-percolate back into a younger generation and a generation that loved the book and mini-series… But yeah I didn’t really have a concept. I knew the book and I knew it was one of King’s earlier works. But it wasn’t in my cultural consciousness so much as it was in the greater culture. I wasn’t aware of how much visibility it had until I started telling people about it. So I’m looking forward to people getting to get a look at this when it comes out October 3 on Max.
Stay tuned to The Nerds of Color for more coverage on Salem’s Lot, including an interview with breakout actor Jordan Preston Carter.
Salem’s Lot, based on the best-selling novel by Stephen King, will stream on Max on October 3.
