Short Film Showcase: A Darker Shade of Gray

A black and white movie about the gray areas of personal morality, duty and what happens when you can’t seem to work it all out.  A Darker Shade of Gray’s direction at the hands of newcomer Daniel Etheridge greatly outshines its narrative with a very fine eye for detail when it comes to the editing process.  There is not a wasted moment or shot in this short film-noir styled tale.  Revolving around the archetypal “fallen angel” police officer, the audience follows him through the darkest night of his life.

Foregoing any real mystery, Gray spends its time developing the character. This scripting decision proves to be the film’s biggest flaw. So much time is spent presenting us with the emotional state of the titular character that the story, as well as any action, goes right out the window.   On top of all this, the character of Gray doesn’t prove very interesting, as his problems are derivative of noir so far beyond the point of homage that it feels stale.  Within the context of a larger film with a decent plot, scenes like these generally serve to enlighten the audience on the mental state of the character.  Standing alone, at least in the case of Gray, this device proves too weak to hold any interest.

The positive side of the script being riddled with clichés is that they go hand-in-hand with setting up a tightly edited film where every shot, no matter how short, is never simply fluff.  This may seem to be a symptom of the film’s short-form, but in any type of filmmaking it is easy to waste time with crap editing dragging scenes on for too long or including scenes that simply aren’t necessary.   There are also nice little touches here and there (such as the little time jumps in the pill popping scene) that show the direction at work without being too transparent.  Some of the actors can be caught sleepwalking through this one, but Nicodemus Hammil is not one of them. As Detective Milton Gray, Hammil seems to be reveling in the fact that he gets to portray a Noir-ish detective. He plays his role very naturally, and always believable despite the script’s shortcomings.

While it isn’t an innovative film by any means, A Darker Shade of Gray is an acceptable effort from Etheridge and crew.

-Jojevis

Interview with Daniel Etheridge, director of A Darker Shade of Gray (and, as always, all responses are sic and never edited):

Seeking Distribution (SD)-How long did it take you to make A Darker Shade of Gray and how did you fund the project?

Daniel Etheridge (DE) – Well, I’m 22 years old, I’d say about 22 years.  Well, maybe not that long, but “Gray” has been in my system for a very long time.  I still don’t think it’s completely out of me.  Technically speaking, the project was made while I was a student at the Savannah College of Art and Design (SCAD), so I operated under the school’s three-quarter system, which allotted 10 weeks for pre-production, 10 weeks for production, and 10 weeks for post-production.  Within that time, we shot principle photography in 7 days, with another 2 days of pick-up shots.

That may sound like a lot of time, but you start out with nothing and work your way up.  The way the SCAD Film/TV department operates is that every student can specialize in the field of their choice.  Editors edit, Cinematographers shoot, Producers produce, etc. Everybody works on multiple projects, with the exception of Directors, who focus on their own projects. If you want to make your own movie, you do it.  That’s something I’m really happy SCAD does: it allows you the freedom to do what you want.  Unfortunately that means you have the freedom to fall flat on your face.

As far as funding, SCAD gives you access to a huge supply of film equipment, yet you have to go through a lot of time-management and scheduling as you have to share that same equipment with hundreds of other students, all of which are shooting their own projects.  And equipment is just about the only thing that the school gives you.  Everything else you have to come up with yourself.

I managed to keep my project very cheap, a fact that I’m proud of, although I did have to dip into some of my student loans to cover it all.  Now excuse me while I warm up my daily ration of ramen noodles.

SD-What lessons did you learn in the process of making this film and how did you come to learn them?

DE-  I learned so much on this set.  I had worked on a few productions in the past, but none of them were longer than four day shoots.  We worked on this for over a week.  The main thing that I learned was that you cannot hope to be successful if you let the stress get to you.  There were times that I was really pressured.  I remember just wanting to scream out and tear people’s heads off, but you have to realize that won’t solve anything.  You’ve always got to keep your cool, especially on the set.  My good friend Zak Ettlinger, who was the cinematographer on this project, had a really great way of putting it:  “The first person to lose their temper is the first one to lose respect.” You can’t make a scene when you’re working on a scene.

Thankfully, the stress never got too bad, because I had such a great group of people on the crew.  I don’t know how it happened, but I got one of the best crews that year.  We had a great chemistry.  There were no egos or fights, it was just a real fun set.  Guys kept coming to me saying that they really enjoyed working on “Gray.” The right group of people can make all the difference in the world.

SD-  How long have you been involved in film production and what kind of future do you see yourself in it?

DE-  I’ve wanted to make movies ever since I saw Jurassic Park in the theater for the 7^th or 8^th time.  I hate to admit that, because it’s so cliché, but JP did it.  We never had a video recorder at home, so I didn’t really start getting behind the camera until high school.  We had a video production class and I really came into my own there.  I wasn’t exactly a popular or out-going kid in school, but I found that when I made a little movie, people liked it and then they started liking me in the process.  Making little movies is what really got me out of my shell.

I really have no idea what will happen in the future.  I’ve got high hopes though.  I’m at that point where I love what I do, but I want to get paid to do it.  That’s the tricky part, and the state of the economy isn’t really helping things out.  I really just want the opportunity to make more films.  When I’m working on a script or on a set, I really feel that’s where I belong.

SD – Tell me about your relationship with film noir.  What made you want you want to emulate that genre in “Gray”?

DE – Noir is actually a really tricking little niche.  What exactly is “Film Noir”?  Is it a genre? Is it a technique?  There are some scholars that say that say that Film Noir ended in 1955, and that everything after that point in time is “Neo-Noir.” It’s not really your standard “genre” either, because it relies heavily on lighting technique and character-type, unlike Horror or Science-Fiction movies.  There are actually debates among scholars about the definition of film noir.

For me, Noir is a state of mind.  It’s that place you land up when the world has flushed you down the toilet.  It’s the time when everyone else has either run-away or died, someone else is standing strong and solitary.  It’s the dark and gritty corners of a character’s head that never see the light of day, but have a lot of interesting things to say.  It was the perfect way to tell Milton’s story.

Favorite Noise?

DE- Other than the sweet nothings whispered from your lover’s lips, I love the sound of quiet right as the lights of a movie theater dim.  Everyone is instantly set and primed.  It is similar to the calm before the storm.  You’re heartbeat slightly races, and you’re feeling the electricity of the room.  Anticipation is on everyone’s eyes.  Sometimes, during midnight premiers of heavily $uccessful films, the quiet is too much and the audience explodes in excited, yet quickly hushed, applause.

Monster?

This one is really hard.  I like villains and monsters.  They are some of the most interesting characters.  I’ve got so many in my head that it’s hard to tell.  I grew up watching the old Universal Monster Movies.  Bela Lugosi as Dracula, Lon Chaney Jr. as the Wolf-Man, Boris Karloff as the Frankenstein Monster, and the Creaturefrom the Black Lagoon.  Plus I watched the old giant monster movies like King Kong, Godzilla, Mothra and Rodan.  I LOVED these guys, so it’s really hard for me to choose.

If it were a fight, I’d have to say Godzilla would take everyone out.  Dude’s freaking unstoppable.  Despite being incredibly cheesy, Godzilla movies, at their best, were cautionary tales of the “folly of man” (Just like in the Blue Oyster Cult song).  While a lot of his movies are really, really bad, the series is the longest running movie franchise in history.  He beats Freddy, Jason, and James Bond even if you don’t count the American movie.

Truism?

An eye for an eye makes the whole world blind.

and

The Pen is mightier than the Sword.

SD – If you could change one scene in any film, what scene would it be and why?

Whoa, I don’t know.  I used to do this with T.V. shows when I was kid with my toys and action figures.  I’d make up the endings to episodes I didn’t like.  I made like two more seasons of the Spider-Man cartoon after it ended, but as a movie…I don’t know that’s hard.

There are bunch of new movies that I’d change, but if you want a huge movie then I’ll go with one of my favorite movies.  There is a scene in Jaws…I feel like I’m flirting with blasphemy…whatever.  I’d change a piece of the scene in the end of Jaws where the shark crashes onto the boat and Quint gets eaten.  While it’s one of the bloodier deaths in the film, I think Quint needed to put up more of a fight.  He’s a huge badass the whole movie, but when the “jaws” are coming down on him, he turns into a screaming mess.  In the book, Quint stabs the shark repeatedly and the two get tangled in the debris of the ship and die together.  He literally kills the two ton shark with nothing but a knife and the broken remains of his sinking ship.  In the movie, he only pokes the shark a few times with a machete.  I would have had him at least slice off the shark’s eye right after it “rolled over white”.

SD – Any upcoming projects to look out for?

I’m currently writing a script with my good friend Zack Cutler.  Zack is a huge fan of the old road movies of the 1970’s, and the story idea he shared with me really struck a chord.  It’s very similar to several road movies but it has a supernatural element that keeps you guessing and on the edge of your seat.  While actual production on it is too far into the future to put a date on, at this time I’m looking to shoot it here in the south, so I’m looking in the area for equipment facilities.  But, as you can imagine, those are few and far between around here.  Anyone who would be interested in helping out, please get in contact with me.

SD – Where should we go to see the movie or contact you?

Anyone who wants to see the movie can contact me at daniel.f.etheridge@gmail.com and I can arrange for it to be viewable from imdb.  In a few months I’ll make it available to view on a few other sites, but, because of certain restrictions with certain Film Festivals, I’m keeping it offline for the moment.

SD – Any tips for those novice filmmakers out there?

DE- I still consider myself a novice, but I can pass along some of the things that have been taught to me.  This will sound corny, but NEVER GIVE UP.  If what you want is to make movies, never let anybody stop you.  If you want your job to be a filmmaker, then commit to it.  From here on out, that’s your job.  Every other place you go to make a check is simply that: a place to go to get a check.  When you get off the clock, you’re back to your real job: Making Movies.

If what you want is to be famous, or live the life of one of the characters from Entourage, then I can’t give any advice.

If you have a movie that you would like to be featured on Japanese Vacation, be it short or long form, contact us at ptkruz@jojevis.com.

It came from the Sin Bin: “Nature Unleashed: Fire”!

While perusing Wal-Mart on a mission to find some sort of sustenance, I crossed paths with destiny. Walking past the nine dollar movies and the seven dollar movies I found myself at the five dollar movies. The discount bin, or the “sin bin” as it will heretofor be known, is full of majesty and wonder hidden amongst loads and loads of garbage. Amongst this garbage was a four movie set all based around disasters. This collection, as we will see, contains four classics “Crash Landing,” “Nature Unleashed: Avalanche,” “Nature Unleashed: Earthquake,” and finally “Nature Unleashed: Fire.” In this edition of “Sin Bin Sunday” we will explore Allan A. Goldstein’s epic adventure “Nature Unleashed: Fire”!

The back of the box purports that during a forest fire “a group of dirt bikers are forced to safety [. . .] through an abandoned mine.” See? Doesn’t this movie sound awesome? Well, it is, sort of. During the 90 minute run time we are treated to multiple explosions; mine cave ins; angry, fire starting rednecks; and people forgetting about their injuries. The story is solid, there aren’t too many headscratching moments and the writing is tighter than some major motion pictures I’ve seen in the past few years. It doesn’t challenge the mind, but the movie doesn’t want or need to. The dirt bike element gets a little annoying mainly because the sound effects guy only had three sounds for a dirt bike: chainsaw sound, idle chainsaw sound, and full out chainsaw sound. There are a lot of wheelies, if you love wheelies then you will love this film.

Overall, due to the gratuitous amount of CGI fire and greasy haired women, I give this movie my stamp of crapproval.

We’re number one!

See that? We’re now officially on the first Google result page for “Japanese Vacation.” Stay tuned as we make our way to the top.

Microbudget Movies: It Came From Uranus!

If you’re not enticed to watch this movie simply by reading the title, then it isn’t for you.  Don’t even try to give it a shot.  The rest of us, however, will find an adventure in ‘It Came From Uranus’ to rival the cheese of any Doctor Who story arc from way back when.  In fact, the way the story is told seems as if it would be a better 6 part serial than a full-length feature.

It should already be understood that this movie is a comedy, but comedy is a tricky thing.  Where it could have easily been boring filler, ‘It Came From Uranus’ actually intelligently lampoons 1950’s culture.  Somewhat feministic, the movie takes most of it’s shots at the male superiority complex, one of the most memorable lines  being the spunky female reporter’s response to finding out about a world without men.

The acting goes very well with the overall tone of the movie, each actor playing an overconfident idiot but not as extreme as Will Ferrel stupid, more like Steve Carell sort of well-meaning stupid.  It’s this type of delivery that gives the movie more life than it would otherwise  have, as, at certain points you’ll find yourself wondering if this is really going to be a full-length movie.

In the end, you’ll definitely be glad it’s all over, but there is a lot here to love, and it is definitely clear that nobody phoned it in, they all put  a lot of heart into making this movie as funny as they can.

‘It Came From Uranus’ is an admirable attempt at stretching out a story that could have told itself over an hour.  There’s no blatant filler, but the story definitely drags itself into some unnecessary places.

Oh, and there are robots made out of garbage cans. Hilarious!

I enjoyed myself.

Interview with Steve Niles (no relation) Writer/Director/Star of ‘It Came From Uranus’:

MM – How long did it take to film ‘It Came From Uranus,’ and how did you fund the production?

SN – We shot the movie off an on over a period of about a year. ‘It Came From Uranus’ featured one of the biggest casts we’ve ever assembled, and coordinating schedules can be incredibly challenging. In the micro-budget world, when you’re dealing with actors and crew with day jobs and who are donating their time and talent, you have to be flexible and accommodating.

Actor availability can even have an impact on the script, often with serendipitous results. The restricted availability of one of our lead actors, for example, resulted in our writing him an entire side-plot to get him away from the main action. That actually ended up making the story that much more rich and interesting.

As for funding the movie, that was completely out of pocket.

MM – What lessons did you learn in the process of making this film, and how did you come to learn them?

SN – Kevin Spotts and I have been making micro-budget movies for more than a decade, starting way back in junior high school. Every project is a learning experience, getting us just that little bit better. Shooting ‘It Came From Uranus’ actually benefited from a lesson learned on our previous feature, a vampire movie called ‘Lifeblood.’ With ‘Lifeblood,’ we relied too much on available lighting, making for an unfortunately dark and murky image in a few scenes. With ‘It Came From Uranus,’ we made use of lighting rigs, diffusion screens, and the like to maximize the image quality.

As for a lesson learned with this movie, one thing that comes to mind is the wonderful forgiveness of black & white. As a spoof of old sci-fi B-movies, ‘It Came From Uranus’ needed to be presented in black & white as a stylistic necessity, but the unintended benefit was that it smoothed over the rough edges of our shoe-string set design.

The decision to make an homage to the classic sci-fi and adventure serials and B-movies of the past was also a deliberate attempt to use our micro-budget to our greatest advantage. Creating a royal throne room out of a few draped sheets and a garden chair became not just a financial necessity but a direct nod to the Flash Gordon serials that preceded us. No attempt was made to disguise the fact that our giant death ray was fashioned out of a toilet paper tube. Rather, that was entirely the point.

Embracing the low-budget aesthetic allowed us to go big and bold in terms of story. ‘It Came From Uranus’ is a micro-budget epic, with laser battles, rocket-ship dogfights, prehistoric monsters, and a gladiatorial duel held over a pit of boiling lava… and spikes… and sharks… lava-sharks!

MM – Did you have the idea for the title before you had a story in mind?  If so, how did you go about constructing the story?

SN – The feature-length ‘It Came From Uranus’ was actually a remake and expansion of a 20-minute short film I made in college. The short-film concept was set in the present day with three scientists hiding in a bunker waiting for the world to be destroyed by a hurtling chunk of Uranus. I don’t remember exactly, but yeah, the title probably came first.

I loved the concept and the juvenile pun of the title, and ten years later I set upon the idea of remaking it. However, as I started writing, I realized that the characters and situation offered an opportunity to open the story up and send the scientists into space to face the meteor threat head on. My movie-making partner Kevin Spotts and I decided to turn it into a serialized adventure in the style of Flash Gordon, and together we worked out the outline for the story. While the episodic story structure remained, we eventually decided to turn it into one sustained feature-length movie.

In developing the story, we made a deliberate effort to hit all the classic sci-fi tropes we possibly could, including a planet inhabited by a race of warrior women, trap doors, crazed gorillas, giant spiders, and evil clones to name a few. Along the way we peppered in references to classic sci-fi from the 30’s to the present, with nods to Buck Rogers, Battlestar Galactica, The Terminator, Doctor Who, and many more.

MM – What, ultimately, were you trying to say about 1950’s science fiction with ‘It Came From Uranus’?

SN – That we love it. And that goes for sci-fi of all eras. Really, I saw this as a chance to make my ‘Star Wars’ while meshing together my love of sci-fi with my love of comedy.

MM – What’s Your Favorite?

-Musical Instrument?

SN – The Synthesizer

-Fictional Fascist Regime?

SN – The Terran Federation in Paul Verhoeven’s film version of ‘Starship Troopers’.  The movie is an underappreciated masterpiece of political satire with some awesome action set pieces thrown in for good measure.

-Activity from elementary school P.E., why?

SN – Gymnastics. It was one of the only things I was any good at, and the limbering up served me well when I started doing my own stunts in movies.

MM – If you could change one scene in any film, which would it be and why?

SN – The moment in the Doctor Who TV movie when Doc #8 suggests he’s half human, on his mother’s side. There was no point to it, it’s a terrible rip-off of Mr. Spock’s back story, and the needless in-fighting that throw-away comment has made in the fan community ever since is just tiresome. (By the way, he was lying as a distraction technique. He’s all Time Lord.)

MM – Where can I buy a spiffy copy of ‘It Came From Uranus’?

SN – Links to where you can buy all of our movies can be found at the S&N Films shop at http://www.sn-films.com/shop.htm

If you would like to have your film featured on Jojevis.com, send us an email at ptkruz@jojevis.com.  No submissions ignored!

Microbudget Movies: The Creek

The Creek is a horror movie that fails in only one aspect if, in fact, it is intended to be a pure horror/slasher movie: it is not scary.  Where it did win me over, however, was it’s heavy reliance on characterization and acting.

Generally a horror movie requires actors to become a stereotype to give the audience satisfaction of seeing the know-it-all nerd, the prom queen, or the jerky jock die in horrible, painful ways at the hands of an inbred maniac with a knife, meathook or whatever else they may stumble upon in the wake of their destruction. The Creek asks different things of it’s ample cast.

So, if it isn’t completely obvious by now, the best part of  this movie is the acting.  All of the actor inhabit their characters well, giving them life and  personality usually absent from a these sorts of movies.  Where the story is predictable, the interactions between the characters allows for some entertaining moments.  It’s sort of like Clue only with a ghost, and a complete absence of mystery, which leads me to my biggest gripe of the film.

The story here is so standard, and so packed with cliches that are used in such a predictable way that it is glaringly obvious who will die and who is the bad guy from the moment you figure out what’s going on.  The kill scenes are equally lame, most involving being impaled by a stick.

Direction here is competent, none of the scenes outstay their welcome and there is no noticeable artificial run time padding in The Creek’s modest 90 minute run. The lighting is to be noted, too, because The Creek takes a tip from The Evil Dead by using flood lights to light up the woods so that everything is bright enough to see, but where Mr. Sam Raimi is bested is how none of the light sources are ever visible on camera. There are a few minor issues with the audio, the movie is dubbed very well, but at some points the ambient noise in the background rises over the dialogue too much.

There’s  not much more to say about The Creek, it’s an impressive effort from a competent director, but the story brings it all crashing down. I hope to see more from Erik Soulliard soon.

Interview with Erik Soulliard, director of The Creek:

MM – How long did it take to film ‘The Creek,’ and how did you fund the
production?

ES – We shot for 18 days which sounds like a lot for an independent film
but in reality it wasn’t. We started shooting April 27th and shot every
Thursday, Friday & Saturday for six weeks. The film is shot entirely at
night except for one small scene. So, we could only begin shooting at
around 8pm in the beginning of the shoot and 9pm toward the end. Also, the
sun began rising earlier and earlier each week. At the end of the shoot we
had to stop no later than 5:30 in the morning. Not to mention the birds
came out a solid half hour before the sun came up. This left us with about
seven to eight hours of actual shooting time at night. Most independent
films shoot 12-14 hour days so only having 8 was a definite disadvantage.

We initially were going to look for outside investors for the shoot but
seeing that this was our first feature film we decided not to. After some
long discussions my wife and I decided to finance it ourselves by taking a
second mortgage on our house. We did end up having one investor come in
right before shooting which was very helpful.

ES - Shooting in the woods, in spring, with next to no budget, is a recipe
for disaster. We were very fortunate in that we only had to reschedule one
day for rain, however, it rained at least three days each week we shot.
Let’s just say MUD was very prevalent on set.

I also learned that you don’t shoot your opening scene the first night of
shooting. It seemed like a great idea at the time but in retrospect I would
have waited. The first night of shooting on something this low budget is
really sorta awkward. It’s like a first date. Everyone is excited but at
the same time they don’t really know what to expect. Actors are still
feeling each other out and sizing one another up. On top of that all these
people are supposed to be old friends and the scene is of them all
“partying” in the woods together. That can be a tough thing for a seasoned
actor to do. Throw on top of that a first time director and yeah…I should
have shot that on weekend two. I don’t think the scene turned out horribly
bad but at the same time your opening scene is your OPENING SCENE and you really want it to shine. I’d give everyone a better chance to shine next
time.

MM – Communicate the ultimate message of the film in one quick, clean

ES – Friends come and go but people you kill might just haunt you until you
die.

ES – It’s a bit cliché I think but I loved “Time Enough At Last”. The guy
gets his wish to have enough time to read but then his glasses break.  Talk
about an amazing moment that just says, “You’re Screwed!”

- Non-Fiction Book?

ES – It’s all fiction. Nothing is ever just straight facts. Everything is
filtered through the writer’s own goals.

-Children’s Song, why?

ES – Never Smile at a Crocodile. I have a script idea to use with it. It’s
just a plain creepy freaking song.

ES – There’s just too many options for this. Every time I think of one I
come up with another that’s better and my brain hurts. I’ll take the
cowards way out and say that I’d change the car scene in The Creek. Just
didn’t work the way I wanted.

ES – You can purchase The Creek online from all major DVD retailers.
You can google it and or go to www.thecreekmovie.com and we have links to
some of the bigger vendors on the homepage.

If you would like for your movie to be featured at Jojevis.com, contact us at ptkruz@jojevis.com.  No submissions will be ignored!

Short Film Showcase: Red Door

Red Door plays out like a great episode of The Twilight Zone, and even without Rod Serling’s smoky monologue to introduce the tale, it’s a great flick.  Its strength lies in the central mystery presented at the very beginning: What  the hell is behind that Red Door?  The question, however, is not the only thing that keeps the film going.

Red Door is the story of Todd Transoma and what seems to be the worst work day of his life.  His descent into a hallucinatory madness is over by the 30 minute mark, which is more than appropriate.  Through the use of audio/visual flashbacks and visual symbolism, Red Door paints a picture of hell with much grace.

David Pike, the director of Red Door, wears his inspirations on his sleeve with the bright color palette of a Dario Argento film and a haunting piano score reeminiscent of Lucio Fulci’s The Beyond. The set-up is very well explored here, blood is plentiful, and, thankfully, it’s not a torture film.

The technical aspects of the movie, editing, audio/visual, etc. are all very slick for being done on such a low budget, and the acting, for the most part, is servicable. Bilal Mir does an excellent job as the film’s lone protagonist/antagonist, Todd Transoma.

Red Door is a great example of how to tell a good story on a low budget.  Just because your film lacks the funding of other productions does not mean that you can’t put together an effective narrative.

I throroughly enjoyed myself.

Interview with David Pike, director of Red Door:

Short Film Showcase [SFS] How long did it take to film ‘Red Door,’ and how did you fund the production?

David Pike [DP] It took about a year from script to screen. The actual filming process took about a month and a half shooting at nights til 3 in the morning. We all had day jobs, so we weren’t getting a lot of sleep. Funding for Red Door came from various sources. I put on a show with local bands to raise money for the film. It was a good way to get funding and gain awareness for the film. Then several days before shooting was to begin, I ran into Gus at Skyfire Pictures. He loved the script and wanted to help make Red Door, so he took on the cinematography and editing. Gus and Alex at Skyfire Pictures put so much into Red Door: without them, it wouldn’t be what it is today.

[SFS] What lessons did you learn in the process of making this film, and how did you come to learn them?
[DP] I learned if you do 1 shot 15 times and don’t get it right, take a break, and do it again in a different way. If you still don’t get it right, then move on, it wasn’t meant to be. There will always be better shots later down the line. And, oh yeah, if it’s 2am, and your crew wants to go home, bring a gun, and they’ll stay an extra hour or so.

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!

Game Center CX a.k.a. Retro Games Challenge

Why are you not watching this when you could be watching this!?

Game Center CX, the basis for XSeed’s “Retro Game Challenge” for the Nintendo DS, is awesome! This is a wonderful concept for a television show!  The formula is as follows:

1. A man (Arino) is given an obscure or legendarily difficult game to beat.

2. The man talks to people with personal knowledge of the game’s development process, as well as to people that design strategy guides for said games.

3. The man sits in a room  and doesn’t leave until he beats the challenge set forth.

This is episode 1, here in both parts for your viewing experience.  Enjoy, share, Digg.

Part 1: Arino is challenged by the King of RPG’s

Part 2: Sing with Ferocity and Love, Arino!

!Muy beano!

-Joj

Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Still Hot!

Not much to say here, other than that I’ve had a secret crush on Elaine for a long time, and, just recently, I was in a small debate over whether she is still hot with one of my fellow Japanese Vacationers.

So, here’s my proof that she’s still got it goin’ on:

48?

-Joj

As Seen On: Twitter

That’s right kids, we are now available on Twitter. Follow us as we Tweet with the best of them. I am still trying to figure out the controls of this new fangled internets, give me moment.

Meanwhile, enjoy the music as you wait. Heh, heh, heh.

P.S. Follow us here: http://twitter.com/Jojevisdotcom