Exclusive Coverage from San Diego Comic-Con 2004: The most important event held at Comic-Con in the last ten years. The two Coreys reunite for a rousing discussion about the Lost Boys. Find out why Haim really has that topless Rob Lowe poster hanging in his bedroom...

Saturday morning, I fulfilled my only Comic-Con goal, attending a Q&A session with Corey Haim and Corey Feldman. Here is a complete transcript of that event...

Today's program focuses on a major Warner Brothers DVD release coming up...The Lost Boys Special Edition. We will be interviewing the two Coreys. Corey Feldman and Corey Haim...

(The audience goes mad-wild. It sounds like a crowd at a rock show, and is only matched later in the day by the enthusiastic people at the Adult Swim panel...Which you'll be able to read here soon...)

They will be reuniting to share their experiences working on the film, and to also answer your questions. After the panel, they will also be signing autographs (see my Comic-Con Odyssey: A Tale of Two Coreys; coming soon)...So, let's get right to it. We are going to watch a Lost Boys trailer. And then we are going to bring out the stars...

(On the screen: We see the original 1987 trailer for The Lost Boys. The one that was tagged to the beginning of the original VHS rental release of Lethal Weapon. I can quote the entire thing. Watching it gives me chills.)

Now, it is my pleasure to introduce Corey Haim and Corey Feldman...From The Lost Boys...

(The audience goes on for a good couple of minutes at the sight of them. Corey Haim looks a lot better than he did at the end of Dickie Roberts. Feldman is in top form. Someone yells, "Yah, Corey!" And then someone yells, "I love you!")

Movie PictureFeldman: What's up people. Comic-Con 2004!

Haim: Two-Thousand and Four!

Have you guys ever been to a Comic-Con?

Feldman: This is the first one for me.

So, they're virgins. Treat them nice.

Haim: I'm a virgin to Comic-Con. Absolutely.

Feldman: And he's not a virgin to many things. It's big. It's big.

Haim: How would you know?

The Lost Boys; did you ever think that it would have such a life after it was made?

Feldman: I thought it would have a life after death. But I wasn't really sure about the existence of the film.

It has become such an icon. Not only for the Eighties, but also for the new style of horror. I don't know what's scary. The vampires or the poodle haircuts. The way it has continued to resonate...It's remarkable.

Feldman: Well, it certainly left a standing impression on the mullet factor.

Haim: I don't know, I think it was a decade afterwards...I was in shock that it came, and never left. It just stayed as a timeless cult thing. I'm not thrashing on these movies, and I'm not bagging on these movies...Near Dark, and all these great movies that were made after, and before, even, you know...It was just The Lost Boys...It made an impression. It had something different about it. It was timeless.

Feldman: It was hip, it was slick, it was cool. It was the first time you ever saw guys in ripped jeans biting each other in a mainstream movie.

Haim: Pretty mainstream, yeah. It was pretty mainstream.

Feldman: And the soundtrack was killer. Right? (This elicits applause from the audience.)

I'd like to find out a little bit about how you came to be involved in the film. You guys where what? Fourteen at the time?

Haim: Fifteen. I'd beaten him out of ten parts before this.

Feldman: (Laughs) Personal joke. Personal joke.

How did you become involved in the production?

Feldman: Go ahead, Corey. You go first.

Haim: You know, I really, honestly got called down to Warner Brothers to meet with Joel. And I got escorted to Joel's office...

Feldman: Joel Schumacher, the director of the film...

Haim: You add Joel to the mix with anything; he's just an unbelievable guy...

Feldman: It was a recipe for love.

Haim: Yes, it was.

Feldman: My dude!

Haim: Every morning, he's the man. He adds energy. Even with food poisoning, the guy's there, directing. (Wincing) "Cut, how was it?" (To Feldman) Do you remember that? (Feldman nods) I went in, and I saw Jason Patrick lying on a chair. So, the first thing I see are two feet in my face. I'm like, "Damn, it's Jason Patrick." He's there, and Joel goes, "How you doing, Sam?" And I went, just, "No way!" And he goes, "Absolutely. It's yours." Right then, right there. I got the part of Sam Emerson. (To Feldman) Now it's your turn...

Feldman: My story is a little different. I got caught shoplifting outside the Ralph's, which was adjacent to the studio lot at the time. And, um...No. Actually, I was friends with Richard Donner...The great Richard Donner, everybody...That's right. I'd just finished Goonies (the crowd goes wild, as if he just sang his hit single), and coming out of that, Donner called me up and said, "I've got this other movie I'm going to do." For those of you who do not know, Richard Donner was originally going to direct Lost Boys. Then he decided that he wanted to take the back seat and give someone else a shot. So he said, "This movie I'm doing next...I want you to do it." I said, "Great." Then he said, "Oh, wait, no...Actually I'm not doing it anymore. I'm going to have this other guy do it. This new director. He's a great kid. Come meet him." I said, "Okay." So, I went ahead and met with Joel. Joel said, "You are wonderful for the part. The only problem is that you have to butch it up a little bit." I said, "Okay, let me see what I can do." So, I actually grew my hair out, and I rented a bunch of Rambo movies.

Haim: It's a true story, folks...

Feldman: And Chuck Norris movies. And I developed this character of Edgar Frog based on watching all these different films, and kind of constructing the character out of all these bits and pieces of those guys. It was a multi-dimensional, multi-layered work...

That motivates the red scarf...The red headband?

Feldman: All of it.

And Corey, you were coming off of Lucas?

Haim: No, actually. I did Lucas, then I did a wonderful film. I was so lucky to work with Sally Fields and James Garner in Murphy's Romance...(The audience applauds for this film)...Thanks, yeah...I got to play a hick for about four months. That was great.

Feldman: A what?

Haim: A hick. A cowboy. A real cowboy. I got to learn the trade, and do the thing. It was really, really fun. I met The Lost Boys people from there, and they scheduled a meeting. They said, "In about two months, we want you to come to Warner Brothers and meet Joel." Donner was off directing, and Joel was on directing. As soon as I was wrapped, the day I was wrapped...From wrapping, to signing my one-pager deal that said, "Okay, we can go!" That was less than a week. And that's basically what happened.

And Joel was coming off St. Elmo's Fire.

Feldman: That is correct. Working with the illustrious Rob Lowe.

I notice that there is a Rob Lowe poster in the...

Feldman: That's right. Joel hadn't let it go yet.

Haim: Hey, I want you to remember who is talking here, okay? I'm not touching this.

Feldman: Me neither. I'd just like to point out that the poster was in your room, Corey.

Haim: Yeah, right. Yes. Yes it was.

You had a Molly Ringwald poster in there too.

Feldman: That's right. Corey had a big crush on Molly.

Haim: Who didn't? Right? (the audience cheers)

Well, I'd like to play a clip now, from the film. And see what you guys were about at the time...

Feldman: What movie are we watching?

It's about some kind of commuter movement.

Feldman: Great. Let's see it...

(The clip is of Sam (Haim) walking into the Comic Book store for the first time and meeting the Frog Brothers (Feldman and Jamison Newlander...)

Feldman: Here's Corey supporting his best George Michael pseudo-wardrobe...(Sees himself on screen) Oh, who's that handsome guy? (Corey and Corey eye each other for the first time on-screen) It's love at first sight, you can just tell by the way we looked at each other. (Jamison Newlander sides up next to Haim) There's a love triangle here, folks. (We see the shot of the Frog parents, cut from the Pan-And-Scan Version) There's my folks. They took that right out of my family picture book. (Sam: Got a problem guys? Alan Frog (Newlander): Just scoping your civilian wardrobe. Sam: Pretty cool, huh? Alan F.: For a fashion victim.) You can say that again. What exactly is up with that combination of clothes? He's wearing what appears to be somebody's curtains over what appears to be somebody's tablecloth. (Sam: You can't put the Superman 77s with the 200s.) Someone was telling me, actually an avid comic book collector, that this is totally wrong. That there isn't even a Superman 300. I don't know, because I'm not a big comic guy. But, they were very upset about that. (The thug steals some comics from the front of the store) That guy. Alex Winter, I think is his name...(This is wrong, Alex Winter played one of the Vampires, and is best known as Bill in Bill & Ted's) He had a bigger part in the movie. It originally got cut. You might see it in the deleted scenes. (Edgar Frog runs after the guy that just stole the comics) Very powerful. I don't know why I didn't win the Academy Awards for this one.

(End of 1st Clip)

We're going to do another one. Here we go.

(The second clip is of the second time Sam is in the comic book store, trying to pry information about the Townsfolk out of the Frog Brothers...)

Haim: Here is the second time I'm in the store. I really don't want to deal with them at this point. Not in my life. They're just freaking me. Feldman plays John Rambo with Stallone's voice mixed together...

Feldman: (Whispering) John Rambo is Stallone.

Haim: I threw a line in here at rehearsal. I actually thought this was a bakery. Joel said, "Keep it." (Sam: I told you, I don't like horror comics.) That's one of my favorite shots from the movie, there. (Alan F.: You better get yourself a good, sharp stake and pray you never need to call us. Sam: I'll pray...That I never need to call you.) Okay, so those are my guidelines, in case of an emergency.

(The clip is over. The audience roars...)

The film was shot on location in Santa Cruz.

(More adulation from the crowd...)

Feldman: Santa Cruz! They got some blues! It's right up the coast. You can just drive right up there.

Haim: Just keep going.

I was living there at the time.

Feldman: Did you come by the set?

No I Didn't. You never even asked.

Feldman: Yes I did. I sent an invitation to your house, and I was wondering why you flaked.

No, really, in the 1970s, Santa Cruz was known as the murder capital of America. Because of the serial killers that were rapid there.

Feldman: That's actually why, in the film, we had to change the name from Santa Cruz to Santa Claira.

Carla.

Feldman: Or, Carla...We were in Santa Claira County, and we had to change it from Claira to Carla.

Santa Rhoda was taken...

(The two Coreys look at each other, confused. Feldman then looks out at the crowd...)

Feldman: Oh, okay...You got it.

How long were you guys in Santa Cruz?

Haim: About three and a half months in Santa Cruz, the rest was finished at the Warner Brothers Lot. On Stage 15 was the house, the bedrooms, everything...The interior, the exterior; the cave was even on the Warner Brothers lot. Stage 12 was a kick-ass place to be.

Feldman: Basically everything you see indoors was done on the soundstages.

Haim: Right.

Feldman: Outside of the comic book store. Which we actually had the comic book store in reality, on the boardwalk, the front of it. Then the actual inside of the comic book store which was somewhere else in Santa Cruz.

Haim: Great story, great story, great story...We know we're in the murder capital of the world. Being in Santa Cruz at this point. I think it was the second and a half, going on the third month of filming. Everything is going smooth. I'm in Feldman's room, and this guy...All we hear is (he knocks on the podium), "Hey, Dudes? I know you're the two Coreys in there, man! Hey! Hey, you guys! Hey, man!" So we're like, "Oh, no! What do we do?" So me and Corey go to the little peephole, and we're looking out. This guy has got a little black square bag. It doesn't look like beer, it looks like a bomb. We don't know what to do. Corey's like, " Let's let him in, man." And I'm like, "We're in the Murder Capital of the World."

Feldman: This was pre-9/11.

Haim: Yes. This was pre-9/11, so everything was cool. But the park was where you were forbidden to go, basically after lunchtime. Once lunch cleans up, you're not allowed to go through the park, ever. Corey's like, "Let's just go outside and tell this guy we're busy. And let's go for a walk through the park." And it's like, 2:30 in the morning. I'm like, "Dude, we've got a 5:30 call. What is wrong with you?" And he's like, "Well, lets just go have some fun, man." And I'm like, "Dude, we've got a full day tomorrow. What's wrong with you? We've got to kill Alex Winter." So, we open the door, and the guy goes, "Hey, it is the two Coreys. What's up, man? Alright!" The guy opens his bag, and it is beer. And the guy's like, "Hey, you guys want to go get drunk?" At this point, we were virgins at the time, and we were like, "Dude, we don't do alcohol." We were like, "Wait, no, no...We don't do that, but nice to meet you, sir." We let this sixteen-year-old kid out, and we take a walk through the park. And all we're hearing is, "Ahhh!! Don't do it, dude! Boom, boom, boom!!" Me and Corey, for the rest of the time, we got adjoining rooms, and we're just in our rooms, wrapped-up, with our bulletproof windows. We're just in our rooms, keeping our blinds real low, and we're just going to the set and back. We're like, "Okay, when are we getting back to LA? When are we getting back to Warner Brothers?"

Feldman: And, despite all the rumors, we were not smoking crack at that time...

Haim: At that time...That happened afterwards.

At this point, I think it's appropriate to open it up to the people.

Feldman: Let's talk to the people.

(The overhead lights come on. Corey Haim lowers his sunglasses...)

Haim: I knew I needed these on.

Hi, Corey!

Feldman: Hi, how are you? How's the kids? How's the grandchildren?

I wanted to know if you could take your sunglasses off?

Feldman: Sure. (They are both wearing sunglasses. They take them off in unison. The crowd roars with approval...)

Haim: That's what happens. They go on, and they come off like that.

I love you guys. You guys are great.

Feldman: Thank you. We love you too.

It's about time you guys get a movie together.

Feldman: Thanks.

Is there going to be another movie at any time?

Haim: I was pitching them over there, and actually, quote-unquote, he said, "Let the people wait."

Feldman: It's always better to leave them wanting more. There will be a time. There will be a day. But right now, we're here to talk about The Lost Boys.

Haim: When the time is right, it's right. It will happen again. Absolutely.

Hi, Coreys. I'm a big fan. My question is for Corey Feldman. Can you do your famous dance?

Feldman: Oh, yeah. I'll just get up for you right now. Do you have some music?

I don't care about The Lost Boys; I really want to see him dance.

Feldman: I didn't dance in Lost Boys.

No. You know, your famous beer dance.

Feldman: If you go check my website, www.coreyfeldman.com, you can check for upcoming tours and events. And you can see the band live, and I do plenty of dancing on stage.

Can you do your Brandon impression? Or is that stupid?

Feldman: My Brando impression? Well, if it's all right with Warner Brothers, why not. (He breaks into a mediocre Brando impression...) Why do you come out here like this? Why do you have to disrespect me and the audience? I don't like that too much. Why don't you go right now? Come on, come on. (The audience applauds appropriately...)

Hi, guys. I'm from Monetary County. On the set, were you guys flirting with Jamie Gertz?

Feldman: Oh, no. We were too busy flirting with each other. We didn't have the time. We were prepubescent. We were young. She was old.

Haim: The irony of that was, two nights ago, there was a magazine spread...

Feldman: And he's watching Spank-tro-Vision, and guess who comes over?

Haim: No, no...There were five magazines lined up, and there's Jamie on one of the covers. I don't know what magazine it was, but she was just looking beautiful.

Feldman: How does she look these days?

Haim: She's looking hot...

Feldman: Cause she didn't look so good in Twister.

Haim: Yes, yes...I'm not going to go there, because we have a relationship...

Feldman: Oh, so maybe he did go there. I was in my dressing room with the crack windows, all right?

What was it like working with Kiefer Sutherland?

Feldman: Kiefer was great. He's the ultimate professional. He always knows his stuff. Dedicated. Quiet.

Haim: No, he's great. And I only had one scene with him.

Feldman: I did two films with him, and I think you and I (meaning the girl asking the question) have spoken more than he and I ever talked.

Haim: It's true. He's super quiet.

Feldman: Very quiet.

Haim: And very into what he does.

Feldman: He's very professional.

Haim: I think that covers it.

Feldman: Ladies and gentleman, Kiefer Sutherland. 24.

Haim: The Kiefster...(Points to an old guy standing at the mic) You, Sir...

Old Man: You guys don't recognize me...But that was my comic book store you were in. (The audience gasps. They are in awe, as are the two Coreys. The room then breaks out with huge adulation) I didn't look like this then. And you didn't look like that, either.

Feldman: Then you understand the comment I made about people getting pissed off about the wrong comics...

Old Man: Dude, that was me! The line was, "Dude, I'm looking for Batman Volume 3, Number 16." I was like, "What?" I went up to Joel and said, "You can't say that. Every comic book fan in the world is going to laugh in your face."

Feldman: I remember that.

Old Man: You remember that? It took away a whole day from the writers. My question is for Corey Haim. You bought every Archie comic I had. Are you still reading Archie comics?

Feldman: Jughead, what's up?

Haim: The Archies, yeah...My answer is...No.

Old Man: When did you give that up?

Feldman: He's giving up everything lately.

Haim: I have the seventh one, and I have the twelfth one. They are very safe and locked away.

Feldman: I have a bunch of them still in my bathroom, from when you left them on the bathroom floor that one time.

Haim: Yeah, they're great for bathroom usage.

Feldman: I let my cat use them for the cat litter. But I can glue them back together.

Old Man: People still come to town and talk to me like I'm supposed to be a friend of yours, or something. And they still love you guys, and they still love the movie. Santa Cruz loves you.

Feldman: And you are a friend. So it's okay.

That does it for Corey Haim and Corey Feldman. Sorry, they've got to go...They will be signing autographs.

And so, that's that. A dream come true. The two Coreys together for what I hope is not the last time.