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Your upcoming movie Strange Blood - in a few words, what's it
going to be about?
Strange Blood
is about a brilliant but obsessive scientist who becomes
infected with a bizarre parasite that begins to transform him into a
bloodthirsty madman. How did you get involved with the
project in the first place, and what drew you to it? Pearry
Teo [Pearry Teo interview - click here], the film's producer, approached me with the project in early 2011.
It was still very much in its infant stage at that point, but I was
looking for a feature to direct, and this film seemed like a great place
to start. Pearry
Teo [Pearry Teo interview - click here]
has both produced and written the story for Strange Blood
- so what was your collaboration like, both during writing and shooting
the film? Pearry came up with the film's initial concept--a
scientist who becomes infected and turns into a bloodthirsty madman.
From there, we spent the next few months outlining the idea into a full
concept. The film was greenlit by the end of 2011, at which point I
set off to work on writing the script. It took me nearly 2 years to
complete the script; the story greatly evolved from that initial idea and
quickly became the body horror movie we ended up shooting.
Throughout the writing process and the production of the film, Pearry gave
me a ton of creative freedom to do the movie I wanted to do.
How would you describe your directorial
approach to your story at hand? I wanted something very
stylized for this film, something that would set it apart from its peers
both visually and sonically. Now that we've got the picture in the
can and I'm starting to receive some of the music tracks, I'd say we've
definitely accomplished that goal. You once noted that Strange
Blood is "the most disturbing work of my career" - care to
elaborate on that? I don't want to give too much away, but
there were quite a few moments during production where I couldn't believe
we were getting away with some of the material we were shooting. I
wanted to get people out of their comfort zone with this film, and I think
we managed to accomplish that several times over.
Do talk about your cast for a bit,
and why exactly these people? The film stars Robert
Brettenaugh and Alexandra Bard, a pair of amazing up-and-coming actors.
This film was very demanding on them, both physically and emotionally, and
they both allowed me to push them right up to (and possibly over!) that
edge. I'm absolutely thrilled to have them involved.
What can you tell us about
the shoot as such, and the on-set atmosphere?
We shot the
film in Arizona during one of the coldest months in recent history.
Our set was often around 35 degrees and the actors spent a lot of time in
very little clothing. Add in buckets of blood and gore and it
becomes a bit of an endurance marathon. Still, I'm very proud of my
crew and actors for not only enduring, but doing so in a way that made
coming to set every day an absolute blast. The
$64-question of course: Any idea yet when and where the movie might be
released onto the general public? That would be a decision
left up to the distributors. I'd like to say that it'll be out by
the end of 2014, but that's only a guess on my part. Any future projects
you'd like to share? Nothing as yet. I'm focused on getting
Strange Blood
through post. I do have several ideas for my next
film, but it's too early to decide which.
Before moving into filmmaking, you
have worked as an artist, photographer and music video director, right -
so what can you tell us about those aspects of your career, and your
overall style?
The beauty of filmmaking, I've found, is
that it incorporates all the disciplines that I had been working in prior.
Being an artist and photographer and music video director and writer all
had a place in helping shape Strange Blood. Having engaged in
multiple roles over my career enables me to be a very hands-on filmmaker.
Stylistically, my work has always leaned towards the dark and macabre and Strange Blood
is no different.
As far as I know, Strange Blood is
your debut feature - so what prompted you to take that step, and how have
your previous artistic endeavours prepared you for this?
When I first moved to Los Angeles as an artist, I ended up working as a
still photographer on a few music video sets. That gave me the
directing bug and directly led to me working in the music industry as a
video director for the last 5 years. Directing a feature film was
something that just landed in my lap. I didn't set out to be a
feature film director but I certainly couldn't pass up the opportunity.
Now that I've got my first feature under my belt I can't wait to start the
next one. The best thing about working on a feature as a
writer-director is that it incorporates all the disciplines I had learned
and worked in prior--art, photography, writing, directing. It was an
obvious culmination of everything I had done before.
How
would you describe yourself as a director? Obsessive. Filmmakers
who inspire you?
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Stanley Kubrick, Jean-Pierre Jeunet,
Nicolas Winding Refn, Lars Von Trier, Terry Gilliam. Your favourite movies? Pulp
Fiction, Oldboy, 12
Monkeys, City of Lost Children, Casino, Goodfellas,
Hellraiser, Wristcutters: A Love
Story. ...
and of course, films you really deplore?
I tend to not watch movies I don't like.
Your/your
movie's website, Facebook, whatever else?
www.thechadmichaelward.com
www.strangebloodmovie.com
https://www.facebook.com/ChadMichaelWardFilmmaker
https://www.facebook.com/StrangeBloodMovie
Thanks
for the interview!
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