interview with Mr Brooks director Bruce Evans

Whereas a typical psycho killer film concentrates on the actual deeds, Mr. Brooks is about “what goes on with a serial killer between the killings,” director and co-writer Bruce A. Evans says in a phone interview.
Evans penned Mr. Brooks, with his writing partner Raynold Gideon, as a spec script. Over the years the pair have written films as diverse as Stand By Me, Starman, Cutthroat Island, and Evans directed Kuffs in 1992. Mr. Brooks “was written with Kevin Costner in mind,” Evans mentions about the script. On the strength of its propulsive twists and intense characters the script also attracted a strong cast.
The movie begins with titles telling us something is going on in the mind of Mr. Brooks. Brooks first appears along with his reflection in a mirror. He’s getting the Businessman of the Year award in Portland and while the action shows him confident in manner we soon meet Marshall (William Hurt), the evil id part of Brooks. The actors frequently appear in two-shots and display perfect timing in their laughter and palpable tension as Marshall pushes the correct buttons that turn Brooks into a serial killer. Unlike Fight Club where the twist at the end shows that the two actors are the same guy (Tyler Durden) here the duality device comes in the first ten minutes. “Before filming I had a week of rehearsal with Hurt and Costner where we were able to explore things like the timing,” says Evans.
Brooks drive an inconspicuous early 1990s Volvo 240 DL. Evans had another car written in the script. “I’m a smaller guy, I had them in a small car.” Both actors are over six foot, and the Volvo provided the space needed for the actors and camera placement, yet doesn’t draw suspicion on the road when he’s stalking his victims.
Demi Moore plays a tough nails homicide detective and Dane Cook surreptitiously sees Mr. Brooks committing his crime. Cook, calling himself Mr. Smith, blackmails Brooks, not for money, but to go along on the next kill. The real substance of the story follows different plot threads that eventually knit together. Brooks’ daughter arrives home to announce she’s dropped out of college; only she’s got two bigger secrets. And Moore’s stalked by another serial psycho, the Hangman Killer, who’s just escaped from prison with the vow to kill her. That’s just the first half of the film.
Mr. Brooks was shot in Shreveport. With a fairly low budget production compared to mainstream studio fare, Evans found ways to stretch creativity when he couldn’t get what he’d envisioned. A hallway shootout between Moore and the Hangman was scripted for a very long hallway. Instead they had a normal hallway, so Evan has Moore shooting out the overhead fluorescent lights, and the sound of gunfire vanishes and is replaced by the stylistic soundtrack from Hans Zimmer protégé Ramin Djawadi. It’s truly a cinematic moment.