Just so we are all clear, I must go on record as saying that I have not yet had the pleasure of seeing 'House of the Dead'. Not because of bad reviews or because I'm a huge fan of the game or anything like that, but simply because it has so far not been released here in the UK.

It is worth noting that BloodRayne begins production today.

When did you realise that you wanted to work in film?
I was 10 years old and saw Mutiny on the Bounty with Marlon Brando.

Did you study at film school?
5 months, then I went away.

How did you get your start in the business?
I started with Super 8 and Video. And later I raised 60.000 Marks thanks to friends and family and did GERMAN FRIED MOVIE, on 35mm. Everybody worked for free

The majority of your movies have dark themes. Is this because you are a fan of horror and thriller movies?
Absolutely.

Do you prefer European horror to that of the USA?
No. I'm a bigger fan of US Directors

I personally love German horror movies such as ‘Anatomie’ by Stefan Ruzowitsky and ‘The Pool’ by Boris von Sychowski. Have you seen these movies and did you enjoy them?
Yes, Anatomie 1 was good - but the second part was shit.

House of the Dead is yet to be released here in the UK. Can you tell us how similar it is to the game or is it a completely different story based on the game?
It is a prequel and it shows how Curien is developing into a bad guy

There was a very nasty fan backlash surrounding the movie upon its release. How angry are you at the ignorance shown by these people who have no idea how hard it is to make a movie?
I was angry because some "journalists" have no idea how complicated it is for example to make a MATRIX shot with 300 cameras. They tried to blame me for my perfect handling of complicated techniques.

Have you found that everyone blames you because you are the Director? Everyone always seems to forget that hundreds of people are involved in the making of a movie.
I'm the guy in charge. So this is okay.

Can you tell us about the terrible shooting conditions and technical problems that reportedly plagued the shoot?
We had pissing rain in Vancouver and during our under water scenes the water was 7° Celsius. On the second day Jonathan Cherry burned 30% of his hand. This is the reason he has on a bandage and we shot the scene on the bridge later where he hurts his hand.

How did you find your cast? You have some great actors onboard.
Prochnow, Will Sanderson and Clint Howard I know a long time. And Jonathan Cherry from FINAL DESTINATION 2 is from Vancouver, as is Tyron Leitso. Ellie Cornell is a good friend of Mark Altman, the writer.

How did you enjoy working with Ellie Cornell? Were you aware how popular she was with genre fans?
She is so great, perfect timing, very disciplined and great with guns.

Uwe: "They tried to blame me for my perfect handling of complicated techniques".

Is Jonathan Cherry anything like the characters he normally plays?
In private he is more like he was in Final Destination 2. Without drugs, of course.

What was Jurgen Prochnow like to work with?
On time. He can play a scene 10 times perfect, always on his marks. The young actors should learn more from him about discipline.

Were you aware of Clint Howard before you worked with him?
I worked on BLACKWOODS and HEART OF AMERICA with him. A good friend and an underestimated actor. He cannot play only funny guys.

Were you pleased with the finished film?
I think music, sound, camera, editing, action, gore and the look of the movie are great. The story could be better - but it’s a lot of fun to see the movie and it is never boring.

Whose idea was it to put actual footage from the game into the film?
It was my idea for the credit sequence - and in that comic sequence it is a very important way of divulging info for the rest of the movie. In the battle scene we used the stuff as OPTICALS to jump from scene to scene.

Was there anything about the film that you personally did not like?
The dialogue.

What are your favourite aspects of the film?
The battle scene with 11,000 cuts in 13 minutes and over 100 effects. I also like that we show the blood effects that movies like UNDERWORLD or RESIDENT EVIL don’t show.

Do you have an exact UK release date yet?
No. Please ask REDBUS (I should mention here that I did contact REDBUS and am still waiting to be acknowledged).

Is the delay in releasing the film here because of the backlash?
Ask REDBUS. (see above)

Was the film a success upon release?
Absolutely, we are in the TOP 10 in South America, we grossed $40m in North America in theatres and video rentals, were number 3 in Russia and Middle East, Number 2 on first weekend in Hong Kong and Thailand.

Your new movie ‘Alone in the Dark’ will be out later this year. Was the shoot more enjoyable than the last?
Absolutely. Top actors. More budget. Better script.

You have an excellent cast again. How did they all get involved?
Tara Reid’s agent is the next door neighbor from Slater’s Agent. And Slater loved the script. Dorff was number one on my wish list and he agreed to do it. And he is very picky.

John Fallon a.k.a The Arrow who has a similar job to mines has a small part. How did that occur?
He came up with his resume as an actor and we liked him.

Do you think that people will enjoy this movie more than House of the Dead?
Different movies. I know nobody who was bored from HOUSE. ALONE is more serious.

Slater left 'Alone in the Dark'.

You are currently prepping BloodRayne. The script was written by Guin Turner who scripted American Psycho. How did she become involved?
She came up with the best pitch.

Can you tell us if everything is on plan for an August start date?
August 16 we start. Soon we will have actors in. We always go very late out to actors with very short time to accept.

Do you have a lead actress yet?
Soon.

Are any of the actresses mentioned in the press up for the role?
Alba, Biel, Lokken, Jolie. (Lokken has since taken the role).

You are also prepping FarCry, how is that going?
Script gets developed together with the game guys and Action Concept (winner of the Stunt Awards)

Is it true that The Rock and Naomi Watts are being considered as the leads?
Both are great actors and we will go out with offers to them later.

Will the film follow the plot of the game closely or will it simply be based on it?
This time we will follow the game storyline more closely.

Finally, what will you be working on after these projects?
Dungeon Siege, Fear Effect and hopefully HITMAN.

"Thank you ever so much for taking part in this interview Uwe.
And we wish you the very best of luck in the future."