Your upcoming movie The Border - in a few words, what will it
be about?
I
can’t say too much from this point. Everyone is watching the trailer and
eating up the mysterious quilt we’re weaving. Basically, when the
granddaughter of a U.S. Senator goes missing near the border of Mexico,
former Black Ops agent Jack Barrabas is forced out of retirement to find
her. Every path he takes, secret he uncovers and body he drops leads to a
secret, mysterious door in a small border town. What he finds behind this
door will forever change the world, and who he thinks he is, for the
worse. No typical genre trappings behind the door either. Audiences
won’t have a clue until Jack opens it. You will never recover from what
lies beyond The Border.
I saw The Border described as an
"arthouse action/horror film" - care to elaborate? There
are horror elements, sure. But we also ladled on the mixed martial arts
and boxing. Tons of fight sequences. The fine actor playing Barrabas is a
martial arts master, former champ, choreographs movie fights big and small
and even teaches hand to hand combat to SWAT and police officers. He
(Richard O Ryan) had left acting to teach but has returned deadlier than
ever! What
were your inspirations when writing The Border? I
recently reread Dante’s Inferno, Pilgrim’s Progress, Faust, a few
books by Jung. Then I had a long flight and picked up a book about true
meaning of things in The Bible. Then I got to watching the news with
everything I’d read fresh on my mind and my brain came up with a “what
if” that scared the hell out of me. I knew if it bothered me, it would
be a punch in the face to audiences. What
can you tell us about The Border's intended look and feel?
Something
you have NEVER seen before. I’ve hired one of the creepiest set
designers in the biz. It WILL haunt you. All I can reveal amigo. Do
talk about The Border's approach to horror for a bit (as in
atmosphere vs all-out gore, suspense vs sudden shocks and the like)? As
Alfred Hitchcock, the Master of Suspense, so eloquently put it, ‘There
is no terror in the bang, only the anticipation of it.’ That’s what is
missing in today’s horror films. Not to mention people enjoy being
scared. The goosebumps. The hairs on the back of your neck standing on
end. The heart racing with anticipation. The gore. Those are just a few
things missing in today's horror films and why fans will always embrace
the classics. It’s why TV horror is taking over. People are not seeing
movies like they used to. I want to bring those factors back! The Fright
Factor as Hitchcock lovingly called it. Oh yes, there will be blood...
lots
of it. Gore and grue as well. There’s something for everybody but
remember this will be scary! Nobody but me knows what’s behind the
mysterious door, not even cast and crew, and that’s fun!
What
can you tell us about your projected key cast and crew, and why exactly
these people?
I chose them out of fanboy delirium. I am a fan
first and I have always wanted to work with these amazing folks! The
Border already has an amazing cast and talent pool dedicated to
discovering what’s behind that door:
Starring martial arts master Richard O Ryan (Dead Men, Honorless), Katrina Matusek-Ryan
(Xtraction, Cathedral Canyon),
Eileen Dietz (The Exorcist,
Helter Skelter), Noel Guglielmi (Training Day,
The Dark Knight Rises), Melantha Blackthorne (Captured Hearts, Order of
One: Kung Fu Killing Spree) [Melantha
Blackthorne interview - click here], Bill Oberst jr (Abraham Lincoln VS
Zombies, Resolution) [Bill
Oberst jr interview - click here], Amanda Marie (The Town That Dreaded
Sundown, Dracula’s War),
Troy Johnson (Vertical), hip hop sensation Wyzae, Lynn Lowry (The
Crazies,
Cat People), Dave Vescio (Hick, The Millionaire Tour), Tamara Glynn
(Halloween 5, Freddy’s Nightmares) and many other icons from the horror
and action genres. It will also be the genre debut of alternative model
Sebrina Bedard.
Beware! As far as I know, The Border is
still in its fundraising stages - so what can you tell us about your
fundraising efforts?
We
have private investors but not so much first money to skip over doing
something like IndieGoGo. Crowd funding will enable us to tell the story
we want to tell (and that YOU want to see) without interference from The
Suits or the studio system. Pre order a copy or donate if you can, every
nickel and dime helps: www.indiegogo.com/projects/
the-border--2/x/6914246
Once your funds are raised, how do
you plan to proceed, and any idea when the movie might be released onto
the general public yet (and I know it's probably waaay too early to ask
that)? It
is early but we are hoping to start screening and shopping festivals and
cons by winter 2014. Packaging and distribution by next year. Any future projects beyond The Border?
Oh
yes, a drama Richard O Ryan and I wrote called Some Choose Hell and many
others.
What
got you into filmmaking in the first place, and did you receive any formal
training on the subject? My
heroes growing up weren’t footballs players, although I loved boxing and
martial arts. My heroes were great literary authors, pulp writers, comic
book artists, movie icons. I cut my teeth on the show Walker, Texas Ranger
and just bounced from project to project learning and working in MUFX. Do talk about your filmwork
prior to The Border for a bit? I
learned the basics on Walker, Texas Ranger, played a biker in one episode and got my ass
kicked by Chuck Norris, then I went on to do commercials like Pepsi. I
worked on many small to medium budget films. My favorite will always be
William Butler’s Furnace with Danny Trejo and Michael Pare. That was a
dream come true! Still grateful. Everything else was killer and I
appreciate the opportunities, but I’d say Furnace was my best time until
I got injured. Long story haha. Filmmakers who
inspire you? Hitchcock,
Carpenter, Scorsese, Lynch, Ken Russell, Alan Parker, Argento, Bava [Mario
Bava bio - click here], Fulci [Lucio
Fulci bio - click here], Takashi Miike, Zombie. Your favourite movies?
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Feeling lucky? Want to search any of my partnershops yourself for more, better results? (commissions earned) |
The links below will take you just there!!!
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Halloween, Friday the 13th 1 - 4, Taxi Driver, Martyrs,
Irreversible, Lair of the White Worm, Shawshank Redemption, Rocky,
Gone with the Wind, Citizen Kane, anything
Hitchcock. ...
and of course, films you really deplore? Remakes,
Tarantino. Your/your
movie's website, Facebook, IndieGoGo?
IndieGoGo: https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/the-border--2/x/6914246
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/spencer.gray.54?ref=tn_tnmn
Facebook fan page: https://www.facebook.com/theborderfilm?ref=hl
Twitter: @Texploitation
Official Movie Website: www.theborderfilm.com
Anything else you
are dying to mention and I have merely forgotten to ask? Please
visit our IndieGoGo and other social media. Not only does every dollar
count but it enables indie artists to bring you greatness and it creates
jobs for people who’ve been out of work. It’s a win win! #spreadthered Thanks
for the interview!
Thanks
for having me amigo!
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