11th: You've said previously that you would be interested in reprising the role of Leatherface, provided there's a good script and a decent salary. If you could have anyone write and direct a TCM sequel -- a decent TCM sequel -- who would it be?

Hansen: Well, I'd like to write it of course. This is an interesting question, because, as you know, Unapix is doing the sequel [The H20-esque TX25, currently in development]. I realized at the time that I heard they were doing this that they didn't have a script. So, I immediately started thinking, "Man, I should write the sequel", but it became clear that they were not interested in talking to somebody that they had not already talked to. So that got me thinking about doing a parody.

11th: Have you started writing anything?

Hansen: Oh yeah, I've written it.

11th: Can you tell me a little more about that?

Hansen: Well, it's not just a parody of Chainsaw, we take some shots at a number of the other movies, Friday the Thirteenth and Freddy, of course. I have a partner on writing the script, Gary Jones who's out in LA now directing a giant spider movie. But the premise of the movie is, a group of teenagers -- oh I just can't call them that -- well, they're in their late teens and early twenties, these two couples, are actually convinced that The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, which we call here The Barbecue Massacre, is real. And that not only did it happen, but that it was filmed on the actual locations in which these murders happened.

11th: There are a lot of people who really think that.

Hansen: Well, that's what started this because I run into so many people who not only tell me that they remember when it happened, they tell me that they knew the original Leatherface. They are convinced that there is this character, named Leatherface, who lives in Texas and committed these murders. The people that tell me they've met him also claim that they were guards at the state prison in Huntsville, Texas, and that he was a prisoner there. I've heard everything from, "Well you know, he had a chemical imbalance in his brain, it was a lead imbalance, and once they got that fixed, he was okay. In fact, he was the cook at the prison!"

11th: That certainly worked out nicely for him.

Hansen: One time, I was at a convention in Niagra Falls and the representative from the show said to me, "It's too bad that we decided to get you so last minute because the guy who was the real Leatherface lives in Niagra Falls, and it would have been really great if we had gotten him too and had both of you there." I had to tell her that the movie never happened. Of course, that's part of the power of the movie; it's shot like a documentary, I think that's why they're comparing it to Blair Witch.

11th: People have the same reaction to Blair Witch, actually -- a lot of people think it was a real occurrence.

Hansen: Do you think it was named after Linda Blair?

11th: I don't know. I don't think so, but I'm not really sure where they got the name. It's a fictitious town. I interviewed those guys a few weeks back, I probably should have asked them then.

Hansen: It's obviously going to be addressed in the film; I was just curious if they picked the fictional name based on Linda Blair, seeing who is she and all. But anyway, that's the premise of the story. They're convinced that this really happened, and they go out to these places to make their little documentary film on video, and they're gonna uncover some unknown factoid that's going to lead to the capture of the killers. After all, The Cook and Leatherface were never caught. And that's going to make them famous; that's their motivation. Of course, the irony of the story is there really was a massacre, and they do meet the real family, and the family is really pissed because this movie was made without consulting them. So not only is it inaccurate, but they never even got paid!