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BRAD FULLER "AMITYVILLE HORROR" INTERVIEW
Date: April 8, 2005
Source: UGO.com/McFly
Full Interview: here

UGO: Any other casting issues?
BRAD: Sure. Philip Baker Hall. We got so lucky with Philip Baker Hall. Philip Baker Hall and Melissa George are both represented by a very close friend of mine, and so when we were developing the script, I called up my friend and said, "Listen, this is a lower budget movie, I can't pay Philip Baker Hall prices. But I promise you when the script comes in, I will schedule it so that he can come in for three or four days, and they are very impactful scenes, you just got to get him to do it." So, my buddy, he took care of me. I can't take another credit for it. It was just a friend doing a friend a favor. So, that's how we got Philip Baker Hall. I think it really classes up the joint, you know? In terms of the kids, Jesse James, who plays Billy, had worked with Michael Bay before on Pearl Harbor, so Michael was familiar with him. So, you know, he came in once and nailed it. Jimmy Bennett was the first person we cast. It wasn't an open casting, but he was the first guy to come in, and Chloe [Moretz] hasn't done anything. You know, her role has some very physical things that no seven-year-old should be doing, and when you cast someone, you don't know that they're going to be able to pull them off. But she pulled off some things in this that no one will believe.