Courtney Solomon, why did you change the ending from the version that is now playing in Great Britain?

Solomon: Essentially because I could. It was a unique opportunity that very few filmmakers have. I asked you guys, critics, and got feedback on the festival circuit and had a chance to redo the music, color design and story. I recommend that every filmmaker take two months off and get away from it for a while and then come back and re-edit.Do you believe something supernatural happened out there in Tennessee?

Solomon: Something did happen to warrant 20 books; too much has happened. In the DVD extras, we'll have some interviews from some of the real people, the actual family members and what they think, along with this real guy, Dewey the Ghost Hunter. It's a real creepy place down there. The town sign has a witch on it in Adams. We went to the site of the house, but they wouldn't let us go into the cave. It's just very creepy, the whole feel of the place. The actual trees are scary.Some people would say you're insane to go up against Mission: Impossible III the same weekend with a fledgling company you started.

Solomon: I hope that our After Dark company does acquire other indie films that aren't getting out there any other way ... and would never hit the theaters. We are spending $12 million to $15 million to market a movie that was made for about $10.5 million. You'll see a loyal horror audience that will come to our movie because they believe in the genre. We will also get the M:I III spillover.Some people are saying this is a chance to get back on the saddle after the Dungeons & Dragons bomb you directed?

Solomon: You know, everybody makes mistakes, and I got back on the bicycle and kept on driving. I wished I could have made a better movie that people liked more.You revamped the movie so that Sissy Spacek has more dialogue and it worked better with the story. Did she have much of her own input along the way?

Solomon: Of course, and she was next to me in the editing booth, and she came up with some great ideas, like at the end, when the smoky haze follows you through from the 1800s to modern day. That was Sissy's idea. Collaborating with her was great, because she is someone with great instincts. I mean, look at her career.Why shoot the movie in Romania?

Solomon: The places where we could recreate the Bell farm were deep, deep, deep into the country, but the exteriors still had telephone poles. We would have had to spend $15,000 to $17,000 a shot to remove those, and the extra $1.5 mllion is suddenly added to the budget. I would much rather have spent it on the actors. And Donald was always making fun of me with my diet of Doritos and Coca-Cola. There wasn't much for me to eat in Romania, and I would much rather have the Waffle House down the block. Are you worried it's going to be compared to other movies?

Solomon: Of course. I watched The Exorcist over and over to make sure we weren't going to do anything like the shots in that, yet audiences overwhelmingly compare us to that movie. It's a girl in a nightgown, just like The Exorcism of Emily Rose, and there are some similarities there. The girls could be sisters, first off. Anyway, we were trying to stay away from any shots that looked too familiar.Did you allow the actors a lot of input?

Solomon: Sure did. They all had their share of things to say, and I agreed with some of them. James D'Arcy was very involved with the script, too, and since he was the skeptic, it was good.

James D'Arcy, why did you pick this story to do?

D'Arcy: Actually, it came at the absolute worst time, because I just finished the Exorcist prequel and I didn't want to do another horror movie. Then I read the script and liked it. The problem is I hate horror movies. I do everything you are supposed to do, like scream and leap 10 feet, and then I don't sleep for four nights. Then Courtney came back with Sissy and Donald involved, and I couldn't pass on it.Did you know anything about the legend?

D'Arcy: No, and I didn't know anyone else who knew much about it, and I was far too lazy to read the 20 books. I had done a fair number of period dramas, so I felt comfortable in that world. Although, if you look closely, my sideburns are different and the continuity is off. I know there are about five or six logical explanations for what happened, and we take one position. Were you ever scared during the making of the film?

D'Arcy: When making a film it's rarely what you think it is. Making a comedy is not funny, it's more fun pulling your toenails out, it's never very funny while shooting it, and moments that are very funny on set are not very funny in the film. It's kind of the opposite with horror movies. The moments which are supposed to be terrifying, well, if blood splatters across the wall slightly wrong it becomes slightly comedic. So making a horror movie is not that frightening.Did you have someone coaching you with the accents?

D'Arcy: We didn't at first, but we had two or three people come up to us in Tennessee and told me that they didn't know I was English. We did have a professor from a university for a brief time, but Sissy helped us the most because she lives in the area. Donald is Canadian, and Rachel was from London, so everyone was panicking over what accent they would do. What was it like filming in Romania?

D'Arcy: The people were very friendly. They would buy us a drink, and we knew that was expensive for them. We shot next to one of Dracula's castles, and Sissy and her daughter went up to see it and didn't plan it right and were up there when it was dark. They came back a little pale.Have you had any psychic or supernatural experiences?

D'Arcy: I'm completely opened to it, and I had an experience, kind of. My grandmother died about four or five years ago about 5 in the morning, and just as she was dying I had the sharp sensation of someone being in the room with me and felt this voice saying "It's going to be fine and things will work out," and the next thing I knew my mother was saying my grandmother had died.

Donald Sutherland, how did you get involved with this?

Sutherland: Courtney wanted me to do the part of John Bell and said it was important to get the right person. He said he saw me in it, and it was a very odd part. Strong, strict ... I liked the part, and I had a meeting with him and got along really well, and I suggested that he consider Sissy for the wife because our agents are the same. So CAA sent her the script and she agreed.How was it working with Sissy?

Sutherland: You' know, it's a lot like working with Geena [Davis] in Commander in Chief. Sissy is creative and hard-working. She's terrific in every scene and pursues the truth of the part. How did you like Romania?

Sutherland: Oh, it was fine. I traveled with my wife and dog, and I found a great hair and makeup crew that I plan on using every chance I get. [Laughs.] The people in the villages were always friendly and curious. Did you do research on the part or the history?

Sutherland: I didn't know about it, or how pervasive it was in the American culture of the South. They sent me the book as well, which I didn't read until after we started filming.How were the rest of the cast members?

Sutherland: Fine, fine. I became friends with James [D'Arcy] and Thom [Fell], who plays my son. And the girl Rachel [Hurd-Wood] is a truly charming and beautiful girl. She will be an actress to watch, and she's blossoming into Ingrid Bergman before our very eyes.

Rachel Hurd-Wood, the last time we talked you didn't seem as dedicated to acting, like it was a passing phase.

Hurd-Wood: During Peter Pan? Yeah, I felt that way. I wanted to and still do want to continue with my schooling, and my exams here, which are very important, were going on the last few weeks, and the school wouldn't release me.


Was it hard for you to take this role?

Hurd-Wood: It's not a pleasant part, but I couldn't put the script down the first time I read it. Was scared reading it. Seriously, it really shocked me. I really wanted to do the role after I read it. What was the scariest part for you?

Hurd-Wood: Probably being dragged up the stairs. I got nicked in the head the first time, and then Courtney said he'd do it in the background. So, that's him in the back dragging me up the stairs, holding me up by my hair. My head and feet were hitting each stair as I went on top, and I was on something to keep me from being scraped on the floor. We had to look like it hurt, but it didn't. I did get a few scrapes, but it's all gone. I knew he was safe.Was it emotional for you?

Hurd-Wood: Not as much emotional as just draining. The scenes got very dramatic, and I felt like I was screaming one second and crying another and then happy and then sad and then scared. All these emotions put me on a roller coaster and I wasn't used to that. Courtney became like my big brother, protecting me from some of it. He talked about it with my parents, with me, and every single scene he walked me through and explained what was happening. Betsy Bell is a strong girl, someone I'd like to be more like.How was it working with Sissy and Donald?

Hurd-Wood: All the actors were splendid. They are great actors. Come on, Sissy Spacek and Donald Sutherland. I was scared to meet them at first. Sissy is so sweet and funny, and Donald is simply lovely.She falls asleep a lot in school?

Hurd-Wood: Yes, that she does. That reminds me, I should get back. I know that, once, I was daydreaming about what it would be like to be Betsy at that moment, and my teacher had to say "Get back to the class" in front everyone and bring me back to reality. I felt a bit like Betsy falling asleep in class then.