Cool Collecting.com (through Tim Priebe): Kevin, thanks for agreeing to this interview. You've had roles in a number of high profile films over the past ten years or so. I understand you were at one time working towards a Masters in Genetic Engineering. How did you end up in the film business?

Kevin Grevioux: Well, I was a sci-fi nut from way back. Comic books in particular. I have always wanted to write as a kid, but in terms of a profession, I never really gave it much thought. I thought instead I would become a research scientist and work in the field of genetics.

When I started grad school and was working in the industry, I wasn’t making much money. And the prospect of a scientist making a good living as a scientist wasn’t too good. There were Ph.D’s only making 28K a year, and if you discovered something, you didn’t own the rights to it. The company you worked for did and they made all the money off of it. Money, or that lack of it, wasn’t the main issue, but creatively there wasn’t any incentive for me to continue. Science is amazingly fun, but I couldn’t make a decent living at it.

So, I was in class one day and I started using concepts I was working on as a scientist as the bases for a screenplay I was writing. I was doing this instead of listening to my professor, which wasn’t too smart now that I look back at it. Anyway, at the end of class that week I knew I wanted to get into the film industry, and I withdrew from grad school before the semester was out. It still took me another two years to move out to Hollywood, but I finally took the chance and made the move.

CC: It looks like you're moving towards writing screenplays now, in addition to acting. Of course, you came up with the idea for Underworld, and you have written a couple of sci-fi short films and have some more screenplays in the works. Has this always been a goal of yours?

KG: Well, acting was never my forte in the first place. I came out here to be a writer first and foremost. Acting was something that I just fell into and have been able to make a modest living at, thank God. But the goal was always to be a writer.

CC: Let's go ahead and get right into Underworld. You wrote the original screenplay and treatment for the film in 2000. Tell us a little about the journey from there to the big screen, including any changes from your original screenplay and ideas.

KG: I have to give credit to Len Wiseman FIRST and FOREMOST. I feel that you have to give credit where credit is due and you ALWAYS acknowledge the ones who came before you. People who don’t do this are divisive and just plain evil, you know. So if it hadn’t been for Len, there would be no Underworld. He was the glue that held the whole film together and he did an amazing job and he’s an even more amazing talent.

That said, when Len first came to me it was to talk about feasibility of doing a werewolf movie. I originally told him I was not interested because of the plethora of bad werewolf movies out there. But after thinking about it for a couple of days, I pitched him this idea of doing a “star-crossed” lovers theme like Romeo and Juliet. An interracial love story set against a centuries-spanning race war, but instead of using black people and white people, we’ll substitute and have werewolves on one side and vampires on the other.

My original script centered around Scott Speedman’s character, Michael, as the main character. I thought that having a human as the protagonist made him a better POV character that the audience could identify with. Imagine, here you fall in love with a woman. You get bitten by something while trying to protect her. Then she turns out to be a vampire, and now she says she can't be with you because you've been bitten by a werewolf. Which never would've happened if she would've been straight with you from the beginning. Your now caught in a war when all you wanted was a date! I'd say that stinks.

First, I established that both werewolves and vampires are based on science and not sorcery. I also came up with the idea that the virus that created werewolves and vampires was essentially the same, the only difference being one was a retro-virus with a core of RNA instead of DNA, and carried respectively by wolves and bats. Much like a “super rabies”.

The thrust of the story was that werewolves, or Lycans as we called them and the vampires were fighting over an ancient scripture which held the scientific formula for a certain chemical compound to cure a disease that was killing both races. Using some of the things I learned being a scientist, but stretching reality of course, I dealt with the disease, caused by a virus, as being a type of “super-cancer” or Xeroderma Pigmentosum, which has to do with ineffective DNA repair, and can literally “eat away” the flesh of the body from the inside out.

Epidemiologically speaking, I figured that the same disease which caused each race to be what they are, was also killing them after hundreds of years. This was directly associated with why each needed to ingest blood or flesh in order to survive. The disease was degenerative. They needed to feed on that which they were losing, which was very very slow at first, but after hundreds of years would need to ingest more and more until they could not possibly ingest enough to stave off the ravages of the disease which was now growing unchecked like Stage 3 cancer. As a result, fatality would kick in as the virus within them would literally “burn them out” and they would waste away.

Finding the cure would not only cause the disease to go into remission and they would become “stronger”, more of what they are, but it would also have the side effect of stabilizing the virus and eradicating all of their weaknesses. i.e. silver being the bane of werewolves and sunlight being the deadly to vampires. Doing this would allow one race to gain ascendancy over the other and give them the power to destroy the other. So there was a mad rush for each side to find the cure.

Also, Selene in my story did not like being a vampire. Her falling in love with Michael, and not one of her own, was, in a way, an attempt at trying to win back some of her humanity. But once Michael was turned into a lycan, house rules dictated it that they could no longer be together because of the edict against racial fraternization that most feared could lead to the creation of the hybrid, which in time past, had almost destroyed both races. Allegorically speaking, this was to be the idiotic fear that people have of biracial children. And the need for “racial purity”. That kind of attitude still burns me.

Anyway, I had Selene at about a hundred years old. My Viktor, who was not evil, but the exact opposite, was a mysterious “benefactor” of sorts and would walk the corridors of hospitals all over the world and “infect” and thus cure those who were dying if he felt compassion for them. Selene, was one of those who lay dying in a hospital. At the time, she was a widow who was dying of tuberculosis. At first she thought Viktor a minister, and she poured her heart out to him as she lamented the fact that she had a small child, a daughter, who would be left an orphan, all alone if there were no one to take care of her. And back then, orphanages were NOT the place to be, and she knew that.

So, Viktor bit her and three days later she was cured. However, the price was that she had become a vampire. It was ironic because she now got to take care of her daughter like she wanted, but because of the nature over what she had become she could not be much of a mother. I mean, how can you be a good parent if you can never see your child during the day? And only see her at night when it’s time for her to sleep? What answers do you give her? It also made matters worse when her daughter grew up and noticed that her mother didn’t look much older than her. And then she started to look older than her mother.

Then it was time to fess up. But how do you tell your daughter that her mother is a vampire and has this whole other life? A life of evil wrapped inside a war she can never understand. I thought that made for an interesting back story wrought with a lot of conflict.

And when we first open the story, Viktor, the leader of the vampire clan, is dying of this disease and Kraven, who at that time was called Kami, was secretly plotting with Lucian to share the power amongst the younger orders of lycans and vampires. So it was quite interesting. But it was thought to be too confusing and complicated. So we brought in some other writers. One didn’t work out. But fortunately, Danny did.

CC: That’s quite a story. How did you feel about being pushed aside in favor of another writer?

KG: Well, not happy at first. But that’s the nature of the beast and it’s hardly unprecedented. Look at the Arnold Schwartzeneggar movie, The Last Action Hero, for example. The original script was written by Zak Penn who is a phenomenal writer. He got rewritten by Shane Black. And when the final credits came out, Shane Black got sole screenplay credit on Zak’s script and Zak Penn only got story credit. But at the end of the day, Zak Penn got to start his career, see? And that’s one of the things Danny made me realize. It happens all the time to more talented writers than me, so…

Plus, I wasn’t represented at the time. This just goes to show you, as a writer, you don’t go in unrepresented. Both Len and Danny are with ICM. So I made the best deal I could to get the film made. That’s just the nature of the film industry.

But, you’ve got find the good in all of this and not harbor any ill feelings. For me, I look at it this way: God is good. And everything works out for the best for those who trust Him. Now, it’s about going on to the next script.

CC: How much input did you have in the casting of the film?

KG: None except for myself. That was the deal Len and I established when we first embarked on the project. I would write a part for myself. As for the other cast members, that was the providence of Len and Danny.

CC: Very few films have, in the past, dealt with both vampires and werewolves. Underworld not only deals with them, but puts them in a blood feud against each other. What were some of the influences that helped you come up with the story?

KG: My own experience with interracial dating and the weird stares and caustic comments people still level against you in a supposedly “age of enlightenment”. It think this whole black vs. white thing is just plain stupid.

CC: What are the chances of a sequel to Underworld?

KG: I think very good. It’s a great concept and we have a great history to go along with it. There are many many more stories to tell in this universe.

CC: Are you going to be involved in that?

KG: I’m not sure. Probably not because of the deal I had to make. I have no control over that. Lord willing, hopefully, but we’ll see what happens.

CC: As we mentioned, you've been in a number of films over the years, including a couple that would be considered part of the superhero genre. What are your thoughts on the direction that genre is currently taking?

KG: I think superheroes are cool because they become a facinating way to tell allegorical stories about real life society much like Star Trek did in the sixties. That’s always interesting.

CC: Tell us some about your work on Men in Black II.

KG: I played a character called Pineal Eye. He is one of a vile group of bad guys that the Men In Black organization have locked up. It was cool to work with Will Smith, which I’ve always wanted to do.

CC: You also played several roles in Planet of the Apes. What can you tell us about the training you underwent to act more ape-like?

KG: I learned a lot of what I did in Planet under the auspices of a great stunt coordinator named Charlie Croughwell, and his assistant Sonny Tipton. We had to go through roughly three weeks of “Ape school”. It was fun.

CC: One of your roles in Planet of the Apes was that of "Ape Commander." That character actually ended up being turned into an action figure. Now you have an action figure of your Underworld character, Raze, but in werewolf form. How does it feel to two action figures of yourself that look nothing like you?

KG: Well, I don’t know. Since my actual face isn’t on any of them! In Planet of the Apes I was of course in "ape" make-up. And in Underworld they decided to have me as a werewolf instead of my human form. Bummer. But, I’ve been told by some of the people at Sony the sequel will be different.

CC: As previously mentioned, you have written a couple of sci-fi short films. Those films were Indigo and Thanatos. Can you tell us a little about them?

KG: It was my first attempt at directing. It was Faustian story about two hit men, a man and a woman, who after making a horrid deal with the devil have to “gun” for each other. The two films are told from their respective points of view.

CC: Is there anywhere we could see these films?

KG: No. These were films I did strictly for my reel and to try my hand at directing.

CC: What can you tell us about other screenplays you're currently working on?

KG: I have a military sci-fi script coming out soon and a few other ideas I’m sifting through right now. I’m also in the middle of creating a small comic book company called DarkStorm Studios. Creating my own properties and my own “sandbox” so to speak, to play with.

CC: As you've been working your way up over the years, you've worked with a number of famous actors. Who has been your favorite to work with?

KG: I don’t really have a favorite. I thought Mark Walhberg was cool. Will Smith was cool. Everybody I’ve worked with has been really professional and fun to work with.

CC: What has been your favorite vampire movie in the past, and why?

KG: Believe it or not, I never have liked vampires. But, I did enjoy Fright Night, because it was a real twist on the genre. And I really liked Wesley Snipes as Blade.

CC: What's been your favorite movie that you personally worked on, and why?

KG: It would have to be Planet of the Apes. To meet and work with Tim Burton and Rick Baker is an unparalleled experience.

CC: What book would you consider a must-read?

KG: As a kid, I actually liked GLADIATOR by Philip Wylie.

CC: What role model has had the most influence on you?

KG: In terms of spiritual things I will always put my trust in Jesus Christ and his teachings. I’m far from perfect, but He is the best model and the way I should live my life.

In terms of comics, I have to say Stan Lee, Jack Kirby, and I’m a huge fan of John Byrne’s work.

CC: Any parting thoughts?

KG: Just for aspiring writers, KEEP AT IT. If you give up, you get nothing.

CC: Thanks again, Kevin!

KG: No prob!