Interview:
So Shawnee,
how did you get involved with SAW
franchise?
Well the guys at Twisted Pictures produced the movie with their
own money. They also have a management division of their company
called Evolution. At one point my manager was over at Evolution,
their management company and he heard that they were looking for
a girl to do the jaw trap scene (featured in SAW 1). I was
brought up to James Wan the director who was familiar with my
work and got excited about the idea. They asked me so I read the
script. I was horrified. I said "please don't make me live this
out for a day.” And they replied with "come on you gotta do it"
So I did. And thank God!
Yeah I bet. That's my favorite scene
from all the films so far, the jaw trap scene.
Yeah it was awesome. I got to see the scene before I even filmed
it. That's how they got the movie made. They originally filmed
the scene as a short movie with Leigh Whannell in the jaw trap.
When you were approached for SAW 2
did you know you were going to be the killer from the start?
No. In fact, that ending was kind of discovered almost at the
end of the shoot, which is probably part of the success with the
SAW movies, the flexibility with the script. No one settles
until the film is in the can. There's just this continuous
search for truth, and that goes on until filming is done.
When you were filming SAW did you
have any idea it would become this huge franchise?
I mean the SAW franchise is fucking huge!
No, nobody did. I knew the script was a great script, and the
short film was great, but that’s about it. And the producers
well, they were just hoping to make their money back. But I
don't think anyone could have foreseen this kind of legendary
franchise.
In part three it's revealed that you
work with Jigsaw. Can you elaborate on that?
Yeah,
they've had a partnership longer then most would imagine. And
you'll find out a lot about that in part 3. Part 3 will actually
take you back to part one, more pieces to the puzzle.
So what is the coolest part about
being the killer in a huge franchise like this?
I mean it's great. Usually you don't get a lot of female
villains that aren't the spawn of someone else. It's almost like
a true marriage between jigsaw and Amanda, which are two halves
to a whole. Some people might say monster. I saw uh... they're
intentions are more noble, but that's because I'm on their side.
(We both laugh)
Do you know approximately how many
people get axed in SAW 3?
You know... expect the unexpected. But expect some kind of body
count, I mean this is SAW. And you can't imagine that they can't
get any more vicious, but they do. Jigsaw saved his most
harrowing game.
How involved is Leigh Whannell
(writer of SAW 1, 2, 3) at this point?
He's very involved. He was actually on the set for most of SAW
3. There was one scene that he completely rewrote on the spot.
It was good he happened to be there that day. (Shawnee laughs),
funniest scene of the movie actually.
That's awesome that he's still
involved?
Yeah, definitely, I hope he stays involved.
So what element of SAW 3 are you
most looking forward to the fans seeing?
You know, there's something for everyone. I think the audiences
are going to get what they want and love about the SAW movies,
which is that kind of balance between horror and humanity. And
SAW 3 is the best one so far in all those departments
So if SAW 3 does really well do you
know if there's going to be a fourth?
I can't imagine that they wouldn't if it's anywhere near as
successful as one and two, but the difference between one and
two and two and three I wouldn't even venture to guess we're
they'll go with it. So who knows? The fact that we've done a
part 3 that is of the same quality if not more as the first two
is a phenomenon in itself. If the filmmakers can keep improving
the films then why not?
So Halloween is coming soon, do you
have anything specific planned?
Usually I just stay at home, but this year Darren Bousman (SAW 3
director) some how wrangled me into hosting this big Halloween
party with him. But there's lots of pressure on us for the
costumes. I mean, we're supposed to be really clever and
twisted, right? We still haven’t decided what to wear.
So are you handing out candy on
Halloween day?
This Halloween I'm actually doing the Jimmy Kimmel show, and
then hosting that party with Darren. And somewhere in there I
need to do some trick or treating with the kids.
What was the last awesome horror
movie that you saw?
You know, I don't even have time to watch the news. But the last
great movie I saw was when I was in the hotel promoting SAW 3.
It was LITTLE MISS SUNSHINE, which I guess is the anti horror
film, isn't it?
Yeah, I heard it was really pretty
good though. That’s all I’ve got for questions Shawnee, thanks
for your time!
Thank you
