Thursday, September 13, 2012

A Conversation With A Character

To celebrate the closing of Outpost Season One with the release of Part Two of the Finale, I sat down with one of the breakout characters in the franchise, Phillip Craig:
DW: Hey, Phil, how's it going?
PC: Good, Damien, how's it?
DW: Pretty good.  I can't remember the last time the excitement around Finnean Nilsen Projects was this high.  Everyone's really pumped to have the first season out there, working hard on putting the box set together, and preparing to dive in to the prequel, Camp 417.  I wanted to ask you some questions and try to give the readers a bit more insight into you and the part you play in Season One and maybe what's in store for you in Season Two.
PC: You can ask and I'll do my best to answer, but believe me, man, these white devils don't tell me shit.
DW: You're white.
PC: Yeah.
DW: So... Why would you call them "white devils"?
PC: I've always wanted to use that line.  Besides, just because I'm white doesn't make them any less pasty pale or demonic.
DW: Gotcha.  Alright, let's get started.  You're introduced in Episode Two.  When were you first signed to be a part of this series?
PC: They recruited me as cannon fodder about a week before the production of the Pilot started.  They called me in and said, "We'd be interested in working with you on a zombie project we're producing."  I held up my hand and said I was in.  Man, I didn't give a shit what else they had to say, I had heard all I needed to hear: zombie.  Done.  I was sold.
DW: But you say you were "cannon fodder," how did it happen that you're still around, now going into Season Two?
PC: The beauty and the fun of working with these guys is that you never know what's going to happen next.  They recruited me as a throwaway character, just the guy to be standing next to Chris when he was delivering a line.  Somewhere, as we went through, they decided to keep me around.  Honestly, man, every week I would go into it expecting to get my intestines shown to me.  It just never happened.  And there's still a few guys that did get the long goodbye and are still walking around here, so I'm not sure they ever let us out of our series-long contract.
DW: You say there's still guys walking around that got killed?  Are they zombies?
PC: I probably already said too much.  The last thing I want to do is piss these fuckers off.
DW:  Okay.  How has your life changed since becoming such an integral part of a major series release?
PC: I'm getting a lot more ass, for starters.  But, still, for me it's all about the zombies.  Zombie killing is my first love, man, and you never really lose your first love.  If by some quirk of fate I end up settling down and my little lady pops out a little Romero or Mikami...
DW: Romero?  Mikami?
PC: First born Romero.  Second Mikami...
DW: Again, Mikami?
PC: He made Resident Evil.  Third Tallahassee.  Fourth... Probably Phil Jr.
DW: You plan on having four boys?
PC: Who the fuck said anything about them all being boys?  Anyway, even if that happened, I'd just call us the Craig Kill Clan and we'd travel the world killing zombies.  It's what I do.  It's who I am.  And you can't hide from who you are, Joey.
DW: My name's Damien.
PC: Noted.
DW: Alright, that reminds me: Do you think video games, movies and television have desensitized you to the violence you've seen in Season One?
PC: I think it prepared me for the violence.  Honestly, man, do you think I'd be here today if I didn't have a copy of Max Brooks' book stuffed down my pants?  I don't go anywhere without it, and it's saved my life more time than you can count.
DW: But some critics have said that you go beyond surviving.  Some have even called you sadistic.
PC: Some critics have called for your book, the Contagion to be burned, man, and pointed out that the kindle's search function maxed out at a hundred uses of the word "fuck" two thirds in.
DW: On a different subject...
PC: I'm not complaining, man, I'm just saying.  I thought it was fucking awesome.
DW: PETA has released a statement...
PC: Man, fuck PETA.  It was one cat.  I swear to God.  You save an entire prison, and kill one cat, they call for your head.  I've got enough to worry about without you bringing up PETA.  In fact, fuck this interview.
DW: Just one last question, and then I'll let you go: can you give us anything, any hint at all as to what the prequel, Camp 417, will be?
PC: Again, man, they don't tell me shit.  But, I can tell you two things I picked up around the office: 1. It's gonna be fucking epic.  Ryan said, and I quote: "We're going to mind fuck this entire genre."  And 2. I've been seeing a lot of Nazis walking around...


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