Fed a steady diet of genre films from John Wayne to John Carpenter, by the tender age of 6 Paul W.S. Anderson already knew what he wanted to do; by 29, he achieved it. On the heels of his debut film, the indie hit Shopping in 1994, the smash Mortal Kombat followed, and despite disappointing returns for his next two genre efforts, Soldier, with Kurt Russell, and the apocalyptic Event Horizon, the cult of Anderson grew, with horror and sci-fi aficionados embracing his often tough, graphic visions as one of their own. And then there was yet another smash hit based on a popular videogame property waiting just around the corner...

With the DVD release of Resident Evil due this week from Columbia TriStar Home Entertainment, and plans already underway for a big-screen sequel (not to mention another, more extensive DVD release due next year), Anderson has become the man Hollywood goes to when it wants the "videogame movie" done right. We recently chatted with the amiable, highly energetic filmmaker on getting gory, directing Milla with a gun, and just what Marilyn Manson's music can do to a dog...

You're first foray into adapting a videogame into a film was Mortal Kombat, which was wildly successful, and now you're back with Resident Evil. It seems like you are the only guy in town who knows how to turn a hit game into a hit movie. Is there something in particular about videogames that appeals to you?

I play a lot of videogames and they are a big part of my life. To be honest, I'm more likely to pick up a videogame and say, "Wow, let's turn this into a movie!" than, say, go to the theatre and think, "This is an excellent stage play, it must be made into a movie!" That's just the way I am and videogames have been a huge influence on my life.

Was the idea of adapting Resident Evil something you took to Capcom (the producers of the game) and the studio, or were you approached by them to helm the project?

It was funny what happened. I played the videogame and became completely obsessed with it. Resident Evil 1, 2 and Nemesis, back to back, and lost about six to eight weeks of my life. (laughs) I just stayed home and that's all I did. And when I finished, I called my partner Jeremy Bolt, who I have a production company with, and said, "Get the rights to this game, and let's make it into a movie!"

Then he discovered that the rights had already been picked up, but they had been picked up by a company called Constantine Films, who we were actually in the middle of buying half of my production company, and at the same time they had the rights to Resident Evil, but we were completely unaware of that. And it had kinda of become stuck in their development list for a couple of years, and they had a couple of filmmakers try and adapt it but it had never worked.

So the stars aligned; I had wanted to make this movie, and it just turned out that these guys had the rights and were struggling to turn it into a film. And before I even knew they had the rights, I had a take on how I wanted to approach the project. So when I became involved, I hadn't read any of the earlier scripts, because I already had a clear vision of what I wanted to do.

How much input or control did and does Capcom have over the movie version?

Legally, they had no control over it. I could have run off and done Resident Evil as an all-singing, all-dancing revue and there wouldn't have been a thing they could have done about it. But I'm a huge fan of the videogame, so the last thing I'm going to do is make a movie they don't like or the fans don't like. And also, all my friends play it, and they wouldn't talk to me ever again if I made a bad Resident Evil movie!

Have you found it hard to attract top talent when you're making a "videogame film?"

You now what, only if I wanted Meryl Streep in it. But we had a young cast that loved the videogame and were very excited to be in the movie. It was a very driven cast and crew. There was nobody on the set going, "Oh, god, we're making a zombie movie! I must shoot my agent!" The first time I met Michelle Rodriquez, she said "Oh, man, I'll do anything to be in a Resident Evil movie," she'd make sandwiches, do craft service, just to be involved. Same with Milla. She has her own production company, and had already gone out and tried to acquire the rights to the videogame herself. So it was a very motivated cast who loved the material.

Since the videogame as a medium is completely interactive, and often non-narrative, how did you initially approach structuring Resident Evil as a movie?

The first thing I did, literally, after the ink dried on my contract was fly to Japan and meet the creator of the game and Capcom, and discuss with them the concepts I had for the movie. I spent three days in a room with translators pitching them the idea for the film, getting their comments, then I went off and wrote the script. We made more changes, we started shooting the movie, and they came to the set. They offered some very good suggestions that we worked into the script, and it was very collaborative. But it wasn't like they were 100 percent involved, but they monitored every step and ended up very happy with the end result.

Where you conscious at all of the similarities inherent in the game with George Romeo's trendsetting "Dead" trilogy, and did you have to adapt or change anything to avoid appearing too similar in tone or concept?

One of the reasons why I made the movie is, when I played the game, I thought it wore its cinematic influences on its sleeve. You could tell. The first game I actually played was Resident Evil 2, and within the first ten minutes, I was reminded of the Romero trilogy, but it also had plenty of Assault on Precinct 13 in it, and the music is very John Carpenter. The cityscapes were also very Escape from New York. And those are the movies I grew up with, early Romero and Carpenter, so for me it was an opportunity to pay homage to those influences. To do a true adaptation of the videogame, my movie had to remind you of the Romero trilogy, or I wasn't doing my job property. To me, Romero is God! (laughs)

But I also think those movies were made at a different time for different audiences. The last thing I wanted to do was to make those movies again. They've already been done. So you're always going to make something different, something current. And what you could get away with then was different, too. What George did then you could never get past the censors today…

Did you have any concerns when you were conceptualizing the project that you might have problems obtaining an R-rating?

When I became involved in the movie, I made it very clear that I was going to make an R-rated film, and that I didn't want any kind of experience where they were going to want to water it down and make it PG-13. I felt this is Resident Evil, so you gotta see zombies and insides of peoples heads and brains. We gotta see it, or else we're making a pussy Resident Evil. And fans would kill me.

It was always being made with the understanding that it was going to be an R-rated picture, so I didn't have any problems with that. The movie got the R without any cuts. And I think I part that's because I had already made Event Horizon, during which I learned to a great extent what you can and cannot get away with..

With so much emphasis, especially after 9-11, on violence in cinema, do you ever censor yourself in terms of how far you'll go?

I think that is what the rating system is there for. I think if parent's choose to let their children go into R-rated movies, that is there choice. Or if they let their kids play Grand Theft Auto, then that is their choice, too. I think that the rating systems that are in place work, and they are there for guidance.

But I also think that sometimes it is the job of movies, videogames and books to go to far, and stir up the pot a little. But then it is the job of the ratings system to remind us that we may have gone to far, to be aware of this. I think ratings are good, censorship is bad.

Did you have to trim or cut anything extensive to obtain the R-rating, and if so, will we see an uncut or unrated version of the film on video?

It's not like we shot a Verhoeven-style movie, where there is tons of gore and then we get an R-rating only after cutting it and cutting it. I always structured the movie to get the R-rating and not the NC-17, so there is not a lot of gore in the movie. Pretty much what we shot ended up on the screen. There was a few bits, maybe, had a bit more gore, but not a substantial amount. So there's no plans to go back and do some sort of uncut version. Maybe I could shoot some more bloods and guts and brains? (laughs)