Seeking Distribution: Us Sinners (part 2)
So, at long last, I give you the interview with George Snow, director of Us Sinners. For the record, I will say that he took this all with a lot of grace. I think that he is very capable of directing a good movie, maybe just not writing it.
Seeking Distribution [SD] – What were your intentions when you began the process of conceiving and creating “Us Sinners”?
George Snow [GS] – To see if I could actually make a movie.
Viewers believe that every writer and film-maker know exactly what their movie is going to turn out looking like. That every point they want to make will be crystal clear, that’s not even close to being true. You hope to make a good movie and pray a lot.
The idea of Us Sinners came from the action at the climax. That’s all I had. I built a story around that action. The original concept was 3 high school friends, one murders someone and the other two help him cover up his crime. Their relationships deteriorate and… The thought of working with teen-age actors made me scrap that idea. That’s when Tim was born.
The original script (even while into production) was the group working in a warehouse. A week before we were going to shoot, the location fell through. This is micro-budget so we were getting the space for free. What do we do now? I called Jhane Barnes whom I worked for years earlier. I asked if we could shoot at her office, and as you can see from the movie she agreed. She was kind enough to open the place for a weekend so we’d have quiet and privacy. But, every scene had to be rewritten to adapt to their new positions of maintenance workers.
Kevin Ford of Mo-Freek Productions once said to me (and it’s so true). There’s the script you write. The movie you shoot, and the eventual movie that’s released. When you compare the three, they don’t look anything alike.
[SD] – What is the audience meant to take away from the movie?
[GS] – It’s very hard on a first viewing of any horror movie to take away much. The best you can hope is to shock and scare people.
On a deeper level, when I was making the movie. I tried to show that no one is perfect. There’s two sides to every person. The person you show the world, and the person you see when you look in the mirror. They’re vastly different. My personal favorite is Patty. She’s loud, abusive, a know it all. Yet, she was alone, had a mother who was a crack head and a special needs brother that she deeply cared for.
[SD] – Some fiction is based on reality; did you use any real criminal cases or life experiences as inspiration for the movie?
[GS] – I overload on tru-crime TV. There’s bits and pieces of so many killers in this movie. For instance Joel Rifkin was stopped on LI with a dead hooker in the back of his pick-up. It made the nightly news every night, and Joel and Tim could be brothers. One kid that used to bully him at school told a reporter that he and his friends would steal Rifkin’s clothes during gym and lock him outside. That story is used in Us Sinners. But, he also wondered how much his bullying had to do with the things Rifkin did. That’s a great question. I can answer that, a lot.
The “normal” folks are people you work with everyday. I’ve known so many Patty’s, Louise’s, Andrew’s and Melissa’s.
[SD] – Who is the audience meant to feel sympathy for, why?
[GS] – If you analyze the characters you can sympathize with most, including Tim. Killers don’t come out of the womb predestined to murder. Tim never had a chance. There are more Tim’s out there, then anyone can possibly imagine. The only one to me that’s completely unsympathetic is Andrew. His cell phone shot of Louise proves he’s a piece of shit.
[SD] – Tell me about your writing process.
[GS] – I’ve always started with an ending. This way I know where my characters have to end up. Then I rewind back to where it all began. I get a character or two in my mind, and let them guide me through their lives.
For Us Sinners, I started with the ending, but I chose to go against the grain of U.S. film-making. Us Sinners is much more like a foreign film, it’s character driven not a straight narrative. There is no set goal, or question that needs to be answered for the movie to end. Though it is a wrap around. Which means the opening shot signals the climax is coming.
[SD] – What have you learned in the process of making “Us Sinners”?
[GS] – It’s extremely tough to make a movie with any standards. I could have gone the Ed Wood “one shot and run” method, but the movie would have been awful. But, we really took our time.
I’ve also learned that audiences need to be spoon fed. Even though I know that, I won’t. I’d rather many hate my movie, and let the people who see, hear and think enjoy them. I can say this, there are very few scenes (only the length of the driving scenes) that don’t have meaning.
I asked one reviewer (who disliked the movie) name a scene that he thought was useless. He mentioned the early bathroom scene. Tim flushes the toilet, goes to the sink, opens the cabinet and brushes his teeth. Within that useless scene, Tim does something a little weird, that has tremendous meaning and is explained later. Us Sinners is a movie that might ask too much from most viewers. But, that’s life.
[SD] – Is “Us Sinners” your first movie? If not, tell me about your other movies and what kind of things that you learned from making them.
[GS] – Us Sinners is my first time working with anyone other then myself. I’ve made a few cheap camcorder shorts to learn how to edit. I’ve always wanted to edit. Quite a few are on youtube. Just so you know, I can’t act. But, the editing is really good. I recommend Job Search.
There is one titled “Some Itches” that’s one minute long. It’s actually been tagged as being inappropriate for some viewers by youtube, and many people find it disturbing to watch. The method I used to create that short was used in one of the longest murder sequences in Us Sinners. It’s surprising how many people are really fooled by the technique.
[SD] – If you were not involved in the production of this movie and you were to see a copy on store shelves, what do you think would draw you to watch it? What aspects of the movie would make you stick around until the very end?
[GS] – I’d rent Us Sinners because I rent everything. The stupid blurb on the cover would force me to watch it till the end. Or I’d at least FF to see the climax. Which by the way, the cover blurb is actually true. But, I would watch Us Sinners from beginning to end, because it’s not like any other horror movie I’ve ever seen.
As a movie-maker, you should make a movie you yourself would want to watch. And I did. I’m an avid movie fan and I see things in movies (character wise) that many don’t. I’m the dork that when someone says “Why did he do that?” I can spurt out the scene and the message of the dialogue.
Does “Us Sinners” have it’s problems? Yes. But, it was made for less then catering costs on movies made in the 20s. You could barely buy a decent used car for the price tag of Us Sinners. The acting is way above anything in it’s price range. The gore and murder scenes are unique, original, shocking and reality based. There’s humor and some witty dialogue. Most importantly there’s a vast amount of characters, motivations and personalities. So, I’d be throughly pleased by Us Sinners.
If you’re a person you enjoys the kills, you’ll definitely have a good time. But there’s so much more going on.
[SD] – What do you think is the ideal way for someone to live their life and be happy?
[GS] – Do what you love. Treat others the way you want to be treated.
If you would like a full transcript of this interview (this is only half of it), or if you would like to have your own movie featured on the site, contact us at ptkruz@jojevis.com!
