From IESB.net

Starting October 16th, Amber Heard can be seen in The Stepfather, Screen Gem's remake of the 1987 horror thriller. The film is about a troubled teen, played by Penn Badgley (Gossip Girl), who returns home after a year at military school, to find his mother, Susan (Sela Ward), in love and his soon-to-be stepfather, David (Dylan Walsh), already moved into their home. As they get to know each other, Michael quickly becomes convinced that David is not who he says he is, but when he tells his mother and girlfriend (Heard) of his suspicions, they just think he's being paranoid, until it becomes apparent that David will stop at nothing to keep his secrets.

Coming off of a very memorable, but very grotesque cameo in the smash hit Zombieland, Amber Heard has also filmed roles in the highly anticipated The Rum Diary, in which she's at the center of a love triangle involving Johnny Depp and Aaron Eckhart, and The Ward, horror master John Carpenter's first film in the director's chair in eight years.

In this exclusive interview, the busy Texas native talked about what attracted her to The Stepfather, playing a grotesque zombie in Zombieland, and her experiences making both The Rum Diary and The Ward.

IESB: How did you get involved with The Stepfather, and what originally attracted you to the project?

Amber: I read the script and I thought it was a fun, cool, fresh psychological thriller, and I really enjoy making thrillers and making horror films. Anything of that genre, I have a really good time making, so I allow myself to do it, as much as I want. I don't limit how many I'll do. And, I read this script and thought it appealed to a demographic that I normally don't have that much exposure to, so I jumped on this project about two years ago.

IESB: Does the fact that this film is PG-13 take away from the scare factor at all, or do you think it still has plenty of good scares?

Amber: There's something to be said about the fact that this film doesn't crutch on gore, blood, profanity or things that makes film an R. I don't think it relies on carnage or flesh, or anything of that nature, not that there's anything wrong with those things. But, this film doesn't need those elements. Instead, it relies on the audience's connection to the characters and the subsequent storylines that they have in the plot, to engage the audience and keep them entertained.

IESB: What was it like to work with Penn Badgley? Did you do anything together to establish that bond between your characters, or had you already known each other?

Amber: I had worked with Penn before, briefly. It had been awhile, but I had a good time working with him. He's a nice person, he's a great guy, and he's also a fantastic actor. I'm lucky, in that sense. We got along great, and I think he has a great career ahead of him.

IESB: How was it to work with Dylan Walsh, as the bad guy? Were you just laughing and joking, in between takes?

Amber: You have to laugh at this job. Part of the fun of making any of the scare genres, like thriller or horror, is the dynamic on set. You can't take yourself seriously, when you're eating lunch next to the person who just tried to kill you in the scene before. Or, you're running from somebody who's trying to stab you, or you're covered in fake blood, and then they call a break and you go have coffee with them. You have to laugh at the absurdity of that situation.

Part of the dynamic on set for those film is that sense of comradery and that sense that it's hilarious. It's a funny job to be in, sometimes, and genre films remind you of that. I joked about it that I was scared of Dylan, but it's so not like that. It's not scary around these people. It's your job, and there's nothing more technical than showing up on set and deciding where you're going to be stabbed, or how long you're going to be hiding. Things like that become very technical and make the job not scary at all.

IESB: What was Nelson McCormick like, as a director?

Amber: He's a great guy. He had just filmed Prom Night, and I think he was the right guy for the job. He's a great director, and he was a nice person to work with. I took a lot from that experience. I was lucky, in that sense.

IESB: How comfortable are you with filming love scenes or doing nudity in films? Is that difficult for you, or does that come easy, if it's important to the story?

Amber: As you might have noticed, I'm not afraid of nudity. I think it is absurd that it's such a taboo in today's world. It's nudity, come on!

IESB: You have a very memorable cameo in Zombieland, as Columbus' (Jesse Eisenberg) hot neighbor. How did you get involved with that film, and what's it been like to be a part of something that's been such a surprise success?

Amber: I loved the script. I was going out of the country and I had two days that I could have been involved with it. So, the director (Ruben Fleischer) called me and we talked about doing this cameo. Basically, it came down to, "What would make you want to do this?" I said, "Well, I want to be a disgusting zombie," and he said, "I want to make you an absolutely hideous, disgusting creature." So, I thought, "I'm probably not going to get this conversation from a director again. I might as well jump on it."

IESB: What can you say about your involvement with The Rum Diary?

Amber: In The Rum Diary, I play opposite Johnny Depp and Aaron Eckhart, and Giovanni Ribisi and a whole gang of other really brilliant actors are also in it. It's written and directed by Bruce Robinson, and based off of the novel written by Hunter S. Thompson, who I'm a huge fan of. I met with Johnny about it, and he was instrumental in casting me in the role. I play Chenault, his love interest, and it is a story about the American dream and the facade it's based off of, and what happens when it all comes crumbling down.

IESB: You also just finished The Ward. What is that about?

Amber: The Ward is a psychological thriller. It's directed by the master, John Carpenter. I just wrapped on it. I hope it will be as good as the script was, and as fun as making the film was. It has the potential to be a really great movie.