At this year’s Genghis Con in Pittsburgh Pennsylvania, your humble reporter and celebrity interviewer supreme, the Prime had a chance to go one on two with two icons from the original Texas Chainsaw Massacre Gunnar “Leatherface” Hansen and Edwin “The Hitchhiker” Neal. The two were very open, frank and cool, they also gave a little dirt, enjoy!

Jareprime: Mr. Hanson, nice to finally meet you.

Gunnar Hanson: Have you been looking for me?

JP: Only about three years, I’ve just started going to the horror conventions. And you are one of the big three to me.

GH: Who are the other two?

JP: Jason and Freddy of course.

GH: I see, have you met either of the others yet?

JP: No Freddy yet, but I have met a couple of Jasons so far. I’ve been to Horrorfind Weekend the last couple of years, I was hoping you would show up there this year.

GH: I only do two or three conventions a year anymore, so I don’t get out as much as I used to.

JP: Why so few? Don’t you like being adored by blood thirsty fans?

GH: Yes, but it is very easy to get burned out on it. When the convention scene first started it was a lot of fun, but by the fourth and fifth year and the sixth or seventh convention per year, it gets to be a bit much. Now I go out once or twice a year and have a lot more fun.

JP: I’m sure it does get tiring at some point. Do you do anything other than conventions?

GH: I’ve done some haunted house openings and things like that.

JP: What do you think of the fans?

GH: Love them.

JP: What’s the weirdest thing anyone has ever asked you to sign?

GH: I get a lot of chainsaws, for some reason, but mostly it’s a poster, like the one you’re holding.

JP: Yup, here ya go if you don’t mind.

GH: Not at all.

As Gunnar signed my poster, I found it very surreal how the chainsaw wielding maniac behind the leather face was very calm and mellow. Also Gunnar looks nothing like you think he would, he has a strong Kenny Rogers vibe thing going.

Meanwhile, Edwin Neal arrived at the table next to him and began to set up his table with photos and buttons.

Now as laid back and calm as Gunnar was Edwin was like a crack-addict-ferret on speed. Jittery, wide eyed and going 100 MPH at all times, but I now had two of the original Sawyer clan in my sights!

JP: Check it out it’s a Sawyer reunion.

Edwin Neal: All that’s left of the initial three anyway.

JP: Nice to meet you.

EN: You too.

JP: Can I ask you something Ed?

EN: Sure, shoot.

JP: What did you think of Bill Moseley’s performance as your brother?

EN: Bill did a great job, I think he captured the character very well. Do you know how he got the job?

JP: Because you were killed in the first one?

EN: C’mon it’s a horror movie, you should know better than that, the bad guys are never truly dead. He got it because of $1000.00 dollars.

GH: $1,500.00, I think was the actual amount.

EN: Yeah, I think you're right. You see me and Gunnar were asked to be in the sequel, but they didn’t want to pay us anymore.

GH: We made scale pay for the first film and they were going to pay us that for the sequel as well, we asked for only $1,500.00 more and they said No! and that was it, we were out.

JP: Why, you guys were in the first one, and that doesn’t seem like a high pay increase ten years later.

GH: It wasn’t and it was fair, but…

EN: Tobe and the producers didn’t want to cut into their coke budget and that’s the truth, so we get replaced and my character suddenly gets a brother, about two days before shooting began.

GH: And pretty much ever since then, needless to say when we happen to be at the same convention or event, we all try to stay away from one another.

EN: (In the Hitchhiker’s voice) Except us, huh Bubba?

GH: That’s right.

JP: How do you two feel about The Texas Chainsaw Massacre’s mass appeal and it’s spot in American movies, not just the horror genre.

GH: The Texas Chainsaw Massacre is just one of those few films that became bigger than it’s parts. The movie on the whole was just done right and for one reason or another it took off and became what it is.

EN: I agree, during the making of the movie, no one thing or person stood out, we were all just trying to do the best job we could and that’s what we did.

GH: Yeah, but after the film’s release and it’s popularity soared, one person was there to catch all the praise and take all the credit.

EN: What gets me the most is that Tobe Hooper probably said less than ten words to me the entire time we were filming, we did most of our own direction.

JP: You two improvised a lot?

EN: Yes!

GH: Yes! (simultaneously)

JP: As in the story line or the character creation?

GH: We were given a script and some guidelines that was pretty much it.

EN: Tobe would say something like, Faster, more anger, or something like that, but that was it. Tobe had a lot of addictions so to say during the filming of the movie to say the least.

JP: What did you guys think of the recent remake?

GH: Something new for a new generation, I got asked to be the truck driver in the end scene, but I turned it down.

EN: (Smiling) Did they remake it?

JP: Yeah, sorry to say. Well guys thanks for your time and fell free to check us out at HorrorWatch.com.

GH: Not a problem, it was nice to talk to you.

EN: (Now twitching and looking around like a madman) Hey mister would you like to buy a picture? It’s a good picture only five dollars!

JP: No, but you can sign my poster.

I left Genghis Con with a kick ass Texas Chainsaw Massacre poster autographed “To Jarrett, you’re next! Gunnar Hansen” and “Hey Jarrett, you look like head cheese! Edwin Neal, Hitchhiker.”

And that, my friends, is pretty damn sweet.