GVK: There have been a number of vampire and werewolf stories over the years – what have you set out to do with Underworld that makes it different from others in the genre?

KG: We're all pulling from the same sources. We didn't create vampires and werewolves and neither did anybody else who loves the genre. Still, you never want to be cliché or derivative especially when Hollywood craves whatever is new and fresh. Towards this end it was important to Len Danny and I to create a world where vampires and werewolves could realistically exist to separate us from the pack. Now, by "realistically exist" I mean within the fantastic cinematic realm of course.

I thought the best way to do that was to eschew all mention of mysticism and base everything on science. I have a degree in microbiology and I felt that this fictional world we were creating would be much cooler if we could put a new twist on an old concept – make vampirism and lycanthropy diseases based on a virus rather than sorcery. I have a really hard time getting my head around why a vampire can't see himself in a mirror; it just didn't make sense to me.

We also wanted to jettison the vampires’ reliance on needing to constantly feed on humans. Fans of the old mythos may have a problem with what we've done, but I feel that we've just bent the myths but not completely broken them. Being photosensitive, sunlight is still the bane of all vampires, and silver is still poisonous to werewolves.

GVK: How long was the shoot and what locations were involved?

KG: Let's see, we started on September 2 and our last day was like, right before Thanksgiving – so about three months. We shot the film in and around Budapest, Hungary, which is a beautiful city, and also in the country where a lot of the old werewolf and vampire legends began. That's not where we were originally thinking about when we wrote the script, but it just ended up that way.

GVK: How did you go about selecting your lead(s) for the film and what made them the perfect choices for the role?

KG: Kate Beckinsale was a no-brainer. Selene was a classical warrior who lived for battle – think of a female Siegfried or Achilles; she is fiercely attractive and a great actress. Kate fit the bill like she was born for the role. She's deceptive in a way because she's very petite and has a posh British accent, but it's a ruse – she is as tough as they come. In fact, if there was a "winner takes all" battle between Kate's character Selene, Lara Croft, and Trinity from The Matrix, my money's on Selene hands down!

Scott Speedman, who plays Michael, needed to be a ruggedly handsome caring guy who can react well when confronted with a fantastic truth about the war between vampires and werewolves. Scott did a phenomenal job and was a true pleasure to work with.

Michael Sheen, who plays Lucian, is a prodigious actor. We were looking for someone who was a bit taller and more visually feral, but believe me when I say his presence casts a long shadow. He was amazing! As for my character, Raze, we were looking for a big black guy with a deep voice. I wrote the part for myself!

GVK: Taking something on the grand scale of Underworld would seem to be an overwhelming task for many – did you ever have days where you thought, "How am I going to do this?" And if so, how did you attack the problems that arose?

KG: That's really more of a Len question if he was the director. I was just happy we got the script sold and were going to make a movie; it’s been a long haul for all of us.

GVK: Looking back, if you could make any changes to the final version, what would they be?

KG: Maybe just a few more werewolf/vampire battles. The kid in me always likes the "versus" aspects of these things. But, you can't sacrifice story just to have senseless battles either, and we have a great story. How do you blend character development in an action setting and not get lost amongst all the FX? By having strong characters and a strong story through line. You serve the story first by weaving in strong characters, and then build your action around it. Danny is a true story master; he was like a drill sergeant and it's because of him we got the movie made.

GVK: What’s next on your schedule and what can we look forward to seeing from you soon?