Sam Raimi Answers Your Twitter Questions

On Monday we sat down with Spider-man director Sam Raimi and gave him complete control of our Twitter account ( @totalfilm ).

The full transcript of the event is below. Enjoy, and keep an eye on our Twitter feed for more exciting events like this.

On Drag Me To Hell...

@shiverspt You've done The Gift in 2000, but when did you decide that it was time to go back to your roots with Drag me To Hell?

I'd written a screenplay with my brother Ivan and found I cared about the characters. When given the opportunity to direct it I took it.

@stevetrek

There are no definite plans for a Drag Me To Hell remake at the minute.

Next: On other people's movies... [page-break]

On other people’s movies...

@ach0 Peter Jackson came from a low budget horror background too - do you like the Lord of the Rings films? Compared to ED?!

They're brilliant films. I love the NZ landscape and the respect for Tolkien's words. I couldn't compare ED.

@mydogminton What did you think of My Name Is Bruce?

I haven't seen it properly yet.

Next: On Iron Man... [page-break]

On Iron Man...

@samashurst Sam, did you see Iron Man? Did you enjoy it?

Iron Man was the perfect representation of a comic. Robert Downey Junior was fantastic. The suit looked great.

@shadowhoney Jon F is on Twitter! As far as I know he genuine! Has been updating about Iron man 2 (and gving geek tours of his house)

I'm interested in Iron Man 2 if Jon Favreau is directing.

Next: On his early works... [page-break]

On his early works...

@TheDvS Is there any one of your movies you personally think deserved a second chance or could've been done better?

I could do most of my films better now but I'd have lost the experience of dealing with all the problems. That would have taken some of the fun out of it.

@andrewL0WE If you could, like, go back in time, what advice would you give the 21-year-old Sam during the making of Evil Dead?

I'd tell him not to get involved with Embassy Pictures (Crimewave), and to join the Directors' Guild. They took it over.

@paul_ie86 What is your proudest moment in your career?

I just like when the audience likes the movie. I live moment to moment on the audience's reactions.

Next: On his future... [page-break]

On his future ...

@johnny_neurotic - is there anything you'd like to adapt? Or would you do something wholly original a la DMTH?

I'd love to do a sci-fi movie. I'm a big fan of Ray Bradbury, Isaac Asimov & Robert Silverberg books.

@Hollywood_Trey Q: Can ur fans expect see another Raimi/Coen Brothers collaboration in the future?

The one time I got to direct with the Coens I realised how efficient and detailed their planning is. I don't really see that much of them these days. We live in different places and are so busy.

The Coens have won so many awards now that I'm not sure they'd want to work with me!

Next: On Spider-Man... [page-break]

On Spider-Man ...

@shadowhoney How did u feel about the critisism of Spiderman3 (too many baddies) and what can we expect from Spidey4? :0)

Yes, I think the number of villains could have detracted from the story.

@bigboss30 and if we get a balls-out SR S4, who can we expect to see as the villain?

I can't really answer that yet!

@spadoinkler Hi! Are there any other comicbook characters, besides Spidey, that you'd love to bring to the big screen?

I love Batman but they've done such a good job with the new films that they don't need me. I love The Shadow. The character is very mysterious. I like the intensity with which he dealt with his foes.

Stan Lee made it very clear that Spider-Man comics are all "stories of responsibility".

@rabbitportal Are you and Danny Elfman still friends after the spider-man 3 troubles. Hope so.

I don't want to speak for anyone but I think we're okay.

Next: On filmmaking... [page-break]

On filmmaking...

@chrisblohm What's the no.1 scare-tactic guaranteed to make an audience jump out of their seats?

There are no guarantees with this. I still feel like a student of horror. But it's important to have a healthy respect for the audience. You can never know how an audience is going to react.

I do sit and watch my films with an audience. I'm always surprised how much smart the audience are.

@Robzzilla any advice to anyone taking a camera out and trying to make movies themselves?

If you want to be a film maker, show your movies to a paying audience. Even if it's just £1. Then take it away and base your changes on the reaction of a paying audience.

They'll be honest about their reactions. Then make another film and put into practice what you've learnt on the previous film.

@davidwaddington What similarities, if any, are there in creating effective horrors and big budget effects driven movies?

They're very similar. In each case the director has to have a vision and communicate that to the technicians. The difference is how that communication happens.

On a small horror it's much more direct, intimate. On a bigger picture there are so many people - it becomes a bit like Chinese Whispers.

@ckc1ne Could you summarise the process you go through on a story from initial concept through to screen?

With Drag me to Hell it was easy. It was a 30 page story for years and Ivan thought we should expand to a screen play. With Spiderman it was a hard process. We had to discover who the character is based on 40 years of material.

NafRas how come are you so fascinated with the horror/thriller genre?

I don't know if I am, but the crowd that come to horror are the most enthusiastic. They come to it with open arms.

Next: On his favourite films... [page-break]

On his favourite films ...

@Robzzilla Desert Island time - You can keep five films for the rest of your life, what would they be?

Fellini's La Strada, The Wizard of Oz.... I think my batteray ran out on this desert island. I can't think of more!

Five favourite horror films (off the cuff): The Haunting, Curse of the Demon, Night of the Living Dead, Bride of Frankenstein, The Tennant.

@bryankam Who is your own favorite director?

I'd have to say Hitchcock. He has great respect for the audiences' intelligence and imagination. Hitchcock is also a great comedian. All his cameos are very clever and funny.

I've liked different Hitchcock films at different times in my life, but I think my favourite has to be Psycho. I love the work Hitchcock does with the actors. Janet Leigh in the long car scene is incredible.

Next: On the Evil Dead franchise... [page-break]

On the Evil Dead franchise ...

@gcdb Hi Sam, just wondering how you feel about remakes of classic horror/regular films. Do you think its a good, bad thing?

I know some people dislike these remakes but a lot a great films would never have existed without remakes. To some extent, of course, Evil Dead 2 was a remake of Evil Dead.

Evil Dead was made 30 years ago and shot on 16mm, in mono. Only a few thousand people saw it on the big screen.

There could be a reason to remake Evil Dead if a new director came in and could add a little bit more depth to the characters.

Re: all the Evil Dead 4 questions. I haven't written it yet so I can't say what will happen...

... but I want to throw more things at Bruce and really put him through another ordeal!

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Sam Ashurst is a London-based film maker, journalist, and podcast host. He's the director of Frankenstein's Creature, A Little More Flesh + A Little More Flesh 2, and co-hosts the Arrow Podcast. His words have appeared on HuffPost, MSN, The Independent, Yahoo, Cosmopolitan, and many more, as well as of course for us here at GamesRadar+.