filmmakers – Cult Celebrities

JR Bookwalter

Stu — Sun, 26 Jan 2020 08:52:14 +0000

JR Bookwalter is an American filmmaker known for movies like Murder Weapon (1989) and Robot Ninja (1989) with Michael Todd, Burt Ward, James L. Edwards, Bogdan Pecic, Maria Markovic and Linnea Quigley.

You can find JR Bookwalter here on his personal website.

You can also follow him on Instagram.

JR Bookwalter Filmography

Day of the Dead (1985)
The Dead Next Door (1989)
Murder Weapon (1989)
Robot Ninja (1989)
The Basement (1989)
Skinned Alive (1990)
Steel and Lace (1991)
Zombie Cop (1991)
Kingdom of the Vampire (1991)
Chickboxer (1992)
Galaxy of the Dinosaurs (1992)
Humanoids from Atlantis (1992)
Naked Instinct (1993)
Midnight 2 (1993)
The Witching (1993)
Girlfriends (1993)
The Sandman (1995)
Ozone (1995)
I’ve Killed Before (1995)
Polymorph (1996)
Bikini Goddesses (1996)
Bloodletting (1997)
Talisman (1998)
Shrieker (1998)
Frankenstein Reborn! (1998)
Shandra: The Jungle Girl (1999)
Shadow Fury (2001)
Groom Lake (2002)
Mega Scorpions (2003)
The Naked Monster (2005)
Frankenstein & the Werewolf Reborn! (2005)
Possessed (II) (2005)
My Dead Girlfriend (2006)
Gimme Skelter (2007)
Poison Sweethearts (2008)
Bloodlock (2008)
Bloody Mary 3D (2011)
Jurassic Shark (2012)
Rewind This! (2013)
Chronicles of the Living Dead (2015)
Year of Fear (2016)
Deadtime Tales 2 (2018)
Clownado (2019)
Her Name Was Christa (2019)

Stu

Interests include:: coffee, jackhammers, grandma’s medicine cabinet and sympathetic yawning.

www.thestable.icu/

David Lynch

Stu — Tue, 21 Jan 2020 17:29:53 +0000

David Lynch is an iconoclastic American writer, director and actor. Acclaimed the world over for his entrancing off-center films like Blue Velvet (1986) and Twin Peaks (1990–1991), among others like Mulholland Drive and Dune.

Growing up in a self-described idyllic childhood, he lived in near-poverty after an early marriage, and said that his experience in seedy Philadelphia brought out the darkness that is underneath the beautiful exterior of the earth, just like “black sap leaks out of a beautiful tree”.

David Lynch is a total original. I’m a huge fan and I’ve always wanted to interview him. However, I’m about as important as a gadfly. But being such a huge fan I already feel like I know him, so I thought I’d go ahead and do the interview anyway.

Pose a few of the questions I’ve always wanted to ask him. Then imagine what his responses might be.

Me: Whenever you experience rejection do you ever wind up alone in a dark room for three days drinking scotch out of a dirty brown loafer? Or is that just me?

David: Yes. That’s exactly my process.

Me: What’s your favorite song lyric?

David: “I want to hold you in the Bible-black predawn” by I Am Trying To Break Your Heart (Wilco). Floors me every time. Wilco’s lyrics always have this psychedelic hue.

Me: Secretly do you enjoy confusing people?

David: Yep. That’s just a thing I like to do. What can I say. Experimenting on people. Playing mind games with them. Hell, I live for that. Started when I was going to Vacation Bible School. You know, parenthetically, I always wanted to be a cult leader. I’d be their leader, but after a while I would start shifting the group’s beliefs in more and more confusing ways. Without any explanation at all. But, those things never happened… So I got into movies. It’s the next best thing.

David Lynch Filmography

Eraserhead (1977)
The Elephant Man (1980)
Dune (1984)
Blue Velvet (1986)
Twin Peaks (1990–1991)
Wild at Heart (1990)
Twin Peaks: Fire Walk with Me (1992)
Lost Highway (1997)
Mulholland Drive (2001)
Cabin Fever (2002)
Lynch (2007)
Iodine (2009)
Louie (2010–2015)
David Wants to Fly (2010)
Pearl Jam Twenty (2011)
Transcendendo Lynch (2011)
Meditation, Creativity, Peace (2012)
Twin Peaks: The Missing Pieces (2014)
My Beautiful Broken Brain (2014)
David Lynch: The Art Life (2016)
Twin Peaks (2017)
Why Are We Creative: The Centipede’s Dilemma (2018)
Making Waves: The Art of Cinematic Sound (2019)

David Lynch Photo Gallery

David Lynch in Twin Peaks (1990)

David Lynch and Mädchen Amick in Twin Peaks (1990)

David Lynch in Twin Peaks (1990)

Stu

Interests include:: coffee, jackhammers, grandma’s medicine cabinet and sympathetic yawning.

www.thestable.icu/

Carmine Capobianco

Stu — Fri, 27 Dec 2019 10:45:32 +0000

Carmine Capobianco is an American actor, writer, director and all-around renaissance man. He is best known for both starring and directing in such cult classic films as Psychos in Love (1987) and Galactic Gigolo (1987) costarring alongside the effervescent Debi Thibeault. Carmine Capobianco can be found online at his website.

Carmine Capobianco Filmography

The Only Take (1983)
Disconnected (1984)
And Then? (1985)
Psychos in Love (1987)
Galactic Gigolo (1987)
Making ‘Psychos in Love’ (1987 Video)
Cemetery High (1988)
Thrill Kill Jack in Hale Manor (2000)
Everything Moves Alone (2001)
The Land of College Prophets (2005)
Bikini Bloodbath (2006 Video)
A New Wave (2006)
Bikini Bloodbath Shakespeare (2006 Video)
Bikini Bloodbath Car Wash (2008 Video)
I Spill Your Guts (2012)
Cool as Hell (2013)
Catch of the Day (2014)
The Sins of Dracula (2014) l
Bite School (2015)
Seven Dorms of Death (2015)
Killer Waves (2016)
VHS Massacre (2016)
Model Hunger (2016)

Carmine Capobianco Photo Gallery

Carmine Capobianco in Psychos in Love (1987)

Carmine Capobianco and Debi Thibeault in Psychos in Love (1987)

Carmine Capobianco in Psychos in Love (1987)

Carmine Capobianco and Debi Thibeault in Psychos in Love (1987)

Carmine Capobianco in Psychos in Love (1987)

Carmine Capobianco and Debi Thibeault in Psychos in Love (1987)

Carmine Capobianco in Psychos in Love (1987)

Carmine Capobianco in Galactic Gigolo (1987)

Stu

Interests include:: coffee, jackhammers, grandma’s medicine cabinet and sympathetic yawning.

www.thestable.icu/

Tim Kincaid

Stu — Fri, 27 Dec 2019 06:43:23 +0000

Tim Kincaid is an American director known for such films as Necropolis (1986) with LeeAnne Baker and Robot Holocaust (1986) with Nadine Hartstein and Angelika Jaeger.

Kincaid was born as Timothy Gambiani on July 2nd, 1944 in Santa Barbara, California. Although the majority of his career has been spent on unknown films, a handful of movies produced in the mid-80s have become cult classics, especially Necropolis, Robot Holocaust, and Breeders. He has also filmed movies under the pseudonyms Ray Dragon, Joe Gage, and Mac Larson.

Tim Kincaid Filmography

Quadroon (1971)
The Young Nurses (1973)
The Female Response (1973)
Morning, Noon and Night (1975)
Kansas City Trucking Co. (1976)
El Paso Wrecking Corp. (1978)
L.A. Tool & Die (1979)
Closed Set (1980)
Handsome (1981)
Cellblock #9 (1981)
Oil Rig #99 (1981)
Red Ball Express (1981)
Ten Violent Women (1982)
Heatstroke (1982)
501 (1982)
Venni vidi e m’arrapaoh (1984)
Closed Set 2 (1984)
Orange Hanky Left (1985)
Breeders (1986)
Robot Holocaust (1986)
Bad Girls Dormitory (1986)
Necropolis (1986)
Enemy Territory (1987)
Mutant Hunt (1987 Video)
Riot on 42nd St. (1987)
The Occultist (1988)
She’s Back (1989)
Cop Blowers (1998 Video)
Tulsa County Line (2001 Video)
Closed Set: The New Crew (2002 Video)
Back to Barstow (2004 Video)
Mens Room: Bakersfield Station (2004 Video)

Stu

Interests include:: coffee, jackhammers, grandma’s medicine cabinet and sympathetic yawning.

www.thestable.icu/

Interview With A Filmmaker: Hank Kellerman

Gil — Sun, 08 Sep 2019 21:32:43 +0000

Earlier this summer, I was browsing Reddit as one does when one wants to waste an entire afternoon, when I saw a teaser trailer that confounded the crap out of me. Before I go any further, just watch it for yourself:

Yeah, weird right? Is that last egg an…avocado? I’m not sure.

Well, today we’re super excited to interview Hank Kellerman, director of the upcoming sci-fi comedy film Devilution, for the Cult Celebrities blog.

Tell us a little bit about your beginnings. Your origin story, so to speak. How did you get into filmmaking, and what made you choose this path over others?

When I was in 7th grade I vividly remember watching a movie on the SyFy channel called Raptor Planet and just because it had the name raptor in it, I decided to leave it on. To my disappointment, and surprise, when the raptors showed up they were crude, roughly animated, and had little lighting or texture applied to make them fit in the scene. I thought to myself, “How did this ever get made? Don’t they know that doesn’t look good?” And that was just the beginning for my love of cheesy effects, loose plot lines and acting that isn’t capable of any awards.

When I went to college I started my degree pursuing marketing, given I was creative with things and enjoyed learning about people. Also upon leaving for college I began growing my collection of movies. All sorts of bad ones and people would come to my dorm room and I would have so no-name movie on and they’d have to stay and watch out of curiosity and then I’d smile as they would leave after five minutes due to “this movie sucks.” But I loved every one of ‘em. I transferred schools and after some deliberation decided to pursue a degree in Digital Media Production with an Emphasis on film. Unfortunately, me being the forward thinker, I knew that it would be difficult to get the type of job I truly wanted and I wanted a safe career path. So back to marketing I went. I graduated with my degree and a minor in creative writing where every story I wrote I always had the intention of turning it into a film some day.

After working in the real world for three years or so and finally sitting down to finish up the first draft of Devilution, I decided it was time to try and make a splash in the world of cinema. However, after reading the script thoroughly it was clear that no one else would be interested in making my film and so I decided that the only way to see it on the big screen was to do it myself. And here we are!

Give us some background on Devilution, your upcoming film, and why you chose to make this specific movie.

Devilution began roughly seven or eight years ago. My older brother Pete and I was just sitting around the campfire joking around and the idea came up about birds turning back in to dinosaurs and how crazy that would be. We laughed it off and a few days later I had written an outline. Then I forgot about it for a while. It sat on my hard drive and I’d occasionally tell my buddies about this idea for a movie I had, going through the story line, the twist and turns, and just using it for fun.

Believe it or not, Devilution was not supposed to be the first movie that Rusty Hay Wagon Circus Films was going to make. We were working on a documentary about my family and a situation that involved losing the house all my siblings grew up in due to the city growing around us, but we tossed it out when we tried to figure out what kind of movies should RHWCF make? And the answer of great movies with low budgets and strange stories was obvious.

Devilution allowed us to take full control of everything and gave us the opportunity to make something no one had ever seen before and I think that is what’s important. The basic plot of the movie is that a meteorite lands and contains a new element which (of course) causes birds to de-evolve into their ancestor of a raptor and then a ragtag team of friends must hold out and figure out how to survive long enough for the military to arrive and save them.

Devilution is my baby and I knew I wanted my first film to be special and I don’t think they get more special that this. On top of the awesome story, I knew we could do all the work ourselves with locations we had access to and friends willing to act in exchange for a hot lunch or dinner and continental breakfast!

What are your favorite 5 films, and how do they influence your work?

Dead Alive- (sometimes called Braindead) This movie above all others is one I love showing to my friends. Peter Jackson’s early work all has this look and feel of uneasiness and goofiness. And the New Zealand accents throughout the film are icing on the cake. This movie, more than anything, serves as inspiration of “If someone can start their career making a movie like this, then work up to Lord of the Rings, The Hobbit or King Kong…why can’t I?”

Bad Taste- Another awesome film from the back of the closet in Peter Jackson’s house. Aliens invading earth to eat humans? Why not shape them like potatoes mixed with soft serve ice cream? Everything about it is great. Great costumes, story, locations- and not to mention the VFX. Peter Jackson was incredible in his use of practical effects in this movie.

Killer Klowns from Outer Space- Talk about a carnival! This film is a personal favorite and another staple in my “movie night with friends” collection. The story is wild, the Klown creatures are perfect, and the writing fits everything that is going on perfectly. Another one that teaches me that any story is capable of being told. If people believe Killer Klowns from Outer Space is a bad movie, they just haven’t paid attention. (And not to mention that awesome theme song!)

Razorteeth- Mark Polonia (who I consider to be one of the kings of SOV film), has created dozens of awesome movies with low-budgets, creative effects and plot lines that draw the viewer in, even if the acting isn’t Oscar worthy. I love creature features and this one is no exception. All of his movies with monsters make me really want to explore the world of practical creature effects in future films. (We tried getting real raptors for Devilution but just getting the mass quantities of meals required was outside our budget so we had to settle for CGI.)

Tremors- This movie became a household title and between Reba and Kevin Bacon starring as folks fighting of mutant worm creatures, it’s no surprise. Didn’t really influence me in particular, but definitely in my top five for entertainment factor.

Which part of filmmaking do you enjoy the most – editing, effects, writing, shooting, acting, etc?

I definitely enjoy the writing aspect of it. I have yet to act (though I will come this fall), but writing the story and visualizing everything in your head as you go page by page is very rewarding. Taking something from concept, to script, then to hear others reading your script, and now to be editing footage of people reading lines on camera is an experience like no other.

Tell us a little bit about your current production setup: cameras, equipment, editing stack?

For Devilution our goal was to keep expenses as low as possible and so we focused on using equipment we already had.The entire movie was shot on a single Sony CX900. No special lenses or extra cameras to help so shooting was a bit tedious. For sound we were using a Taskar shotgun mic, attatched to a length of PVC pipe. I built a tripod dolly with some wood and also built a “steadicam” rig out of PVC pipe and the shots all turned out much better than I expected (though I think my expectations were low!) For Devilution we tried wherever possible to just use natural light, and only occasionally using a small LED panel for a fill light where needed. Maybe a handful of those shots will make the final cut.

For editing I am using Adobe Premiere. VFX is Adobe After Effects and Blender. I have never had formal education on these softwares but am more of a self-taught type. I will just say this: If I wasn’t confident that I could edit the movie and do the majority of the VFX myself…Devilution would not have been made.

If you were given $100,000 to spend on a movie production, what would you spend it on?

Wow. First of all I would probably laugh since someone thinks I need $100K to make one of my movies. (Well I do, but I manage…) I’d get a better camera, probably the Black Magic Pocket Camera and hire a Cinematographer and PA and sound person for the shoot. For Devilution there were times when I was running camera, sound, directing, and supervising the script so an extra hand or two would be appreciated on set! I’d get a couple of locations that would be unique to film in as well! Whatever is left over would go towards some kick-ass special effects and custom creature/monster models.

After Devilution is released, what’s next for you and Rusty Hay Wagon Circus Films?

Though we had the ability to make a few sequels for Devilution, the plan is to shoot our next feature film this November. It’s a different than Devilution, but will have the same witty story and dialogue that people will come to expect from RHWCF after Devilution. After that one it is on to the next project we have slated which, should things go to plan, will start shooting next summer sometime. In the meantime we will continue to fine tune some scripts we have written in the hopes of collaborating with someone or selling them to be made for the big screen.

Thanks so much for talking to us, Hank. We’ll leave our readers with another trailer for Devilution.

Hank Kellerman is the director and writer of Devilution, a sci fi comedy film releasing in late 2019. You can follow Rusty Hay Wagon Circus on their website.

Devilution (2020) Photo Gallery

Devilution (2020)

Gil

Gil attended film school in Los Angeles for a short time before leaving for better. He worked in film & media production for several years, traveling to 50+ countries. Obsessed with feel-good 80s teen comedies, sword-and-sorcery films, and gritty sci fi noir, Gil is a fan of the weird and campy. His favorite films include Blade Runner, Alien, Mad Max, and Drive.

Charles Band

Gil — Mon, 13 May 2019 10:06:52 +0000

Charles Band is a film director born in Los Angeles on December 27th, 1951. He famous for his decades-long production of B-movies and direct-to-video films, and for his production companies Full Moon Pictures and Empire Pictures.

Empire International Pictures was started in 1983, and produced films until bankruptcy in 1989. Full Moon was founded after Empire’s bankruptcy, and continues to this day.

Charles Band was born into an artistic family in Los Angeles, with his grandfather being a famous artist, his brother a composer, and his father the director Albert Band. He has been married twice, and has four children.

Charles Band Filmography

Last Foxtrot in Burbank (1973)
Mansion of the Doomed (1975)
Cinderella (1977)
Crash! (1977)
End of the World (1977)
Auditions (1978)
Laserblast (1978)
Fairy Tales (1979)
Tourist Trap (1979)
The Day Time Ended (1980)
The Best of Sex and Violence (1980)
Famous T&A (1982)
Parasite (1982)
Metalstorm: The Destruction of Jared-Syn (1983)
The Alchemist (1983)
Filmgore (1983)
The Dungeonmaster (1984)
Ghost Warrior (1984)
Trancers (1984)
Walking the Edge (1985)
Ghoulies (1985)
Re-Animator (1985)
Savage Island (1985)
Underworld (1985)
Zone Troopers (1985)
Breeders (1986)
Crawlspace (1986)
Dreamaniac (1986)
Eliminators (1986)
From Beyond (1986)
Troll (1986)
Vicious Lips (1986)
Necropolis (1986)
Robot Holocaust (1986)
TerrorVision (1986)
Creepozoids (1987)
Dolls (1987)
Enemy Territory (1987)
Mutant Hunt (1987)
The Princess Academy (1987)
Prison (1987)
Valet Girls (1987)
Assault of the Killer Bimbos (1988)
Buy & Cell (1988)
Catacombs (1988)
Cellar Dweller (1988)
Ghost Town (1988)
Ghoulies II (1988)
Pulse Pounders (1988)
Transformations (1988)
Sorority Babes in the Slimeball Bowl-O-Rama (1988)
Arena (1989)
Deadly Weapon (1989)
Puppet Master (1989)
Intruder (1989)
Robot Jox (1989)
Crash and Burn (1990)
Puppet Master II (1990)
Trancers II (1991)
Spellcaster (1991)
Doctor Mordrid (1992)
Trancers III (1992)
Seedpeople (1992)
Prehysteria! (1993)
Puppet Master 4 (1993)
Robot Wars (1993)
Dollman vs. Demonic Toys (1993)
Dollman vs. Demonic Toys (1993)
Castle Freak (1995)
Head of the Family (1996)
Hideous! (1997)
The Creeps (1997)
Blood Dolls (1999)

Photo Gallery

Gil

Interview With A Filmmaker: Matt Spease

Gil — Tue, 19 Mar 2019 01:19:11 +0000

Today we have the pleasure of sitting down with Matt Spease, an Arkansas-based director of cult horror films. We reviewed one of his latest films, 2018’s Then The Night Comes, a couple months back.

Tell us a little bit about your beginnings. Your origin story, so to speak. How did you get into filmmaking, and what made you choose this path over others?

I have always been a movie fan, from loving the Three Stooges, to watching the old Universal Monster films late nights growing up with my dad, to the film that inspired me to become a serious filmmaker. John Carpenter’s original 1978 masterpiece Halloween. In fact, one of my favorite scenes I shot in The Chameleon Killer (or any of my films) was a take on Carpenter’s kill of the Annie character. I started making short films in 1992 with Three Stooges style comedies (much like Sam Raimi and Bruce Campbell did) and a horror series called Killseeker, then in 1996 I did the short film Evil on Queen Street.

But I didn’t make my filmmaking official until 2001 when I formed the company Matt Spease Productions with my father. Our only film under that label was a Star Wars parody which was in itself a remake of a Stooges style short film titled The Stooges: Episode V – Die, Stooges, Die.

In 2002 we changed the name of the company to Dark Night Films under which I remade Evil on Queen Street starring pro wrestler Violet Flame. In 2003 while making The Chameleon Killer starring Violet Flame & Brian Ramme, we tried to form a sci-fi branch to our films called Lighthouse Pictures with a somewhat serious remake of The Stooges titled Dark World: Duel of the Assassins, but that was a huge misstep. After that we had another misstep doing 2 fan films, Jason Vs. Leatherface and then Michael Vs. Jason in 2004, that same year we did a failed horror anthology film called Evil Deeds…

After that we did a sort of a reboot to the Evil on Queen Street series with the prequel short films, which we unwisely tried to merge into a feature that same year. Then we finally started to hit our stride in 2008 with a follow up to the prequel shorts, Evil on Queen Street. 2009 saw a high for the company with the release of Indestructible starring Phil Giourousis & newcomer Mimi Tran and a sort of a low with the lackluster sequel Evil on Queen Street: Domination starring Steve Austin & newcomer Taihiti Jones. 2010 we rebooted Evil Deeds... with Evil Deeds 2, which had no connection to the 2004 film at all (which looking back I wish I would have just titled it simply Evil Deeds). 2011 saw the release of a successful sequel to The Chameleon Killer titled Silent Vengeance, which was slightly hampered by a bland cover art (this has since been thankfully corrected). And the years following saw the release of 2 more highly successful Evil Deeds films, Evil Deeds 3 in 2013 and Evil Deeds: Full Circle in 2016. Then we finally got a successful sequel to the films with the release of Mark of Death starring Hailee Mason & Anthony Baker in 2017.

And 2018 was a banner year for Dark Night Films with the release of 2 of our best made films to date Then the Night Comes starring Holly Petty & Miracle Davis, and Indestructible: Afterlife starring Jessica Brasher & Jade Michael LaFont!!

What is your favorite film so far that you’ve made?

I would say right now without a doubt, my favorite film is currently Indestructible: Afterlife. I wasn’t too excited about returning to this film playing the role of James Kirby again. Indestructible was fun playing basically an unmasked Michael Myers, but I told the writer John Vasiliou that if I’m going to come back to play this role, I want the character to evolve and not just remain the same old silent killer. He did that, but reading the script isn’t the same as playing it and once I got on set and was bringing the character to life it was kick ass! I enjoyed playing the role way more in the sequel since it was such a cool change for a slasher film to have the killer evolve and not just stay the same with just new victims to slaughter. Not only that but the quality of the footage and the camera work is top notch, as is the awesome cast around my character, that casting director Buddy Campbell had signed on for the film. So, yes this is easily my favorite film that I’ve done so far!

What are your favorite 5 films, and do they influence your work?

As I said earlier, one of my favorite films of all time is John Carpenter’s Halloween. I’m such a fan of the series overall that I was super pissed with the stupid ass new Halloween they just brought out. They claimed it was a direct sequel to the original and would keep the feel of that film and that Michael would feel like a continuation of the original character… yet when the film came out it was just a bunch of remade scenes from the series that it was supposed to be ignoring (and the scenes were nowhere near as good as the scenes they were replacing) and Michael was basically just the same idiotic over violent version of the character that Rob Zombie created in his films! But yeah, there isn’t a moment when I’m doing an intense scene when I’m not inspired by the original film or it’s OG sequels.

I love Tombstone, the greatest western film of all time in my opinion. It has the best acting ensemble you could ever ask for in a film like this, from Val Kilmer, Kurt Russell, Sam Elliott, Powers Boothe, Michael Biehn, to even Billy Bob Thorton. The film is amazing in every way, Val of course steals every scene he’s in and cemented himself as one of the finest actors of all time. And of course elements of this great film have creeped into my films from time to time.

Next I’d say, Fright Night (1985), this is simply one of the greatest vampire films of all time. Although William Ragsdale was possibly too old to be playing the role of Charley, he still makes it work, and Chris Sarandon is the coolest and most seductive vampire onscreen ever. His seduction of Amanda Bearse’s character in the night club is so sexy. Tom Holland’s directing and set up of the key scenes was brilliant, and last but not least we have Roddy McDowell… his portrayal is perfect in every way. This great film is a super inspiration for me in a lot of my more recent works.

Then we have The Crow (1994), I was a huge fan of Brandon Lee and was super excited when he was cast as Eric Draven. I literally cried when I found out about the accident on the set that killed him. I still get emotional in the final scenes of the film when Eric returns to Shelly’s grave. Brandon gave the best performance of his career in the film, it’s such a shame it was his last. Of course this film was some of the inspiration for Mark of Death.

And last but not least would be Friday the 13th: The Final Chapter, this film for me was the best F13 movie ever, it hit all the right marks. The acting was surprisingly good throughout by all the characters, Jason as played by Ted White was the scariest and most deadly he ever was. The direction by Joseph Zito was excellent, combined with some of the best editing in the series to date, and Tom Savini returned to do some of the most brutal deaths in the series history. And yes this film and the rest of the series has inspired me in my films.

Which part of filmmaking do you enjoy the most – editing, writing, shooting, acting, etc?

Back before I shot Indestructible: Afterlife, I would have said editing was my favorite aspect of film making, but I have had so much fun playing James Kirby since Afterlife that I’d have to say acting is right now my favorite.

What two or three filmmakers making movies today do you think are underrated?

I would say Dwight H. Little is one that doesn’t get the credit he deserves, he did such an amazing job on Halloween 4: The Return of Michael Myers (a film that in some ways in my opinion was better acted then even the original). He then did another great horror film with the hugely underrated Phantom of the Opera. Then he directed what is probably one of the best Steven Seagal films ever with Marked for Death. He followed directing that with directing a great action film, Rapid Fire! Real shame he’s more relegated to TV work now.

Another underrated director is Andrew Davis who directed the highly underrated 1983 slasher film The Final Terror. Then made Code of Silence with Chuck Norris and Above the Law with Steven Seagal, before doing the excellent film The Package. Then he reunited with both Steven Seagal and Tommy Lee Jones on the superb Under Siege… then made his ultimate cool movie with The Fugitive!

Tell us a little bit about your current production setup: cameras, equipment, editing stack?

I’m currently shooting all of my most recent films (partially on Then the Night Comes) with phone video, the quality on the video on these things is better then most high dollar cameras… if I’d have known about this sooner, more of my last few films would have been shot this way. We use aluminum umbrella lights with both soft LED bulbs for indoor shooting and large flood bulbs for night shooting as well as using standard flood lighting as well more recently.

If you were given the opportunity to remake any film or produce a film in any given franchise, what would it be?

I don’t know of any film I’d like to remake, I’ve already kinda remade a film that I thought needed it with Silent Rage in the original Indestructible. Since Silent Rage had a great premise but it failed in giving the killer any real back history prior to him losing it and going on his initial killing spree before being killed by the sheriff’s deputies. And then it failed in it’s ending cause it had it’s indestructible killer get his ass kicked by Chuck Norris. But if I could erase one film from existence and replace it with something else though, it would definitely be that terrible new Halloween. I’d make it a direct sequel to Halloween 6 and ignore the story lines created in H20 and Resurrection.

If you were given $100,000 to spend on a movie production, what would you spend it on?

With that kind of money I would probably hire a great fx artist similar to Tom Savini or get a top genre name in the film like Danielle Harris or someone like that.

What’s next for you and your production company?

We are currently wrapping up filming on Indestructible: Reckoning starring Lauren Lasseigne & Emmi Mullen, then we’re working on a secret project that should finish filming by the end of April, and after that we’ll start filming on our much anticipated vampire film Dark Night starring Samantha M. Shaw & Buddy Campbell. Meanwhile writer John Vasiliou will be working on another secret project’s script and Then the Night Comes Again!!

***

Thanks, Matt, for sitting down with us and giving us an overview of what’s been happening and what’s to come. For those interested in Matt’s movies, check out his production company website at www.darknightfilms.com, where you can order or stream his films!

Gil

Brian Trenchard-Smith

Gil — Mon, 18 Mar 2019 01:51:50 +0000

Brian Trenchard-Smith is a film director born in London, England in 1946. He is most famous for his multiple Australian films in the 1970s and 1980s.

Born the son of a Royal Air Force officer, he lived in Libya and England as a child. He made his first films on 8mm film as a teenager. Once he was unable to get into the film union in the UK, he moved to Australia.

He worked as an editor at Channel Ten, but soon borrowed $16,000 and produced a documentary about stuntmen. With this success, he started making more documentaries.

After building connections with Hong Kong, he started filming movies there. He started editing Australian films, and then produced them throughout the 80s.

In 1990 he moved to Los Angeles, returning to Australia periodically to shoot films there.

Brian Trenchard-Smith Filmography

The Man from Hong Kong (1975)
Hospitals Don’t Burn Down (1977)
Stunt Rock (1978)
Turkey Shoot (1982)
BMX Bandits (1983)
Dead End Drive-In (1986)
Jenny Kissed Me (1986)
Out of the Body (1988)
Day of the Panther (1988)
Strike of the Panther (1989)
The Siege of Firebase Gloria (1989)
Night of the Demons 2 (1994)
Leprechaun 3 (1995)
Leprechaun 4: In Space (1998)
Megiddo: The Omega Code 2 (2001)
In Her Line of Fire (2006)
Arctic Blast (2010)
Absolute Deception (2013)
Drive Hard (2014)

Photo Gallery

Brian-Trenchard-Smith

Brian Trenchard-Smith

Gil

Jim Wynorski

Gil — Tue, 12 Mar 2019 03:23:47 +0000

Jim Wynorksi is a director, producer, and writer. He was born in Long Island, New York on August 14th, 1950. He has directed a huge number of low-budget B-movies in his career.

Failing film school, he worked at Doubleday publishing during the 70s. Wanting to break into film, he quit his job and moved to Los Angeles. He was fired from his first job in television. On a flight, he sat beside someone who knew the famous B-movie producer Roger Corman. He started working for him and, in the subsequent decades, directed over 70 films.

At the height of his career, he could direct a movie in as little as two weeks.

Jim Wynorski Filmography

Forbidden World (1982) as writer
Sorceress (1982) as writer
Amazons (1986) as director
The Lost Empire (1984) as director
Chopping Mall (1986) as director & writer
Deathstalker II (1987) as director & writer
Not of This Earth (1988)
Sorority House Massacre II (1990) as director (credited as Arch Stanton)
Hard to Die (1990) as director & producer (credited as Arch Stanton)
Dead Space (1991)
Beastmaster 2: Through the Portal of Time (1991) as writer
Scream Queen Hot Tub Party (1991) as director, writer & producer (credited as Arch Stanton)
Dinosaur Island (1994) as director & producer
Sorceress (1995) as director
Sonic Impact (1999) as producer
Stealth Fighter (1999) as producer & director (credited as Jay Andrews)
Rangers (2000) as director & producer
Dinocroc vs. Supergator (2010) as director & writer
Piranhaconda (2012) as director
Sharkansas Women’s Prison Massacre (2015) as director & writer

Gallery

Jim Wynorksi and Kelli Maroney

Jim Wynorksi

Jim Wynorski in Deathstalker II: Dual of the Titans (1987)

Gil

Clint Howard

Stu — Sun, 03 Mar 2019 17:34:42 +0000

Clint Howard was born in Burbank, CA on April 20th, 1959. He is the younger brother of Ron Howard.

Clint Howard Biography

Clint appeared in several episodes of the Andy Griffith Show as a child, alongside his older brother Ron. He also appeared in other television shows, like Star Trek and Gentle Ben.

He voiced the character of Roo in Winnie The Pooh in the 60s and many other animated movies as well.

Beginning in the 80s, he started starring in more horror and thriller films. He also started a punk new wave band called The Kempsters with some friends in the 80s.

Clint was married to his wife Melanie from 1995 to 2017. He is a heavy golfer, but when his hips started giving him problems he started playing less, and now creates custom snow globes which are used in film productions.

Filmography

Evilspeak (1981) as Stanley Coopersmith
The Wraith (1986) as Rughead
B.O.R.N (1989) as Jerry
Silent Night, Deadly Night 4: Initiation (1990) as Ricky
Disturbed (1990) as Brian
Silent Night, Deadly Night 5: The Toy Maker (1991) as Ricky
Seinfeld (1992) as Tobias
Body Chemistry II: The Voice of a Stranger (1992) as Larabee
Ice Cream Man (1995) as Gregory Tudor
Married with Children (1995) as Mullen
Carnosaur (1993) as ‘Slim’ Friar
Humanoids from the Deep (1996) as Deputy

Gallery

Clint Howard in Rock ‘N’ Roll High School (1979)

Clint Howard in Evilspeak (1981)

Clint Howard in Ice Cream Man (1995)

Clint Howard as Eaglebauer in Rock ‘n’ Roll High School (1979)

Clint Howard in Carnosaur (1993)

Clint Howard in The Wraith (1986)

Clint Howard in Ice Cream Man (1995)

Clint Howard in Carnosaur (1993)

Clint Howard on Seinfeld

Clint Howard in Austin Powers

Clint Howard in Silent Night Deadly Night 4: Initiation (1990)

Clint Howard in Evilspeak (1981)

Stu

Interests include:: coffee, jackhammers, grandma’s medicine cabinet and sympathetic yawning.