|
Paul, why not start us off with a visual and
describe the room where you are answering these
interview questions?
Im
in my office at MTV. Im working on the new
Celebrity Deathmatch, right now. Ive got
binders, schedules, contact sheets, screeners,
and a million post it notes all over the place.
The room is white, the walls are cork, and dotted
with thumbtacks of all colors. Ive got my
work computer on one side of my desk, and my
laptop on the other. Sometimes I feel like the
keyboard player in an 80s band.
First off you and Jake Hamilton
made quite an impression with your insane short
film 'Means to an End' about two
competitive SFX artists who will stop at
nothing to get the perfect horror SFX.
What's the craziest thing you have ever done in
your filmmaking career to get a
film shot?
Ive ended up bruised
and bloody a few times to make something work,
either to get a particular camera move, or to
sell a stunt. Ive done my share of illegal
shooting, too. I shot a spec for some reality TV
company once, in Encino, where I followed this 7
foot 8 Chinese basketball player and his
interpreter around LA for three days. We wanted
footage of him in a supermarket and we had no
permit, so I decided to shoot from the hip with a
PD-150. That worked for about ten seconds, then
the whole place was following us around. That may
not have been the craziest thing, but it was
probably the stupidest. At one point, I allowed
an actor to swallow a large part of a fly
swatter, and then regurgitate it for a film I did
called THE MOTH. I offered to do it myself, but
the guy was very serious about the part, and
wouldnt hear it. He said he was going to do
it whether we rolled or not. I had another actor,
once, who insisted on being punched before a
scene to get himself worked up. This was a very
big guy known for a very real history of
violence, so that may not have been my most lucid
moment. He did the scene spectacularly, though. I
dont think Id do that again.
So what sort of deal was
involved to have 'Means to an
End' included in 'Fangoria
Blood Drive II? How was it
chosen? What perks did you get in addition
to the exposure?
The exposure pretty much is
the deal. Fango and Koch distribute the film, and
advertise far more effectively than we ever could
have hoped to. We did a Fango Con with the rest
of the guys on the disc, where we did a Q & A
and the whole deal, which was a good time. We
showed up in orange prison jumpsuits, covered in
bandages, with Jake pushing me around in a
wheelchair. Tony Timpone thought I was really
injured. Hes such a nice guy, he felt
really bad. He asked me if I had hurt myself
making a film, and I said yes. Four guys carried
me up onto the stage, everybody bought it, it was
hysterical. Half way through the Q & A, I
started began squeezing four bladders I had
rigged across my lap, one by one. First my arm
started to bleed, and Jake got up and gaff taped
it, then my knee started to spurt, so he started
taping that, then my head started to just pour
blood. I was rigged with so much of the stuff,
that I bled for the entire rest of the Q & A.
Pushing
the envelope seems the name of the game where the
gore factor is concerned. Can you name
a couple of films or scenes in your movie viewing
past that forced you to close your eyes?
I cant remember ever
closing my eyes. Stupid, I probably should have.
I used to scare the living shit out of myself
when I was little. The stuff thats most
disturbing to me is the sexual violence, but I
always watch that, too. Thats always when
my girlfriend comes home or something, and there
I am on the couch, watching Pasolinis SALO,
and someone is being used as a urinal, or eating
shit, or getting raped with a gun. She just looks
at me like, where the fuck did I find this kid?
The last thing to really push it was
IRREVERSABLE. The fire extinguisher head smash
was just amazing. Actually, HOSTEL got me. I went
to watch an early cut with Eli in the editing
room with him and his brothers and George Folsy,
and that fucking eye-gasm killed us all. You
shouldve seen his face, he was delighted.
Do you consider this
gore-beyond-gore short an all-out parody? If
so what is your commentary about contemporary
horror films and/or filmmakers?
Were kind of knocking
everyone, from the studios to the indies.
Honestly, while theres plenty of crap
coming out as far as horror goes, Im
incredibly hopeful and excited about the state of
horror right now. Boundaries are continually
getting broken down all over the place these
days, especially in the studios. One of the only
good things about a system so focused on profit,
is that when movies like HOSTEL make 20.1 million
dollars opening weekend, youre going to see
a lot more blood coming out of Hollywood. And I
dont think thats going to stop any
time soon.
Now you have written and directed a
new short called Grace,
which is being marketed with the tagline
"Love...Undying". Can you
give us a teaser for the film that will make it
irresistible to fans?
GRACE actually shoots mid
March, 2006, so were in prep right now, but
people are excited about the project
already. I wrote a feature by the same name
last year. It got a lot of attention, but in the
end, I decided not to option it so I could make
sure it becomes the film it can be. I cant
tell you how much I believe in this project. The
premise is so completely warped, people are just
astounded by it. When I tell them its based
on real medical science, people are dumfounded.
Weve got an incredible crew. I somehow
managed to land Laurence Avenet-Bradley as my DP.
Shes fresh off best feature wins this last
year at Shreikfest and RI Independent Horror
Festival, so were really lucky to have her.
We just signed Mark Fenleson and his MFX: Special
Projects team to do production design.
Hes got 18 years experience in the trenches
and a serious flare for horror. The producer,
Becca Cutter, is amazingly talented. She
took her last film to Sundance. When I first
started writing the feature, I pitched it to Eli,
and his jaw just dropped. Hes a really hard
guy to disgust, so I knew I was on to something
unforgettable.
What about 'Grace'
do you see as the most
significant progression in the
evolution of your skills as a filmmaker?
Thats a tough one.
Ive learned a tremendous amount on this
project already. Its the same set of skills
Ive been working on cultivating since I
picked up a camcorder and started torturing
schoolmates on as a kid, its just bigger. I
think its really mostly about working with
a team. You can either gracefully take all the
help you can get, or let your ego tell you to do
it yourself, and compromise the film. On a
personal level, its been about learning
where my strengths are, and accepting where my
weaknesses are, and then working on them all by
interacting with the people who were there first.
As far as writing goes, this project is the first
feature Ive ever written with a female
protagonist, so thats been a powerful
experience. Its been a good challenge to
write a mother from a mothers perspective,
not from a sons.
So tell me a little about 'Repeater',
your upcoming feature. How far along in the
process are you?
REPEATER
is a body-horror film about a savant bike
messenger whos literally addicted to
motion. Its based on the Freudian principle
of a Repetition Compulsion, a
tendency in the traumatized to try to reenact the
traumatic incident again and again in an
irrational effort to master the scenario. The
script has gotten some attention from some
independent folks, and its done well in
screenwriting competitions, but were still
looking for the right home. Its a brutal
film, but, like GRACE, its a really human
story. People react very strongly to it.
Is the thought of making a feature
vs. a short daunting? What do you see as
the main challenges involved?
Id be spinning my
wheels to speak on the subject until I shoot one.
I suspect its more of the same, but bigger.
That seems to be the rumpus about town.
Any advice to all the struggling
horror film freaks out there anxious to make an
impact?
For me, its been more
helpful to concentrate on telling stories and
making movies that I like, than on concentrating
on making an impact. Movies made to make an
impact seem like they often have a disingenuous
feel to them. They come off heavy handed and
contrived. Whereas, if youre making movies
you love, and you love horror movies, youre
probably going to strike a chord with like-minded
sickos. If youre looking to pack something
into the flow of the horror community, there are
all kinds of ways to get involved. The most
important thing I can think of is supporting the
movies you like. Word of mouth is so important
for this scene. Sites like this are an amazing
way to keep this genre in the hands of us fans.
We bitch and bitch about remakes and PG-13 shit,
but I think we can sometimes forget that unless
were part of the solution, were not
doing anyone any good.
Do
you have any other projects in the offing you
would like to plug or tell the www.racksandrazors.com readers about?
I think Ive said
enough about my stuff. Chris Garetano is doing a
sequel to his feature length doc, HORROR
BUSINESS, called SON OF HORROR BUSINESS. Adam
Barnick and Will Rot from Blood Drive 2 are both
in prep on new shorts. Ed ONeil is onboard
to do Wills project at the end of this
month. Jay Alvinos Wicked Effects outfit is
on the rise, theyre attached to do Dante
Tomasellis new feature THE OCEAN, and a
host of other stuff. Anybody who hasnt seen
SYMPATHY FOR MR. VENGEANCE is missing out on some
brilliantly twisted stuff. If you havent
seen HOSTEL, its time to leave the cave and
get gut punched.
We're pulling the car into the Paul
Solet Drive In. What three horror flicks
are they going to be showing on the triple bill
and what goodies are they serving up at the
concession stand?
First up, ALONE IN THE DARK
---Jack Sholders 1982 movie, not the 2005
one. Next, Bob Clarks DEATHDREAM. And then
Pasolinis SALO. Just in case your date
hadnt already left you. Whatever you were
eating, you arent eating anymore.
What disgusts you in real life?
Child abuse. Animal abuse.
What scares you in real life?
Richard Kuklinski. |
|