I used to buy all of those TeenBeat and Bop magazines back in the 80s, mostly to get the latest posters and put them up on my bedroom walls. A favorite actor of mine was Corey Haim. He's back in the entertainment news again because of his new show called "The Two Coreys" on A&E. Here is a copy of an interview I found online that I enjoyed reading. Hopefully you will enjoy it too!
Corey Haim: Lost Boy Found By Corey Haim
as told to Orato Editor Heather Wallace 08/15/07
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Corey Haim needs no introduction, unless you were born post-1990 and haven't been enlightened about the standout decade preceding your existence. For those who missed the "Me Decade," and all the trappings of big hair and over-the-top neon fashion, Corey Haim is a Canadian actor who became a teen idol for millions of young, heavily-hairsprayed girls, and arguably as popular as Pac-Man, Rubik's Cube and Rayban sunglasses. He got his breakout leading role in the 1986 film Lucas and went on to a large role in the cult classic The Lost Boys, which coincided with the beginning of a 20-year friendship and collaboration with his namesake Corey Feldman. While the 80s were a golden era for Haim, he fell on hard times in the 90s, as he began to battle drug and alcohol addiction. Haim is now clean and co-starring in The Two Coreys, and he says the world hasn't seen anything yet. He's just received news he'll be reprising his role in Lost Boys 2. Here is his story, 20 years after his Golden Age.
Boom! Lost Boys 2 - We’re filming in one week. I can’t tell you the details of the project - Obviously it’s vampires, but it’s a lot more than that, and it’s really exciting.
Right now I’m living wherever I feel comfortable. At this moment, it’s New York, which I call Gotham City. I swear to God I saw The Hulk, Batman and Spider-Man fighting on a building last night.
The Two Coreys shot in Vancouver, and I feel comfortable there too. I’m Canadian, so I’ve been going there all my life anyway. It’s like a second home for me. It feels like a mini-Los Angeles. A lot of people say “It’s boring,” and I’m like, “It’s not boring dude, it’s ‘The Couv!’” But that’s just me.
Obviously when people are reminiscing about the 80s, I tend to come to mind. If I was trying to capture it in a nutshell, I’d have to say it was just a really busy time for me. I was working, working, working all the time, thank God.
I’d come to Los Angeles from Toronto, which was a trip. I made great friends, like Corey Feldman. I listened to great music, like Phil Collins. I’ve been independent since I was 10, years old. The 80s were the 80s; it was my time, and the best time of my life.
Movies for teenagers really haven’t changed all that much since those days. Nowadays, there are more special effects and bigger budgets, and people are trying to dig deeper and deeper into the characters in movies. This is just my own personal opinion, but I think they’re running out of ideas for movies, to be honest with you. But I do think one out of every three movies that come out is really amazing.
While the special effects are even more impressive these days, I actually prefer movies without special effects because it’s raw. For a movie like Lost Boys 2, special effects are the bomb – you come in and do what you do, and then they add the special effects later. When you see the finished product, it’s like “No way man!”…it’s so cool. I just can’t wait to see the prop room...
Corey Haim: Lost Boy Found By Corey Haim
as told to Orato Editor Heather Wallace 08/15/07
-->
Corey Haim needs no introduction, unless you were born post-1990 and haven't been enlightened about the standout decade preceding your existence. For those who missed the "Me Decade," and all the trappings of big hair and over-the-top neon fashion, Corey Haim is a Canadian actor who became a teen idol for millions of young, heavily-hairsprayed girls, and arguably as popular as Pac-Man, Rubik's Cube and Rayban sunglasses. He got his breakout leading role in the 1986 film Lucas and went on to a large role in the cult classic The Lost Boys, which coincided with the beginning of a 20-year friendship and collaboration with his namesake Corey Feldman. While the 80s were a golden era for Haim, he fell on hard times in the 90s, as he began to battle drug and alcohol addiction. Haim is now clean and co-starring in The Two Coreys, and he says the world hasn't seen anything yet. He's just received news he'll be reprising his role in Lost Boys 2. Here is his story, 20 years after his Golden Age.
Boom! Lost Boys 2 - We’re filming in one week. I can’t tell you the details of the project - Obviously it’s vampires, but it’s a lot more than that, and it’s really exciting.
Right now I’m living wherever I feel comfortable. At this moment, it’s New York, which I call Gotham City. I swear to God I saw The Hulk, Batman and Spider-Man fighting on a building last night.
The Two Coreys shot in Vancouver, and I feel comfortable there too. I’m Canadian, so I’ve been going there all my life anyway. It’s like a second home for me. It feels like a mini-Los Angeles. A lot of people say “It’s boring,” and I’m like, “It’s not boring dude, it’s ‘The Couv!’” But that’s just me.
Obviously when people are reminiscing about the 80s, I tend to come to mind. If I was trying to capture it in a nutshell, I’d have to say it was just a really busy time for me. I was working, working, working all the time, thank God.
I’d come to Los Angeles from Toronto, which was a trip. I made great friends, like Corey Feldman. I listened to great music, like Phil Collins. I’ve been independent since I was 10, years old. The 80s were the 80s; it was my time, and the best time of my life.
Movies for teenagers really haven’t changed all that much since those days. Nowadays, there are more special effects and bigger budgets, and people are trying to dig deeper and deeper into the characters in movies. This is just my own personal opinion, but I think they’re running out of ideas for movies, to be honest with you. But I do think one out of every three movies that come out is really amazing.
While the special effects are even more impressive these days, I actually prefer movies without special effects because it’s raw. For a movie like Lost Boys 2, special effects are the bomb – you come in and do what you do, and then they add the special effects later. When you see the finished product, it’s like “No way man!”…it’s so cool. I just can’t wait to see the prop room...
*****
I knew I wanted to act ever since I was about eight years old and my mom and my sister won a refrigerator in a cook off on this TV show called ‘Just Like Mom.’ They took head shots of my sister, and I was like, “But what about me?” I joined an agency in Toronto and I flew out to New York on a Friday with one other kid from my agency and got a part. The rest is history.
I think it’s fair to say that Lucas was a breakout role for me. I’d had a meeting at Rob Reiner’s house and had the choice of
whether to do Lucas or Stand By Me, in - rest in peace - River Pheonix’s part.
I think everything is meant to be, my role in Lucas included. Lucas taught me what an ensemble cast is and what a solo is, and I really started to learn about the industry. I really liked the script, and I liked playing a biography, so to speak, of a life.
To be honest, at first it was a tough shoot. The movie Lucas is about a nerdy high school kid who is bullied a lot, so I was constantly getting pushed into a corner and beaten up. It was my first time playing somebody’s life story, but after the second week, it was just like a cakewalk. I discovered I’m a dramatic actor, although I do like to mix drama with comedy.
Things started to become overwhelming right after Lost Boys. We were dealing with a $42-million budget, filming next to Lethal Weapon…I could buy any car I wanted to and was working with older people. I started to get out of control of myself and became my own death sentence. Thank God I was able to right myself, with a lot of support from my family, through an intervention. I sought help, and I’m currently attending meetings as well.
I would not change anything from the past, except maybe the hurt I caused my mom and my dad. I would just take the hurt away. You know, the hurt that came from them always expecting the call: “Your son is dead.”
Some of the troubles I had are universal and timeless, and I see a lot of young stars repeating some of my mistakes. If I could give some advice to people like Lindsay Lohan, it would be: Get off now. Get off right now, because it’s an expensive habit. It’s not good at all. It’s a long process getting clean and sober, so they should just stay away from that sh*t.
*****
When I first met Corey Feldman, I had no idea that we’d be tied for life. I called him and left him a message, saying, “I thought you were great in The Gremlins. My name’s Corey, your name’s Corey…we should hang out.” Him and I and our fathers all went to Venice Beach and played football, and we've shared a path ever since.
Although people associate us as a unit, we’re very, very, very different in every way. I try to be as real as possible and sometimes I catch him acting and not being real. Sometimes he catches me not doing what I need to do. We watch out for each other because we’re like brothers.
We decided to step back in the limelight with The Two Coreys recently because the time was right. It’s been years and years and years since we worked together. We’ve received every offer under the sun for reality series the past 12 to 15 years. The Two Coreys gave us an opportunity to be executive producers, developers, writers and stars, so it was great.
We got to go on Larry King Live to promote the show, so that was a trip. Over the years, I’ve been asked a million questions, many of them a number of times over again. There’s not much I won’t talk about, and I enjoy talking about the good times. If there’s one thing people may not know about me after all this time, it’s that I’m very sensitive to stuff. People think I’m like a hard ass, but I’m not.
I’m keeping my head on straight and being open to love. Obviously I want to find love, just like anybody. Why is Corey Feldman happily married and I’m not? Well, I’m not sure that he is. I hope he is. I absolutely want to be married or in a committed partnership one day. Oh yeah.
You know what, I really don’t know why some, like River Pheonix, didn’t make it and I did. I really didn’t know River that well. I just think it was just the cough syrup mixed with the heroin…you know, the drugs. The same could have happened to me. I was fortunate to survive all that I put my body through. It’s up to God. I’m not sure why I’m still here, but I’m still here, and I‘m happy.
The world ain’t seen nothing yet. It can expect a lot more happiness and hopefully great, great acting.
I knew I wanted to act ever since I was about eight years old and my mom and my sister won a refrigerator in a cook off on this TV show called ‘Just Like Mom.’ They took head shots of my sister, and I was like, “But what about me?” I joined an agency in Toronto and I flew out to New York on a Friday with one other kid from my agency and got a part. The rest is history.
I think it’s fair to say that Lucas was a breakout role for me. I’d had a meeting at Rob Reiner’s house and had the choice of
whether to do Lucas or Stand By Me, in - rest in peace - River Pheonix’s part.I think everything is meant to be, my role in Lucas included. Lucas taught me what an ensemble cast is and what a solo is, and I really started to learn about the industry. I really liked the script, and I liked playing a biography, so to speak, of a life.
To be honest, at first it was a tough shoot. The movie Lucas is about a nerdy high school kid who is bullied a lot, so I was constantly getting pushed into a corner and beaten up. It was my first time playing somebody’s life story, but after the second week, it was just like a cakewalk. I discovered I’m a dramatic actor, although I do like to mix drama with comedy.
Things started to become overwhelming right after Lost Boys. We were dealing with a $42-million budget, filming next to Lethal Weapon…I could buy any car I wanted to and was working with older people. I started to get out of control of myself and became my own death sentence. Thank God I was able to right myself, with a lot of support from my family, through an intervention. I sought help, and I’m currently attending meetings as well.
I would not change anything from the past, except maybe the hurt I caused my mom and my dad. I would just take the hurt away. You know, the hurt that came from them always expecting the call: “Your son is dead.”
Some of the troubles I had are universal and timeless, and I see a lot of young stars repeating some of my mistakes. If I could give some advice to people like Lindsay Lohan, it would be: Get off now. Get off right now, because it’s an expensive habit. It’s not good at all. It’s a long process getting clean and sober, so they should just stay away from that sh*t.
*****
When I first met Corey Feldman, I had no idea that we’d be tied for life. I called him and left him a message, saying, “I thought you were great in The Gremlins. My name’s Corey, your name’s Corey…we should hang out.” Him and I and our fathers all went to Venice Beach and played football, and we've shared a path ever since.
Although people associate us as a unit, we’re very, very, very different in every way. I try to be as real as possible and sometimes I catch him acting and not being real. Sometimes he catches me not doing what I need to do. We watch out for each other because we’re like brothers.
We decided to step back in the limelight with The Two Coreys recently because the time was right. It’s been years and years and years since we worked together. We’ve received every offer under the sun for reality series the past 12 to 15 years. The Two Coreys gave us an opportunity to be executive producers, developers, writers and stars, so it was great.
We got to go on Larry King Live to promote the show, so that was a trip. Over the years, I’ve been asked a million questions, many of them a number of times over again. There’s not much I won’t talk about, and I enjoy talking about the good times. If there’s one thing people may not know about me after all this time, it’s that I’m very sensitive to stuff. People think I’m like a hard ass, but I’m not.
I’m keeping my head on straight and being open to love. Obviously I want to find love, just like anybody. Why is Corey Feldman happily married and I’m not? Well, I’m not sure that he is. I hope he is. I absolutely want to be married or in a committed partnership one day. Oh yeah.
You know what, I really don’t know why some, like River Pheonix, didn’t make it and I did. I really didn’t know River that well. I just think it was just the cough syrup mixed with the heroin…you know, the drugs. The same could have happened to me. I was fortunate to survive all that I put my body through. It’s up to God. I’m not sure why I’m still here, but I’m still here, and I‘m happy.
The world ain’t seen nothing yet. It can expect a lot more happiness and hopefully great, great acting.
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