BG: Coming from a creative background, music, directing theatre, photography (i'll pop a link to your website here so people can see the photos there), how did you end up writing screenplays?

EH: I really just started writing on a whim and it pretty quickly turned into a career. I'd been living on the East Coast, working in theater as a director and music director, which was great fun, but I was completely impoverished and I had this idea of coming out to LA to "sell out" and write jingles. It turns out, that's actually a very difficult job to get, so I ended up working on a movie as a sound mixer instead. Not long after, my brother Jon moved to LA to take a crack at the film business. Unlike me, he'd actually studied film. Long story short, it wasn't long before we both found ourselves unemployed in Los Angeles and just decided to try writing a screenplay. One thing led to another.

BG: With a bit of experience directing theatre is directing films a step you'd like to move towards?

EH: Jon and I have been talking about that pretty seriously. It's going to happen soon.

BG: What was it that drew you and Jon, to writing Whiteout? Did you both have a knowledge of the graphic novels before joining Whiteout?

EH: I'd read the graphic novel by Greg Rucka and Steve Lieber in 1999 and just loved it. It was such a great premise for a film, not just because of the story but also because it takes you deeply into a world you've never seen before. I ended up interviewing a lot of people who had lived and worked Antarctica. The script was a real pleasure to write. Initially we had trouble getting it made, because back then the studios we're concerned about marketing an action film with a serious female lead. Things have chaned a lot since then. When the rights became avaliable again, Joel Silver snapped it up and put it into production.

EH: Obviously I hope people will love it: Whiteout's an action thriller set in a world where just going outside without the proper gear can kill you. Kate Beckinsale plays U.S. Marshal Carrie Stetko who's literally the only law enforcement agent on the entire continent. She's been sent down here because of a fuck-up back in the world. The premise is that a few days before "winterover" - which is when most people leave because the severe weather makes it impossible to land a plane for six months - people start showing up inexplicably murdered. She's got to figure out what's going on and why and pretty quickly becomes a target herself.

BG: The Whiteout graphic novel spawned two sequels are we likely to see a Whiteout: Melt film or even a third Whiteout film?

EH: If the film hits, I think that's a strong possibility.

BG: It seems Red is gaining momentum, is the script finished for the film? and how would you describe the script you've written?

EH: The script is done and we may start production pretty soon. Summit just hired a fantastic director, Robert Schwentke - who most recently did The Time Traveller's Wife - and we're trying to round out the cast. Red is an action comedy with a lot of really meaty character parts and a lot of heart. The tone's a bit like Butch and Sundance. Both dramatic and comedic at the same time.

BG: It's been announced that Bruce Willis and Morgan Freeman have signed on to star in the film do they fit the characters you've written?

EH: They're really perfect. And the studio's making offers to other actors of that caliber, so there may be more big announcements soon.

BG: There has been a bit of skepticism over some board game/toy adaptations but you're both working on a script for Battleship, what can we expect from battleship?

EH: Ha ha! I'm not allowed to divulge any details on this one, but I can safely say that people are going to be surprised by what we're doing. Battleship is going to be a very big, high-concept action-adventure with a lot of humor and drama. As a writer, it's a fantastic gig, because it's a bit of a blank slate. We can start from scratch and create an entire world. My only limit is my imagination.

BG: How much involvement in the development of the story of Battleship has Peter Berg had?

EH: Pete's extremely involved. He brought some very big story ideas to the table early on. We're talking with him constantly as we develop the script.

EH: Despite all of our efforts to get Alice made, it does seem dead at the moment. But never say never. We're extremely proud of that script.

BG: Is there any other project's you're both working on?

EH: We have a really fun psychological horror-thriller over at Working Title, that we're hoping will move forward soon. It's sort of Rosemary's Baby meets The Shining. We're also developing a couple ideas that will be directing projects. And we're considering doing a TV next year.

So there you have it, Whiteout: Melt is a strong possibility, expect some more casting of the same caliber as Bruce Willis and Morgan Freeman on Red and Battleship is going to be a high conept action adventure with a lot of humour and drama. Battleship definately has me intrigued. Whiteout is released in North America this week so get out and see it, if you're unsure watch the trailer below. Big thanks to Erich.