Let's Get Behind the Mask with Leslie Vernon | Nathan Baesel Interview

0:00 What are your thoughts regarding Leslie's legacy in horror? Could, could you see yourself playing this role long-term? I mean, and I ask because like your, your co-star Robert England, he's nearly 80 and fans are still clamoring for him to, you know, put the fedora back on and the glove be, be Freddy more time. Like, could, are we going to see you? Could, could we see you like, you know, down the line, like, you know, would you coming back doing legacy sequels? Like, is this, it's a character, I guess I'm at what I'm asking is, is character you enjoy. Like, could you, could you do this long-term? Or would you? Oh, yeah. I guess she does. Oh, yeah. Oh, yeah.

0:57 This month, we have been discussing some incredible horror films for all you trick-or-treaters out there listening. This episode is chock full of treats. We've got some excellent giveaways for you, but the real treat is my guest today to help us discuss Behind the Mask, The Rise of Leslie Vernon. I'm pleased to introduce the star of the film, Nathan Basil. Nathan, welcome to the show. Hi. Hello. Now, listeners, I mentioned some giveaways. Later in this episode, I'm going to ask Nathan about his favorite scary movie. And if you're watching us on YouTube, drop us a comment with his answer. If you're watching us on Patreon, well, you're watching us early and ad-free.

1:47 We appreciate you, and you can leave us a comment with his answer there. And for everybody else listening on Spotify, Apple, Spreaker, or one of the other hundred streaming apps of your choice, you all can go to afilmbypodcast.com and submit your answer there. Three winners. One lucky winner will win a film by t-shirt. One very lucky winner will win a film by t-shirt and an exclusive behind-the-mask print from artist John Wright. He is the premier... pop culture artist. He's a fixture at Comic-Cons. You can check out his social media at JW Art Studios, The Art of John Wright. Nathan, I don't know if you got a chance to see some of his work at Horror Hound this past September. His Leslie Vernon one, that's a popular one.

2:40 Yeah, it's gorgeous. I love seeing Leslie Vernon art. There's so much fantastic stuff. So one of our listeners, they're going to win. It's a one of one. We reached out to John. He's doing this for the show, for this episode. One of you lucky listeners is going to get that one. And then finally, the luckiest of our three winners will win the A Film By T-shirt. They'll get a complete set of John Wright's horror trading cards, which sold out at Horror Hound. And something special from our guest, Nathan, here. I've been holding on to this. It's hard not to hang it on the wall.

3:23 It's framed. It's ready. But we've got an autographed 8x10 personalized bow. Yeah. It's time to dance with the devil. Nathan, this was just an unbelievable act of kindness from you. We told you. you know, when we, when we talked earlier, we told you we were doing this episode and you said, Hey, I got something special for, for a listener. So thank you for that. Awesome. Now, now, uh, yeah. So, you know, as I said, we, we, we met. Back at horror hound in, in September, uh, you were there, uh, promoting behind the mask, the rise of Leslie Vernon. It's celebrating hard to believe it's already celebrated its 20th anniversary.

4:07 Now I'm curious, uh, what is the convention experience like for you? Cause I imagine it can be exciting, but it can also be a little exhausting. You're, you're signing a thousand autographs. You're posing for hundreds of pictures. What's, what's this experience like for you? It's totally overwhelming, but mostly in a good way. Okay. Okay. I mean, it's way more socializing. Than I do on a normal, you know, daily basis. Um, but it's all socializing. That's, you know, it's great. Everybody's having a good time. And, uh, the people who are coming up are really excited to meet you. And, uh, you know, it's, you have to have a hard heart to not, you know, really just be, um, adrenalized by the whole experience, but, uh, you know, just, yeah, you're go, go, go on all day. And, you know, one day is followed by another and you're probably not, or at least me, I'm not nutritionalizing.

5:07 Like I just not prioritizing the stuff that I need to do to, you know, keep the machine going all that great. So it, it, it wears on me. Any memorable encounters with fans come to mind? All of them, all of them. I asked cause I, you know, every single one of them. Uh, yeah. I mean, that's, I've, I'm never, uh, not just totally. Ecstatically surprised by, um, the reaction that, of people coming up who are like. Holy crap. You know, I didn't know you were here and oh my gosh, or I traveled hundreds and hundreds of miles because you're here.

5:53 I mean, that's just, it's nuts, you know? Yeah. Well, I mean, it's, it's a, it's a real treat, you know, when they, when they come up to your table, I mean, you've got the mask right there with you. You're posing for pictures with the mask. And I know, I know people get a rush when they see that. I know I did. Like, you know, I was like, Oh wow. He's, he brought, he brought the, brought the mask with him. Uh, I was, I was thinking like, cause I see you guys and sometimes I see, I see the fans and they've, they've made, they, you know, they bring you a gift, they've made something for you. And I get it. You, you know, sometimes it's like something that you put right in your pocket. And then other times I see, I see some really good artwork and it's like, Hey, I painted this for you. I did that. I feel so bad. Cause it's like, people have.

6:35 To understand you, you guys are traveling. You're, you know, you're, You're in Cincinnati for these three days, and then you're jumping on a plane to fly who knows where to the next convention. It's not like you can just pack up and go. But it was great to see you that weekend. I noticed you were very busy. I kind of waited. I was like, well, maybe I'll get lucky. I'll catch him towards the end. Luckily, I got a minute with you. Yeah, the days do get hectic, but there are always some windows. Mm-hmm. Now, something we've been doing on the show this season, because we typically will do underrated films from all the great directors. This year, we've been celebrating the blockbusters, which gave us the opportunity to talk about the fun movies, the big movies. Hence, we're celebrating the anniversaries of 2001, 2006.

7:30 So behind the mask, the rise of Leslie Vernon is definitely on our radar today. But rather than do these long, drawn-out synopsis conversations, we've been having a lot of fun with our listeners. We've been having a lot of fun with the co-hosts. Five-word synopsis. So describe the film using. Exactly five words. I've got two for you. So I always struggle with it a little bit, even though I'm the one that came up with this thing. But I came up with, we want to get Leslie Vernon's grade here. How do you feel about Fledgling Killer Seeks Media Support?

8:11 That sounds like it covers a lot of the bases. But here's the problem. The reason why the film has cult status and didn't blow up the box office was because it's really hard to sum up. What the movie is. So boiling that down into just a few words is like an impossible task. I've heard mockumentary. I've heard dark comedy, which. It's got its comedic moments thanks to your incredible performance.

8:52 I've heard found footage, which I don't exactly agree with. I get we're kind of– we're using– it's a little bit– it's kind of meta. And then on top of that, it does do this amazing shift into a cinematic feature, which– I don't think, I don't know if I've ever seen that. That's pretty unique. I don't, yeah, I don't think anybody else did that. Exactly. One more, this is from one of our biggest supporters. He happens to be a major fan. He emailed us and said, I know you got this coming up. This is from James Buckley, one of our listeners, a great supporter of the show. He wrote, aspiring psycho drafts PR team.

9:35 So I guess that could work too, right? Yeah, that covers a whole lot of the bases as well. Well, Nathan, we learned a great deal about the origin of your character, Leslie Vernon, in this movie. And I'm excited to speak with you about the film. But first, I'd like our listeners to learn a little more about your origin story. Uh, as a graduate of Juilliard, can we talk about what initially inspired you to pursue a career as an actor? Um, it was, uh, Bruce Lee says be like water. Um, so you just.

10:18 Following a path that, uh, just felt natural performance just seemed like it was a good fit for my family in general we would always do like we would always do the church performances and whatnot on the holidays and my brothers did high school theater before me and so when I got to high school I was like well my brothers did in high school i might as well give it a shot myself and uh yeah you know people pat you on the back and you just kind of keep on going with what what works right yeah.

10:59 Now you i mean you know talking about theater because i know you're i know you uh you're pretty you're pretty comfortable on the stage you know you've got a extensive background in theater uh are you more comfortable on a film set or on the theater stage. I think like with both mediums, it's, it completely depends on the group that you're collaborating with. Um, I think you can have really intimate, um, stage, uh, projects. Um, and you know, uh, I think do the same thing for film as well.

11:43 And I think, I don't know how, uh, it all comes down to the collaboration and who you're working with and how free you feel to work with that group. And, um, yeah. I think there's, I gotta be like a degree of trust as well, right? Whether you're with, you're on a film location with the, with the same group or you're in a theater troupe, I would think. Yeah. The advantage that you get with theater is obviously you just get more time to, to, you know, get to know people and work together. And, um, you know, sometimes you get, months even to work on that building, uh, that character building and relationship building. And, um, you know, what a luxury that is. Well, with film, it's more, you show up and you hit the ground running and, you know, uh, it, it gets as close as, you know, people have, uh, skill or inclination to, to, to be.

12:40 Yeah. Uh, you've been, uh, we've, we've caught you on some pretty popular, uh, tv tv series uh any standout any any uh where you're like man i had a great time on csi or uh you know i had a i had a fun time doing this one. Well the longest run i had on any show was um was uh invasion for abc and um we got a whole season and i recurred for a lot of it and uh that was cool to get that experience of being able to come back to a show rather than just guest star. And you, you shoot that episode and then you're out, you're done. Um, you know, to have a recurring character was a really unique experience work-wise and, uh, it, it didn't hurt my bank account at all.

13:28 I guess not. Yeah. Well, you know, the thing about the great thing about you is, uh, it's not just, it's just not in front of the camera. I mean, you seem to be pretty busy behind the scenes too. Can we talk a little bit about, uh, your involvement with deadliest catch? Um, yeah, I work on a post. I am a deliverables manager for, uh, uh, my company that makes deadliest catches one of our shows. And, uh, yeah, I've been working with this company for, um, about 15 years. And, um, we do probably whatever your favorite reality TV show is. We probably make it. Um, so yeah. Yeah.

14:08 Well, It's always great when you see a talented actor who is well known for a particular role in a horror film when you guys start branching out. And it's like, okay, he's not just Leslie Vernon. He's doing some other horror films. I know earlier this year, can we talk about the experience on Bloody Summer Camp, Red Horizon? That was with Alyssa Rose, wasn't it? I think. Yeah. Yeah. And, uh, she was awesome. Just she's a trip to be in her orbit, uh, at all was a real, um, it was a real gift. I learned a lot from her actually. Um, she was really, she's got a very, um, uh, nurturing presence, you know, and, uh, she's, she's a good guide, you know, she, she had a lot of, um, guidance for me. And, uh, I really, uh, listened to her and attended and, uh, and it's kind of influenced my way of, of seeing.

15:12 Um, the horror industry, I guess. Um, and, uh, and working with it and, um, and it feels like it's been really good and bearing fruit. So, uh, yeah, I've been, really appreciative of that experience with bloody summer camp. I haven't had a chance to see the whole thing altogether. So I hope, I hope. My part turned out good. I'm sure everybody else was awesome, but, but yeah, that was a lot of fun. Yeah. Are you, you know, we, we've seen her a few times, you know, some of these conventions that you guys give us the opportunity where we can meet and greet. She seems like she's like wherever she's at in the, in the, in whichever hall she's in, that's the life of the party. That's, that's the place to be. So I'm looking forward, looking forward to seeing her again, looking forward to seeing, you know, hopefully we get you guys both at the same convention so we can.

16:06 I would love it just to have the excuse to be around her again. Yeah. Awesome. Listeners, we're going to take a quick break. When we get back, we've got more of behind the mask. All right. So Nathan, let's talk a little bit about becoming Leslie Vernon. So Leslie, Take us back to the audition process. Was there a specific scene that you read, or can. You walk us through? Yeah, the scene at the van where.... Basically, the one spot of the documentary part where you see what Leslie's like with the mask on, but he doesn't have it on, you know?

16:46 Yeah. Yeah, and so... And there was another one too. Oh, there was another scene in the van when we're in front of the high school and I'm explaining about the different groups, the different social groups that you got to coordinate in order to find your kill group. You know? Yeah, find your target or whatever. Your target group. Yeah. Yeah, so those were the, the one was a monologue and then the other one was a scene Okay. Now, so pretty early on, I was, I was matched up. With Angela in the callback auditions.

17:30 And that's, I think when. I got an opportunity to really just kind of play, play with the character, like really kind of get an idea of who the character was just kind of hammering him out in relationship to Angela. Well, I mean, understanding that this film, it kind of recognizes horror legends like Jason Voorhees, Michael Myers, Freddy Krueger. It kind of it treats them as real serial killers, which is it's a fun treat for. For the for the the horror fan. Right. But I mean, what were your thoughts about Leslie Vernon? Did you see the potential back then for him to become like the next horror icon?

18:16 I mean, that's what we were shooting for. Yeah. Yeah, I mean, that was definitely what we were aiming for. And yeah, we were, I. Think, taking a risk because it felt like the casting options that they had was to go in the direction of somebody that I think that they envisioned, um, the. Producers, the director that, um, Leslie Vernon was this. Big hulking thing and, uh, you know, I'll have Mike Myers or, or, uh, Jason. Um, and I wasn't that, uh, I was wiry and I was, um, you know, not taking the whole thing really sinister, serious. And, uh, And because of that, there was the possibility of a likability factor with a character who, you know, could come off easily as very menacing and, you know, intense and dour and whatnot. So I think they felt like they were taking a risk by having it be more lighter than it might otherwise have been. But it was just an interesting...

19:33 It was just an interesting... angle and uh. I think it works though i mean well. It celebrates the we often compare um uh waiting for government as as uh a way to kind of get our sense of humor and where we're coming from with, um, by developing characters, by grounding characters in sincerity, um, even when the circumstances are, are totally ridiculous. Um, and so it just felt like this is, this works. This is a comfortable fit for all of our sensibilities of humor. Um, yeah. So that's, he's a likable guy, you know, the fact that you're, you're smiling, you're very warm and engaging with, uh, you know, with, with the film crew, as it were, you, you're like, how could I not root for this guy?

20:24 He's, you know, he's, he's fantastic. Right. Um, maybe, maybe even see yourself in him, you know, as like, yeah, a little bit. That's like, yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. And I, I, I think we've got to a place, especially in the last 20, 30 years, where your slasher has to be like that menacing Hulk. But that's not always been the case. And I love that the way you play, Leslie, you're more life. You're more like The Shape. You're like a Nick Castle, a Dick Warlock. You're scarier because you can be anywhere. If a guy's 6'7 and 300 pounds, you kind of see him coming, right?

21:09 We don't see you coming. When you're doing the flyby as one of the steps, we don't know what to expect. Scott Glosserman, who directed this film, did he give you... I mean, was there creative freedom for you to explore and develop Leslie's personality to an extent? Yeah, for sure. Where I got really.... And gratefully so instruction from Scott was when we got to the film portions where, you know, there was the mask on and we were getting to work like that doing the cinematic portion of the movie. Cause the way they structured it was we did all the docu documentary stuff that first two and.

21:53 A half weeks, I want to say. And then the last week was all the film. And so by the time we, we're there. We, we all had a good, comfortable working relationship, but we hadn't worked as who is this guy and what, how did he move? And you know, all that stuff. And, um, that's frankly not how I auditioned. So I really hadn't put too, too much thought into it. I, um, was just like, okay, well, here's this guy. I got some ideas. I was working on some stuff and Scott comes up to me and gives me some instruction. He's like, you don't gotta, you don't gotta do anything. Um, when the mask is on, you know, he's a machine. He's just, he's. The only thing that stands between him and, uh, what his objective is, um, is what he's paying any attention to. And, uh, and there's, just a total purposefulness and you go at the thing and you go through the thing and you move on to the next obstacle before you have to, you know, before you get to the, to your objective, which is basically to kill something or someone.

23:00 I think, I think what I love about this film and what makes it so unique is that, you know, the first two, two thirds, first, first two acts, it's almost like you're, if you went on a, you're on a fun date with this guy and, and then a red flag goes off and it, and then you got to get out of there. Right. Because we like this guy for most of the movie. And then when you guys flip that switch and it goes from mockumentary, the documentary style into that cinematic mode, Leslie Vernon, he's no longer joking around. He's no longer endearing. He's no longer giving you all the secrets and the behind the scenes stuff. And he, he's that killing machine. And it's legitimately scary the way you play him. And it's, It's it's jarring, but in a good way.

23:46 You know, I think I think what's insidious about it is that it's you didn't get that one red flag. You've been getting red flags all along the way and you've decided you've rationalized it. However, you have rationalized it years. You've chosen every time basically to to stay there and to stay in the room and to keep recording, you know. You know, the audience too, you've been, you know, you've been choosing to like this guy the whole way and you knew what he. Was going to do. He said it, he told you exactly what he was going to do. Yeah. And you've chosen to like him. So when he starts doing what he said that he's going to do, that's on you. And I felt like that.

24:29 Was a really interesting, um, uh, angle to take by allowing them in with a really kind of likable and, and relatable kind of guy, um, really exposing the audience's culpability in the whole thing. Um, I thought that was an interesting thing to just really, that is. That is a fantastic point because you gotta feel a little guilty because yeah, you're, we know what's going to happen. We just, I think we're, we're liking the character so much that we're like, ah, this, we're not going to go through with it. We, you know, certainly we're not going to do that. And then when it happens, you know, like Taylor and the, and the film crew, they're like, Oh my God, is this, and she's shut the camera off, shut the camera, you know, things got real. And it's, it's a fantastic point. And it, I don't think, I don't think the audience is expecting it.

25:19 I know I wasn't the first time I saw it all those years ago. I was like, wait, did, so this isn't like going to be a, we're not laughing anymore. We're, you know, this we're in a, we're in a real situation. This is, It's scary now. And I love it. Tell us about filming in Oregon. Is it true that some of the locations were found kind of like mid-production? Because there's some beautiful country you guys are in. Yeah, well, we were... My goodness. Oh, wow. Thunder. The rain has come, finally. Storm coming. Mm-hmm. A storm is coming!

26:04 That reminds me of Something Wicked This Way Comes. The guy selling lightning rods. Where were we talking about? Shooting in Oregon. Beautiful country. Correct me if I'm wrong, but it's kind of like Glen Echo is kind of supposed to be adjacent to Burkittsville, like the Blair Witch stuff. This movie's got a bunch of fun Easter eggs, but Yeah. Glen Echo is set in Maryland, and where we shot in Portland was probably reminiscent enough. Scott Glosterman is from that area, and so he was doing all the location scouting.

26:46 I'm sure he approved everything as looking as much like Glen Echo as possible. Um, but yeah, so we were looking for locations, um, even after we'd gotten there and started shooting and, um, the farm house and all of that stuff. I don't think we'd lock that down until, um, we were already in production. Yeah. Cause this is all, I mean, you're not like on sound stages. This is like, you're on location, right? Oh no, we burned down a real barn. That was, that was on the location. Okay. I'm watching. Yeah. That wasn't the barn that we shot in, but that was another barn on that property and that we ended up torching.

27:28 That was, that was one of. The last things we did in our production was, you know, set a massive barn on fire. Yeah. Wait, wait till last day of shooting to get that shot, I guess. Right. Uh, I know a lot of times, especially on a horror film, the guy in your position, maybe in between takes, they're kind of keeping their distance from. The rest of the cast. But, I mean, most of this movie, you're bonding with the characters. So any fun memories working with this group? What was downtime like on the set? There wasn't much because we were grinding pretty hard.

28:09 It was a low-budget film, and we were just– there was a lot to do and very little time to do it. So, um, it was a grinder for sure, but, um, we did have a resident, a, uh, residence in or something like that. Uh, you know, one of those business, you know, kinds of arrangements where, you know, there's like a gym, a jacuzzi, uh, um, kind of situation. And man, that, uh, that, uh, there was a lot of really, really long days and, uh, and, uh, Very many of them ended in that jacuzzi just trying to decompress and process. What in the world?

28:50 But it was an awesome group and we collaborated really well and we worked hard and we played hard and it was a lot of fun. Oregon was a fantastic place to do both of those in. Now, we talk about this movie kind of being a documentary that evolves into a cinematic film. And while a film like Scream, 1996, it introduces us to this meta concept of explaining the rules to survive. Behind the Mask goes a step further and explains the rules from the killer's perspective. You know, earlier you kind of mentioned the steps. And I love this. So we've got step one. You need an anchor for your legend. Step two, find a target group. You kind of mentioned that. I love the exchange between you and Angela O'Connor. her character, when she's like victims and you're like potato, potato. And right then you're like, I'm all in on this guy. He's just fun to be. He's a good hang.

29:52 I want him to win. I don't want him to kill everyone, but I kind of want him to win right now. And then step three, the flyby. it's, it's just, it's, it's brilliant. This is some of the best, best writing in a horror film I think I've, I've ever, I've ever seen. Speaking of Scream, I'll paraphrase Ghostface. We, I mentioned this at the beginning of the episode. So Nathan, let me ask you, what's your favorite scary movie? You know, it's, it's always, it's a moving target for me, but I think currently it's it's poltergeist. Poltergeist the we're talking the original yes or yeah okay okay okay thank you well hey listeners there you have it um drop the comment email us uh for your chance to win one of those three prize packages we discussed at the top of the hour um poltergeist is fantastic it Looking back on that, think about that.

30:52 We're kids, we're watching that. That's rated PG. Man, that was not PG. No, it's not PG. Anybody who's seen that bathroom scene in front of the mirror, that is not PG. That will stay with you and inform the human being that you are to become. It is not PG. That scene, it made me... I didn't want to eat chicken for the longest time. No, but I'll tell you, we growing up, uh, the house I grew up in, we had the, the old dead tree in the front yard and the branch was near my, my window.

31:34 So I, I never was, I was never really, I mean, it creeped me out as a little. You know, as a 10 year old, it creeped me out of here and there, but then you watch poltergeist. I, I couldn't wait for my dad to cut that thing down and best day ever. But, Right. It's like the clown, like you, everyone today, the. Day, dad, dad, today saying that tomorrow, when are you cutting this thing down? Yeah. It's like, I can't have any more lightning storms. Yeah. Yeah. It could go through a window. Really? Yeah. It's, I was so relieved the day with that thing got cut down. Cause I, you know, a lot of people look at poltergeists and they think about the clown.

32:15 Cause I, I don't know about you. I, you know, I, I don't, Clowns don't scare me, but I sure as hell am not going to have something like that sitting in the chair across from me in my bedroom. Who would do that? And that's kind of a thing. This is apparently a thing where people would have a really large-sized clown humanoid figure sitting in a chair in the room. That was like a common decoration, I think, because I saw it in a Columbo episode. And I'm like, this is a thing? This has got to be a thing, right? Yeah. The clown in the chair decoration. Does poltergeist, is it like ground zero? Like, cause I know like one of my best friends is he's terrified of clowns, you know? And then, and we've got movies, we've got, we've got it, we've got, we've got terrifier.

33:00 So we, I think, I wonder if poltergeist is like ground zero for like, Hey, clowns are scary and we're terrified of them and we don't want them in our, in our lives anymore. Cause that thing was creepy. I could, somebody needs to do a, uh, you know, paper on it. Yeah. Poltergeist is a great pick though. Absolutely great pick. Listeners, we're going to take another quick break. We'll be right back. Welcome back. We are talking about Behind the Mask, The Rise of Leslie Vernon with its star, Nathan Basil. Another, another fun thing that you.

33:42 Guys have, or at least, you know, it's not that you introduce it, but you acknowledge it. The explanation of the Ahab and the excitement that your character, Eugene's character, everyone super excited about he's got an Ahab and, you know, someone that, you know, as is explained, someone that's everything good about humanity, a defender against evil. I know we see this archetype show up in every great horror film. I've just never heard it described so creatively. And, you know, again, The script, Scott Glosserman, is it David Steve? David Stevie. Stevie. What they did, they've kind of wrote a love letter to horror fans, I think, with all this conversation. I know you got to kind of inform on who Leslie Vernon is, but were you guys coming up with stuff on set or did you pretty much stick to the page for this one?

34:37 Yeah. Stick to the page. It was, it was an awesome script. I mean, you, as you, um, mentioned, it was just really smart and clever, but not in a smarmy way or like a self congratulating way. It was, it was clever in a, in a, you know, stuff that was set up, you know, got paid off. It was, uh, everything was well considered. It felt like a mathematically precise, uh, construction and, uh, and nothing needed to be tinkered with or changed. We just needed to get this thing as cleanly as possible from the page to onto, you know, a roll of film.

35:23 And, um, and so that's, that was what we did. And, uh, yeah, it, it allowed for some, um, not necessarily improv, but, um, playfulness, um, between me and whoever I'm engaging with. But that's what gave it a really interesting qualities because we were able to involve so much Benjamin and Britton who were Todd and Doug on the other side of the camera. We don't see those guys until they're revealed on film when that cinematic transition happens.

36:05 But they're present the whole way and the audience has been building a relationship with them throughout the early part of the film because of how participatory they are and how much bounce. Back there is between Leslie and them. So I think it's a cool. Way to give the sense that things are you know, spontaneous without having to change the script because the script didn't need to be changed. It just, you know, it was great. We just needed to do it. Fantastic. I know this, again, lots of fun Easter eggs for the fans in this film. Also gave you an opportunity to work with some very notable stars in the horror genre.

36:54 Was there ever a moment where uh, Kane Hodder, Robert England, you know, maybe they're offering some advice like, Hey kid, in my day, this is how, how I was doing it. Like any, any, any, anything like that? Well, uh, Kane came on as a, uh, they, they did, uh, some pickup shooting, uh, on those, um, segments where we show the nightmare and Elm street house and, uh, uh, you know, Haddonfield and. Uh, And Camp Crystal Lake. And so I wasn't there for those. Filming segments, which, you know, sucks.

37:34 It would have been cool because they did the stuff with Kane in L.A. But yeah, I did get to mix quite a bit with Robert England. And he's a nonstop fount of advice. And I'm, you know, I eat it up. what he dishes out, you know? Yeah. Such a, he's a wonderful guy too. I love, you know, like much, very much like you, he takes a lot of time. Every, every time he's at a, well, when he's conventions, he's taking time to talk with the fans that have waited to see him. I'll tell you what, we did a photo op with him and we're trying to, we're all trying to fit in the frame, the shot.

38:16 And I get this poke in my wrist. It's, it's Robert. He's with, it's the glove. He's poking you with a knife? Yeah, gives you a shot in the ribs, a little playful shot to say, hey, slide over a little bit more for this. Guy. I leaned in my buddy, I was like, Freddy Krueger just jabbed me with his glove, and I'll never forget that. Yeah, I loved it. You were mentioning Poltergeist as your favorite scary film. I particularly enjoy the library scene for Zelda, Zelda Rubinstein. I imagine this is probably one day on set for her, but, uh, do you recall what it was like to work with her?

38:56 Yeah, I, it was totally vivid because it was our final day of shooting our, our, our final, uh, day of production. And, um, it was all night stuff and, um, we had to knock that out in after hours. Um, and so basically we, we had to go until we couldn't shoot anymore because the sun was coming up in the, and, uh, we couldn't. Keep making it look dark. So yeah, it was. A, long day. And everybody, Robert had some scenes, too, in the library. He fires the gun. I'm doing all the jumping around, you know, spider monkey bits.

39:44 And somewhere in there, Zelda's got all of her stuff, which. yeah, was just, you know, bonkers to, to, you know, just cram that into the final day of production. Um, and for her to take it on too, but, um, she was a trooper and she did her thing. And, um, you know, it's funny because the, the way that the edit ended up going, you don't end up seeing her until, um, I don't know, maybe 20 seconds into, uh, the scene, you hear her and her voice was so distinctive that you already know who it is and who you're about to see and be introduced to in.

40:35 Just a moment. And all of the associations that you have with that voice and with Zelda, you're already bringing that into who this character is. I mean, it was just, it was a, it was a brilliant bit of casting and, and I guess editing too. Um, and, uh, and Zelda did her thing and it was just a perfect contribution to introduce the, the lore of Leslie Vernon, you know? Yeah. Well, and for you, I, I, now I love this. I love this because while it's such a memorable scene in the film, now that we know your favorite movie, your favorite scary movie is Poltergeist.

41:17 That, that, that just amplifies it. It had that, that day had to be amplified for you, especially to be like, Dan, Gina is right there. You know, I'm just, I'd be, if I was you, I'd just be waiting for her to be like, Oh, welcome. Well, but I, it's crazy because my, you know, the one that, you know, jockeys for position, uh, with, with poltergeist is the first nightmare in Elm street. And, And I got a chance to work with Robert Englund. The movie was just pretty cosmic in so many ways.

42:03 I'd like to talk about the mentor character, Eugene, who's played by Scott Wilson. Now, this is one of those guys that just brings a certain kind of gravitas to any project he's involved in. Um, the camaraderie, but that you two demonstrate though, is it just feels really authentic. Um, I'm like, how does a guy like that, who's not primarily known for, for the horror genre, how's, how's he find his way into a film like this? I don't know. Um, that, that was, um, part of a casting gap that was just hugely, um, we didn't even know how, um, beneficial it was going to be for the film um because robert england was offered that role first of eugene oh okay um he wanted to do his homage to donald pleasance in halloween uh he wanted to be the ahab and.

43:02 Um and to to celebrate Loomis with his characterization. And it was, it was an awesome and inspired choice. But it, you know, it opened up, well, who is Eugene? And, Um, and Scott coming on board, I don't know what his reasons were for saying yes. I mean, it feels like there's no incentive at all to airdrop yourself into a situation as bonkers as ours was, um, where we were already deep into production, um, before we shot his stuff, um, because that role hadn't been cast yet until we were already in production. And so, um, yeah, he just, he, hit the ground running and, uh, he, he was just so perfectly Eugene. Um, you know, Eugene is, yeah, he's a mentor and he's a father figure and, um, that's just who Scott was and, uh, no acting was required.

44:08 But the brilliant thing is, is that, um, uh, it's not easy to be that generous. And, um, It takes a lot of skill and Scott. Was just so generous with being available and being that role of a mentor. And so that relationship was easy to foster with him right off the bat. Um, I, I think you, you, there's a really, a moment that I love that they included, um, cause we just went out and shot some B roll stuff of skipping stones on this Creek that's that's nearby or I guess river. And, um, and it was, uh, it was, you know, just that little bit was included in there, but I think that that's what is really suggestive of a, a symbiotic relationship and a mentor mentee relationship.

45:11 a deep caring and a, you know, um, and, uh, yes, I think it's, it's possible because Scott was just a total and absolute. Yes. He was a pro. Yeah. Well, he's, and he's got one of the better lines in the film, I think, because, you know, if you're a mentor, you got to have that, that poignant moment where, where you're, you're. Going to dispense some knowledge. Right. And he, he talks about the business of fear. And he's got that line. I believe he's talking to Angela's character. You know, every culture, every civilization from the dawn of man has its monsters, and for good to be pitted against evil, you gotta have evil. And I was like, man, again, back to the script. It's just some amazing writing. I wanted to ask you your take on this, because there's some speculation about Eugene.

46:03 Some fan theories. There's a group of people that kind. Of they prescribed to the idea that maybe he's Billy from 1974 is black Christmas, but he's, he's kind of like in hiding. Is this just, is this us? Like, is this the fans just looking for more Easter eggs and trying to try to create a bigger universe? Or is it, Is it just, no, it's a thing. It's grounded. Um, Oh, okay. Yeah. Stevie has, uh, David Stevie, the writer, he has, uh, confirmed in interviews that I've even been present in that, that was his model for. Eugene and, um, his description of how it used to be in the old days, quote unquote, um, when you would, um, go in and, and destroy sorority house and disappear, um, without any thought of coming back. And that's what took, um, serial slashing to a mystical level was the return of the creature. Um, and, uh, yeah, that's, that's his, that's his.

47:14 How about that? All right. Well, thank you for confirming it. Um, you know, listeners, you, you heard it here from, from Nathan. So, And then Nathan was just reporting firsthand what he heard from the writer. Uh, one more, one more person I'd love to talk with, uh, talk about with you, uh, whether intention or not, I, the third act kind of, it, it feels like a really great homage to, to, to, to a Friday 13th and in the way that it's shot, uh, the cinematography, the action, maybe some of that has to do with, with your final girl here. Um, Taylor, who's played by, by Angela Gothel. Um, what, I mean, she's fantastic in this entire film.

47:58 Yeah. Yeah, she is, isn't she? She is, she is. But, you know, you mentioned that this is kind of like a, you know, smaller budget. A lot of physicality towards the end of this. So is this like where... Are we afforded like, hey, stunt guy, come and do this? Or is this. Are you guys like taking some bumps? No, there was a stunt guy that was on set and he was.... He was ready and willing to do the stuff. I just didn't want him to, I wanted to. I wanted to do all this stuff. Yeah. And you know, I did learn on some stuff, you know, if, if the camera is, you know, all the way on the other side of the room, it doesn't matter, you know, if you're wearing a mask, it doesn't matter who's doing the thing.

48:41 So let the guy who paid, you know, the big buck, let him do that stuff, you know, but if it's, if it's meaningful action you know, yeah, of course I want to be the guy to do it. And I don't want to break my body doing it, but, Um, I want to have some cool experiences. I want to mess around on harnesses and, you know, I, I got a chance to do that with, with this. It was, it was really cool. Nathan, we, we always, uh, we always talk about, we always, we always pick a scene. We, we, we talk about the movie and then we, we want to focus on a scene. And, uh, we always like, you know, what, why are we talking about this one? You know, whether it's the cinematography. whether it's the pivotal moment, whether it's just, it's, it's great actor, it's great direction. Um, is there a particular scene in this film that stands out to you as like, you know, whether, whether it was a man, that was a, that was a hell of a thing to try and put together, or it was a lot of fun that day. Is there anything stand out in your mind? uh, on behind the mask.

49:41 I think about it a lot. And I've been thinking about a lot about it recently too, because it feels like it's set the tone in a really weird way for what this movie is and, and what sets it apart from pretty much anything. Um, what was the scene in the hayloft where Taylor and I are, um, sitting there it's hours before, uh, all of the teens are supposed to arrive at the farmhouse and, Um, and all. Hell's supposed to break loose and it's the, the quiet before the storm. And, um, I, it was in the script as a, you know, this is, this is, this is awesome.

50:21 This is like my Christmas, you know, this is as close as. I get to just being like, and, um, and it, On the day, it didn't feel like it was that scene. And the way it felt like it... The scene kind of evolved into.... Was represented in the film that we see. But I know that we shot versions. Of it where it was like... But what it is for. all time is a really weird and lovely and interesting and confusing and whatever kind of scene where, you know, Leslie's saying how just thrilled he is and he's crying and he's weeping, you know, like he's convulsively weeping and, he's so happy and this is how happiness translates for this guy. Yeah.

51:37 Witnessing it and, and, um, like channeling it and being and receiving it, uh, and, and returning something to is Taylor who we see as. He gets up as Leslie gets up out of the scene. We see that they're holding hands just before their hands touch. You know, separate. So the framing, there's just really fantastic payoff there. And so it's. Like a crazy, almost romantic scene. And it's funny because I don't think any of us knew just how much of, we knew we were making a love story to horror, a love letter to horror, but I don't think we knew how much.

52:26 Of a romance scene. The movie was in addition to being a slasher and a mockumentary and, uh, you know, whatever it was also, it was also a love story, um, where we're, I think suggesting that, uh, you know, the, the killer is only as, um, meaningful as their survivor girl. I gotta be honest. Uh, and this isn't a category that we'd, we typically have, but I'm, I'm, taken advantage of it. Every slasher, uh, all the greats, whether we're talking about Leslie Vernon, Michael Myers, Freddy Krueger, Jason Voorhees, they've got that signature kill. Everyone thinks about the one movie, the one sequel where it's like the best thing he ever did was this. Seeing Leslie Vernon use a post hole digger to remove a guy's heart and then drop it in his open hand has got to be one of the greatest chef's kiss kill scenes in horror film history. And, I mean, and you guys got some amazing special effects. I mean, it's fantastic what you guys were able to pull off. But that scene, and this isn't the fun, Leslie, at this point, because you're behind the mask now.

53:43 You're not speaking. You're engaged. And I just wasn't ready for it the first time I saw it. I was like, this guy is, I mean, it's real. He's really going for it. And love that scene. Absolutely love that. That's got to be one of the best kill scenes in a horror film, I think. Post hole digger is inspired. That's an inspired implement. Yeah. And it's funny you mentioned that because we, we really didn't pull that gag off. It was supposed to be a big, a closeup of a practical effect, a chest cavity that gets punctured and a beating heart with spurting, you know, stuff in it, but it just, you know, gag wasn't ready and we got to shoot the scene. We got to move on. And, and so we, you know, ended up jury rigging, you know, pull the camera way, way out, you know, put the body out there, you.

54:36 Know, arrange just on the other side of the body from the camera where the post hole digger goes in and then you do all the things and then we'll do a closeup of a, of a, of a, you know, heart that's squirted down with, you know, fake blood. And yeah, that's, that's what we ended up, you know, going with. And, um, yeah, it was supposed to be a lot more gory. We, we, we wanted the movie to be a lot more gory than it ended up being. Um, but, uh, I, I think, uh, I've come to appreciate, I don't think I know that, that, uh, it's, it makes us close, more closely resemble the movies that we were celebrating. Um, you know, with the exception of number and Elm street, um, those movies weren't really about the effects. It was about just executing and total budgetary constraints and time constraints and everything like that. And you just, you got to make it work and move on and just get it in the can and, you know, get to the next location and whatnot.

55:40 Yeah, so it ends up having that feel of the movies that we were really celebrating. I think it's fantastic the way it worked out then. Again, your mentor, The Business of Fear. You guys were. Quite successful, I would say, with this film. Nathan, let's talk about what's next. Outside of portraying Leslie Vernon, are there other projects you can discuss with us? Is it too early? I'll ask because I don't want to get you in trouble here. Is it too early to talk about Crossbow Creek? No. I think that's still in pre-production. I don't think that's moved to production yet. But Andy, who's producing that and wrote it, is a friend of mine from college. And he's one of those people that I've surrounded myself with because I just admire their do-it-iveness. I mean, they just are doers.

56:37 They don't sit and wait. Yeah. Wait and wait and wait for an opportunity to be extended to them they do it and they make an opportunity happen um so um yeah fingers crossed on. That i'm i'm both finger both hands both fingers crossed all fingers crossed because uh i i want to see this i i caught a i caught a synopsis here and i know it's pre-production so i know things can change but um It's known as a dark, sexy, twisted thriller that follows six friends celebrating a bachelorette party who are targeted by human traffickers and a crossbow-wielding maniac. And when I read that, I was like, is Nathan the crossbow-wielding maniac?

57:22 Is he a trafficker? Is he celebrating the bachelorette party? Do you get to play a good guy? It sounds awesome. I'm one of the bachelorettes. There it is. See, I figured, you know, you're going to go against type, right? For once, right? Yeah, well, at first when they offered it to me, I was like, well, I don't have the hair. I can't pull that off. And they were like, well, you know, we got wigs and all that stuff. And so I started trying it on as an idea and trying on some wigs. And then I felt like I arrived at the right one. Bangs help so much. I didn't realize how much a good, serious bang. We'll walk you into character. Takes 20 years off, right?

58:03 Yeah. Puts you in the zone. Yeah, yeah. Leslie Vernon may be one of the most charismatic slashers of all time, and it's downright criminal that fans haven't enjoyed several Leslie Vernon films, especially given the post-credit sequence with him in the morgue. As we wrap things up here, Nathan. Are you ever going to go behind the mask again? Yes, I am absolutely going to go behind the mask again. Yeah, and in fact, I'm not good at math, but this is the closest it's ever come. We are, gosh, I want to say three weeks away, two and a half weeks away.

58:55 From starting production. So we're doing a sequel. We're doing it. Behind the Mask 2. We're doing it. Is this like the return of Leslie Vernon, I would imagine? Or we still we haven't locked that behind. The mask behind the mask to the return of return so we've got rise and we've got return. I love it. And again I know there's only so much you can probably tell us but anyone anyone coming back to join you for this one everybody that can everybody that can okay so everybody everybody would So Angela, Robert England, um, I'm trying to think of everyone that survived.

59:36 Everybody that, uh, didn't get killed off, uh, or pass away in the time since, um, we lost Scott, we lost Zelda, Zelda. Um, um, so yeah, we're, we're getting the whole band back together. Um, everybody that can. So some people, uh, are their schedules are just cause they're doing, you know, tons of fantastic stuff. Uh, So, um, it's always based on availability, but. Um, yeah, we're getting back to work and, uh, all the principals are getting, um, back together in, uh, in November. Three weeks out, you're back in.

1:00:16 I know I'm not trying to spoil it, but is there any, any, any fun cameos that we might see any, any, any new faces from horror that we might. We, we announced, uh, David Howard Thornton, um, Terrifier. Okay. Oh, wow. Art the Clown. Art and Leslie together. Oh, this is going to be good. Sharing a cinematic universe. I mean, isn't that awesome? Oh, wow. Yes. And what's really fantastic about that for me is that we met and worked together. My second film, the one I did after Behind the Mask, was a film in Alabama called And Huntsville, Alabama is where he's from and he was an extra.

1:01:01 And so we worked 20 years ago together. How about this? I know. And so to get a chance to, you know, it's another one of those cosmic things of just feeling like, my goodness, you know, being, being able to close some loops like that is fantastic. Wow. I, I can't believe that we've been waiting this, this whole time for, for this sequel. Now you're, you're letting us know it's, it's actually happened. We're, we're ready to go, man. What are your thoughts regarding Leslie's legacy in horror? Could, could you see yourself playing this role long-term? I mean, and I ask because like your, your co-star Robert England, he's nearly 80 and fans are still clamoring for him to, you know, put the fedora back on and the glove be, be Freddy more time.

1:01:43 Like, could, are we going to see you? Could, could we see you like, you. Know, down the line, like, you know, would you coming back doing legacy sequels? Like, is this, it's a character, I guess I'm at what I'm asking is, is character you enjoy. Like, could you, could you do this long-term? Or would you? Oh yeah. Oh yeah. Yeah, for sure. Um, especially as the, it's not just, it's not just the, the, the intellectual property of Leslie Vernon. It's, um, it's, it's the, this group that has, you know, assembled around, um, uh, around this thing and, and what it is and. Uh, what it's become. Um, you know, the, the Scott, um, David's TV. Um, we've got new collaborators in, in producing.

1:02:30 Uh, we've got, uh, um, guys from paper street, Aaron Coons and, and, um, Cameron and we've, you know, got Adam Goldberg is, uh, contributing in. Are you kidding? I know it's, it's really wild. Um, what, um, the. Team that we've been able to bring together and to keep together over something that's just, you know, universally appreciated and not universally, but on our end of things, you know, we, we, we just love this thing and, uh, and we love these people that we get to, to, to make it work with. You, you've got me excited for this, for, for the, uh, the return. I can only hope that we're, We're going to start seeing maybe a few more.

1:03:20 As we go along, but just. Fantastic, absolutely fantastic. Listeners, we've been talking with Nathan Basil, the star of Behind the Mask, The Rise of Leslie Vernon, and this has been awesome. This Saturday, Halloween night on a film by We'll be celebrating the 45th anniversary of My Bloody Valentine with one of its lovely stars, talking about Helene Udy. If you've seen it, and I know you have, how would you summarize it in exactly five words? You can go to afilmbypodcast.com to give us your answer or email us at afilmbypodcast.com, gmail.com. If we use your five-word synopsis on the show, we will shout you out, send you some of that Afilmby swag. Please join us on social media. You can find us on YouTube, Instagram, Facebook, and X. We love interacting with you, sharing opinions, taking your requests for future episodes, and debating great movies. Nathan, this has been an absolute.

1:04:20 Pleasure, man. The fact that we got to celebrate the. 20th anniversary of this film and speak with you and get some behind the scenes stories and you sharing with us what what's coming for, for Leslie Vernon. It's, it's, it's been a real treat, man. I cannot thank you enough. Thank you. And, uh, thanks for keeping the, keeping the word going. Um, this is a torch. This movie is a torch that gets, keeps on getting past. Now, uh, can we expect to see you at any upcoming shows? Any, any, any of the conventions before the year's over? No, I'm, I'm pretty much focused on production. Um, and there'll be some holidays and then we'll, we'll.

1:05:05 Um, get back into production, um, late winter, early spring, um, to, to complete the shoot and, uh, and then it's off to the editing. And so hopefully, you know, I'll be doing some getting around a little bit in 2027 to, um, you know, raise attention for what we're going to be putting out later on in the year. I'll be, I'll be knocking on it. As soon as you guys give us a release date, I'll be knocking on your door so we can, we can have you back and, and, and talk. More about, uh, about Leslie. Uh, I know you and I connected on Instagram is, is that the best place for everyone to follow you?

1:05:45 Like your fans, like how to, how do they, how do they learn more about what you're up to? I'll be honest. I don't post too, too much. Um, but, uh, I'm a really bad social media. Um, but I have an Instagram account and I have a Facebook account. Um, so I'll, I'll try to be better about posting stuff. You're busy. You got the steps. You got the rules. We understand. We totally understand. It takes a lot of work. It's a lot of work. Thank you again, sir. And to all of you out there creeping around the show, stalking us on social media, haunting our Patreon, we thank you and we wish you a very happy Halloween.