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» Articles » Interviews » Q & As: Lochlyn Munro & Poppy Montgomery (August 24 1998; by Sean Dyke)

Dead Heads

Newcomers Poppy Montgomery and Lochlyn Munro star in the new movie Dead Man on Campus, a movie that comically reaffirms the old college myth: Any student gets straight A's if his roommate commits suicide. They talk about what it was like working on MTV's follow-up to Beavis and Butthead and also discuss how making this film was their big chance to finally attend college.

I want to begin by having you guys to talk a little bit about the movie. Tell us about your target audience.

POPPY: Well, specifically, we're aiming this toward high school and college kids.

LOCHLYN: I think the demographics of the movie are probably between 18 and 25. That's the age group they're really trying to market. And with that whole sort of MTV crowd, even the younger kids will enjoy it. I think, obviously, they want to bring out another movie that could be almost like a college cult film, like Animal House or PCU or something. It will appeal to anybody in college. And even people who aren't going to college, not that it will change their perception of it, but they'll enjoy the movie and look forward to running into all kinds of crazy people and doing crazy things.

What kind of influence did MTV have on the movie?

LOCHLYN: Well, I think being an MTV co-production is important. The crossover promotion with Paramount is great, because of the target audience. It's crucial to have a cool soundtrack. MTV was able to bring in the Dust Brothers and do a soundtrack that is hip and fun. It's just a no-brainer promotion campaign that MTV is part of the movie. And that's our crowd. Those are the people who hopefully will go out and see the movie. Hopefully, word of mouth will bring in a different generation as well. There might even be people out there in their 30s who want to get back [to college] and have a good laugh. Maybe this movie will remind them of going to college, like they might be able to relate their experiences.

How do you feel about the movie rating?

LOCHLYN: We're R-rated, but you know....

POPPY: We are?

LOCHLYN: Yeah, but it's R-rated because there's a few swear words in there. I think the R rating of the movie is a little, sort of...

POPPY: ...harsh.

LOCHLYN: Yeah. I really don't agree with it. I really don't think it deserved an R-rating, but you know, the way people are nowadays with things... you say s--t, you get an R rating. So, I hope people don't take that into too much context, because, really, it's a high jinks comedy, it's a lot of fun, and I think kids from the age of 15 and up will really enjoy it.

Anything surprisingly easy or difficult about the filming?

POPPY: No, but there was this big frat house next to us and these guys were total party animals. I mean, it was the whole "underwear on the head-keggers" thing. We were shooting a party scene at a vacant frat house, next door to this one, but the frat party was way bigger than our movie's party.

LOCHLYN: They just happened to pick this vacant frat house beside the craziest frat house on the campus. I mean, we'd come to work at seven in the morning and these guys are out playing with a beer-bong and drinking kegs.

POPPY: Yeah, beer. It was crazy, and they were all like, "Let's party!"

LOCHLYN: Poppy and I were lucky, because Poppy, being the babe in the movie, and my character, being the crazy frat house guy, were always invited. We were always invited [to parties].

So, did you actually hang out and party with those guys at all?

POPPY: I didn't have time, at that point, because we had to work, but we would have. We got to hang out with them a little bit, but these guys go a lot harder than I could have gone.

LOCHLYN: We jammed our schedule like that. We were only there for two and a half weeks, and then the rest of the movie was done on soundstages in L.A.

Did either of you go to college?

POPPY: I didn't go to college.

So, acting has been your school?

POPPY: Yeah, and that's part of the reason I did this film. That was my college. When I got the part, I was like, "Cool, I get to go to college. Groovy college."

LOCHLYN: I actually grew up in Canada and I moved away from home when I was 15 to play semi-pro hockey. I took some college classes while I did that, but I never really went. But, I think with playing hockey, I sort of developed the frat-type camaraderie with my teammates. Being on the road reminded me of being in college, and about moving away and sort of being initiated into adulthood. And I kind of had that all, doing what I was doing with my hockey team.

Judging from the movie, you guys looked like you enjoyed your pseudo-college careers. It looked like you had a good time.

POPPY: Oh, yeah, it was cool. We had a blast.

Was there anything special about working with MTV? Any plusses? Did they treat you any better than you'd been treated before?

POPPY: It's just a young, hip atmosphere.

Does MTV have a lot of young, creative executives and crew members working for them?

POPPY: Yeah, they were mostly young. It was a lot of fun. We actually went and shot [the movie] at the beach house. We had the whole beach house scene, the daily parties and all that stuff.

LOCHLYN: Yeah, it was cool.

POPPY: We were actually more like the guests and there were all these people with TV cameras and monitors and things... walking all around, following us.

LOCHLYN: And people dancing around us.

POPPY: Dancing around us and I'm not wearing a bikini... forget it.

LOCHLYN: All these people were nuts. I mean, it was a little crazy. I was sort of comfortable with it because they reminded me of my hockey friends in Canada, but I was keeping my eye out to make sure Poppy was all right.

POPPY: I got beer spilled on my head and got knocked in the head with a beach ball.

LOCHLYN: But she was a trooper. As far the film goes, MTV and Paramount were both really cool with the fact that we all got to bring what we wanted to the script. A lot of times, you do a studio feature and there's a lot of people you have to go through before you can change dialogue in a scene, but they [MTV] were cool about it. We'd always lay it down [what was written] and then Alan Cohn, the director, who has a zany, insane sense of humor, would let us work on things. He's the type of guy who created a lot of fun on the set and let us all bring what we wanted to the overall feel of the movie.

So, we had a lot of fun. The cast members were all very creative. There was no ego on our set, and everyone was there to try and make a fun movie. We had a good time on the set working together.

Do you think the main characters of Dead Man on Campus, Josh and Cooper, are destined for success or doomed to failure?

POPPY: Good question.

LOCHLYN: I think they're destined for success. I mean, everyone at that age has their problems. Like I said, it's your initiation into adulthood and you're just testing the waters and throwing stuff out. I mean, they're only 20 years old, so, that success in life comes with a little bit of charisma and a little bit of abstract thinking.

So, what kind of projects do you guys have on the horizon? What's coming up?

LOCHLYN: Well, I did the movie with the "Saturday Night Live" guys called A Night at the Roxbury, which comes out in October. It's based on a skit. The guys are at the clubs and always hitting on chicks. And then, at the end of this month, I'm doing a movie up in Canada with Norm Macdonald. And if you have 20 minutes or so, Poppy will tell you about the projects she has coming up.

Sure, I'd like to hear what she has to say.

POPPY: I just did a Disney movie with Diane Keaton, who plays my mom, and Juliette Lewis. Garry Marshall directed it and its called The Other Sister. It opens, I think, next year. And then I did a movie right after that with Eddie Murphy. It also opens next year. And I just finished a film called This Space Between Us with an actor named Jeremy Sisto also opening next year.

LOCHLYN: A good year, next year.

POPPY: Three movies open.

LOCHLYN: That's why I'm being very nice to her. Because I want to play her boyfriend or her husband.... 'Cause I know that right now, she's a little standoffish with the way my character comes across in this movie, so I'm trying to win her over.

[source: roughcut.com]

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