Your movie Devil's Farm - in a few words, what is it about?
Devil's Farm is about five young locals who set out to Ash Farm on a camping
trip to make a small documentary on the stories that active devil worshipers
are kidnapping people for human sacrifice.
Storywise, Devil's Farm has a certain urban
legend-vibe to it. Is that at all accurate, and your (other) sources of
inspiration when writing Devil's Farm? Yes the movie
has a urban legend vibe to it along with some truth. Paul seems to think
there's truth and fiction, and the stories have been exaggerated as the
years have gone by. My inspiration for writing my film is there were
rumours that satanists were actually holding rituals where my film was
actually filmed. I thought it would make a good movie. You have
decided to film Devil's Farm the first person/found
footage-way. What convinced you to take this approach to your story at
hand, and is that a style that particularly appeals to you?
I
think found footage is a new and effective way of frightening the audience, because
if the audience think that what they are watching is real, then it
shocks them more and makes it more believable. You
have not only written and directed Devil's Farm, you also
play one of the leads. So what can you tell us about your character, Paul
Juliff the actor, and have you written the part with you in mind, and how
much of yourself have you put intp your character? The
character Paul is basically the same, and I did write the character with me
in mind. It made it easier to act and it was easier to write all the
characters with their own personality. Kept the same names, and I think
that with all this combined made it more believable. We are all untrained
actors, so to play a different person and make it believable would have
been difficult.
What
can you tell us about the rest of your cast, and why exactly these people? Everyone
I chose for the parts appealed to me in different ways. I needed innocent-looking people who looked
vulnerable if put in this situation for real. We
had Ashley who was funny, and his on-screen partner Nikita, the little
innocent blonde, then Becca who was feisty and brought the drama by crying,
then Warren who was big and funny, and me who just wanted footage no
matter
what the cost. Devil's
Farm was an outside shoot, mostly. So what can you tell us about your
locations, and what were the advantages and maybe also disadvantages of
shooting exactly there?
The locations were chosen by me because
where I actually filmed it there were rumours of real devil worshipers in
that area, so I basically told the cast this to add to their acting and
bring more drama. Soon as it got dark everyone was really scared. I wanted
to make it as real as possible and I wanted real emotions caught on camera.
The disadvantages was the passers-by looking at us funnily wondering what we
were doing, cos we didn't have a big team with us, we just had five of us
with a camcorder. There's a wonder the police wasn't called. What can you tell us about the
shoot as such, and the on-set atmosphere? The shoot was
frustrating at times but we had fun. The walking and running through
woods was hard going but overall it was enjoyable. The on-set atmosphere
was great apart from Warren and Becca, who didn't get along at all. They
argued constantly and in the end they quit and walked off leaving me with
no ending to my film. Becca finally came back to finish it though, but Warren refused.
The
$64-question of course, when and where will the film be released onto the
general public? The film will be released August 20th 2013,
and it's out worldwide. You can pre-order it from amazon until its release
date. How did you get into filmmaking to begin
with, and did you receive any formal training on the subject?
I have always had an interest in films and filmaking, and I love writing.
After getting turned down countless times I decided to show people what
I could do instead of just writing it. I had no formal training, all my
knowledge is self-taught.
What
can you tell us about your filmwork prior to Devil's Farm? I
have no filmwork prior to Devil's Farm, only scripts I've written.
Any
future projects you'd like to share? Got a few future
projects. Currently working on Devil's Farm 2 and another horror called
Chuck Frowney about a clown. How would you
describe yourself as a director? As a director I think
I'm
pretty laid back and organised. I've got a drive to succeed and that shows
in my writing and work. I like to listen to actors input and watch my
writing turned into action. There's no better achievment than watching your
months of writing brought to reality. As a director I can visualize every
scene in my head and I know exactly how I want the film.
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Filmmakers who inspire
you? I'm a massive Sylvester Stallone fan. He's my
inspiration on all he has achieved. Me and him have a lot in common - except money. Your favourite movies?
I love John Candy-movies and Sylvester Stallone. From Uncle Buck to
Cliffhanger. I also like movies about getting stuck in the wilderness
like The Edge starring Anthony Hopkins.
... and of
course, films you really deplore? I'm not a big lover of
romantic films or films with no meaning. Your/your movie's
website, Facebook, whatever else? You can visit my facebook
page via Paul Juliff and PJ Productions. Anything else you are
dying to mention and I have merely forgotten to ask? No, all
the questions were great and it was an honour to answer them. Thanks
for the interview!
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