With a slow-moving blimp on the horizon inspiring flashbacks of the Hindenburg disaster, "Final Destination 3" stars Ryan Merriman and Mary Elizabeth Winstead — both recently glimpsed in "The Ring Two" — are getting ready to watch dozens of people die violent, gruesome deaths. In the "Destination" tradition, their characters get off a 200-foot roller coaster following a premonition about the ride malfunctioning, then watch in horror as the vision comes true. Realizing that death doesn't like to be double-crossed, their characters and the other survivors must figure out a way to avoid the unseen specter before it can even the score.

Before they can fear death, however, the young stars have to deal with the terror of riding a real-life roller coaster, repeatedly, into the wee hours of this cold Canadian evening. "I'm not really scared of roller coasters," says Merriman, sounding like one of the stupid dead teenagers from the first two movies. "Yeah, I've skydived, I ride motorcycles. Every guy who says, 'Oh, that's not fun' or 'that sucks' is always the guy that pukes."

Pictures from the set

by MTV.com

With that, director James Wong grabs Merriman away and points him in the direction of his seat on the coaster, an old-timer whose features will be heavily enhanced with computer graphics. The coaster's a permanent part of a seasonal amusement park that the producers have asked not be identified; it isn't easy to find one that will let you show the world how violently you could die on its rides. Six Flags wasn't exactly jumping at the opportunity, as the filmmakers admit.

"I'm totally excited about it and ready to go for it," Winstead says about her coaster ride. When pressed, she admits that, like her character in the movie, she keeps thinking that something could go wrong at any moment. "It's pretty freaky to think about. I'm trying to keep my sanity working on this film, where it's like anything could kill you at any moment. We're trying to not think about it."

As she climbs into the coaster, dubbed "Devil's Flight" for the movie, there's time for a quick check on dinner. "I'm trying not to eat too much," the actress smiles uneasily. "I don't want to be getting nauseous and having bad things happen."

Winstead is working on half a bagel, and the more self-assured Merriman is bragging about the oatmeal-banana-and-fruit smoothie that would taste the same coming back as it did going down. It would make one hell of a deleted scene on the DVD, but Wong is nevertheless hoping that he won't have to hose down the cameras mounted on the sides of the car.

Wong screams "Action!" and the coaster begins to climb, clicking away on the wooden frame of the ride. A glimpse at one of the director's television monitors reveals the two actors in character, with Merriman's high school jock Kevin raising his arms in pleasure while Winstead's conservative Wendy sports an eerie look of impending doom on her face.

"Yeah, I've skydived, I ride motorcycles. Every guy who says, 'Oh, that's not fun' or 'that sucks' is always the guy that pukes."

Photo from the article, taken on the FD3 set

"This is the end of the school year," Wong says of the setting. He's taking a quick interview break while his actors do loop-de-loops. "They're looking forward to a full life ahead. And of course Wendy gets on the ride and she has this terrifying premonition ... her boyfriend, unfortunately, does not make it. They go on, only to be pursued by what appears to be death, embodied in all kinds of things around us. One by one they start getting bumped off, and she starts to figure out what's happening. When she's in this amusement park, she's also taking pictures for the yearbook. She finds that, in the pictures that she's taken in the digital camera, there are clues that death is [following] her."

The photo clues are a departure from the first two films, but Wong and co-writer/producer Glen Morgan cheerfully embrace the notion that they can do whatever they want at this point. After collaborating on the first film, the duo watched the second "Destination" take off without them. Now returned to power, they're determined to decrease the rapidity of deaths, increase tension, trim the fat (sorry, fans, no Tony Todd) and utilize only select details (no mention will be made of the survivors from the second movie, although the first film's details will be discovered by the new victims during an Internet search — presumably not on IMDb). There's also no bus hit this time around, although Morgan says the studio wanted one. "Rube Goldberg-esque" is how he describes the final moments of these survivors' lives, including one death sequence in a Home Depot-like store and another in a tanning booth.

Thirteen rides and a couple hours later, the dazed duo climb down from their ride for a break. "My voice is like eight octaves lower," Merriman reports. "I'm definitely not normal; a little hungover-feeling."

"Yeah, we're a little loopy," Winstead agrees, "but the fast parts, when you go upside down, I still enjoy it. Even the 13th time around, it's still fun."

It's 2 a.m., and Wong has plans to get them and their ill-fated co-stars back on the coaster as soon as "lunch" is over. Winstead and Merriman plan on eating light, but brag about how many more times they can ride around in circles.

"Another 10," the actress speculates.

"Ten?" Merriman replies, attempting to focus his eyes.

"I'd say 10, 10's a good number. And then after that I would be done. I think I will be done."

"I don't think it would be healthy."

Stupid teens.

Photo from the article (MTV.com)