Your upcoming movie The Psychiatrist - in a few words, what is it
about?
A doctor with an absolute contempt for weakness abuses his position to take
advantage of the people he is supposed to be treating.
How did you first get involved with the project, and what can you tell us
about your producers Andrew [Andrew
Barclay interview - click here] and David Barclay, and what was your collaboration
like?
I
first became involved after receiving an email from Andy. He then sent me the
script and I immediately agreed to be part of the project. Andy and David have
let me run freely with the film, we were able to communicate effectively about
what each of us thinks will or won’t work. It’s been very easy working
with them both as we all seem to be on the same page.
How would you describe your directorial approach to your story at hand?
I
let the actors embody their characters and I asked for a lot of input from
them about how each of them saw their characters. I wanted each character to be as
relatable and real as possible. My aim was to focus on the conversations
between the characters and the manipulation that weaves its way throughout the
film. With this I wanted to create as much tension as possible between the
doctor and the patient, I wanted to create a place of unease that we can all
relate to.
With The Psychiatrist being a horror film, is that
at all a genre you can identify with, and how would you describe your
approach to horror?
David Hoyle |
The
horror genre is a big love of mine and I spent several days deciding on
which way to take the film. There are scenes of murder and death but not
at the scale of a film like Saw which is basically a film with blood and
shocks and no real depth, I wanted The Psychiatrist to have depth. I
prefer horror films that make you think and that really engage you with
the story line and the actors so that you really can feel their plight.
This is how I approached the genre with this film. Do talk about your cast for a bit,
and why exactly these people? The
cast assembled were amazing. We had some real pros working on the film,
such as David Hoyle, and Nathan Head [Nathan Head interview - click here]. The cast were already assembled
before I became attached to the project and they all helped me a lot. It
was a joy to work with them all. They all brought something different to
the film which was exactly what I was looking for.
What can you tell us about
the actual shoot, and the on-set atmosphere?
Nathan Head |
As
in most film shoots with a very tight schedule, there were ups and downs,
but the whole cast and crew pulled together to make the downs enjoyable.
The atmosphere was a great working environment when we were up and
running. Everyone helped each other through it and I feel we all learned a
lot about ourselves and each other through this shoot. In short it was a
delight to work on the set with all of the people involved. The
$64-question of course: When and where will your film be released onto the
general public? The
film is in the post production stage now and will soon be completed. I
believe that the film will have a few premieres up and down the country
and then US/UK distribution and possibly Europe after that. I cannot say
when the film will be ready for release as that is down to Andy and David
to decide.
Any future projects you'd like to share?
I have been working on my own feature film, The Unseen Truth for a few years
now and will be finally starting up production again soon on it. There is
also the feature length documentary about Manchester cult band Gabrielle's
Wish, which is nearing completion and will soon be going into the post
production stage. I am hopefully going to be working with Corey McVann [Corey
McVann interview - click here] again on The Interrogation, which is a collection of short films. I am also
hoping to be involved with Eromeda Entertainments new film A New York
Story.
What
got you into filmmaking, and did you receive any formal training on the
subject?
I was really young when I fell in love with Film and Television. Being a kid
of the 80’s when, in my opinion, most of the best films and TV-series
were conceived, I was amazed by how a film was made, especially when it
came to special effects.
I was lucky enough in my teens to be accepted onto an audio visual course at
college and it really just went on from there. I then received a HND and a
Degree in Film and Television design, I did learn a lot from these
experiences, but all of my training really came from firsthand experience.
What can you tell us about your filmwork prior
to The Psychiatrist? I
did a lot of work on student films as a director and as an assistant director, and to be
honest most of the films were pretty bad. Before I
became attached to The Psychiatrist I was already making a film which I
wrote the script. The Unseen Truth has been about ten years in the making
as I originally conceived as 30 minute short film and after some tinkering
with it its now finally a 153 page feature film. I did start principal
photography on the film but as with life sometimes things can come along
which you need to divert your whole attention to, and this has been the
case as to why The Unseen Truth has not yet been finished. But this is the
year that it will be finished. Please do talk about your
company Fractured Moon Films for a bit!
I
set up this company as a means to carry on with what I love doing, which is
making films and photography. We specialize in different areas such as
music videos and wedding photography. It is also the production house for
my short and feature films. I am hoping that in time, I can create a
company that can help other filmmakers realize their dreams and help them
to get their films made and distributed. How would
you describe yourself as a director?
I’d like to think of myself as a laid back director, who has a vision and
will keep to that vision no matter what obstacles. But I think that
you’d get a better impression from other people rather than me praising
myself.
Filmmakers who
inspire you? There
are plenty who have inspired me over the years such as Ridley Scott, James
Cameron, Peter Jackson, Kevin Smith, Terry Gilliam and more recently
Guillermo Del Toro and Nicolas Winding Refn. Even Sam Raimi has inspired
me because of his independent roots to filmmaking. Your favourite movies? Where
do I begin? Well Alien and
Aliens both top the list but for different
reasons. I also love The Rocky Horror Picture Show, Drive, Lock Stock and
Two Smoking Barrels, Blade Runner, Ghostbusters and
One Flew Over The
Cuckoos Nest. There are also some cheese fests or guilty pleasures that I
love such as Big Trouble in Little China, The Thing, Evil Dead
2, Clue and
even The Frighteners. ...
and of course, films you really deplore?
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There
are films that I really think should be erased from memory. It wouldn’t
be right for me to name these films as I do have respect for them as much
as the fact that they managed to get them made and in this business
that’s pretty hard going. But there are whole load of films that I
deplore, they are usually made in some way by Michael Bay. Your/your
movie's/your company's website, Facebook, whatever else?
http://fracturedmoonfilms.wix.com/filmandtv
https://www.facebook.com/FracturedMoonMusicVideos?ref=hl
Anything
else you are dying to mention and I have merely forgotten to ask? There
are a lot of things happening at the moment but I can’t give too much
away right now but there will be updates soon as I have the go ahead. Thanks
for the interview!
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