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Your upcoming movie Altered - in a few words, what is it
going to be about?
Revenge. Revenge, a mind altering new drug, a serial killer and
zombies. Altered is based on a short of
yours of the same name - what inspired you to extend it into a feature? At
the beginning of the year Christina Gonzalez (our producer) and I were
discussing our plans for 2013 and it just dawned on me that we had the
perfect micro-budget feature just staring at us; so I did a little
research and contacted a few people and got an offer for distribution if
we could make the film. That made it a no brainer and here we are. With
Altered being a zombie movie - is that a genre you're at all fond
of? I haven't, in the past, been a huge zombiephile.
In fact, our team had to talk me into doing the short last year.
When I took on the project it was with the understanding that I would try
it with my own spin on it and that was the result. Oh, and I kinda dig
zombies now. (Other) sources of inspiration for Altered -
both the short and the feature? 1920's pulp fiction for
sure. I love the hardboiled detective type like Marlowe and
Spade.
I think to some degree my love of comic books as a kid. Dark ones
that reach into your soul and pull you into their world of good vs. evil.
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Both serial killer and
zombie movies come with a lot of blood and guts almost by definition. Is
this true for your movie as well, and what can you tell us about your
intended gore effects?
It is true. We have some special things planned. I'll give
you a little taste of one I particularly like. A teenage boy
comes into the police station looking for Ransom (the main character). The boy is covered with puss-like bumps, he delivers his message from
Jerimiah Quick (the serial killer) and then he erupts as bugs tear out
of each one of the puss bumps.
Quick has some pretty gruesome murder scenes as well. I have to
tell ya that he is based on three real serial killers and they were more
brutal than anything I could ever envision.
How would you describe your
overall approach to your story at hand? I am a writer first,
so the story is very important to me. I have crafted this one to be a true
crime thriller. Like The Following meets The Walking Dead.
So my approach is to tell a riveting edge of your seat thriller that has
the feel of a dark zombie flick. Anything you can
tell us about your intended cast yet?
We have some great actors. Tom Barlow, our bad guy, has been in
movie and tv for 20 years. He was in Flubber with Robin
Williams and was in Nash Bridges as well as many others.
One of our other actors was just in Olympus Has Fallen with
Morgan Freeman.
We have some great new faces as well that will blow you away with how
powerful they are on screen. Look out for Josh Wilkins, Paxton Taylor
Carr, Mayat Durre' and Caleb Barnick as well as many others.
As far as I know,
as we speak your film is still in its fundraising stages - so what can you
tell us about your fundraising campaign? The campaign is
almost over. 2 Weeks to go. We have had good response and some
great things have happened. We landed an awesome product placement
deal, an agreement to release our film in 27 theaters nationwide and have
received some private funds that have made it so we know for sure that Altered
is a go. igg.me/at/altered
How will you
proceed once your funds are raised, and any idea when and where the film
will be released onto the general public yet (and yes, I realize it's
waaay too early to ask)? We are shooting August 1st through
August 11th, and we are hoping to have it in theaters by late winter or
early spring. Our big premiere will be right in the city I live in. On a
massive Grand Screen. Any future projects beyond Altered
you'd like to share? We currently have three future
projects in the works. The Remorseless Rise of Man, Through the
Door,
and Awakening. If all goes well with Altered, we will begin pre-production of
The Remorseless Rise of Man next summer. What got you into filmmaking in the
first place, and did you receive any formal training on the subject?
I have been writing since I was 12 years old and thought my calling was
going to be novels, but when I was introduced to screenwriting I
instantly knew that it was my place. I went to film school at SFI
shortly after and have been making movies ever since.
I have written 5 feature length screenplays, 2 of which have won national
awards and one of which you will see when we release Altered.
What
can you tell us about your filmwork prior to Altered? Let's
just talk 2012, it will give you an idea of where I have been. In
2012 I was DP on two feature films - Camera Phone and The
Soul Gatherer - as well as Writer/Director of two short films -
Patient
X and Altered. Altered of course is an award winner. You
just have to talk about your company 7 Crow Productions for a bit! 7
Crow Productions is my own personal production company. We do
everything from writing and corporate to music videos and feature films.
The name comes from an old nursery rhyme about telling omens by counting
crows. 7 Crows stands for a story or secret never told. That's
what I do. Tell stories that have never been told before. Besides
making movies, you're also a published poet and playwright, right? Care to
elaborate?
I am. You did your homework! I was first published in High
School. Poetry. Through out my HS years I continued to win awards
for my poetry, and was extremely encouraged by that.
Last year I was asked to write a stage play for a local company for
their murder mystery dinner theater and I was able to not only do that
but got a great seat on their first performance. It was a treat to
see my work displayed in such a dynamic atmosphere like live theater.
I loved it.
How would you describe yourself as a
director?
Focused. When you direct micro budget features and no budget
shorts you learn how to get the most out of your time, cast and crew
without killing anyone. Most of my team has been with me for over
a year and we love working together. I know what they can do and
they know they can trust me to pull the best out of them.
I come into each production knowing exactly what I want and have a
really solid idea of how to achieve that. It doesn't always work out,
but thankfully it has most of the time. I have to admit though, it's
because I have such an amazing cast and crew.
Filmmakers, writers, whatever else who inspire
you?
Storytellers inspire me no matter what the format. Music, movies,
novels, TV. I love it all. I would say though that some of my
biggest inspirations come from a couple of my favorite authors and a
couple of my favorite filmmakers. I'll give you a couple.
Raymond Chandler and Alexander Dumas are my favorite authors. Those guys
knew how to tell a story.
Akira Kurosowa is one of my all time favorite directors. The
beauty of each frame is what I strive for as a DP and Director.
I am also a huge fan of Connie Hall and William Goldman, Christopher
Nolan and J.J. Abrams.
Your favourite movies?
Classics: Yojimbo, Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, and Chinatown.
80's - Stand By Me, The Princess Bride, and The Thing.
Today: Inception, Super 8 and Star Trek.
... and of
course, films you really deplore?
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Chloe from 9 to 5.
There I said it. It's out of my system. Your/your movie's
website, Facebook, IndieGoGo, whatever else? You can find
us at www.alteredthemovie.com,
www.facebook.com/officialaltered,
igg.me/at/altered,
@alteredmovie on Twitter and @alteredfeaturefilm on
InstaGram. Anything
else you are dying to mention and I have merely forgotten to ask? This
film has received some amazing support; we have been given the use of a
helicopter for aerial shots, we are shooting on a Red Epic that kind of
fell into our laps, and we have met some amazing people that have already
given a ton of great work and effort to this project. You just wait;
you won't believe what we can do with such a small budget. I mean if you
want a taste you can check our original short film out on our website and
see what we did in just 48 hours with absolutely no budget. Thanks
for the interview!
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