Interview with Filmmaker Adam Barnick

If you’re not familiar with the name Adam Barnick, you soon will be! Adam is the director and writer behind the short film Mainstream, which was released via Fangoria’s Blood Drive II: America’s Best Short Horror Films DVD as well as producing, directing and editing the behind-the-scenes documentaries and featurettes for the films Frozen and Grace.

Adam is a long-time fan of the horror genre, and has contributed to many horror websites, including Icons of Fright and Dread Central. He is currently working on the exciting experimental horror documentary entitled What is Scary?

Sarah Jahier: Hi Adam and thanks for joining us today! Tell us a little about your background and how you first fell in love with the horror genre. 

Adam Barnick: I grew up in a wooded, spooky area in central New Jersey that gave me a deep appreciation for mood and atmosphere, both in its isolation and in the textures of Fall and Wintertime. Being forced through years of Catholic School as a kid definitely brought room to daydream and become familiar with talks of damnation and fear. And Halloween was always a big deal in our house. But I was introduced to the fantastic through a book on classic science fiction films that my Aunt gave me when I was 5 or 6. And my diet was primarily sci-fi for the next few years, whether through books or films. But I always enjoyed scary movies, I think we’re either wired to love this stuff or we’re not. My mother is a big horror fan so while I wasn’t, say, watching The Exorcist at 7, I was definitely seeing what I could on TV growing up and nobody minded within reason.

I think I was 12 or 13 when I got to see A Nightmare on Elm Street on cable one night, which scarred me good…but then I found out there was a part 3 coming out and managed to coerce my folks into taking me to see it. That’s really when the full-on obsession kicked in. Soon after that I had the Fangoria subscription and was diving in head first to catch up on any and all forms of horror.  That’s the best time in life as a horror fan, when you first jump in and discover classic after classic.

Sarah Jahier: After falling in love with the genre, what made you want to actually get involved in the horror industry and how did you go about accomplishing this goal? 

Adam Barnick: Well what Dream Warriors did was kick off an obsessive love for horror but also for practical makeup effects. Both the execution/artistry of them as well as the surrealistic ideas they depicted. That really got my brain cooking with all sorts of bizarre distortions of reality, human and inhuman form, etc. Originally I was thinking that as a career path. I absorbed everything I could that had to do with special makeup effects; started mold making and learning…And of course I began “attempting” films with neighborhood friends. But the preparing for filmmaking, brainstorming story ideas and capturing ideas on film/video really took over. It felt right and correct, and by the time I was 16 I knew it was filmmaking, not FX, that had really become my passion. But I’m obsessed with all genres of film…horror just happens to be the favorite.

I was always a fan, went to film school and worked on sets…and began doing genre interviews on my own website and for a site named Entertainment Insiders in an effort to meet more people in that area and learn from them. But it was my short film Mainstream getting picked up for worldwide DVD distribution that creaked open the doors a bit.

Sarah Jahier: How did you come up with the idea for your short film, Mainstream? 

Adam Barnick: The idea for Mainstream (the short) came about at a time when I was working in a video store, at the start of college; because that’s a requirement if you’re going to be a filmmaker, right?  While the film did deal with a lot of the themes that obsess me as a person that has shown up in other work (conformity, individual vs. a group, artists vs. non-artists), it was the clientele from the job that inspired it. I think maybe two percent of the people who I dealt with in the store were the types who were open to anything different or out of the mainstream, or who had a good attitude towards themselves and their lives. Two percent who didn’t have an angry/powerless/victim mentality. 98% seemed like whatever had made them unique at some point had been literally drained or burned out of them, that they’d given up. Anything creative or different, they’d snap at.

One day while at home I was contemplating this and the entire short film hit me all at once. Every image, sequence, beginning to end. I think only 2-3 times in life have I had “visions” like that for a project I wanted to do where it showed up fully formed. And I became obsessed with that surgical sequence that could be interpreted as symbol, or literal. As time went by I was able to articulate/understand every image in it as it pertained to the things I was haunted by as a creative person. And it still took like seven years from when I had the idea before we actually got to shoot it.

Sarah Jahier: As Mainstream was your first short film, how did you go about getting it from page to screen? What challenges did you face? 

Adam Barnick:  It wasn’t my first short, but it was the first to get out there and do well or be distributed. I’d prefer my older student films never get out there.

We never got the budget or resources to do it anywhere near the level I’d imagined, but for next to no money we were able to shoot something on film that affected people and got them thinking. While it’s “small” for a short film, it was the most ambitious project I’d done at the time; I was barely in the film business then, didn’t really know anybody well. Going about producing something like that without the resources/aid of a school, and trying to get talented people involved for next to nothing was the big challenge. Instead of waiting several more years, can we possibly do this on what we have now? As cheap as that short is, it took years to get to where we could afford to do it. Biggest challenge was just raising the meager funds. Getting people who don’t know you excited about what you’re doing was certainly a new and vital area a director needs to cultivate.

I don’t think we had many production-related snags once we got going though, once I’d accepted it had to be done at this scale or not at all. A few props malfunctioning, a few shots that had to be cut or combined, some minor personality conflicts on crew…but other than that, there weren’t many troubles we didn’t push through. I’m happy we accomplished it after so long, but I’d make it totally differently now, even if we were stuck with the same budget again. You almost make a film to figure out the way to properly make it!

Sarah Jahier: You’ve worked on the horror journalism side of the industry with several online publications. Do you have a favorite article or interview you’ve done? 

Adam Barnick: Interviewing Guillermo Del Toro for Pan’s Labyrinth was a highlight.  That was a brief but a seriously joyous moment. I saw him the following year again at the premiere of The Orphanage; we ended up nerding out over DVDs with some friends near the coat-check room when he should have been on the main floor doing press photos! He’s the world’s greatest geek.

I’m particularly happy I was able to interview Coralina Cataldi-Tassoni (Opera, The Third Mother), who’s since become a good friend. You learn a lot working on sets, but I’ve learned a lot as well with every interview I’ve done. Particularly from the interviews I did on the sets of Frozen and Grace…that’s one thing I think really helps those behind-the-scenes featurettes stand out. We didn’t settle for less when really getting into detailed questions on craft. And by then I’d worked enough in film to be able to interview actors/crew on their level instead of just asking for random anecdotes. And that was really the impetus behind getting into doing interviews in general…to get to know people and pick their brains while helping promote them.

Sarah Jahier: As mentioned, you’ve worked on the amazing special features for Grace and Frozen. How did you become involved with filming the special features for these films?

Adam Barnick: Thank you! I’m glad you enjoyed them. That started when I met Paul Solet. Fangoria and Koch Vision both picked our short films to go on their Blood Drive II: America’s Best Short Horror Films DVD. That was a big break for us both, and he and I really went to town promoting that. I read and did coverage on a bunch of his scripts, so I knew about Grace. And he was gearing up to do the short-film version of it to pitch the feature. He’d asked if I wanted to work on it and suggested doing a behind the scenes doc for the disc. I hadn’t done one before, but figured between my thorough interviews and having been a DVD geek I could stumble my way through it.

It’s really rough compared to ones I’ve done recently, but it did what they’d hoped it would do. While the short-form Grace showed Paul could direct a high profile project, the BTS showed who he was, what he was about and how he could pull it off. I know it helped in Adam Green wanting to meet him in the first place about producing this. Obviously he wanted to because the script was great but at least he knew Paul was a good, smart guy from seeing him work. That BTS also helped Paul get his world premiere of the short at the Fangoria Weekend of Horrors in LA, since I’d already given it to the heads of Fango and they were excited to see what was coming…but we’d hoped if the feature got going that I’d come on board to do more of the same.

It was a bit of a fight to get me on board for the feature because of the Canadian tax credit issues, limiting the amount of Americans you can hire…and we had almost no resources at all to make those special features. I didn’t care. I’d been involved since the start of that project on some level, and needed to make sure I was involved at its end. They weren’t as technically proficient as I’d desired but they had the smarts/visual finesse I was hoping to have. Green gave me a great compliment after seeing them, that you could tell a film director did them and not just an EPK guy brought on the job as a random hire, and that he was dying to see what shorts/features I would do in the feature. He and ArieScope brought me on board for Frozen soon after that, and I tried to kick it up a notch even higher than Grace. The response to the Frozen DVD/Blu-Ray has been overwhelming!

Sarah Jahier: Do you have any funny stories from behind-the-scenes of Grace and Frozen that you can share? 

Adam Barnick: We had fun on set even while busting our asses, but the strangest thing I can think of from working on Grace was the one night we went out, when I was there.  (Adam Green tells part of this story on the Grace DVD commentary). On our night off, several of the crew, Paul, Green and I went to a tavern in the middle of Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan. We walked into this place, and quickly realized we were right in the middle of Cerebral Palsy Karaoke Night. None of that statement is a joke. But it made for a unique backdrop for the rest of the night’s quirks.

The rest of the night’s events remained offbeat to say the least. This older, Wilfred Brimley-esque guy came over to Green and asked if he was interested in fighting. Keep in mind he says it in the most kindly way…I was sitting next to him when this happened and I thought he meant it like “do you like boxing?” But no, he clarified that he wanted to know if Green was interested in going outside to fight, just for the hell of it. Green politely turned him down. Then he asked if anyone else at the table was interested in fighting…We respectfully declined. But then at the next table, he found another older man who was like, “sure, I’ll come outside and fight!” And they went outside and fought.

So we decided to try out a different bar after that, and this one was supposed to be the one where the younger folks hung out. We get to that one, there’s a dozen flat-out hammered people falling down in the parking lot, and one girl trying to open a pocketknife to attack some other guy’s girlfriend. We sidestep this and go inside and it was just a whirlwind of strange Canadian drunkenness. And a lot of people beating each other up. Set to a drum and bass beat. People are really nice up there, but they let their hair down in a very unique way on the weekends it seems.

We told this story to other crew members on Monday and one of them explained the ‘Moose Jaw handshake’ to me. You break a bottle on your bar table, stick out the jagged end and go ‘pleased to meet you.’

Sarah Jahier: That sounds like quite the experience! You are currently working on What is Scary?, an experimental documentary. Can you tell our readers about this project and where you got the idea for it? 

Adam Barnick: After Mainstream I was trying to get several other projects going while working on other people’s films and developing my own work. As you probably know, everything’s built on sand and projects often take forever to come together…What is Scary? came about from being frustrated at a lack of resources to pull off bigger ideas I was developing. And after a few lean years where even getting a camera and lights was out of the question for any no-budget ideas I was trying to think of something that didn’t need anyone else but myself, really.

I’d participated in a similar project in which I was asked to call a voicemail and answer the question “What is sexy?” which right there can generate a ton of varied, thoughtful answers. I thought about taking a similar approach and asking people to answer ‘What is scary?’ however they saw fit, and it was an idea I could begin with just an answering machine. The answers are being edited into a visual tapestry of stills and possibly animations, akin to a Ken Burns documentary but with its own offbeat approach.  I invited people in and out of the horror world to call in with the answers to their questions.

So it became a project I could do on my own but I do have photographers including Paula Burr (Killer Eye Photography, Dread) involved; she’s been featured on your site a few times. It’s still a done-for-nothing passion project but it will be a bit more polished and involved than what’s been seen. I imagine it on the wall in a multimedia art gallery with a pair of headphones where you can drop in on this little world. There’s been a terrific response, both in the answers I got and in the film community/fans who’ve seen the teaser. I think it’s unique enough to grab people in and out of horror fandom who are open to something different. It’s become a smart dialogue between myself and the callers, though I only ask one question. I was concerned at the start that it might get too repetitive, but it’s the distinctive takes on what “scary” means to people that has made it fascinating to me.

Sarah Jahier:  I know the horror community, myself included, is extremely eager to check out this project! When can we expect to see What is Scary?
 
Adam Barnick: I only recently started postproduction and I’ll know what it’s truly going to take to wrap it up by this Spring/Summer…I’m kind of letting it tell me what it needs and it could keep changing- but I hope to wrap it up by the end of the year. I’ll be making more announcements about it at that time.

Sarah Jahier: The horror landscape is always changing, but right now mainstream Hollywood seems stuck in the remake rut with the only original ideas coming out of the independent scene. What’s your take on the current horror climate? 

Adam Barnick:  I think the past decade or so of horror’s been a complete 50/50.  Which is still better than the completely stale, sterile ‘90s in which I can only think of maybe four worthwhile horror films.

I can’t shit on remakes just because they’re remakes though…we all know some that surpass the originals and will remain classics. I recently read a script for an upcoming remake that was one of the best scripts I’d read in years. Scripts in general, not just remake scripts. You can’t really scream at Hollywood for playing safer bets, it’s completely rational from a business standpoint. But the fact is, if you look at what’s making money, they’re not seeing the support financially for a lot of original genre films.

A film on 50 screens isn’t going to make a huge dent, but it can make an impact and a decent per-screen average, which counts. And there’s ways to support original films, financially or promotionally even if you’re not fortunate to live close enough to see one you’re interested in. Sure, the Elm Street redo is going to have 30 million in marketing behind it; and a smaller film can’t compete…but it’s not hard to find what’s out there these days if you’re a serious horror fan. But every horror fan/filmmaker I know went to see Elm Street opening night last year, knowing they wouldn’t like it but they went because “they had to see it.” And then they went online to complain they didn’t like it.  Why bother if you’re certain it’s terrible?  And many of them just sit and wait for DVD when something unique comes out. So Elm Street made a ton of dough and people continue to be angry because they can’t get their scripts made and they don’t see enough variety at the theater. Every once in a while we get a gem, and overseas filmmaking continues to take chances, but I still believe people can vote with their wallets. Good horror may wax and wane but it doesn’t die.

Sarah Jahier: Who are your favorite horror filmmakers that really excite you today?

Adam Barnick: Not counting friends/people I’ve been fortunate to work with that I’m fans of…well obviously Del Toro is at the top. I wouldn’t call Neil Marshall strictly a horror filmmaker, but I’m up for whatever he’s interested in. Christopher Smith is another one who’s impressed me from the start who I’ll continue to watch. I will follow Tom Shankland around for life after he kicked me in the face with his film The Children. And I’m still down to see anything that the old-school masters of horror come up with.

Sarah Jahier: What are your picks for the 5 scariest horror movies?

Adam Barnick: This changes often since there’s usually a list of 20 from various eras that rotates…so I will pick 5 that are on my mind right now…not necessarily my favorites, but ones that continually freak me out.

Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1956) – Probably where I got my fear of “a group vs. an individual” in films…you can read so much into this film regardless of the period of history you’re from. A big unconscious influence on Mainstream.  The ‘70s follow-up is equally amazing but my heart remains in the original.

Don’t Look Now (1973) – A waking nightmare. This film made me nervous from the start and didn’t really ever let up. Literally two minutes in, it was unsafe.

The Shining (1980) – No explanation needed.

The Blair Witch Project (1999) – I grew up surrounded by woods and understand the primal scariness of them, all too well. The perfect film to me to utilize your imagination to scare the crap out of you. Plus, my friends and I were obsessed with exploring abandoned houses in high school…that film’s ending is like watching us get what we deserved back then. One of the few films that truly made it tough for me to sleep at night.

The Mothman Prophecies (2002) – I don’t know how much of a following it has, maybe people avoid it because it seems like a giant glossy star-driven horror film? But it’s seriously smart, has a visual approach unlike any other studio picture, has probably the most overt yet absorbing sound design I’ve heard, and it’s conceptually daring and quite subtly subversive for a big-ticket movie. It’s seriously eerie to see this film flirt with its spiritual concepts and ideas of the bigger picture behind the curtain that no human ever sees ‘til they die.  And then it doesn’t resolve much of the questions it poses about them.

Sarah Jahier: What horror movies (besides your own!) are you excited for in 2011 and beyond? 

Adam Barnick: I was beyond over the moon for At the Mountains of Madness and will remain hopeful the stars align someday and that film happens. Aside from projects directors I know or have worked with have brewing, I’m seriously excited for Insidious.  Any kind of supernatural tale always wins over real-life psychos with me. I’ll probably have seen Chris Smith’s Black Death by the time this interview surfaces. I know I’m not alone in thinking he’s consistently underrated. Bereavement is a seriously disturbing film just coming out now, though I saw that last year. Other than that, I’m definitely down for Don’t Be Afraid of The Dark’s redo even though I love the original…and there’s a film in prep called American Mary by the Soska sisters that won’t be out till 2012 but has already got me seriously intrigued from what little I’ve heard about it.

Sarah Jahier: How do you get inspired for ideas for your films? 

Adam Barnick: Music is a big help. And just trying to remain active and interested in people and life around me. Catching bits of conversations and imagining what came before and after. Spending too much time thinking about themes and ideas that obsess me. Traveling. As for developing scripts, and adding to the ideas I start with, I generate inspiration and ideas just through the process of working. And music helps a lot at that time. I used to wait till I was fired up and inspired before doing anything or working on any random ideas, but that resulted in basically losing ten years of being productive. It wasn’t until Summer 2009 that I kind of figured my own creativity out, and how to get the most out of it and demand of myself that I put the time in daily. The more digging I do, the more I find…but I rarely, if ever, find something before I’ve started digging. I’m still not at “full strength” yet, but I’m working out all the time now, if you get what I mean.

Sarah Jahier: What are your favorite things about the horror genre? 

Adam Barnick: It has no limitations. In terms of visuals, atmosphere, sound, subject matter, depth of intelligence. You can go anywhere and there’s an audience that can roll with it.  From the nastiest slasher to gorgeous, poetic films like Eyes Without a Face, there’s so many shades to horror and how you can approach it or what you can say with it.

Sarah Jahier: Besides horror, what makes Adam Barnick tick? 

Adam Barnick: Nature, Twin Peaks, French Onion soup, being around and having smart conversations with artists of any type, kickboxing/fitness, friends, reading, learning, New York City, London, pumpkin carving and dachshunds.

Sarah Jahier: What projects are you working on next? 

Adam Barnick: Besides what I’ve mentioned, I’ve got half a dozen scripts in various stages of development, in different genres. Though the main focus has been the feature-length version of Mainstream. It’s much more story/character based than the short was but still has a layered, smart and experimental vibe. I didn’t have an idea for a feature when I did the short, but came up with a take on it last year that has obsessed me, so I’m shaping that. I’ve got two music videos I’m in various stages of planning right now, and have written two other shorts I’m hoping to get funds for so we can shoot them this year. There are a few other behind-the-scenes docs I’m supposed to begin soon, but the films they’re for still need to get started, so I’m waiting at the starting line for the trigger to go off. And there’s a few other “maybes”, in and out of horror films, that are circling. I’m just trying to make up for lost time and continually improve myself, as a filmmaker and a person.

For more info, visit www.adambarnick.com!

Interview with Actress and Producer Katrena Rochell

Katrena Rochell co-stars in the much anticipated comic book adapted film Kick-Ass starring Nicholas Cage and Mark Strong. Katrena plays a sexy junkie in the Matthew Vaughn directed film, produced by Brad Pitt’s Plan B Production Company, which was recently released in the US from Lionsgate. Also in 2010, Katrena stars in the, Psychosis opposite Charisma Carpenter and Paul Sculfor. She plays “Helena” in the psychological thriller that she co-wrote and executive produced.

On the small screen in her native Untied Kingdom, Katrena will be seen this year in the made for TV movie, Casting Nina a British mockumentary about the absurdities that surround the world of the entertainment industry. She is best known for her role in television film currently airing on the BBC The Last Days of Lehman Brothers, where she plays “Ezzy” opposite esteemed actor, James Cromwell.

Katrena was just cast opposite Michelle Morrow in an untitled sci-fi thriller about the end of times directed by Michael Shelton. She also just signed on to produce and star in a new untitled film that deals with a small town family’s struggles with crystal meth addicts. Her other film credits include the independent film, Joy Division and the video short  JD Pilot.

Katrena is co-director of the British production company Kingsway Films that produced Psychosis and Joy Division. She began her acting studies at Mesa Conservatory and continues to study at the Impulse Theatre Company when in the UK. She divides her time between London and Los Angeles. In her free time she enjoys reading, painting, hiking, tennis and cooking.

Fatally Yours: What are your first memories of the horror genre and what drew you to it?

Katrena Rochell:  Friday the 13th was my first memory… I was a little girl and having a slumber party. We somehow got one without my parents knowing. I remember I felt so  terrified…and alive! Then we would all go outside in the dark and walk…Terrified.

Fatally Yours: What does horror mean to you?

Katrena Rochell: Fear of the unknown

Fatally Yours: What made you want to pursue acting as a career and how did you get your start in the entertainment industry?

Katrena Rochell: I love the stage and performing on it. I fell into it by accident really at university. I was terribly shy and when it was my turn to go on stage, I would just die….But it made me feel so alive! It also made me curious and question things….look at things differently. I did what everyone else trying to be an actor did. Moved to LA and auditioned and did as many plays and films as I could. I have been doing it for awhile, it’s just lately things have started taking off for me.

Fatally Yours: What made you want to create your own production company and what kind of films are you hoping to produce? 

Katrena Rochell: I was frustrated being in London and never being “right” for the part. I’ve always been told I’m very hard to pinpoint. I decided if I was ever going to do anything I would have to do it myself. I was lucky because I was surrounded by people who make things happen as opposed to waiting for things to come…I guess it rubbed off on me…When I started doing my own things, that is, when I started booking. What type films would I want to produce? Anything dark with shock value! I also want my films to be honest and explore the dark side to our humanity.

Fatally Yours: You are in the comic-book adaptation of Kick-Ass, a film that everyone seems to be buzzing about! Tell us about your experience working on the film with the cast and crew and your overall thoughts on the film itself. 

Katrena Rochell: The film is great! Matthew Vaughn was a dream to work for. He is so creative and willing to play to create something that fits. I also worked the two weeks with the stunt guys, which are so amazing.  It was the biggest film set I have ever been on and it was absolutely fabulous…I didn’t want it to end.

Fatally Yours: You will also be starring in the upcoming Psychosis, alongside Charisma Carpenter. You not only star in the film, but also executive produced as well as co-wrote Psychosis. Tell us what it was it like acting and producing simultaneously, as well as being a writer on the film. 

Katrena Rochell:  Reg Traviss and I had wrote Charisma’s part for me and we were only making a short. It just continued to grow and we gained amazing support along the way. I ended up playing a smaller role. It was not anymore difficult than just acting because Reg was so on top of everything. I consider that film my “film school”  as it is where I educated myself on the ways of making a film from start to finish.

Fatally Yours: Speaking of being a writer, do you wish to pursue that career more along with acting and producing? Are there any scripts, etc. you are working on now?

Katrena Rochell: I don’t consider my self a writer. I could not do it alone. I am currently working on a film about crystal meth set in Tennessee that I developed along with my partner Andrew Docker. We are also producing it and plan on shooting at the end of summer. I also have an idea that I am going to do next which is something I have wanted to do for a very long time….

Fatally Yours: We celebrated Women in Horror Month here on Fatally Yours back in February, so now I’d like to ask you a few female-centric questions. Do you think female roles in horror films have shown improvement and that there are more strong female characters being featured in films nowadays? 

Katrena Rochell: I think it is better but still has room for improvements…

Fatally Yours: Have there been any roles that you’ve turned down because you found them too stereotypical, offensive, exploitative, etc.?

Katrena Rochell:   Yes.

Fatally Yours: Do you ever get annoyed by the stereotypical “bimbo in distress” who always seems to end up naked for no apparent reason in some horror movies?

Katrena Rochell:  It has its place… but that is it…

Fatally Yours: Do you think there is a horror movie that is equally fair in terms of men being objectified or at least losing the same amount of clothes?

Katrena Rochell: Nothing comes to mind

Fatally Yours: What are your overall thoughts on how women are portrayed in horror films (or in films in general)?

Katrena Rochell:  Obviously women do not get the same opportunities as men…which is totally unfair. Now more women are moving into other aspects of film making (myself for instance) so I believe they have a responsibility to create change. Saying that, generally, women do not care so much if you have a hot man taking off his clothes…we find it cheesy… or at least I do…I suppose that is the difference in men and women.

Fatally Yours: Behind the scenes, do you think more and more women are getting involved in directing, producing, writing, etc.? Why do you think that traditionally more men have been involved in the behind-the-scenes aspects of filmmaking than women? 

Katrena Rochell: I’m not sure why men have been more behind the scenes in the past, but I certainly know that is not the case anymore. I produce and act and have occasionally tried writing…anybody these days can create anything.

Fatally Yours: And now, back to some fun questions! What has been your favorite character you’ve portrayed? The most challenging? 

Katrena Rochell: I loved playing Desserick in Finding Nina. She is absolutely a lunatic…crazy alive character. We did mostly improv for that  show.

Fatally Yours: If you could play or go up against any fictional horror villain in a film, who would it be and why?

Katrena Rochell: I’ve I always wanted to play a serial killer… It is fascinating to see what makes them tick. I’d love to explore that.

Fatally Yours: What women in the entertainment business, specifically the horror genre, do you admire and look up to?

Katrena Rochell: I honestly look up to any woman who manages to have a career. It is so difficult and even more so the women who manage to keep working once they get a hand in the door. It’s easy for people to sit around and criticize and judge. I try to see the good in all.

Fatally Yours: What would be your dream role/project?

Katrena Rochell: I’m working on that one at the moment. We have just commissioned a writer to write it and as soon as I’m finished with the crystal meth project, I will focus on “my baby”.

Fatally Yours: What advice would you give women who want to pursue a career in the entertainment business?

Katrena Rochell: Do it. It’s the time now… it’s just like the revolution of the 70′s. People can do it themselves now… and women have already started leading the way… [like] The Hurt Locker [Kathryn Bigelow was the first female director to win the Best Director Academy Award].

Fatally Yours: Where can people find more info on you?

Katrena Rochell:  www.katrenarochell.com Psychosis will be out in July!  And Kick-Ass opens this Friday [since this interview was conducted, Kick-Ass has opened in theaters across the country].

Interview with Screenwriter and Producer Brian Patrick O'Toole

Brian Patrick O’Toole is an accomplished screenwriter and producer who has had a varied career from video game designer to literary agent to Fangoria correspondent to screenwriter and producer. Brian has worked on such genre films like Cemetery Gates, Dog Soldiers and the recent indie hits Evilution and Basement Jack. Evilution and Basement Jack are part of a trilogy of films that will be completed with upcoming The Necropolitan, a film Brian is currently working on.

I had a chance to chat with Brian about his love of the horror genre, how he pushed to get Dog Soldiers made, the challenges of independent filmmaking and his passion for video games. Read on, Fatal Fiends!

Fatally Yours: What are your first memories of the horror genre and how did you fall in love with it?

Brian Patrick O’Toole: You always remember your first good scare. Y’know, that scare that defines every phobia and nightmare that haunts you all of your life. Mine happened in 1968. My parents decided that it was a good idea to take a five year old to see a horror triple feature at the local drive-in. The midnight show was Night of the Living Dead. You have to know that the only two films I can remember seeing before NOTLD were The Love Bug and Chitty Chitty Bang Bang. I was put on the roof of our blue station wagon alone with the speaker as the movie began. My five-year-old mind couldn’t separate between what was happening on the screen and the shuffling movie-goers crossing the gravel in front of the car. In the vehicle ahead of us, a couple started making out but all I saw was a man attacking a woman. My mother used to love to tell people how they had to pry my fingers from the bike rack after the movie. I didn’t sleep for almost three days. This was the genesis of my love of horror films. The next three movies I saw right after NOTLD were Destroy All Monsters, Dracula Has Risen From the Grave and Planet of the Apes. I was hooked. Horror was everywhere for me after that experience, even on TV where I would run home from school to watch Dark Shadows, stayed up late on Friday and Saturdays for WGN Chicago’s Creature Features where I was first introduced to the Universal Horror Classics like The Wolfman, Frankenstein and Dracula and grinded sleepovers to a stop so we could watch The Night Stalker. To date, I have yet to match the horror I felt that night in 1968 but I keep trying. The closest I’ve come was playing the original Resident Evil game. You never forget the first time those mutant dogs crashed through the hallway window.

Fatally Yours: What continues to keep you in horror’s thrall?

Brian Patrick O’Toole: The horror film is a true interactive experience. Comedy and drama are so subjective. Some people thought Airplane! is genius and others think that it is the stupidest movie ever. Some people cried at Jack’s death in Titanic and some people, like me, were wishing Rose would move her fat ass over and let Jack share that board. There was room! Some people were inspired by The Passion of the Christ and some people, like me, were yelling lines from Monty Python’s Life of Brian “He’s not the Messiah! He’s a very naughty boy!” But a scare is a scare. You can cover your eyes but you can’t cover your ears at the same time. Fear is universal. We love to be scared – in a safe environment. I love to be the puppet master that orchestrates a good scare. Unfortunately, all these soulless remakes of classic horror films are making it hard for new horror films to break through; and when one finally does, like Let the Right One In, Hollywood jumps on it and remakes it. And they usually miss the point, the heart of the original, and just make the remake bigger – not better. I’m finding the best scares lately are coming from video games not movies. The reason for that is that video games give horror fans that one thing movies couldn’t – they let the player be the hero who controls the action and his fate. Doom, Resident Evil, Castlevania, Silent Hill, and Alone in the Dark were the games that originated the gaming genre of “survival horror”. Survival horror is where the real scares can be found lately.

Fatally Yours: You’ve had quite a varied and impressive career, from video game designer to literary agent to producer and screenwriter. Tell us a little about your career trajectory and what you are doing now. 

Brian Patrick O’Toole: Up until 1977, my career plan was to be a paleontologist. I still loved horror films and disaster movies but I wanted to dig dinosaurs. Then, I saw Close Encounters of the Third Kind and everything changed. I wanted to make magic that affected people like I was after seeing that film. I actually snuck a tape recorder into the theater and taped the movie. Then, I went home and typed out the movie in what I thought the script would look like. I actually wasn’t too far off in my formatting. Next I started writing my own scripts but they all lacked something that I couldn’t put my finger on – that is, until I saw Romero’s Dawn of the Dead. That something was subtext, meaning. Dawn of the Dead changed my life and it remains my favorite film of all time.  However, I didn’t seriously think about a career in filmmaking until 1979. 1979 was the year of Alien, Phantasm, The Amityville Horror, Prophecy, The Warriors, Tourist Trap, When a Stranger Calls, Zombie and The Rocky Horror Picture Show at the Biograph Theater – where Dillinger was shot and killed. I was sixteen and sneaking out to see midnight shows of films they would never show at the local mall theater.  It was the year that I swore I’d be a filmmaker and I have lived everyday since making that dream come true.

The video game designing part of my career spawned from a time when horror films were a tough sell and the company I was with, Intrazone, needed to expand their horizons. We were working with LIVE Entertainment at the time and they expressed interest in getting into the PC gaming arena. They had the video game rights to Speed Racer and a BMX magazine character called Radical Rick designed by Damian Fulton. When I was a kid I wanted to be Speed Racer so it was a special opportunity for me to make a video game based on his adventures. I met with game maker supreme Voldi Way, owner of WayForward Technologies, who came aboard to help us bring my game designs to life. We premiered the games at the very first E3 (Electronic Entertainment Expo) and the buzz was great. Then, as fate would have it, the CEO of LIVE and his wife were shot and killed by their two sons (you might remember those nutty Menendez Brothers) and everything changed. LIVE became Artisan and Artisan didn’t want to get into the video game business so two cool, complete games were shelved forever. Members of Guns ‘n Roses even recorded a version of the Speed Racer theme song for the game. Such a shame.

Fatally Yours: Did you consciously choose the horror genre for most of your projects or was it just coincidence? Do you have any plans to work in other genres?

Brian Patrick O’Toole: My training is actually in comedy. I attended the Player’s Workshop of the Second City in Chicago for a while. I love comedy. Actually, horror and comedy share the same rhythm: set-up and reaction. All of the films I have been involved with do have humor in them, twisted as it may be. The closest I’ve come to a comedy is with Cemetery Gates. It was originally written as a straight Jaws-in-the-woods but when I saw the mutated Tasmanian Devil suit I didn’t think it would be taken seriously. The suit makers did an awesome job but I didn’t think that they based it on the real creature but rather on a drawing I had made that was done in an Anime style. So, I decided to embrace what worked and re-wrote the script with a more outrageous twist. Let’s face it, seventeen people die in 90 minutes. It’s a party movie!

Another “comedy” I was involved in was Van Fisher’s Neo Ned. The original screenplay was slanted more toward the dramedy side and told the story of a reluctant neo-Nazi who is placed in a mental heath hospital where he falls for a black woman who believes she is harboring the spirit of Adolph Hitler. The final film slanted more heavily toward the dramatic side but I am still very proud of that movie. The film stars Jeremy Renner who is a nominee this year for Best Actor for the film The Hurt Locker. Jeremy is an amazing talent and I am so excited for him. I hope people will check out Neo Ned and see another example of Jeremy’s great work.

Fatally Yours: Can you tell us more about being involved in producing Neil Marshall’s Dog Soldiers. I understand people were hesitant to push that this film to get made until you came along. 

Brian Patrick O’Toole:  I absolutely put my job on the line recommending Dog Soldiers for production. Neil had been trying to get it made for eight years before I got it. The script we got moved at a glacial pace with more than a nod to Night of the Living Dead and had a lot of references to soccer embedded in it. The sad thing about script reading is that you are almost encouraged to skim. I never skim. I read the whole script because you never know what gem you’ll find in the rough. That’s how I found Dog Soldiers. I took the time and read the whole script. Everyone at the production company didn’t see the same gem that I saw so I put my neck out and staked my job on the success of the script as a movie. In 2000, horror was a tough sell because the genre had become mostly self-aware films like Scream. In fact, no one was saying horror. They were calling them Dark Fantasies at that time. We, the American production team, put a lot of time, effort, and money into Dog Soldiers to get it right. Producer Christopher Figg, who did Hellraiser and Trainspotting, was a real gentlemen and I consider him the driving force of the production. Dog Soldiers played theatrically throughout the world except in the US because we had our first screenings for distributors right after 9/11. No one wanted movies about soldiers or werewolves. We eventually sold the film to the SyFy Channel who broadcasted the movie as a SyFy Original. It is still one of their highest rated films. The fans really embraced Dog Soldiers and I really enjoyed traveling to film festivals across the US, meeting them and showing the film on the big screen. The thing I was most proud of was getting an action figure made of the werewolf. That was pretty cool! I’m looking for a company to do an action figure of Basement Jack right now. So, if you know someone…

All in all, Dog Soldiers was a very bittersweet experience for me but I’m encouraged by its fan base. Oh, and by the way, I get a lot of emails asking me why the Blu-ray of the film is so grainy. The reason why is that Dog Soldiers was filmed in Super 16mm, which is a naturally grainy film stock. So, the print used is not bad. The Blu-ray is the best Dog Soldiers can look. I don’t know why the new distributor didn’t put out a Special Edition because there is a material from the UK DVD and I did record a commentary for the North American release.

Fatally Yours: Your recent films Evilution and Basement Jack were received well and we here at Fatally-Yours enjoyed them very much! A third film that will complete the trilogy is in the works. Can you tell us what’s in store for us with The Necropolitan and where you’re with it right now? 

Brian Patrick O’Toole: I cannot tell you how appreciative I am for all the positive reviews we have received on both films. First, I’m glad that most people “got” them and had fun with them. Black Gate Entertainment is, in every sense of the word, an independent film production company. Our bosses are the fans. I never want to let a horror fan down because I am one and I know when a film is not being sincere with its audience. It was awesome that we were able to premiere the films at the Fangoria Weekend of Horror conventions in New York, Los Angeles, and my hometown CHICAGO. We took the films to the fans so their feedback was immediate and very encouraging. I’m also very encouraged by the emails asking about the third film, The Necropolitan. The Manager character has really taken off and fans are telling me that they are looking forward to his film in the trilogy. The Necropolitan script went through a few re-writes but I believe we have the story we want to tell now. It will be done in 3D. It won’t be gimmicky 3D. I want to use 3D like Hitchcock used the process in Dial M for Murder. All I can tell you now is that it is a creature feature and that all answers will be questioned. We are currently seeking financing, but the film is ready to go before the cameras – hopefully by the end of this year.

Fatally Yours: Why did you choose to make a trilogy with the three films, especially since they are so loosely connected?

Brian Patrick O’Toole: When I joined my producing partner and friend Eric Peter-Kaiser at Island Gateway Films, we wanted to start a horror division, which became Black Gate Entertainment. We planned on doing three horror films to begin and chose to do a zombie film, a slasher movie and a creature feature. Eric came up with the brilliant idea of linking them all together with a common story thread. It was tough coming up with something that wasn’t like a narrator character that bookend the movies like in The Twilight Zone, Creepshow or Tales from the Dark Side. I like the idea of a puppet master who had a hand in guiding the fates of the characters in all three films. The Manager was born but I had my doubts of it working. Eric and I wanted the stories to stand alone so I was worried that the Manager would just be a gimmick. Enter actor Nathan Bexton. Nathan completely understood the character and made him his own.  Nathan as The Manager was the perfect storm of an actor developing a character.  I’m so glad fans of Evilution and Basement Jack are embracing the Manager as a new horror icon. I hope they like what we have in store for the Manager in The Necropolitan.

Fatally Yours: You were the screenwriter as well as producer for these films, but also wore many different hats because they were independent films. What were your biggest challenges when making these films?

Brian Patrick O’Toole: The best part of independent film is that you can wear many hats. It really is a family of people working together for a common goal up against numerous odds. I’ve found that less money equals more creativity. I think audiences appreciate the honesty behind our films. As the screenwriter of both Evilution and Basement Jack, I think the toughest challenge is keeping the original vision for the movie intact. However, unless you are directing the film as well, once you hand over the shooting script your job is done and it becomes the director’s show. Evilution originally was more of a Poseidon Adventure with zombies but slowly became a smaller, more claustrophobic film. Basement Jack has to be the best time I ever had on the set of any of my films. The director, Michael Shelton, came to the production with a clear vision and brought some digital magic that we never hoped to get on our modest budget. As a producer on any film, your work really comes at pre-production and post-production. During production, once the word “action!” is yelled, it is the director’s film. You hope that every problem was taken care of during pre-production and you’re only there to put out little fires, like keeping everyone on time and on budget. I love everything about independent filmmaking and feel very lucky to be able to do what I’ve always dreamt of doing.

Fatally Yours: Has the “digital revolution” made independent filmmaking easier, more difficult or both? Why?

Brian Patrick O’Toole: Change is always good. But change always brings new challenges. When we were in pre-production for Evilution, I was totally against filming digitally. Then I met cinematographer Mathew Rudenberg and saw his reel. To say I was blown away by what he could do with a digital camera would be a great understatement. Mathew taught me that the secret of good digital filmmaking lies in the lights. He is a very talented individual and my greatest fear is that the studios will scoop him up before we can work together again. He is the next Dean Cudney.

As far as digital making everything easier or more difficult, my experience during Evilution and Basement Jack was that it made production easier but the time and money saved there was spent in post-production. Digital offers a lot more freedom and that’s what edges it up over traditional film.

Fatally Yours: Do you feel that CGI has affected horror films for the better or for the worse?

Brian Patrick O’Toole: I am totally against CGI characters. And this is coming from someone who was there in CGI’s infancy. I did a film in 1994 called Sleepstalker: The Sandman’s Last Rites and we did some computer morphing scenes that looked more rubber than sand. The thing about CGI is that no matter how talented the digital artist is, their work will never take the place of the organic. For example, let’s take the 1933 King Kong and Peter Jackson’s King Kong. Sure, the original King Kong was an eight-inch model but he was organic. There was something very real about him and the prehistoric beasts that he battled. Now look at the digital Kong and friends. There is no weight to them, nothing natural. Watch each film with the sound off and tell me which giant ape makes you believe… and cry at the end. Now having said that, we did have some digital shots in Basement Jack. The director, Michael Shelton, is an excellent visual artist and has worked on such films as The Passion of the Christ, Invasion, The Exorcism of Emily Rose, Pirahna 3D, Mirrors, My Bloody Valentine 3D and the American Godzilla. Michael gave us some great shots but I remain a fan of the practical effect.

Fatally Yours: What advice would you give an aspiring screenwriter, producer or filmmaker?

Brian Patrick O’Toole: When I was pitching scripts as a literary agent I had the opportunity to meet some real Hollywood movers and shakers. I once asked a famous director that same question: “What advice can you give an aspiring screenwriter, producer or filmmaker?” He said to me: “If you are good at something else, do that.” That was like a lightning bolt to my brain. Thankfully, I am a very stubborn person and challenged his advice.

Producers: Film your ending and nudity as close to the beginning of the shoot as possible. Really believe in your project because you’ll be pitching it to many, many people. Worry when a department head says, “I want to surprise you.” Learn to know when to shake hands, hug or bump fists. Your investor is the only person you need to answer to – No one else is your friend.

Screenwriters: Learn your craft. You don’t wake up one morning and say “I’m going to be a brain surgeon today” and go and do it. Anyone who is willing to read your script and give you comments is a friend worth keeping. If five people read the script and have different opinions, leave it alone. If everyone has the same comment, time for a re-write. Get people to read your script aloud (table read) – You won’t believe how that helps with dialogue. You will never sell an original screenplay but your original screenplay may be a writing sample that gets you the opportunity to write a producer’s idea. Spec Scripts are a necessary evil: Write a sample script in every genre.

Filmmakers: Everyone can buy a digital camera but not everyone has connections to talent. Casting agents are your best friends. NETWORK! Mentors are worth their weight in gold. Write emails to people you’ve met and join their Facebook/Twitter pages. Hollywood is always in chaos but remember that a wave makes all boats rise. Be brave enough to ride the wave. This is a great time for Independents because of the Internet. For very little money, you can successfully do your own marketing and sell your films on-line by personally contacting your target audience through blogs, websites and social websites like Facebook and MySpace.

Fatally Yours: What are your thoughts on the current horror climate?

Brian Patrick O’Toole: Studio remakes are killing the genre. Horror belongs to the independents. Let’s take horror back with great original material, then let the studios remake them and we can use their money to make more original films. I’m hoping that Saw VII, rumored to be the last Saw, is also the end of the sub-genre of torture porn horror films.

Fatally Yours: I know studio remakes are the bane of existence to most of us horror fans, but if you had the opportunity to remake one horror film, what would it be and why? 

Brian Patrick O’Toole: I had an awesome idea for a Dark Shadows movie that I actually had a chance to pitch to Dan Curtis before he died. Now I hear that Johnny Depp owns the rights. I had a pretty clever idea for a Planet of the Apes sequel that would take place between Conquest and Battle from the original series. But I read in Variety that Fox is doing a Planet of the Apes film called Caesar. So I’m hesitant to mention this but I have a great idea for a remake of The Car and a re-imagining of Grizzly. But I’ll look at any remake project a studio wants to throw our way.

Fatally Yours: Besides being involved in film, you’re also a big video game fan who has written a column for Fangoria. What horror-themed video game releases are you looking forward to in 2010? 

Brian Patrick O’Toole: I’ve been writing the “Horrorcade” column for Fangoria Magazine for five years in May and I really enjoy it.  It was always a dream of mine to write for Fangoria since I bought the first issue in 1979. In fact, that issue is my good luck charm. It has been with me on every film shoot since Sleepstalker. I almost lost it during the filming of Cemetery Gates when the Griffith Park cave we were using flooded during a rare L.A. rainstorm but luckily my backpack protected it.

This year has started big for horror games with the release of Dante’s Inferno and Bioshock 2. I am really looking forward to the new Castlevania reboot, The Calling, Splatterhouse and Dead Rising 2.  Aliens vs. Predator looks like it’ll be an awesome multi-player on-line game. I am always open to a challenge so if anyone wants to friend me on-line my XBOX 360 gamertag is “Dog Soldier BOT” and my PS3 gamertag is “wereBOT”.

Fatally Yours: What are your favorite horror-themed video games of all time?

Brian Patrick O’Toole:  Hands down, Resident Evil 2 is my favorite horror game. Castlevania is my favorite series, even those Nintendo 64 3D games. I love Left 4 Dead 2 on-line. Demon’s Souls is my favorite horror RPG. My favorite horror games that no one played are Onechanbara: Bikini Samurai Squad and Earth Defense Force 2017 for the XBOX360 and Deadly Creatures, Ju-On – The Grudge and Madworld on the Wii. My guilty pleasure is the Friday the 13^th game on the NES – there is no way to win that game but it’s always scary when Jason pops up. That game needs to be remade with this generations processing power. It would rock!

Fatally Yours: Speaking of favorites, what are your favorite horror films and books? 

Brian Patrick O’Toole: My favorite film is Romero’s Dawn of the Dead. I love B movies and watch them all. I actually just sat through Mega Shark Vs. Giant Octopus on Netflix. The shark put the bite on a jet airliner in mid air and bit the Golden Gate Bridge in half. Beat that, Jurassic Park IV! Godzilla movies are my guilty pleasure.

Reading so many screenplays really doesn’t allow me time for much personal reading. My favorite book is Richard Matheson’s I Am Legend. The books I recommend most are Carl Sagan’s The Demon-Haunted World: Science as a Candle in the Dark, C.S. Lewis’ The Screwtape Letters, Mark Twain’s Letters From Earth and Barbara Ehrenreich’s Bright-Sided. I’m reading Ozzy Osbourne’s autobiography I Am Ozzy right now.

Fatally Yours: What upcoming projects can you tell us about? 

Brian Patrick O’Toole: Eric and I are developing several projects. We have The Necropolitan for which we are currently seeking investors. We are also co-producing a film I wrote called A Necessary Evil, which is a modern take on the Elizabeth Bathory story. We have a musical dramedy that I wrote with Basement Jack star Sam Skoryna. Currently, I am re-writing a ghost story called Outside the Eye of God. And, as always, we are looking at other projects. One of the great joys I have in filmmaking is the ability to give talented people their first opportunity.

Thank you so much for this opportunity to speak with you and Fatally -Yours’ readers.  Eric and I hope you all get a chance to check out Evilution and Basement Jack through e-tailers like Netflix and Amazon.com.  Please visit the websites at: www.evilutionthemovie.com and www.basementjackthemovie.com

Interview with Filmmaker Lis Fies

Lis Effing Fies is the producer/writer/director/adequate actor/hippie wrangler/songwriter/nudist in the acclaimed, fucked up horror feature The Commune. Lis was the associate producer of Conventioneers (2006 Spirit Award – Cassavettes). She is known as the blogger Kid Sis in Hollywood, and is the inspiration for the comic character Kid Sis featured in the Eisner-winning Mom’s Cancer (as seen on CNN). Her unproduced feature screenplay Pistoleras won first place in the Action category of Creative Screenwriting Magazine’s Expo Contest and second place in Fade In’s Thriller category. But what will be on Lis’s tombstone is that she played the monster who stole the Green Power Ranger’s powers.

Fatally Yours: How did you fall in love with the horror genre?

Lis Fies: Man, I was a late bloomer. Backstory: My mom used to call me “Carol Anne” because as a kid I was tormented by bizarre nightmares. Weird stuff a six year old shouldn’t think of, like people on meat hooks suspended over rivers of blood. My mom’s only explanation was I must have been a Vietnam Vet reincarnated as her little girl.

Because of how sensitive and unhinged I already was as a kid, horror movies impinged too much on me to watch. I was the girl at the slumber party who would be in the other room during the horror movies. I did fall in love with Poe short stories when I was a kid, but I was actually frightened of horror movies to the point that when I got my first job (it was of course at a video store), I made the other employees put the horror titles away. I felt afraid looking at the covers. And then when I worked at Eclipse Comics I positively cringed whenever I had to package a Clive Barker order. I’ve spoken to several other women in horror who felt strongly afraid of horror movies when they were younger as well and also avoided the genre until their 20s. I think it’s a testament to women’s emotional fearlessness that we needed to explore what held the most dangerous energy for us.

Long story short, I didn’t fall in love with horror until my twenties when I went through a lonely depression spell and felt that horror actually pulled me out of it. The more I watched, the better I felt.

Fatally Yours: What does horror mean to you?

Lis Fies: To me it’s an incredible art form in which to explore taboos, emotions, and politics. I love that it’s an empty vessel that you can use as an allegory, yet still be entertaining to a broad spectrum of people. But at the deepest level, I’m a storyteller because I want to know what makes people tick. What better way to explore psychology and the subconscious than in the dark, walking on the dark side through the desires we lie to each other and ourselves about.

Fatally Yours: How and when did you get involved in the horror genre? 

Lis Fies: In undergrad at UCLA I interned at Debra Hill Productions because, well, she was the woman. I mean come on, Assault on Precinct 13, The Thing, They Live. I had learned to read on my big brother’s Avengers comics (Eisner winner Brian Fies) and Star Wars was a ridiculous influence on me, so I already understood genre. I think because Debra and John [Carpenter] had done so many brilliant movies I could understand, I was able to see Halloween and really get it, and realize it is one of the best movies ever made. An incredibly special film, by filmmakers who knew what they were doing and were purposeful. So that was a moment that opened my eyes. It was fortuitous for my movie taste growth that that pair was cagey and ballsy enough to be genre jumpers instead of staying pigeonholed throughout their careers.

I don’t get the snobby bias against genre. Industry folks talk about Scorcese and Coppola like they were the only ones doing edgy work in the ‘70s/early ‘80s and like only the dramas from that time period are valid, which is total crap. I still think Carpenter and DePalma are the most underrated living directors and expect to see at least one more genius work from each. Okay, and Larry Cohen. If you don’t love Q: The Winged Serpent, you’re dead to me.

Fatally Yours: What is one thing you’ve done within the horror genre that you are most proud of?

Lis Fies: I was able to portray the graphic rape of a character we loved and have the energy generated from the scene be empathy instead of unintended or prurient eroticism. That was one of the biggest goals of my filmmaking career, ever since studying the mistakes of The Accused and pretty much every other rape scene in mainstream films in my undergrad days at UCLA. I wanted to be informed enough to make filmic choices that would elicit the emotion in an audience I chose them to feel, in the absolute trickiest event to capture. And I decided to go for it on my first film. So if I get hit by a bus tomorrow, at least I’ve made a few men feel the betrayal and horror of rape both as the protagonist themselves, and as an avatar they empathized with. That’s huge. It’s been done successfully less than a handful of times in cinema.

Fatally Yours: How would you convince people who aren’t horror fans to give the genre a try? 

Lis Fies: I think Scream is a good gateway drug. And Rosemary’s Baby. My path in was through the holy trinity of Twin Peaks, Silence of the Lambs and The X-Files. Yet another reason I advocate genre-mixing: you open up the door to new fans who enjoy your action, comedy, or psychology and THEN they learn they like horror, too.

Fatally Yours: Do you feel women in horror get the proper recognition when compared to their male counterparts?

Lis Fies: No, I feel female filmmakers and the subject matter they’re interested in are completely discounted by both the horror audience and the majority of its press spokespeople. The cold reality is no one makes it in this business until someone higher up than them gives them their stamp of approval and a hand up. Look at the Masters of Horror’s epic exclusion of females. That series evolved out of those directors wanting to hang out and have dinner with each other once a month, and apparently there weren’t any women they wanted there. It doesn’t mean there aren’t any horror women period, it means women are still being excluded from the networking that leads to lifetime friendships that leads to favors and working together on film projects. The Big Problem is most men in Hollywood have no interest in a woman unless she’s their Significant Other, relative, or bros’ girl. Otherwise, they don’t know what to do with a woman and totally discard her instead of becoming friends and mentoring her. It’s the same way in the comic world, PS, and I imagine could be extrapolated to politics and the corporate world as well.

The real elephant in the room is can men and women be just friends? Does this pattern keep occurring because we’re not capable of platonic friendships? And/or is it because even as “cool” women emerge who could be brought into the boy’s club and crack it open for more women, men can’t risk it because of the lawsuit and gossip potential. I mean look, in our gossipy society and the nauseatingly sexist world of Hollywood, can an obviously feminist and well-intentioned man like a Wes Craven take a hot younger female director like me (wink, wink) under his wings without speculation that he’s sexually interested in her? Because no one is going to risk their own career to help an unattached woman. Or at least, no one has yet. The precipice female filmmakers balance on is very Edith Wharton The House of Mirth, and most of us are dying alone out in the cold.

So where we women horror filmmakers need help from our male compatriots, fans, and journalists is we need you to take an interest in us as humans; to take a stand and be our friends. We need you to be our heroes if we’re going to be able to ever truly progress and be heard. We need fellow female filmmakers to continue watching how men network, and emulate their teammate strategies that come from a sense of abundance as they create projects that include men and women. And we need both genders to have the humanity to allow male/female friendships to exist without projecting sordid intentions onto them. These are strategies that will provide a fertile ground for women to actually become visible and potent members of the horror community.

Fatally Yours: As a woman in horror, have you found it harder to be taken seriously in a genre that seems to be dominated by males? 

Lis Fies: It’s not even about being taken seriously, it’s about being discounted to the point that you’re invisible. To me the real holocaust in horror is that there’s a close-minded righteous clique attitude being promoted that only allows a few subgenres to be defined as horror. I was at a famous LA genre festival and I was late to see a good friend and female director’s slow burn psychological horror. On the way in I stopped to talk to some journalists who were eating and asked if they were coming in with me. They basically sniffed and looked away. No interest. Several were women. So what is a female filmmaker to do to get into a festival to get press to find an audience and a distributor when the very material we pick and our approach to it generates shrugs from the gatekeepers? Yeah, I’d call that pretty fucking hard.

And really all that subgenre pre-judgment is bullshit because horror journalists couldn’t write enough praise for Paranormal Activity once a big studio and flavor of the month ad campaign was behind it. But maybe if they’d championed Amanda Gusack and the far superior In Memorium that film would have been seen and adopted by Uncle Spielberg instead. See how complicated the problem is?

Fatally Yours: As a female filmmaker, do you feel horror directed by women is different than that which is filmed by men? If so, how is it different and why?

Lis Fies: I think that there’s a higher, more visible percentage of men who get into the horror genre with their first film because they think it’s lottery ticket money and an easy way to work their way up the ladder. That cocky twenty-something USC film school type who copies Saw again, or makes another unimaginative slasher rip-off but has nothing original to say and clearly thinks horror is beneath him. Nothing is more insulting to me than these filmmakers who come in and take a big steaming dump on the genre thinking it’s some chess career move. The women’s accomplishments I’ve seen seem much more premeditated and aware and auteur-esque. They’re raw and honest. You don’t really find women working in this genre who don’t love it and want to use it to explore personal demons, fears, the human psyche…all the great mind fuck adventures that really only horror safely offers.

Fatally Yours: Since you’ve been involved with the horror genre, have you noticed a change in women’s roles within horror whether it be roles in horror films, women behind the camera, women writers, etc.?

Lis Fies: Yes. There are more and more deserving female filmmakers not being given the same opportunities of funding, press, representation, distribution, and studio deals as their male counterparts. I’m just hoping the internet distribution revolution hurries the fuck up. I’m out of dead relatives jewelry to sell, and giving platelets knocks me out the whole day.

Fatally Yours: What women in horror do you admire?

Lis Fies: My friend Katt Shea, who has been an incredible mentor to me. Debra Hill. Maya Deren. Mary Harron. Heidi Martinuzzi. Angela Bettis. Stephanie Rothman.

Fatally Yours: If you could direct one woman from the horror genre, living or dead, in one of your films who would it be and why?

Lis Fies: Oh definitely Jessica Harper. She’s still stunning, and seems like a down-to-earth, super interesting person. And I’d make her sing. I really wanted to work with Zelda Rubenstein. But you know what the Jesus answer to this question is? Mary Shelley. Hahaha I win!

Fatally Yours: What inspires, influences and motivates you?

Lis Fies: A floating paper bag. Sooo beautiful. Just kidding. I always start with a question or idea I’m personally struggling with and want to solve for myself. I’m motivated by emotions, psychology, and a quest to understand human behavior. I’m inspired by other artists’ work. As much as I consume movies and TV, I can be just as inspired by the alchemy of music, live performance, and novels. I need to see a certain amount of brilliance a week to feel sane.

Fatally Yours: What are your favorite horror films, books, etc.?

Lis Fies: I always fall for the intellectual, boundary-pushing films about rebels, underdogs, and outsiders. The Wicker Man, Don’t Look Now, The Shining, Carrie, Repulsion, The Serpent and the Rainbow, Angel Heart, Jacob’s Ladder, Evil Dead II, Tremors, Peeping Tom, Psycho, The Howling, The Thing, The Lost Boys, Blue Velvet, The Watcher in the Woods, Ginger Snaps, May, Bug, Surveillance, Poltergeist, The Craft, Django Kill!, The Frighteners, Videodrome, Misery, Alien, Silence of the Lambs. I’ve just started studying giallo, but I’m not educated enough to speak to favorites there yet. Basically if it’s got authentic emotions, intelligence, an original voice, and brass balls; I feel love.

Fatally Yours: Outside of horror what do you enjoy doing?

Lis Fies: I’m a comic book reader. I used to do stunts and have just started getting back into martial arts and working out. I’ve been blogging for five years. I love to talk with interesting people in small groups or one on one situations. Cuddle, have sex, swim, read, write, play with my dogs. Dance, poledance classes, listen to music. Fritter away hours on the computer chatting with friends on Twitter and Facebook. Being a rabble-rouser. I spend a lot of time laughing. My second favorite thing in the world to do is to drive around LA streets late at night, alone, with the wind in my hair and the radio cranked up to a punk song.

But my favorite thing to do is watch and/or make movies. Without that, I die.
 
Fatally Yours: What are your goals for yourself within the horror genre?

Lis Fies: There are so many movies I want to make. Pistoleras is up next, which is technically a teen chick Spaghetti Western. Though a true SW has incredibly horrific moments and Pistoleras will not disappoint. After that, if I can earn a middle class wage making a solid horror feature every year and a half, I’ll feel happy. Ultimately my goal is to explore more ideas and emotions I’m confused by to find answers, and to continue to expand the concept of horror to include women’s minds and the mixing of genres for fresh, frightening stories. I’m also starting THRILLEDFEST, the world’s first thriller film festival later this year. I don’t think it’s a coincidence that women are drawn to that subgenre, or that it is the most ignored by the current horror community. Time to do something about that.

And Heidi Martinuzzi and I are working on two female centric film festivals together. Heidi’s done an immeasurable amount of good for women and the men who love them, and gets no worldly thanks, by the by. Zeus knows The Commune would be nowhere if Heidi hadn’t found it, and I would have killed myself thinking I’d failed at the one thing I’ve been working at every waking moment since I was six. It’s different for a woman. I’d given up having children and a husband to make movies, and here I was broke and my movie was ignored. So I was tying up loose ends, donating my stuff away, planning on offing myself at a screening of Paul Blart: Mall Cop when Heidi emailed me out of the blue and said she loved my movie. The Commune hadn’t gotten into one festival or had one article written about it until Heidi saw it, got it, and took a stand. Everything good that’s happened to it has come from a sixth degree of her review. That’s how much change one person can make to a female filmmaker. So thank you so much Sarah, for being one of those people. And thank you to Hannah Neurotica for putting out the call for recognition and teamwork. And huge appreciation to Andrew Shearer of Women in Horror (Georgia) and Andrew Rose of Pretty Scary Bloodbath (Texas) for providing the film festivals we need to appreciate women horror makers in February.

Fatally Yours: It’s been an absolute pleasure! Where can people find more info on you?

Lis Fies: They can see my feature at www.TheCommuneMovie.com and keep up with me at www.LisFies.com

Interview with Filmmaker and Actress Kimberly Amato

Kimberly Amato has appeared in a variety of independent films, including Fistful of Sand, Deception, Perfect Criminals, Weekend Rental, Amity and Billy’s Choice. Most notably, she portrayed the title character in Susan Adriensen’s Under the Raven’s Wing. The role garnered Amato with critical acclaim with coverage from wide variety of places including Pretty-Scary.net, AfterEllen.com and Curve Magazine. The film was awarded the best film of 2007 by BumsCorner.com.

Amato has a knack for getting into a characters mind having in her arsenal a BA in Psychology from Hofstra University and a MA in Forensic Psychology from John Jay College of Criminal Justice. She’s been called a “Jack of All Trades” working behind the camera as well as in front as often as possible.

Along with the award winning television pilot Party Girl Amato has co-produced Under the Raven’s Wing and two other short films. Most recently she and Michelle Tomlinson created The Mis-Adventures of McT & A as sketch comedy series which will be screened at the Pretty Scary Blood Bath Film Festival in 2010.

As if that wasn’t enough, Kimberly Amato is also working with Bridge and Tunnel Media on a Spanish Novella trilogy and is in the final stages of editing her first novel.

Fatally Yours: How and when did you fall in love with horror? 

Kimberly Amato: I don’t know exactly when, but I remember Nightmare on Elm Street being the first horror film I saw. There was something fascinating about it. I’ve always been interested in the macabre and this is just an extension of it.

Fatally Yours: What does horror mean to you? 

Kimberly Amato: It’s the ability to take the simplest and most inane thing and make it terrifying.

Fatally Yours: What are others’ reactions when you tell them you are involved in the horror genre?

Kimberly Amato: Some people scoff at it asking how often have I taken my clothes off. Others ask to become part of my next project if I’m producing it. I’ve met very good mix of people and I truthfully enjoy hearing everyone’s opinions. It gives me more to work with on the next project.

Fatally Yours: Why do you think the horror genre has primarily been a man’s domain?

Kimberly Amato: I think it’s because there has always been the idea of women not being strong enough to combat evil. Fortunately, with the advent of the women’s movement, strong female characters have gained momentum.

Fatally Yours: As a woman, do you think you are viewed differently than your male counterparts in the horror genre? If so, how and why?

Kimberly Amato: I do think I’m viewed differently, partially because of my gender but also because of my background. The viewers are used to seeing women in certain roles, so it’s hard to bring a strong female character to life and still give the fans what they want. You have to bring sex appeal across even if you are fully clothed, buried in mud or just sitting at the kitchen table.

Fatally Yours: Even though women seem to be getting more and more involved behind the scenes in horror, why do you think there are less female horror directors, writers, producers, etc. in the genre than males?

Kimberly Amato: I think it’s because it’s difficult to be taken seriously in other genres after you have directed horror. For men it can be a stepping stone, but it feels like for women it makes you a one trick pony. I co-produced a feature horror film and didn’t get credit for the hard work I did from people outside of the horror industry. However, once I co-produced, starred, co-wrote and directed a comedy television pilot – I earned more respect. The work load was the same, but the recognition and respect was not, unfortunately.

Fatally Yours: What elements can female filmmakers/authors/journalists/etc. bring to the horror genre that are lacking in males’ perspectives?

Kimberly Amato: I don’t think it’s that we bring something specifically different to the table. I think it’s the opposite. Women in general can make a movie just as well, complete with gore, nudity, and all the elements that make a great horror flick – but are not being given as many opportunities to do so.

Fatally Yours: Do you think it’s harder for women to be taken seriously in a genre that seems to be dominated by males? 

Kimberly Amato: In some ways, yes. If you notoriously have women being used as nothing more than skin, why would you take them seriously? Film has some basis in the real word – does a woman who sells her body for show get respect? Not really. Why would filmmaking be any different? Unfortunately, women in general are utilized for our bodies more than our talent or our minds. Slowly, we are dispelling these generalizations but in order to succeed we have to play the same game as men. We have to sell DVD’s or tickets and skin sells.

Fatally Yours: Since you’ve been involved with the horror genre, have you noticed a change in women’s roles in the industry? 

Kimberly Amato: I have seen more women taking strides behind the camera to make quality productions as directors, producers and writers. Having been in a horror film directed by a woman it’s wonderful to see the trend continue with more fervor than ever.

Fatally Yours: Do you ever get annoyed at how women in horror movies always end naked or with their clothes ripped off? 

Kimberly Amato: Very much so. I understand the main audience demographic is male, so that’s the driving force behind it. I wish it was different, but at this point in time it isn’t. Personally, if the female character is going through something where nudity will enhance the story line – I’m all for it. However, seeing a woman nude for the sake of nudity just seems wrong and such a step in the wrong direction for women in the entertainment industry.

Fatally Yours: What horror movie would you say is equally fair in terms of men being objectified or at least, losing the same amount of clothes?

Kimberly Amato: I wish I could name a few, but honestly none come to mind.

Fatally Yours: Do you feel you’ve become desensitized to stereotypical scenes in horror like the half-naked girl screaming and running for her life in slow motion? Or are these types of familiar horror tropes still effective and necessary? 

Kimberly Amato: I have become extremely desensitized at this point. I love horror and enjoy watching it regardless, but sometimes I wish the tired old adages would change. Heck, at least shoot them in a different way. To be blunt, my friends are not huge horror fans, but for them to tell me a film is very predictable with specific cliché scenes – things need a new point of view or a different presentation.

Fatally Yours: Do you feel that other people view women as being “soft” and not able to endure horror as well as men? How do you fight this stereotypical view?

Kimberly Amato: I don’t know if people view women as “soft” since we are expected to be easy going. So, I wonder if “soft” is the right term. However, some people would view women as incapable of making a good, solid horror film. The only way to combat this view is to keep our integrity, never quit and put the most amazing project we can out there. Once more people see what women are capable of, the more doors open.

Fatally Yours: What women in horror do you admire and why?

Kimberly Amato: I admire Jamie Lee Curtis as a mainstream Scream Queen. She took her following and made it into a massively successful career. Then there is the obvious choice of Brooke Lewis, she can create a feature, a web series and anything else she puts her mind to – all the while bringing the best possible performance to the screen to accompany the project.

As far as up and coming actresses, I admire Michelle Tomlinson. I saw her film, The Cellar Door, and found she did more stuck in a box (literally, she was trapped in a wooden cage) than someone with a script full of dialogue and a huge set. Since I started working with her, I find her ability stretches much further than the average Scream Queen.

Fatally Yours: What advice would you give women who want to become involved in the horror genre?

Kimberly Amato: You better have a thick skin. This industry is hard and there are women and men willing to knock you down a few pegs to get what they want. Be true to who you are, fight for what you believe in and don’t be afraid to say no. Sometimes passing on a project you feel ill at ease being a part of is a good decision. Don’t be afraid to say no.

Fatally Yours: What’s the last disturbing horror movie you saw?

Kimberly Amato: The Descent – I hate small spaces and seeing the women trying to climb through these little caverns, with no air, the roof collapsing. Yeah, it freaked me out a bit.

Fatally Yours: What’s one horror movie you think is HIGHLY overrated?

Kimberly Amato: Paranormal Activity – the new Blair Witch… all hype and very little return on my money. What makes it worse, they ordered a sequel.

Fatally Yours: What are your favorite horror films, books, etc.?

Kimberly Amato: I read mostly non-fiction books about various criminals so that in itself is frightening. I have always been very partial to the Nightmare on Elm Street series, The Descent, the first Saw film (the subsequent sequels lost the essence of the original) and Silence of the Lambs.

Fatally Yours: What is your ultimate goal while working in the horror genre?

Kimberly Amato: To create films that showcase the worst of humanity in the most realistic manner possible. They don’t have to make a fortune, but they have to be good quality films.

Fatally Yours: What upcoming projects are you working on?

Kimberly Amato: I’m working on a bunch of projects this year. First, there is the web series, The Mis-Adventures of McT & A, Michelle Tomlinson and I have begun working on. The first episode is located on my YouTube page and we have a Facebook group where fans can send us suggestions, emails and images. Michelle and I are also working on two feature films this year. One called Touch – the teaser trailer is also available on my YouTube page. Then there is Dreaming Reality – both are in the pre-production phase. We’re also doing a benefit for abused women in Los Angeles.

I’ve also been brought on board to work with Bridge & Tunnel Media on a Spanish novella trilogy. We’ll be shooting the first episode of the first novella in the next few months. And last but not least, I’ve just completed my first novel.  It’s a murder mystery and the lead is a female psychotherapist.

Fatally Yours: Where can people find more info on you?

Kimberly Amato:

http://www.imdb.com/name/nm1742671/
http://www.KimberlyAmato.com
http://www.myspace.com/KimberlyAmato
http://www.twitter.com/KimberlyAmato
http://www.LittleCrownProductions.com
http://www.youtube.com/user/kkat76
“The Mis-Adventures of McT & A” Facebook Group

Interview with Producer Debbie Brubaker

Debbie is a seasoned producer in the world of indie feature films and considered “the godmother” of the San Francisco Bay Area independent movie arena. One of her recent production successes was co-producing Peter Bratt’s film La Mission, an audience pleaser at Sundance 2009 that is set to be released in the spring of 2010. Debbie also produced the soon to be unleashed comedy/horror pic, All About Evil, directed by Joshua Grannell. She has also worked on many other films, including Karen Goodman Hawk’s One Way to Valhalla, Finn Taylor’s The Darwin Awards and Cherish, Mark Decena’s Dopamine and Unflinching Triumph: The Phillip Rockhammer Story, Martin Guigui’s Swing, Lynn Hershman Leesom’s Teknolust, and Bartleby and The Californians by Jonathan Parker. Debbie is currently working on a documentary with Jennifer Seibel Newsom called Miss Representation as well as executive producing and editing the feature film Wheels directed by Jennifer Juelich. She also just finished writing a horror script called The Ghosts of Alcatraz.

Fatally Yours: How and when did you fall in love with horror? 

Debbie Brubaker: Watching the movie Dracula hiding behind my dad’s knees as he slept on the couch. He was supposed to stay up and watch it with me. I was 6.

Fatally Yours: What does horror mean to you? 

Debbie Brubaker: Something scary that stays with you, sure it’s fun to get the devil scared out of you in the theatre, but good horror makes it hard to get into the car and drive home without being terrified.

Fatally Yours: What are others’ reactions when you tell them you are involved in the horror genre?

Debbie Brubaker: Nervous laughter.

Fatally Yours: Why do you think the horror genre has primarily been a man’s domain?

Debbie Brubaker: Because historically the perps and evil doer’s are male. Maybe they relate better than we do (women).

Fatally Yours: As a woman, do you think you are viewed differently than your male counterparts in the horror genre? If so, how and why?

Debbie Brubaker: People always seem a little surprised. Sometimes they comment about it being a guy’s kinda thing. Good scary stuff is for everybody! But I think they get stuck in the grove of thinking it’s a guys thing. There haven’t been any famous horror directors that are women. But then women directors are in short supply as it is.

Fatally Yours: Even though women seem to be getting more and more involved behind the scenes in horror, why do you think there are fewer female horror directors, writers, producers, etc. in the genre than males?

Debbie Brubaker: I think it’s still a male dominated genre. Like war pictures and thrillers. Hell, it’s a male dominated business. Still. Hard to say if that’s ever likely to change. The horror scripts are given to men first. I guess the writers must think women are too wussy to make good horror. How wrong they are!

Fatally Yours: What elements can female filmmakers/authors/journalists/etc. bring to the horror genre that are lacking in males’ perspectives?

Debbie Brubaker: Stuff that can really make the audience scared in a less classic way. I think we can twist it up with scary female protagonists. Done in thrillers, less in horror.

Fatally Yours: Do you think it’s harder for women to be taken seriously in a genre that seems to be dominated by males? 


Debbie Brubaker: Absolutely. I have gotten the double take from guys when I said I was involved with a horror film. They think it’s outside of my box. (ha ha)

Fatally Yours: Since you’ve been involved with the horror genre, have you noticed a change in women’s roles in the industry? 

Debbie Brubaker: Unfortunately not really. Heck, this business is hard no matter what. But classically women are taken less seriously than the men.

Fatally Yours: Do you ever get annoyed at how women in horror movies always end naked or with their clothes ripped off? Do monsters not like men’s abs?!

Debbie Brubaker: Not all GOOD horror has that element. I loved Session 9 and there isn’t anything like that in there. One of my fav’s is The Haunting. Neither one has that stuff.  So if they resort to that, it’s a cheap shot and cheesy in my opinion. It can take me out of the picture – I think it shows no imagination.

Fatally Yours: What horror movie would you say is equally fair in terms of men being objectified or at least, losing the same amount of clothes?

Debbie Brubaker: In horror? Doesn’t exist.

Fatally Yours: Do you feel you’ve become desensitized to stereotypical scenes in horror like the half-naked girl screaming and running for her life in slow motion? Or are these types of familiar horror tropes still effective and necessary? 

Debbie Brubaker: Depends. I find it a kind of a parody of horror now days. The movies, even the cheapies, have gotten a lot more sophisticated. Sometimes the women are the heroes. Imagine that!

Fatally Yours: Do you feel that other people view women as being “soft” and not able to endure horror as well as men? How do you fight this stereotypical view?

Debbie Brubaker: Ever since Sigourney Weaver busted the ovaries on the Alien she was doing battle with, maybe even before that with Terminator, we have had strong women  heroines. That “oooh ooooh somebody save me crap” (meaning a man) is really old hat. Old dead smelly needs to be tossed out hat. Not to say that a woman character can’t be a dumb shit. But now it doesn’t have to be a woman, it can be a man too. And a few filmmakers have smelt the chapeau and have womaned up. (so to speak)

Fatally Yours: What women in horror do you admire and why?

Debbie Brubaker: I love Natasha Leone. I think she doesn’t even know her own strength as an amazing actress. I will always love Cassandra Peterson and Mink Stole. Sigourney Weaver is permanently in that Hall of Fame. Linda Hamilton was a great Sara Connor. I also liked Naomi Watts in the Ring movies.

Fatally Yours: What advice would you give women who want to become involved in the horror genre?

Debbie Brubaker: Trust your guts don’t spill ‘em (just a little horror humor). Work with what scares you. Don’t be afraid to be afraid!

Fatally Yours: What has been your best experience while working in the horror community? What’s the worst?

Debbie Brubaker: The best experiences have been with people using amazing creativity in place of no money. I’m always in awe of what the art/efx folks can come up with even when you don’t have anything but dimes. They make fine wine out of sour mash!

The worst has been when executive producers try to take over what’s being done. They don’t understand the biz necessarily and can really muck up your day.

Fatally Yours: What’s the last horror movie that made you think “this is some effed up shiznit!”? 

Debbie Brubaker: I recently watched Exorcist: The Beginning. BORING. What’s up with that? They had mega bucks to make that thing and it sucked scum off the Nile.

Fatally Yours: What’s one horror movie you think is HIGHLY overrated? 

Debbie Brubaker: SAW, pick one.

Fatally Yours: What are your favorite horror films, books, etc.?

Debbie Brubaker: I think that Hitchcock’s The Birds is still my favorite. I will never forget seeing it for the first time at 6 years old hiding behind the front seat at the drive in. My parents thought I was asleep. Ha! I saw most of it. Scared the, what was that word you used, shiznit outta me. And every time I saw it again (for many years), thought it was just, well, scary wrong. (I am truly surprised that no one has tried to remake it – thank the Goddess!). I loved The Lovely Bones. That one was really a good horror/thriller.

I have hopes for Legion, we’ll see.

Fatally Yours: What is your ultimate goal while working in the horror genre?

Debbie Brubaker: I work in a whole plethora of genres. But for horror it’s never my goal to gross anybody out. For me that’s taking the cheap shots. To really do horror well, I like for the characters to have great fear. To successfully do that you have to create something unknown that is really scary, and film it in such a way that makes your audience feel what the characters feel. Remember that movie The Hand? The one where the astronaut comes back to Earth and the guy finds the hand on the beach and puts it into his trunk and it crawls into the back seat and then gets him? I love that kind of horror. When things happen that shouldn’t. Birds, Astronaut hands, Ghosts, Psychopaths – they’re all part of the scary fun.  I would aspire to having a horror movie I’d done being described as “peculiar” and “disturbing”.

Fatally Yours: What upcoming projects are you working on?

Debbie Brubaker: I’m working right now writing a screenplay – it’s a work for hire but I’m having a blast. It’s called The Ghosts of Alcatraz. I’ve been given cart blanche to create it. I know how it ends and I’m on page 57. So I have to get from where I am to when I need to be. It’s a really good scary movie.

Fatally Yours: Where can people find more info on you and your projects?

Debbie Brubaker: I’ve been threatening to put up a web site for some time now. So in the present the IMDB is my only outside link movie-wise. I am planning on creating a Facebook page for another movie that I’m in production on that I am really excited about.

It’s called Wheels. It’s not a horror movie, it’s a drama.