Winnie the Pooh.Popeye.Steamboat Willie.
Why is that, and what is it like behind the scenes?
To get those answers, io9 spoke with Steven LaMorte.
Steamboat Willie gets the horror treatment in Screamboat.Image: Sklae Lorand
Check out the interview below.
This interview was edited for length and clarity.
I dont know what it was going to be, but we knew we were going to do something.
Steven LaMonte editingScreamboatin an exclusive image – Sklae Lorand
And I was really struggling to figure out what that project was going to be.
My wife said, Well, dont worry about characters or IP or any of that stuff.
Whats a story youve always wanted to tell?
Screamboatdirector Steven LaMorte on set with his mouse – Sklae Lorand
So I said, Lets dust that concept off and see if theres something there.
Im from New York City.
And then it became clear thatSteamboat Williewas next up.
Allie Seibold, Stephanie Bates, Kailey Hyman, Savannah Whitten, and Poonam Basu inScreamboat– Sklae Lorand
So theres no way theyre going to let him go into the public domain.
And doing my ferry history research, the Staten Island Ferry was once powered by steam.
Its like a perfect mix.
The poster forScreamboat– Sleight of Hand
And you set it with the backdrop of the greatest city in the world, New York City.
Like what could be better?
io9: Yes, exactly.
And we know theres at least one other movie like this.
At that point, does it become a race?
Do you follow those other movies and does it matter if you are first?
Im curious if thats a consideration when youre looking for financing and all that kind of stuff.
LaMorte: I dont know if its a race per se.
Something that really honored the character and did it justice.
Because we didnt want to do aSteamboat Willie-inspired film that loosely follows the design.
So it wasnt critical to us that it came out first.
What mattered was that we did it right and that we were really proud of the film we made.
io9: So what is the line?
Is there anything you cant do legally?
And how closely, and at what steps, are the lawyers involved with the process?
Also is there something you tried to do but maybe couldnt?
LaMorte:Well, I mean, I dont want to go into anything that we couldnt do.
Because some of it will surprise you.
And if we spend more money on legal, maybe we can do it in the future.
So I wont go into that.
And then really just looking at it and making sure that were following the letter of the law.
That were not violating the trademark or trying to create confusion in the marketplace.
We dont want kids to see the movie.
We dont want people to think this is Mickey Mouse.
We dont want people to think this is officially sanctioned by any big corporation.
Anything else that sort of tows the line is more: Is it a loving homage?
Did we change it slightly?
io9: [Laughs] Right.
LaMorte:Its a lot of things like that.
But in the context of this world, were like, Ah, yes, Disney does not exist.
Therefore, everything is fair game.
io9: Oh, cool.
LaMorte:Thats right.
And it was important, especially afterThe Mean One,a lot of people saidThe Mean Onecouldnt be done.
Id been pitching that movie for 10 years.
You should not do that.
But I didnt get anywhere in life by playing it safe, right?
And were willing to put that work in.
So the guidelines didnt end up being a limitation as much as a reminder to stick to the script.
Now, this might be an obvious one, but Im still curious what your perspective is.
Is it just because it is so 180 degrees from what we know?
You could say, from a business standpoint, theres always money to be made in horror, right?
Thats brand recognition, right?
Many people say they want original stories but when they know a character, it creates a curiosity factor.
We have this connection.
But theres not a lot of Steamboat Willie content out there thats geared towards an older audience.
And Im not watching cartoons anymore…
The nostalgia has reawakened in me.
And hes like, All right, what do you want me to do first?
Hes just so cute.
The teeth and the claws, his eyes are black.
And I mean, Davids super nice.
And hes just fluffy and furry and hes executed so beautifully that the crew started lining up.
Im like, Guys, Im gonna have to start charging for these pictures.
We have to shoot the movie like were burning through time.
So I think the inclination towards horror, theres certainly a financial side to it.
But I also think, we love horror, we love these characters, and the nostalgia hits differently.
Horror is such a fun way to reconnect with something you loved.
Reconnect withSteamboat Willie, if you dare, whenScreamboathits theaters April 2.Learn more here.
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