dapting one of the most beloved children's cartoon series into a live-action feature film is no small task. It takes a certain dedication and love for the source material, while at the same time striving to create something new and fresh that audiences have not seen before. In the upcoming live-action feature Scooby-Doo, co-stars Matthew Lillard and Sarah Michelle Gellar bring to life the well-known characters of Shaggy and Daphne and carefully walk the line between faithfulness and innovation.
While in hindsight it may be hard to conceive of a better choice for the role of lanky slacker Norville "Shaggy" Rogers than Lillard, he had to work hard in the beginning to convince the filmmakers he was the right actor for the role. Lillard trained for months developing his movements and voice in
an effort to transform himself into a three-dimensional version of the cartoon character. The end result is an uncanny likeness that transcends simple mimicry.
Gellar was not such an obvious choice for Daphne, whose role in the Scooby gang is often that of damsel in distress. She is most recognizable to fans as the very capable title character of UPN's Buffy the Vampire Slayer. But she, too, impressed the filmmakers with her dedication to the role. During filming on Scooby-Doo, seven-day work weeks and extreme jet lag were common for the busy actress, who often found herself flying back and forth from the set in Australia to Los Angeles, where Buffy is filmed. Her one consolation was being able to work with her real-life love interest and fiance, Freddie Prinze Jr., who plays dashing yet arrogant Fred Jones in the film.
Lillard and Gellar recently spoke with Science Fiction Weekly about the expectations of portraying a cartoon icon, acting opposite a CGI character, what those Scooby snacks really taste like, and, in Gellar's case, maintaining an off-screen romance with an on-screen costar.
What did you go through to get cast for this film?
Lillard: I called and we had a conversation. ... I said, "What are you looking for?" And [director Raja Gosnell] said, "I'm looking for the voice and the physical nature." And I was like, "Oh." And that was terrifying. Because I'm not an impressionist. ... I've never done that. I don't have that skill base. ... So I just started working. It was actually funny. Early on in the process to find Shaggy's voice, I found that it was just really scratchy. And so how I got there was I'd scream myself hoarse. So I flew from Thirteen Ghosts to the audition and I'm in my car, because I never had a chance to go home, and I'm screaming myself hoarse. "Ahhhhh! Ahhhhh!" And all of a sudden Raja walks up and knocks on the door and is like, "Are you OK?" I'm like, "Yeah, I'm just getting ready, I'm preparing."
By the end I actually figured it out. Because it's [demonstrates voice] all on the break. So I finally figured out how to do it without screaming myself hoarse.
Gellar: In the beginning ... they were skeptical. I think that Raja is the one that was saying, "You know, I just don't know. Do we hire a girl that people will expect to be the antithesis of this character? Does it ruin what is essentially the essence of this character?" And I really had to go in and sort of sell myself to Raja specifically. I went in and did how I thought she would walk and what her voice would sound like and her mannerisms and it was a big old sell job.
I think it was more, not so much was I capable, but would people be willing to suspend that disbelief initially. ... Would people be saying, "Why would you have her as Daphne?"
Once you were cast, what did you do to prepare for the role?
Gellar: I did a lot of [research], you know, watched all the episodes of the cartoon. And I think for me the main thing was the physicality. [Daphne's] voice, her cadence, isn't as specific in people's heads as Velma's or Shaggy's was necessarily. I studied the way she posed, because Daphne always posed. ... They'll be running, and then when they stop running Daphne poses. Like, it just doesn't stop. And I was like, "Am I going to remember? ... Am I going to be in the middle of a scene and just find myself just, you know, hanging loose and not remembering to always [pose]?" But I will say that once we got into costume and you looked around and you had these giant sets, it was so easy to remember where you are and what you were doing.
Lillard: Yeah, if you look around you see these things that Bill Boes created it wasn't hard to squint and put yourself in this world. It was really amazing actually.
What about you, Matthew? What did you do to prepare?
Lillard: I took it really seriously. I mean, honestly. You know, I realized it's the biggest opportunity I've ever had. Shaggy is an icon that I grew up with, that people all over the world for generations have grown up with, and quite frankly I don't want to be the guy to screw it up. ... I hired two acting coaches I've worked with since school. We locked ourselves in a dance studio for two weeks and broke it down and just tried to figure out how to make a two-dimensional character three-dimensional.
Gellar: I feel like Matthew's really modest when it comes to this question and so I feel like on his behalf I must speak constantly. He took it much more seriously than you could possibly imagine. When you're going in, people think you're going in to play a cartoon character—it must have been really easy. And I'm not saying I didn't do work. I studied the cartoon, I looked at sketches, but this one worked so hard. And I feel like I'm sounding like a broken record, but I'm telling you that Academy Award-winning performances have had less work than what he put into it on a daily basis. And it was constantly evolving and constantly changing, and the nuances and the voices and the preparation. I can't even begin to explain how hard Matthew worked.
Lillard: I love it when she does that, by the way. It's so good.
Did you talk to the Casey Kasem, who did the original voice of Shaggy?
Lillard: No, not yet.
Gellar: I met Velma, though. I was at the Britney Spears concert and this woman came up to me and she said to me, "I want to introduce myself. I'm Velma" And her voice, like, it was the exact [same]. And she's just this little old lady, and you know, just not assuming, and it was the coolest thing. Of all places, at the Staples Center.
Do you have any qualities in common with your character?
Lillard: I always thought of myself as Lancelot, just nobody else happens to see that particular attribute. ... Look, there's only so many tall, skinny guys in Hollywood that are relatively funny. I happen to fit the bill.
Was it difficult acting opposite a CGI character?
Lillard: That was certainly a challenge. I've never experienced anything like that. They certainly don't teach you that in acting class. Acting is about that thing—chemistry—that energy between two people. And when you continue for six months to throw energy into a void and there's nothing coming back, it's challenging for all of us. And I give a lot of credit to the animators. Because everything I did was matched tenfold. They took Scooby and made him a movie star. He's charismatic and funny and dramatic and touching and all those things you want a big movie star to be.
Gellar: And he had the biggest trailer.
Lillard: You couldn't see it. But it was a big trailer.
What would you do for a Scooby Snack?
Gellar: Let me tell you how nasty [they are]. That's dog food. And I won't do anything for those things, I'll tell you that right now.
Lillard: Yeah, they're pretty terrible.
Gellar: It's a misconception. Because they, like, sell these like Scooby snacks in the store and they're like cinnamony graham crackers. They're really good. And our costume designer would have this box and every time I would go for a costume fitting I'd be all, "Oh, yeah." So we get to the scene on the beach where we all have to eat them and I'm thinking that's what we're getting so I didn't eat breakfast that day thinking I'm eating me some. This is my perfect excuse. I'm eating me some Scooby snacks. But they weren't those same Scooby snacks. They were this concoction that looked good on camera.
Lillard: Because I eat them the whole movie, early on they asked me, "What do you want the Scooby snacks made out of?" And I said, "I eat them the whole time so make them somewhat healthy." That was a mistake.
Gellar: So you're the reason they tasted like that?
Lillard: It was like cardboard.
Gellar: The first couple takes we would all be like, "Mmmm." And by the third, fourth take we were like, "Someone get a spit bucket."
Do you feel the film adaptation was true to the original cartoon?
Lillard: It's actually been a very interesting adventure for this film. Because they made two versions, quite frankly. They made a version that was more adult and they made a version that is traditional—what you see now, which is a family film. And at some point there was a fork in the
road and they had to make a decision. We can either play to an older, skew older, teenage crowd, or we can make it what it is for the franchise, what it is in the history of the cartoon, which is a family-oriented thing. And so that's the decision they ended up going with.
Gellar: And on that same note I have to say that I agree with the decision. And I think that family films are [something] that people overlook. Actors don't seem to always want to make family films. Studios don't want to produce them. And, first of all, children are our movie-going audience of tomorrow. I remember when I was younger and I would see E.T. or Princess Bride or any of these movies ... that were family films that my mother went to and loved and I loved and we could talk about them. And I
always say that I blame multiplexes for the ruin of family films. Because it's so easy for families to split up, so you can make a kids movie and then the older kids can just go across the way and time a movie out so you guys all get out at the same time. And it's so important to have family films—to have a film where everybody can go and the parents love it and the older kids love it and the younger kids love it and I'm really proud of the decision that they made.
Lillard: It's not as sexy either. I mean, you want it to be funny, you want it to be sexy, [to] play for teenagers.
Sarah, what was it like shooting a film with your significant other?
Gellar: Coming into what is essentially supposed to be a gang, a group that had so many experiences and has such a relationship—is basically a family—to come in and to not be on the first day saying, "Hi, I'm Sarah, what's your name? Where are you from?" [was great]. ... I was really excited to get to know Linda because she was the question mark, she was the missing one of the group. And just at the end of the read-through, as all women do, Linda and I excused ourselves to go to the ladies room and we started bonding as ladies do in the bathroom. And we're talking and talking. And I came out and I said, "Freddie, Matthew, you guys, Linda is so great, you're going to love her." And they went, "We know." And I went, "What are you talking about?" And they're like, "We heard you from the bathroom. We heard the whole conversation. She's great. Talk quieter next time."
Lillard: That's one of the nice things, because we were down there for six months and it was an easy vibe to get into, so the working condition was great from the get-go.
Did you kid Sarah and Freddie when they were shooting the kissing scene?
Gellar: It was such a non-scene. It was one of those mornings we were so behind. Literally, it was one take. We had to get on to the big part of the day. I literally think that scene was filler so they could get all the extras ready to get to the next scene. I swear to God, they wrote that in because, like, "OK, well, we can get Sarah and Freddie ready on turnaround and then that gives us 30 extra minutes to light for the rest of the extras coming in."
Lillard: "Make out!"
Gellar: "Make out! Quick guys, roll. And go."
What did you think of Freddie as a blond?
Gellar: I think he looked like Fred. ... I prefer the brunette. I've said it. There. You've all heard it. Earth-shattering. ...
Matthew, what did you do to get the Shaggy hair?
Gellar: Matthew wore extensions in the back of his hair for Shaggy. But he wore like a little wiglet on top.
Lillard: [Laughs.] A wiglet?
Gellar: That's what it's called! ... So on the weekends when he would go outside he'd have his little mullet, you know, in the back, but there was nothing up here. So poor Matthew would wear a hat wherever he went.
Lillard: Business in the front, party in the back.
Freddie is an admitted Scooby fan. Did he make you watch any of his favorite episodes?
Gellar: We have every episode on tape in our basement. And not because we called Warner Brothers to get them when we decided to do the film. Because we had them. I don't know if he picks one. I probably say this now and he probably has a favorite and I just don't know it.
Also in this issue: Yancy Butler.
