Resident Evil: Extinction – Spencer Locke Interview

by Staci Layne Wilson

Spencer Locke's character has pretty earrings on for today's scene, which is set inside the sweaty cab of a truck that's is rolling through a zombie-infested desert. Improbable? Or would a teen still have her vanity, even though the world's ending? Her similarly well-dressed costar Milla Jovovich is wearing mile-high boots with half-stockings and garters which are incorporated into teeny-tiny short-shorts. Other costar Oded Fehr is clad head-to-toe in cammo that strategically shows off his cut bod.

Yep: It's that time again. For the third Resident Evil movie, a caravan of survivors from the Raccoon City biological infection calamity travel across the Nevada wasteland, hoping to make it to safety.

The three are crammed into the front of the truck, which is on a soundstage and being shaken by a couple of members of the crew to simulate its roll through the "desert" in Las Vegas. Behind them is vast blue screen on two walls. Apparently, judging from what I can glean from the trio's scripted dialogue, they've just encountered a murder of undead crows and are trying to follow the instructions in a red journal book which says there are uninfected people living in Alaska.

But we're still in Las Vegas. Kind of. It's actually Mexico City — and inside the aforementioned soundstage, at that — but hopefully nobody will be the wiser once Resident Evil: Extinction hits screens on September 21.

Q: What’s it like to be the new girl in the Resident Evil series?

Spencer Locke: Oh, it’s awesome, I love it. It’s so cool you know to be the only teenager coming on to any set where they’ve been the whole cast they’ve been together for  two movies. You don’t really know what to expect, but everyone is so wonderful. I had a great time.

Q: And I suppose you had to watch Resident Evil 1 and 2 many times, right?

Spencer Locke: Oh, yeah!

Q: Why is your character name K-Mart?

Spencer Locke: She was found in the ruins of a K-Mart by Claire and the rest of the convoy members. She has been on her own for a long time and luckily she was found by them, but that’s how she gets it.

Q: Is there a mother/daughter relationship between you and Alice in this one at all?

Spencer Locke: I definitely look up to Alice in this movie a lot. And same with everybody else, all of my family is gone, all of my friends. This is my family, so definitely a dad and a mother type of feeling.

Q: Where does Claire fit into that? More of a sisterly kind of thing?

Spencer Locke: I think more of a sister with Claire, yeah.

Q: Alice and Claire are such sort of strong characters you know they kick a lot of butt. Are we going to get to see you do some of that too?

Spencer Locke: Yes. It’s so cool.

Q: Did you enjoy doing that?

Spencer Locke: M-hm. I actually got to use a shotgun and blow them dead out the window. It’s pretty cool.

Q: You trained for that, obviously?

Spencer Locke: Yep.

Q: Scary?

Spencer Locke: Exciting, because I hadn’t done anything like that ever. So, that was cool.

Q: Any hand to hand stuff, any type of karate type stuff for you?

Spencer Locke: I wish. That would have been cool. Nope, not in this movie.

Q: Maybe in the next one?

Spencer Locke: Maybe.

Q: Oh. I see you survive this movie?

(laughter)

Q: So are you a fan of horror films?

Spencer Locke: Yeah I love it. It’s so cool to do something so different. I love this type of action sci-fi stuff it’s really cool.

Q: What are some of your favorites?

Spencer Locke: Resident Evil. The first and second one, I’ve seen many times.

Q: Did you play the game as well?

Spencer Locke: Actually no, I haven’t. The farthest I ever got in the video games is 1998 super-Nintendo Donkey Kong. I’m sure you guys rock on that.

Q: I’m surprised they don’t put them all in your trailer, or something.

Spencer Locke: I know, I know, I need to learn. I’m not the best interview.

Q: We were watching you guys film in the cab of the truck, and you guys seemed to be getting along - you and Milla and Oded. Have there ever been any moments when you guys were just busting out, and being silly, you know?

Spencer Locke: This morning I think we all lost it. Yeah. We were pretty hyper this morning.

Q: Does Milla act like that all the time, or was she just hamming it up for the press?

Spencer Locke: Oh, she’s always like that. Are you kidding? Are you kidding? She’s crazy, we always have fun.

Q: So we’ve heard that the Mexicali shoot was very difficult. Is it, how did you deal with those temperatures?

Spencer Locke: Wooh! Lots of sunscreen, lots and lots of sunscreen.! You know what’s funny being in Mexicali every day, in the desert 140 degrees, I never got a sunburn, ever! But here, I went to the pyramids, the Aztec pyramids, and look at how sunburned I am. It’s just so ridiculous I got too comfortable.

Q: How does doing a movie like Monster House prepare you for Resident Evil 3?

Spencer Locke: It helped a lot because doing stuff this morning with the green screen, you have to imagine it. In Monster House, obviously you had to imagine everything, so that really getting there mentally was great training.

Q: It must be weird to you where on Monster House you’re not interacting with anyone, and then all of a sudden you have to interact with lots of people.

Spencer Locke: Well, we did the scenes together. Motion capture, we did everything together in that small room. It’s very cool that I had that experience coming on really you know getting the imagination going.

Q: Oded was talking about how he came on set one day and there were all these stunt-men in zombie costumes all rushing at him and how scary that was; are there days that you’re just like “This is really creepy?”

Spencer Locke: Oh yeah, are you kidding? They’re so scary looking. The other day one was chasing me and they’re freaky. I’m going to have nightmares when this is over.

Q: How much more time do you have?

Spencer Locke: Actually, tomorrow is my last day, sadly.

Q: How do you die?

(Laughter)

Spencer Locke: If I told you I’d have to kill you.

Q: How’s it been working with Russell?

Spencer Locke: Russell’s awesome. He’s really cool, he’s very creative and he’s wonderful. He asks us what we think, and we get to put in our input. I love Russell, he’s really cool.

Q: What’s the most daunting thing coming onto a picture this big, this kind of budget and coming down here? Was there any intimidation for you at all?

Spencer Locke: Definitely. Definitely! Not really knowing what to expect, kind of nervous you it’s definitely intimidating. You know these people have been together for a long time you know not really knowing how they’ll treat you, but they treated me like and equal, you know everybody did and that was great. I was ready to do something different. And this is definitely different, thank goodness.

Q: Did it match your expectations for what you wanted the experience to be?

Spencer Locke: Oh, absolutely!

Q: Would you jump into this again?

Spencer Locke: I would. In a minute.

Q: Why?

Spencer Locke: It’s so different being in the 140 degree desert. How many kids my age get to do this? It’s so cool.

Q: How old are you?

Spencer Locke: I’m 14.

Q: Oh wow…! (laughter) All your other movies are very family oriented, and now with a rated R movie, none of your friends can even get in to watch it.

Spencer Locke: I can’t even get in to watch it.

Q: You can’t even watch your own movie. I mean that must be kind of weird.

Spencer Locke: You’re right. I’ll call my friends you have to bring your mom and dad though to get you in.

Q: I was sneaking into R rated movies when I was 14. I’m sure you guys do the same thing right?

Spencer Locke: No! Please, NO! (laughter)

Q: How do you sort of juggle the work and the school… and are you going to go to college, have you thought about that? Are you going to just go to full time acting?

Spencer Locke: I am just going to you know, I’ve just finished 9th grade, I have time to see where I am. It depends on what movies I’m doing. That you can put off you know. We’ll see, we’ll see, but you know now it’s summer which is great I don’t have to worry about the 3-hours of school every day, I just want to be onset and have fun with everybody else.

Q: So what’s coming up next for you?

Spencer Locke: Vacation! Nothing right now actually, I’m going to go back to Florida where I’m from, and visit some family and enjoy summer a little bit and stay inside in the cool.When I get home, I have a week off and then I’m going on a Monster House publicity tour which is going to be a blast. I can’t wait. I get to go all over the country, I can’t wait!

Q: So, how were the pyramids? I didn’t get a chance to go.

Spencer Locke: Oh, you have to go.

Q: I really want to, but how were they?

Spencer Locke: It was… oh, it was so cool. I took so many pictures. I climbed both the sun and the moon, thinking that the moon would be easier because it’s smaller but no no, the steps there are like steep. I’m very sore today.

Q: Well, it’s good thing that you’re sitting in the truck cab all day. Did you have to go through like a little training regimen for this film?

Spencer Locke: Well, Jeremy, the executive producer, you know, I see him in the gym sometimes in the afternoon and he’ll be like “work harder, work harder, use 10 pounds and not 5!” you know, but I got to work with the gun guy and got to learn about that, which is really cool.

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