SDCC 2015: Backstreet Boys’ Nick and Lauren Carter, B-Horror’s New Power Couple on ‘Dead Seven’
Do a quick Google image search for “Voltron pilots.” Without knowing who any of them are, could you tell what role each one of them filled? That principle applies to all music groups, and the ’90s pop boy bands are no exception. Within the Backstreet Boys, the ones who shaped that era’s image of pop, Nick Carter filled a singular role: the pretty boy. He had golden blonde hair, crystal eyes, and a smile that shook the knees of teen girls everywhere.
He was also nerdy. How nerdy? “He’s always been that kid that doodles,” said fellow Backstreet Boy A.J. McLean of Nick. “It’s because of his little doodling that we did a comic book years ago with Stan Lee. He’s just, he’s like a big kid. He’ll always be that way.”
It’s true — the Backstreet Boys totally did a comic with Stan Lee, and it even spawned a line of Burger King toys.
“I think this is going to be like playtime for him,” added McLean.
Nick has always been trying to get a horror movie off the ground, but troubles plagued production. “It’s taken so many different turns,” says Nick. “The script that I originally had done when I did the Indiegogo Campaign with Evil Blessings … We were able to gain interest in me making a movie in the first place. Obviously I wanted the fans to be involved and see that I had this dream in the first place.”
And then, tragedy struck. The original director attached to the project passed away. Respectfully, Nick moved on. “I said, you know what, there’s some bad juju on this thing, so I put it to bed and I started with Dead West, which was another screenplay that I had which was more of the zombie/western based in the 1800s. It was in my opinion, a much better script and I was glad we went back to it actually. Lauren was a fan of it.”
Lauren Carter, Nick’s wife. A stunning woman with an Amazonian presence, she’s a fitness instructor, model, and one of the stars of Dead Seven, now renamed from Dead West. I can’t remember if she’s taller than me, but I know that she can fold me into a pretzel within a nanosecond.
Nick describes the hardships of getting Dead Seven off the ground. “At that point I was sending it out to a bunch of people and they were liking it. I was getting a lot of good feedback and the people were saying this is a good script. It’s better than Evil Blessings, let’s bring this to The Asylum. My attorney introduced me to them and from that point the minute that I sat down and had the meeting with them, it just clicked.”
The Asylum is true to their name. They’re loonies, in a surprisingly good way. (Check back later for a link for my interview with them.) They kind of need to be crazy to produce faux-grindhouse fare like the Sharknado movies.
“With all their success with Z Nation … they specialize in zombies and they specialize in making B movies, but at the same time, not taking them too serious and they were having a lot of success and we just kicked it off.” This is Nick’s baby, and he talks it up like a proud parent. “They gave all these cool ideas and remarks on the script and direction that they thought I could go that could be better than what it was. [So] I said let’s do this.”
For Nick, it was a long time coming. “It took so long and it was sad for me because I was like, ‘Oh God, is this ever going to happen?’ It was a weight on my shoulder for so many years. Thankfully, we met Asylum. Thankfully, the relationship clicked and here we are.”
Here we are indeed, at the 2015 San Diego Comic-Con. I sat down with Nick and Lauren Carter, two intimidatingly beautiful people who seem intent on making their mark in a world that, on the surface, wouldn’t welcome them. But Nick, for all his pretty boy looks, is pretty damn nerdy. If there’s anyone from that era of MTV pop music to do it, it could be him.
Of all the times to make a movie, why is now the time for you to do it?
Nick: I think number one, if you’ve never done it before, you have to earn the respect from people.
Lauren: He also doesn’t have the time.
Nick: The time, yes.
Lauren: A two and half year world tour…
Nick: Yes.
Nick: The time was hard but now is the right time. After 176 shows and I have some time off and we can move forward now.
Who are your director influences? Specifically for this movie but also overall. Did you study anyone in particular?
Nick: There’s a lot of hats that I wanted to wear in this project and I still will wear them but the most important ones right now are the creative writing and that part just making sure that the screen play and the world that we’re going to live in is what I see. Directing was part of it but it’s not the most important. The acting part is more important than directing at the moment. I want to find a director that actually sees the same vision. That’s why The Asylum is going to be able to do that and we’ve had that conversation.
As far as the worlds that the director and director writer I care in, and the directors that I respect, Quentin Tarantino, number one, hands down. A lot of this movie, the western, and quirkiness that I hope the script turns out to be, is like From Dusk ‘Till Dawn. I love that movie. That’s one of my favorite movies ever. Stanley Kubrick [too], I love Stanley Kubrick.
I love 2001: A Space Odyssey.
Nick: Obviously all those guys.
Lauren: Christopher Nolan.
Nick: I like Nolan. Ridley Scott [too].
Could you tell me a little bit about the world you’re trying to create?
Nick: The world originally was based in the 1800s. I’m a huge fan of western movies and grew up with Pale Rider or I was with my dad and we would watch Pale Rider, what else was the other thing?
Lauren: Blazing Saddles?
Nick: No, not Blazing. A Few Dollars More. All the old westerns. Spaghetti westerns, I love those movies. Then, I’m a science-fiction person as well. I love sci-fi but the world that it’s in is now gone from the 1800s to the future. We decided to make it post-apocalyptic which I think would be [better] because it’s unfortunate but western movies are… Oh, the other movie I love too is Young Guns, which was really influential in this movie as well, Young Guns. But yes, we just basically made this post-apocalyptic and in the future, but we’re still going to have the core element of the western. It’s going to be a zombie, western, futuristic horror movie.
Lauren: I think it’s a new era that we haven’t seen before in a horror film in mock post-apocalyptic modern western.
Nick: They want the modern aspect to be implemented because our fan base. It’s unfortunate but when it comes to western movies it’s really United States-based. We have a big fan base worldwide. We really want to make sure that we cater to our fans as well, that’s why.
Tell me about your [Lauren] role in the film because we don’t really know much about it. That teaser was amazing.
Lauren: I’m one of the “Dead Seven,” the renegades hired to help clean this town up and rid this town of zombies. It’s like a steampunk: Taking something that was industrialized, breaking it apart and creating something new. It’s taking the old and mixing it with the new. My outfit is going to reflect that. It’s going to be something deconstructed and put back together and then my character is just one of a strong woman.
Nick: Like a bad-ass.
Lauren: Like a Charlize Theron in Mad Max type.
How does it feel to be directed by Nick? Nick, are you going to be a director?
Nick: I’m going to be involved in the directing obviously, but not [totally].
Lauren: Very bossy. [laughs]
Is that a new element of the relationship?
Lauren: No. It’s mine. I like working with him. It’s fun and we just like being together and spending time together. It’s cool to mix the two worlds.
What’s your [Nick] character?
Nick: My character is still being fished out right now. I’m a good guy. It’s hard. I’m a hero. I’m going to be one of the heroes. Initially, there was two friends or brothers that are actually fighting over a girl in the movie but we don’t know if that’s necessarily going to be it.
There’s going to probably be some inner triangle going on more personal. Right now definitely a good guy that’s going to help save the day.
What are the other pop stars that could be in Dead Seven?
Nick: One of the people that I actually spoke to was Devon Sawa.
No way.
Nick: I get the same reaction whenever I talk about him that’s the same reaction I get. And actually Devon and I met over Twitter. It’s funny because I was talking about this movie and I said Devon would you be in the movie? And he said sure, send me over the script. It’s funny how Twitter actually opens up a relationship here.
Lauren: What was the movie with Christina Ricci that he was in?
Casper?
Nick: Casper?
Lauren: No, it was another one where there was four girls and Demi Moore was in it, Melanie Griffith as they were older but they were younger girls? Now and Then. You have too watch that. It’s really good.
Nick: It’s kind of a wish list of people that I want. I want it to be a musically based because I want it to be such a unique… When you see it, you see the pictures. When you hear about it, you want to check this out. “This is weird. I can’t believe I see Nick Carter, AJ McClean, Joey Fatone, Cisco, Devon Sawa, I don’t know. You name it.”
Lauren: Jonathan Taylor Thomas.
Nick: Jonathan Taylor Thomas, I was going to reach out to him and talk too him about it.
Lauren: You thought of him?
Nick: I might reach out to Jordan from the New Kids.
Nick: That’s on the radar, targeted.
Dead Seven will premiere next year on Syfy. Check out our interview with co-stars A.J. McLean and Joey Fatone here, and with The Asylum producers soon!
Note: This interview was conducted in a press room roundtable. Not all questions were mine, but all have been edited to retain an easy-to-read flow while retaining its integrity.
