Tell us about yourself. What's your background? What made
you get into filmmaking?
My background is in the music
business as a writer, performer, publisher, producer, and independent record
company owner. I was fairly successful as a producer & publisher, but not
so much on the others. With the music biz basically winding down for me
starting around 2002, I was forced to make some hard decisions on what I wanted
to be when I grew up. Deciding to stick with my creative side, I wrote &
self-published a novel entitled "Pinch Hitter" in 2008. While working
on a second novel a year later, I decided to try my hand at writing
screenplays. To make a very long story short, after a few years of waiting for
someone to buy one of my scripts, I finally came to the realization that if I
ever wanted to see any of them come alive on the screen, I'd have to figure out
a way to do it myself.
Was there a
particular event or time that you recognized that filmmaking was not just a
hobby, but that it would be your life and your living?
Just as it was with the music biz, I approach writing and filmmaking strictly
from a business point of view. It's a very tough and competitive business and a
lot of research and preparation is necessary if you intend on being successful.
While writing and filmmaking has been my life for the past five years, I cannot
say that it is my living. But I'm working very hard on changing that.
What was your inspiration for Ghostline?
Two things. First, a 1964 Twilight Zone episode entitled
"Night Call". It's about an
elderly woman who begins to receive phone calls from a man buried in a local
cemetery after a phone line—which was knocked down by a storm—lands directly
atop his grave. For some reason, that story remained etched in my mind all
these years. Second, I once lived in a duplex that had a ghostline, which is a phone line from which one can make phone calls without having a specific
number. I could call out, but no one could call in. With those two concepts in
mind, I concocted the storyline for our film.
I love a scary movie, one that is fraught with unexpected
surprises, tension, and mystery, so Ghostline appeals to me on all of those
levels. Who is your audience for this movie?
Wow! Add to that a bit of
well-placed humor and you just described "Ghostline"! Because our
film contains a plot, it may not appeal to the younger audience that tends to
gravitate toward excessively violent "slasher" films, such as
"Texas Chainsaw Massacre". I firmly believe that those who follow the
"Paranormal Activity" franchise will enjoy "Ghostline".
Between writing, directing, producing, casting and filming, which is the most difficult and which is the most enjoyable? Tell us about your creative process.
In my humble opinion, the
most difficult aspect of filmmaking is post production. Why? Well, for the most
part, it's out of my control. As the writer, casting director, director, and
producer, I'm in control of the how, where, and when. Once I turn it over to my editor, visual FX artist, composer,
and sound designer, it's basically out of my hands because they work on their
own time. And because we all communicate via email, the process can be a bit
tedious.
By far, the most enjoyable
aspect of what I do is writing. Unlike most screenwriters who spend six months
or longer writing a single script, I normally spend about a month on mine. That
includes formulating the story in my head, the first draft, several re-writes,
and then correcting typos after Judy
proofs it for me. That said, the "Ghostline" script was a work in
progress up to and during the actual filming.
The actors – some just have that “it” quality. How do you
find and cast the right actors?
While mega-budget films have
the luxury of working with casting directors who can bring in "A"
list actors, we low-budget indie producers must rely on ourselves to find the
best available talent for our projects. Fortunately for us, there are many fine
actors & actresses champing at the bit to work on indie projects such as
ours. Being the writer, I pretty much know what I'm looking for in an actor for
a specific role. Also, having been a child actress, my wife and co-producer has
a very sharp eye for talent. Even though I have the final say, I rely very
heavily on her input.
What other movies have you made?
As a writer and director, my
only other film is a short we produced in 2012 entitled "The Body
Bag", which was awarded "Best California Short 2012" by the
California Film Awards. However, over the past few years I've contributed to
several other indie projects in one capacity or another. To see my various
credits, please visit my IMDb page:
We're currently planning our
next feature, "Specter of Fear", which we hope to shoot in Big Bear,
California, next summer. My screenplay "The Final Table" is slated
for production later this year by Strong Image Films in Las Vegas. Future
projects include a full length version of "The Body Bag" ("Curse
of the Bokor") and a sequel to "Ghostline".
Have you taken part in film festivals or social media to
promote Ghostline or your other movies? If so, which ones?
We're relying very heavily on
social media to promote "Ghostline". As of today, we have 7,640
Facebook followers and are looking to add more (hint hint). We are also on
Twitter, but I'm personally not a fan. Our website is in the works and should
be up within a month. I did attend a few
film festivals with "The Body Bag", but really don't put much faith
in their usefulness in attracting the attention of distributors. In actuality,
there are only about six film festivals that
help in that regard and, unfortunately, none of them of them are
interested in films like "Ghostline". Therefore, it's unlikely that
we'll do any film festivals.
Who are your biggest film influences?
Inasmuch as I enjoy many different
genres, it's difficult for me to answer that. There are so many that I respect
and admire. I will say, however, that I've always been a huge fan of Alfred
Hitchcock films, which is interesting because I ended up marrying a girl who appeared
in my all-time favorite, "The Birds". And I've always loved the
ingenuity of maverick filmmakers such as George Romero, Robert Rodriquez, and
Quentin Tarantino.
Where and when will
Ghostline be released? Where can we see it?
Wish I could answer that.
Once the film is complete and ready for viewing, which likely won't be until
the end of February, our task will be to seek out US and Worldwide
distribution. It's anybody's guess as to how long that'll take. Ideally, we'd
like to have it available on VOD, DVD, and Blu-Ray before Halloween 2014.
Meanwhile, everyone is invited to follow us on Facebook where we post screen
shots, behind the scenes photos, and updates concerning our progress.
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