At what
age did you see yourself as a filmmaker?
I always
enjoyed movies and never considered going into
filmmaking but always wanted to take acting
lessons and never did. I never got into
filmmaking until I graduated from college. My
friends were going to film school at NYU and I
got in.
Did you see
yourself making horror films?
That was
not the objective. I haven't thought of the
genre. I always liked action films.
Have you seen the
films 'Texas Chainsaw Massacre',
'Halloween', 'Prom Night' and
'Friday the 13 th' and were
influenced by them?
No I was
not influenced by them. I saw first Friday the
13th. Prom Night I didn't see. I saw the original
Texas Chainsaw Massacre but I was not influenced
by neither.
When you went to
filmschool have you ever discussed to anyone
about your idea of 'Sleepaway Camp'?
No.
What brought up
the idea to make the film?
I did not
want to start out in the industry fetching
coffee. I was trained as a filmmaker and wanted
to start out right away.
How did
you find the late Mike Kellin?
(Laughs)
'Midnight Express'. Actually my producer called
him at home as his agent didn't want him to do
it.
Was the producer
who called him Jerry Silva?
No
Michelle Tatosian.
Were there any
actors or actresses that tried out for the parts
like Ricky, Angela or Judy that weren't cast but
made it big in the business that you know of?
Yeah,
Jane Krakowski she was gonna be Judy. It's
between her and Karen Fields and for whatever
reason. She was very good good though then and I
could tell she did a great audtion and had a lot
of talent.
How old was
Karen?
I didn't
know but older than Jane.
Were there other
locations that you had in mind to shoot Camp
Arawak that were also locations for other films
that you remember?
No.
What month was
your first shooting for it?
Oh
probably September. Whatever year it was. I
usually get it wrong.
Were there any
interesting experiences you'd like to share with
us on set of shooting?
Uhh.... I
don't know off hand.
What effects were used
when the boat ran over Peter's father? Was a
dummy used for Tursi when the boat ran him over?
I never
give away my film secret takes away the magic.
Was the inside of
Aunt Martha's house a different house than what
it was shown when it showed her house?
I don't
believe so. I believe it was the same house. Not
a studio.
Lots of people
find Desiree Gould a lot like Aunt Martha. What
was she like to work with?
Terrific.
Acceptionally nice, professional and
enthusiastic.
Now did Ricky
know Angela was really Peter or did Aunt Martha
tell him that Peter died?
Ricky did
not know Angela was Peter and he Didn't know that
Angela was a killer.
How old were the
characters Angela and Ricky when they went to
camp?
I believe
they were about 12 or 13.
What did
Angela/Peter do most of the time before going to
camp? Did he go to school or anything?
Yes he
was in school. Camp is a different environment
with very little authority. School teachers are
adults. Camp's have kids in charge of kids. Most
counselors are 18, 19 and 20 years old. Teachers
have masters degrees and families of their own.
Camp is a different dynamic.
Felissa
Rose brought the character Angela to life. When
she auditioned did you think instantly that she
was a natural and said to yourself I want her!!!!
I believe
I did.
Did you have a
good feeling that she would still carry on with
her acting career afterwards?
Yes.
Jonathan Tiersten
also was a natural as Ricky. He didn't stick with
acting for very long as he was burned by the
business and only did a handful of daytime TV
shows afterwards and some commercials since he
wanted to be a musician, but if he stuck to the
business like Christopher Collet did, could you
have seen him go far as an actor like Chris did?
Yes,
definetely.
Has he ever
discussed to you during breaks from shooting the
film about his ambition as a rock singer and
guitarist?
I don't
believe so.
During the scene
when Artie had boiling water dumped on him was
dry ice used for smoke?
It was
boiling water. He was scolded.(Laughs)
It had to be the
most gruesome scene ever. Ed French was great
with the make up. Was Owen Hughes who played
Artie disturbed when he read his scene when the
water was going to be dumped on him?
No. Owen
Hughes was terrific. I loved working with him. I
loved the way he played the character.
Many fans have
asked this. Did Artie die in the ambulance or do
you think he may return someday in a sequel?
Did you see him
die?
No
Then I
don't know.
Do you know if
Robert Earl Jones who played the assistant cook
Ben is still alive or not? I sometimes mistaken
him for his son James.
I believe
he passed away. He was a wonderful man and fun to
work with.
During the
softball scene was there a lot of bloopers as
softball can be a tough game?
Um... Not
as many as I thought there'd be. We didn't have
time for too many bloopers and had a lot of work
. Fortuantely all of it worked out.
Were many of the
actors involved well experienced in sports?
I think
so. The kids were.
John
Dunn who played the troublemaking Kenny
represented himself well. Apparently his role as
Tad in the daytime soap 'All My Children'
his character was similar in some ways as he
smoked pot apparently in the soap as well. Did
you create his character off of that series since
he won a youth award in the series?
I never
saw him on the soap. People auditioned and were
working cold. Whatever they have done in the way
weren't necessarily irrevellant. Most part of the
casting a lot of the pooling experience kids
there isn't a lot of vast experience cause it was
NY and there was not a lot of TV or film compared
to Los Angeles.
There were many
retakes of John's character and Tom Van Dell's
character Mike mocking Angela which was played by
Felissa. They couldn't stop laughing and I heard
that it took all night. Was there any
frusterations because of this and were many
getting extremely tired?
I don't
think that's true that it was shot all night.
There was alot of work that night. Laughing was
not a problem. A little giggly maybe but we got
through it. Just a rumor.
John apparently
broke his hand when he flipped over the canoe.
Was it weeks till he had to do the other scenes?
What did you shoot in between?
We kept
shooting.
Was he commenting ever
about how freezing cold the water was since it
was fall?
No. It
was cold shooting outside. We were out in the
mountains and it was cold. Fall during the day
the temperature was 70 to 80 degress and in the
night it can be 40.
I understand that
when he did 'Sleepaway Camp'
that he said it would be his last acting gig as
he was tired of doing it since he has been acting
since he was 5 and also was concentrating on his
grad year at school. Did you think that he
could've had a promising career acting in other
films even if it was low budget?
Oh sure.
Was he ever
discussing going to college to to get a degree as
an executive for TV stations?
He never
discussed that with me.
Did you give
Felissa a technique so she wouldn't get hurt when
Loris Sallahian's character Billy threw a water
balloon at her?
Yes. Get
hit with the water balloon and fall down.
When Billy got
stung by bees were there really bees flying
around and was that a real bee's nest?
Absolutely.
How did you get a
bunch of bees to go on the dummy's face of Billy?
Did you use honey or anything?
They were
on his face he was a sweet guy.
Did any crew
members accidentally get stung?
No. The
Bees only wanted Billy.
What
confused me was when Katherine Kamhi's character
Meg threw Angela into the lake how come Angela
wasn't powerful enough to defend himself like he
was powerful enough to drown Kenny?
Well that
would give away the masquerade. Why didn't Angela
not dress up as a girl anymore. Why was
everything so secretive. She was on a different
mental plane. Understand the mind of a serial
killer.
Were you ever
worried about Felissa getting hurt when Kathy was
to throw her into the lake off the pier?
Yes.
Safety precautions are high around children. |