Your upcoming movie Exorcist Chronicles - as far as I know, you have written the film based on an
original concept by Joe Micallef and Warren Croyle [Warren
Croyle interview - click here] - how detailed was that concept,
how much freedom did it give you as a writer, and what were your sources
of inspiration when writing the film?
Joe and Warren came up with the title and
concept of two researchers hunting down an outbreak of possessions and
leading to some ultimate secret. I had to turn that into a script and wove
in lots of Vatican intrigue, secret societies and some science. Fun stuff. Have you done any
kind of research regarding the subject at hand, either specifically for
the film or for one of your documentaries? Obviously
I've written a lot of books on the occult, psychology and religion and so
I knew quite a bit anyhow. I did do a little research on actual footage
and what other films had done, in order
to do it differently!
How would you
describe your directorial approach, and how do you treat the horror
aspects of your movie (as in atmosphere vs sudden shock, blood and guts vs
restraint and the like)?
Liz Mente-Bishop, Rudy Barrow |
I
take each scene as it comes and judge it in the editing suite to be
honest. I have a concept in my mind when shooting of course, but I hate
storyboards, I go on feeling. It's difficult to explain how you can hold
it all in your head when shooting the film. I have a sense of timing and
emotional level, but it can be very difficult when you are shooting out of
sequence. What can you tell us
about your main cast, and what made exactly them perfect for their roles? Really
difficult that one, because there's so many of them. There's more folk in
this film than I've ever had and they were all awesome. I'd just rather
not pick anybody out, love em all. For
Exorcist Chronicles, you have actually encouraged your
fans/audience to send in "possessed"-videos. Now how did that
turn out, and what gave you the idea to begin with?
Michael Haberfelner (yup, that's me) in a
"possessed"-video |
It
turned out amazing. I came up with the idea watching possessions on YouTube and thought, this could work, people have their own webcams these
days. A little effect or two and suddenly you have cctv. Yours was ace :) You
co-produced Exorcist Chronicles with writer Michelle Gent [Michelle
Gent interview - click here] - how
did that come into being, and what can you tell us about your
collaboration with her? Michelle
is a good friend and a really good organiser. We collaborated on numerous
things and it was just the obvious next step. She's a clever cookie who
loves horror (she writes some awesome horror books). We work great
together and I hope it continues.
Jane Haslehurst, Philip Berzamanis |
What can you tell us about the
actual shoot and the on-set atmosphere?
Dude, I would love to say I
enjoyed every minute, but I didn't. It was such a lot to fit in to a short
space. The weather was unpredictable, there were so many people, the
effects make-up took forever and I have absolutely no patience.
Any idea when and where the film will be released yet?
At the momet it's completely up in the air
waiting for me and Warren to decide, so no, not really. Could be straight
to DVD/VoD or could go theatrical or festival.
From what I know, Exorcist Chronicles might be
extended into a series even - would you care to elaborate?
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The idea was to create a story that could
go on and appear on TV in a series. We'll see...
Any (other) future projects you'd
like to talk about? Paranormal
Possession is next and I'm looking forward to it because it has soldiers
and behind the lines style stuff. Yippee. Your/your movie's website, Facebook,
whatever else? Check out www.exorcistchronicles.com
for more! Anything else you're dying to talk about
and I have merely forgotten to ask? Yes,
can I have a hundred million Euros to go and make a blockbuster please? Thanks for the
interview!
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