by Troy Rogers
Although fans of CSI: Miami are used to the heat
of crime scene investigations in Florida, guest
director Rob Zombie is taking David Caruso and
the CSI: Miami team to Los Angeles in the March
1 episode, "L.A.". On the heels of helming Halloween
II, Rob Zombie brings his blood and guts horror
style to the CSI franchise to shake things up
in "L.A.", as Horatio and Delko head to Los Angeles
after a secret from Jesse’s past may set a killer
free. Joining Rob Zombie in "L.A.", Zombie's wife,
Sheri Moon Zombie, plays a Los Angeles photographer
while the gritty William Forsythe takes on the
role of Los Angeles Police Chief, with Malcolm
McDowell in the role of a sleazy lawyer and Michael
Madsen playing a bodyguard to the murder suspect.
Ahead of the television directorial debut of Rob Zombie behind the lens of CSI: Miami, we caught up with Zombie to get his take on the differences between directing film and TV, how he pushed the envelope within the CSI confines of TV, and what it was like to work with both William Forsythe and Michael Madsen.
THE DEADBOLT: How did you approach the different pace and tone of TV as compared to your films?
ROB
ZOMBIE: Well, unfortunately the pace wasn't
that different, and for two reasons. One of
the things, the first A.D. [assistant director]
on a couple of my movies who works on CSI, he
was like, "You'll fit right in because the pace
of the show is not unlike the pace of your films."
You know, I've never had a really luxurious timeframe in which to make a movie. So the way they shoot CSI is really, really fast, faster than you make a movie but not outrageously faster. So I was kind of used to that. It's almost like run and gun, you know? Shoot it, done, moving on. Shoot it, done, moving on. So I was not that surprised by the pace, it was sort of what I was used to.
THE DEADBOLT: Was there anything you wanted to do in the episode that just wouldn't pass the FCC?
ZOMBIE: Well, not really. I mean, probably everything I wanted to do wouldn't pass. I didn't write the script. So right from there I think that the script was already something that was written that was already going to pass to begin with. But there were just little things here and there. I just deferred to someone on the show.
I was doing a scene with Michael Madsen, and Michael Madsen is like, "Can I be smoking a cigarette in this scene?" And I was like, "I don't know. Let's ask a producer." And they're like, "No, no, no. CBS has a - No smoking." So it was sort of always a weird little thing like that. Like someone would ask me, "Okay, this person is stabbed. How much blood should we use?" I go, "I don't know. As much as you can for TV." It was sort of things like that and I was actually kind of amazed at some of the things we did get away with.
THE DEADBOLT: What was it like having your wife and William Forsythe working with you on this project?
ZOMBIE:
It was great. I mean, it's always great with
people you know and friends. I had - besides
my wife and William Forsythe - Malcolm McDowell
and another actor, Jeff Phillips, who was from
Halloween II. So it's always great because -
especially when you have a very small timeframe
- the more you don't have any wild cards as
to what's going to happen the better. I mean,
that's why you see all directors do it. They
assemble their core group of actors that they
love and use a lot because it just becomes a
great way of working. So, once again, it was
that situation.
Other Conference Call Highlights:
Rob Zombie on why he jumped into filmmaking and whether it's something he wanted to do:
"It was something I always wanted to do for sure. It's like anything else. Growing up as a kid it seemed like this unattainable thing, like, "how do you get to do that?" As a kid I had this Super 8 camera and making your own movies in the backyard seemed like a far cry from going to Hollywood and making a movie. So it was always something I loved. You already know music is my thing, too. But obviously music is an easier thing to do because you can gather people, your friends, and start a band, and it seemed more attainable, at least then."
I mean, everyone's got Final Cut Pro on their computer and they own a video camera and they can put it on Youtube. So it's not quite as much of a mystery as it seemed thirty years ago. But yeah, it was just really that. My real segue into filmmaking was through music videos. I started making them for myself and for other people. I made them for Ozzy and other people and that was a good training ground for the reality of the world of making films and that led to the first feature film.
Zombie on if there's anything in a film that makes him sick to his stomach:
"No. Very rarely do I see stuff. To be honest, there's only been one film in a long time that's ever really bothered me and that was a movie called Irreversible. That was just because the violence and the things in the film were so intense and so real. But most of the time my brain knows it's not real, so it doesn't really bother me. I've always felt that way.
Zombie on whether the crime genre is a natural extension of horror or if CSI: Miami was completely different:
"It wasn't really a completely different experience because I love movies and I really love crime movies. I mean, if I could direct a crime style movie I would jump at the chance, because I realize that's really a genre I love to death. So, no. In fact, I actually was hoping it would seem more different than it was. But at the same time, I think they wanted me to come in and do some of my things. So it really wasn't that difficult of a transition because you approach everything the same. You're just doing dramatic scenes with actors, and this and that, so it was cool.
Zombie on working with Michael Madsen on CSI: Miami:
"Michael
Madsen and I have had sort of a phone type relationship
for years, just talking on the phone every once
in awhile. I had a radio show and he'd come
on the radio show and we would always sort of
talk about working together but nothing ever
came up. He really doesn't do TV. He only did
it just so we could finally work together. So
it was great and it was a pleasure to have him
on the set. He worked about three days, which
in a nine day schedule is quite a bit. But he
was awesome and he's terrific in the episode
and I would love to work with him in the future
for sure."
On the fun aspects of CSI: Miami as compared to CSI and CSI: NY
"Well, it's a very odd show. What I found interesting about it, what I wanted to do with it, is it's very stylized. It is almost campy but not quite. It sort of rides a fine line. It's just so heavily stylized. What I found interesting about this episode by breaking out of Miami and taking the characters to L.A., I actually wanted to break some of that stylization so it would seem different. So we sort of have the Miami segments, which are very CSI stylized, and the L.A. segments, which are a little bit different. So yeah, that was one of the attractions to the show.
