Your movie Amityville:
Vanishing Point - how did you get
involved with the project in the first place?
I originally met the movie's director Dylan
Greenberg [Dylan Greenberg
interview - click here] on the set of our friend Rev Jen Miller’s
movie Werewolf Bitches From Outer Space in the summer of 2015. Dylan
was helping Jen film the movie and I had a small role as an extra.
After working on the set with Dylan, about a week later she had
asked me if I would like to be in her film Dark Prism. I had such a great time working with Dylan and
eventually we became friends. Over the winter Dylan had asked me if I
would like to play Hank Denton in her new film and
it
seemed like such a fun character and movie that I was on board instantly
You've
also been one of the writers of Amityville:
Vanishing Point - so do talk about the writing process for a bit,
and what were your sources of inspiration? Dylan
deserves the credit for writing the film, the plot, settings, characters
and once the movie was in production we would discuss some ideas on set
and on some occasions we would come up with some additional ideas but as
far as the film in its entirety Dylan is the brains behind it all. I
would say if I deserve any credit it’s mainly for working on the
character of Hank Denton and maybe a few ideas here and there. Dylan is so
hands-on with everything and everyone and is open to your input and it
just makes it that more special to be a part of, and feel like you're a part
of...
Let's return
to your character: What did you draw upon to bring special agent Denton to
life, and did you write him with yourself in mind from the get-go?
I'm new to acting and pretty raw, so I feel like
I’m just going with the flow. I imagine the character in my mind and
then I start to spend time forgetting I am myself. The closest thing I can
compare it to would be like a method actor, but since I have no formal
training, I feel like it wouldn't be fair to consider myself a method
actor, or any type of actor, so I guess it’s just real life experiences
that inspire me from events in my own life combined with many influences
from films, books, stories, real life history. Having all of those
different things to draw upon and I think just being sincere is my
formula. I feel like you want to keep some type of traditional aspects of
the character you are creating as well being original and authentic, yet
traditional can be tricky. Do something that has never been done and
create what he would be like based on my own experiences,
and also I was influenced by Lefty, Dennis Hopper's character in Texas
Chainsaw Massacre 2,
well Dennis Hopper in general, he is one of my biggest influences. Combine
that with a lot of beer, bourbon and bad habits and you have special agent
Hank Denton! Corruption of the law and abuse of power, stalking women, gambling at the track, selling cigarettes to children, purchasing alcohol
for minors, smiling at funerals, that type of stuff!
What
were the challenges of making Amityville:
Vanishing Point from a producer's point of view, and how hands-on
or hands-off are you as a producer?
Dylan really makes it easy and you know, for me since
I am kind of new to all of this I’m really learning a lot as I go. It
doesn’t even really feel like I am producing anything, or even acting
for that matter when we were making the film. I was just having the time
of my life and plugged in to what we were doing, and trying to make myself
useful and available in any and every way.
Some of the specifics I would say from what I am
learning is the expense part of making a film, the coordination of the cast
and crew and how to get everyone together. Transporting people to
locations for filming, taking care of everyone off camera when we are
between filming. I think just helping out with things like that is why I got credit
for producing the film with Dylan, but t the time it just felt
like these are normal things I would do in my everyday life, it didn't
really feel like I was producing a movie, just a part of something special.
What can you tell us
about Amityville:
Vanishing Point's director Dylan Greenberg [Dylan Greenberg
interview - click here], and what was your
collaboration like?
Dylan fucking rules!!! One of the brightest and most
fun people you could know. And Dylan is just getting started, and I feel
like she has done more as a teenager than most people do in a lifetime. I’m
really happy to be a part of Dylan’s world. I am a big fan.
Collaborating
with Dylan is basically effortless. We share a lot of similar interests
and I feel like we communicate easily, get where the other is coming
from, and there is never a dull moment, it’s very exciting. Also it's
great to feel like you are part of something, part of a family. Everyone
involved is incredible, I am blessed to be around some amazing people and
truly grateful. I feel like
these are some of the best people I have gotten to know, and I hope to do
many more projects with Dylan and the rest of the Disck Pictures family. Do talk about the shoot as such, and
the on-set atmosphere?
|
Good times. Everyone is great to work with and I
feel like I’m meeting new people with every project and I’m having the
time of my life. I almost don’t know what to do with myself when we
aren’t making a film. On set of Amityville:
Vanishing Point I was very comfortable and
especially as the movie progressed, you just naturally start to absorb the
character and the atmosphere and it really becomes special, almost like
you are in an alternate reality, an escape from the everyday world and
into our own. I had already met and spent time with many of the actors and
others involved with the film, which made it easier to for me to work with
them. The
locations we went to were a lot of fun also and I feel like I'm getting a
chance to see a lot of new places I normally wouldn’t go to or know
about. Everyone works well with each other, so the on-set atmosphere is
great. It’s better than real life. I wish I could just live in the Amityville:
Vanishing Point realm from now on and be Hank Denton for the
rest of my life... that guy really gets away with murder! LOL Any future projects you'd like to
share? We
have a few projects we have been discussing and are in the the planning
stages of a new film. I should
probably keep the details on the DL for now, but it’s coming soon.
What got you into the filmworld in the first
place, and did you receive any formal training on the subject?
I started acting in the summer of 2015, when my
friend Reverend Jen Miller asked me to be an extra in her film
Werewolf Bitches From Outer Space, which comes out this summer
and stars an amazing cast of people including Janine Garofalo and Robert
Prichard. On the set I met Dylan and a few weeks later Dylan invited me to
be in her film
Dark
Prism. I still consider myself a neophyte to acting but I love it and
can't
get enough of it and I feel like I am learning as I go. What
can you tell us about your filmwork prior to Amityville:
Vanishing Point, in whatever position? I
first had the role in Werewolf Bitches From Outer Space, which was just a
small part. Then I had a role in Dark Prism as President Bacel. Amityville:
Vanishing Point is my 3rd film. Prior to that I had spent most
of my life as a singer songwriter with projects such as my rock band The
Slut Junkies, my hip hop crew Poison Farm, and I occasionally
co-host the Rew & Who Show in NYC. I’m still pretty active with music and
working on Rew’s show. Filmmakers,
writers, producers, actors, whoever else who inspire you?
When it comes to inspiration I feel like everything
inpires me, for better or worse. Everything in life, the more you can take
in and absorb, the more you will be inspired. Whether a positive or negative
experience it's still an expirience.
I am inspired by all sorts of people, places and
events in history and many other things such as science and the universe,
existence itself inspires me.
But to name a few speficic people, off the top of my
head...
Dennis Hopper, Robin Williams, Charlie Chaplin,
Harpo Marx, Vincent Price [Vincent
Price bio - click here], Jack Nicholson, Robert De Niro, Stanley Kubrick, John Waters, David
Lynch, Scorcese, Tarantino, George A. Romero, Tim Burton, Stephen King, Poe,
those type of people have the biggest inlfuence me as well as many
musicians and artists and historical figures throughout time. Your
favourite movies?
So many, movies are great. I like fun movies, I like
a good suspense film, I love horror, dark comedies, the list goes on
forever and my life is always changing but to name a few off the top of my
head ... Texas Chainsaw Massacre (parts 1 and 2),
Day of the Dead, Serial
Mom, Blue Velvet, Full Metal Jacket, Apocalypse
Now, The
Fisher King, Dark Prism, Nosferatu,
Maniac, Savage
Streets, Friday the
13th part IV, God Bless America, Shakes the Clown, To Live and Die in
LA,
Reservoir Dogs, The Lost Boys, The
Shining, Taxi
Driver, Goodfellas, the
Marx Brothers’ Monkey
Business, The Hunger, Another Day in Paradise,
Wild at Heart, Vampire’s Kiss, Mulholland Drive, Pink Flamingos,
Nightmare on Elm Street, and
just a few that come to mind... but there are so many great movies I could
spend a week naming them... ... and of course, films you really
deplore?
|
Feeling lucky? Want to search any of my partnershops yourself for more, better results? (commissions earned) |
The links below will take you just there!!!
|
|
|
For me, any movie that is over produced with too
many digital/computer effects. In my opinion those type
of movies don't allow you to use your imagination. I like the vintage
stuff, give me Ewoks and Muppets over Avatars and
Minions anyday - I feel like back in the day you
had to think outside the box and be creative when making a film, now
computers do it for you - I feel like if it’s overdone then it also
creates your imagination for you, which is something you should do
yourself. I used to like when movies seemed like movies, you knew it was
just a movie and even if somethings weren’t precise, your mind would fill
in the blanks, and that's healthy for the brain. Today it’s handed to you
almost too often, it makes it harder to create your own perception, and
using your imagination is a wonderful thing. I am also not a fan of movies
with no substance or no plot or twist. I get tired of films that are just
nonstop explosions with no story line....
Thanks for the interview!
|