What were the grindhouse pictures that influenced Planet Terror?
MS: While Robert is obviously a fan of films like Escape From New York and The Thing, he is also a big fan of the 1940s Screwball comedies, like the old Howard Hawks pictures. He told me once that he had always wanted to do a Screwball comedy and a zombie movie, so he decided to marry the two into what he dubbed “Gore-Ball” comedy, and that is what he was attempting with Planet Terror. This is especially the case in the scenes with El Ray and Cherry. The dialogue is rapid fire, with witty banter that plays off each actor’s words, which was a classic staple of Screw Ball comedies. With Planet Terror Robert has done his own version of that with zombies. MT: Did you have any scenes like that? MS: I had more physical comedy. In the sequence following the scene where Josh Brolin has shot up my hands with anesthetics, I have to try to escape from zombies without the use of my hands. Robert directed me to play this scene as if it was from a silent movie. MT: Rodriguez is known for his love of
