Interview with writer/director Robert Filion

It's amazing to me that we've done something like 150 interviews with indie filmmakers. That's an unfathomable amount of insight, lessons and trials & tribulations about the indie and micro-budget film world. I've archived a few, but years have gone by since I've added more to that list. I know, I know, I've done a piss poor job, but I swear, one day... one day, I will do them all justice. Until then, guess what... you're just going to have to keep checking in or going back through our posts.

So, that got me thinking... ten years from now, I'm betting that I'll go back and look at all these and one or two of the filmmakers that we've talked to will have made it. Made it big... and hopefully they remember me. Really, there's just too much talent, too much imagination and too much spirit and drive in here, that it's impossible that someone doesn't make it. The big question is, who's it going to be? Every time I read through an interview, that thought crosses my mind. Could it be this guy? Could it be that guy? Could it be you? Maybe it's me... or maybe it's Robert Filion... who's Robert Filion? Well, let me introduce you.

Robert recently finished a short film called "Lot 66" and, quite frankly, it's a cool little piece. He's worked on quite a few different projects and he has a few things in the hopper, so I expect to see more and better things in the near future. He's obviously skilled with both the camera and the computer, as he did all the CG effects for the film. "Lot 66" is a tense thriller with some great effects and it's certainly worth checking out. I'm going to embed it right before the interview, so you can either watch it now, then read what Robert has to say about it, or read the interview, then scroll back up and check it out. Either way, check it out and check out the interview that follows.

Lot 66 ©2010 from Robert W. Filion on Vimeo.

Tell our readers a bit about "Lot 66".

Lot 66 was a sort of test short. I was curious if I could make something tense in a short running time and have it take place mostly in the light. I also wanted to give my friend Michael Melendez a good role since he’s been helping support my addiction to filmmaking for several years, and I traditionally have only tossed him police officer roles. The story is based on a game I have played with my wife in the past, but I can’t really talk too much about that since it could spoil the experience. We shot it right before Christmas 2009 over a two day weekend in Fort Mill, SC with a solid crew and small cast. The rough cut was completed within 2 days, and all of post was completed about 3 months after due to the voluminous VFX pieces required.

If you don’t mind us asking, what was the budget and how did you secure financing?

The budget was less than $300 and that bill was carried by Lee Miller, my producing partner, so he got the Executive credit on this one… thank you, Lee! Of course, there are always intangibles and favors involved in the equation which drastically impact the overall production value. For example, a local company will periodically lend me a jib for use during a weekend shoot if it’s not being rented, or the cast and crew will largely cover the cost of fuel… these things are really what make shooting possible. On this project, a friend of my family lent me a rather expensive spec home to shoot in, so the production value in that home elevated the whole piece.

The camera work was great, what did you shoot on?

Thank you, I shoot with a JVC GYHD110U in HDV 720p. I’m typically my own DP as I have yet to find someone who shoots like I need my projects shot (at the price I can afford). I’m not really a micromanager, I just have a very strong visual sensibility, and need things to look a specific way lighting wise and compositionally.

There were some great tracking and dolly shots, did you have a crane or a dolly? If not, how did you accomplish the shots?

Most of the short was shot with a 6’ Porta-Jib. It’s my hallmark tool as it’s quick to setup and maintain with a small crew – I’m saving up for my own Porta-Jib Explorer.

The effects at the end were awesome, tell us how you accomplished all the gunshot wounds and splatter.

Because of the complicated nature of shooting in a practical location, there is seldom the budget in place on my short films to do interior makeup effects work like splatter. I mean, there’s the potential of breaking things with pyro, splattering walls with fake blood, causing ants and other insects if you don’t clean all of it up properly, carpet soiling… the list goes on. On this short, all of the splatter was composited in after the shoot, to include the entry wounds. There’s no greater fun than tracking in an entry wound on an actor’s cheek as he descends backwards to the floor, or compositing splatter in a 3D space. Of course, I’m being sarcastic… it was not difficult work, but tedious and time consuming. I live for the completed piece, not the imminent work caused by my over-exertive nature.

At any rate, there were additional effects shots perhaps not immediately obvious… I had to create a digital version of the house and modify the windows a bit for some exterior dolly shots as I cannot afford the equipment to pull this level of shooting off practically. So one of these shots involved me creating and animating a thunderstorm and hundreds of trees as I pull out of a second story window and descend into the forest. A neat shot, and I could have spent even more countless hours perfecting it further, but I set goals for myself so I can complete work; I don’t like working on the same short for years as some of my peers do. In yet another instance of VFX work, I had to create a basic prison environment… a sort of mental confinement for our protagonist. In this digital set, I had another dolly out through bars as his mental demons were frolicking about in front of spot lights so as to pique his terror. This was something I had not created to this complexity prior, and I found the bitter limits of After Effects, I can tell you.

Now, tell us a bit about yourself. What are your influences and what got you in to film?

I have been a filmmaker since childhood, and have always wanted to direct for the big screen. I was born in National City, CA, and as we were a military family, moved several times until I found my way on my own in Rock Hill, SC (just outside of Charlotte, NC). I have been building myself in this area since the late 80’s. The Army put me partially through college with the GI Bill, and upon graduation, I went for 5 years working as a wedding videographer, stage hand, editor and news videographer… just experiencing the whole freelance landscape. Around 1999, I began to really push myself out as a filmmaker. Now, I have never made enough money at what I’m passionate about to do it full time, so I have always held down a full time day job as either a computer technician, web designer or freelance video professional. With all this on me, I still seem to get work out and finished in a fairly slim amount of time. As for what or who inspired me, I’d have to say my late mother greatly inspired me. She was a multifaceted artist, and gave me appreciation for the arts. In respect to filmmakers who have influenced me, I’d have to say George Romero, Sam Raimi, Peter Jackson and Danny Boyle.

Film school: yes or no?

Kind of, but not really. I have a degree in television production, and always wanted to make motion pictures. I decided I couldn’t afford film school, so went with its less creative cousin. That did help, but I’ve spent years getting out from under that mindset. I would never shoot a news segment like I shoot a short film. It seems obvious, but once you learn a certain style, and have it ingrained in your psyche, it’s difficult to get out of that box. I had to teach myself to pull out from my subject and not fill my frame up with over-information, and that negative space was a good thing.

Talk about your goals behind making “Lot 66” and your other short films. Is it for accolades, for a reel, for festivals? Did you accomplish your goals?

Everything I do is a step toward making a feature film. The shorts I have been making have been honing my skills and the skills of my casts and crew and getting our names out there. The misstep I always seem to make is that I never allocate enough money toward more festivals… they’re expensive, and you have to choose carefully if your budget is $0. Festivals largely don’t seem to care about that as it’s difficult to get feedback from them if you don’t make the cut, and if you do (get feedback), it’s sometimes as though the reviewers didn’t actually watch your short, but enough with the rant. My thought on any of these short films is to get a quality product out there that everyone can be pleased with. Nothing is worse when you freely invest your time in something than the work falling short of quality… that negates what we’re supposedly pushing for as filmmakers. Success cannot be measured at this point, however, I can say I’m making strides toward my goals... like an inchworm moving a mile. As for the brass ring, nobody has given me a real shot yet… I suppose some of my work is about just that – you won’t give me a shot, well, how about I, or we give me or us a shot with our own resources, and when we’re further in this life, you’ll be kicking yourself for not wanting to help when we needed you. I don’t even know if that makes sense to anybody but me. I hope so.

Talk about the indie horror scene, where do you think it is now and where do you see it going?

Well, gone are the days of pioneering filmmakers like George Romero, John Carpenter and Wes Craven. These guys by today’s standard had it easy because there was so little quality competition doing what they were doing. Now, “Hollywood” has been so inundated by poor quality, redundancy, internet garbage, etc. that they have all but closed all doors to the indie market. Getting in is only by force majeure. The only thing I can see to do since I’m so far removed from “the system” is to keep putting out solid work and hope that someone notices. I try to attend conventions to meet people and get stuff seen, but so far, there has been little movement. This all sounds bleak, but there are opportunities. I can see private investment in my projects as possible as I can compete with the bigger guys with even fewer resources. Also, the internet is a powerful ally, and there are websites setup to give assistance to the indies. OpenFilm, Vimeo, and YouTube are integral pieces of the puzzle, and I feel are the sites viewers will be going for years to come for entertainment.

Where can people check your films out?

vimeo.com/imageimpact, imdb.com and facebook.com/imageimpact

What’s next for you?

I’m currently wrapping up a short film I shot for the Halloween Horror Nights 2010 Competition called “The Promise Jar”, and have 3 feature scripts ready to go. Two from novelist Michael Louis Calvillo, and one from Chad Law and Evan Law called Abominations (I just finished shooting a teaser for investors for this one). I’m also currently attached as Co-Director on a feature called Ghost Trek. Lots going on, hopefully something sticks and we can all move forward with bigger gigs.

Interview with Bill Houser and Jim Knutelski, the guys behind "Hidden"

I'm seriously considering writing a book... granted, I wouldn't have to do much work on it. We've done over 200 interviews on Dead Harvey and most of them are just collecting dust somewhere in cyber-space. I'm thinking that I'll write some sort of commentary or a loose story around the indie horror world, then work in all these interviews. It would be a sort of like "The Indie Horror World As Seen By Indie Horror Filmmakers" or something like that. Okay, I'd have to work on the title... but would you pick that up? I would. Anyhow, once again, we have a great interview for you today. This is one is from Bill Houser and Jim Knutelski, the guys behind the upcoming micro-budget horror, "Hidden".

We spoke with Bill a while back, when he had just finished up a short film called "Martin Gimbley's Escape". You can read that interview by clicking here. He used that short to hone his skills, get some practice, then he was going to tackle a feature. Well, here we are, about a year and a half later, and that feature length film is finished. The film is a massive step up from their previous effort and it's a real achievement. What struck me most about the film was just how ambitious it was. They didn't let a grandiose plot, multiple characters and weaving story lines hold them back. They did a great job of holding the idea together and delivering a well crafted, well executed feature length film. My hat's off to them for sure, the film is something to be proud of.

Now, the interview is long. Real long... but I'm going to post the whole thing, as I think there's a lot of advice in here that new filmmakers can use. If you're one of those filmmakers that's just armed with a camera, an idea and unwavering resolve, you should read this from beginning to end. However, before we get to the interview, I'm going to embed the trailer.



First off, tell us a bit about “Hidden”. What’s it all about?

JIM: On the surface it’s a story about what can go wrong with a competitive geocaching event when the sponsor may not have had the best intentions when planning the event.

BILL: The deeper story is about family secrets and betrayals. I like to think that it’s a classical Greek tragedy wrapped up in the skin of a slasher flick. Of course as the writer my view may be slightly warped. Ultimately, we were trying to capture the spirit of the late 70’s and early 80’s slasher films. The genre movies from that era, unlike most of the crap that tried to copy them in later years, actually had very suspenseful core stories.

If you don’t mind us asking, what was the budget and how did you secure the financing?

JIM: The budget is what we (Bill and I - executive producers) could afford to spend over the 12 week shoot. Meaning that there was no financing other than what we could put into the film with personal finances - checking, savings, credit cards, etc. You can become very creative on a low budget film when you need to. "Ummm honey, I need to buy that rock climbing equipment that I have always wanted - I'm not planning on rock climbing any time soon, but we will probably need it for stunts during the shoot." Use your imagination on how these conversations ended up. Let’s just say that we were nowhere near the industry standard on a low budget film, the entire cost was well under 6 figures.

BILL: We learned a lot about where we could get away with cutting cost and where you really shouldn’t. Also, had we paid for people to do all the post production stuff we did ourselves we would have ended up paying this project off for the next thirty years..

You primarily shot outdoors, which is great. Nature makes some great sets, which tends to be a bonus when you’re on a limited budget. Really, the setting made the film. It was basically a character itself. Talk about your locations, how you picked them, where they were...

JIM: The film was shot entirely in northeast Missouri and east central Illinois. We selected locations based on what we needed according to screenplay, what we knew we could get within a short distance, what was FREE, and what did not require legal documents to proceed with production of the film.

BILL: From the writing stage on we had hoped that we could make the film look bigger by using a variety of settings. We didn’t want this to just be another film ‘out in the woods’, it was important that each of the scenes had a distinctive image. As you said, their own character. The Waterfall, The Cliff, The Caves…each one with its own purpose and feeling.

JIM: The waterfall was a challenge. We scouted a few before settling on the one we used. Finding a cliff around here is simple. Finding a cliff you can throw your lead actress off of without hurting her is another thing. Our cast were all troopers and did all of their own stunts. Convincing Ellen Hinch (Trish Garrett) that the climbing harness would hold her was a hurdle. Apologizing for the bruises she had after 3 or 4 takes and bouncing off the rock face while tied to a rope was another, but it’s easier to beg for forgiveness than to get permission. "Hey you’re already bruised up now - why not just finish up this shoot and not have to go through this again."

Having said that, shooting outdoors can pose a lot of problems. Limited access to electricity, tough to set up the camera, bad lighting… talk about some of the hurdles and lessons learned from filming outdoors.

BILL: Weather was probably the single biggest issue. It turned what was suppose to be a 20 day shoot into a 40 day shoot. I can’t tell you how many times we got everything and everybody on location only to watch a lovely sunny day turn into hurricane conditions. Nothing to do, but pack everything up and send everybody home.

Beyond this we did struggle with a lot of the technical issues you mentioned, partly because of the conditions, and partly because of our inexperience in working outdoors.

JIM: Sound was one of the big ones. Although several of the locations "look" secluded they were not. Try getting everyone set and ready to shoot, only to realize that the diesel machinery just started up for the day and will be warming up for the next 15 minutes, or the highway 50 yards away has an abundance of choppers riding by this particular day, or that the neighbor next door is mowing the lawn. It can be very frustrating when it is out of your control.

BILL: I’ll never shoot near running water again. If you haven’t experienced this you can’t imagine the sound issues it causes. The sound changes with every different mic move making it nearly impossible to analysis and edit in post. Leaving you with the options of leaving the background sound as is or trying to dub all the dialogue in post. Either way the overall quality suffers.

JIM: We also had issues with power for equipment. We had one shoot that was an "all nighter" and we thought we came prepared with lighting and power. The power system failed about 30 minutes into the shoot and we improvised with flashlights and any other light we could find for the rest of the night- the shoot must go on. Always have plan B, C, D for equipment because Murphy's Law is still alive and well.

BILL: And to make things worse that night we were a couple hundred yards up the side of a cliff. It was truly dangerous, and Jerry Irick (Tiny Hunsaker) has the scars to prove it.

We also got a special visit from the ‘Boys in Blue’ that night. Try explaining why you have a girl tied up and dangling off a cliff at 2:00 am to a couple cops…big fun.

JIM: Yeah, even though we were on private property and had permission to shoot, that doesn’t keep the neighbors from complaining to local law enforcement when they hear a woman screaming bloody murder.

BILL: It was a pretty brutal shoot for everybody. I know I didn’t even think about going out into nature for the next six months.

JIM: As a matter of fact, after completion of the shooting, we made a pact that our next project would be 100 percent indoors where we would have much more control over the environment. That was several months ago and we are now probably dumb enough to go back to the great outdoors for our next production.

You had a lot of characters and did a great job of creating separate identities and storylines. Talk about the casting process and how you managed so many actors.

BILL: Well, I went in knowing I was writing a less than incredibly original script. I know that a lot of writers won’t admit that straight out, but it was very much part of the plan for this movie right from the start. We were making an 80’s style slasher film, people that like the genre have a general understanding of what these films are about. So, knowing the nature of the story, I wanted to create an eclectic cast of characters. I wanted characters that fell into broad stereo-types that everyone would understand, but still felt like real people. One thing that works well on an independent film that doesn’t generally happen on bigger pictures is that the script was actually adjusted in several ways after the cast was on board. We already had the pattern for the characters, but then we custom fit it to the actors.

JIM: We had a normal casting call and had a good response which meant a decent pool to choose from for leading roles. As far as the smaller parts, if you were willing, you probably got some part in the film. The crew was also thrown in front of the camera when the need arose. The entire crew performed some sort of double duty during the shoot.

BILL: As far as directing the actors, we worked a lot on some core acting skills prior to filming. Okay, really just one core idea, “Stop acting”. Above all, I wanted them to understand that the characters I had written were now their property. That I had handed off the characters to them, and they were responsible for truly bringing them to life. Part of that included allowing a liberal interpretation of the screenplay. This approach worked amazingly well with several of the actors, but less with others. Considering the experience level of the cast, I was sincerely pleased with the work that they did. I’m looking forward to working with many of them again in the future.

So, last time we talked to you, you had just finished up a short film, “Martin Gimbley’s Escape”. Did anything come of the film or did you do exactly what you said you were going to do and use it as a learning experience to go off and make this feature?

JIM: It was an excellent learning tool for the feature. It did fairly well on the internet and at one point had several thousand hits. We are including it as a bonus short on the DVD. It could become a full length feature in the future, or a longer short. We still like the story.

BILL: We learned a strange lesson about finding an audience from Martin Gimbley’s Escape, it was barely noticed on YouTube or any USA based site, but was lifted off of YouTube and posted on a German horror site where it clocked a ton of hits. I’ve gotten e-mails in Japanese from people that watched on Japanese language sites we never even knew existed. Overall though, it was training, but like Jim said Martin may return in the future to tell the rest of his story.

Talk about the differences in making a short and a feature. Any key bits of advice that you would give to a filmmaker that’s thinking of moving on from short films?

JIM: The feature film was a larger monster by necessity: more cast, more crew, and a logistical nightmare compared to the short: setting up locations for several weekends of shooting instead of one or two, feeding people, transportation, setting up several locations, scheduling, technical issues, etc. Plan, plan, plan and write everything down. Find people that are "go getters" and can make wine from water on 30 seconds notice while keeping the director and cinematographer from killing an actor/actress on any given day. Get a variety of people to work with that are from different backgrounds. You never know when someone's obscure experience or skill will come in handy in the middle of a shoot.

BILL: It was exhausting. Still, my advice would be to not waste your time doing five or six shorts, and jump in there and make a feature. Making shorts is like playing in a tee-ball league and comparing it to major league baseball…not even the same game. In my opinion, completing a weak feature is still light-years ahead of making a decent short.

Part of my issue with making a bunch of shorts is that, as I mentioned in the previous interview with Dead Harvey, too many of the shorts I see are scenes not complete stories. I’m sure other people feel differently, and that’s cool. I just figure if your goal is to do feature films…then do feature films. Do the best you can with what you have. You get the opportunity to do a better treatment of a story in the future, fine…do it again. That’s essentially what happened with Evil Dead and Evil Dead II, and if you count the promo short they made before the first movie they made that film three times.

What’s your goal for “Hidden”? Is for accolades, are you looking to make money or are you just looking to get a feature under your belt?

JIM: When we started we had a specific goal, earn enough to finance the next project. As the process went on we started thinking about other issues like how this first film establishes the identity of Confusion Films, and what else can we learn from the process of distributing this film.

BILL: As with the short, we couldn’t care less about festivals or awards. We just want to get out to the indie horror fans in the most reasonable and convenient way we can. Let the people who understand what’s involved in making truly independent films like ours decide what they think about it.

JIM: You always hope for the best and that you made something that people enjoy watching. Then they will remember you and hopefully be receptive of your next project. We have a large list of lessons learned, a few we covered earlier. After this shoot, we plan to implement a few key ideas that will give our productions some needed technical improvement. We know that we were not perfect on this shoot, but we also feel that it is a quality product that is worth your time to watch. We have screened the completed production and received some very favorable comments, including yours.

BILL: From the start we understood that this film was not going to be our masterpiece. It was part of a plan we had to get to where we wanted to be by our third production, and I truly believe we’re on target to meet our personal goals for the quality of our films. This one is good, horror fans will enjoy it…be ready for the next one.

How are you going to approach distribution with “Hidden”?

JIM: We have a few different approaches to consider: Conventional, web, or a combination of them. We are definitely leaning toward web based distribution – direct download for a fee. There may also be distribution of DVDs, but due to the cost of media, packaging, and shipping, it is the least favorable option. Our goal is to keep the retail cost of "Hidden" and, any other productions we complete, low - just like the production costs. Why should the customer have to pay for distribution if we can find a creative way to cut the cost?

BILL: The bottom line is we didn’t spend 20 million, and don’t need to make 200 million to please our shareholders. Fairly positive that we will be looking at a very low priced direct download to own option directly from us. We’re still looking at the numbers, but it is very possible that we’re talking $2 to $3 downloads in a format that the customers can burn to DVD, transfer to their personal media device, or whatever. We’re also looking into some other options that were suggested by DEAD HARVEY…because once again you guys prove that you actually give a shit about independent filmmakers. At any rate, the film should be available this summer.

Where can people find out more about “Hidden” and/or get their hands on a copy?

BILL: Our website: www.confusionfilms.com
The trailer is up on the site, and getting heavy circulation around FaceBook. We haven’t started our media push yet, but it is coming. We should have a webpage devoted strictly to HIDDEN up in the next week. DVDs and the downloads we were talking about should all be available by August…you know there’s a Friday the 13th in August. There might just be an incredibly low priced download available that night. Maybe we’ll make it only for those people with the secret DEAD HARVEY password.

What’s next?

BILL: Well, ironically after I said what I did about shorts, our next project is a feature length film composed of shorter individual story segments inside of a wrap-around story. Basically like the Creep Show movies. I recently started collecting all the old Creepy, Eerie, and Vamperilla comic magazines and the stories for this feature were heavily inspired by the tone of those stories. Of course, we’re bringing the action up to the intensity level that the modern horror audience expects. Right now the working title is Penny Dreadfuls.

"Kick Ass" and "The Losers" beat up by "Dragon" and a look at the week in horror on DVD

Even though "Kick-Ass" eked out the box office win last week, it fell off a cliff this last weekend and "How To Train Your Dragon" took its top spot back. "The Losers", which I would classify as in a similar sub-genre as "Kick-Ass", was, much like "Kick-Ass", a financial disappointment... Also, it should be duly noted that both of these films were heavily marketed. The second and third spot went to "The Back-Up Plan" and "Date Night", which are both girly, date movies... really. Fourth place went to "The Losers" and "Kick-Ass" was fifth. Now, even though I try to on a consistant basis, I can't speak for the masses... BUT, I thought "Kick-Ass" was pretty good. So, why didn't it do well? I don't really know, my guess is that demographic just doesn't go to the theaters any more, unless it's for something huge. Good kids movies are always profitable for various reasons; kids like to see movies multiple times, they take their parents, a lot of these films are for kids, but cast a wider net... Further, as long as teenagers don't want to talk to each other while they're on their awkward dates, the date movie will continue to pack them in on Friday and Saturday nights. Now, what does that say for "Nightmare on Elm Street", which comes out this Friday? Will horror transcend this action-comedy trap and prove that it's still a viable genre at the box office? I think so. I think it'll take top spot and I think it'll do it easy. Anyhow, the other news is, not only did "Avatar" prove that there's a way to make money on huge budget films, it proved that the DVD/Blu-ray market is more than just alive when it shattered the sales record held by "The Dark Knight". Is that because there's a bigger home entertainment audience these days or is it because "Avatar" is such a juggernaut film? That's a good question and I can't answer it. Since we're on the home entertainment market, let's check out all the horror that's coming out on DVD this week. As usual, you can head over to our Youtube Page and see all the trailers and you can click on the title to be taken to the films Amazon page, where you can read more and/or buy it.

Should I really be giving "Transylmania" any time here? Probably not. If you think entertaining action-comedies do poorly at the box office, how do you think crappy horror-farces do? Piss poor. This is actually the sequel to the 2006 film, "National Lampoon's Dorm Daze 2" and, quite frankly, it sucks... no pun intended. What sucks even worse is the fact that you could probably have made over ten low-budget features on the budget they had for this. Anyhow, next...

"Sympathy" is a low-budget horror film and it absolutely lit up the indie horror film festival circuit. Unfortunately for me, this is the first that I've heard of it and I'll definitely be checking this one out as soon as possible. From what I've read and seen, this looks like one of the films you need to look up to and emulate. There's only a few actors, they keep the locations to a minimum and they take a typical, run of the mill story-line and turn it on its head. Indie horror filmmakers, this your film to check out this week. I don't know what's up with the trailer that I found, but it's the only one I could find.

"Marked" is the first of three films released by Night Light Films this week. The others are "The Fear Chamber" and "Passed the Door of Darkness". All three have notable actors and a bit of budget behind them, plus they all look pretty good. "Marked" is a creepy looking paranormal film, "The Fear Chamber" is about serial killer that steals organs and "Passed the Door of Darkness" looks like it takes the serial killer genre to a whole new level... and they all look fairly gruesome. Now, what's REALLY interesting is how cheap they are. They're $6.99 each. I'm wondering if these guys are testing the waters on new price points, trying to open the market up. In any case, all the films look worth watching and, at that price, it's just a bit more than renting them. Also, I'm going to look further into this Night Light Films business...

"Spirit" looks to be a micro-cinema film and, unfortunately for them, they picked the same title as the big-budget film, "The Spirit". So, I can't find much about it and I don't have the time to do serious digging. Lesson: if you don't have a big budget for marketing and making your film stand out, you probably want to pick a title that stands out a bit more. Something that's easy to find. Try to do a search for "Spirit", then do a search for the afore mentioned "Passed the Door of Darkness" and note the differences.

The Weekend Box Office and The Week In Horror on DVD

So, the weekend at the box office went, sort of, as I predicted. "How to Train Your Dragon" toppled "Alice in Wonderland" and "Hot Tub Time Machine" came in third. The interesting story out of this weekend revolves around 3D films. Currently, there's three 3D films in the theaters: "How to Train Your Dragon", "Alice in Wonderland" and, of course, "Avatar". Now, a little backstory - modern 3D films use polarized 3D, which is different than, say... the 3D used in "Friday the 13th Part 3-D", which used the red/blue glasses. Polarized 3D requires digital projection that uses either two digital projectors fitted with polarizing filters OR a single digital projector used in conjunction with an adaptor in the front. IMAX, I believe, uses a slightly different and far more expensive method, but it's still based in polarized 3D. (If you're a tech guy and know this better, please elaborate) So, the interesting thing is that there's not enough screens to play all the 3D films now. So, with "Alice" being so successful and "Dragon" just opening, guess what happened to "Avatar"? Biggest drop yet, but the real reason is because it was booted off most of its 3D screens. Long and short is, it looks like 3D has hit the tipping point in a big, big way and, if that's the case, the theaters are going to need to do some serious upgrading. Now, here's where it gets interesting for us... the switch to 3D capable screens means that the theaters are going to go all digital.... which means that getting alternative content (ie. sports, indie and micro-budget film) on to the big screen will be a whole lot easier - no cost for prints, virtually zero distribution costs, blah, blah... unless, of course, there's four 3D films competing for all the spots in the megaplex. Oh, did I mention that "Clash of the Titans" opens this Friday and it's also in 3D? It's an interesting time to be in theatrical releases, for sure. Anyhow, let's get back down to earth and look at the horror that's coming out on DVD this week. As usual, head over to our Youtube Page by clicking HERE and you can see all the trailers. Otherwise, you can click on the title and be taken to the films Amazon page, where you can read more and/or buy the film.

"I Sell the Dead" is the feature film debut from Irish director, Glenn McQuaid, and it finally comes out on DVD this week. It's a great film and it had a great run at the festivals. It was picked up by IFC for domestic distribution; Anchor Bay for Canada, the UK and Australia; and Screen Media for foreign. Not only that, it was popular enough to have spawned a comic book adaptation - always a sign of acceptance in the horror world. The film stars Dominic Monaghan, Larry Fessenden, Ron Perlman and The Tall Man himself, Angus Scrimm. A month or so ago, we talked with Jeremiah Kipp, the writer/director of the short film "Contact" and he happened to be the AD on "I Sell the Dead". We talked a bit about "I Sell the Dead" in the interview and if you'd like to go back and check that out, here's the LINK.

"Smash Cut" is a Canadian indie horror from Lee Demarbre and it's produced by Robert Menzies. The film is about an "Ed Wood" sort of director who starts killing people and using their blood and guts in his films for realism. It screened at Fantasia Fest and the London FrightFest, before getting a limited theatrical run in Canada. The cast is unreal, including David Hess from "The Last House on the Left", Michael Berryman from "The Hills Have Eyes", Ray Sager from "The Wizard of Gore" and porn star, Sasha Grey, in her second non-porno role. Not only that, the Godfather of the splatter film, Herschell Gordon Lewis, is in the opening credits, advising the audience to "watch if they must". There's a lot of good things going on here and I may have to check it out.

I can't find the trailer for "Bigfoot", but I'm assuming that's because too many videos pop up on Youtube when you type in "Bigfoot". In any case, this film was actually completed back in 2005 and has been trapped in indie film purgatory due to a snafu with another distribution company. Now, it's finally getting the release it deserves from Troma, who just recently picked it up. It's a low-budget indie, but reviews are fairly good and it looks like it's worth checking out.

"Negative Happy Chainsaw Edge" is a Japanese film, based on a novel of the same name by Tatsuhiko Takimoto. There's also a manga adaptation - a sign of acceptance in the Japanese horror world. The trailer that I found has no subtitles and I know nothing of the book, so I'm not really sure what it's about. Judging from the trailer, there's a love story, some motorcycle riding and a chainsaw wielding psychopath from space.

"Girly", AKA "Mumsy, Nanny, Sonny, and Girly" is a cult horror-comedy classic that came out of the UK from British horror veteran Freddie Francis in 1969. It's been called one of the greatest lost films of British horror cinema and received great reviews at the time, although it was marketed poorly and was forgotten very quickly. The distributor gave up on the film and it all but vanished, except for an even more limited release on VHS in the early 80's. Then, during a Freddie Francis film festival in 2004, the organizers struggled to find even a VHS copy and the film was thought to have been completely lost... when copies began to surface on the web, people started talking about it, it gained some cult status and, low and behold, it's now out on DVD ready to be rediscovered.

Paramount's Micro-Budget Film Division Has A Name

A month or so ago, we wrote a post called "What I Would Say To Adam Goodman, Production Chief of Paramount", in response to hearing that Paramount was planning to open up a micro-budget film division. Well, I'm happy to say, there's been developments...

I would like to add that I actually did reach out to Adam Goodman. I took a wild stab at guessing his email address and I got it right... after a few tries. Then, low and behold, I got a response. It was brief, concise, but he said that, yes, there was going to be a micro-budget filmmaking division and that I should stay tuned. I was quite impressed. Now, I didn't really get the chance to mention all the things that I wanted to in that first email, so I laid them out in my second email... which I didn't get a response to. In any case, I did stay tuned. And I just found out that Paramount's micro-budget division has a name, a site and a leader.

The division is called Insurge Pictures. The tagline is, "Do you want to see more movies that don't conform to the Hollywood mold? Sweet. Us too." I heard that the website, insurgepictures.com, was actually live, but every time I try to go to the site, I'm forwarded to Paramount's main site. Do me a favor, click on that link there and let me know if you get through to it. If you do, I'd love to know what it says, as far as what they're about and all that. As mentioned before, the division does have $1million to finance its slate of films - 10 movies on tap in the first year, budgeted at approximately $100,000 each. The division hasn't been formally announced yet, but it should be soon. In fact, it may have already been announced and I just don't know it. It's going to be headed up by Amy Powell, who's currently the studio's SVP of Interactive Marketing. Interesting choice, obviously they see these micro-budgeted films closely tied to social marketing, the web, mobile, etc. The micro-budget division will also develop an online community to fuel the initiative and they're expected to support their goals with additional elements, yet to be announced. So, that's what I got, so far.

Somewhere on the Insurge site that I can't log on to, you'll find this quote, "Aren't you tired of being fed the same movies wrapped in different paper? We want to find and distribute crazy, unpredictable, and hopefully awesome movies - movies that make you want to line up to see at your local theater with all your friends (and us). Movies that a big studio would never release because they're too risky, too silly, and they don't star Sandra Bullock." Sandy, don't listen to them. "Blind Side" was good, but "Speed", "Demolition Man"? Classics. I also liked that movie where you played a drunk, "28 Days".

Anyhow, the same worries and trepidations that I illustrated in the last post persist. I hope they reach out to the right teams of filmmakers, I hope they involve the micro-budget filmmaking community and I also I hope that they make the right films. However, what I hope most is that their 'difference making' doesn't end at the conclusion of the filmmaking process. You see, they also need to come up with "crazy, unpredictable, and hopefully awesome" ways of distributing these films. Pave the way... please. The fact that they say, "movies that make you want to line up to see at your local theater", makes me weary. When's the last time you saw a micro-budget film at the theater? Okay, besides "Paranormal Activity"? We need new and revolutionary ways to get these films out there. That's the key. And I hope they put as much thought into that as they do in finding and making these films.

In any case, the whole thing can do nothing but good for the rest of us. It shines a spotlight on micro-budget filmmaking and, hopefully, a little bit of that light actually falls on to the micro-budget filmmaking community. Now, if you'll excuse me, I'm going to try and guess Amy Powell's email address and see if she'll get back to me... I've got some things to say, but I'll save them for my second email.