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Your new movie Independent
Dreams - in a few words, what is it about?
It’s a film about both myself and David Christopher-Turner [David
Christopher Turner interview - click here] who are actors and budding
filmmakers, and co-founders of the production
company Clouded Sight Pictures. We decided to make two epic feature
films and give ourselves roles in them, the problem with this plan was we
had no money. That’s right, you read that correctly, we decided to make
two high budget feature films, despite the fact we had no money. Someone
should have called the big white van with the square wheels right there
and then, but no, everyone let us carry on with it. I don’t know whether
it was passion or madness that started this whole thing, but I guess that
will be decided by those who watch the film, which documents our journey
from those simple beginnings, and follows us through all the highs and
lows we went through in trying to get our projects off the ground! How
did the project come into being in the first place, and who came up with
the idea to have your journey chronicled? I blame David and
Tony Sabanskis [Anthony Sabanskis interview -
click here], it was all their fault, I should have stabbed them both,
the minute they came up with the idea. J
Let's talk
about the two projects Independent
Dreams is based on for a bit, Dream Finder and Storm
Warrior - what are they about, and what are the key challenges
bringing them to the screen?
Dream Finder is an awesome fantasy film, that has everything you’d
expect from the genre, based on the book by Roger Taylor. I love the whole
story and can’t wait to see this film hit the big screen. Regarding the
rest of it, I think David [David
Christopher Turner interview - click here] is the one best served to give more details.
Regarding Storm Warrior, it is an epic action movie, which I wrote the
script for, where history, horror and fantasy collide. It’s a Viking
saga depicting the lives and adventures of three Viking brothers, who are
the sons of Earl ‘Haakon' a Viking nobleman. If I was to try and
describe the film in general terms, I would say it is a mash up between Game of Thrones,
Vikings and Predator, and it has
everything you’d expect from those fantastic productions, except an
alien with dreadlocks, that would be breach of copyright! J
As for the challenges in bringing the films to the screen, that’s an
easy one, we need money and lots of it! We need millions to do these films
justice. In Storm Warrior alone, we will need a fleet of Viking ships or
some great CGI, either way this won’t be cheap! However, we have
recently gained SEIS and EIS advanced assured approval for Storm Warrior
and this will certainly make the film a more attractive prospect for any
would-be investor.
I figure when you started
making Independent
Dreams you expected the outcome of your projects to be quite
different - so how has the documentary evolved over time?
Not at all, my expectations for both films have remained the same
throughout the whole process. Sure, things got a bit lairy every now and
then, especially when our DoP pulled out the night before filming the
concept videos, and Brexit fucked up a massive investment opportunity with
an overseas investor. Those were the low moments for me, but despite these
things we have kept pushing forward with the projects and have never given
up once and are still fighting now, to bring these films to audiences all
over the world.
In that regard, I know Tony tried keeping the ending to the documentary
open for a long time, so we could have the happy ending that we really
wanted to have, but in the end, we decided to end it, because there were
no other guarantees there.
Any
filmmaking stories that didn't make it into the final cut of Independent
Dreams? Loads, but if I told you any of them I’d
have to stab you! J What did it feel to be
the topic of a documentary? I’d like to say it was
un-intrusive, but I can’t! Every time I turned around Tony was there
with his camera. Even when I looked like shit and was wearing a dressing
gown he was still there, and once when I came home from a hard day
filming, he was there waiting for me in the kitchen to film me drinking a
beer! I know right! Just WOW! J In all seriousness though, it was
the best and worst experience of my life. The best because I have made so
many new friends and solidified many other friendships I already had. They
say adversity can kill many a friendship, but in the case of me and David,
it just made us stronger as a unit, and even more determined to succeed.
The worst because there are many people out there who will prey on guys
like myself and David, because we have dreams. We know who most of those
people are now, and in a way they did us a favour, because we are in a
stronger position and able to move forward with more confidence than ever. With
all the experience you've gathered during the course of making Independent
Dreams, what's be some solid pieces of advice to give aspiring
indie filmmakers? Good question! Be prepared to take some
heavy-duty shit! It’s not an easy road to take, and everyone thinks they
can do the job better than you. When things are going great, everyone
wants to help, and you’re the best thing since sliced bread, but as soon
as things start going wrong, it’s like rats leaving a sinking ship. Plus
you have to deal with a barrel load of professional jealousy! People you
know will say great things to your face and then slag you off to everyone
else behind your back. In saying that, I bloody love it, and I wouldn’t
do any other job in the world. The best advice I can give to anyone, is to
be proactive in everything you do, and to wear armour, lots of armour.
J
Anything you can tell us about
audience and critical reception of Independent
Dreams? I’ve been amazed about the response
we’ve had, especially in America! Some of the reviews have been amazing!
The one thing that really surprised me though, was how everyone who
watches it are rooting for us by the end of the film, and I have to say
that brought a tear to my eye. Let's return to Dream Finder and
Storm Warrior for a bit - are those still in the making/how far along have
they gotten since the documentary has been shot? We have
decided to put Dream Finder on the back burner for now, and forge forward
with Storm Warrior. It wasn’t an easy decision to make, but once we got
SEIS and EIS for the film, it was a no-brainer. I would say we are within
touching distance of early pre-production, and we are currently in the
business of contacting some A-list talent and crew. Regarding funding,
we’ve had a lot of interest already, and that’s before the shares go
on sale on the 6th April, so, it looks like the SEIS shares will get
snapped up quickly. Any
other future projects you'd like to share?
Hell yeh! We at Clouded Sight Pictures
have got a lot going on, it’s
not just about Storm Warrior and Dream Finder. We are forever getting
asked to collaborate with other people on projects, but in the end, it
must be about projects we can be passionate about.
The first of those is Following the Trufors, where we are
collaborating with our mate Tony Sabanskis [Anthony Sabanskis interview -
click here] again. He is directing the
film, which he also wrote the script for, and it’s hilarious. Working on
this project has just been great fun, and I can’t wait to see the end
result. We probably have a couple of days of filming left on this comedy
drama, which features a very talented cast and crew, and then it will be
on to post-production. Have a look at the trailer:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cqp5UBU-wu4
We also have a fantasy horror series which is currently in development
called Day One, which David and co-writer David Edwards have been
working on for nearly a year. This project is something we are very
excited about, because it has attracted a lot of attention, meaning the
possibilities for this series are massive.
Have a look at the teaser:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V7PNSN8lKIc
Your/your
movie's website, Facebook, whatever else?
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The links below
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www.independentdreams.co.uk/
Facebook:
https://www.facebook.com/independentdreamsmovie
Twitter: @indiedreamsdoc
Watch on Amazon:
https://www.amazon.co.uk/exec/obidos/ASIN/B0756X95C6
Watch on Google Play:
https://play.google.com/store/movies/details/Independent_Dreams?id=QAIegwHB1WE
Watch on YouTube rentals:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QAIegwHB1WE
Anything else
you're dying to mention and I have merely forgotten to ask?
Yes! I want to personally thank everyone who has helped us through our
journey so far, you all know who you are, and your support is very much
appreciated, and many of the things we have achieved so far would not have
been possible without you.
Finally, please watch our film Independent
Dreams and give it a
review, and I promise I won’t hunt you down and stab you. J
Thanks
for the interview!
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amazon.co.uk
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