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Scooby, Shaggy, Daphne, Fred, and Velma star in… SCOOBY-DOO 2 MONSTERS UNLEASHED

The four human stars of the first Scooby Doo movie return for another spin in the Mystery Machine in this worthy sequel; (Freddie Prinze Jr). as fearless leader Fred; (Sarah Michelle Gellar) as the Buffy-Inspired Daphne; (Linda Cardellini) as mystery-mad Velma; and (Matthew Lillard) as chronically famished Shaggy; but as with the first film, the real star of Scooby Doo is the Great Dane himself, and the CGI Scooby has never looked better!

Mystery Inc. are on top of the world - famous, rich, successful and adored by both the public and the media. Their hometown of Coolsville is so taken by the Mystery Inc. gang and their famous dog Scooby Doo, that they are even opening a special museum to commemorate all the cases that they have solved. Things soon turn sour however, when an anonymous masked villain wrecks mayhem on the city with a machine that recreates classic Mystery Inc. foes like The Pterodactyl Ghost and the 10,000 Volt Ghost. To make things worse, the gang's bungled attempts to stop the Pterodactyl Ghost from destroying the museum are broadcast on TV for all to see. The gang has to take on their mysterious enemy, save Coolsville from the Monsters that have been unleashed, and restore Mystery Inc.'s reputation in the eyes of the public.

Venturing out from their hiding place behind the Sofa, Shaggy and Scooby pledge to one another, that they will do their best to be more like Fred, Daphne and Velma. Shaggy and Scooby search for clues that will help them to solve the case themselves and prove to the gang that they deserve to be a part of Mystery inc. While Shaggy and Scooby are separated from the gang, they get into their 70s disguises and visit a bar frequented by the criminals that the Mystery Inc. gang (those meddling kids!), unmasked. While in the bar, Scooby Doo takes part in a great 70s dance routine that is truly amazing!

Comic genius (Seth Green) joins the cast of Scooby Doo 2 as Patrick, the curator of the museum who also serves as Velma's love interest (it appears that she has gotten over Fred!). The scenes between Green and Cardellini are magical as both of their characters fall apart when talking with each other. Also joining the cast this time around is (Alicia Silverstone) who plays 'driven' reporter Heather Jasper Howe who repeatedly discredits the Mystery Inc. gang on TV. Silverstone's interaction with real-life husband and wife couple Prinze Jr. and Gellar is excellent as her character manages to confuse the characters into showing how dumb they really are. It is clear that without Velma, Mystery Inc. would fall apart!

With some great one-liners, ("how did that dinosaur get through security?"), explosive special effects, an involving story and a terrific soundtrack, Scooby Doo 2: Monster's Unleashed is a terrific family film that returns the Scooby Doo series to its 'Scooby Doo - Where are you?' roots and comes highly recommended for Scooby fans of all ages.

Now grab those Scooby Snacks and rent online now!

SCOOBY-DOO 2 - MONSTERS UNLEASHED - COMPETITION

The four human stars of the first Scooby Doo movie return for another spin in the Mystery Machine in this worthy sequel; Freddie Prinze Jr. as fearless leader Fred; Sarah Michelle Gellar as the Buffy-Inspired Daphne; Linda Cardellini as mystery-mad Velma; and Matthew Lillard as chronically famished Shaggy; but as with the first film, the real star of Scooby Doo is the Great Dane himself, and the CGI Scooby has never looked better!

To celebrate the release of Scooby Doo 2: Monsters Unleashed to rent and buy from the 23rd August, Blockbuster has teamed up with Warner Home Video to give away a DVD player and 5 copies of the film that is nothing short of Scoob-tacular!

One lucky winner will win the DVD Player and a copy of Scooby Doo 2: Monsters Unleashed on DVD, 4 runners-up will each WIN a copy of the DVD. For your chance to win, simply e-mail us at competitions@blockbuster.com and let us know:

Which of the Mystery Inc. gang is always the “damsel-in-distress”?

Closing date – 27th September 2004.

© 2004 Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. All rights reserved. SCOOBY-DOO™ and all related characters and elements are trademarks of and © Hanna-Barbera. © 2004 Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. All rights reserved

How easy or hard was it to slip back into Fred's skin or hair, should I say? (laugh)

“ I did slip into hair this time. It's not hard but it was the first time. The second time you have a lot more confidence in what you're doing because you know how well it was received the first time. So it's not hard, but it's still a challenge, like anything else. But I love Fred Jones and I love how conceited and arrogant and self-loving he is. I wanted him to be the exact opposite of Velma. So I had a lot of fun. ”

Tell me a little bit how Fred is different between the two films. It seems there is a change.

“ Well, the whole moral of the movie is to accept who you are and be proud of who you are and wipe away all the nonsense. Fred is macho and he's a hero. He's put himself on this pedestal so he holds himself to a certain standard that he believes is above other people. He doesn't believe he can show a weak side or sensitivity because he's a man. And like I said, the moral is to show that that is okay and that it's part of being a man. He, sometimes in a funny way, sometimes in a sad way, works through this process. But everybody has their thing. To Daphne, image is everything. And Velma's trying to be someone she's not when Seth really loves regular Velma, not vamp Velma. Shaggy doesn't think he's worth anything, but everybody is important and is special and serves a purpose in the group. That's sort of the whole message of the movie. ”

As you were saying, you and your co-stars are all comfortable with each other, something that you can see on-screen. Was it easy because you know what to expect this time? How was it getting back with the gang and doing this again?

“ When we made the first movie, all of us knew we were making something very special. So when we made the second one, I remember we were at the read through and not all the roles had been cast yet. But the four of us - Sarah, Linda, Matthew, and me - were there. We depend on each other and we look after each other. And we're really, really good at taking care of each other. That's what we do on set. When we're on set, that's my family. I look after them and I care for them. Matt's especially taken care of me. In all, we've made five movies together and he's always taken care of me. And for the first time, this is Shaggy's movie. So now, it's my job to look after him because he's worked non-stop. 14 hours a day. Just endured, stayed strong and focused, and he's so good acting with nothing. ”

Speaking of working with nothing, was it easier this time around working with the green screen and the special effects?

“ I understand why you say that. It's not easier, but you're better equipped for it. It's never easy to focus on something that's not there. If I'm looking at you, my eyes look a certain way. If you move out, they're gonna naturally focus to the next closest thing. It's really hard to focus on nothing. But you learn how to do it. Matt's better than all of us at it. ”

It's a very physical movie. Your scene with the motorcycle...

“ Yeah, people are intimidated by them. But they're not hard to ride. That's not a tricky thing but there were challenges. Maneuvering with a pipe on the left handlebar is not easy. It's a powerful bike. If you start to lose it, you could just power it right out. I used to ride motorcycles so it was fairly easy for me. But yeah, there was a lot of physical stuff. And everybody had some stuff to do. ”

How cool was it to bring these monsters back to life?

“ My favorite ones didn't make the cut. The Skele-Men are cool and goofy, but they're not scary. I like Captain Cutler. That's my man right there. When he comes out of the lake and he's behind the Mystery Machine and shoots his harpoon gun in the back of it, that's the exact same shot from the cartoon. Frame for frame, it's the same shot. So he's my favorite in it. The guy that plays him must have lost like, a hundred pounds by the end of the movie because his costume weighed a hundred pounds on its own and they make him soaking wet and then fight everyone. ”

The relationship with Daphne and Fred is a little bit different. It's taken to a higher level at one point.

“ It's taken to where I think people wanted it to go. They're comfortable in their relationship. If they weren't, she wouldn't be able to help him through and he wouldn't be able to help her. ”

Obviously you must be comfortable with each other since you're married to each other. Is it easy to work together and not take this stuff home?

“ It's so not an issue for us. We're both really, really good at what we do. We go to work, we come home. If something happened at work that we want to talk about, we talk about it. If nothing too eventful happened, we talk about whatever. It's very simple. There's no trick to it because it's just our job. ”

Freddie Prinze jr Filmography

Are interviews like this great research for playing the type of TV personality who's there as soon as the camera's on, the "switch-on" of the personality?

“ I've definitely been around my share of journalists. But mostly what really got me triggered for shaping Heather Jasper-Howe was the idea that my character was truly dedicated to the citizens of Coolsville. That it was her responsibility to take care of these people and that she was devastated and truly, truly hurt that Mystery Inc. would put her in this position because she was such a fan. And that they're forcing her to feel differently about them because it's her responsibility to take care of the people of this town, and to me, that was just so much fun to build around. The idea that I was dutifully taking care of people but all the while, really just trying to do the nastiest, meanest things in the world, really got me stimulated and excited as I was working on the character. ”

What prompted you to say "yes" to this film?

“ I watched the first "Scooby-Doo" as part of my homework and I loved it. I thought it was such a cute movie for kids and I thought it was so sweet and I fell in love with Scooby. He's so cute. I also thought that Matt Lillard was truly wonderful in the role and I was so inspired by that, that he did such a good job. He doesn't have anything to grab on to but he's acting like something is right there. I didn't get to really work with him very much but I was just so inspired by his work and I thought that the movie was just so lovely and sweet. I thought that it would be a fun role. ”

And you got to meet Ruben Studdard from "American Idol." I heard you were a fan.

“ I did. Sarah Michelle Gellar and I really bonded over our addiction with the show, unbelievably absurd reality television. We both were just so addicted to this show, so it was a surprise when we found out that Ruben was in the film because we had been genuinely talking about it the entire time. Seth Green and I went in his room, and I'm a vegetarian so I was eating my really veggie food, and he was just like, "What is that?" He is far from a vegetarian and I made him try it and it was fun. He was really a nice guy and they were all so nice. I had a blast doing this film. ”

Are you still hooked on reality shows?

“ Yeah, a little bit. It's terrible because as an actress, you're really not supposed to watch them because everybody is saying that they're taking over, but you can't help it. I don't know. I was watching "Average Joe," and "The Bachelorette" and "Survivor." I can't help it. It's just mindless fun entertainment, but I just get so emotional. It's ridiculous. I think I must be getting older or something to just start crying over anything. ”

Alicia Silverstone Filmography

How is it being the new guy in the gang?

“ Shockingly easy. I either knew everybody or was a fan, and everybody was really welcoming, so can't say that it was a tough thing at all. I blend. ”

How much of acting is reacting, especially when your co-star is not there?

“ Yeah, that's a trick. I don't know how to explain my (laugh) process to you so I won't, but I just really tried hard to be real. The first scene that I got to do was that scene on the docks with Matthew Lillard and Scooby and thank goodness I had Matt to do it with. It was funny. It took me a minute to realize that not only is this dog here but they're gonna animate him to be interactive with me, so I have to interact with him. It worked out really well to have Scooby's voice, Neil Fanning, on-set and having Matt in that scene, and everybody else who had already done this before gave me really good advice. It was fun. I'm actually glad that that was my first scene because it got everything out of the way. It was probably the hardest one that we had to do. ”

How do you gauge what's over the top when you're doing an extreme world like this?

“ I always try, even if something's over the top, to ground it in reality, because people get out of control in real life all the time and I just try and make it as authentic as possible. But yeah, you could boost it a (laugh) little more because it is a cartoon... ”

You mentioned working with Matthew and he's praised working with you.

“ Nobody knows what Matt is capable of. People just have no idea how good he is, how smart he is, and what a good movie star he is. ”

We were talking at the beginning about you being the new guy in this particular group, but of course you and Sarah Michelle Gellar have worked together in the television series "Buffy the Vampire Slayer."

“ Yeah, we've actually known each other since we were like nine. We did commercials in New York together so I've known her forever. ”

How do you think "Buffy" fans will react to seeing you in different roles?

“ Who knows. People saw Tom Hanks and Meg Ryan in movie after movie and playing different people and people seem to be able to go with it, so I have a lot of faith that audiences can accept people in different roles. You see the same combinations of actors all the time. It's kind of a wink that these people work well together and let's put them in something else because they work well together. ”

We hear about people in Hollywood who don't always conduct themselves in the most respectable way. Is that something you try to avoid?

“ I don't think that's limited to just (laughs) acting. I think it's kind of an epidemic nationally. But in all seriousness, I honestly try to conduct myself in a manner that I can defend in the future whether it's on television or whether it's just happening. I try really hard to just be a decent person. I always like to be able to know that I can stand by my actions and I felt like I have. ”

It seems that you're constantly working. Do you not have much down time?

“ I don't, but I think I'm good at operating like that. When you get opportunities, you just have to weigh what's more important. There's been plenty of times where I've said, "You know what, I can't do anything right now. I need to really take some time to myself and just relax a bit or I won't be able to do the best job I can if I'm not emotionally and physically prepared for it." ”

What was it like working with Linda? She seems just amazing.

“ She is. She's great at improv. She really, really pays attention. People say we have good chemistry together and I always say that chemistry is something you can easily manufacture if you just pay attention to the other actor. If you really interact with each other in listening, it looks like chemistry. She's such a talent and so prepared, so we just got on really well. ”

Velma has some glamorous moments in this film but usually Daphne's the one that people fall all over. Is Velma underrated?

“ Yeah. Consistently, but there's this whole underground contingent of people who believe that Velma is far more attractive than Daphne. I think it's just preference. ”

You mentioned that you've been doing this for a long time. For a guy as young as you are, you have so many credits and a broad range of experience. What's your thought about stepping behind the camera?

“ For me, it is about finding the right project and feeling like I've got the vision to carry it. Directing a movie is so much more than saying "action" and telling people to stand here. You really need to guide that ship. You need to govern all the people involved with it, inspire confidence with your take on the movie because it takes so much to make a movie. I haven't found a project that's inspired me to that degree. I don't rule it out because I'm definitely educating myself, definitely studying film and the way that it works from the business side and creative sides, but I think that's more geared towards producing than directing. ”

Is there a type of film or role that you haven't done that you're looking forward to?

“ Sure. I don't actively seek them out, but I read scripts and if something strikes me or if a friend and I come up with an idea...I don't feel like I have to do this now or that I have to show people that I can do this. That's not the best way to do your best work. If I'm inspired by something, I can be passionate about it, and even if you guys hate it, I can come here and tell you why I had to make it. I think it's really important. ”

At what point did you realize that you were a success?

“ Gosh, do you ever? I've definitely gained a position of certain financial security, which is nice. But all that makes me is a little bit more patient with the work. I don't have to work on anything that I don't really believe in and that's a degree of success in my opinion, being able to choose the things that you want to put out. ”

Seth Green Filmography

With a special effects film like this, does it not come together until you're in the editing room or is that true with any film?

“ Well, it's true of any film, but in this film in particular, when you come back after you're shooting, you still only have half the movie because you don't have a star and the villains. You have to start re-shooting again in a way. The animating teams come in and you do a lot of sort of acting out and pantomiming and stuff, and they take their little notes and give you very funny looks. Then they go off and create something that's either really close to what you talked about and you had in your head or it's nothing like what you talked about and doesn't work at all, or it's nothing like what you talked about and it works great. Because even though I'm the director, I only give the initial marching orders and people have to go out and execute it and add their own nuances. ”

About that process, we keep hearing how the state of animation has changed, that the technology is there but they don't necessarily think like creative people. Is that still true?

“ That still exists, most certainly, but the Chief Animator, Leon Joosen, who we worked with, does think funny and it's his job to talk to his guys. I think every animating house that we worked with had sort of a front guy who got it. ”

They know what they're doing. There was a lot of discussion though on the first "Scooby" about which design you guys were going to use. How did you decide which version of Scooby to use?

“ We basically had our post mortem of the first movie and thinking about "Scooby 2," what we really wanted to do is make him more real, more dog-like, and as funny as he can possibly be, but mostly we wanted him to seem more real so we gave him emotional scenes. ”

How was the dance sequence animated? First with stand-ins?

“ Actually that's the one sequence where Scooby wasn't fully animated. We actually had a dancer wear the wardrobe, this V-neck, open collar and white things that would be easy to rotoscope out, and she danced and did an amazing job. Then Rhythm and Hues put Scooby's head on that, so from the time they walked in the bar until the time they exit the bar, that's an actor with Scooby's head on it. ”

Do you test screen a film like this?

“ Oh, yeah. With parents and kids because they're both equally important. ”

Do you base it on the laughter? Do you actually take comment cards from them?

“ Definitely. Most of them want us to make it scarier (laugh). No, they make comments like Daphne, Velma's cool, monsters are dumb, they have a lot to say. If you screen the movie for people, even if they're six years old, they have something to say about it. They also do focus groups but I think the most honest and accurate is just the screening process itself. You can feel when your jokes are working and when they're not. Since I started as an Editor working with Chris Columbus, we did a lot of those comedy screenings and I'm an old hand at them, but that doesn't make them any easier. ”

How many "Scooby" movies do you have in you?

“ I can't answer that question. I was really happy to do the second one because I knew I could do a better movie. But for a third film, we'll have to see...if Matt's there, and Linda's there, and everyone's up to do it, we have a great script, cool new monsters, and if there's an appetite for it...I think that the public's reception to this "Scooby" will determine if we have a "Scooby 3." ”

One of the things that I really liked about this movie was the very "operatic" scenes. Was that a way of making it scary in a fun way?

“ Yes, thank you. It depends on your definition of operatic but from cartoons to comic book worlds, the reason to make these movies is to do things more extreme than your average movie. So our bad guy makes his entrance high up, in a broken museum window and addresses the crowd...We try to find the most dramatic shot, the most dramatic entrance, nothing anyone in other movies doesn't do, but we had the advantage of these amazing sets and the advantage of CGI in our hands. ”

This might have been a second unit shot, but it must have been a big thrill to shoot the scene where the people are getting out of their cars and running down the street. Just like so many sci-fi movies.

“ Yeah, where the ghost ship's coming down. I got to shoot that, but there is a lot of great second unit in this movie. It was fun to stand there and think "War Of The Worlds" or "Godzilla" or whatever, it's (laugh) great. ”

Fred's hair seems a little bit darker, longer. Why the change in hair?

“ We wanted the character to be a little less uptight, a little more comfortable with himself, a little older and it just had more of a relaxed feel. We didn't want Fred to always be such the uptight guy. It was a reflection on his character and just trying to change with the times a little bit. ”

Were there any discussions how far to take Velma's transformation?

“ Of course. Linda has very, very good instincts, so I basically trusted her but we talked about the red cat suit with our Wardrobe Designer and Linda. Linda got all excited about the hair because the right hair has to be sort of goofy, like the cool version of goofy hair, so she had very specific ideas about that and the makeup and everything. I trust Linda implicitly, performance-wise, so I knew that she'd just go with it. That whole scene in the van with her and Seth, when her outfit makes that sound and she said, "That was my outfit, I swear," that was her ad-lib. It's one of the funniest laughs in the movie and it was all Linda. ”

Let's talk about casting Tim Blake Nelson because that was a pretty inspired creative choice.

“ Yes, it is. He's great. We didn't have a Jacobo character for a long time and we were about to just get a local guy in Vancouver, whoever looked like a mad scientist. Then "Holes" came out, which my kids are nuts over, and he's great in that movie and our Casting Supervisor had worked with Tim Blake on "Oh Brother, Where Art Thou" and was pushing him. It actually ended up that his kid is a big "Scooby-Doo" fan so I think that's the reason he did it. ”

Matthew has some scenes, particularly the tip-toeing scene that could very easily become too over the top. Does he have the instincts to know exactly where to draw the line or do you, as the director, step-in?

“ The tip-toeing by the windows, with the Skele-Men? For the first three or four takes, I'll let the actors do whatever they want. I don't like to pre-direct unless someone has a question about staging or whatever, but I don't want to accidentally limit their creativity by trying to offer a comment. So I basically don't say anything for the first couple takes, and then if I feel it's going too over the top, I'll ask to take it down a little bit and just see how it goes. It's like, watch it, make a tweak, watch it, make a tweak, because I don't necessarily know that's right or that's wrong. I try and stay as open to each take as possible. I try and have as little preconceived notion in my head. I mean, I know where the blocking is, know the lines, but once the actors take over, it's their show. I'm just an observer. I try and give a lot of options and then we figure it out in post-production when we start to get the tone and shape for the whole movie and then something may stick out as way over the top. ”

In the opening scene, when they're on the red carpet where you have that line about "how the press loves us," is that in the script or was that influenced by Freddie and Sarah?

“ That is in the script. Here's a couple who thrives on public attention and then through the course of these events, they find themselves under fire from those same people who were once their friends and who once supported them. So they lose something that's really, really important to them, and then by the end of the movie, they realize that's not really important. That's their mini-learning arc through the movie. ”

Raja Gosnell Filmography

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