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Quint has a quick chat with Tobin Bell about SAW IV, the character of Jigsaw and more!!!
SPOILER ALERT !!
Ahoy, squirts! Quint here with a short quickie one on one interview I did with Tobin Bell at ShoWest.
I didn’t know I was going to talk to Bell until I was in the room. I was there to interview James Mangold about 3:10 TO YUMA (coming soon) and I was offered a chat with Bell, squeezed in just minutes before the Lionsgate presentation started.
I’m a big fan of the first SAW movie and not so much of the sequels, but even in them Tobin Bell’s Jigsaw character has been consistently interesting. When I talked with him, it wasn’t really known what his involvement would be in the next SAW films, so it was a surprise to me when he admitted to being in SAW IV.
When the Lionsgate lady led Tobin Bell over to me, I put my hand out to shake and he responded with a closed fist, holding it by my open hand for an awkward few seconds before I closed my hand and tapped knuckles with him.
It was a bizarre introduction, but I didn’t find him to be as intimidating as I expected him to be.
We don’t cover much, we literally had less than 5 minutes to talk, but there’s some interesting things below considering he hadn't even read the script for SAW IV at the time of the interview. Enjoy!!
Quint: So, what are you here at ShoWest for?
Tobin Bell: I’m to present an award to Mark Burg and Oren Koules, the producers of SAW. So I came down to make a little speech, to give them a “mazel tov.”
Quint: Now, I saw SAW at The American Film Market, right after Sundance…
Tobin Bell: After SAW 1.
Quint: Correct
Tobin Bell: Alright
Quint: And you know, what really hit me, was the first SAW was really the first American film to take the atmosphere of Japanese horror without the baggage of the genre, you know? It didn’t have the long dark hair, but everything with the pig head felt very much in tone with that genre. So I think that’s why it was such a hit.
Tobin Bell: Yeah, when was the last time you saw a film about two people locked in a room? It stayed there, you know? I mean, it’s essentially…. I thought that aspect of it was fascinating. I like the writing a lot.
Quint: Well, it’s a character driven horror movie, something it doesn’t get much credit for being.
Tobin Bell: And even though I was not terribly verbal as I lay in that pool of blood, I still… you know, whenever you go to the theater and there are three characters and even if the guy’s dead in the middle of the floor, he’s still there! And of course, you hear my voice throughout on the tape… so I’m just grateful that we had an opportunity to grow the guy through [SAW] two and [SAW] 3 and you know, it’s just good that we can create that whole character and do more than in [SAW] one.
Quint: So what are your feelings on becoming a horror icon? We haven’t really had that since somebody since maybe SILENCE OF THE LAMBS.
Tobin Bell: Depending on what you call an icon, in terms of career-wise, I don’t think about it. I concentrate on things I have coming forward, or some degree of control of. So I’m happy about it and I’m aware of it, but it’s not something that I even recognize.
Quint: I know that there’s a lot of talk about the next film [SAW 4]. There was a setup in the third one, where we could actually discover a little bit more about Jigsaw, like a back history with him. Do you think he will pop up in the next one and maybe seen in a flashback?
[Tobin nods his head up and down, silently. We both laugh]
Tobin Bell: I know it doesn’t make much of an interview, when somebody just nods their head, but yeah… I do.
Quint: For me it’s not a SAW movie without that character... But it seems that each movie seems to delve deeper and deeper into your character. After SAW 3, I’m like “OK, he’s gone, but it seems like they’re setting up…”
Tobin Bell: I haven’t read the script for SAW 4, so I find it difficult to comment. I don’t know where they’re going, but I can tell you that I’m in it and that I look forward to the very same things you’re talking about. They’re filling him out in ways that are compelling and interesting.
Quint: It’s kind of fascinating, because they really couldn’t make a prequel, considering the story, but they’ve now made Jigsaw and his history part of the big puzzle.
Tobin Bell: Yeah, I know they’re working very hard on the material and I know they want to keep the quality of it up. That’s all, so as soon as I read it, that’s what we’re going to be reaching for.
Told ya’ it was a short chat. It was fun talking with him, even for a few minutes. Hope you guys enjoyed the discussion even if it wasn’t very in-depth.
-Quint
quint@aintitcool.com
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zing!
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I feel cheap and dirty.
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She was the best part.
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He got cancer, he tried to kill himself, he had some kind of psychotic moment of clarity. Do we really need "Jigsaw Rising"?
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http://tinyurl.com/2hk2vc
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http://tinyurl.com/2hk2vc
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That story is a few down the page.Wnanahara7 - I don't think it's kissing up saying I liked what they've done with his character in the sequels since that's exactly how I feel. I suppose if you were in my place, you would have met the man and then spent 2 of the 4 or 5 minutes you had to talk to him bringing up every negative thing you had to say about his films?
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I mean he can only be staying alive for so long, can't he?
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He's only coming back in flashbacks.And stop bitching about this site selling out or whatever. If it weren't for interviews and Harry just getting off the phone/AIM/Blackberry with -insert name-, it'd just be a bunch of guys circle jerking.
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...why keep coming back?Personally i loved the first one then lost interest once i sat through Saw 2.... it felt samey. i loved Saw for the set up.... the set up of number 2 just felt old from the second i saw the trailer. i havent even seen the 3rd one because of this.
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wtf is it?
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And realized these SAW mofos completely jipped that idea off its ending.
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I am very much against the Hostel/Wolf Creek/Turistas trend of "horror" these days where someone being tortured passes as scary. Disturbing is not scary, they're compeltely different. That being said, the original Saw was a very smart film, and Saw 2 I thought was better than the average sequel and still had an adequate twist (albeit with some stock characters). Then came the trailer for Saw 3, and the hammering of "there will be blood", and the trailer at first just showed a guy tearing himself out of chains, and I thought that this would just degenerate from something smart to more gore. Surprisingly, Saw 3 was still pretty intelligent, engaging, and actually told an interesting story, and was not just mindless violence. I was pleasantly surprised.
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I thought the first one was fun because of its novelty. Others were just very long 'additional footage' montages as far as I could tell.
One night while playing UNO on my Xbox 360, an opponent logged in and on his vidcam was a little saw puppet, and he said "If you do not defeat me in UNO, your xbox will explode and destroy you and all your love." pretty funny stuff. -
zap him with the zapper thingies in the ambulance and HEY, he's back.
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before viewing the first movie, because that's the only way someone could enjoy that plot hole ridden mess. That film gets three sequels and Grindhouse bombs? It's just one more piece of evidence that god doesn't exist.
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Not that it matters, but for the record, it's the end of "Mad Max" that you're thinking of, not the end of "The Road Warrior."
FWIW, I detest horror flicks for the most part (Romero being excused), but a friend compelled me to sit through the three "Saw" flicks. The first one was interminable, but had a fantastic finale, which I assume is why it was such a hit. The second film was practically unwatchable.
The third, however, gave me a whole new respect for the entire series. It wasn't Shakespeare or anything, but one got the impression that the writers were really working hard to bring the whole thing together, and to tell a cohesive story. Plus, in a stunning move, they gave us a protagonist (played by Angus Macfadyen--wtf?) with a genuine, emotionally engaging dilemma that had to be addressed every few minutes. Whodathunk?
I have no idea where they'll go from here, but if the series ended with number three, I think those involved could be far more proud than any of the hacks involved in the "Friday the 13th" or "Nightmare on Elm Street" franchises.
Finally, rbatty, "Grindhouse" bombed because it mostly sucked. A niche film like that needs fantastic word of mouth to carry it through it's opening weekend, and this one just didn't have it. -
simply due to the fact that we dont have to suffer thru good actors in terrible performances. no one expects much from the people in 2 or 3. also, and you can tell from 2 to 3, bousman shows more promise as a director than wan. now that dead silence has come and gone (though i admit i liked it) id like to see bousman do something besides Saw _ so he can prove himself. hopefully he'll do Repo or Scanners before LG locks him in for Saw 5...
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If you don't like it get the fuck out! Why are you still here? Oh ya to be a little bitch
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or Seven -lite as i call it. How does Jig get his commupance. I am asking this as I have no interest in seeing the final two.
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Captain, thanks for the correction. I really need to watch those over again. -_-
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See the childhood of this ridiculous non-villain! See how he would lie for hours on the floor of his treehouse as a kid! See how he started smoking as a teenager, which caused his illness later!
And if this crap "franchise" is owned by some Bay stooge, then expect "Saw vs. The Texas Chainsaw" soon, too. -
Hadn't actually seen any of the sequels yet, so I was just starting to wonder, as I do remember how sick he looked in the first film.
On a side note, that scene where the doctor and the orderly are having that argument about how to refer to the patient and the doctor starts mocking him, that was probably the bit that rang the most false for me - from experience if you start being nasty to your patients, they start filing complaints with the hospital. -
Speaking of that damn webcam i cant wait till more games take advantage of it. Got tired of just playing Uno with it. C&C3 is suppose to use it.
http://tinyurl.com/pv8do -
Somewhere around the twenty minute mark on Saw 3 I had enough and hit stop on the DVD. Sounds like I missed a decent finish. Anyone care to elaborate on what I might need to know before Saw 4?
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http://blog.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=blog.view&friendID=158330805&blogID=250764530&Mytoken=B8227E4C-D702-4551-B833C3D5C122D8F657937772
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It's the sound of someone beating a dead horse. We don't need another damn SAW movie; we get the idea: The nutjob wants us to know that life is precious and we shouldn't waste it on dumb BS. Enough already.
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Please consider killing yourself.
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Saw ? Moriarty's kids might see this shit!!
Won't somebody please think of the children !! -
Like Howie Mandel??
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Shut the fuck up!!
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...But this series, given its mild success, is going to hit all the branches on the way down! Overstaying it's welcome, straight-to-DVD, and finally, that inevitable moment in the Blockbuster: "Saw VIII?! I didn't even know there was a Saw VI!!!"
Pinhead and Lecter, look out! There's a new villain out to gather your video shelf dust! -
Jigsaw will be a zombie in the next one and will torture people for the right of zombies and it will all be symbolism for America's treatment of people at Gitmo. These movies suck and are just excuses for people to see some sick shit. If they didn't end it at 3 it will never end. Even if it dies out at the BO they'll make straight to DVD versions you wait and see.
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wow, didn't know you could crawl that far in there.
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seriously kill off this franchise already will ya?
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its a godawful series of movies. i guess if you love torture porn then yes, this is totally the balls. otherise? skip it. period. end of story.
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