Your In
Fear of-episode Agraphobia: Fear of
Sexual Harassment - in
a few words, what is it about?
It is a simple story about
revenge, and a commentary on the corporate attitude which the characters of Nina and
Martin represent.
The sexual harassment that Martin was supposedly accused of, although we
never see it we only hear it from Nina's perspective, you have to understand that
here's a man who was done a great wrong at the hands of someone who thinks she's above
everyone else. Kind of like certain people in our society. There's a message to be found
here about screwing people over. My character of Martin was taken advantage of by
Nina for no
good reason other than accusations, and the power trip that she believes
in her own mind.
What were your
inspirations when writing Agraphobia, and
why did you pick this exact phobia? And any personal pet phobias of
yours you want to talk about?
My inspirations for writing Agraphobia
were several. The most
prominent is the television show The Hitchhiker. The feel of this episode is
similar in many ways to an old Hitchhiker-episode, in appearance, mood, music and
acting. The lighting for this episode however came from a more Italian influence reminiscent of
Demons and Suspiria.
Agraphobia
takes place in 1986, and it fells
like it in all respects from the clothes right down to the 1986 newspaper that's being read by Arnold, a
supporting character in the episode, who is Nina's boyfriend.
I picked this phobia
of sexual harassment because it seemed different than what everyone else was doing.
It's a dark episode that is classified as a thriller, not horror to me. Also there's
so many phobias to choose from, so you really have to think what's relevant for a simple
story. I could have done something more complex, but I like simple storytelling, and I think
the audience of America would agree that the simpler the story the easier it is to get
into it because you can relate to aspects of it. I don't really have any personal pet
phobias. The only thing I've ever been disturbed by are worms, other than that nothing else. I'm not
afraid of worms, but I wouldn't want them crawling on me, unless it was for a movie role
where I'm paid plenty.
Agraphobia
has a certain 1980's look and feel to it - why, and how did you achieve
that very specific atmosphere?
The look and atmosphere I achieved comes easy to me because it's what I
love. I have a knack for re-creating an older atmosphere that resembles the 1980's. I
am the 1980's in a lot of ways. Lighting is a very important player when creating the
right setting, along with the wardrobe and props. Due to budget constraints of independent
filmmaking it's hard to do this sometimes, but I manage whatever I can. I stated earlier
that The Hitchhiker is a big influence on the creating for this episode. I
also have to use certain cameras and add a slight filter to help give me the official look I'm
trying to achieve.
You also play one of the
leads in Agraphobia
- so what can you tell us about your character, what did you draw upon to
bring him to life ... and honestly, how much of Bradley Creanzo can we
find in him?
Well, my playing the character of Martin was a lot of fun for me because
I like acting and stunt work, and once you watch this episode you can easily see
I get
beat up quite a bit and plenty of stunts for this episode, but it's all part of the game.
I always do my own stunts and take pride in that especially working with weapons. I am a
very big weapons collector. What I drew upon to bring him to life was a combination of
personal conflict that I pulled from my own experiences in life, and his one-lines are an
influence of the 1980's. Any action film of that time had an actor with catchy one-liners, and
Agraphobia
is no different. I do that quite a bit. Dealing with certain events in my life
at the time of making this episode helped contribute to the character. Martin is very driven
and he doesn't take no for an answer no matter who tells him! Martin is a machine that just
continues until he gets what he wants, which in this case is to punish Nina because in his
eyes she is the enemy and did him wrong. He's a simple man with simple goals who's life
was ruined because of someone who thought they had power over him, but it's really
Martin who has the power. Through a strong will and hunger to achieve his goals, Martin
is the real survivor not Nina. Martin wasn't handed a cushy corporate business to
run, but Nina was, so therefore Nina is representing the silver spoon society that has
ruined good men and a good country for their own personal greed and gain. There's about 40% of
me in Martin in certain respects, the rest is all acting and created drama within the
building of the character's own mind. Just like a canvas, you can paint away, but you
have to know what patterns to paint to make that character come to life, and what texture
and shading to do to add even more life, and that's how I look at any character. It's just
like a painting that you have to build upon until you reach the finished masterpiece, and then
you move onto the
next painting, which in this case would be the next acting role for me.
Bradley with Genoveva Rossi |
You of course also have to talk about your
co-star Genoveva Rossi [Genoveva
Rossi interview - click here] for a bit, and what made her perfect for the part?
As for Genoveva Rossi, I was dating her at the time of this production,
so that had an influence on my casting her. She put what she was capable of into her
character. The only thing I wish had more energy to it was the attempted rape scene near
the showers. She played Nina with a solid attitude and full of herself tone. You can
hear it every time she opens her mouth.
[Genoveva Rossi's reply -
click here]
A
few words about the rest of your cast and crew?
The cast was very small, just myself, Genoveva and Scott Perry [Scott
W. Perry interview - click here] as Arnold.
Scott
played a very small supporting part and did a good job with it. There's
not very much detail to go into because Arnold is not a primary character. Now as for
the crew, that's a different story. My assistant director and main cameraman was Derek
Rafanello, who did a fine job. Then there's Robert Huntley who was 2nd assistant AD and
camera operator. Huntley is very good at what he does with the camera. Omar Cordy was the
3rd camera operator and lighting assistant. He contributed a lot to helping out on
this production. Steve Glassner [Steve
Mark Glassner interview - click here] and Scott Perry were also on set to help out as production
assistants, and Steve also helped out with some of the lighting design as well.
Another person who helped greatly was Rich Catino, my main special effects and make-up
artist, who as always did a phenomenal job with all on-set effects and make-up for the
actors. Another person on set to help out was Sean Diehl, who was a production
assistant
and helped with
several scenes in the beginning of the episode. What can
you tell us about the shoot as such, and the on-set atmosphere?
Bradley directing Genoveva Rossi |
The on-set atmosphere was very pleasant. We had the complete run of the
building for which we were filming in, so that was very nice. In independent
filmmaking it's hard to get complete freedom with a location sometimes, especially when you're doing
blood effects. Everyone got along on set and there was no drama. I ran this production
very tightly. Most days consisted of 10 hour shoot days except for Arnold's small scene
in the kitchen. It
took 5 days total to film the whole episode. Anything
you can tell us about audience and critical reception of Agraphobia
yet?
I haven't had too much critical response yet. I played Agraphobia
at only two film events, and the response was favorable, but I haven't gotten a wide range
of approval or disapproval for it. Hopefully the upcoming premiere on the web and VOD
will get me some responses. Some other episodes are being pushed more than mine, so I
don't know what to say except Agraphobia
seems to be the more hidden of the
episodes for In
Fear of. I don't know if it's because people don't care for the time period it
takes place in or perhaps
the subject matter. You were also in two other In
Fear of-episodes, Scotomaphobia
and Glossophobia - so you apparently have to talk about those two
for a bit!
Well, the other In
Fear of-episodes were entertaining to work
on. The Fear of
Blindness episode was an interesting piece to perform in. I played
the character of Bobby, who is not the nicest of people and just lives to party, or at
least that's the impression the story gives from what I had to work with. The other
episode I was in was very basic since I was just a zombie character. There's not much to talk
about with that one. Jeremiah Kipp [Jeremiah
Kipp interview - click here] who directed Fear of
Blindness I've worked with
before, so that was one of the best things about the episode being able to work with good people
including Scott
Perry [Scott W. Perry interview -
click here] and Steve Glassner [Steve
Mark Glassner interview - click here]. Susan Adriensen [Susan
Adriensen interview - click here] also did a great job in the
title role and I think our scenes are among the best moments. A little side note; in the
party scene a lot of the extras in that scene are actually friends of mine, who have
appeared in several of my productions before. We shot certain scenes for Fear of
Blindness at my house and I was able
to get a reliable group of extras to come out for the shoot. How did you get hooked up with the series in
the first place?
I got hooked up with In
Fear of through Scott Perry [Scott
W. Perry interview - click here] the
series creator, whom I had met before. I first met Scott on a short film project that was filmed at
my house. I don't remember much, but obviously that led to his interest in my style of
filmmaking, which put me in the running for my own episode for In
Fear of.
Any future projects you'd like to talk
about?
There's a lot to talk about with future projects. The biggest thing going
on right now would be Case at Midnight, in which I star as Charles Rainer,
who is a cult leader and arms dealer. The movie takes place on the night of my sentencing, but
before I can be
sentenced my cult of female followers attempt to break me out of the
courthouse. They
slaughter everyone except a few security guards who take me hostage and
try to survive
the night. It's a really tight-paced action thriller in which I also
perform my own stunts, and I'm also the producer of the motion picture. It's being directed by Louie
Cortes, and once production is wrapped I will also be composing the entire soundtrack,
which will feature a title song to the movie complete with a music video to help promote the
movie, and show
off the lovely, but deadly female cast we have as the cult girls.
"Case at Midnight" is set
for a December 2015 release. Another film that's finally getting some
recognition is my
feature The Bible Belt Slasher Pt.II: The Holy Terror!, which
officially has gotten distribution by Acort International out of Arizona. The movie is going to
be released this December 2014, just in time for Christmas, which fits perfectly since
it's takes place at Christmas time. The movie is about Jason Fry, who is a religious fanatic
that goes on a
bloodbath crusade against those he believes to be sinners. Only Dr.Ray
Landers, Fry's
former doctor, can try and stop him. It's a vicious cat and mouse game
through the southern streets of Tennessee as Dr. Landers tries to find Fry before he
claims his next victim. I'm also the star of a new feature called Kids
Get Dead 2:
Kids Get Deader, which
has just been released. I'm also in Faces directed by Thomas
Ryan. I play one of the primary characters that ends up as a victim of Frank, who's the deranged
killer that sees and hears decapitated heads talking to him. I'm also involved with a web
series called The SPIES Files, which I am acting in and also the director
on one episode.
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As far as I know, you actually got into film via
stage acting - so what can you tell us about your theatrical career, your
training, and how does performing on stage compare to acting in front of a
camera? And which do you prefer, actually?
Yes I did get into film acting via stage acting. That all started back in
high school and
my early college years. I was in several plays worth mentioning which
included Diary of
Anne Frank, Raisin in the Sun and Macbeth.
My training consisted of multiple acting classes at Kean University. A few of my teachers for
acting/improvisation/voice were Gail Winar and Ernest Wiggins. I have a minor in Theatre/Acting, and I have a
B.A. in Film/Media. I took acting classes for a period of 5 years between Kean
University and Union County College here in New Jersey. My acting instructor at Union County
was Agim Coma. I was taught a lot of techniques and methods to acting. I weeded
through and took a little of everything and applied what I needed depending on the role.
Stanislavsky and Meisner methods are among the ones I prefer to utilize in approaching a
role, but I have my own style and preference in preparing for a performance. We all take
something that exists and make it our own, in our own way.
Both acting on stage and
camera are good in their own ways. Acting on stage is more challenging in many respects, but
acting on camera is its own monster as well. I prefer acting for the camera
because there's more
room to create and the option to do another take. If you screw up on
stage and can't cover your mistake in the moment you are lost. At least the camera is
forgiving in that way. There's also more illusion to be created acting in films. You can't
jump on moving cars and do certain action things on stage to their fullest extent. Film
allows for the full extent of imagination to come to life through the acting and the visuals.
There's also wider appeal to the masses I believe, and the best part is knowing that the
performance is preserved and seen by others forever once completed. Sure stage plays can
be filmed and seen by millions perhaps, but film acting is where it's at for me at this
time in my life. My priorities could change in time because I do love theatre acting, but I
will be in film for a long time running. The camera's eye sees everything when it's released
and we are projected to a world that is forever created and preserved on film, or in
today's case digital cinema seems to be more accurate of a term I guess, lol! You can
check out some of
my acting credits here:
http://www.imdb.com/name/nm3908210/?ref_=fn_al_nm_1
What can you
tell us about your filmwork prior to Agraphobia?
My film work prior to Agraphobia
is very vast. I've
directed/co-directed such films as The Bible Belt Slasher Pt.II: The Holy Terror!,
Night
Games, The Bible Belt Slasher, Midnight Card Massacre, "What Waits in the Dark,
and a slew of music videos (Enemies, Demons of the Night and
Rhythm is Your
Master) all for my band Midnight Flashback.
As for my acting work prior to Agraphobia, that's a
long list. Here's some of the more notable films that I act in which includes: Bible Belt Slasher Pt.II: The Holy Terror!, Attack of the Brain People, Night
Games, Blood Slaughter Massacre, Kids
Get Dead 2:
Kids Get Deader, Sheriff Tom vs. The Zombies and Holidays of Terror. One
can't help but notice that quite a few of your movies are of the horror
variety - coincidence, or is horror a genre at all dear to you, and why
(not)?
True, a lot of my recent films have been horror, but that is not my only
direction in filmmaking. My recent film Case at Midnight showcases a
different style that ventures into the realm of action, and it's also quite an acting change for me as
well. I really do love horror and I will make horror movies on and off, but
I am NOT a one
trick pony. I can do comedy, action, drama, Western, anything! As long as it's entertaining
I can direct, produce
or act in it. I like all genres
You have also written quite a few filmscores and
front the band Midnight Flashback - so you just have to talk about
Bradley Creanzo the musician for a bit!
Rhythm is Your Master-music video |
Midnight Flashback is my own creation. Originally the band consisted of
myself and Andi Harriman, whom is no longer with the band. At the moment Midnight
Flashback is a truly solo act. All drum programming, keyboards, vocals and guitars are
performed by
myself. The first hit we had was Demons of the Night, which
was featured in Bible Belt Slasher
II and Blood Slaughter Massacre. The music
video for Demons seemed to be quite popular and to date is considered to be the band's best song.
The two other music videos, Enemies and Rhythm is Your Master,
are similar in style, but different in
presentation. Enemies marked the last time Andi and I worked
together on music and in person. Rhythm is Your Master is probably in opinion my
favorite along with Demons. Samantha Quintana who is in the music video for that one really did a
great job, as did Missy Heather Byron. All others involved and crew were a huge help in
that video. Derek
Rafanello and Louie Cortes are my main cameramen when it comes to music
videos and film content in general. Aside from Midnight Flashback
other music I
perform falls into the soundtrack category. I've composed the soundtracks for all of my own
movies and for other independent movies as well. I use only vintage equipment when
composing, so a lot of my musical style tends to seat within the 1980's realm of
composition, although I can just as easily do early 90's and late 70's sounds also. Some pieces
of equipment I tend to favor in my compositions are: Roland-Juno 60, Sequential
Circuits-Prophet 10, Yamaha DX7, and the Oberheim-DX Drum Machine. I use a lot of stuff, but
these have proved to be the most used synthesizers. You can listen to some of my
compositions here:
https://soundcloud.com/bradleycreanzo1986 How would you
describe yourself as an actor and as a director?
I am a very serious actor and director, and driven at both duties, but
acting is where the
passion lies for me. Actors,
filmmakers, musicians, whoever else who inspire you?
The people I am inspired by the most, actors, directors, etc include:
James Garner, Christopher Lee, Bela Lugosi [Bela
Lugosi bio - click here], Bo Hopkins, Rutger Hauer, Klaus Kinski,
Warren Oates, Larry Hagman, Farrah Fawcett, Linda Gray, Charles Bronson, Sam Peckinpah,
Don Johnson, Wings Hauser, John Huston, Roger Corman [Roger
Corman bio - click here], Don Dohler, James
Cameron, Don Siegel, Clint Eastwood, Walter Matthau, Darren McGavin, Vincent
Price [Vincent Price bio -
click here],
Peter Cushing, David
Carradine, John Carpenter, Holly Knight, Vinnie Vincent and Sigourney
Weaver. Your
favourite movies?
Some of my favorite movies are: Nightmare on Elm Street
3, Vice Squad,
Die Hard, Death Wish (1, 2 & 3), Treasure of the Sierra
Madre, Dirty Harry,
Dallas (TV show 78'-91'), Miami Vice (TV
show), Married with Children (TV show), Extremities, Bring me the Head of Alfredo
Garcia, The Wild Bunch, Escape from New York, The Thing
(1982), The Evil, Split Image (1982), Timestalkers,
Thunderbolt and Lightfoot, Leviathan, Alien,
Night of the Comet, Hills Have Eyes (1977),
The Blob (1988), Video Violence,
The Park is Mine, It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World, Rockford Files (TV
show), Gremlins,
Piranha (1978), Alligator (1980), Day of the Animals,
Trancers and National Lampoon's
Christmas Vacation. There's a lot more, but that's a good selection for now.
... and of course, films you really
deplore?
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I really don't like the whole found footage genre that has spawned, so I
would say the
films I deplore are: Blair Witch Project, Paranormal Activity, most made
for SyFy
originals,
Heaven's Gate and all remakes within the last 13 years. Your website, Facebook, whatever else?
Here are some links to check out my work and myself:
Website: http://bradhorror.weebly.com/filmography.html
IMDb page: http://www.imdb.com/name/nm3908210/?ref_=fn_al_nm_1
Soundcloud: https://soundcloud.com/bradleycreanzo1986
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Bradley-Creanzo/483482835044680
Anything
else you are dying to mention and I have merely forgotten to ask?
If anyone out there would like to meet me you can find me in person at a
convention
coming up called Blood and Babes Comic Con:
http://longislandcollectorsexpo.com/guests.html Thanks
for the interview!
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