Rob Lowe
 A Conversation with Rob Lowe
(Ben Mears)

Q: What role does Ben Mears play in this film?
A: Ben Mears is a character who is in a very early mid-life crisis. He finds himself successful and starts to feel that this is all there is. He's trying to disprove the old adage that you can't go home again. So he comes home to his town of Salem's Lot and gets a lot more than he bargained for.

Q: What is Ben's relationship with Samantha's character, Susan.
A: As much as he would hate to admit it, I think Ben is probably in love with her. I think he's in love with her innocence, her wide-eyed, unsophisticated look at the world and at writing in particular. He's a jaded writer who's been to the big party and has looked behind the curtain to see the guy operating the Wizard of Oz. She's new still and young. It's hard for him to let go of that.

Q: Why remake this movie?
A: The movie needed to be remade. It's one of Stephen's most successful books. They made it years ago when the technology was horrendous. Thematically, we're going about it in a much different way. The way you shoot it now, you couldn't have done in 1979.

Q: Are you friends with Stephen King?
A: I do know Stephen King. I got the chance to meet him during the making of The Stand 10 years ago. He's a humble, wonderful, family-oriented man who loves basketball as I do. Stephen King is the master of modern horror. That's his title and he deserves it. I think what people forget about his work is that it's all based on really strong character storytelling. The good adaptations of Stephen's work embrace the storytelling and the people because they're really finely drawn. They're amazing snapshots of American life.

Q: What was it like working with this talented group of actors?
A: This group is really extraordinary: James Cromwell, Andre Braugher, Donald Sutherland and Samantha Mathis. I'm fulfilling a lifelong dream of working with Donald. It is such a group of heavy hitters. They each bring a seriousness of purpose. We're not making a silly vampire movie.