Your new movie Play
Hooky - in a few words, what is it about?
“Somehow our devils are never quite what we expect
when we meet them face to face.” - Nelson DeMille
What
were your inspirations when writing Play
Hooky? An
individual whom I have high regard for, and respect as a mentor, made an
off-hand comment to me, encouraging me to make a better, low-budget horror
film than what was out there. I took him at his word, which I always did.
Then, via another mentor, I met Vincent Kulish, who introduced me to his
filmmaking partner, Jason Chester. I loved their prior work on YouTube,
and was charged by the chemistry between the three of us when we put our
minds together. I put them together with actors Becky Byers, Kim
Kleemichen, Tom Petrone, Theresa Davis and Bob Waters, and, as they say in
New York, “That was that.”
What can you tell us about your
co-writers, and what was your collaboration like? First,
we all love and respect films, and we’ve collectively seen a lot of
movies from silent films through contemporary films. We can quote dialogue
from a variety of genres and recall shots, angles and camera movements, as
reference, with ease. Each one of us brought our own expertise to the
table, our own tastes in films, and our own perspective fueling the story.
Mind. Body. Soul. Vincent was a great foil for me, as well as a sounding
board. He has insight, foresight and a terrific sense of character
development and exposition. Jason’s blunt honesty was also a good
fail-safe system. None of us were ever hesitant nor afraid to say to each
other “Where am I going wrong?” or “Tell me if that doesn’t
work.”
With Play
Hooky being a slasher movie - is that a genre at all dear to you,
and some of your genre favourites? Hmm.
I never thought of Play
Hooky as a “slasher” movie.
Originally, we did have a fire ax that was going to be used at the
end confrontation, but the ending changed. As we sat through hours of
“story brain-storming” we discovered that we all agreed, together,
that we couldn’t bear to see another blade, blood and guts scene, nor repeat one. So, we
intentionally did not bring a knife or blade or spike or ax into the story
at all. We chose another method of murder. But, to answer your question:
the grandfather of all “slasher” movies is Psycho, and of that genre,
to me, there is no better film. In other genres, I also feel the same
about The Exorcist, there is no better demonic genre film. John
Carpenter’s The Thing is a favorite. I also like the original The
Thing as well. Rosemary's Baby has a soft spot in my heart. The remake of
Last House on the Left I really favor, except for the microwave ending. The
2002 award winning film May really appeals to me, too. Then there are a
handful of 1950’s black and white science fiction films…
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For Play
Hooky, you chose the "found footage"-approach. In a
nutshell, why, and what are the advantages and challenges of filming that
way?
The
challenge is in the planning, preparation and design of each shot. As a
director, I was fortunate to have Jason Chester as a DP. Aside from his
training at the SVA, Jason is instinctive with the camera and intuitive
with images. He has a wonderful ability to discern action and capture
moments that are fleeting to the eye. Basically, it’s old fashioned
neo-realism amped up by him to satisfy today’s taste-buds, and he really
caught that realism and pulse.
The
advantage we had was not within the accepted tried-and-true convention of
the “found footage” film, but the fact that the camera, itself (in the
story) was an objective observer or another character. I insisted that the
camera be mounted inside a character’s old-man hat, or as I called it,
the “Frank Sinatra” hat. As the character moved his head in the scene,
the camera went that way. What he sees, the camera sees, hence the viewer
sees. Simple. Natural. Real. Spontaneous. Jason chose a Flip Cam over a Go
pro, and he used it as if it was an Arriflex or a Red.
What can you tell us about your key cast, and why
exactly these people?
I
picked these actors because I trusted them completely. I was confident
they’d develop real characters that were solid and deliver honest
performances. I also picked them because they had the chops to handle the
risks of real improvisation, intense directorial demands and rigorous
cinematic requests put on them for 6 to 8 minute shots; take after take
after take, for a seamless “found footage” film. Some actors came from
the theater, such as Becky Byers, an accomplished stage actress with
strong camera training and superb cinematic instincts. Others, like Kim
Kleemichen and Theresa Davis were intuitive on-camera actors only. I had
previously directed Tom Petrone and Bob Waters and found them to be
multi-faceted and dependable in their craft.
These
key people were cast because they do what they do best. Let’s face it;
New York City has more actors than waiters in it, and just not good actors
but excellent actors. I said “spontaneous”
earlier; as with director/writers Mike Leigh and John Cassavetes,
my improvisational approach to filmmaking (it drives editors insane)
requires rock solid actors. One never truly knows, from take to take,
which way the actors will take the scene as they discover it. As a
director, you never know what’s really gonna happen to as the actors
capture the moment, as with a scripted piece; with improv, you just have
an idea. It never ceases to amaze me how much farther the actors will go
as they create their own world through improv. It ain’t easy, but such
creative liberty and artistic collaboration is very rewarding when it
works. You of course also have to talk
about your main location, and what was it like filming there? And how did
you find it even?
Not
too far from us is Fairfield Hills Hospital in Newtown, CT where they
shot Sleepers, and it was the ideal location for us. But rumor has it that
after Ghost Adventures filmed in there, the powers that be chose to never
let a camera crew on the premises ever again. So Jason and Vincent moved
on to other closed/abandoned Connecticut Hospitals, including Norwich
State Hospital in Norwich, Connecticut Valley Hospital in Middletown,
Seaside Sanitarium in Waterford and Undercliff State Hospital in Meriden.
All they got was “No,” “No thank you,” “No way,” and “Go
away!” Money was not a factor, either. Vincent and Jason even looked at
Cedar Grove and Overbrook in New Jersey, as well as Pennhurst in
Pennsylvania. It’s funny, only filmmakers and photographers can find
beauty, grace and charisma in such dilapidated places.
Early
on in the location scouting, I mentioned the Hunt Center, closed by the
city of Stamford and 3 miles from our production space. It was
rejected, as it was a small carriage house in the early 1900s, before
becoming a fire station, then a Museum and it later morphed into the Hunt
Center for Stamford’s Recreation Department. It was hard for Jason, as a
DP, to turn away from the majestic architecture and faded, decimated
grandeur that was once these massive institutions for an old, broken down
museum/carriage house, but, out of desperation we acquired a filming
permit from the city, and it became our Oakhurst Sanitarium. Deep down, I
had faith that with our cast and Jason’s keen camera eye, we could make
the thing work. I think it did. What can you tell us about the shoot
as such, and the on-set atmosphere?
We
like to laugh. We like to tease each other. We like to work hard. We like
to work smart. We like to tell stories. We are vulgar; we cuss and swear.
We smoke, spit and pass gas. We are not socially correct. We are x-rated.
We like to laugh. We are focused, creative, bull-headed, stubborn,
sensitive, moody, artistic and touchy. We fight, bark, bite and hiss. We
are risk takers. We fear failure; we want better on the next take. We are
tough-love. We like to laugh. We eat together. We drink together. Even
though we went to camera early in the morning and wrapped late at night,
we don’t want to go home. We are indie filmmakers (cast & crew
alike) doing it because we love it; it’s all from the heart and not from
the wallet. A few words about
audience and critical reception of your movie so far? If
they get it, folks really like it and they tell me so in depth and detail.
If they don’t get it, they simply have nothing to say.
As
far as I know, Play Hooky
has already spawned a sequel, Play Hooky: Innocence Lost - now what
can you tell us about that one, and how does it compare to the first
movie? And will there ever be a third entry in the series?
Without
being a spoiler, all I can say is Play Hooky: Innocence Lost picks up
where Play Hooky
left off. It’s in the same horror/thriller genre, but
it’s not a crime story anymore, it’s a drama. It’s not found footage
anymore; it’s a different type of film that can stand alone all by
itself.
If
there is a demand for a third Play Hooky
in the series, something is
already in place. We do have other films on the back burner, at the
moment, waiting to be made; three, in fact. Any
future projects you'd like to share?
We (Derelict
Films) just started production on CAL·12, a kind of “Alice in
Hellish-land” story featuring Play Hooky’s Kim Kleemichen, Tom
Petrone, Bob Waters and Jessica DiGirolamo.
Here’s
the short summary for CAL·12:
“Gretta
Woolf, a young police detective; clumsy, awkward, shunned and fresh out of
uniform, tracks a kidnapper who leads her down a vile path towards a
morbid, underground world populated by psychopaths that have truly brought
their own brand of hell-on-earth.” What got you into
filmmaking to begin with, and did you receive any formal training on the
subject? I
love films. A few years after high school, and after I knocked around New
York’s off-off Broadway theater world, I became a cinema student at the
University of Bridgeport. I studied with professors Michael Kerbel and
Warren Bass who brought in industry professionals, Richard Neubert and
Anton Wilson. The track I was part of, back then, included today’s film
professionals, such as G. Mac Brown, producer of such notable films as The
Departed, and Lee Harry, writer/director of the infamous Silent
Night, Deadly Night Part 2. Lee Harry taught me how to laugh behind a camera
while filming a take. What can you tell us about your filmwork prior
to Play Hooky?
Play Hooky: Innocence Lost |
I
worked in a boutique advertising company, where we produced local & regional TV
commercials, corporate video and industrial how-to’s, point
of purchase display videos and convention videos, as well as magazine
print ads. I sat at the post-production consultant team of Isaac
Mizrahi’s Unzipped. I was the managing editor for Indie magazine, a
bi-monthly publication about independent filmmaking from the publisher of Premiere
magazine, the New York City based film magazine (1987
-2010).
During
this time, I created several personal short-subject films which are still
locked up. I concentrated more on writing spec screenplays. There were
several larger budget features financed to go to camera that never got the
green light, particularly a $10M picture that had a wonderful foreign and
domestic distribution deal, to be shot in October of 2008 under the State
of Connecticut Tax Incentive Program, until the stock market collapsed and
took it all down with it.
How
would you describe yourself as a director? Demanding.
Confident. Adaptable. Mindful. Tenacious, and a general pain-in-the-ass.
Frank directing Becky Byers |
Filmmakers
who inspire you? Fincher,
Lumet, Wilder, Ford, Hitchcock, Hawks and Houston inspire me. Capra,
Coppola and Scorsese feed me. Spielberg, Ron Howard and
Martin
McDonagh
entertain me. Orson Welles lights my path. Your favourite movies?
Aside
from the standard, usual, and customary big Hollywood titles from my
favorite filmmakers, some of the smaller films I favor are Boys Don’t
Cry, The Professional, Alpha Dog, In Bruges, Little
Children, Martha Marcy
May Marlene, The Wackness, Kill the Irishman, May,
Kalifornia,
The
Hi-Lo Country, Sideways, An Education, Ponette
and Big Night.
I
have said Schindler’s List is probably THE most important American
film
since Citizen Kane – and did got a lotta shit for it – but history
will tell.
...
and of course, films you really deplore? I
recognize, but do not favor Hook, The English Patient, Godfather
III, Jumanji, A.I. and Pleasantville. I have an issue with
Saving Private Ryan
once they get to Matt Damon (but the first 18 minutes hitting the beach,
though, is worth the price of admission, and typical of Spielberg’s
brilliance - IMHO). Your/your
movie's website, Facebook, whatever else? http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/B00LXDQ8VI/researmytras-20
https://www.facebook.com/pages/PLAY-HOOKY/104700976248116
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt2288886/combined
Anything else
you are dying to mention and I have merely forgotten to ask?
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Yes.
I recently read in our review, by wickedchannel.com, the following:
“The biggest
positive to this film is that I hope Wild Eye and Chad {PollyGrind} are
doing future releases together and giving us loaded DVDs like this.” - wickedchannel.com
I
agree, and more so for the small, low-budget/no-budget filmmakers like us,
as Chad and Rob from Wild Eye Releasing encourage and cheer the films we
make. Yeah, sure! I may be in the “lucky seat” with Play Hooky
right
now, but I know one thing; we did not have a film in PollyGrind 2013, and
yet we all went to the festival. We do not have a film entered for 2014,
either, and more of our folks, in our little film company, are going to
PollyGrind this year. Albeit, it’s exciting to celebrate Play Hooky’s
release, but, once again, we have nothing new in the festival to brag
about. Why are we going? Because PollyGrind is exactly that: a festival.
Others may see PollyGrind as a competition. We see it – I see it…
as a
celebration; a celebration of film and filmmaking from novice to veteran.
Francis
Ford Coppola once said, at a bleak moment while making The Godfather, “I
sure could’ve used the encouragement.” We get the encouragement at
PollyGrind – and not only from the festival-keepers. This comradery
permeates the festival so deeply that I have maintained acquaintances with
other filmmakers across the country and the globe. So, we all keep making
movies, cheer each other on and route for each other’s films. Now,
with the addition of Wild Eye, and I understand Hacked, it doesn’t
matter how big or small nor how lean or fat the budget is; we just keep
working. We just “keep on grinding.”
Finally,
Michael, thank you for this opportunity.
Thanks
for the interview!
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