Resident Evil 5 Game - Exclusive Interviews
Resident Evil 5 Game - Exclusive Interviews
Actors Karen Dyer, TJ Storm and Ken Lally talk about getting Evil
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A few weeks back, I, on behalf of Horror.com, got the opportunity to see some of the mo-cap action behind the scenes of the upcoming Resident Evil 5 videogame. Chris Redfield returns and heads to Africa where the latest bioterrorism threat is transforming the people into mindless creatures… but some of them don't start off that way. In fact, the actors I met — Karen Dyer, TJ Storm, and Ken Lally — were are all mentally sharp as tacks, as you'll read. [Photo © Staci Layne Wilson, click to enlarge it.]
Staci Layne Wilson / Horror.com: There have been a lot of Resident Evil games. And lots of spinoffs too, so what makes this one sort of a core Resident Evil game? [See the trailer for Resident Evil 5 here.]
Karen Dyer: I think that from my experience with the games in the past. There are certain games that are sub games that kind of take separate characters and do separate storylines that are not part of the main outline of the story for Resident Evil. I think that's where you get the spinoffs, but I mean, there is like a 3.5 Resident Evil.
Ken Lally: There's a movie that came out, too.
Karen Dyer: D. Generation last December, I think. But this one is definitely part of the main storyline. As far as sticking to the outline of the original movie.
Ken Lally: I think it revisits the original characters best.
Q: So for those of us who only know the movies — that would be me — this is still Alice and the rest of the Umbrella Corporation then?
TJ Storm: You're absolutely right, the Umbrella Corporation exists obviously in Resident Evil 5. And my character makes a brief appearance in one or two of the Resident Evil movies briefly.
Karen Dyer: I wouldn't be the expert to ask, but I do know that the games were the ones that came first in the films at least the stories were based on the cases that the games take you through. Maybe the characters are added in the films there are plenty of characters that are added in the films.
Ken Lally: The core idea is still definitely there. It's all about the antagonists, which is this horrible thing that's affecting the population and Chris Redfield and Sheva are fighting it. It's all about the horror of that event.
Q: Yeah that was the big thing in the second movie. I remember that was the central theme of it. So how much gore and blood and zombie action do we horror fans get to enjoy in this game, then?
Karen Dyer: A lot. I mean without getting into too much detail, it's pretty graphic. From the scenes that I have been able to see my jaw is open for pretty much all of it. It's pretty scary.
Ken Lally: It's nasty!
TJ Storm: As we sit we are watching some of the trailers and all of us who worked on it keep watching them. And we are like "ewwwww, ohhhhhh, ewwwww".
Karen Dyer: there's a pretty gnarly creatures that come out of what happens.
Ken Lally: Some gross transformations, too. There is a lot of blood squirting and curdling screaming transformations of people.
Karen Dyer: Yeah. Good luck getting away from it.
Ken Lally: The game is rated M. for mature. It's got some great stuff in it. They just go full force.
TJ Storm: In one scene, Chris actually has to back up because there is something spurting blood on him. He gets it on his boot.
Q: So how much did you guys work with Jim Sonzero, the director, on this?
TJ Storm: Oh, he is great he is really hands-on.
Karen Dyer: From the beginning. I started working with him back in October 2007 when they originally brought me and they were still doing the green screen tests for the scenes that they wanted to put the other and myself and Reuben Langdon, who played Chris Redfield for the motion capture, Jim was there from the beginning, and he definitely had an idea from the get-go of what he wanted to accomplish with the characters. He wanted it to have a film feel, because that's his background. They brought him in, what that experience to add character of more depth. So it felt like an action movie.
Q: Storm, I know that your friend Joe Gatt worked with Jim Sonzero on the remake of Pulse. So with that kind of how that connection was made, or was it just by chance that you're working with Jim now?
TJ Storm: It's just by total chance. But my friend Joe was one of the Main bad creatures on Pulse, which was just a freaky, freaky horror movie with great visuals and Sonzero brought the same kind of visual values to this. He knows horror, and he knows how to creep you out, and he is really good at bringing attention. We see a lot of that in this game and we felt at doing the scenes. He brought it up and he said alright this is what I want. And he chose where he wanted to go with it and he was really, really passionate about it, which was kind of cool.
Ken Lally: In a good thing about him for the first time working with a real theatrical director film director. And a lot of these games, you don't necessarily get to do that. You have to work with an animation director or videogame director. We were actually able to create character relationships. There are so many more different levels attached to our portrayals. When we are making the characters than what would have been there, because we created the story from the ground up. We would be shooting the scenes, and he would ask is, how do we feel about this. How do you feel about that, what happened and we would really create a plot in relationships and character, which I think is probably going to set this game apart from the other games. Because we have real film actors working with a real film director is going to bring a lot more humanity and a lot of elements to these characters in the story that hasn't existed in the past. In a lot of the games.
Q: How long does it take to get through one of these games? Are there very many different scenarios to where you can be playing it for how long straight?
Karen Dyer: I think that depends on your skill.
Ken Lally: 20 to 40 hours, I think. I'm guessing.
TJ Storm: This is a total guess, the tech guys are probably better to ask but it's a great ride to just jump in and have fun, I mean, you definitely lose sense of time. When you're doing a good game, and this is a great game.
Karen Dyer: I do think that this is a little more challenging. From what I have been hearing in the feedback, the people that have played it. It's definitely the most challenging of the series. They have thrown a lot of obstacles. So to speak that are not as easy to overcome as they have been in the past.
Q: So what would you say would be your most challenging sort of seen to date on this game/movie?
Karen Dyer: Wow. Most challenging. I guess for me because I had a limited experience to motion capture before this, but the motion capture part of it was a lot of fun. And I got to do my own stunts. And I had to get some training and whatnot. When we went into the voice sessions for the characters. It was my first time having to do facial capture at the same time as the voice. So we spent a lot of time getting all the motion in place and then your put into this room, were you don't get to play with anybody anymore and you have to not only keep your character, while you're doing your lines. But now you have to match your face with what your body was doing a month ago. So you have a very limited space it you have to give a full developed performance. Awful character, I thought that was probably the most challenging for me in the end I was getting really used to the process. I think it's still a new process other working out the kinks, but it was still challenging, and it was good. I am pretty happy with the outcome.
Q: Before and after though, how does this compare with acting on the stage with a live audience, where you're acting with everyone or a movie set where you do your own little part with other actors. And then this where you are doing motion capture and you're by yourself?
TJ Storm: One of the big things, I think, personally, I actually heard Geoffrey Rush one time he was talking about Pirates of the Caribbean and he said that the last thing that kicks him all the way into character is putting on his clothes and his hat. And when he puts on his hat, that really kicks him into character. When you're doing this you are wearing pajamas with little shiny balls on them. You never get that final touch, and you're in a room that looks like a warehouse. And that's it. There's no imagination beyond what you have right in here so you have to believe that this person is Shiva. And she is a well-trained warrior. You have to believe this person is Vesker and he's dangerous and villainous and you have to be able to see all the things that they are because you don't have all of that to act with you can't draw on the background and the clothes. You can't lean on any of that. So for me for that part is missing. And as one a lot different than being in the theater or being on the set where you have the entire set closed and a you have great Craft service. [laughs]
Karen Dyer: I think it adds to the freedom of it though, because I like some of the times when you don't have to worry about what you're wearing to define the moment. And it could go anywhere. It could be anything. I guess, especially when you're dealing with the creatures in the characters that we have to defend ourselves against in the game. We don't totally know what they're going to look like so the sky is the limit is not just one reaction. You don't have to limit yourself.
TJ Storm: It can be difficult. In one scene, I was walking down a staircase, but it wasn't a staircase, I was walking down a ladder. So I almost took a header off a ladder. You supposed to be jumping out of a window and instead of looking over a balcony. You're looking at a floor that 5 feet beneath you and you have to act that because if you were on location you would actually be looking out a window. If you were overlooking a beautiful vista, you would be able to react to that as an actor. You could pretty it in and make them actually really see a response to your face. Or you've got a crowd of extras charging at you and they want to kill you. It's easier to respond, "Oh, my God", but here you've really got nothing.
Ken Lally: You have to imagine the army. ButI came off playing Tybalt in my Shakespeare Company, in Romeo and Juliet. And I modeled a lot of my character from Tim Roth from Rob Roy, who for my money is the best villain ever filmed. Even better than Vader for my money, and I put that into Tybalt and I put a lot of what I had gone into Tybalt into Wesker. And I played a lot of bad guys, anyway. So I'm constantly being bad. For my money Wesker is the guy who has everything figured out. He knows what you're going to do next before you do it and what you are going to say. He's not worried about anything, and a real tough guy has nothing to prove. And so he doesn't have to overcompensate his masculinity. He doesn't have to overcompensate tedious is who he is. That's why Tim Roth was so good in Rob Roy. Because he had nothing to prove this is me. I'm not in have to act like a tough guy I'm not that have dressed like a tough guy. I'm not in have to do tough guy things and I'm just a bad bastard. So he can be whatever he wants to be. And he's got everything figured out, and that is it. And he knows it. And he is uber-confident. Supremely confident as he should be because he's got it down at least in his own mind.
Q: What makes this Resident Evil, Part 5, the scariest of all?
TJ Storm: I think because you care about the characters. I think because we shot it most like the film. I think there's going to be more investment from the game. Players in the characters and the situation, just looking at the graphics alone. You see the pores in the skin. It's amazing, and when you have that much humanity on screen. The stakes are higher, and I think because the stakes are higher the gamers are going to be even more involved in the characters and what happens to them.
Karen Dyer: It is definitely the creatures they are so, I mean, they're just so scary that does it for me. And I think to this game is has got to players now, whether you're playing by yourself. You still have to look out for your partner. And you still have to look out for your team member. And I think that gives you more responsibility and not only being a bad ass. Take care of your partner. And I think that makes it scary as well that you're looking out for somebody and you're responsible for another life.
Ken Lally: Like Karen said, you have to take care of your partner in that caring gives a responsibility to the player that makes you care even more about the characters that are well rendered the scenes in this are absolutely gorgeous. So you see beautiful skyline beautiful backgrounds and then you're seeing these great characters almost in lifelike 3-D. So not only do you get all these beautiful visuals, you have actually look after the person that you are with, because if they go down automatically you are going to get overrun, because you have no chance because you have to watch each other's back. The other thing is we are in a new backdrop, which is Africa this time. It's an unknown, and that unknown is what brings good fear. You don't know what to expect in this one. The last one was zombies. Zombies are kind of slow and Resident Evil's aren't and, what if the zombies were dogs? Dogs run, and that scared you. So this time, they said what if x and x is all about this game. You don't know what you're going to get. There's all kinds of cool stuff in this one. So that fear is brought well in this game, and they really, really play it. And Jim really, really brings it and just cause made it look beautiful solo stuff is absolutely amazing.
[End]