{"id":3187,"date":"2012-06-11T13:25:54","date_gmt":"2012-06-11T19:25:54","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.bmovienation.com\/?p=3187"},"modified":"2012-06-11T13:25:54","modified_gmt":"2012-06-11T19:25:54","slug":"was-honest-abe-a-vampire-slayer","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.bmovienation.com\/?p=3187","title":{"rendered":"Was Honest Abe A Vampire Slayer?"},"content":{"rendered":"

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History tells us that Abraham Lincoln is the 16th President of the United States, best remembered for the Gettysburg Address and the Emancipation Proclamation, and reputed to be one of the 3 greatest U.S. heads of state.<\/p>\n

Per American author Seth Grahame-Smith\u2019s Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter, however, Lincoln also led a secret life, as the novel\u2019s title succinctly suggests. And that book\u2019s \u201calterna-history\u201d account of Honest Abe as part-politician and part-vampire slayer comes to vivid life with the movie adaptation to be released worldwide by 20th Century Fox this July (July 4 in the Philippines).<\/p>\n

Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter is not just highly anticipated by the 2010 novel\u2019s huge readership; it is likewise a hot celluloid commodity as it is the latest from Kazakhstan-born filmmaker Timur Bekmambetov, whose flair for cinematic mayhem had been on glorious display in his earlier adaptations of other published work: Russia\u2019s Night Watch and Day Watch, and his Hollywood debut, Wanted.<\/p>\n

On hand are director Tim Burton as co-producer\/co-financier, Grahame-Smith himself as scriptwriter (he likewise penned Burton\u2019s recent Dark Shadows) and Julliard-trained Benjamin Walker (coincidentally Meryl Streep\u2019s son in law) and English star Rufus Sewell as the film\u2019s lead protagonist and lead antagonist, respectively.<\/p>\n

Bekmambetov, Grahame-Smith, Walker and Sewell recently sat together for a brief live chat via Livestream, fielding a selection of questions from RAPPLER and other media outlets in line with their work on Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter. Amid their lively discussion, one can discern the team\u2019s enjoyment at having made the movie and their own anticipation at the world\u2019s reaction to it.<\/p>\n

OF, FOR AND BY the people. Benjamin Walker speaks as the Americans\u2019 beloved president.<\/p>\n

A real superhero<\/p>\n

What drove Grahame-Smith to come up with his Vampire Hunter book in the first place?<\/p>\n

\u201cI was on tour for Pride and Prejudice and Zombies (his first \u2018mash-up\u2019 novel) and everywhere I went, there would a book about Abraham Lincoln and the Twilight books on display. At first I thought it was some (cosmic) joke until I realized that it might be good to put Lincoln and vampire lore together.\u201d<\/p>\n

Still, why Lincoln?<\/p>\n

The author says that Lincoln is far more embedded in the American psyche than, say, George Washington or Benjamin Franklin, and that the President\u2019s era, \u201ca time when the country was tearing itself apart,\u201d was a thematic fit for his revisionist novel. That, and \u201cI think Abraham Lincoln is the first true American superhero.\u201d Walker concurs, noting that Lincoln \u201cwas a common man who pulled himself up to become a hero.\u201d<\/p>\n

Walker, who \u201chad to lose weight, spend months on axe-throwing, wushu and hitting stunt guys with a rubber axe,\u201d relates that \u201cWe did a lot of research for this.\u201d He specifically cites his reading of the book Lincoln\u2019s Melancholy, a fascinating study by Joshua Wolf Shenk of how Lincoln dealt with lifelong depression. And as he himself did with his novel, Grahame-Smith attests that \u201ceverything within this movie is treated with care and historical accuracy.\u201d<\/p>\n

For his part, Bekmambetov remembers reading a Russian thriller author\u2019s account of the US Civil War, adding with a proverbial wink that that book holds \u201csecrets that American doesn\u2019t want to talk about.\u201d He also cites that \u201cAmerica is a country of immigrants and (the novel\u2019s) vampires are immigrants.\u201d<\/p>\n

THE RIGHT DIRECTION. Benjamin Walker takes cues from Timur Bekmambetov.<\/p>\n

From page to screen<\/p>\n

When asked how much of its source material wound up in the movie, Bekmambetov quips, \u201c50\/50.\u201d<\/p>\n

Grahame-Smith confirms that most of his book is in the movie.<\/p>\n

\u201cBeing the author and the screenwriter has its advantages,\u201d he says. \u201cFor me, it was a huge learning experience. It\u2019s my book, so I had to be harsh and kill my \u2018darlings\u2019 and not let my ego get in the way. The climax of the film is more cinematic, too. But overall, the film is true to the spirit of the book.\u201d<\/p>\n

The novelist did \u201ccreate a new darling,\u201d as Walker puts it, with the addition of Adam, the lead vampire character portrayed by Sewell. The veteran actor himself was surprised to find that his character was not in the book. \u201cI thought, \u2018Well, that\u2019s a good start,\u2019\u201d Sewell recalls. \u201cHe\u2019s a counterpart to Lincoln. He sees himself as the \u2018president\u2019 of the vampires. He\u2019s named Adam because he was the original vampire and was already around at the time of the ancients and the pyramids. He represents the heart of the threat that has to be dealt with.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cAdam is elegant but vicious,\u201d Grahame-Smith points out, \u201ca gentleman like Rhett Butler, and Rufus makes him sympathetic.\u201d Sewell \u2014 who is \u201cfrightening as Adam,\u201d Walker asserts \u2014 says that \u201cAdam is not vulgar (yet) he\u2019s quite formidable.\u201d The actor adds that, while his Adam is new to audiences, \u201cWhat we know about vampires is in our blood. We grew up to Christopher Lee, Bram Stoker, and we gotta have a wink, a nod to the vampires of the past.\u201d<\/p>\n

On another note, Grahame-Smith observes that \u201cIt\u2019s great that people who\u2019ve read the book are not revealing its ending,\u201d referring to an epilogue that the novel\u2019s fans are keeping an eye on with the movie version.<\/p>\n

AN ICONIC FIGURE. Benjamin Walker towers as Abraham Lincoln<\/p>\n

Tim B. & Timur B.<\/p>\n

Grahame-Smith credits producer Tim Burton for giving \u201cus the protection\u201d to make this movie on its creators\u2019 terms and for giving a very important tip: \u201cHe said, \u2018Never make a joke of the concept.\u2019\u201d (Walker jokes, \u201cTim wanted to take the movie back and direct it himself.\u201d)<\/p>\n

\u201cTim never told me, \u2018I don\u2019t like it.\u2019 He was very supportive and his role in making this movie is huge,\u201d states Bekmambetov, who also co-produced. Walker attests that \u201cTim was happy because Timur had great ideas\u201d on how to pull the movie off.<\/p>\n

Walker cites that Bekmambetov has an \u201cextraordinary visual style,\u201d which the soft-spoken director draws from a liking of kung fu movies and his worldly wise view that \u201caction is an extension of the drama.\u201d<\/p>\n

The filmmaker notes that it was \u201cchallenging\u201d to have shot Vampire Hunter in 3D. \u201c(3D) is a unique visual language,\u201d he says. \u201cFor example, in the fight scenes, the audience has to feel the distance between them and the ax.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI can\u2019t wait to see all this in 3D,\u201d Grahame-Smith says.<\/p>\n

PRESIDENT BY DAY, VAMPIRE hunter by night. The movie comes to Philippine theaters on July 4.<\/p>\n

Who\u2019d win?<\/p>\n

As the chat wound down, the foursome indulged in a few lighthearted queries.<\/p>\n

Grahame-Smith \u2014 who despite his very hectic life, tries \u201cto write every day, to keep the pipes running so they won\u2019t get rusty\u201d \u2014 conceded that a zombie infestation would be easier to manage than a vampire one. \u201cZombies are stupid and they can\u2019t figure out door knobs,\u201d he says, but stresses that, \u201cvampires are much more fun to write about.\u201d<\/p>\n

Walker, who as the movie\u2019s three trailers show, underwent some prosthetic makeup for this breakout role and can swing and twirl axes with superb dexterity, cites that Lincoln\u2019s trusty ax is \u201ca great weapon, better than a gun. You don\u2019t need to reload it.\u201d<\/p>\n

Perhaps the silliest question thrown the quartet\u2019s way was this: If Buffy the vampire slayer, Van Helsing and Abraham Lincoln faced off, who\u2019d win?<\/p>\n

Here’s the clip of our live chat with the movie’s “four film folks”: Author Seth Grahame-Smith, actors Rufus Sewell and Benjamin Walker, and director Timur Bekmambetov:
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