Theatre of the
Deranged 2 - what is it about?
Ian Longway, Eric Hollerbach as Damien
Shadows, Ted Endres behind the camera |
Theatre of
the Deranged 2 is an anthology of short horror films. And really, the
only thing the films have in common is James Cullen Brussack [James
Cullen Bressack interview - click here]. All the
filmmakers know him, and produced shorts specifically for this anthology.
But, as we discover via the magic of film, the short films are actually
"Audio and Visual conjuring spells." Each short summons a
different entity into your domicile. Damien Shadows teaches you what
these entities are, and what to do about them.
The
wraparound story - why Damien Shadows
PI, and was the whole thing conceived
and produced before or after you had chosen the individual shorts?
Why Damien Shadows
PI
Why not?
I've already
made a TV pilot and a webseries around the character of Damien Shadows.
Damien Shadows is a Psychic Investigating ghost-hunter, with mediocre
internet acclaim. For more info on that,
click here!
So, when James
came to me and asked me to host Theatre of
the Deranged 2, it seemed like
the perfect fit to do it as Damien Shadows. I stayed in the
already-established ghost-hunting world of Damien Shadows, but added a bit
of an Elvira aspect to his character.
I had already
seen the first installment of Theater of the
Deranged, before I had any
association with the project. So when James came to me, and asked me to
be a part of the 2nd installment, I already had an idea what I was in for. I
came onto the project when all the shorts were already shot and delivered
except for Plate Face.
Fun fact: When
you see the movie, Plate Face is the only one that Damien Shadows doesn't
make any direct comments about, because it was delivered after the Damien
Shadows wraparound segments were shot.
How did you get on board of Theatre of the
Deranged 2,
and how were the shorts for this film chosen?
I got on board
because my good friend and roommate Jody Barton (actor in Hate Crime,
To Jennifer, and he's in the
Theatre of
the Deranged 2 short Unmimely Demise [Jody
Barton interview - click here]) is best friends with James, and recommended
me for it - so, for all you
dummies in film school in Colorado, it really is who you know in
Hollywood. But James had
already seen the Damien Shadows
PI
pilot at Shriekfest 2012, so I think he
knew that I'd made it funny.
James picked
the shorts. I just picked the order that they appear.
Do talk about your segment for a bit, your
inspirations, style, cast, shoot, whatever!
I think the
Damien Shadows webseries worked so well because it's a character I'd
already thought a lot about. For example, I'd originally written the
character of Chuck from Globo-Ghost for a future web-series, so I thought Theatre of
the Deranged 2 would be a good place to introduce him.
Throughout Theatre of
the Deranged 2, Chuck is always selling Damien Shadows exotic and expensive
ghost-combat equipment. He's the snake-oil salesman of the paranormal
research world (just like any vendor of paranormal research equipment
actually is).
My shooting locations were also pretty bad-ass. I'd recommend anyone
with absolutely no budget to shoot at the Old Zoo at Griffith Park. It's
basically an abandoned zoo, with lots of creepy cages and tunnels to
shoot in. I'm sure you technically need permits, and I think we did it
illegally, but no one bothered us, so fuck it.
We also shot at The
Actors Garden which is a cool theater run by Andy Libby. I knew about it,
because I've done stand-up there a few times. Because of that, Andy gave
me a great rate. He's an awesome dude.
So what was
your collaboration on Theatre of the
Deranged 2 like - and based
on this, will you ever be part of another anthology movie?
Being a part of
an anthology is awesome. It's a great way to get a legit feature without
having to raise thousands of dollars and block off a few weeks to do it. It basically
took me 8 joints and 2 days to write it. I shot it in a day. Then I had
about 3-4 editing sessions with Collin McDowell, and blammo, I'm in a
movie. I wouldn't
recommend that exact regime to everyone. I'm a professional.
Any
idea when and where the movie might be released yet? We
estimate it should be available on DVD/BluRay/VOD around Feb 2014. Your/your movie's website,
Facebook, whatever else?
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The links below will take you just there!!!
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Check out Damien Shadows
PI
on Funny or Die: http://www.funnyordie.com/erichollerbach
I got a podcast
called Highway Diary: http://highwaydiarywitherichollerbach.podbean.com
All my stuff is
easily accessed at www.erichollerbach.com
... and of course: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt2262325/
Anything else you are dying to
mention and I have merely forgotten to ask?
In my opinion
Collin McDowell is the secret hero of this movie, he was the editor for
the Damien Shadows wraparound segments, made the trailer for Theatre of
the Deranged 2, and
the opening credit sequence. He's a bad motha-fucka.
Also, I'd like
to thank Garrett Penwell and Ian Longway for their hilarious performances
in the Damien Shadows segments. Ted Endres, who is the best kept secret DP
in LA. Elissa Prager for making the awesome props. And of course James
Cullen Brussack [James
Cullen Bressack interview - click here] for making this project happen.
His prodigy
filmmaking, and marketing skills added the much-needed credibility.
Thanks for
the interview!
Thank you Michael!
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