Jeff Baena’s horror comedy Life After Beth, playing as one of the NZ International Film Festival’s Incredibly Strange selections, follows Zach (Dane DeHaan, The Amazing Spider-Man 2), who’s understandably cut up about the death of his girlfriend Beth (Aubrey Plaza, Safety Not Guaranteed) – until she comes back from the dead as a zombie and the pair attempt to rekindle their romance. Writer-director Jeff Baena kindly answered our questions about his film, and earned himself a permanent spot in our hearts – death be damned – by bringing up our favourite event in the world. OK, second favourite after the NZIFF….
Hello from Flicks. What have you been up to today?
Lots of exciting stuff: making orange juice, walking the dogs, practicing darts…
How close do you think we’ve come to “peak zombie” and was this something you had to consider with ‘Life After Beth’?
Just like anything, oversaturation breeds fatigue. However, I would hope that zombie films continue to get made and try and push the edge of the envelope. Interestingly enough, I wrote this back in 2003 before Shaun of the Dead came out and before there wasn’t any real momentum in zom-fam-rom-com-drams at the time, so it wasn’t a consideration in the writing.
Is it a challenge to strike the right tonal balance between comedy, horror and plausibility?
Of course. But, they’re all so inextricably linked to one another. By grounding the proceedings as much as possible and investing as much effort into developing the characters, the humour feels more earned and organic as opposed to arbitrary and broad. Additionally, my approach was to make the emotional carnage emphasize the horror as opposed to straight up gore.
What were you looking for in your leads, and what unexpected qualities did Dane and Aubrey bring to the film?
I’ve always admired Dane’s dramatic work. He is one of the most thoughtful, passionate actors around, and I thought that his brooding intensity would serve well to buttress the absurd insanity of the film. He is also very funny despite never having had a chance to put it on display, and I feel he did an amazing job of keeping up with the other actors who are all far more comfortable and experienced in comedy.
Aubrey’s dark humor is well established, but the world is starting to take notice of her considerable range. I can honestly think of no other actress that could possibly carry the movie like she did. From sweet and innocent to moody and sarcastic and finally deranged and bloodthirsty, she expertly plotted a wild trajectory without skipping a beat.
You’ve cast some comedy legends in supporting parental roles. Did you have a long list of potentials here, and what was it like to land the likes of Molly Shannon and John C. Reilly?
John was my first choice, so it was nothing short of a dream when he agreed to join. He actually proposed the idea of Molly to play his wife as he adores her and is always looking for ways to work together with her. Immediately, I understood how perfect that could be as I’ve always loved her from her Jeannie Darcy sketch to her absolutely incredible performance in Year of the Dog. I was really lucky in that everyone I was interested in responded right away with enthusiasm. Even though it took 10 years for the film to finally get made, once we got the ball rolling, things fell into place really fast.
Where would you take a zombie on a date?
Maybe somewhere she could blend in like the Gathering of the Juggalos.
What was the most memorable moment of the shoot?
Garry Marshall took me aside for a little walk in between takes and gave me words of wisdom he received from Francis Ford Coppola when he was first starting out. I would share what he said, but then I’d have to kill you.
Who would be the best, and worst, people to bring along to your film?
Juggalos.
What was the last great film you saw?
What are you thinking about doing next?
There are several projects I’m currently developing including an adaptation of Krystle Cole’s autobiography Lysergic…
