One Missed Call – Ed Burns

Staci Layne Wilson reporting

Q: What are you shooting today?

Ed Burns: Today, it’s sort of near the end of the movie, Shannon’s running through the hall, I jump out to help her, she gets scared and some other weird shit happens. Whatever the bad force is throws some people around the hospital, including me. That’s about the extent of it. No real heavy lifting acting-wise.

Q: Is this your first horror movie as an actor?

Burns: Yeah, you know, I didn’t know what to expect going into it, because I wouldn’t say I’m not a fan of the genre, I’m not familiar with the genre. I’ve seen obviously the classics, so I’m having actually a really good time. I think it’s because Shannon’s great and very funny, and fun to work with, and Eric [the director] is such a good filmmaker and you know you’re in such safe hands. My one fear going into this thing was okay, it’s a horror movie, what kind of goofy shit am I going to be asked to do? Am I going to end up looking like an idiot screaming my head off? And fortunately, there’s been none of that. I mean, we have four days left, so I think I’m safe.

Q: Have you seen the crawlspace they’ve been building?

Burns: I have not. They save that for the last week.

Q: What drew you to taking the role?

Burns: It really was seeing Eric’s film. I knew that he made it for a half a billion dollars. Coming from the low-budget world, I took a look at what he was able to do given those restraints, and I was like, “Okay, this guy with money is going to make a very interesting film.” Then my agent sent me the script, and again, not being familiar with the genre really, went and rented “The Ring”, took a look at that and thought that was good and scary, this kind of feels like the same thing, and that was it. I mean, my whole approach with my acting career is I always look for genres or films that I never would do as a filmmaker. So I would never do a horror film, and that was kind of excited about coming and doing it.

Q: Who’s your character? Are you playing the police detective?

Burns: I play the detective, yeah. Have you guys seen the original? I have not. No, I don’t want to watch it [until I’m done]. I’m going to watch it on Thursday.

Q: Will there be a cast and crew screening of the original movie maybe, once you're all done here?

Burns: I’m fortunate, I get to watch it in the comfort of my trailer.

Q: Do you wear a trenchcoat?

Burns: There is no trenchcoat in this thankfully. My character is considerably different from the character in the original. He actually has some dialogue, and he doesn’t smoke.

Q: What’s been the strangest thing you’ve had to do in terms of dealing with the effects?

Burns: You know, my character… I get stabbed in the eye and that’s no different than getting shot in a film or something like that. You know, it’s so choreographed and just grabbing little tiny pieces, so there’s nothing really exciting or thrilling to tell you about that experience. I guess today or tomorrow will be the first day my character deals with any of the special effects in the movie. I’m usually showing up right after the kids have been killed, so… he’s the investigator.

Q: Have you been on set the whole seven weeks?

Burns: Yeah, yeah…

Q: How is the movie being shot? Not in sequence?

Burns: Yeah, like most productions, it’s more location dependent than anything else. You’d have to ask one of the producers or Eric if they do the locations, do they try to knock off certain things. Clearly, this was saved for the last week with good reason. Some people like to tackle the most difficult stuff at the head of the show or the end of the show. Rarely, does that thing happen in the middle when everyone’s kinda draggin’ ass.

Q: Have you been down here the whole time?

Burns: No, I shoot home at every opportunity. Not that I don’t love Atlanta, but I have kids. We have friends that live down here so we come down a fair amount during the years.

Q: How does Eric get the best out of you?

Burns: Well, the good thing he’s smart and he recognizes that given the genre, there are certain thing that we need to do that actors might not be so comfortable doing… screaming would be sort of #1 on the list. So what he’s done is anytime, if there’s a moment, and again most of my scenes with Shannon, that he can see we’re not entirely comfortable, he recognizes that usually means there’s a problem within the screenplay, whether it’s a line of dialogue or a physical action that’s asked of us given the script. And then collectively, we’ll work on it together to try to figure out how do we make this feel more like a real film that’s scary, as opposed to just satisfying the other requirements of the genre.

Q: Last time I saw you, I was visiting the set of “Purple Violets” in Washington Square Park last year. Did you finish the movie yet?

Burns: I should see my first final answer [in] print when I get home and if all goes well, we go to Sundance in January, at least that’s the plan. We’ll start talking to those guys in two weeks.

Q: Are you able to finish that movie and plan the next movie while doing the acting stuff?

Burns: No, you know, the editing process, the first couple months are pretty intense but after that, it kind of slows down a little bit. I have a good draft done of the thing I’m going to do next and I’m working on it here sporadically. When I get home, October will sort of be when I really buckle down and try to get it done.

Q: This being a ghost movie and though you’re not a fan of the genre, do you have any favorite films?

Burns: well, the one that Eric and I talked about aspiring to make was “Rosemary’s Baby.” How do you make a smart thriller, horror film like that, obviously who wouldn’t want to aspire to make that film. Polanski is a guy anyone would love to work with and Eric’s kind of got that in mind. I also like the kind of Cassavetes connection, being a writer/director/indie filmmaker who worked as an actor to subsidize that film career, which is sort of something I’ve done. So “Rosemary’s Baby” is something I was hoping for. But you know, like I said, what have I seen, quite honestly? I guess “The Ring” is the only horror movie I’ve seen in the modern horror era.

Q: But a favorite ghost movie?

Burns: Not “Ghost.” (laughs) I mean, certainly the classics… “The Shining” is brilliant.. “Don’t Look Now” is kind of fun and kitchy, and given the little girl who stabs me in the eye, that film resonated. What else? Yeah, I’m sort of the wrong guy for the genre, but I think that’s a good thing as an actor, that I’m only coming in with no idea to what others have done in this role.

Q: You also have “The Holiday” coming out soon, and was Shannon also in that movie?

Burns: Yeah, but we didn’t work together and we never met.

Q: Any interesting stories to share from doing that movie?

Burns: Not really. We’re both sort of bit players in that movie, so we were in and out in no time, but we both enjoyed working with Nancy [Meyers], she was hysterical and really fun.

Q: That’s more in the vein of stuff  you do as a filmmaker, being a romantic comedy.

Burns: Yeah, yeah, yeah…

Q: Has there been ample time for rehearsal between you and Shannon?

Burns: Yeah, we got in a little early, we rehearsed for a couple days with Eric. I mean, Shannon and I are both very easy-going so we kind of fell into Beth and Jack pretty easily. Eric’s approach to working with actors, it’s hands-off to a point. The filmmakers who I’ve worked with who are my favorites are the guys that recognize, give the actors some room, let them do their thing, and then, if it’s not quite working, then you step in and just gently push them in the direction you need them to go. And that’s kind of Eric’s approach.  So for us, we kind of fell in pretty easily. The good thing is that we’re laughing on the set right before the takes, and then it’s time to go scared, so it’s been kind of fun, easygoing, light experience, given the fact that people are dying all around us.

Q: Most people in horror movies say that it’s always light…

Burns: I think they have to be.

Q: In the original movie, your character is sort of mocked by the rest of the police force and has to do his own thing, is that the same in this remake?

Burns: He’s not really mocked, but Margaret [Cho] plays a real bitch who…she kind of belittles me a little bit, but doesn’t quite.. it’s not like a mocking thing going on. Because my sister is one of the first victims, so she assumes that I’m just a little off, given that I’m in mourning.

Q: Given this is your first horror movie, how do you approach the concept of fear?

Burns: Well, fortunately…. I shouldn’t say fortunately… I’m the cop, so I’m supposed to be a little bit more heroic then the college co-eds around me. I have to lead the charge into battle, so my character doesn’t really wrestle with fear. The one thing I’ve had to do is sort of the mourning in these couple scenes, where I have to identify my sister’s body, back in my apartment I come across a photograph of her, so that’s been sort of the toughest bit of acting in this film. The rest of it quite honestly, I have a lot of CSI scenes, rattling off facts, looking concerned, getting evidence, staring around dark creepy rooms, asking question. I do a lot of stating the obvious, as well, for the audience. They need someone like me in this kind of movie.  (laughter)

Q: Did they come to you to do this or did you find this project through your agent?

Burns: I don’t know. Shannon and I have the same agent, I think that’s how it came about. He gave me the script, I spoke to Eric and next thing I knew, I was on a plane to Atlanta.