Your new movie Ghost
House - in a few words, what is it about? It’s
about a young couple on a romantic vacation in Thailand who end up making
some poor choices that result in them being tormented by a malevolent
spirit. How
did it come about that you got to film Ghost
House in Thailand? After getting the script in
shape, we hooked up with Daemon Hillin of Benetone-Hillin
Entertainment and he and his partners laid out a blue print of how
we could pull it off. In Thailand, you are required to have a Thai-based
production services company and ours did a lot of coaching and got us on
the right track. Writing the story for Ghost
House, did you already have Thailand in mind, and is the film
based on any actual Thai myths and legends? The centerpiece
of the story is the Thai “spirit house” that the Thais put outside of
their homes and businesses. The spirit house is there to house the spirits
and people give offerings to keep them happy. We only found out about
these during our trip to Thailand, so yes, it was a Thai-based story from
the very beginning and we knew that we wanted to shoot there and get the
amazing, built-in production value that Thailand offers. Other
sources of inspiration when writing Ghost
House? We drew on our love for the genre. We kind
of wear our influences on our sleeve. You can see a lot of them throughout
the movie: Carpenter, Lynch, Gordon, Raimi, etc. As far as the Thai
ghost mythology goes, we researched just about everything we could get our
hands on and, of course, I’ve got an extended Thai family that gave us
quite an education.
What can you tell us about your
screenwriters Kevin O'Sullivan and Jason Chase Tyrrell, and what was your
collaboration with them like? We came up with the basic
concept drawing on our experiences in Thailand, then we worked closely
with the writers Kevin O’Sullivan and Jason Tyrrell as they fleshed out
the script. Filming in Thailand, what
were the main challenges from a producer's point of view? Logistics
to begin with. You have to get your American crew and equipment prepped
and ready with visas, shots, paperwork, etc. and get everyone and
everything half way across the world. Once we were over there, we were
faced with many uncertainties like weather, the language barrier, a crew
we were unfamiliar with and not even sure whether they were up to par or
not. Luckily, our Thai crew was fantastic! Our production services company
took care of us and made sure we got from A to B and handled the
governmental red tape. The shoot was stressful because of monetary and
time constraints, but it was really the most fun and rewarding shoot of my
career. Do
talk about your movie's approach to horror for a bit!
We
tried to create an effective atmosphere using all the tricks! Spooky
locations, moody lighting, lots of practical effects, and of course music
and sound design. What
can you tell us about your overall directorial approach to your story at
hand? We were on a tight budget and an even tighter
schedule, so we tried to be as prepared as possible. There were a lot of
practical effects shots that required a good deal of planning. As a
result, I storyboarded the bulk of the film in advance. I tried to shoot
the film more or less in chronological order so we could keep track of the
narrative arc. This also makes it easier on the actors. Kevin, you play a small part in Ghost
House - so do talk about your character for a bit, and your
approach to him? Yeah, Cal…he’s kind of the standard
drunk American tourist you find on the street of Bangkok. He’s
well-meaning and friendly, but can be loud and obnoxious. He and his wife,
Gwen, are not used to being abroad and are very relieved to have met Jim,
a fellow American. My approach was pretty straight forward having
had a lot of experience traveling and living in different countries and
having seen this character just about everywhere I’ve gone. It was a lot
of fun and a real joy working with Elana Krausz and James Hébert. Good
times! Do talk about your key
cast, and why exactly these people? Scout Taylor-Compton was actually on
the top of our list due to both Rich and I enjoying Rob Zombie’s
Halloween 1 & 2 remakes. She happened to be friends with our casting
director, so that was a quick call and meet up. The planets aligned on
getting her. James Landry Hébert came from multiple recommendations from friends who had
worked with him, especially my producing partner, Veronica Radaelli, who
had made a movie with him just a few months before. James and Scout knew
each other and had previously worked together, so there was already a
familiarity and existing chemistry.
Our ghost was played by Wenchu Yang, who is actually a dancer friend of
ours. We had made an experimental short film featuring Wenchu some time
ago (check it out here: https://vimeo.com/24475754). She is amazing at
controlled movement and she learns the sequences both forward and backward
so it’s possible to manipulate the ghost’s movement even further in
post.
Mark Boone Junior is just Mark Boone Junior. He’s awesome. We’ve
known him for a while and worked with him a few times and he always
delivers. So for a seedy ex-pat with ties to the supernatural, Boone was
perfect.
The cast was rounded out with some fine acting talent we found in
Bangkok. Russell Geoffrey Banks, Rich Lee Gray, Katrina Grey and Michael New as GoGo…all very
talented.
What was the
collaboration between the two of you on set like, actually? Well,
being brothers, Rich and I have been collaborating all of our lives
whether it was shooting horror shorts on a camcorder or 8mm to playing in
rock and roll bands. I think siblings that work together can develop a
creative shorthand over time, so we can anticipate what the other is
thinking and have similar tastes. It becomes contentious at times because
we are both stubborn and when we are working our discipline oftentimes
conflict with Rich wanting more time to do whacky, creative stuff and me
always having to reign him in to make sure we stay (somewhat) on time and
on budget. I try not to yell too often, but… A
few words about the shoot as such, and the on-set atmosphere? Shooting
on location in some of the places was a blast, but could get pretty
spooky, too. Abandoned temples, jungles, seedy karaoke bars… All in all
the experience was great and it was a pleasure working with a mix of our
folks and the Thai crew.
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Anything
you can tell us about critical and audience reception of Ghost
House yet?
It has been great in Europe and SE Asia
so far. The trailer was released on a Friday in Thailand and received 3
million views over the weekend. The social media response helped the Thai
distributor make the decision to give it a wide theatrical release. We
opened at #2 in the box office in Thailand and were a hit in Malaysia as
well. We also opened on 149 screens in Turkey. So, we are pretty stoked on
how it’s being received abroad. We can only hope that our VOD in the
States does as good. Any future projects you'd like to
share? We have some great ideas we are developing for Ghost
House 2. We also have a zombie project in the works and Rich has some
television work that he’s doing. Beside those, we are still on our
steady diet of music videos. Follow KNR Productions on social media to see
what’s in the hopper. Your/your movie's website, Facebook, whatever
else?
http://www.knr-productions.com
https://www.facebook.com/ghosthousemovie/
https://www.facebook.com/knrproductions/
Anything else you're dying to tell us and I merely
have forgotten to ask? The release is Friday August 25th in
select theaters and on iTunes. If you're watching on VOD make sure you turn
the lights out and play it loud! Thanks for the interview!
Our pleasure. Thanks.
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