Midnight Movie: A Novel (39 page)

A Conversation with Tobe Hooper

Tell us about your
real
“lost” 1969 film
, Eggshells,
and describe its screening at the South by Southwest Festival forty years later
.

In the late sixties, there were a lot of movies coming out of Hollywood that were supposed to be about hippies—
Easy Rider
, which came out in 1969, is a good example—but even though some of them were quite good, the film hippies weren’t anything like any real-life hippies I knew, so I wanted to make something that reflected my own experience. When it screened at SXSW, it was terrific to be seeing it with an audience after all those years, and the response was both positive and gratifying. And for the record, nobody contracted any virus from seeing the film. At least as far as I know.

Were you really in a car wreck when you were a teenager
?

Yes, a serious one. To this day I can’t even remember having gotten out of bed that morning. The pain was horrible, obviously, but one of the creepiest things about it was the memory loss. The whole incident was a big blank, and the concept of blankness is flat-out frightening—not knowing what did or didn’t happen in any given situation is a mind-fuck—which is why we made that forgetfulness a theme throughout
Midnight Movie
.

In
Midnight Movie,
you’re portrayed as a loner. Is that the truth
?

Yes and no. Don’t get me wrong. I like people. Working on a movie set with a good crew always gets me jazzed, and I love going to conventions and meeting my fans … but I do like my
alone time. I’m not quite the hermit that I am in the book, but I sure dig staying in.

Is there really any Tobe Hooper memorabilia in a creepy film museum
?

My house was robbed while I was out of town a couple years ago and a lot of my memorabilia was stolen … not all of it, but a good chunk. That event was the inspiration for putting the museum in the book. And if anybody does see any of my stuff in some weird museum, call the cops!

What is it about zombies that you find intriguing
?

Part of it is that they’re dead and alive at the same time, and the dichotomy gives you a lot to play with in terms of the story. Also, since zombie mythology isn’t as templated as that of, say, vampires, you have more room to stretch. And it’s always fun to write about a creature that’s pure id, who has no motives other than a hunger for brains.

In the book, you’re described as being obsessed with moviemaking when you were still in high school. How old were you when you decided you wanted to make movies
?

I was barely out of the womb when I was bitten by the film bug. All I ever remember wanting to do was make movies, and director/writer is the only job I’ve ever had.

What was it about the medium that was so attractive to you
?

I think the most interesting thing about film is that it’s limitless. You can do anything you can imagine, and because of that, it
always is a challenge, and it always will be a challenge, so I have a job for life.

Do you think your fans will follow you from the screen to the page
?

I certainly hope so. These days, horror fans seem to be more open to more forms of literature than they were when
Chainsaw
hit—graphic novels, long-form books, etc.—and I feel confident that this book, which I think is quite cinematic, will be embraced.

Does this book reflect any frustrations you actually feel toward Hollywood
?

Hollywood is a magical place where unicorns dance under rainbows, and everybody loves everybody, and everyone speaks the truth at all times. How could I ever get frustrated with that?

Why a book, and why now
?

It’s something I’ve wanted to do for a long time, and when my talented cowriter, Alan Goldsher, suggested we work together, I jumped. I’m as proud of this book as I am of any of my movies, and I could absolutely see doing it again. In fact, I have a fucked-up idea brewing as we speak.

About the Authors

TOBE HOOPER is the director of numerous movies but remains best known for the genre-defining
Texas Chainsaw Massacre
, which spawned one of the highest grossing horror-movie franchises of all time.

ALAN GOLDSHER is the author, most recently, of the acclaimed Beatles-horror mashup
Paul Is Undead: The British Zombie Invasion
.