Director, producer and actor Eli Roth, 38, made his name with horror movies Cabin Fever, Hostel and Hostel 2, and talks about girlfriend Peaches Geldof, musical taste and throwing up in the cinema.

Did anything weird or trippy happen while you were making The Last Exorcism?
Just casting our lead actress, Ashley Bell, was trippy. My father, by a complete run of coincidence, went to high school with Ashley’s father. I had a 70th birthday party for my father, and he said: ‘My friend Mike wants to come and he’s going to invite his daughter Ashley. I think she’s an actress.’ Four months later she auditions for Daniel, the director. She goes in, knows me, knows I’m a producer and doesn’t say a word. Daniel said: ‘I found someone: Ashley Bell.’ Every other actor I have had any kind of remote contact with name-dropped: ‘Oh I’m a friend of Eli’s.’ She’s a class act.

Did you also see The Exorcist at an inappropriately young age?
Of course. And The Exorcist felt so real. I’d never seen anything that horrifying. It scared me for years, I had nightmares for years as a child and had always wanted to be involved in an exorcism movie.

What are your favourite scary movies?
I saw Alien when I was eight years old. To me, it was like a combination of Jaws and Star Wars and that’s the movie that made me want to be a director.

You famously made Hostel audiences throw up. What film has made you throw up?
Alien. It traumatised me. I actually threw up I was so nervous after I saw it but that’s like the highest compliment you can give a horror film. Then, when I was 12, I saw Evil Dead and that movie traumatised me too, but
I also discovered that a 21-year-old [Sam Raimi] directed it, that you can go off in the woods with your friends and for not much money make a classic.

Who’s your favourite actor?
Peter Sellers is probably my favourite actor of all time. I just watched Dr Strangelove the other night. I’m obsessed with him, even in The Party and Being There. Peter Sellers can do no wrong in my book. I also love Ricky Gervais, Sacha Baron Cohen, Steve Coogan. I’m obsessed with Brits and, go figure, I’m dating one!

What do you watch on TV?
I really like The Office, the original one. And obviously Sacha Baron Cohen, I have all the British Ali G DVDs. When I was shooting Hostel, the children who played the street kids were these gipsies who lived in a commune. They didn’t go to school but knew English from watching HBO and Ali G. They called me Eli G, and I had to say: ‘Yo bitches!’ Recently I’ve been watching Nighty Night with Julia Davis. That’s one of my favourites.

Do you love Brit bands too?
Of course. I will be forever stuck in classic rock. I listen to The Beatles, The Rolling Stones, David Bowie. I have a soft spot for ’80s metal, because I grew up in Massachusetts, so I listened to Guns N’ Roses, AC/DC and Iron Maiden. I like weirder, more obscure stuff too like Devo.

Peaches Geldof is only 21. Does she introduce you to new bands?
Totally. Bands such as Edward Sharpe And The Magnetic Zeros, bands I would never have known otherwise. She makes a playlist and says: ‘You’ve got to listen to this and this.’ She knows every new band, so she’s like my DJ and is introducing me to all the latest stuff.

Did you like The Boomtown Rats back in the day?
I still like The Boomtown Rats. Bob Geldof is actually my favourite person to argue about music with, because he just rolls his eyes when I talk about the genius of Powerslave, an Iron Maiden album. He just scratches his head, looks at his daughter and says: ‘Why did you pick this guy?’

What scares you in life?
The thought I might die before I get to make all the films I want to make terrifies me.

While talking to Blogomatic3000.com Eli discussed some upcoming projects he has in the works:

Can you talk about your upcoming projects, anything about Thanksgiving?
Sure, my friend Jeff Rendell has been working on the script whilst I’ve been doing the press and as soon as I’m done with this, I can go sit down and write. I really need to finish my scripts; I’ve just been so busy in The Last Exorcism land, which believe me is a good place to be, but I’m ready to go back to writing.

I hear you’re working with Huck Botko and Andrew Gurland on…
Funhouse, we’re doing the Funhouse remake, they’re writing that right now. They’re great. They’re such funny guys I’m really excited.

Will we be seeing more of you acting after your cameo in Piranha 3D?
(With irony) Really, I didn’t think I could top my SAG Award winning performance in Inglourious Basterds, but then Alex Aja [director] invited me to come on set and hose down tits on Piranha 3D and I said what time do you need me? And having seen my performance in that film, I think there’s certain things you do that really are just sacrifices for art and for the betterment of cinema. And unless it’s a film I think is that much of a charitable contribution to the world, where you feel like you’re just contributing to the betterment of mankind, I probably wouldn’t do it… Unless it involves hosing down tits. Then I would do it.

Source

Director Eli Roth has slammed critics of his horror films, accusing reviewers of failing to “understand” his movies. The actor/filmmaker gained notoriety with his graphic 2005 slasher movie Hostel, which provoked a storm of controversy and led some film critics to label the shocking project “torture porn”.

But the star insists reviewers are just not interested in watching horror movies.

He says, “I think the term ‘torture porn’… says more about the critics than it does about the film and their complete lack of understanding or frankly interest in those types of movies.”

Source

Eli attended the UK premiere of “The Last Exorcism” at the Film4 Frightfest 2010. So far, only four (4) pictures have been released of Eli attending the event, but hopefully more will surface. Head over to the gallery to check out all the latest pictures!

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- Home > Public Appearances > Appearances From 2010 > “The Last Exorcism” Film4 Frightfest 2010 Premiere

Eli made GQ Magazine’s “Most Stylish Men of the Week” list for his “The Last Exorcism” premiere outfit. Eli came in at number six (6):

Eli Roth
The man behind The Last Exorcism recently threatened he’d like to make a Thanksgiving trailer. Such bad taste aside, he looks surprisingly dapper next to star Ashley Bell. Let’s just hope he has a darker suit for Frightfest in London this weekend.

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- Home > Public Appearances > Appearances From 2010 > “The Last Exorcism” L.A. Premiere – Arrivals
- Home > Public Appearances > Appearances From 2010 > “The Last Exorcism” L.A. Premiere – After Party

Ashley Bell saved the producers of The Last Exorcism a lot of money. That’s because the star was able to perform the neck twisting and back-bending moves without the help of any special effects. (Source)

“I did it all myself. I wish I could say I’m a hologram but I did it all myself,” Bell told OnTheRedCarpet.com at the Los Angeles premiere of the film. “Now I feel like I’m stuck. Like every time I go to audition for something, I have to do a back-bend and then read the sides.”

So how did the star prepare for her role as a possessed person? “I read every single book I could find on exorcisms that hadn’t been banned,” she said. “Going into it the director [Daniel Stamm] said to watch all the exorcist movies and then don’t do that. So we were immediately set to do something different and go our own way.”

The film’s producer and famed horror director, Eli Roth, stopped and crashed Bell’s interview to rave about her performance. “I want an Oscar stat for Ashley Bell,” Roth said.

Oscar-winning director-writer-producer-actor Quentin Tarantino will be tenderly roasted at a very classy Friars Club Roast that probably won’t go to the trouble of creating a creepy sculpture 17 times the size of him, like Comedy Central did for David Hasselhoff. Samuel L. Jackson will be “Roastmaster” for the event to be held Friday, Oct. 1 at the New York Hilton.

Other guests: Kathy Griffin, Pam Grier, Neve Campbell, Michael Madsen, Eli Roth, Patricia Arquette, Rob Schneider, Uma Thurman, Harvey Weinstein, Sarah Silverman, Rosario Dawson, Bob Weinstein, Michelle Rodriguez, and more! Maybe you, if you crash it! They’ll probably let anyone with a Vincent Vega wig in. Who are these “friars” to say you are not John Travolta? Oh my God. Are you John Travolta? (Source)

Prolific film maker Eli Roth, who is renowned for his gore fests like the ‘Hostel’ franchise and the creepy new film ‘The Last Exorcism’ that saw its worldwide release yesterday insists that he is helping men everywhere get in touch with their emotions with his disgusting, blood soaked films.

He said “I do think that many people are ashamed when they feel afraid, there’s this thing in our society that you’re not allowed to feel scared. You have to be a man and put on a brave face, but we all have fears. It’s not just fears of monsters attacking us, but fears of dying alone, never meeting or falling in love with the right person, or of losing your job. You do need an outlet to release all of those fears and when you go to a movie theatre, it’s the last place that it’s socially acceptable to be terrified. You’re probably on a date with someone squeezing your hand, and you scream and let it out and it feels good, and afterwards you’re energized. It’s actually a cathartic experience.”

The actor/producer/director can be seen currently in the critically panned ‘Piranha 3D’. (Source)

Eli attended the Los Angeles premiere and after party of “The Last Exorcism”. Eli looked fantastic at the premiere and it was nice to see Eli’s friends and family at the premiere to support him and the film. Head over to the gallery to check out all the latest pictures!

Gallery Links:
- Home > Public Appearances > Appearances From 2010 > “The Last Exorcism” L.A. Premiere – Arrivals
- Home > Public Appearances > Appearances From 2010 > “The Last Exorcism” L.A. Premiere – After Party