Blogger Billy Henrickle recently had the pleasure of talking with the leader of The Monster Squad, Andre Gower. Remember back in 1987, when this group of kids with the coolest treehouse, who loved the classic movie monsters, were met face to face with these scary creatures? Well join us as we revisit this cult classic movie and Andre’s new documentary about The Monster Squad, appropriately named Wolfman’s Got Nards.
BH: Hi Andre, how are you?
AG: Doing great. Thanks for having me on!
BH: Of course, thanks for spending some time with me today!
BH: So you play Sean, the leader of The Monster Squad in your first major movie role. How did this part come about?
AG: I had done some movies before this and a ton of television which took up a lot of my work time as a child actor. Unfortunately, I did several television shows that only went 1 season as opposed to getting 1 show that got to run 5 seasons that everybody remembers. Then here comes this big studio creature feature that I was fortunate enough to be cast in the lead role. Then who would have thought a year later the movie would bomb at the box office? Only to have it disappear for years, then have a resurgence with the cult following it has today.
BH: Yes I don’t remember if I saw The Monster Squad in the theater or if it was on tv or video, but I did see it in 1987. It was great and I loved it the first time I saw it, but I remember all my friends were talking about The Lost Boys and I had to introduce many of them to The Monster Squad.
AG: Yes The Lost Boys was released 2 weeks before The Monster Squad. This is what happens when you have multiple things going against the movie. A rating that doesn’t help and it has a marketing campaign that contradicts what the movie actually is. On top of this, the marketing doesn’t reach the audience that would actually go and see it. This all leads to the movie being a box office failure. This was an unfortunate thing for someone like Fred Dekker, who directed The Monster Squad and co wrote it with Shane Black. While we were filming, Shane went on to write Lethal Weapon and have a great writing career. However, after The Monster Squad bombed, Fred did RoboCop 3 which also didn’t do well and he went into director jail for 25 years.
BH: So the movie was a box office bomb but it has turned into a cult classic with so many fans now! Is this how you see it?
AG: You are absolutely right. The life trajectory this movie has had is amazing. There was a very important event in the Spring of 2006. We did a cast reunion screening at the original Alamo Drafthouse Cinema in Austin, Texas. Many people now had the opportunity to see The Monster Squad on the big screen for the first time. They sold out 2 shows back to back. The internet was now a thing. People started talking and the buzz was created. Lionsgate saw this and realized they had the video rights at the time. Only because of this new success from the event, did Lionsgate put out the DVD. Soon after cast members started doing conventions, and appearances and it just kept growing and growing. Now there is this second wave of fans, where parents have introduced the movie to their kids and so on. People bonding over one of their favorite movies that many people didn’t know about when it was released. Sharing their treehouse stories, or their favorite scenes from the movie. This is the inspiration for the documentary.
BH: I have that DVD and both of my kids have seen the movie multiple times. They knew exactly who you are when I told them about this interview. Well this is a perfect transition to talk about Wolfman’s Got Nards. The best name possible for this doc.
AG: Yes. This movie is not a where are they now, or a making of doc, or even a fan service doc. This documentary has elements of all of these but kind of plays out as a narrative of all these types of docs. It is really about the impact, a relationship story about the fans individually and collectively about The Monster Squad. How the movie has changed their lives and how they have changed the life of the movie. A very different story telling way in a documentary.
BH: This is great and even if you have not seen The Monster Squad, you could still enjoy or appreciate Wolfman’s Got Nards.
AG: You are absolutely right. This is actually one of our selling points for the documentary. It is about the movie and the impact it has had on people. I have heard people say, “I have never seen The Monster Squad but I loved the documentary. It made me cry! Reminding me of a movie that my dad introduced me to and we would watch every summer”. There were so many other stories from those who watched the documentary. The doc touched fans in a way that it was suppose to but it also touched people who had never seen The Monster Squad. So now they go and become Monster Squad fans and watch the movie and it just keeps growing. I think in the end we did a good job.
BH: It sounds like it. I can’t wait to see the doc. Hopefully you guys get a distribution deal soon so the world can see this amazing journey.
BH: So a personal question. I had a treehouse my dad and I built and it was great, but nothing like the one in the movie. Was the treehouse on set because it sure looked to actually be in a community?
AG: “Laughs”. When you see the exterior, it was actually built in a tree north of LA in a kind of wooded hill area. When you see the inside of the treehouse with the posters and everything else, that was built on a stage. It was probably 3 feet off the ground on a stage floor.
BH: That was just so cool with the different levels.
AG: Yes. I love the fact that there is a loft in a treehouse.
BH: Okay, lets give The Monster Squad fans a behind the scenes moment or some fun facts. How does that sound?
AG: Sure. I worked everyday for about 3 months. When the kids would leave the set, the adults would keep filming and making the movie. I was 13 when we filmed and 14 when the movie came out. I never read or auditioned for the role of Sean. I actually auditioned for the role of Rudy. My body of work leading up to this film was the cool kid with the leather jacket and the awesome hair. Luckily, the producers and casting director felt Ryan Lambert was better for the part of Rudy and I was the right fit for Sean. I’m sure Ryan just knocked the Rudy audition out of the park. I mean he is Rudy, perfect for that part. Its always a friendly ribbing back and forth between Ryan and I as we are friends. I got the lead but he did get to wear the cool clothes and has some great lines. He also gets to kill more monsters than anybody else. One other thing, we never saw the monster actors out of costume or even out of character.
BH: Wow! So you didn’t know what they looked liked? Obviously no Google in 1987!
AG: I had been working with Tom Noonan (Frankenstein’s monster) for like a month and finally went to my video store to rent Manhunter just to see what he looked like. Then I always joke, I should not have done that because he scared the shit out of me in that movie. We also took turns feeding Michael MacKay (Mummy) because he was hand wrapped and his fake teeth and mouth were in the way. So us kids took turns spoon feeding him bits of chicken and steak.
BH: That is great stuff. So what are your working on now?
AG: Well I still act but my main thing right now is getting Wolfman’s Got Nards out so people can see it. Hopefully in the fall. I also produce and direct which I did on this doc. The website is www.thesquaddoc.com and we have a lot of great info there including our social media pages. I also have a company where we help independent filmmakers with everything from consulting to producing and even directing their film. So a sort of turn key company for filmmakers. Our site is www.fitterpiper.com.
BH: Wow. Great stuff. Thanks for your time. I really enjoyed our talk today Andre.
AG: Thank you Billy. I enjoyed it as well!