Your new movie Coyote
- in a few words, what is the film about, and what can you tell us about
your character in it?
The official logline for Trevor Juenger's Coyote
is "An
insomniac writer's sleep-deprived hallucinations distort reality as
paranoia drives him to extreme violence." My personal logline is "Man
goes apeshit and drags you along with him." Considering he's at times batshit
crazy, what did you even draw upon to bring your character to life, and
can we find any of Bill Oberst jr in your character Bill? He
is crazy, but only in a greater degree than the rest of us. This guy can't
sleep. He has bad dreams. His imagination is more real to him than the
real world. He lives in his head. As do we all. There is much of my
nightmare world in Coyote's Bill. He is me at 3am. How
did you get involved with the project in the first place - and how and why
did you end up on the producing side of things, too? And what were the
challenges regarding production?
Trevor Juenger [Trevor
Juenger interview - click here] and his
producing partner, Carrie Juenger (who is also his wonderful wife and a
filmmaker in her own right) were kind enough to give me that producing
credit for helping out with various things, although I did no more than
anyone else. On a micro-budget everybody works hard. Everybody pitches in. I
got involved with Coyote
after I wrote a fan letter to Trevor Juenger. I'd
seen some of his early work and thought him a raw genius, and I said so.
Nine months later he sent me Coyote, with a note saying "I
can't see anyone other than you in the role." I opened the file,
intending to scan it and read it after supper. Two hours later my supper
was cold and my head was spinning. What can you tell us
about Coyote's director
Trevor Juenger [Trevor Juenger
interview - click here], and what was your collaboration like?
Some reviewers have compared him to
Lynch and Cronenberg, but I think of Juenger as possessing the spirit
of Georges Méliès;
he considers independent
cinema a canvas to go wild on, creating worlds that exist only in the
mind. His work isn't derivative and it isn't bound by the conventions of
linear storytelling. That's the freedom of cinema! I think he has a
big future.
When the rough cut of Coyote
was
finished, Trevor wrote me "People are going to hate this movie... you're
completely immersed in mental illness as you watch it." That's
Trevor Juenger. And I'd suggest that the key to his success with this
strange little film is that he didn't care if people liked Coyote as
long as they experienced it. That's art. There is power in not
pandering.
Since
Coyote is told pretty
much exclusively from your character's perspective, what kind of a strain
was it to carry the film almost solely on your shoulders? Oh
it wasn't a strain - actors are all professional masochists - but it was a
responsibility. I learned my lines, turned off the phone and showed up for
work. I trusted Trevor with the rest. What
can you tell us about the shoot as such, and the on-set atmosphere? We
shot in St. Louis during a heat wave of 100 degrees Fahrenheit (38
Celsius) or higher most days. The heat affected everything, including our
brains. I think the state of semi-madness we operated in was very good for
this movie. If there's an alchemy to making art (as opposed to product) it
has to do with adverse experiences. We are made for the desert, not the
easy chair.
Coyote's
website, Facebook, whatever else?
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The links below will take you just there!!!
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The Coyote
IMDb page
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt2385041/
has trailer, awards, reviews, and some very cool behind the scenes trivia. The
Amazon page is
http://www.amazon.com/Coyote-Victoria-Mullen/dp/B00MR9HODS
and Facebook is
https://www.facebook.com/JuengersCoyote.
Wild Eye Releasing will have Coyote
on many cable systems' On
Demand Video, as well as online streaming, after the official release date
of Dec 16. Anything else you are
dying to mention and I've merely forgotten to ask? Yes, I'd
like to ask your readers to consider leaving a review on IMDb or Amazon if
they watch. And please be warned, Coyote
is not for
children. There's a reason it is unrated. Thanks
for the interview!
Truly my pleasure, Mike.
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