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1) Okay, first off Christopher I think we should
start the www.racksandrazors.com readers out with a visual
and describe the room where you're answering
these questions?
Lots of high tables with
six chairs each, three per side; wall-length
multi-paned windows; a glass-paneled garaged door
with a patio beyond; a large L-shaped bar to my
left; chips and salsa, the smell of Mexican food
and margaritas. I'm sitting in the cantina at
Chevy's restaurant in Burbank, passing time
between seeing MISSION IMPOSSILE III and
POSEIDON.
2) Let me just
say I saw 'My Skin', 'Human
No More', & 'Scream For Me'
and LOVED THEM! It was all just fantastic work! I
was absolutely amazed at the sheer horror you are
able to generate in those shorts. As a man adept
at directing, writing, and editing, what do you
see as the most essential for you in creating
fear?
Getting
inside of the viewer by sucking them into the
characters and action unfolding on screen. To
accomplish that I use every available element I
can: firstly, the writing and story, then the
dialogue and acting, the camera and lighting, and
the environment and action relative to character
and story. There I make full circle, of course,
and then it all comes down to three things for
me: editing, color-correction, and audio.
Rhythmic, well-timed editing can make a great
performance a masterpiece and turn tension and
action/violence into sheer poetry of movement and
moment. The color-correction also serves to
bolster the poetry and maintain the moment by
further solidifying the environment. When I watch
one of my films I want to be taken somewhere else
and trapped there until the end credits roll; and
even then, for me, the credits should polish out
the entire film by proper rhythm of text played
against music until the screen finally goes
black. The audio/soundtrack, of course, is as
important as everything that comes before it in
creating and sustaining story, performance,
environment, and action. From my perspective it
really does take everything - from the first word
of the script to the very last music/audio cue -
to create an unnerving, tense, and/or terrifying
moment on film.
3) Sound is also
SUCH a huge part of your films. Care to comment?
I
think I just did! Even so, audio has always been
very important to me. I was a professional
musician for quite a long time, first playing
with my band ABOUT 9 TIMES and then THE JUDAS
ENGINE. I'm no stranger to the studio
environment, and I believe that experience has
made all the difference in the quality of the
audio for each of my films. But I can't take all
the credit for the soundtracks of SCREAM FOR ME
and MY SKIN, which were expertly assembled by
Post Sound Supervisor Enzo Treppa, and
wonderfully mixed by veteran re-recordist Marty
Hutcherson. Also, I have to point out the great
music of Ugly Mus-tard in SCREAM FOR ME and the
potent score by Brian Sussman for MY SKIN. Brian
also wrote and performed the music for HUMAN NO
MORE, which I really love. The end credit track,
however, is I AM A WALL, written and recorded
previously by my band THE JUDAS ENGINE. As for
all the other audio you hear in HUMAN NO MORE, I
actually can take credit, because I did all the
production recording, Foley recording, sound
effects editing, and mixing myself.
4) A theme in all
3 of your shorts was that of "the crazed
watcher" - that even in our secretive
moments we're being observed by some fierce
force. How do you think that plays into your
overall themes and/or philosophy of life?
I'd say
it plays strongly into most of my themes, which
tend to be victim driven instead of hero driven.
In many ways I feel like there's always something
watching me or screwing with me, something beyond
my power to control, but something that has the
power to control or destroy me - all of which
seems to find it's way into the minds of my
characters or themes in general. Maybe I'm just
overly sensitive to fate and what usually appears
to be the senseless suffering so many have to
endure. Even so, whether it's fate or God or the
absence of God or simply entropy, I do believe
that most people create the bulk of their own
problems. I know I create most of mine, in spite
of my best intentions. But in this way others and
myself are again victims. Victims victimized by
their own selves. Not necessarily a good thing,
but a reality nonetheless.
5) So tell me
about how you got into directing...how did that
pursuit come about?
About
eleven years ago I moved to L.A. with my band,
THE JUDAS ENGINE. Although TJE had a CD under its
belt, was playing gigs regularly, and had a new
demo recorded, it was abruptly murdered by
circumstances about eight months after our
arrival in California. I was suddenly a lost soul
and too burned out to pursue music anymore. My
only opportunity lay in some good luck I'd had in
meeting two professional film producers. They
read the unpublished manuscript of my novel,
PUZZLEMAN, liked the story, and wanted to get it
into script form ASAP. I took the challenge and
launched into an endless screenplay writing
exercise that eventually went nowhere. I could
never please two producers of different minds and
myself as well. I also wrote a second feature,
LOVE ME, based on an old short story I'd written
many years before, but was nearly thrashed to
death on that with the first draft. It was then
that I realized the only way anyone was ever
going to take my cinematic visions seriously, or
even understand them, was if I took control and
made a film myself. My first choice was SCREAM
FOR ME, based on another of my short stories - a
little tale that people either loved or
absolutely hated. I had quite a bit to prove to
the world, as well as to myself, so I wanted to
shoot a movie that broke rules. In the case of
SFM, that meant dealing with controversial
subject matter, nudity, sexual violence,
excessive language, back-to-back monologues, a
one-room location, and a lead character that
constantly wore reflective mirror sunglasses.
Most all of those challenges are considered
really bad luck for a first-time filmmaker.
6) Do you think
people who knew you as a kid would be surprised
or not shocked at all to discover you're
directing and writing horror today?
I think
even my parents are surprised, and they've known
me my whole life. When I was young I never
watched horror and what I did see scared me so
much I could barely watch it with my hands over
my eyes. But I came to realize something about
myself; about the time I turned 21, that my brain
is simply a very grim, cynical dark place.
There's just something that fascinates me about
the macabre underbelly of life - or maybe it's
not as much of a fascination as a warped
addiction to the how and why of it all. If it was
up to me it would be thunder storming everyday,
and I'd happily observe the wicked world from the
highest tower of my castle before descending into
my dungeon for a day's exploration of the deepest
horrors humanity has devised - and try to
understand them by living through them with
writing and/or filmmaking. And having said that,
I don't really consider my films horror films -
at least not by typical genre standards. I don't
even find my films scary, nor do I try to make
them scary. I'm usually trying to get at a dark
truth, theme, or philosophy inside of me and
externalize it through writing a novel,
screenplay, or directing a film. If some people
are scared or unnerved by what oozes from my
morbid imagination, well...what can I say? Cool!
In all truth though, I think if Edgar Allan Poe
was alive today, he'd be writing stories and
making films like mine. Poe stories don't scare
me, but they put me on edge - get under my skin
and infuse my subconscious - while at the same
time being poetic and dark as hell.
7) When you sit
down to begin penning a screenplay what usually
lies at the core of your creative spark - is it
the character, the plot, a vision, the theme, the
mood, does it vary or is there something else
entirely?
It's
really all of the above, but in no particular
order. What I usually do is begin with a title I
like, or a bit of writing, or notes on a possible
scene or character portrayal that inspires me.
Then I use that as nourishment to feed the
beliefs and concepts I find within myself, or
sometimes it works best visa versa - I use my
personal philosophies to nurture the story and/or
characters. But whatever the case, it's these
elements that ultimately become the seeds of my
stories. If I'm lucky, these seeds will take root
and demand I grow them into a fully fleshed-out
character, script, film, or novel. Now having
said all that, a large part of my creative
process is ultimately an attempt to not only
entertain myself, but to seduce a viewer or
reader onto the roller coaster ride of thought,
sentience (be it laughter, tears, or terror), and
catharsis.
8) I also want to
hear about your debut novel (horror naturally) 'Puzzleman'.
Can you give the readers at www.racksandrazors.com a teaser that will make
the book irresistible and follow it up with some
info about where they can purchase 'Puzzleman'
?
PUZZLEMAN is
certainly the most difficult, tedious, and
endless project I've ever worked on. Many, many
years in the making. It started out to be merely
a 100-page novella, but once I started writing,
it exploded into what became nearly a 1000 page
manuscript. The historical section was also twice
as long. Over the years of rewriting, I was able
to better develop and tighten the story,
eventually trimming those 1000 pages of madness
down to what I hope is a solid, well focused 400
pages. The writing of this book definitely
required a lot of nurturing and evolution over
time. Also, one of my original concepts for
PUZZLEMAN was to tell a story that started very
small, with simply the dialogue of a couple
faceless characters catalyzing the events to
come, and then quickly expanding the story to
include several more characters with different
outlooks and pasts, and then to tie them all
together in a tale that would grow to encompass
mysteries, truths, and dangers that approached an
almost universal scale. But at the same time I
wanted all of that to be unfolding just below the
surface of what all of us call everyday life.
Kind of like a shark swimming with its fin just
beneath the water. The surface appears normal and
calm to our eyes, but just below, just out of
sight, immense danger is lurking and could strike
at any moment. I think most people don't realize
just how precarious their life, lifestyles, and
world are. But enough philosophizing! I really
hope more and more people will read PUZZLEMAN. I
think it's got a lot to say, but is very
entertaining as well. To learn more about
PUZZLEMAN and to buy the book, I recommend going
directly to my site at the link below. It's the
fastest cheapest way to get the book. http://blackcabproductions.com/WordsPuzzpage.html Or, if anyone
would like to pay a couple dollars more and get a
money back guarantee go to Shocklines.com at http://store.yahoo.com/shocklines/punobychalbr.html
9) I am so
excited that you're finally going to be directing
the feature 'Retard' from your
own award-winning screenplay. Are you intent on
maintaining as much control over the project as
possible?
I
certainly hope to maintain as much hands-on as I
can, otherwise people aren't going to get what
they're already expecting from me. RETARD is with
Christopher Webster (Exec. Prod. HELLRAISER I
& II, Prod. SEVERED TIES, CHILDREN OF THE
NIGHT) and he has no qualms about me directing
and controlling the final edit. That's a great
compliment and shows a great confidence in my
abilities. But he's also seen my development, and
success, over three short films and now knows I
have a vision that is better nurtured than
tampered with.
10) What is the
most valuable lesson you have learned from
directing shorts that is going to come in handy
when it comes to making the feature film leap?
Steal as
much time as you can for pre-production,
production, and post-production. Also, if you
don't have time to shoot a shot exactly the way
you planned, shoot it anyway you can with
whatever you can.
11) And what do
you foresee as the greatest challenge after
previously doing only shorts?
12) Do you have
any other upcoming projects you would care to
tell the www.racksandrazors.com readers about?
Besides
shooting RETARD (hopefully sooner than later),
I'm currently putting together elements and loads
of extras for a triple feature DVD containing all
three of my films, to be titled 3 DEAD GIRLS. I
hope to have the project completed and available
by October. I'm also about 300 manuscript pages
into writing another novel called HEATHER'S
TREEHOUSE. It isn't nearly as complex of a story
as PUZZLEMAN, but it's definitely as visceral and
graphic. It should be a fun read, if I can ever
get the time to finish it. Speaking of which, I'm
also about 60 pages into a shorter novel I plan
to call M, which is a very personal story and is
written in first person with a stream of
conscious feel to it - definitely very different
from PUZZLEMAN or HEATHER'S TREEHOUSE. There are
a couple children's stories I'd like write too.
And the project list goes on. There's lot's and
lot's to do before I drop dead.
13) Okay - we're
pulling the car into the Christopher Alan
Broadstone Drive In - what three horror movies
are going to be featured on the triple bill
tonight and what goodies are they going to be
serving up at the concession stand?
My short
HUMAN NO MORE with FRANKENSTEIN (1931), MY SKIN!
with THE CORPSE BRIDE, and SCREAM FOR ME opening
for SEVEN. The concession stand will be serving
Red Baron Four Cheese and Classic Supreme pizza;
and the drinks served will be Skyy vodka martinis
with a side of water and fresh lemon. Cheers!
14) What makes
you go psycho in real life?
When
someone talks down to me or gets in my face.
Also, when I tell someone to leave me alone and
they just keep on coming. That's a real quick way
to find out what a real psycho I am - if you push
the right button, my evil side will instantly
consume me and you'll find yourself staring into
the eyes of the Devil himself. And you really
don't want to screw with the Devil.
15) What scares
you in real life?
Real
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