Your movie Blood Lake: Attack of the Killer Lampreys - in a
few words, what is it about?
Michael, a fish and wildlife expert moves to a small town with his
wife, Cate, and kids after being summoned by the town mayor, Akerman, to
help deal with its attacking fish problem. But what Michael didn't know is
that the lamprey problem has gotten much much worse and they are attacking
people now, not just fish! Basic question: Why
lampreys? And how much research went into that aspect of your movie? Lampreys
have razor sharp teeth and are extremely terrifying looking creatures.
They are also one of the oldest animals in the world, dating back to
prehistoric time. I'm sure a lot of research went into the script when the
writers were writing it, as well as the know how and expertise from Animal Planet
itself on the creatures. I know I did my own research on how
they move and eat etc. in order to know how to shoot my kills and scares
and how to translate to the actors how real of a threat these creatures
are.
How
did the project get off the ground in the first place? I
was approached by Asylum
to direct the film for Animal Planet
after the script was already
written so I can't answer on how it was originally conceived. I am
very grateful for the opportunity.
If
I'm not mistaken, Blood Lake: Attack of the Killer Lampreys
is your
first monster movie - a genre at all dear to you, and why (not)? It
is my first creature feature and I have to say, I love creature features.
They are a ton of fun. It's something very different. I dont like to
repeat myself in the films I do, so it's been fun touching into each
subgenre of horror.
No
monster movie without special effects - so what can you tell us about
yours? LOTS OF BLOOD AND DEATH! NUFF SAID!!
How would you describe your directorial approach
to your story at hand?
I gave it a very grounded in reality and real feel. I didn't try to
make a campy movie. I had all the actors play it very seriously, and that's
where the gold comes from. Real people and a real threat. There are some
amazing performances in here.
Blood Lake: Attack of the Killer Lampreys
was made for TV channel Animal Planet's Monster
Week - so what can you tell us about your collaboration with Animal Planet, and did working for TV in any way compromise your vision?
Animal Planet
was a dream to work with. I would love to do it again sometime.
They brought so much knowledge to the table that it made the collaboration
conducive for making the best product possible. This is going to be a
great film. With
Shannen Doherty, Christopher Lloyd and Jason Brooks, you have quite a
stellar main cast - so why them, how did you get them, and what was your
collaboration like?
I can't say enough about my amazing cast and crew on this film, I was
blessed with some fantastic and artistic people to work with.
Shannen Doherty and I became very close while filming as well. She is an
amazing actress and working with her was such an amazing experience. We
have such a creative synergy it's unreal. Christopher Lloyd was a
childhood dream becoming a reality. He was amazing. Every second of him on
screen is brilliant. HE IS DOC BROWN FOR GOD'S SAKE! Also working
with Jason was a lot of fun too. He has a very distinct process that it
was a pleasure to be a part of.
Do talk about the rest of your key
cast and crew for a bit! I love each and every person who
worked on this. Can't say enough good things about everyone. I can't start
mentioning names though because if I leave one of the 200 people that
worked on this film out then they will kill me. What can you tell us about the
actual shoot, and the on-set atmosphere?
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It was amazing. it
was one of those shoots where there was just an overwhelming positive
energy on the set at all times. We all became a family and had a ton of
fun making this one. The
$64-question of course, when exactly will the film premiere?
May 25th on Animal Planet!!!!!
Any
future projects you'd like to share? Many things coming up!
I will let everything be known very soon. Your/your movie's
website, Facebook, whatever else? @jamescullenb on Twitter
vine and Instagram. Anything else you are
dying to mention and I have merely forgotten to ask?
Nope, we covered it all! Thank you so much for everything!
Thanks
for the interview!
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