Is the script all
ready done for Penance and if so, what could you tell us?
The Penance script is
done. It was finished way before The Redsin Tower script. Penance is
a lot more structured and intense than the first two. We will make
this one more disturbing with lots of great fx gore. It’s the final
movie. I have to give you guys the sickest thing you ever seen...
right?
Do you see yourself doing side projects like Murder-Set-Pieces again
i.e. doing fx for other films or, perhaps even a Hollywood film?
Yes, we have some
movies in the works that we are doing fx for this year. We will
always do fx for movies from indie to studio. We just want to help
filmmakers who want our kind of fx.
What films
inspired you into making movies?
Frankenstein (1932),
The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, Black Christmas, Last House On Dead End
Street, The Entity. I could go on and on but these are just some of
the movies that really got me loving horror. I hold Frankenstein
very close to my heart. This movie turned a four year old kid in to
a monster in my own right.
How much further can you go, and do you think there are any other
moviemakers who could outdo what you’ve made?
I want to take Penance
to the edge. Where that is I don’t even know myself. All I know is
that every film that I make or a film that ToeTag works on is going
to have that ToeTag sickness. There is stuff in the Penance script
that makes me question is that too far? I know that what you guys
are going to get with my films is something different, be it sick,
disturbing, gory, or just fucked up. We make movies with small
budgets but we do our best and with lots of love for the genre we
care about.
What could you
tell us about Penance?
This movie is going
to go as far as we can push it. This is the final film of the series
and it will be the most intense. AU was much more darker than AUM.
AUM is very over the top. Penance is the downward spiral of my
character with Crusty’s character by my side. Killjoy will return
and Gunnar Hanson is signed on to play my father. There will be some
cameos in the film but I don’t want to give it all away.
When can will you
begin filming Penance?
Penance will began
shooting in the winter of 2005. I don’t want to rush the final
film.
Will there be a twist or new characters in Penance?
Yes, it’s the last
film so I am pulling out all the stops.
Are you eager to
begin filming Penance?
I am very excited
about AUP and can’t wait to get started on it. Right now The Redsin
Tower is my top priority.
Are you going to
release all three films together in a box set?
Penance will be
released separate but there will be a box set with a special edition
Mordum and Penance. The set will be released in 2007.
When can you see
August Underground on DVD and will it be with extras?
AU is coming to DVD
in August of 2005 and will be a 2 disc special edition. The discs
will have everything from documentaries to commentaries. It’s been 5
years since I made AU and I want to give the fans a great DVD.
If Lions Gate or
another company hired your crew to work on a film and asked you to
cut it to rated R for the MPAA would you and just release the uncut
DVD or would you walk out?
When it comes to
working with a studio on a film, it is their call. As a director you
want your vision to shine in the picture. The studio wants to make
money and when the studio makes money you make money. I have never
done a studio film but when I do I will have to play ball and make
sure that I can put out a directors cut on DVD. When the time comes
for me to make a studio picture I want to push it as far as I can
…that’s what I do.
Any idea when we
can expect Penance or Redsin Tower finished or DVD?
AUP will start
production in winter of 2005; I’m still editing The Redsin Tower and
looking for an Oct.2005 release. M-S-P should be out on DVD this
year …when I’m not really sure
What were you
thinking when you began writing August Underground, and did you know
it was going to be across three films?
I had no idea that
AU would grow into a trilogy. AUM started out as a music video for
Necrophagia. AUP is will be the best of both films ….the crazy,
hardcore gore from AUM and the structure from AU. The script is
really good and I think it’s the most intense script I ever wrote.
How do you feel
about Hollywood’s direction with the horror genre and the remakes to
asian films coming over? Are you as sad as others to know that we
will neversee another Maniac type horror movie again on the big
screen?
I would never remake
a film; I care too much about the horror genre to do that. I hate
the fact that remakes are the new “in thing.” Remakes of films have
been happening since the golden age of cinema. It hurts when they
remake something you hold so close to you.
The Asian remakes
are America’s way of taking something and making it bigger and
better …in their eyes, so they take a Asian film put a pretty cast
together add some slick editing and a Nu-Metal soundtrack. I like
most Asian films. Lots of them are too slow for most viewers but
that is the point. Hollywood must think us Americans have the
attention span of a goldfish.
Nick Palumbo made an independent movie Murder-Set-Pieces that was a
slasher film that cost over 2 million dollars made for the big
screen. If you like the film or hate it, good or bad this guy wanted
to give the horror genre that old feeling that some of us were too
young to appreciate. I would give anything to go back in time to see
Maniac in Time Square.
What scene that
you recall you had the most fun in?
I had so much fun on
The Redsin Tower set. Every scene was fun. All the actors were
pretty much first timers. It was exciting to watch them try new
things…the ToeTag way. In AU the convenience store scene was a lot
of fun…crazy but a lot of fun. I got to put my brothers head through
the glass… by accident of course.
Do people call
you names for the type of films you created? How do you feel about
that?
I don’t care what
people call me. I don’t care what people think about my movies. I
make movies for the horror fans like myself who want to see
something different. I knew when I was making these kinds of movies
that lots of people would hate the movies and me BUT they are just
movies. I got a letter once where someone called me an ass clown ….I
thought it was funny.
What could you
tell us about Redsin Tower? What type of film is it i.e. slasher?
The Redsin Tower is
nothing like the AU movies. It is not shot like a home video. All I
can say is that we used 50lbs of real pig guts in a scene.
Is there anyone
in the business that you admire or look up too?
I admire anyone who
puts his or her heart and soul in to making a movie/art. It takes
lots of persistence and determination to make movies. Some come out
good and some are crap. The thing is they did it.
You created a
whole new level of pseudo snuff films that not even Eric Stanze or
the guinea pigs could touch. Was that your goal or did you just
follow your vision? Do you feel you set the bar high on yourself?
My goal was to make
the most realistic serial killer movie, showing how serial killers
really are NOT the way most serial killer movies glamorize the
characters. Thank you for thinking my films are at the top of the
list when it comes to a pseudo snuff. The other films out there are
good and I know most of the creators behind them and give them
credit where credit is due. I wanted the AU movies to look as real
as we could make and from a lot of the fans out there I guess we did
it. |
