So John, start us off with
a visual. Please describe for us visually
oriented folks (at www.racksandrazors.com) the room where you are
answering these questions?
I
am in my home office. Other than your
standard, traditional desks, office supplies and
family pictures, my office is filled with movie
memorabilia from my movies and many others.
Prominently displayed on the wall are original
lobby cards from Robin Hood, starring Errol Flynn
and Olivia deHavilland. But, of course,
displayed next to them is a severed Ron Jeremy
head. Oh yeah - it's not a real head; it's
a prop, from The Wickeds. Lots of cool
stuff.
What makes rural Virginia (Manassas &
Shenandoah) the ultimate place for filming your
horror movies?
Manassas
is about 30 minutes southwest of D.C. and there's
an enormous talent pool in D.C. and the
surrounding area, so it makes it much easier to
find cast and crew. And it also helps that
I was raised in Manassas and know pretty much
everybody, so I am able to get a lot of stuff for
free or cheap.
So what was your intent when you formed Capital
Film Studios in 2004 and how has your work
progressed in the direction in the period
since?
Capital
Film Studios was actually formed much earlier
than 2004 - I'd have to look up the exact year,
but probably around 2000 or so, and I formed
it originally to be the name of a movie studio
that I wanted to establish in Northern
Virginia. After getting it funded and
losing the funding on three separate occasions, I
decided to go back to movie making. I was
pissed off one day and said to myself, I'm going
to make a film in 60 days. I had no script,
but I knew I wanted to make a film. That's
how The Wickeds came about. And having only
60 days to go from idea to shooting is certainly
reflected in the quality of the film. So
whatever problems anyone has with The Wickeds, no
one can be blamed but me. But hell, I
wanted to work. My current goal is to make
one film a year, each one with a bigger budget
than the one before it. My third film,
Holler Creek Canyon, will be completed by the end
of January, and I can't wait for everyone to see
it. It kicks ass.
In your latest effort 'Holler Creek
Canyon' (2006) you direct, produce,
write, and edit the movie. Which of those
roles brought you the greatest satisfaction and
which one was the biggest pain in the ass?
My
greatest satisfaction was directing. I had
a great cast, and they made my job much
easier. This was the second project that I
worked with Justin Alvarez and Anna Bridgforth
on, and it was just a lot of fun. I
co-produced, co-wrote and was co-editor for the
film, so each of them was not as bad as they
could have been. But to tell you the truth,
none of them was really a pain in the ass -- I
enjoyed all of them.
Speaking
of that, what are your feelings regarding
Bigfoot? I haven't heard anything about him
in a while, but now it seems time for a Sasquatch
reemergence?
Yeah,
I've heard of at least 3 films about Bigfoot in
the past year or so. I think it's cool -
there's always room for creature-features.
Your previous film the vampire-zombie-ghost
flick 'The Wickeds' was shot in an awesome 13
days! What was the biggest challenge about
wrapping a feature in that length of time?
Everything
was a challenge! I'll just give you a few
examples. We secured our primary location
the day before we actually started
shooting. I was the producer, director,
most of the time the 1st A.D., a lot of the time
the U.P.M., the general ass-kicker, and at times,
a P.A.! When you have as little money to
shoot a film as we did on that one, you have to
do everything. The last day of the shoot,
we worked 24 hours straight. Two
crewmembers had to be fired during the
shoot. I almost got into fistfight with one
of the extras. Postproduction was a
nightmare! I could go on and on. But,
the bottom line is - I would do it again
tomorrow.
What was the best part and the most surprising
thing about working with Ron Jeremy in 'The
Wickeds' (2005)?
The
most surprising thing is how smart he is. I
know a lot of smart people, and this guy is
really smart and multi-talented. The best
thing for me, about working with him, was that it
exposed me to working with celebrities and all
the unique situations that it brings to the set.
Do you have any other projects pending you
would like to mention, plug, or brag about?
I
just can't wait for everyone to see Holler Creek
Canyon (Bigfoot). I am also in development
for another film, hoping to shoot this
summer. I can fill you in on the details of
that another time.
It seems Hollywood is going remake crazy
lately - especially when it comes to
horror. If you had an unlimited budget and
resources what horror movie would you choose to
re-do and why?
The
Wickeds, because I didn't come anywhere close to
meeting my expectations.
Regarding advice to the novice filmmakers out
there -- what would you say from experience has
been the most important and the most surprising
things you've learned about shooting a
feature?
Most
important is to have a good editor and to not cut
your post-production time too short. Most
surprising is how little sleep you can function
on without going into a coma!
Okay, we're pulling the car into the John Poague
Drive In. What three horror movies are on
the triple bill and what goodies are they serving
up at the concession stand?
Of
course, Holler Creek Canyon is the main
attraction. That's a no-brainer, that's my
film. And I've now seen it so many times I
can just kick back and make-out with my wife in
the backseat. Also showing is the re-make
of The Wickeds that we spoke about earlier, made
with the unlimited time and budget. The
third film would be Abbot and Costello Meet the
Invisible Man - one of my favorites. At the
concession stand they're serving Diet Coke (I
can't live without it), beer, nachos and cheese,
and pizza. Any fried foods would do.
What makes you go psycho in real life?
Do
you have some time, like six or so hours?
I'm looking for a good therapist! My number
one is inefficiency - by anybody for any
reason. Drives me nuts. Second is
rude people. I'm big on manners. No
excuse for not having them. Oh yeah -- and
I truly go psycho when people let their dogs shit
in my yard! I don't shit in their yard.
What scares you in real life?
Well,
that's gonna be another 6 or 8 hours!
Parenting. Need I say more? |