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You recently played a role in Scott Goldberg's
upcoming film, "Illuminated".
How did that role come about?
I really believe in Scott Goldberg's talent as a
filmmaker and I've been trying to work on another
project with Scott since working with him two
years ago on THE DAY THEY CAME BACK. I was bummed
I couldn't be part of FORREST HILLS. But we've
stayed in touch with each other and when he sent
me the script for ILLUMINATED, I was very
intrigued with the story line. Also, I came to
respect the 'super short' format and how that
type of film is very useable to film festival
coordinators because it can be sandwiched in
between other films at a festival. I also believe
there is more truth than fiction to ILLUMINATED's
story line.
Playing the "Narrator" of the
film, you did a lot of memorizing as an actor,
especially the monologue you had to memorize.
What did you do as an actor to prepare for the
role?
The script for my character was a somewhat
lengthy monologue. One way to memorize anything
is to write it down, over and over. So, first in
the couple of weeks leading up to the filming I
kept the script in my car and at every stoplight
I would try and speak the words as much as
possible from memory. Then while I was flying
from San Diego to New York, I just wrote the
script over and over until I could write the
entire script without looking at the master. This
writting it out also gave me the opportunity to
"tweak" the words, grammar and syntax
in some subtle ways which gave it a little more
'flow'.
The film "Illuminated"
touches on such subjects as false flag terror
attacks, FEMA Camps, 9-11 and a possible grim
future for the world. Were there any worries
about doing the film on such a controversial
subject?
No worries at all - being an American it is, in
my opinion, not only our right to free speech but
it is also our responsibility to question and
challenge our government. I think the atmosphere
that pervaded our society immediately following
9-11 whereby people were called unpatriotic or
even treasonous when they questioned our
government's handling of terrorism was
reprehensible.
This was your second time working
with Scott Goldberg. What was it like working on
this film compared to 'The Day
They Came Back', two years prior?
Well, Scott and I have developed a great
friendship so I really enjoy my time with him; we
share a passion for eating only health-promoting
foods (he's even more committed than myself in
that he's a 'raw vegan', which is the ultimate in
optimal nutrition) so we go out to raw
restaurants and talk health and food. The filming
was much different that previously in that the
'Narrator' was on camera but without any movement
or emotion and the majority of the scenes were
filmmed in extreme close-ups. This was very
different in that this was a lengthy monologue
that needed to be delivered without facial
expression or vocal inflection/emotion. But as
with all Scott's days on the set, it was fun and
easy.
Two years from now, from a career
point of view, where do you hope to be?
Well, I'm getting ready to retire from active
practice as a chiropractor and would like to get
back to acting more regurlarly. So I'm hoping
that more filmmakers will be open to hiring a F13
alumni for their films.
You run a chiropractic business. What
is the most important key to health that a lot of
people are lacking in their lifestyle?
Without question
it would be the understanding that to be well, we
must eat well, move well and think well. At first
glance that seems overly simplistic, but in
actuallity or in lifestyle application, it is not
easy and much deeper than people realize. For
example, what the average person perceives as
"eating well" is the standard modern
society disease-producing diet of grains, dairy
products and meat, all of which are mass
produced, highly processed and incredibly toxic.
Finally, the real issue with 'eat well, move
well, think well' is that you have to do it at
the same time, for a period of time to create
wellness. Now that is clearly a much more
challenging responsibility for each of us to be
healthy.
What draws you to act in recent
independent films of today?
I like the spirit and passion that young
independent filmmakers bring to their work. Plus,
with specifically the horror genre, the
independent film directors are fiercely loyal to
the original formula for horror movies, something
that is lacking in studio-produced films today.
Any upcoming conventions or events
that horror fans will be able to meet with you
at?
Gosh, I have been invited to the Kentucky Fright
Night Filmfestival August 17-18 and Screamfest
2007 in Orlando October 19-21. Unfortunately, I
haven't been able to commit to either yet. I'm
trying to work out the scheduling for one or both
of these, but I just don't know yet.
Thanks for your time Paul. |
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