James Corden

James Corden

James Corden and Mathew Horne step into movies this week with the releae of horror/comedy Lesbian Vampire Killers.

Two young slackers decide to escape their problems and head to Welsh countryside for a weekend away.

Not quite the relaxing break they were expecting, they arrive in the remote village to find themselves joined by a group of Swedish women, enslaved by an ancient vampiric curse.

As the night unfolds the boys have to put all of their fears (and dreams) behind them in order to rise to the challenge of becoming Lesbian Vampire Killers.

Tell me about the genesis of the film for you...

It started about two years ago, a year and a half, before any of our fame, if that’s the right word, kicked in! Actually, I don’t feel I’m famous in any way at all. But it was around then; Gavin & Stacey hadn’t been on.

We’d shot it but it hadn’t been aired yet. Then for one reason or another the film didn’t happen. Then a wonderful producer called Steve Clark-Hall picked the script up and that changed everything. It suddenly picked up momentum. Literally, picked up Momentum [as a financier and distributor] and it went on from there.

Did you audition for the part of Fletch, or were you offered it?

I went and read for it. So did a lot of other people. I don’t mean this in any arrogant way, but I read it and thought, ‘If I don’t get this, I should probably give up,’ because it just feels the sort of part I want to do.

It’s the sort of comedy that I really like. It requires energy and enthusiasm that I love doing, a complete commitment. My comedy heroes I like are people like Jim Carrey, Jack Black and Will Ferrell, men who make you laugh through sheer no-holds-barred kind of humour. Instead of jumping over hurdles, they simply run through them!

Were you approached for this film as a pair?

No, not for this. I’d been attached for quite a long time to this film and when you read it, it seems like it was written for us. It really does. If you are looking for two people who, I hope, understand comedy and look like best friends in this age range, probably, we might be the only two. I don’t know.

Mat stands on his own as an actor and so do I, but there’s no denying that we work incredibly well together. We just do. It’s great fun.

It feels like the right thing for us to do. I don’t think this a partnership that means that we’ll work together for the next 60 years but we might work together for the next six.

What’s your character’s involvement as a Lesbian Vampire Killer?

Me and Mathew [Horne] play two guys who go camping to get away from things that have been happening to them in London and end up, they think, coincidentally, in this town.

When they get there, they end up being chased by lesbian vampires and they end up being lesbian vampire killers. Obviously, it’s very much an Academy Award film.

So are these vampires like traditional vampires, barring the fact that they’re lesbians?

I guess their vampire traits are the same, in that they like to suck blood from people and they come out at night, but they are the most vamped up vampires you’ve ever seen!

They can be killed in the same way, yes, with silver bullets, holy water, staked through the heart. We’ve got a great scene with holy water coming out from a shower. That’s a favourite.

It seems that there’s shades of Withnail & I: two dudes rushing out to the country and getting more than they bargained for? You’ve even got Paul McGann...

I’d never thought of that because I guess when you read that it bears no resemblance at all. But Paul McGann is a real hero of Mat’s and mine, and when we were told that he was playing the vicar we were so over the moon. I feel lucky enough to have worked with Richard Griffiths and I have met Richard E. Grant but I’d never met Paul so it’s nice to complete the trio!

That film is very close to my heart. Isn’t it everyone’s? Yes, God! That film is a classic. Classic and genius are words that get bandied about too much, but never in regard to that film. Although when we get to vampire killing, our film couldn’t be more different!

Can you think of any touchstones for the film, Shaun of The Dead, maybe?

This film is without question in the same vein as that, although I wonder if our producer would like me saying that! Although I don’t think he’d see any reason for me not to! If our film were compared in a positive light with that film, then I would be nothing but proud, because that film for me is one of the best British films of the last ten years.

And what’s amazing is that I didn’t realise quite how long ago Shaun of the Dead was, because it still feels fresh and current. It really does. But if we were going to stand this up and say, ‘This is Shaun of the Dead,’ we’re tits.

Speaking of tits, is there much nudity?

There isn’t really. In fact I don’t know if there’s any to be frank, but these are lesbian vampires so maybe!

Lesbian Vampire Killers is released 20th March


Tagged in