Corey Feldman And Jamison Newlander Talk ‘The Lost Boys’ And The Birth Of The Two Coreys

“Edgar Frog was the first time where I really had to create a character that was completely disconnected, completely separated from me as a human and becoming this other guy,” recalled Corey Feldman as we discussed the iconic 80s teen vampire movie, The Lost Boys.

When he made it, the actor already had memorable performances in a string of classic movies under his belt, including The Goonies, Gremlins, and Stand by Me. However, his role as Edgar Frog, one half of The Frog Brothers, opposite Jamison Newlander as his brother Alan, gave him a string of unique experiences.

I caught up with Feldman and Newlander to talk about their shared experience, the influence of 80s action heroes, and the birth of The Two Coreys.

Simon Thompson: You knew The Lost Boys would be a great movie but did you have any clue about its longevity or influence?

Jamison Newlander: It would have been impossible for me at 15 to assess that, but I noticed that little by little, everybody was getting excited about it. Joel Schumacher, the director, was enthusiastic about it; everyone was excited about what Joel was doing, and that built with each scene. That’s how I assessed that. Something was going on; we were making something cool.

Thompson: Corey, by then, you’d already worked on a slew of great movies. Did this one feel unique in its own way?

Corey Feldman: By that point in my career, firstly, I was able to assess a script and know that it was great and had all the right chemistry and the right workings of a great movie, but also knowing the directors. When you’re working with a great director and a great producer, you know it’s going to be great. Although I didn’t really know Joe’s work as much, I was surprised to find out later that he was the guy who wrote The Wiz. That’s pretty cool. He’d also worked with Woody Allen as a costume designer and done all these other things. I was also a bit jaded at the time because, as a kid, you don’t know anything other than your own life experience, and for me, every movie I did went to number one at the box office, so I didn’t know anything else. Richard Donner was supposed to direct it initially, and I figured we did The Goonies together, and this was kind of a vampire, little bit older version of The Goonies, so it would be another biggie. Then it evolved into something much different. That said, thinking that Richard Donner would be a part of it, I assumed it would be a number one film, and when Joel came in, I watched his work and how he operated, and I knew he really cared. He was very passionate. The director of photography, Michael Chapman, was brilliant and took hours to set up every single shot and the scope was amazing.

Thompson: Did you ever read for each other’s roles?

Newlander: I think that Corey had the standing already in the industry with audiences that I think that it was natural that he would be the lead Frog, Edgar.

Feldman: The head Frog, pulling the strings (laughs). We have a rivalry about that. Those are always the right roles for us. When they passed the director’s baton to Schumacher, the first time I met with him, he was like, ‘Hey, listen, I think you’re right for this, but you got to make some adjustments. I need you to grow your hair as long as you can. I need you to go and watch Sylvester Stallone, Chuck Norris, and Arnold Schwarzenegger movies, and I want you to formulate a character.’ For me, it was a big departure. Until that point, I was a kid, and playing a kid, it was as natural as it could be. Stand by Me was the first time where I had to dig deep and pull out some really hard emotions that I’d been dealing with. Edgar Frog was the first time where I really had to create a character that was completely disconnected, completely separated from me as a human and becoming this other guy. I really dug getting into that and creating a character and manifesting this human. When they first connected me with Jamison, it was a day where they brought in several different potential Alans, and I was reading with all of them. It was kind of like, ‘Where’s the chemistry going to be?’ As soon as Jamison and I read together, there was just this instant magic where I just knew that he took it very seriously. He’s very dedicated.

Newlander: We did both take it very seriously.

Thompson: Hearing you talk about playing The Frog Brothers, you do seem very earnest. In The Lost Boys, they always reminded me of the interlude characters in Shakespearean plays who can have levity but also a key role in laying the narrative.

Feldman: And that’s the fun of it, isn’t it? If we weren’t taking it seriously, you probably wouldn’t go along for the ride. You’ve got these two 14-year-old boys who are taking themselves so deadly seriously, even though the rest of the world is laughing at them and saying they’re just kids, and you don’t even know what the hell you’re doing. It’s that first meeting with the first vampire, that real confrontation where it’s like, ‘Okay, it’s not just comic books and talking about it anymore. This is a real vampire, and we’re about to get killed if we don’t do what we say we were going to do.’ There is that pivot in the movie. I think what makes it so much fun is watching these kids get invested in it.

Newlander: Joel really pushed us in that way to develop these characters. They’re quite apart from what we were like in real life, and I thought it was really cool. He did say. ‘Watch those movies,’ and it made a real difference.

Thompson: I was going to ask if your references were the same.

Newlander: Yeah, but I think ultimately we found our own groove with it. Maybe I was a little more Chuck Norris, and Corey was more Stallone, but that’s where it naturally landed. I think that’s also because I was naturally very serious, which added to it.

Feldman: A funny anecdote is that I ended up meeting Stallone for the first time years after the film came out. I went to his house, I walked in, and he’s got this giant statue of Rocky, and he was like, ‘Come in. How are you doing? I was like, ‘I’m excited to meet you because I played you. He goes, ‘Oh, yeah, that’s right. You did a pretty good job.’ That’s one of those amazing moments when you’re meeting the guy you emulated for a role.

Thompson: Talking about amazing moments, The Lost Boys was where we witnessed the creation of The Two Coreys.

Newlander: I got to see that front and center from early on. That was a pivotal summer for the Coreys. It was amazing to watch that develop, and I was a part of that because we were all very close. Aside from being in a major motion picture, we had a very kid summer.

Feldman: We all got along really well and enjoyed each other’s company, but Corey Haim and I had this crazy bond. Jamison and I are still like brothers, but our thing went on a whole other level with Corey and me. It started with what was poised to be a rivalry, given that a girl was involved. I was in love with this girl, and she didn’t have eyes for me. She was talking about Corey Haim all the time, and I was like, ‘Who is this guy?’ and she was like, ‘Oh, he’s in the teen magazines. Don’t you recognize him? He’s always next to you on the pages.’ I didn’t know what she was talking about, so I’d go and look. Suddenly, Joel Schumacher is in the wardrobe fitting and on the phone with somebody, and he says, ‘Oh, we’ve got the two Coreys…’ and I’m like, ‘Two Coreys? I’m just one guy.’ I quickly found out Corey Haim was going to be in the movie, and I was like, ‘Oh boy, how’s this going to go?’ We were both young actors, and we’re both Jewish, we’re both the same height, there’s so much that similar. He calls me and leaves a message on my answering machine one day. I come home from school, and there’s a message like, ‘Hey, man, it’s Corey Haim. What’s up, buddy? Yo, we’re going to be working together, man. It’s really cool. I thought maybe we could get together and hit the beach or whatever.’ I was amazed at how friendly and open he was, and he had this amazing energy. We instantly connected, we immediately bonded, and then we were pretty much inseparable.

The Lost Boys is available on 4K Ultra HD and Digital.