Your movie Dark
Seduction was actually shot in 1984, but hasn't been released
until 2015 - so can you give us the lowdown on this story, and what kept
you going over all these years to finally get it released? I
intended to finish it when we first made it in the late 80s but, I was
dealing with a partner and working on the road as a stand up comedian at
the same time, what also delayed it was trying to find the cut of the film
which took me a long time because of the nature in which we shot it. The
fact that I directed it and it was my first full feature film to direct
this was what kept me motivated to finish it, but also the most important
thing is that I felt the film was really unique and quite good for what it
is, which I believe is a cult midnight movie. Has
Dark Seduction in
any way changed from what you intended to release back when? Yea
it's gone through many versions and now has a completely new updated
soundtrack with live instruments and it has actually finished with a
polish that it would not have had if it was finished sooner, which I
believe will keep it relevant in many years to come. Let's
return to the film as such - why a film noir homage, is this a genre at
all dear to you? And why cross it with new wave vampires? Yea
I love the black and white film noir genre. I just think it is very
romantic, macho and super cool. Dark Seduction
is a parody of noir but
also stands on its own as a film noir. The new wave vampire idea was
sort of obvious in the mid 80s.
What
can you tell us about your co-writer Steve Bishart, and what was your
collaboration with him like? Steve is the one who brought
me into the idea and he had a 20 page script that was mostly about the
vampires, and I brought the idea of the detective and combine these ideas
to form the full concept. He taught me a lot about the technical side of
making a production. He acted more like a cameraman than a producer, and I
was more of an actor being a director. Later we drifted apart when
the partnership didn't work out. Do talk about your
directorial approach to your story at hand! I try to figure
out what the overall mood of the piece is first, what the tone is I think is
important, and then that will give you clues as to what the look should be
and how the character should act, and the overall energy and mood. It is
a matter of working with the script to shape it into a film. I don't
believe a director has a clear vision of a shot of the film because things
are constantly changing and the director needs to be flexible. What
ultimately ends up on the frame belongs in the frame. I also like to let
the actors go off script and improvise once they understand who the
characters are, many times they will give you little pieces of gold. You also
play a supporting part in Dark
Seduction - so do talk about your character, and since you're an
actor first and foremost, why not pick a bigger part in your own movie?
I
don't remember really how my character came about but obviously it was
loosely based on me at the time, and I didn't play a bigger character
because I wanted to spend more time directing and making the movie. What
can you tell us about the rest of your cast, and why exactly these people? They
were all friends and acquaintances in the business that I knew would be
perfect for the parts they were cast in. I feel like I got very lucky with
this cast. A
few words about the shoot as such, and the on-set atmosphere? Pretty
chaotic atmosphere, lots of last minute things and low budget but
ultimately because of the great people it was loads of fun.
Anything
you can tell us about audience and critical reception of Dark
Seduction? So far at the two screenings I've had
nothing but great audience response. We haven't gotten back too many
reviews yet because the release is coming up on Oct 11, 2016 but the film
plays much better with an audience than without. I guess that's every film. You have directed a few movies after
what happened to Dark
Seduction - so what can you tell us about those? And basically,
what kept you going? Night Creep 2003 and Midlife 2013. I
want to be a director and filmmaker and I try my best to make a movie
whenever possible. Midlife is available on iTunes and many other media
outlets … it's more of a modern character study and rooted in reality
unlike the other two. Any future projects you'd like to
talk about?
Yes I have 3 movies I have been planning and
developing for a long time, but that's all I can say for now.
Since you've started out as an actor, what
got you into acting in the first place, and did you receive any formal
education on the subject? I got into acting in a high
school drama class. Then I became a magician during that same period which
also is being an actor, and that led me to stand up comedy which
ultimately led me back to acting. I have an Associate in Arts degree. I
also went to a film school called Sherwood Oaks Experimental Film
School. Having been in the business for over
thirty years, and in both big budget and indie productions, how have
things changed over the years? There is a lot more movies
being made in other parts of the world and country. Hollywood is no longer
the center of the universe for filmmaking, which means less work for
actors along with much more competition makes it now a difficult soup to
swim in. How would you describe
yourself as an actor, and some of your techniques to bring your characters
to life? Mostly a character actor I just do as much
research as possible on each character needed to shape and mold it, and
draw from many real life experiences. Acting is a small variation on your
own personality. Actors, filmmakers, whoever else who inspire
you?
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Feeling lucky? Want to search any of my partnershops yourself for more, better results? (commissions earned) |
The links below will take you just there!!!
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John Casssavetes, Mel Brooks, David Lynch, Stanely Kubrick,
Orson Welles. Your favourite movies? A
Clockwork
Orange, Citizen Kane, Touch of Evil, The Elephant Man,
Lawrence of Arabia and Now My Love, and about a 100 more. ... and of
course, films you really deplore? Porno. Your/your movie's
website, Facebook, whatever else?
Actor,
comedian, director Greg Travis is available for interview or to
be a guest on your show, to promote his new film Dark
Seduction set for release Oct 11, 2016.
Feel free to look up IMDb page:
http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0871393/
Here is the Dark
Seduction trailer:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OQXi4nwxYTs
Dark
Seduction making of: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sjvhBYcYwzI
Website: http://www.gtfilmproductions.com/dark-seduction
Contact: travisg@earthlink.net
Thanks
for the interview!
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