Your upcoming movie The Nightmare Man - in a few words, what
is it about?
The
Nightmare Man tells the story of a young man who can no longer
establish the difference between dreams and reality after having rather
dark visions of a creepy entity known as The Nightmare Man.
What were your inspirations when writing The
Nightmare Man? There’s
quite a few that I could mention, but the Insidious films were huge
influences, as well as an episode of The Twilight Zone that follows a
35-year-old man who can’t sleep due to fears of having nightmares about
some creepy lady. I can’t remember the name of the episode, but I saw it
on Chiller Channel about a year ago. I just really want this film to be
creepy. It’s gonna be weird, it’s gonna be artistic, and it’s gonna
be unique, but if people see it and find it to not even be remotely
creepy, I’ll be pretty disappointed. I want to do something that people
remember as a film that was actually scary. But even if it’s not in any
way scary, it’s gonna at least try to be, which is more than what you
can say about a lot of films that come out these days… Do
talk about your film's approach to the horror genre (as in suspense vs
sudden shocks, atmosphere vs all-out gore and the like)! Well,
this won’t technically be a slasher film or anything like that; I would
say it’s a bit closer to the supernatural sub-genre, but I like to think
of it as a film that falls under the miscellaneous category. There will be
a bit of gore, however. What
can you tell us about the film's intended look and feel? We’re
shooting on a Blackmagic and I want the film to have extremely vivid
colors, so therefore, I’d say it’s safe to say that the film will look
very beautiful, yet very eerie. That is the exact vibe we’re going for. The
Nightmare Man will be your directorial debut - so why did you choose
exactly this project,and what prompted you to sit down in the director's
chair? There
isn’t really a specific answer to give. I guess I just finally decided
it was time to take on an idea of my own. I wrote the screenplay and I
wanted to produce it here in Memphis, so I figured I might as well make
this my directorial debut. I’m a bit nervous, but I’m really looking
forward to it. What can you tell us about your intended cast and
crew, and why exactly these people? We’ve
got a large pool of talent already attached. Brandon Tobatto of Loon and
The Weeping, and Joseph Henson of The Night Before Easter and Gory
Graduation are producing. Everyone who is so far attached are people who
were reached out to by me on the front end, because I already know what
they can do. Our lead actor, Matthew James actually sent me his
information and demo reel and simply just stated that he’d like to be
involved, and I knew instantly that this guy would be the perfect guy to
work with. The positions that haven’t already been filled are gonna be
pretty hard to fill, but luckily, we’ve had some awesome talent audition
so far. I also plan to hire a film composer that has handled the score for
Hollywood films, and I’d also like to have a post-production sound crew
that really knows what the hell they’re doing. A huge part of a film
having a legit look is a film having legit sound to go with it. Sound,
music, and visuals are things that I take pretty seriously, and I feel as
though I have a pretty good mind for such things, so hopefully that will
show in the final product.
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As far as I know,
your film is still in pre-production - so what's the plan, and any idea
when and where The Nightmare Man might be released yet (even if
it's probably waaaay too early to ask)? Well,
I have plans to distribute a feature film that has garnered quite a bit of
attention amongst the indie horror community. For that film, I’ve been
speaking with a potential distributor about a sort of agreement where I
would own the DVD rights and they would own the rights to distribute the
film to video-on-demand platforms such as iTunes and NetFlix for like,
five years or so. While the goal is not to self-distribute The Nightmare
Man, I would love to work something out where it would be available on
such video-on-demand platforms. It should for sure be ready by January of
2016 in some sort of fashion, regardless of what type of distribution deal
we receive. Any future
projects beyond The Nightmare Man? I
have a basic idea for a high-concept, really, really, dark and messed up
story. It’s something that is very, very dear to me… it’s the most
creative thing I think I could’ve ever dreamed of. I’d like to
co-write and co-direct this thing with another “indie horror guy”, or
whatever you’d call it. I’d really like to pitch the idea to Adam
Ahlbrandt, first and foremost. I’ve seen the trailers for some of his
stuff, and I’m like “why the hell am I not working with this guy?” I
had heard about him, but I was never too familiar with his work until
recently. For all I knew, he was nothing but a big bunch of hype… but
he’s one of the biggest names in the horror genre these days for a
reason. For God’s sake, one of his films was even in the IMDb Top 5,000
recently. I think of him as like, an AJ Styles or Ben Askren-type
guy… he’s got to be the best at what he does to have never gotten an
opportunity on the grandest stage. So yeah, after The Nightmare Man, I
wanna work with someone like that. What got you
into the filmworld to begin with, and what can you tell us about your
filmwork prior to The Nightmare Man?
I did a
short film in high school, and shortly after I graduated, I started
reaching out to indie horror directors asking if there were any
opportunities to get involved. Luckily, there were some guys that were
willing to allow the youngster to help out. And I haven’t really ever
stopped since then.
One can't
help but notice that your movies never stray far away from the horror
genre - coincidence, or is horror a genre at all dear to you, and why
(not)? I
couldn’t see myself ever being involved with any film that wasn’t a
horror film. I’m just not into anything else. That’s a statement that
many, many folks would judge the hell out of me for, and that statement
almost makes me sound crazy, but that’s just how it is. Filmmakers who inspire you?
James
Wan is the best in the world at what he does, so I have to mention him
as one of my biggest inspirations. Also, reading Eric England’s blog
in anticipation of his feature Madison County was what really made me
want to become a filmmaker, actually. I think if E-Squared knew I said
that, he would be a bit surprised, but it’s entirely true. I am also a
huge fan of the two Robert Hiltzik films in the Sleepaway Camp
franchise. So yeah, those three come to mind before anyone else.
Your
favourite movies? I
like some of the more underrated 80’s slasher films such as The
Burning,
Sleepaway Camp, Clownhouse, and Slaughter High. And I dig some other stuff
as well. I used to see the Saw films on opening weekend every Halloween,
starting with the first film when I was a few weeks away from being ten
years old. We Harlows went as a family to see it in the theater on a
Sunday night. I freaked the hell out. You’re Next and Insidious 2 were
amazing to see in the cinema last year… those two are definitely my most
recent favorites. ... and of course, films you really
deplore? Mostly
every remake absolutely blows. Your/your movie's website, Facebook, whatever
else?
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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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You can
check us out at http://www.facebook.com/thenightmaremanmovie.
Hopefully we’ll have a legitimate website live by the end of the year,
though we may wait until we get closer to the release of the film.
Anything else you are dying to mention and I have
merely forgotten to ask? I
have to give a mention to Cleaver: Rise of the Killer Clown. Mj Dixon
[Mj Dixon interview - click here]
and
I are hard at work, making sure horror fans get to see the best film in
the ‘killer clown’ sub-genre to date. I strongly believe this will be
Mycho’s best film to date, which is saying a lot…and it’s a huge
honor to be a part of it. Thanks for the interview!
Any
time, brother.
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