Interview with Christine Parker, writer/director of "Fistful of Brains"

You may remember a film that we discussed a while ago, from Christine Parker, called "Forever Dead". If you missed it, can't remember it or just want to read it again, here's a link to our interview with her about it... She's gone out and made another zombie film called "Fistful of Brains" and, quite frankly, I love the fact that she followed up her first effort so quickly. Next, I love the fact that this film is a huge step up from her first film as far as look, feel and story and, not only that, she made it for around the same budget. Further, she managed to round up a few notable names to get involved. So, you know what that means? That means she's evolving as a filmmaker, which is awesome and great to see... and what's even better about that is, she's willing to share what she learned with you. So, here we talk with Christine Parker about her latest film, "A Fistful of Brains". Enjoy, it's a great read...

"Fistful of Brains" is your follow up film to "Forever Dead", at what point did you decide to go out and make a second film?

We were actually about half way done with Forever Dead when we came up with the idea of doing a zombie western. My friend Darrell Parker had just done a movie at a guys old west town that he'd built on his horse ranch and thought it would be a great location for a horror movie.

The films are very different, yet they both have to do with zombies. First off, do you just like zombies or is it a coincidence? Secondly, where did you get the idea for "Fistful of Brains"?

Firstly, yes I do enjoy making zombie movies. I would like to do something other than zombie movies but right now our fans are demanding more zombie movies so we'll keep making them.

Secondly, geez that's a tough one. I knew I wanted to do a zombie western and we had come up with the title Fistful of Brains and we just sort of went from there. I started writing and the story just evolved. I did a couple of rewrites and we had it.

Did you increase your budget on this one at all?

Believe it or not we didn't really spend much more than the last one. The difference is this time we didn't have to buy all the equipment so we could put the money into the production itself which was nice.

What did you shoot on and how long was this shoot?

I used the same camera as last time my trusty old Canon GL2. It took us nearly a year and a half of shooting on weekends to get er done.

As far as the filmmaking process is concerned, what did you learn from the first film that you could apply here?

A WHOLE lot! I got from behind the camera more this time and actually let Bill Mulligan do a lot of the shooting. So I really got to direct more. We also planned things out more. Even did some story boarding and shot lists when I could get Bill to use them. We had a better sound hook up this time.

We knew a lot more about lighting so that worked better. We felt we went a bit overboard with the last one on the gore so we cut back on the gore a bit on this one and tried to spend more time on character development. And most importantly I let a professional, Greg Putnam, do the sound design and composing. This was real load off of me since I really struggled with that on the last one.

Talk about the set. It was UNREAL, absolutely perfect. What came first? The idea. or the set?

The set came first but we actually ended up using a different town than the one that originally inspired Fistful of Brains. The one we originally wanted was too expensive. We looked at a few alternatives. Oddly enough there are more than a few people who like to build faux western towns on their property here in North Carolina. My friend Ed knew someone who had gotten married at an old west town that some guy had built on his property out in Smithfield so we checked it out. It was perfect. Deputy Dan (William Drake) is the guy that owns it and is a veteran actor from the old westerns I grew up watching. It was a perfect fit.

You had some notable cameos in "Fistful of Brains", including Heidi Martinuzzi, Pericles Lewnes and Chuck Williams. How'd you get them involved in the film?

Heidi I'd gotten in touch with from Forever Dead. She helped me promote it on her website pretty-scary.net. She heard about me when I started selling credits to raise money on e-bay and we became e-mail friends. I offered her the part of Daisy in Fistful. She came down for the weekend and shot with us and we had a blast! She was such a professional. She really made us step up our game.

Peri I met through that ill fated Fox reality show On the Lot. We found that we both had a love of zombie movies. I was already a fan of his since I'd watched Redneck Zombies for inspiration when were getting ready to shoot Second Death. We talked on the phone a few times and he gave me some great advice on distribution when I was shopping around Forever Dead. I wrote the part of Frank for him so he really couldn't turn it down.

Fortunately he lives in Maryland so he was able to drive down for the weekend. It was like 100 degrees that weekend and no AC in the town. We were all sweating like dogs! He was great though and really gave one of the best performances in the movie.

Chuck was a friend of my friend Ed. Ed runs a haunt called the Frightmare here in Raleigh and he met Chuck at a haunt convention. This was when we had first done Second Death. He loved the movie and gave us a quote for the cover and even called me to discuss it. He didn't care for Forever Dead quite so much but I still convinced him to come play a part in Fistful of Brains. We cut a deal and he came out for the weekend and fun was had by all. You can hear interviews we did with all these guys on our podcast at fistfulofbrains.podbean.com

As far as distribution is concerned, what did you learn from the first film that you applied here?

I learned that sex sells so we did our best to sex this one up a bit. If it weren't for the over the top gore on Forever Dead I don't think it would have gotten distribution. I'm hoping they will find this one more marketable. At least it does have a fairly unique idea which is good too.

Where can people find out more information on "Fistful of Brains" and/or buy a copy?

We're working on the DVD extras right now and hope to have copies available to the public by late January or early February. Check our myspace page or contact me there for updates. That link is myspace.com/fistfulofbrains Our official website is fistfulofbrains.com and our podcast site that chronicled the making of our movie is fistfulofbrains.podbean.com

What's next?

Next is the sequel A Few Brains More: Summer of Blood. We plan to ramp things up a few more notches and hope to do some really cool stuff with this one. It's set in 1973 and continues the story of Lily and Jack as they continue to pursue Dead Eye and stop him from creating more zombies. The myspace page for that is up and running: myspace.com/afewbrainsmore

We're also doing a short film for our Executive Producer Lanny Maude who put up most of the money for Fistful. He's a great screenwriter and wrote a wonderful horror short called Dead of the Night. We'll be shooting that in February and March. I'm also collaborating with a Belgian writer Mike Cannon on adapting one of his short stories about a werewolf. So that should be fun! Then Bill Drake has written his own cowboy movie that he wants us to shoot for him in March and April so we'll be back out at Shadowhawk for that. We're pretty busy!

Brian Henley: Child Actor From "Silent Night Deadly Night Part 2"

Brad - My friend Brian Henley and I usually talk about drinking whiskey. We also talk about drinking beer. One day I branched out and told him about writing for Dead Harvey. This is where I learned he was the child killer in the flashback scenes of "Silent Night Deadly Night Part 2". As soon as I discovered this, I went ape-s and asked him to write an article for Dead Harvey, which he graciously agreed to. I guess I owe my friend some whiskey now.

Before I give you Brian's column, i'd like to share an email he sent to me after he finished the piece. Truly bizarre and chilling...

"Hey Brad,

So here is the article I asked to write for your excellent website. However, the weirdest thing happened as I was writing it.

There I was, finally with enough time to write given the Christmas holiday, and I sat down at the computer and put on the TV for background noise. I hadn't even started the first sentence when the news came on, and damned if the first story wasn't about a guy who put on a Santa suit and went on a killing spree on Christmas Eve. I was poised, ready to write about my tiny part in an obscure movie featuring a Santa suit psycho rampaging on Christmas Eve, when on the news I see that it has just actually happened. Of all the tragic, weird, horrible and coincidental surreality... it's enough to drive a man to drink.

It was close to us, too. The killer lived in Montrose, the ex-wife (whose party he ruined) was in Covina. Truth is always stranger than fiction."

Sorry, didn't mean to freak anyone out. That was just too weird not to include. Real life definitely is way more f'ed up than fiction.

Okay everyone, without further ado, I give you Brian's column about his experience working on the horror classic, "Silent Night Deadly Night Part 2"...

Hello Dead Harvey devotees and indie fright film fans,

My name is Brian Henley, and if you are truly Rainman-style obsessive-compulsive about your micro-budget horror, you might remember me from my pivotal role in the watershed 1987 masterpiece entitled “Silent Night Deadly Night Part 2”. That’s right, I’m that Brian Henley.

Seriously though, two decades ago that was a fun experience. I was nine years old and I got three days off school, and there were build-your-own sandwiches on a card table in the parking lot where we were filming. It was very exciting, and I have pleasant memories about it to this day.

I was in three scenes, with a line in each, so obviously a starring role. My first scene was about twenty minutes into the movie. In the first film, my character’s older brother indulged in an axe-wielding binge on Christmas Eve, only to be brought down by a hail of police bullets. His last act is throwing the axe at my prequel counterpart’s feet. Naturally therefore, my first onscreen moment is a slow pan up from the axe, to my sneakers, then past my plaid shirt to my horrified face. Sort of a passing of the torch, the torch being a bloodstained lumberjack’s axe. Of course, being nine and not a talented actor, my face is far from convincingly horrified. In my defense, there was no bloody axe at my feet, nor was I told at the time exactly why I should have looked horrified. “Look really scared and pissed off,” I was told, and film rolled. The rest of the magic coalesced in the editing room.

My second appearance, and really my shining moments in the movie, come in a faux-home-video sequence showing me interacting with my adoptive family, happily and well-adjusted. My stellar method acting during these interludes is easily explained: I didn’t know I was being filmed. They just took me to somebody’s backyard with the rest of the cast present and in costume, had a barbeque, and secretly filmed the entire thing. I have not tracked the career of “Silent Night Deadly Night Part 2”’s director Lee Harry, but if anything he is great at directing children.

My third and final scene is unremarkable, except for how my performance was elicited. In the scene I am walking down the street with my adoptive mother when I see a pair of nuns. My character, having been raised by wicked nuns in a brutal Catholic orphanage, panics. I was having trouble panicking on an empty street, so the director asked me what I was scared of. I told him I was scared of snakes. He thought about that for a while, realized that he had no ready access to snakes, and so arranged for a muscular Black guy who had been rigging lights to walk towards me menacingly off-camera. Unfortunately, I wasn’t really scared of muscular Black guys, so he had to accept my rather lackluster performance.

So that’s my tale of a pre-teen experience in the weird world of indie horror. I have never, unsurprisingly, re-entered the movie-making scene. I still remember, however, that the movie was fun to make, and all the important adults running around actually making the movie seemed palpably inspired. In contrast, very few of the large-budget feature films I go to nowadays seem fun, or inspired. Thank you for reading this trip down memory lane, and I’m glad there’s still a horror movie underground that’s inspired and having fun.

Thank's for sharing your story with us Brian. If anyone else would like to share their experience either making or working on a horror film with us, please send it our way! Believe me, we need the material! Besides, Ted's been working too hard lately and it's been cutting into his drinking time.

Ted - Testify brother, testify...

The Making of a Tromadance Winner, by Frankie Frain PART II

I feel a little guilty making you wait a full week for part II of the Frankie Frain article, "The Making of a Tromadance Winner", but... well, yeah. What can I say? And if you didn't get a chance to read part I, here's the link. If you did read it and you've been anxiously waiting for the second entry, cool. Your time is almost here. However, before we get to it, I just realized that it's not exactly the easiest film to find. So, if you're interested in checking it out, and I would highly recommend that you do, you can email Frankie at JVCFelix@yahoo.com or head over to INeedToLoseTenPounds.com for more information. While you're contacting him, you might as well pick up his other film, "A-Bo the Humonkey" and if you're into Troma films, I think you'll really dig them. Now that I've got that off my chest, here's part II of "The Making of a Tromadance Winner", by Frankie Frain...

Like many projects I’m sure you’ve either tried to start or have agreed to be a part of, this “film” was dangerously close to just fading away as that “stupid idea we had when we were freshmen in high school.” But one very important event occurred that took it from naïve idiocy to a potentially real production: a 450 pound computer nerd who lived a few miles down the street that I was introduced to. Jon Hunt was 6 years older than us, and in 2000, Jon already had a computer ready to perform large scale video editing and even possessed some sound and camera equipment (well, more than my parents anyway). And he was willing to build me a computer. And he was a brilliant music writer. And he was gigantic! He’d be a perfect cast member in this film! Plus he had a full time job and could freakin’ drive! I was just lucky that he was at all amused by the comic work of a 14 year old jackass, let alone a piece that ripped on fat people so aggressively. I showed him some of my short works (I think my animation How Hitler Stole Chanukah won him over), and suddenly, we had just multiplied our resources by a few dozen (as well as our sum weight). Plus, Jon made the most buttery, fatty, delicious, can’t-get-enough-of-it macaroni and cheese.

As I got way fatter hanging out with Jon every weekend, we started shooting shorts for a variety of purposes. Sometimes for fun, but often for me or my friends’ high school projects. I think we were just motivated and excited to make anything, because we never really had. And every time we shot a new film, I would say stupid shit like, “So when we’re shooting Ten Pounds, we should shoot at such and such a place, with 12 cameras,” and my friends must have wondered, “Does he still want to make that stupid ass movie?” Indeed I did, and Jon stuck by me, saving for a new Sony PD-150.

Another year passes. Now I’m approaching 16. I’m thinking about colleges and still dreaming of someday making my long, dumb, Troma movie.

And one day, there it was. The Ten Pounds camera. Bought used for a great price. We shot a couple of shorts with it and… it suddenly wouldn’t turn on. We cracked it open and bam. Salt water in the camera. There’s no return policy. We’re boned.

Almost another year passes before Jon finally buys the camera the movie was REALLY waiting for – the DVX100. The messiah of indie feature filmmakers. My friends were shocked when I called them all to meet up on the first day of shooting: March 22nd, 2003. My girlfriend’s family owned a funeral home, and that’s where we were shooting. A Japanese character was in this particular scene, and our high school had some Okinowan exchange students in town. And since we honestly had no Asian people of any shade in our town or school, we asked the only male exchange student, Tamoya, if he’d like to be in the movie. I don’t think he knew what we were asking, but we showed up to his host’s house at 5am, stole him, brought him to a funeral home, gave him a sword, and made him be in a bloody, weird movie.

Fuck. I REALLY hope he thinks that’s how America is for the rest of his life.

Next week, part III!

New Horror out on DVD this week... including a little Tokyo Shock

Wow, another good week in horror. I've just recently seen "Tokyo Gore Police" and it's definitely my pick of the week. If you're looking for something different, look no further than Tokyo Shock, my friends. Also, as usual, head on over to our Youtube Page to see all the trailer and, if you're interested in buying one of these films, click on the title and buy it from Amazon, through us.

If you're into over-the-top, ultra gory Asian films like I am, "Tokyo Gore Police" is this weeks 'must-see' film. We really pumped up "The Machine Girl" when it came out a few months ago and if you saw that and liked it, you'll dig this one too. It's the same sort of Kung Fu, blood-fest, but this one's way more fucked up. Trust me, it's wicked. It's set in the near future in Japan and The Tokyo Police Force has been privatized to deal with these engineers that can grow weaponry out of any wound inflicted on them. So, the Tokyo Police Force trains a special group of officers called 'engineer hunters' to deal with them. I've seen it, it's awesome. Go check out the trailer at our Youtube Page, you'll know, pretty quick, if it's a film for you...

Probably due to the fact that the 3-D remake of this is getting a theatrical release, Lions Gate has secured the rights to 1981's "My Bloody Valentine" and are rereleasing it, uncut. This is interesting for two reasons... the first is because the original film is notorious for having had 9 minutes cut by the MPAA due to gore and, to the best of my knowledge, those 9 minutes have never been seen. The second is because of the 3-D release that's coming out. I think it's a really cool idea... I also think it's an idea that could end up saving the movie theater business. No, not this one movie, but the idea to do something bigger and better than what you can get at home, such as 3-D. Not only that, if you follow the CES, you may have read that Sony CEO, Howard Stringer, said that good 3-D technology is "closer than you think". I don't know about you, but a good 3-D movie horror movie could get me off the couch and in the theaters...

"Mirrors" is from Alexandre Aja, who's part of that unofficial 'Splat Pack'. He's the guy who came to fame after making "Haute Tension"... or "High Tension", as it was called in North America. His first film was something called "Furia", which I haven't seen, and he followed up "Haute Tension" with the remake of "The Hills Have Eyes". "Mirrors" is his latest and he's now in production on "Piranha 3-D". (You see? 3-D is going to be the next thing, I'm telling ya...) "Mirrors" stars Kiefer Sutherland and it didn't actually do that well. Personally, I didn't check it out, but I'm sure I will in the next little while. It's about an ex-cop and his family, who are the target of an evil force that is using mirrors as a gateway into their home.

"Hit and Run" comes from writers Diane Doniol-Valcroze and Arthur Flam and director Enda McCallion. It's the first feature film from McCallion, but you may know of Doniol-Valcroze and Flam's previous screenplay, "Penny Dreadful", which was part of the After Dark 8 Films to Die For from a few years ago... Now, I haven't seen this, but it appears to be a blatant rip-off of "Stuck", which was from Stuart Gordon, starred Mena Suvari and Stephen Rea and is an award winning film, based on the true story of a girl who commits a hit-and-run and ends up with the dude stuck in her windshield, in her garage. "Hit and Run" stars Laura Breckenridge and Kevin Corrigan and it's about a college student who thinks she's hit a cat while driving home drunk from a party, but is horrified to find out that she's hit a man and he's impaled on the bumper of her Jeep. I really hope there's a twist or something, as it sounds, well... identical.

Originally called "Raksha: Curse of the Snow Demon", they eventually settled on the much more simpler title, "Yeti". "Yeti" is the 12th entry into that Maneater DVD series that gets a lot of airtime on The Sci Fi channel. It's about a plane carrying a football team that crashes in the Himalayas and after crashing, not only will the survivors have to figure out how to make it to safety, they'll also have to contend with The Abominable Snowman... or is it AN Abominable Snowman? I guess it depends if they insinuate that there's only one or if there's lots of them. Personally, I'd like to think that the Himalayas are inhabited by hoards of Abominable Snowmen. Maybe only some of them are bad and kill humans... Maybe some of them just go about their own business, doing Abominable Snowman chores, raising Snowchildren and doing their best to get by in these tough snowmen times... now, what God-fearing snowman WOULDN'T protect his snowpeople by hunting down this group of strange beings that fell from the sky? Sorry guys, I'm on the snowman's side on this one.

Writer/Director, Shane Ryan is back with "Amateur Porn Star Killer 3: The Final Chapter". Now, if you're not familiar with the series, they are true no-budget indie horror films and they're done quite well. However, I don't think they're quite 'date night' material... as the first two films are about a killer who finds a young girl to bring back to his place, where they have sex... and it gets more and more aggressive, until he kills her. Further, there ain't none of that implied sex in these movies. Not only is there full frontal male and female nudity, there's explicit, hardcore, penetrative sex. These films are not for everyone... in fact, Ryan does his best to disgust you. If you think you're up for it, check it out.

"Blackout" comes from award winning Mexican director, Rigoberto Castaneda and, although it came out in 2007, it's the follow up to his award winning horror film, "KM 31: Kilometro 31". He actually wrote and directed "KM 31", whereas he only directed "Blackout". It's about three people from different walks of life that find themselves trapped inside a stalled elevator... however, what at first seems like an inconvenience, rapidly escalates into a nightmare. It's rated R for sadistic, bloody violence, including rape, nudity and language, so I can only assume where that nightmare leads.

Interview with Jennifer Berg of the PAGE International Screenwriting Awards

I think there's one thing that we can all agree on and that is, no matter how good your actors are, how good your effects are or how great of an editing program you use, the most important element in the making of a good film is a good script. Also, it's the one part of the filmmaking process where we're all actually on even ground, from Martin Scorsese to Uwe Boll. We all have to sit down, usually on our own, in front of computer screen, usually with a cocktail in hand, and just start typing. Now, as important as having a good screenplay is, for some reason a lot of us don't consider the screenwriting competitions to be that important. Well, hopefully this interview with Jennifer Berg of the PAGE International Screenwriting Awards will open your eyes... if not about the competitions, about the screenwriting process. She offers a lot of good advice on what makes a good screenplay and why you should think about entering the competitions. A very good read and well worth your time, check it out...

Tell us about the PAGE International Screenwriting Awards, when and why did it get started?

The PAGE Awards competition was founded in the fall of 2003 by a group of producers, agents, managers and development execs here in L.A. who were looking for brand new material and new screenwriters to represent. They wanted to establish a brand new, high-quality contest and organize it in such a way that it would be helpful to both the writers and to themselves and their associates. So they set up the PAGE Awards in a unique way -- with separate categories for the different screenplay and teleplay genres.

For the writer, this means your screenplay is only competing with other scripts in the exact same genre category. And the judges can choose which category they want to judge, so they’re only reviewing scripts in the genre they’re most interested in. It’s a real win-win.

Why should up-and-coming screenwriters enter their screenplays?

Several reasons…

First and foremost, each year our judges present 31 Awards in our ten different genre categories. This means we’re giving every script serious consideration, and everyone who enters has a very good chance of winning a prize. Also, we’ve substantially increased our prize money for 2009. This year our winning screenwriters will receive over $50,000 in cash and prizes – including a huge new $25,000 Grand Prize!

Most importantly, our judges have developed a reputation for discovering and promoting some of the most talented new screenwriters from across the country and around the world, and many of our winning writers are now building careers in the industry. Which of course it the ultimate goal for everyone who enters.

And lastly, because the PAGE Awards competition is judged entirely by working professionals in the film and television industry, just by entering the contest you’ll be getting your script into the hands of people who can truly help advance your career.

A lot of new screenwriters are apprehensive about submitting their scripts into competitions, as there’s a lot of fear that their idea or concept may get ripped off or they’ll get sold short by entering a competition. What can you say to put their mind at ease?

This is a very good question. Writers hear the Hollywood “horror stories” and they become so afraid to send their script to anyone. I understand. Some of those stories are true, and some writers have indeed been ripped off by unscrupulous agents, producers and screenwriting contests -- which is just criminal.

In fact, one of the reasons the PAGE Awards competition was established was because several of our founders had bad experiences with other contests, and they wanted to run a screenwriting contest with integrity. And I believe we have done that. Our judges all sign non-disclosure agreements before they judge for us, and over the course of these past five years we’ve never had any sort of problem with this issue. Quite the opposite. As a result of entering the PAGE Awards, many of our contestants have optioned or sold their scripts, or they’ve acquired representation. Which is exactly what they’re hoping for!

Tell us about some success stories from the PAGE Awards…

We have a long list of success stories. Here are just a few examples of the kinds of things that are happening for our past winners:

• The 2007 PAGE Gold Prize-winning family film AMELIA EARHART AND THE BOLOGNA RAINBOW HIGHWAY is being produced by Harry Ufland, with Jamie Babbit attached to direct and Marcia Gay Harden to star. Writers Amy Garcia and Cecilia Contreras also have another film in the works, DEAR ELEANOR, for director Garry Marshall. The film will star AnnaSophia Robb and Abigail Breslin.
• The 2008 Silver Prize-winning drama FIREWORKS, by U.K. scribes Hannah Robinson and Jonathan R. Hall, has just been optioned by Concept Entertainment and Hannah has been contracted to direct. Hannah and Jonathan are now represented by Frank Wuliger at the Gersh Agency in L.A.
• The Irish adventure-fantasy script FAIRY CHILD, by 2008 Bronze Prize winner Eoin Rogers, is now in development with Cannon Production, Ireland, and NightSky Films, New York. Eoin has also been hired to write an action flick for director Dave Roddham and he is working on a Celtic fantasy feature for BreakThru Films.
• The supernatural thriller GOD SQUAD, by 2008 Bronze Prize winner Stephen Carter, has been optioned by director Matthiew Klinck (HANK AND MIKE). Stephen has just been signed by Zero Gravity Management.
• 2005 Silver Prize winner Janet Lin is now a staff writer on the FOX TV series “Bones.” Her episode “The Skull in the Sculpture” aired November 5th.
You can read many more stories like this on our website.

Would you say there’s a difference between writing a script with intent to sell it into the studio system versus writing a script that is intended to be made as an indie film?

People often think of indie movies as smaller, character-driven films that don’t necessarily have much of a plot. But when you’re talking about a genre movie -- like horror -- no matter what, the structure and plotting have to be strong in order for the film to succeed. So in this case I think the main difference is simply budget.

If you’re writing a studio film, you’ll likely have a much larger budget, so you can throw caution to the winds and include as many actors, locations and special effects as you like. If you’re making an indie movie, on the other hand, unless your financier has very deep pockets odds are money’s going to be an issue, so you need to be more careful and more frugal in your choices. You need to find creative ways to achieve the desired impact. This isn’t necessarily a bad thing. Often, as the saying goes, “less is more.”

Since we’re an indie horror site, let’s talk about horror for a bit. What do you think makes a good horror script and/or story?

Well, of course there’s the obvious answer – a riveting plot with a powerful antagonist and plenty of suspense, surprises and scares. But beneath that, as with any movie, you really want to make sure that you create some fascinating characters. People who we’ll relate to and care about, so that as audience members we’ll be invested in their ultimate triumph.

What’s more, if you can create some really interesting, unique characters, you’ll have a much easier time attracting great actors to play those roles, which of course is key to getting your movie made.

Where can people find out more about the PAGE International Screenwriting Awards and submit their screenplays?

Please visit us at Pageawards.com to find out more about our 2009 contest. We’d love the opportunity to read your script!

Follow Up Interview with Geno McGahee, writer/director of "Rise of the Scarecrows"

When you're an avid watcher of micro-cinema and indie horror, you'll inevitably watch a lot of films from first time filmmakers... and that means you better have a bit of tolerance when it comes to glitches and minor issues. Lord knows I do. Actually, to be honest, I'm usually entertained by fuck-ups. For example, finding a boom mic or a boom mic shadow is kinda like playing Where's Waldo - you know it'll be there somewhere, you just have to look for it. Anyhow, what sucks is that a lot of good first time filmmakers never manage to make another film... or they take close to a decade to get involved in another project. It's disappointing because it's really cool to see sophomore efforts in the indie scene. They usually have the same actors, there's a similar style in the look and/or storyline and, almost always, the film is better than its predecessor. That's certainly the case with Geno McGahee's film "Rise of the Scarecrows", the follow up film to his first effort, "Evil Awakening".

"Evil Awakening", on a lot of levels, was a stereotypical micro-cinema film from a first time filmmaker. It was shot on DV, 4:3 format, it had a few of those glitches and issues, but it was a great effort, it was entertaining and I, personally, enjoyed it. Now, having just watched "Rise of the Scarecrows", what you get is all of the positive things from the first effort, a great new storyline and a lot less of those issues and glitches. It's great to see a filmmaker progress and pump out a better film, especially when the jump is as big as it is in this case. So, if you saw "Evil Awakening", you'll definitley want to see "Rise of the Scarecrows" and, having seen both, I'm very excited to see what McGahee comes up with next. Here, we talked with McGahee about the making of "Rise of the Scarecrows".

“Rise of the Scarecrows” is the follow up film to “Evil Awakening”, when did you decide to go out and make a second film?

The decision was basically made immediately after I filmed Evil Awakening. I have always been a big fan of Scarecrows and thought they were a great topic for horror films. So in the summer of 2004, we began filming this one. Making Evil Awakening was a major learning experience for me and I think that it’s a natural thing for people to want to improve and so I focused more on the story and turning out a better production. I also had the benefit of having Evil Awakening out there and a lot of people were asking when we were going to make another movie. So locally, we were getting name for ourselves and we had a small demand for a new movie and many locals that wanted to be in it. It all made the decision to make another one a lot easier.

There’s a lot of similarities between the two, mainly in how you develop multiple storylines and that a lot of the same actors are returning. Where did you get the idea for this one?

I like the 1988 flick “Scarecrows” where bank robbers drop into a field and get hunted by killer scarecrows. When it comes to horror, the scarecrow is a great character and one that is imposing no matter what it does. It can just be hanging there and rattle people. I had the idea for this one for quite a while actually but the story didn’t really develop until after Evil Awakening was complete. I wanted to give the audience something more than a slasher or zombie movie. I wanted to give them something to chew on and I like movies with surprises and that have more to it than just a guy with a knife and a mask going around killing people. I think that indie horror can be deeper than that and I really focused to make the script as strong as possible and to focus on the filming and to fix some of the issues we had in Evil Awakening.

Did you increase your budget on this one at all?

In a way, we did. I purchased a better editing program and bought the scarecrow stuff. Overall, I still worked on nearly no budget. I would answer yes to this question, but really, I would say that the budget wasn’t that much bigger than Evil Awakening. I just knew a lot more and put forth a better effort here.

What did you shoot on and how long was this shoot?

We shot on a digital video camera that was a couple steps up from the one used in Evil Awakening. I think it was a Sony. The shoot itself was very long and frustrating, and at one time I thought that it wasn’t going to complete. We had 20 minutes of completed and edited footage in 2004, but then I couldn’t assemble the cast and my editor at the time was tied up with work, so it just looked like it wasn’t meant to be, but then we got it together and reunited in 2006 to complete it and we finished it in about 4 months.

As far as the filmmaking process is concerned, what did you learn from the first film that you could apply here?

What I think I learned more than anything else was to focus more so. We also learned some different camera angles and such to set the mood. You also never know what people will like and I will admit when I’m wrong. I think that my approach in the beginning of Evil Awakening turned a lot of people off with Sam Adams (Steven Joseph Adams) screaming profanity and running over and elderly man and then pissing on him. I think that it rubbed a lot of people the wrong way. Actually, I know it did from some of the emails I got…but at the time I wanted to get the audience’s attention and did so, but I should have probably started out more subtly as I did with Rise of the Scarecrows.

What I also learned from the first production was to concentrate and develop other characters rather than focusing on death count. In Evil Awakening, I think that it was Sam Adams and everyone else, although “The Geib” stands out. I love Sam Adams, but if I had to do it again, I would have done some more development on other characters. In Rise of the Scarecrows, you have a lot of great characters and you know where they are all coming from.

As far as distribution is concerned, what did you learn from the first film that you applied here?

I think that getting your foot in the door is the toughest aspect of distribution. I had a deal on Rise of the Scarecrows that I just signed last week. What I learned is the routine, I think. I know what I need to do and how to approach the matter. Thankfully, I know which distribution companies are not filmmaker friendly and will screw you hard at the drop of a hat. As far as getting distributed, I really didn’t have much of a doubt that Rise of the Scarecrows was going to be picked up. Evil Awakening sold well and the people seemed to have liked it for the most part and to see Evil Awakening outsell other titles that have better known filmmakers is a nice thing and tells me that we may be on a good track to get well known and make some noise in the horror world.

I did learn a lot from Evil Awakening to Rise of the Scarecrows about marketing of the product and that is why you see a big difference in the cover art from Evil Awakening to Rise of the Scarecrows. We are see people and in the horror world, a cover sells the movie. Thankfully I was able to do a lot of promotion and hit the newspapers locally and got them moving, but had it had a better cover depicting what was going on rather than the subtle message, we would have been in better shape I think. I hope that Rise sells well and the people give Evil Awakening a shot afterwards. It may go in that order more often than not because of the cover art factor.

Where can people find out more information on “Rise of the Scarecrows” and/or buy a copy?

They can keep up to date by going to scaredstiffreviews.com. I run the site and I try to keep the fans informed. They can email me with any questions at genobambino69@gmail.com. Tempe Entertainment will be making the announcement on the distribution date very soon, but it looks like late April. People can see the trailer on youtube and if they want updates, they can email me and I will add them to my contact list and when I send out a mass email about the productions, they’ll get the news.

What’s next?

I just completed “Scary Tales” an anthology and I think that it is the best film that I have done from a technical aspect and the best actors that I have ever used. I think that it has something for everyone and it will be making the film festival circuit (hopefully). I have never been more organized and that was the key to getting Scary Tales done in 2 ½ months. I have a great graphics guy that is working for X Posse Productions now in Jamie Swimm (Diverse Designs) and am working once again with the Putrid Flowers and Lobster Records for the soundtrack. Scary Tales is a big achievement for me and when people see it, they will probably realize why. I just finished my screenplay “Family Secret” and am set to film that in May. Family Secret is going to be special and I have some notable actors and access to many locations now that will make this one stand out. The point is to improve step by step and I think that I’m doing that.

I will be at Monster Mania in March in New Jersey and will be selling my flicks and some Tempe flicks and merchandise. I hope that everyone going to this event will stop by and say hello and then say hello, can I please buy your movies. I’m looking forward to it.

I will also be promoting Rise of the Scarecrows and hoping that the horror fans will give it a chance. I really think that it’s the best scarecrow film since the original Scarecrows and I would love to hear from the fans of that film. There have also been a lot of bad scarecrow horror films and people may have lost faith, but trust me, Rise of the Scarecrows is a great flick. I am very proud of it.

Interview with Darkstone Entertainment's Johnny Johnson

When I chuck in an indie or micro-cinema film and lay back on the couch, I have to say that I can get shocked at how some people can do so much with so little. It takes some serious chops to take a meagre budget, a DV cam and a PC, then come up with something that's watchable... let alone entertaining. Couple that with the fact even if you do make something that's entertaining, the cards are stacked against you because most video stores, consumers and filmgoers will just lump you in the 'low budget' category and fluff you off. I'd say it's a tough way to make a living, but it's just tough to get one indie film off the ground and break even on it, let alone make some sort of career out of it. That's why I have utmost respect for those people who've made multiple indie films... I can't imagine the perseverance and dedication they must have, let alone the support and encouragement they must get from their friends and family. Now, not only has Johnny Johnson made multiple films, he's made 6 and is in pre-production on 3 more... and that's all in the span of around 6 or 7 years.

Johny Johnson founded Darkstone Entertainment with his childhood friends back in 1993 and he was born in 1979, so easy math will tell you that he was around 14 at the time. He's stuck with it, persevered and has morphed it into Darkstone Entertainment LLC, based out of Charlottesville, VA and they've produced 9 feature films to date. So, when you're talking about guys that have dedication, he fits the bill. We had the opportunity to check out a couple of his films, "Darken" and "The Jester", and Brad had the opportunity to discuss them with him...

Describe your background and what made you want to get into filmmaking.

I made my first flick when I was 8 years old. Then when I was 13 I thought I'd really get into it. Making a film every weekend for the next two years. Learning from my mistakes and moving on. Using my friends as guinea pigs. "What Sucks?" "John... Everything..." "Hmmm. Guess I'll make another one." Then to figure out what genre of film I wanted to make I went to a local video store and the man gave me a deal since I told him... "I'm going to rent 2,000 of your movies!" I watched one from every genre till I found the one I like. Not sure how or why I wanted to be a filmmaker though. Just born with it. I popped out of my mom and the nurse cut my cord, looked at my big green eyes and I said... ACTION!

What films/filmmakers have inspired you the most and why?

My top three are...

Ridley Scott's LEGEND
Sam Raimi's EVIL DEAD 2: DEAD BY DAWN
Larry Bishop's MAD DOG TIME (TRIGGER HAPPY)

These films I can put in at any time and remember why I picked up a camera to begin with. The true fantasy elements and very powerful choices in filmmaking make me all teary eyed.

Film school: yes or no?

Nope. Just the summer of 2,000 movies. Then a trial and error period of filmmaking.

Describe your approach to directing.

Hmmm. I'm not sure I'd be the best to describe this, but I try to keep everyone involved in the process. We are all creating the film together. Every idea I have ever had can be made better with another brain.

What elements do you believe combine to make a great movie?

Great Score
Believable Actors
To the point Editing

With those three things the story line can be about sheep crossing the road, but if you can feel it in the music, believe the words the actors are saying, and not get bored with the pace, it can be the greatest movie of all time.

What were the biggest challenges you faced in making, "Darken" and "The Jester"?

Darken was tough because I did not have a strong crew. Each one had many a problem in their lives and for the most part I felt they didn't want to be there.

The Jester was the heat. I usually shoot in very cold weather, in which you can hear the cries from my crew. But this movie was shot in the summer and man I melted.

But both obviously they were hurt by the budget. Not having enough money to get some viewers into the films was the biggest weakness for the flicks.

Where did the ideas for, "Darken" and "The Jester" originate?

The story line for Darken came when I was driving by a large field and pictured how I would like to die on a sunny day, alone, thinking of my life, under a big tree. Then of course THE LAST UNICORN helped.

The Jester came from my love of fairy tales. The Grimm Fairy tales that had always been dumbed down for children used to terrify me and keep me day dreaming of them all my life. Also, challenging myself to make a film that is a little bit more basic horror. Franchise killer and such.

What budgets do you typically work with and how do you attain financing?

Independent Investors. By the by, those looking to invest can email darkdealings@darkstone-ent.com. We are still excepting on Plan 9 and The Dark Tower.

Film festivals: yes or no?

No. For Genre films a festival is kinda useless. They are more based on the independent film market. So we stick to conventions. That has the audience we want to be a part of the films.

Any advice for upcoming filmmakers on how to get their projects out there and distributed once they're finished?

Don't let anyone tell you "No." Pick up a camera and roll. You will owe money to everyone you know and lose all that is left of your pride, but when you see your flick on the big screen, then and only then... Can you sleep.

The Making of a Tromadance Winner, by Frankie Frain PART I

A while ago, Brad had covered a film called "Psycho Sleepover", which was done by a couple of friends of his and, shortly after that, we were contacted by one of the actors in the film - a guy by the name of Frankie Frain. If you're interested, Frankie played Ugly Jen in the film, but Frankie's also a filmmaker and a writer, himself. Not only that, his first film won the best film at Tromadance 2006. Oddly enough, before I talked to him, I'd read about his second film and it was on my list of films that I wanted to see. His first film is called "I Need to Lose Ten Pounds" and his second film is called "A-Bo the Humonkey", both are classics... in the same vain that early Troma films are classics. Anyhow, after a brief back and forth, Frankie was willing to write an article for the site, which I was pumped about... however, what I got back was no average article, it was a hilarious, 6-page look into the mind of an indie filmmaker and the process in making an award winning film. So, I decided not to waste it in one post. Instead, once a week until it's done, I'm going to post parts of the story. Then, when it's all done, I'll link to it in its entirety. So, without further ado, here, folks... is Part I of "The Making of a Tromadance Winner, by Frankie Frain"

I began writing my first feature, Tromadance 2006 winner I Need to Lose Ten Pounds, when I was 14 years old. I, like so many out there, was inspired by Troma films and B-horror (well, B-anything really. If it was cheap and shitty, I seemed to like it) and not only felt that I could pull off the same production value easily enough, but could comically embrace the film’s inevitable shortcomings. Between this and being chiefly inspired by Cannibal! The Musical and The Toxic Avenger (neither of which were really horror films – they just sort of fit in well with that crowd. Cannibal was more like a Rogers and Hammerstein picture and Toxic Avenger was ultimately more like a brutal superhero flick), I ended up making a musical comedy adventure film about a fat kid named Miguel who’s being chased by Richard Simmons. Oh, and his brother has leprosy and his best friend is a whore factory owner named Silly Waunka. Retarded enough idea for you? Clearly, the content of the film did not and would not take itself seriously…

…but fuck, the effort did. Imagine if you will: A 14-year-old idiot calls his best friend.

“Will, we should write a movie about like, fat people and put all our fat friends in it.”

For some reason we had a lot of fat friends.

“You think they’d be offended?”

“That’d be gay if they were. So wanna write it?”

“Sure.”

“Okay, awesome – we should be able to use my parents’ camera and I think you can edit on computers now, so let’s just do that.”

“Um, okay.”

“But if we say we’re going to do it, we really shouldn’t work on anything until THIS is done. Like, I want to make sure we finish this one, because it’s really funny.”

“We JUST thought it up in like, ten seconds Frankie. It’s not that good of an idea.”

A year passed, but we slowly wrote it. It was sloppy and my co-writer was never much into it anyway, but that strangely made the comedy that much more cheap and innocent and invariably that much more fun. This was also 2000: the technology was younger than I was, almost too young to get an editing system running. But begrudgingly, and understandingly dubious, my group of little friends agreed to help in the effort. And we totally screwed ourselves by just writing anything that came into our cute little heads. Special effects, big locations (and LOTS of them), a large cast, musical numbers, whatever – if you read that original script, you’d think we were wealthy little fuckers. We weren’t. We really weren’t. Why did we do this? The same reason we were making a feature in the first place – we were too stupid to realize it was all impossible.

Next week, part II!

New Horror out on DVD this week: We're back... and so are the horror films.

Well, we're finally back in full swing and it looks like the distributors are, too. There's a full slate of decent horror films out this week, from micro to big-budget, and you're going to want to look into a few of them for sure. As usual, if you want to buy one of them, just click on the title and buy it off Amazon, through us. Also, you can head on over to our Youtube page and check out all the trailers.

"Midnight Movie", written by Mark Garbett and Jack Messitt, directed by Messitt, won a couple of awards at the Chicago Horror Film Festival and it very well could be the horror release of the week. Messitt has had a big career in cinematography and camera operating before "Midnight Movie", which is his directorial debut. And, really, from what I hear, it's a helluva directorial debut, folks. Although the plot sounds very B-Movie camp, rumor around the campfire says it kicks a lot of ass and I, for one, will be checking it out soon. The film is about a midnight showing of an early 1970's horror movie that turns to chaos when the killer from the movie comes out of the film to attack those in the theater.

Although the reviews are mixed... and leaning towards negative, I'm not sure why "The Alphabet Killer" didn't get a bigger release. It's from Rob Schmidt, who directed "Wrong Turn", the Masters of Horror episode "Right to Die", as well as a few other things AND it also has a decent cast, with Eliza Dushku, Cary Elwes, Michael Ironside, Bill Mosely and Timothy Hutton. Timothy Hutton, people. TIMOTHY HUTTON. And Choptop himself, Bill Mosely, of course. It did screen at a couple film festivals, then had a very limited theatrical release, being released in only two theaters. It's loosely based on the Alphabet murders that took place in Rochester, New York between 1971 and 1973.

"Eden Lake", written and directed by James Watkins, is being released by Dimension Extreme and it's won awards at both the British Independent Film Awards and Sitges - Catalonian International Film Festival. Straight outta Britain, it's about a young couple that confronts a gang of loutish youths with terrifying brutal consequences... and those "terryfing brutal consequences" are apparently real brutal and gory. Very rarely do you see kids getting the shit kicked out of them on-screen, so I'm looking forward to this one. Not that I advocate kicking the shit out of kids, I just like seeing it... when the kids deserve it. Remember, beating is training.

"The Legend of Sorrow Creek" comes from Michael Penning, whose only other credit is for being the script editor on "Bikini Girls on Ice". He's the Director, Writer, Producer, Composer and sound department for "The Legend of Sorrow Creek", which leads me to believe this is a low budget indie horror. It's about a pair of sisters, along with one of their boyfriends and his best friend, who have a simple fishing accident, then follow an unexpected shortcut through the woods... and they encounter the shocking and terrible curse of one of America's most haunted places.

"New York Blood" comes from Nick Oddo and it's a fairly short, micro-budget feature film, coming in at only 58 minutes. I'm not sure, but is that technically a feature? Either way, it comes from Midnight Releasing, it won an award at the New York International Independent Film Festival and it looks pretty f'ing cool. It's about a drug dealing mobster that owns a neighborhood whorehouse, who wants to take care of his father... a convicted murderer. However, the sins of the father and violence of the son overwhelm good intentions and lead to a blood soaked finale.

"Livelihood" is the directorial debut from Ryan Graham and, although it says it came out this year, it was actually finished a few years back. That's just the way it is with low-budget horror... and this is a great low budget horror, with just a titch of comedy thrown in. Well, a lot of comedy. It's about an 80's rock star, a corporate lackey and an evil mother-in-law who all die bizarre deaths. But when the dead start coming back to life, these three zombies find that picking up where they left off isn't as easy as they'd hoped. Check out the trailer, looks pretty f'ing funny and gory.

"Better Living Through Killing" comes from Brendan Deininger and it's what we like to call a micro-budget horror, meaning it was probably made for around the same amount of money that Hollywood films would pay for one days lunch. And these are the types of films that we love, so we'll definitely be looking closer at this one. It's about a couple of homicidal lawn care workers that realize a better living through killing, just as the title would suggest, and guiding them is a talking, foul-mouthed owl named Bonaparte.

"Kiss of the Vampire", which was originally called "Immortally Yours", was written by Katherine Hawkes and it's her first produced screenplay... as she's more of an actress. It was directed by Joe Tornatore and it's his 6th feature... although he's more of an actor. It's about a coven of sexy, modern day vampires who ravage the American Midwest... when a romantic twist puts the vampires at odds amongst themselves.

Interview with Shane Russeck, Festival Director of The Paranoia Horror Film Fest

A few weeks ago, we talked about a new film festival that's hitting Southern California, called the Paranoia Horror Film Festival. If you missed it, here's the link. However, to sum it up, not only are they vying to be one of the largest Horror Conventions & Film Festivals right out of the gate, they're doing it on board the haunted RMS Queen Mary that's docked at Long Beach, right next to Howard Hughes' "Spruce Goose". Anyhow, building on that post, we've since had the chance to talk with the festival director and founder, Shane Russeck, to find out more about the festival...

Please tell us a bit about yourself… how’d you get into the whole indie horror scene?

I've always been a huge fan of Horror films. When I was a young kid, my Mother accidentally put "Halloween" on for me and my brother - I've been hooked ever since.

Tell us a bit about Paranoia, when and why did it get started?

I was at a horror convention, promoting a feature that I had acted in and noticed how many films were looking for distribution. I started thinking about how to get these films seen in a more effective venue and literally, Paranoia just came to me.

Talk a bit about the process in getting a film festival up and off the ground. What kind of hurdles did you have and what were some of the lessons learned?

Honestly, we haven't experienced many hurdles in launching Paranoia. We've been lucky in that the response has been overwhelming. It may be exclusive to the Horror genre, but we've found that Producers, Writers, Directors, Agents, Sales reps and Distributors have all been incredibly supportive of Paranoia and integral in getting it off the ground.

From the perspective of a film, why should indie horror filmmakers try to get their films into festivals?

Indie Horror Filmmakers need to get their films seen by industry professionals. Film Festivals like Paranoia are ideal for getting the films seen by the 'right' people.

From the perspective of the filmmaker, what can I expect to get out of attending and/or having my film screen at the festival?

As a filmmaker screening your film at Paranoia, you can expect first and foremost, a fun time at what people are calling the world's largest Horror Event. An exciting, exclusive red carpet premiere for your film and an opportunity to have your film viewed by the industry's best.

As a horror fan, what can expect to get out of attending the festival?

As a fan of Horror, you can expect to see what the next "big thing" in Horror is going to be. Plus, only Paranoia offers midnight screenings of classic Horror films in the Queen Mary's haunted boiler room.

When you’re accepting films, what are you looking for?

I keep an open mind about all of the films that I screen for Paranoia, but I have to say, I can really tell when a filmmaker is truly passionate about their project.

Does budget come into play when you’re considering films?

Budget absolutely does not come into play when I'm considering a film for Paranoia. Creativity, however is a must.

As a filmmaker, what can I do to make my film more festival friendly? Should I even be thinking of that?

I believe every filmmaker should follow their passion and make the film that they really want to make. Period.

At what point in the filmmaking process should I be thinking about the festivals?

Never.

What advice can you give to an up and coming filmmaker in the indie horror genre?

My advice to any filmmaker is to stay original and never stray from your vision. Whatever you do, make it your own.

Tell us about the future of indie horror, where do you see it going?

The great part of it is that I have no idea, and I can't wait to find out.

What’s next for you and Paranoia?

We have a lot of exciting opportunities coming our way, but for now, we are focusing on throwing a great event.

Where can people find out more about Paranoia and how can they go about entering their film?

All the information on Paranoia can be found at Paranoiafest.com