People come from all over the world to be a part of the San Diego Comic-Con. It's not just for comic collectors either, as there is a little something for everyone, especially horror fans.
This year, the cast of Holliston was present for a panel and signing. I had time to ask Adam Green some of your question, so read on to learn about filming Season 1, as well as what we can expect from Season 2:
I noticed the first episode is a lot like your first film Coffee & Donuts. Was that on purpose?
Adam Green: The pilot episode pretty much is Coffee & Donuts, and the show was originally supposed to be just like Coffee & Donuts. It took thirteen years to get this made the way that I wanted to do it. I wanted it to be like a classic sitcom with a laugh track, because nowadays everybody is shying away from that. They are going with the one camera shot like The Office and we get to make fun, normal sitcoms. FEARnet has supported us across the board. They let us have the monster in the closet and all of the violence, and it was just the timing. FEARnet was a new channel and they needed a new show, so everything kept clicking in place.
You usually spend most of the time behind the camera, but that isn't the case with Holliston. What was the most difficult scene you appeared in?
Adam Green: The hardest one to shoot was the episode three bathtub scene. On the page it says you are going to sit in a bathtub. That doesn’t seem that hard, but then you have to sit in a bathtub with cold water all day. You sit in an air-conditioned sound stage and it was filmed over four days because we only had a certain amount of time with Oderus and the police officers.
Then there was the scene at the end of the show where Joe and I had to stand up naked. Standing in front of all of our friends and a whole crew wasn’t my proudest moment. What you can’t see in the episode is that we were actually wearing these stripper thongs and they were digitally erased. It was mostly for the comfort of the crew because they don’t like staring at our stuff, but they became see-through when they were wet and things were out of place.
[Laura Ortiz and Corri English also stopped quickly to answer this question] What were the hardest scenes for the two of you to film?
Laura Ortiz: I don’t know which one was the hardest, but I know which one was the most fun. It was the "Market Basket" episode. By the time we got to the set we were such close friends that we were prepared and we got to play. Nothing seemed too hard to do.
Corri English: The gum scene was the toughest because it was gross. Also, for the take that you see in the show, we didn’t plan for him to spit the gum in my mouth. We knew if it didn’t work, it was going to bust the take. Another hard scene was the very first scene that we shot, with all of the stuff flying at the car.
Laura Ortiz: Oh yeah. That was really tough because we only had one take.
Corri English: We could have done it again, but what happened was the biker stuntman busted the windshield on the first take. Everyone outside was like "OH NO!", but Laura and I kept going because we couldn’t hear them. Fortunately, we were able to use that take. Mostly, it was hard not to laugh at one another while filming.
Laura Ortiz: Yeah, the hardest part was keeping a strong face with these guys around you.
What can we look forward to in Season 2? Can you tell us about any of the special guest appearances?
Adam Green: There are people returning from last season that people will remember, with a lot of new guests as well. They are not releasing who those people are yet until the episode is about to air.
Also, there will be an animated episode, a found footage episode and a lot more episodes then last season. There will be an hour-long special, but the episodes will go down to a more traditional twenty-five minutes. Last year all the episodes were extended, so they were double the length. This season, the episodes will be half hour like a regular sitcom.
Was the letter at the end of episode six based on an actual conversation or letter from John Landis?
Adam Green: In a way yeah, for both Joe and I. I believe anyone that has been a musician has been told something like that by someone that they look up to at some point. I have been very fortunate and with John Landis. I look up to him, he is my hero, and when I met him, he did respond to my movies.
He didn’t like Hatchet, because he doesn’t like senseless gore, but he loved Spiral. So that was cool to hear, and that is going to happen, but you are going to get shit on by someone that you look up to. At the end of the episode, it ended up being a lot more touching then we thought in a number of ways. Corri lies and makes up something that she knows we want to hear, but won’t let me see the letter. It's very telling for our relationship and where things are going.
A lot of people have been there and know where we are coming from. Joe gives a nice speech about everyone getting shit on, but that’s the Holliston way. This upcoming season has a lot of emotional stuff and I think people will be surprised. I am looking forward to that.
People should remember that horror fans have feelings too. They believe that all we love is blood and guts, and that we're depraved people. But, if anyone knows what it’s like to be heartbroken or told no, it is horror fans. We have conventions we can go to because horror fans care and we love this. People aren’t going to romantic comedy conventions.
Do you have any words for people who are trying to make it in the business and hard their idea shot down?
Adam Green: Every time somebody tells you no or something falls apart, it usually happens for a reason. At the time, it is hard to accept, but ten years later I look back and go "wow, if this would have happened at another place, it would not be this show."
Thank you for taking the time to talk to me about Holliston. I asked people to send in questions and we have one for Hatchet 2 from Deaven Coggins. Where did the Biscuits and Gravy song from Hatchet 2 come from?
Adam Green: It was all improv. At first, people thought it was a real song, but when we found out it wasn’t we told him to just singing the song and now it is a ring tone and people enjoy it.
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Thank you to Adam Green, Laura Ortiz, and Corri English from Holliston for taking the time to talk with me. You can go to iTunes now and download the first season of Holliston and it will be available on DVD and Blu-ray this October. For more information on the Blu-ray/DVD release, visit our recent coverage at: http://dailydead.com/holliston-blu-raydvd-release-details-and-cover-art/
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