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» Articles » Interviews » A Peek Behind the Scenes of "Dead Man on Campus" (August 1998; by Alan Black)

The oldest campus myth in history hits the big screen on August 21. That date marks the opening of Dead Man on Campus, a twisted comedy about two college students who literally turn their academics into a matter of life and death.

Tom Everett Scott (That Thing You Do!) and Mark-Paul Gosselaar (Zack on Saved by the Bell) are Josh and Cooper, two freshmen--one a bookworm, the other a party hound--who soon find themselves facing certain failure. Salvation takes the form of a clause in the school's charter: any student whose roommate commits suicide gets straight A's for the term. What to do? Find some nut, move him in, and get him to kill himself before finals begin, of course!

Lochlyn Munro (Unforgiven, Wagons East) plays Cliff, an energetic wacko who becomes the pair's first mark, while Poppy Montgomery (Devil in a Blue Dress) is Rachel, the object of Josh's affections. I met with them recently to talk about the making of the film.

AB (To LM): You seemed to have a lot of fun playing the role of the all-out psychopath.

LM: I had a good opportunity to go into an area with a character I'd never explored before. I had a lot of fun doing it--just trying to bring as much energy to it as I could and letting the director, Alan Cohn, shape it and mold it the way he felt it should come across.

AB: Did you have to do anything to work yourself up to going all out like that?

LM: There were times when I wouldn't quite get to where I needed to go, and the director would help me keep my focus and my motivation for [Cliff] to be that way. It wasn't about being scary and psychotic; it was about the fact that he did everything with this sort of boyish fun.

AB (To PM): Rachel is sort of the middle of the road between Josh's initial all-out fervor for studying and Cooper's complete hedonism. How did you get used to playing down the middle?

PM: It was easy for me because I had such talented actors on either side doing huge comedic things that were so funny. So I really just had to do nothing other than basically say my lines and it was okay (Laughs) ...just reacting to what was going on around me. And I liked being the voice of reason, the conscience of Josh.

LM: Plus you need your token babe, man! (PM laughs)

PM: You know, Lochlyn, I'm going to have to kick your ass. (To AB) One more "token babe" joke and he's getting it big time--boom! (Makes as if to hit LM)

AB: What, has this been going on?

PM: We always play with each other. We're like brother and sister; we love each other, really.

LM: It's a love-hate thing. (Laughs)

AB: One of the results of playing you two off against one another is the scene where [Cliff] sets [Rachel's] friend's hair on fire... (To PM) When that happened, did you start to think anything along the lines of, "My God, have these people completely lost their minds?" (PM laughs)

PM: No, no. I thought it was one of the funniest scenes in the movie.

LM: There were times in that scene, though, that Poppy and the other girls--because they hadn't really worked with me yet until that day--I think they kind of looked across at us on the bed, and there was a little bit of fear in Poppy's eyes when I started doing my antics! (Laughs)

PM: Oh, my God, I couldn't even keep a straight face!

LM: We all had a lot of fun in there working together.

AB (To LM): With everything you got into, I was thinking back to Robin Williams in Good Morning Vietnam, when he was in the DJ booth. In the final takes, they pretty much turned him loose completely. Was all your stuff written out, or did they let you have free rein like that?

LM: We definitely did takes that were on the script, and we went into a whole bunch of different areas as far as me trying to create what I felt would help the character of Cliff. Alan Cohn and the rest of the people at MTV and Paramount were very receptive to a lot of the ideas that I brought to my character and Poppy brought to hers, and Tom and Mark-Paul as well.

AB: Is there perhaps a little bit of Cliff in the real Lochlyn Munro? (LM laughs)

LM: There's not a whole bunch of Cliff in me. Maybe sometimes my energy level is pretty high; I enjoy people and I like to have a lot of fun. But as far as the wildness and craziness of Cliff--

PM: He's really a sweet, down-to-earth guy. He's not at all like [Cliff]; he's not crazy! (Laughs)

LM (To PM): I'm trying to set up an image here!

PM: Oh, come on-- (To AB) He's a gentle, sweet guy, and not that loud, either, which is kind of astonishing because when you see him in the film, it kind of blows you away.

LM: There are little things about me, but I guess Poppy's right--there's not a lot of myself there. I had a lot of fun just creating a character and using people that I've known as far as my athletic background and other people that I've met.

AB (To PM): Now you seemed to enjoy playing the voice of reason. Have you known people like Josh on one hand, and Cooper on the other, that helped you build it up?

PM: Yeah. Also, the character of Rachel is completely different from who I am. I'm really not the voice of reason--ever! (Laughs)

LM: There's the wild one right there!

PM: I think it's easy to play opposite to yourself, sort of going in other directions.

AB: In terms of the leading players--when you found out whom you were working with, what went through your minds? Did you think, "Man, I've got to live up to these people"?

PM: No. Lochlyn and I have both worked with exceptional people...I think of them as the people I'm working with, like in any job.

LM: It's not so much intimidation or what they expect; it's more like, "Hey, there's some creative people in this movie," and that's why you want to work with them.

PM: Even when I worked with Diane Keaton just recently, it was the same thing. I admired her work, and I was glad to be working with her. It's not like an awe thing.

LM: It's more of an excitement from the fact that if you enjoy someone's work, it brings your energy level up. Mark-Paul is someone I've known, not only from Saved by the Bell, but also through an athletic background, so I was excited for him because he wanted to get away from that image...As far as Tom, his work in That Thing You Do! was great. And I knew Poppy from the show Relativity, so it was exciting for me and I enjoyed the project right from when I read it.

AB: Did you two really have an idea of what you were getting into when you signed on for this?

PM: I was well aware of what I was getting into. It actually exceeded my expectations because Lochlyn was so funny and Mark-Paul and Tom worked so well together.

LM: I think the movie turned out to be more than anyone really expected, even the people at Paramount...It's been so well received by everyone who's already screened it that I don't think we were prepared or it or for the fact that people would really relate to each of the characters. We're really hoping that the kids it's marketed for go out and enjoy themselves and have a good time. And if it turns into a bit of a cult college movie, then that would be pretty cool as well.

Will this film wind up alongside, say, Animal House? On August 21, you can decide for yourself when Dead Man on Campus opens in theaters.

[source: gatech.edu]

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