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Your new movie Steak
Knives - in a few days, what is it about?
Steak
Knives is a short dark comedy about a birthday present gone wrong
as a husband gives his wife steak knives, which she is not happy about. So,
she takes out her anger and frustration on him, threatening to kill him. How
did you get hooked up with the project in the first place? Through
our leading actress and producer, Audrey Noone [Audrey
Noone interview - click here]. The writer, John K. Fiore,
had sent me the script first and I fell in love with it and was
considering doing it. When Audrey contacted me, though, she had said that
John also showed her the script and she loved it also and John had
mentioned me to direct. Audrey and I had known each for a while by that
point so it was easy for me to say yes. What
can you tell us about your directorial approach to your subject at hand?
Honestly,
my approach was really simple. I just wanted to showcase what was in the
script because it was already strong as it was and really my approach was
to make sure the performances communicated what was written. Usually, I
love to do a lot of the stuff with the camera, but here I kept it as
simple as possible with minimal camera movement and just have the editing
and acting dictate the comedy. I think, subconsciously, I had Jaws on my mind because Audrey's character, to me, is a lot
like the shark. You don't know what she's going to do next. I also tried
to communicate that feeling with the music by having it fade in and out at
several points. I also thought of Hitchcock quite a bit. What
can you tell us about Steak
Knives' writer John K. Fiore, and what was your collaboration like? John
is a great guy. He is well versed in his writing and has a great sense of
humor. I've known of John and met him once when I first got my start in
film, but it wasn't until late last year that I worked with him. I was a
cinematographer for a short film that he had written called Crossing
Paths, which Paul Medico directed. It was a great experience and John
and I got to know each other well and he sent me a few scripts to possibly
collaborate further, including Steak
Knives. He was very open to both my ideas and Audrey's and just
simply handed the script over to us. No questions asked. Then, when we
would have edits to show him, he would watch it and give us some input.
Thereby, still keeping his vision on screen. A few words
about your leads Audrey Noone [Audrey
Noone interview - click here] and David Afflick, and why exactly
these two?
Audrey is
wonderful. She is someone I had known for a few months by the time we did
the movie together. She would always ask me about certain technical
aspects such as different types of cameras and audio equipment and she
would show me some of her scripts or short films she had made and I
thought she had a wonderful sense of humor and a lot of talent. When she
asked me if I would direct and she would produce and act, of course I said
yes. I thought she was perfect of the part. She has a ton of comedic
energy that was great for the part.
David is
fantastic. I had heard of him prior to filming and met him in person for
the first time when we were rehearsing for a web series, In the
Bedroom. We originally had another actor playing the part, but he
was unable to commit. So, we read for David during the rehearsals for the
webshow and he had this great presence that Audrey and I really liked.
So, we cast him. He was a great foil to Audrey's on screen antics.
What can you tell us about the shoot as such,
and the on-set atmosphere? We shot the film in a day at
friend's house. He also happens to be a filmmaker, so he understood what
we needed and gave us free rein of his place. The atmosphere was fun. We
just had a ton of laughs when making it. What can you tell us about
audience and critical reception of Steak
Knives so far - and of course, where can it be seen? Thus
far, the film has been really well received both by audiences and critics.
It's being recognized for it's over the top cartoony feeling, which I did
not even think about when shooting it. Though, I'm glad it's being seen
for it's comedy and sense of fun. It was recently accepted into the #TOFF:
The Online Film Festival, which will be taking place in December. It can
be seen on both YouTube and Vimeo.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JzKXpJ6dzro
As
far as I know, another project of yours, Please Punish Me [Please Punish
Me interview - click here] is nearing completion - so you just have to
update us about that one?
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Yes, Please Punish Me
is one of my bigger short films since Still Life. This is a
film I directed earlier this year and we now finished with the coloring
grading process and now moving onto the sound mix. I'm really happy with
it. We have great comedy as well as a great heart to the story with a lot
to say. For those that don't know, it is a story about a businessman whose
life is too good. Everyone around him receives the negative side of his
positive gain. So, he seeks to be punished for his "curse". Any future projects you'd like
to share? Sure. I have quite a few things in the works. I
just recently released a web show I directed last fall called A Guy
Going Crazy with Rich Camp, who had written Please Punish Me. That too is finding some great success including be accepted
also into The Online Film Festival along with Steak
Knives and
two other projects of mine (Always a Reason and Puppatics). For the future, Rich and I have been developing
several web shows and short films. I'm also recently getting back into
writing and hoping to make my first feature film within the next year or
so. Your/your movie's website, Facebook, whatever
else? My work can be seen primarily at my website:
www.chrisesper.com.
I also have a Facebook page:
https://www.facebook.com/pages/Chris-Esper-Director/316989045002591 and
I'm also on Twitter:
https://twitter.com/Chris_Esper
Anything else you are dying to mention and I have
merely forgotten to ask? I appreciate you reaching out to
me again for a second interview and thank you for all you do! Thanks for the interview!
Thank you!
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