Your new movie Nosferatu
vs. Father Pipecock and Sister Funk - in a few words, what is it
about?
An
hour & 45 minutes... just kidding. In all seriousness, folks, I've
become a big
fan of F.W.
Murnau’s classic Nosferatu (1922) after seeing it in 2012, drunk, with the wife, at
Reg
Hartt's famous Toronto Cineforum
[Reg
Hartt on
wikipedia]. I
re-dubbed, reedited and added sound, voice syncs, modern sfx and scenes to
the original director's footage. With your movie being largely based on (and
incorporating vast portions of) F.W. Murnau's silent Nosferatu,
what exactly drove you to use exactly a beloved, iconic and universally
recognized classic like that as the basis of your spoof?
It
was the ending... when my film-partner & wife Vivita
was quizzical, about Murnau's final Nosferatu
scene - without giving the whole of my and
Murnau's climax away - in the final scene, where a major character dies
(in the original film), there was always a question to how & why it
happened, right?
If
one were to compare both movies, I'd say I created a pretty heavy and
satisying end scene, Sir.
What were the
main challenges when editing the old and new material together?
I'm
a HUGE fan of campy horror-movies, so whatever challenges there
were, was absorbed by the sheer pleasure and honor I had at updating
such a classic film. Whatever anyone can say about me and/or my methods,
it was for the love. At least I was able to re-introduce to, or re-present such an
iconic movie monster named Orlock (or Orlok) to
modern monster-fandom.
To
say it (filming) was a challenge would be like asking a fatty if
eating a juicy hamburger was a chore.
This
may be facetious or flippant to say, but when I synced voices on to
these old silent characters - well, it was the closest thing I
personally can tell (after first viewing it in the editing bay) how it
must feel to be a golden god.
What
can you tell us about your main characters, Father Pipecock and Sister
Funk, and how were they conceived?
An
old fiancee & friend of my wife (actress Michelle
Newland) & I are totally into old Hammer
movies &
'70s blaxploitation, J-horror movies, AIP and Brit-comedies (as
well as, high octane, Australian & US T&A exploitation cinema).
I
was also on an Al
Jolson & The Amos 'n Andy Show (1951–1953) (after
studying the humor of the '60s Rat-Pack) &
Monty
Python's Flying Circus (1969–1974) and German
Expressionism kick at the time. Being very drunk at the
Cineforum screening, I made a few notes in a small
note-book I carry with me (then expanded) and then later made said Nosferatu
vs. Father Pipecock and Sister Funk
film. I think in
my highly spirited state, I was able to channel as many of these
cinematic phantasmagoria-like imagery as I humanly could.
Do talk about your
key cast (of the newly filmed material of course), and why exactly these
people? Well
my wife Vivita and I made a few campy horror B movies. As for the two
other actresses who played Orlock's vampire wives: One was an upcoming
horror actress, filmmaker and model and Kelly
Mari is an
avid and well known cosplay artiste in the Canadian burlesque and comic
convention circles. Also, my TV show/movie collaborator John
Migliore [John Migliore
interview - click here], the cartoonist-turned actor/filmmaker/horror
host, is someone I knew about from back in the 90s,
when I collected underground comics. What can you tell us about the shoot as such,
and the on-set atmosphere? As any sci-fi/horror genre indie
filmmaker will tell you, when one has so many roles, making a low-budget
exploitation movie (except for filming the girly nude scenes) is a living
hell. Fortunately for myself it's all worth it in the end, the fake
weapons, the cardboard sets and equally cardboard acting always seem to
blend together into a satisfying campy cinematic stew in the end. [Sings]
And in the end... the love you t-a-a-ake, is equal to the love... you make. Do talk about audience and
critical reception of your movie for a bit! Both good &
bad receptions are at very extreme poles, like sports fans' feelings
about Mr. John
McEnroe --- one either loves my movies or not. But, I'm an artist, and art is subjective. Art is supposed to bring out feelings in
people. My movies are burlesque. So, as far as critical reception - well,
I'm right on the money I suppose (as far as what I expected). I'd rather
folks know about my works than ignore them completely. Look ,
Edward
D. Wood Jr. [Ed Wood bio - click
here] is someone we still talk about these days, and he is
not in the 'high art' camp - so what, he's immortal and I dig the guy...
so if Watt and Wood is
mentioned in the same campy circles, I've done my job, I think.
Let's go
back to your last feature before Nosferatu
vs. Father Pipecock and Sister Funk, Acid
Head: The Buzzard Nuts County Slaughter - what is it about, and
what were your inspirations writing it? As
for the story: It's
the story of a Bremen, Germany-based real estate agent named Johannes
Hutter, who is is assigned by his sexually deviant & creepy
boss Adolph Knock to make a business trip to Transylvania to sell a local
property to Count
Orlock. He leaves behind his virginal (but easily corruptible)
wife, Ellen,
behind and makes the dangerous, supernatural journey to the Carpathian
Mountains. Hutter is then welcomed by the bald, demonic, rat-like,
aristocratic (& sexually ambiguous) Count Orlock (who is
actually a shape-shifting, mass-serial killing vampire) to his gloomy
mountain-top castle. After Orlock imprisons Hutter to his quarters --- a
funky, afroed Vatican monster-killer, named Father Pipecock aided by (his
boss, the sexy, exotic, Creole machine-gun toting nun named) Sister
Funk, storms the Orlock's castle, eliminating his perverted vampire
wife & mistress In the process. After overpowering Hutter's return
ship, The Empusa, the Count murders, then devours its crew. The rest of
the movie goes on to a heavy climax, when Count Orlock eventually arrives
in Bremen and soon overruns the town with his vampiric plague and lusty
diabolical
semen. As
well, Count Orlock is a grungy, dark, streamlined version of the classic vampire legend. Using such a cool cinematic archetype
was also my
reaction to the recent, youthful 'sparkler' vampires, vampires, or monsters in general
(though very apt) are not meant to look like you
college dorm roommate, or the cast of the Beverly
Hills, 90210 (1990–2000), right?
Acid
Head: The Buzzard Nuts County Slaughter parodies/pays homage to
1970s grindhouse cinema - so what do you find so appealing about these
movies of old?
I'm
47, so I grew up between the grindhouse/drive in era and the VHS/DVD (and
now Netflix) era - so for me, it's all about nostalgia (I cover this in
detail in my novel TonyWatt.com
Presents Kount Kracula's Twisted Sinema!: Obscure 21st Century
Underground Horror / Sci-Fi / Fantasy / Thriller Movies & Shorts).
Something to remind me of my ignorant but fun youth, before I had to grow
up and watch things get weird. Such as in
the 1970s, my gray-haired Christian parents Ada & Raymond,
used to throw laundry on top of me & my brother in the back seat of
their car & sneak us into the movie drive-ins , many times, to see a
huge plethora of mainstream and exploitation movies (like Robert
Redford's The
Great Gatsby (1974), Peter Fonda's Dirty
Mary Crazy Larry (1974), Jimmy Cliff's The
Harder They Come (1972) &
William Marshall's Blacula
(1972) & Scream
Blacula Scream (1973) (with the awesome Pam
Grier). I thought Blacula
made Bela Lugosi's Dracula
look like a pussy! So blaxploitation movies were, and still are, totally
the shit, baby! Again, what can you tell us about your
cast? Some good, most bad - artists are like that. Can
you imagine a room filled with narcissistic, A-type (sometimes damaged and
semi-committable) personalities? I feel like a lion-tamer sometimes - but in the
end art rules out, then I'm happiest. A few words about the shoot? Fucking
hell. unquote. Horror is a very sticky & messy genre to shoot, my
friend. Both
Nosferatu
vs. Father Pipecock and Sister Funk and Acid
Head: The Buzzard Nuts County Slaughter share a rather distinct
brand of humour. So what can you tell us about your movie's very special
style of comedy?
Well, when you are younger, you want
acceptance. Then life eventually makes liars out of parents and teachers -
any group is only as strong as it's weakest member. Then you
(I) eventually want to withdraw from society. So, I feel as I get older, I wonder 'What the fuck is this all
about?' Zhen I realize, everything, though seemingly orderly, is utter, bloody chaos. So
the special type of humor or comedy is a reaction to this contained
chaos. In other words: you gotta laugh to keep from crying. Another thing that struck me was that
both films featured a Dracula
character - mere coincidence or is the Count a favourite character of
yours? Hmm, now that I think of it, maybe you are right: Both Counts (Dracula & Orlock) represent the powerful guy in
the room. Also, the rebel, Marvel
Comics' Stan
Lee, once said
at a convention that he prefered to write for the super-villains - of
which I feel, kids (of their parents) and adults (of their bosses) hate
the 'good-guy's' put-on authority, dishonesty & sanctimonious natures. The Counts (Dracula & Orlock) represent both sides of the
equasion (eliminating hypocrisy), maintaining dignity and strength
in such a fucked up society, but, also are honest about their bestial
nature - that is yes I'm rich, I'm a bad-guy, you're lunch & watch out
for me ... no hypocrisy there. Kind of like the respect I had for Ada, my
mother, when she smoked and told me not to, then, when I queried about
this double-standard, she took a
puff (like Humphrey
Bogart) and replied: "Do as I say, not what I
do". I love that woman. Thanks for the analogy, Mike. Any future projects you'd like to share?
Well,
I'm developing a 1/2 hour, Toronto-Canada based TV
talk-show/documentary pilot called Tex Watt Interviews that focuses on
spotlighting interesting people & (as well) artistes, like myself. The first show
is centered around our mutual pal (that I mentioned earlier) John
Migliore [John Migliore
interview - click here], so If I can use some of your website content for related
interview captions, Mike, I'd appreciate it also. Oh, and to capitalize
of my movie-mailing related investments, the wife and I just opened Vivita
Spa
(Vivita
- Facial Massage Hair Removal Reflexology Waxing Feet Aromatherapy,
Facial & Massage, Home Made Products Essential Oil Treatments),
located in the trendy Mirvish Village, Downtown Toronto, Ontario,
Canada location. So if you, your missus & your readers are ever in
Toronto, give us
a shout, care of VivitaSpa.com - this is not an actress' vanity spa, the
poor young lady studied real hard to get her healing
certificates & qualifications. More than just a pretty face, that
one ... aah, such shameless promotions, I love it! (*Laughs*)
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Anyhow----back
on track, again, I'd eventually like to develop more TV episodes of Kount
Kracula's Review Showcase (TV Series 2013 – ) and I'd like to
pimp my three
upcoming feature movies Frankenpimp's
Revenge: The Romeo and Juliet Massacre (2014),
Violet
Is Blue (2014) & Bird
of Steel! (2015), &
also, my upcoming comic Space
Chick & Nympho: Vampire Warrior Party Girl Comix - Issue # 2
- all
to be available on amazon and the other finer e-stores on the www, Sir! What
got you into the filmworld to begin with? Sheer
greed, glory & the lust for feminine tail! What can you
tell us about your filmwork prior to Nosferatu
vs. Father Pipecock and Sister Funk and Acid
Head: The Buzzard Nuts County Slaughter? Two words:
'Student Projects'. One
can't help but notice that your body of work never strays too far from the
horror genre - pure coincidence or is horror a favourite genre of yours,
and why (not)?
Well,
being a visceral as well as a visual sequential artist (&
cartoonist), horror/sci-fi/fantasy art is very exciting to
conceptualize, make and enjoy. I'd be the worst person to make, say, a
straight drama like My
Dinner with Andre (1981). If I want that, I'll just open my window. My
theory is, Michael: If I don't watch it, I don't make it. Plus horror
films have a certain staying power, don't they? I mean, our pal John
Migliore is addicted to old George
A. Romero zombie movies and I just re-booted a
century year old film, for God's sake. (*Smiles*)
How would you describe yourself as a
director, a writer and as an actor? An utter hack, who
loves his 'hackness'. Filmmakers, writers,
actors, whoever else who inspire you?
Everyone
and no one. I'm even inspired by bartenders, nuns and dudes who write
movie articles.
Your favourite
movies?
- Nosferatu
vs. Father Pipecock and Sister Funk (2014)
- Acid
Head: The Buzzard Nuts County Slaughter (2011)
- Vixen
Highway 2006: It Came from Uranus! (2010)
- Frankenpimp (2009)
... and of course, films you really deplore?
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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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Boring,
forgettable, uninspired movies in all genres. I tend mostly to like movies
that everyone else in general like - like, 'frinstance: in the IMDb top
100 favorite movies... but also in the IMDb top 100 worst movies, for
some sick reason. Your/your
movies' website, Facebook, whatever else?
I
don't do Facebook anymore, but I've got related merch/swag on
Society6.com and RedBubble.com
and on TonyWatt.com.
Most
of my novels, comics and books are and will be available on
amazon.com
and Barnes & Noble
(an 'all department search' of Tony Watt, Tex Watt , or Tony 'Tex' Watt,
will do ya!). My movie updates are at my IMDb.com
Tony Watt link-page. ... and
if ya wanna larf, my shitty movie soundtrack-music is available, for
free listening, on Jango
(http://www.jango.com/music/Tony+Watt?l=0),
under Tony Watt, Tex
Watt and/or Tony Tex Watt - so there ya go, Neighba-a-a-ahs!
Anything else
you are dying to mention and I have merely forgotten to ask? Yes,
I'd like to mention that it's an honor being interviewed by yourself, Mike
- keep up your great web-showcases, as I enjoy 'em! Thanks
for the interview! Thank
YOU, Sir... Einen schönen Tag noch! (*Smiles*)
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