Posted in: Exclusive, Horror, Interview, Movies | Tagged: exclusive, interview, Rhys Frake-Waterfield, Scott Chambers, scream, Winnie The Pooh: Blood and Honey 2

Winnie-the-Pooh: Blood and Honey 2: Chambers on Scream's Influence

Scott Chambers on how Winnie-the-Pooh: Blood and Honey 2 expands lore, and how the Scream franchise influenced the film and his career.

Actor and producer Scott Chambers is as passionate as he's dedicated. It's thanks to films like 1996's Scream that helped pave his way into Hollywood and a path into horror like Jagged Edge's Winnie-the-Pooh: Blood and Honey 2, Rhys Frake-Waterfield's follow-up to his 2023 original, expanding on the narrative similar to the Kevin Williamson franchise. Chambers takes over the role of Christopher Robin, who survived the rampage of the "Hundred Acre Massacre" orchestrated by Pooh and Piglet in the first film, but finds they brought additional friends (Additional A. A. Milne characters now available in the public domain) in Tigger and Owl to amp the carnage. The actor spoke to Bleeding Cool about his dual role as star and producer, Frake-Waterfield's building of the Poohniverse, co-stars, and turning his traumatic experience from Scream into a career.

How Winnie-the-Pooh: Blood and Honey 2: Expands Upon the Original

Bleeding Cool: What intrigued you about 'Winnie-the-Pooh: Blood and Honey 2?'
Chambers: I have been producing for a while and wanted to make a name for my company. I had this goal in my head to always make 100 feature films by a certain age, and I've done that. Then, I thought about how I would get myself and my company known. I saw [Winnie the Pooh] go into the public domain, and around that time, I would be making films like 'Humpty Dumpty, ' and I made it. I made 47 films that year, and it was one of the films I made. It went nuts, so it worked.

What made you decide to go in as Christopher Robin in the sequel?
With the sequel, I wasn't Christopher Robin in the first one, but in the sequel, [director] Rhys [Frake-Waterfield] has been a supporter of my acting for quite a while, and he's been right on my little journey with me, complimenting my acting. He said to me, "When I play Christopher Robin because in the sequel, he wanted to restart and revamp it." He wanted to change the looks of Winnie the Pooh and start again in a way. The first film still exists, but in the second film's world, like 'Stab' exists in 'Scream.' We've been able to restart it in a way. First, because the first film was made for 20,000 £, and it's just not the film we would have probably made if we had the money from the get-go. We had no idea that the film would go to the scale it did. In terms of acting, I've always been a massive horror fan, and 'Scream' is my favorite franchise. I've always wanted to be in 'Scream,' I thought it would be fun. It would also be an opportunity to use my imagination as an actor to the full extent because the situations I end up in are crazy. That was just intriguing.

I spoke to Rhys during the first 'Winnie-the-Pooh' about having the opportunity to play in that sandbox. You guys have more of an expanded character set this time. Were there certain bullet points that you wanted to establish this time out that Rhys couldn't do in the first one?
[Rhys] wanted to start a franchise. With the first one, we had no idea what it would be. There were no plans, whereas with this one, it sets the set up for more to come and stuff, and in the closing credits, you get a wink to other creatures that exist within this world of IP and stuff, like Pinocchio, Peter Pan, and some that haven't been announced yet. It's heading towards a Poohniverse. We're going towards a bigger scale situation where many of them will start crossing over, mostly towards creating our monster universe. That was a big thing. Rhys wanted to start putting Easter eggs in this film, and the biggest thing you want to do is just bring heart to it as well. The first film didn't have much character development. It was written in about three days. This one, he wanted to bring like a lot more heart and mystery because along the way, the film on the journey there, there is a big mystery with Christopher Robin and what happened to his little brother who went missing.

It all ends up linking together and stuff in this twist ending. As we're finding out, we know that Christopher Robin met them as a kid, but where did they come from? Why were they there? What are they? You find all the boys out this time. In the first one, there wasn't much fleshed out, whereas I think that was a big thing for Rhys; this time, he wanted to slash everything out, and then he wanted to go wild with the deaths. There are over 60 deaths, and it isn't just quantity; there is quality in there as well. There's an incredible death that involves an eye, and it's cool. There are other bits, like the bear trap. He's creative but has the means to do it this time.

What do you find more difficult to get into regarding filming? Is it the psychological or mental aspect or the more physically demanding aspect?
Both are challenging in a way because, as an actor, you go into a project, and you don't want just to make the character. If you're in every bloody scene of the film, you want to make sure that they're likable and relatable, and you can see yourself in them to a degree. [My character] does not like the events of the first 'Winnie-the-Pooh.' They did happen a year ago, going from the angle of "the actual events inspire it." There was a massacre, and Christopher was involved in that months ago and escaped. There's a level of trauma, and it's only been a year, but I did not want it to be the only thing in the film. When I walked out of the door with them, it can get quite hard to watch when you're just watching someone grieve the whole time and get over hurdles and obstacles. I wanted to give them much hope and how he never gives up. He always believes that something good can come and all, and he's very protective of people around him. He doesn't feel sorry for himself. That's what I wanted to bring to it. Whereas as an actor, you could have fallen into that trap of constant deadpan, everyone's down and out.

Physically, it was hard, but there was still a quick turnaround for an independent film. I'm also juggling the production of the film. I'm doing that in between takes and then, on the takes, performing. It was challenging because, on day one, I was ill, not with the flu but with stress. I was sick and fell asleep on the set because I was so wrecked and out. Then there was other stuff like a rain machine for a 12-hour shoot and this cool sequence with a chainsaw-wielding Pooh. The whole sequence, I'm being pissed on by rain, and the rain machine is plugged into a hose that pisses out freezing water. That was challenging because, after all, you're shivering in your trailer or room, and then you're going nuts, having mental breakdowns, and trying to fight the conditions. "Oh my God!"

What was the camaraderie like with your 'Winnie-the-Pooh' castmates?
Rhys always has your back. He's always honest, and I have a good relationship with him; there's no beating around the bush. He can say anything, and I'll go with it. One of the actors, I was lucky because I was also the casting director. I knew everyone was good, but you don't know what people will be like because we did self-tapes. It was like, fingers crossed, these people will be up for it and will be nice because you have no idea. You've never met them, but I was fortunate. All of Christopher Robin's friends in 'Winnie-the-Pooh', like his non-imaginary friends, had become my actual friends. I love them like Tallulah [Evans], who plays the female lead. She plays Lexi, who's Christopher Robin's best mate. She is incredible. On her first day on set, she was covered in blood with a rain machine. That was miserable, but by the end of it, it was awful, but she continued to do it with that smile on her face. We had such good energy together to get a little bit of scenes that were so easy to film because I liked her. It was easy, and then stuff like my parents cast in the movie, I love them both, Nicola [Wright] and Alec [Newman], was so easy to work with. I was fortunate.

Simon Callow came in and the sets he must be used to, but he didn't treat us differently. He was lovely, generous, and caring. Acting with him was incredible because if you do anything a little bit different in your performance, he will respond to it. There's no rehearsal performance with him, and that's the type of acting I love. I'm into improv acting because there is a lot you must react to with improv, and in the industry, there are so many actors that I'll say they've learned their lines. They like, "I'm going to perform it like this, and there's no two ways about it." Whereas with him, it's so much freedom. If I change an inflection differently, he reacts to it, and I love that.

What are the figures that helped inspire you as an actor and producer?
Weirdly, the first film that inspired me to want to be an actor was 'Scream.' I saw it when I was six. My sister was babysitting me, and she would cover my eyes every time someone died, and she'd tell me they escaped. With Tatum (Rose McGowan) in the garage, she covered my eyes and said, "She jumped down, and she ran into the woods." I thought it was quite cool, and my brother bought me the video for my seventh birthday. I went upstairs to watch it instantly. I'm seeing she didn't escape, and her head got crushed, and then I'm seeing Drew Barrymore's character getting stabbed in the throat. I couldn't sleep, and my brother was sent to my bedroom by my mom, and she was like, "Explain to Scott what that bloody is because he can't sleep!" He explained it to me like it was a game of Tag. I said, "I want to do that when I'm older." From that moment onwards, I have wanted to do weird horror films since the age of seven, and then by the age of 11, my dad had one of those big camcorders. It's big and bulky, and I always filmed stuff with my friends on that.

I'd be like the director, writer, actor, and everything. I would edit it together, and it would be wrong, but it always is a horror film that was like a rip-off of 'Black Christmas' or something like that. I've always made films literally since I was 11 and writing scripts. I've always made films on anything I can on phones or whatever I can find. It was a natural progression, like when I'm not acting when I've got an agent and stuff as an actor, that when I wasn't acting, I get restless. I don't come from a family of anyone in the industry. Everything I've done is like I've auditioned or worked for it. I'm always ready for that phone to ring. I can't wait for my agent to go. "You've booked a job." You have to create opportunities for yourself, and I've always been like that.

Winnie-the-Pooh: Blood and Honey 2, which also stars Ryan Oliva, Teresa Banham, and Peter DeSouza-Feighoney, is in theaters.

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