Your new movie Pieces
of Talent - in a few words, what is it about?
Pieces
of Talent
centers around two main characters, Charlotte
Randall and David Long. Charlotte is a struggling actress & David is a
special kind of artist. David and Charlotte have a chance encounter one
evening and become friends. David takes a liking to Charlotte and begins
building a bloody masterpiece for her. It's really a dark love story in
many ways. What
were your inspirations when writing Pieces
of Talent - and what can you tell us about your writing partner
Dustin Lewis, and your collaboration with him? Several
years ago we shot a short film called The David Long Story.
That's where the character originally comes from. We decided to take that
short and build a feature around the character and world that we explored
there. Dustin Lewis is a very close and talented friend of mine. We have a
great working relationship. I like to play with his hair... Having
been in the film industry yourself for quite a while, I'm sure you've had
a few unpleasent experiences with producers, filmmakers, whatever - so in
what way is your film a poetic revenge on those people, and how much of
yourself can we actually find in David Long?
Good question.
There are plenty of instances in the film where we blatantly call out the
film industry and it's slimy underbelly. I personally don't associate with
those types of people and stay as far away as possible… they make this
art form ugly… so we wanted to punish them. There is a lot of David Long
in all of us, I think. A smiling, dark side. What can
you tell us about your directorial approach to your story at hand? I
like to give the actors as much freedom as possible. We had an incredible
cast so they really made my job so much easier. There is a trust between
us that is more important than anything else. We would talk about
each scene and let it grow and change in order for it to feel as real as
possible… but most importantly, we had fun.
Pieces
of Talent's torture and death scenes involve quite a few
accomplished devised and scenarios - so how did those come about, and did
you ever have the feeling you might be going too far? Tony
Rosen did our special makeup effects. Get ready for the pun: He really
killed it! We never felt like we went too far with the kills and had quite
a good time doing it. We actually used a real shotgun for one of the death
scenes. G. Scott Queen also brought his amazing artistic talent to the
table by sculpting the beautiful torture device that appears in the silo.
We just wanted to get creative with the kills, it's what David would do. Do
talk about your key cast and crew for a bit, and why exactly these people?
Kristi Ray, David Long |
My
cast and crew were some of my closest friends. We share a similar passion
for what we are doing so there was really no choice to make, we knew who
was going to be involved from day one. We love what we do and put our
hearts into every project. Finding a group of people like that is rare. I
cherish and respect it. What
can you tell us about the shoot as such, and the on-set atmosphere? We
like to keep it fun on set. Of course there is always some degree of
stress, but you have to ignore that and concentrate on having fun and
being creative. It's all about respect. I couldn't make a film without an
amazing team. Everyone had their own area of expertise and we all respect
each other and work together to create our art. A
few words about audience and critical reception of your film so far?
I
am pleased that folks are able to see how much of our soul we put into
this film. It makes me happy. I welcome criticism, I love to hear how
other people interpret what we made. The
$64-question of course, where is the film available from? The
film is available through the official website:
http://piecesoftalent.com
We have an autographed special edition DVD, VHS and streaming VOD all
available there. Any
future projects you'd like to share? We have two projects
coming up, both are in the horror genre. One is a supernatural, haunting
type of film, one is more effects driven. Here are the links:
https://www.facebook.com/azaleahaunting
https://www.facebook.com/sleepycreekresearch
What got you into
filmmaking to begin with, and did you receive any formal training on the
subject?
I dropped
out of high school…I am self taught. I played in bands from my
early teens to my early twenties. I got tired of doing the band thing so I
decided to start doing music videos as a way to be involved in the music
community without dealing with the headaches of being in a band. So I
started doing live videos and stuff, and then got more into narrative
based videos. From there short film, and then got hired to do more long
form projects. In my early twenties is really when I had a realization of
how much I really loved filmmaking. I'd always messed around with it
previously, but in my early twenties I realized "This is for
me". And that is when I started pursuing it, you could say. I still
write and record music though, including several tracks for the film.
When it comes to movies, you've worn many hats,
from producer and director to cinematographer and editor and everything in
between - so what do you enjoy the most, what could you do without? I
enjoy the entire process. I love every bit of it and don't really have a
favorite or least favorite.
What
can you tell us about your filmwork prior to Pieces
of Talent (in whatever position)? I have been
directing, editing, etc. music videos, short films and other projects for
years now. I try to stay in touch with all aspects and positions so I can
really be well versed and have a solid vision of what is possible with
every new project that I take on. Every project is a learning process, an
experience… I hold that close and pay attention. How would you
describe yourself as a director? Passionate. Filmmakers who inspire
you? Kubrick. Your favourite movies? That's
tough, I'll give you one: Gummo. ... and of
course, films you really deplore? I don't want to trash
anyone else's art.
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Your/your movie's
website, Facebook, whatever else?
http://piecesoftalent.com
https://www.facebook.com/piecesoftalent
Twitter: @piecesoftalent
Instagram: obeythetape
https://www.facebook.com/joestaufferfilms
Anything else you are
dying to mention and I have merely forgotten to ask? I just
want to say thank you for your time and attention.
We truly put our souls into this project and are proud and thankful to
have a historical documentation of that part of our journey as artists
& filmmakers. Follow your dreams, put your heart into your work,
respect others, and good things will happen. Thanks
for the interview!
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