Set Visit: The Stepfather

Amber
Heard interview / Dylan
Walsh, Sela Ward & Penn Badgley interviews

Back in 1987, a surprise little sleeper about a dad in
search of the perfect family terrified audiences… well, at least this particular
audience member. Terry O’Quinn as
THE STEPFATHER was sensational as he created
what turned out to be a living hell for his wife and step-daughter, played
respectively by Shelley Hack and Jill Schoelen in the Joseph Ruben directed cult
classic. And quite frankly, Mr. O’Quinn is on fire in the role. When he
questions “who am I here?” you really buy it. This was one of those little
films that you expected nothing of, and then wham, it kicks some serious ass.

So here we are in 2009 with Screen Gems revisiting the
scary family flick and giving it a new look. The Stepfather this time around is
Dylan Walsh from TV’s “Nip/Tuck” fame. And being the smart guy he is, he gets
involved with the lovely Sela Ward and her children. This time around, there
are three kids instead of one. The oldest is a troublemaker played by Penn
Badgley, from TV’s “Gossip Girl”. While it is switching things up a bit by
having a tormented son instead of a tormented daughter, this young man has a
loving girlfriend played by one of my recent favorites, and truthfully, all the
boys love Amber Heard.

When we were given the opportunity to visit the set, a
handful of us met up at Sony Studios. We were then led to a soundstage with a
long table and with a bunch of chairs surrounding. Obviously, we were all in
discussion about the original film and the other Screen Gems remake, PROM NIGHT
which was also written by J.S. Cardone. Although THE STEPFATHER had an earlier
draft written by Donald Westlake, it is Cardone’s that we will be seeing. After
talking about the previous film we were introduced to Mark Morgan, one of the
producers of the latest film.

Mark talked about the film being more relevant than ever,
with the current divorce rate and how women can be “easy prey” when it comes to
the dating world, especially women who are newly single. Although he added that
the film doesn’t stray too much from the original, and described the film as a
thriller more than a horror film. He seemed like a genuine guy, and he talked
more about the casting and what we were about to see and who we were about to
meet. And I will say, that as much as another PG-13 horror remake doesn’t
necessarily scream “Must See” to me, I do like the cast.

First up, while we were at the empty soundstage, they
brought out the “family unit” which included Badgley, Ward and Walsh. Sela and
Dylan talked about the fake scars and cuts they were sporting, since we were
there on the day that was obviously close to the end of the film. Each of the
actors were more than welcome talk with us, but I was absolutely impressed with
Ms. Ward. She was incredibly beautiful and about as sweet and sincere as you
could imagine. Yeah, the guys were fine, but I had a little pitter, patter in
my heart for Sela.

After speaking to the family, we moved onto the set. It
consisted of the house used in the film and the inner workings of it. While we
were shown a limited amount of what was going on inside, it was again, quite
clear that this was very close to the climactic ending. I would’ve liked to
have seen more but I get the feeling they were being a little secretive as to
what they could and couldn’t show. But thankfully, the best part of the day was
on its way and I don‘t mean the catering. The “best part” would definitely have
to be Amber Heard. Now the thing I like about Amber, and what a few people
there didn’t, is her blatant honesty. She speaks her mind and really doesn’t
give a shit about whether someone agrees with it or not. Whether it comes to
her political standings, or being an atheist, she is absolutely self confidant
and seemingly very bright. Good for her… oh, yeah, she is also really freakin’
gorgeous.

After all was said and done, I truly don’t have a whole lot
of insight into what the new film is going to look like. But now that the
theatrical trailer is available, I will definitely see if for Sela and of
course, Amber. The film, directed by Nelson McCormick looks to be simply a
modern day retelling of the trials and tribulations of a modern family. Okay,
maybe a modern family that has a psychotic killer who wants each of them dead,
but a modern family nonetheless.

Still, he has assembled a strong cast,
including a couple of other T.V. favorites like Christopher Meloni from “Law And
Order” and Jon Tenney from “The Closer“, so maybe it will be thrilling. But I
gotta tell ya, nobody beats Mr. O’Quinn in the bad ass department. But let’s
hope that Dylan Walsh can give us a new character that wants to clean house with
an electric circular saw and make it work. Keep an eye out for our interviews
from the set visit very soon. Let me know what you think. Send questions and/or comments
to

[email protected].