Dave Grohl has a hard time saying no. That’s the best way to explain how thefrontman ofFoo Fighters ended up starring in the new comedy-horror movie“Studio 666.”The film, which opens only in theaters on Friday, Feb. 25, offers an exaggerated, somewhat gorier take on the making of the group’s 10th album,“Medicine at Midnight,”in a Los Angeles mansion.
Along the way, Grohl gets possessed, and the bodies of the other Foo Fighters members — drummer Taylor Hawkins, guitarists Pat Smear and Chris Shiflett, organ player Rami Jaffee, and bassist Nate Mendel — pile up, all in the style of cult classics like “The Evil Dead” and “Kiss Meets the Phantom of the Park.” The cast includes Jeff Greene,Whitney Cummings, Jenny Ortega, Leslie Grossman and the East Bay’s own Will Forte.
“Studio 666” is just the latest adventure for the53-year-old Grohl, who last year released his memoir, “The Storyteller,” reflecting on everything from his childhood to his years with Nirvana and work with rock icons like Paul McCartney andDavid Bowie.
The Bay Area last saw Grohl onstage at the 2021BottleRock纳帕谷的节日,where he took part in a chaoticcooking demonstrationwith celebrity chef José Andrés (“I’m f—in’ drunk,” Grohl said), helpedGuns N’ Rosesbreak curfew and played a thunderousheadlining set.
Grohl recently spoke to The Chronicle on Zoom from theliving room of his childhood Virginia home, talking about the making of “Studio 666” and his slew of other projects, including co-writing and performing on Liam Gallagher’s new single,“Everything’s Electric,”performing with Foo Fighters as part of this year’s Super Bowl after-show and penning the theme song for“Fraggle Rock: Back to the Rock.”
Q: Was it difficult playing Dave Grohl?
A:Well, yes, it was strange to be the Foo Fighters, but someone else’s version of the Foo Fighters.
Our natural dynamic is very easygoing. We spent a lot of time in close quarters over the last 26 years, so the timing and the dynamic between us that you see onscreen, most of that is entirely real and partially because the screenwriters spent time with us as we were making the record so that they could write that dynamic in the script.
That being said, having someone else put words in your mouth is kind of a funny feeling. And we’re not f—ing actors. I swear to God, every time someone said action, someone would say, “What was my line? What am I supposed to say?” And after 15 or 20 takes, we start riffing. The improv starts happening, and we started getting those legitimate moments, and a lot of them made it into the film.So it was funny. You know, Rami Jaffee isn’t as Pauly Shore as he is in the film in real life. He’s close, but they definitely played on that.
Q: (Spoiler) He did a great job getting cut in half by a chain saw. That was amazing acting.
A:Yes, it takes a thespian. He definitely had some summer stock to prepare for that, right?
Q: So when Dave in the movie says he loves “a good sconce,” is that a glimpse into the psyche of everyday Dave?
A:That was a moment in the script that I could not refuse. I love a good sconce because I don’t think I’ve ever looked at a sconce in my entire f—ing life. So, yes, it was ridiculous.
Q:Is it true that the house where you recorded “Medicine at Midnight” was haunted? Was that the inspiration for the film?
A:I lived in the house in the movie about 10 years ago. I rented it for a year while I was remodeling my place, which is about five blocks away.
When we were writing the music for “Medicine at Midnight,” I was trying to find a place where I could close myself off from everything and demo stuff on my own. Coincidentally, around that time, my old landlord called and said, “Hey, I’m selling the house. You want to buy it?” I said no but asked if I could set up a little studio in it. So I start demoing stuff in there.
At that same time, a friend of mine calls and says, “Hey, I just came out of a meeting and these people want to make a horror film with Foo Fighters.” And I texted him back and said, “That’s the stupidest f—ing idea I’ve ever heard in my entire life. Why, like, why would we make a horror film?”
I go back to the house and start working on my music, then I thought, we’ve got the creepy old house. I thought, OK. We’ll finish making the album, take a couple of weeks off, dress the house to turn it into a haunted house and make this really simple low-budget slasher film.
Famous last words.
That then snowballs into a full-length feature Hollywood horror film. We watched it happen before our eyes. We were like, “Wait, what’s a table read? What does that mean? Like, what screenwriters? What do they do?”
Before you know it, there’s f—ing fake blood everywhere and special effects. We watched that first edit of the movie when it came back and we’re like, “Oh my God, we made a movie! Wow!” We did not set out to do that, and we did it.
Q: As a person who is not a fan of horror films, I enjoyed it. It worked for me on a “Scooby-Doo” level. I could sit through it knowing that I’m not going to be traumatized.
A:Well, this is the thing. It’s like, if you tell someone the Foo Fighters made a horror film, the first thing they do is giggle — and that’s the appropriate reaction. You’re not going to run home screaming like you just saw “The Exorcist.” You’re going to be laughing your f—ing ass off and going, “Oh God, that’s disgusting.” This is the reaction we’re trying to get out of people.
Having made rock videos for the last 26 years, we’re no strangers to goofing in front of a f—ing camera. It was just much more involved this time. But in some ways, it felt OK because it was just meant to be fun. Nobody’s renting tuxes for the Oscars on this one.
Q: I know it was made with some secrecy. How were you able to pull that off during the pandemic?
A:It was done right before the pandemic — that’s the thing. We finished the album at the end of January and we started filming at the beginning of February (2020). And by the middle of March, we had about six days left when everything shut down. We were so f—ing close. And then we backed away from it for six or seven months and then thought, we have to finish this.
But then we had to finish it within the new guidelines and regulations in the world of COVID. We were one of the first major film productions to come back after filming shut everything down, and that took an additional three weeks because then it just slowed things down.
COVID could have stopped the entire film, but at that point, we knew that we had to finish it. We kept it a secret for f—ing 2½ years, man.
Q: Wow, I thought you made it last month. Way to keep a secret.
A:I’m going to have to be honest. One of the reasons why nobody found out about it is because we funded the entire thing. We did it all. We made the movie ourselves with these brilliant people that helped us do it. Then it was time to sell the film and we’re like, “Oh God, I hope somebody buys this f—ing thing.” And they did. We’re like, “Oh, thank the Lord on high.”
Q: The only drawback is that after living through what we did over the past two years it is that much harder to scare people now. But throwing cymbals at people’s heads to decapitate them is pretty good.
A:I mean, some people would ask me my expectations. I can honestly say, very few, practically none. The fact that I get to talk to people and they say, “Hey, I watched your movie!” My reward is we made a movie. The best part is we pulled it off.
It’s very Foo Fighters in that we usually are attracted to things that not only do we not know how to do, but we’re not sure if we can pull it off. You don’t go bungee jumping because you know you’re going to fall safely to the ground.
但是我们所做的一切,我们就像,“OK, let’s go!” and then you just jump in. If you make it out alive, you’re like, “Oh, we got it.”
Q: You are packing it in. You played a virtual reality set at the Super Bowl, you co-wrote and played on Liam Gallagher’s new single, and you made the elusive “Sesame Street” to “Fraggle Rock” crossover. Have you considered chilling out at all?
A:I’m bad at vacations. I’m not good at sleeping. But most of all, I’m faced with a lot of really enjoyable opportunities. That’s where I steer the boat. We’re constantly asked to do things that you would imagine we would do, but when “Fraggle Rock” calls, it’s like, “Wait? For the puppet thing, they want us to do the theme song? OK, well, we’re going to make it sound like Queen’s ‘Tie Your Mother Down,’ and then we’ll come over there and film the thing with the puppets.”
I mean, why the f— not? Life’s too short.
“Studio 666”(R) in theaters Friday, Feb. 25.