Your new movie Rumor
from Ground Control - in a few words, what is it about? Rumor
from Ground Control is the story of a local female investigative journalist who uncovers the
mysterious death of an astronaut. With
Rumor from
Ground Control being deeply rooted in the "conspiracy
theory" phenomenon, is that something you're at all into or have done
extensive research upon? And some of your favourite conspiracy theories,
for whatever reason? I enjoy reading about conspiracy
theories. Sometimes I find them fascinating but mostly I find them
entertaining. With our current state of affairs in the US, conspiracy
theories for many people have become a way of making sense of the
seemingly chaotic and random events that happen around the world. I have
done some research, but the only one that I found to be true was MKULTRA. Other sources of inspiration when
writing Rumor
from Ground Control? Some of the inspiration when
writing Rumor
from Ground Control came from listening to a lot music, watching other films,
and doing research into psychology and artificial intelligence. The music
that influenced the tone of the film came from Neu!, Scott Walker, La
Dusseldorf, Cluster, David Bowie, and Brian Eno. To what degree could you
actually identify with your lead character Erika ... or any of the other
characters really? With the lead character Erika, I
identified with her on various levels. I was in a very dire financial
situation living in Los Angeles at the time. I felt as if I was being
pushed out of the city, socially and economically that affected my career
and emotional state. I tried to portray Erika's character with that
feeling and wanted to challenge myself creatively by showing it from a
female's perspective. I also identified a lot with the character Jeffery
and referenced some of my experiences when I first started working in
journalism.
What can you tell us about your
overall directorial approach to your story at hand? Since
this is my first feature film, I tried to create an environment that made
the actors at ease. Prior to shooting we did some rehearsals. Before each
take, I would set the scene by telling the actors the facts and
circumstances. I would iterate the events and explain the psychology of
what the character's motivation might be, but overall I wanted the actors
to bring their own emotional awareness and interpretation to their role. Do
talk about your key cast, and why exactly these people? Majority
of the actors came from the Stuart Rogers Studios theater group. That
studio is well renowned in Los Angeles. It was through the handwork of our
producers Matthew Tully Brown and Chase McGuire that I was able to work
with such wonderful talent. For me as a writer an director, I'm often in
my own creative and social bubble. I don't have much contact with actors
in general. Matthew works as a writer, director, producer and actor. Chase
works as an actor and musician. With the two of them collaborating
together, they were able to find the best people for the film. A
few words about the shoot as such, and the on-set atmosphere?
The shoot was surprising smooth and relaxed. We had some long days, but
overall it was low key and calm. Compared to some other sets I've been
on, our production was well organized and on schedule. Everyone involved
helped make this film out of their love and passion for the project, so
that helped bring about a great atmosphere.
The
$64 question of course, where can your movie be seen?
Amazon Prime:
https://www.amazon.com/exec/
obidos/ASIN/B07GX4YNJY/
Roku: Indie Rights FIlm Channel
YouTube Movies
Anything
you can tell us about audience and critical reception of Rumor
from Ground Control yet?
Audience and critical reception of the film seems to be similar for the
most part. Rumor
from Ground Control is a niche film that plays for a very specific
audience. Depending on the viewer, if she or he likes dark, brooding,
slow paced, mystery, drama, thrillers with a hint of sci-fi, action and
film noir, then this film will appeal to them.
Any future projects
you'd like to share? I have a few ideas I'm working on that
are very different from Rumor
from Ground Control. I'm back to writing and working on a new
script now. What got you into filmmaking in the
first place, and did you receive any formal training in the subject?
I've always had a desire to express myself regardless of the medium,
whether it was through writing, drawing, music, photography or painting.
I found filmmaking to be the most challenging of all because of the
collaborative nature and the combination of different artistic forms.
This instantly attracted me to the craft. I do not have any formal
training in film. I studied communication at the university. Everything
else I learned on the job or on my own.
Do
talk about your filmwork prior to Rumor
from Ground Control?
I have a background in
journalism. I worked in live TV as a floor manager and in local news as a
cameraman and photographer. Later I learned how to edit and do graphic
design. I currently work in advertising and entertainment across the board
from pre-production, to production and post-production. Without these
skill, I wouldn't have been able to make a film at the budget that I did. How would you describe
yourself as a director? I am a director with lots of room
to grow. I hope to have a very long career. Filmmakers who inspire you? Stanley
Kubrick, Wong Kar-Wai, Rainer Werner Fassbinder, Andrei Tarkovsky, Nicolas
Roeg, David Lynch, Ridley Scott, Adrian Lyne, David Lean, Ken Russell,
Denis Villeneuve, Tom Ford, Alan Parker, Paul Thomas Anderson, Billy
Wilder, Orson Welles, Samuel Fuller, Alan J. Pakula, Elia Kazan, and
David Cronenberg. Your
favourite movies?
Touch of Evil, 2001, La Haine, A Clockwork Orange,
Eastern Promises,
Happy Together, Lola, The Lady from Shanghai, Nightmare
Alley, The Third Man, Blue Velvet, In the Mood for
Love, East of Eden, Blade Runner,
Parallax View, Z, Boogie
Nights, Shock Corridor, Amadeus, The Music
Lovers, Walkabout, Chungking
Express, Pulp Fiction, The Man Who Fell to
Earth, Don't Look Now, Paris is Burning, Sunset
Boulevard, The Harder
they Come.
... and of course, films you really
deplore?
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Feeling lucky? Want to search any of my partnershops yourself for more, better results? (commissions earned) |
The links below will take you just there!!!
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The Lord of the Rings, Transformers, Argo,
The Informers, Adam Sandler movies. Your/your movie's website, Facebook, whatever
else?
https://www.facebook.com/rumorfgc
https://www.instagram.com/rumorfgc/
https://twitter.com/rumorfgc
Anything else you're dying to mention and I have
merely forgotten to ask?
I've launched a new site for my other projects:
emperorsnewmind.com
Thank you Mike for the opportunity for this interview.
Thanks for the interview!
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